[Leps-l] [leps-talk] Monarch Armageddon

[Dennis Schlicht]

Doug,
The article below says Bt corn was 19% of the crop then. It's 80-90% now. While all of this Monarch concern has been going on, we have lost 5 prairie obligate butterflies in the tall-grass prairie/ Bt corn region (my data in Iowa). Our prairies are surrounded by corn.
Dennis Schlicht
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: MexicoDoug<mailto:mexicodoug at aol.com> 
  To: monarch at saber.net<mailto:monarch at saber.net> ; leps-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:leps-l at mailman.yale.edu> 
  Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2013 2:35 AM
  Subject: Re: [Leps-l] [leps-talk] Monarch Armageddon


  "Doug, it was Lincoln Brower who first set the precedent
  for using the word "Armageddon" in this article and others like it:"

  Paul,

  Huh ;-0 ??? I honestly didn't know and wouldn't expect he was the 
  source.

  I wonder what the majority of unbiased scientists think of someone of 
  Lincoln Brower's repute throwing out words such as "Armageddon" to 
  describe the evolving sciences in agro-biotechnology.  This is really 
  an insult to science; 'Armageddon' has deeply religious connotations 
  and is from the New Testament Bible the destruction of the Devil an 
  epic battle when God comes down and unleashes his fury.  What place do 
  such religious overtone-statements have in science other than to 
  polarize/bias, divert and offend researchers and constructive 
  discussion?

  I just Googled, and sadly it seems you are right.  I found this article 
  in Mother Jones that Brower had written in 2001, which was a result of 
  the GMO scandal that developed at that time:

  http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/85<http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/85>

  It gives me insight, to say the least.

  It seems that Brower for some reason couldn't participate in the USDA 
  grant for the research into the GMO-larva topic program and $200,000 
  grant (which he considered a pittance).  Another diverse team of 
  experts with some of the finest academic credentials in this country 
  was selected and a paper resulted published in the most prestigious 
  peer reviewed journal in the United States - The Proceedings of the 
  National Academy of Sciences:

  http://www.pnas.org/content/98/21/11937.abstract?sid=e059121b-ade8-4518-895c-2c10e4c5b113<http://www.pnas.org/content/98/21/11937.abstract?sid=e059121b-ade8-4518-895c-2c10e4c5b113>

  Brower's political statement printed in Mother Jones strikes me as a 
  scathing, rambling condemnation and conspiracy theory - political 
  mobilization strategy.  Is that an appropriate place to refute a 
  publication by trashing everyone in government and industry?  Or would 
  it be better to respond in the same peer review journal which accepts 
  contrary/disagreement submissions in a specific format for this purpose 
  called "Letters to the PNAS".  I couldn't find any retort.  Maybe 
  you'll have better luck:

  http://www.pnas.org/cgi/collection/letters<http://www.pnas.org/cgi/collection/letters>

  In the 1960's time frame Lincoln had the honor to be published in thwe 
  PNAS himself, at least 4 times.  He is also an excellent speaker.

  Is the "Bt-corn killing monarch larvae" in the field still 
  objectionable by ecologists anymore, on a scientific basis? Now I think 
  it finally hit me why the monarch topic is avoided by some list 
  members.

  Best
  Doug

  -----Original Message-----
  From: Paul Cherubini <monarch at saber.net<mailto:monarch at saber.net>>
  To: Leps List <leps-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:leps-l at mailman.yale.edu>>
  Sent: Fri, Feb 15, 2013 4:46 pm
  Subject: Re: [Leps-l] [leps-talk] Monarch Armageddon

  On Feb 15, 2013, at 1:00 PM, MexicoDoug wrote:

  >  I added the search term "Armageddon" for fun.

  Doug, it was Lincoln Brower who first set the precedent
  for using the word "Armageddon" in this article and others like it:
  http://www.non-gmoreport.com/articles/july2011/GMcropsmonarchbutterflieshabitat.php<http://www.non-gmoreport.com/articles/july2011/GMcropsmonarchbutterflieshabitat.php>

  In the article Lincoln said this about Roundup herbicide use
  in the GMO crops of the upper Midwest:

  “It kills everything. It’s biodiversity Armageddon,"

  And Lincoln and Chip Taylor collaborated on a paper
  and wrote:  "We conclude that, because of the extensive
  use of glyphosate herbicide on crops that are genetically
  modified to resist the herbicide, milkweeds will disappear
  almost completely from croplands."

  But the critically important information they don't mention
  in their paper is that the field margins of these Roundup
  treated GMO crops are teaming with bumblebees, honeybees,
  monarchs and butterflies like this:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZCOJnJU1UE<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZCOJnJU1UE>

  So those GMO croplands are not hardly a legitimate
  example of  "Biodiversity Armageddon"

  Paul Cherubini
  El Dorado, Calif.

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