Yearly Archives: 2012

Rayonier, Altamaha, Georgia, 2012-09-08

It smelled as bad as it looked:

Smelled as bad as it looked

Picture by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 September 2012.

This is the notorious Rayonier paper mill near Jesup, Georgia, that Georgia Water Coalition ranked on its Dirty Dozen, 2011’s worst offenses against Georgia’s Water, as #2, Altamaha River: Rayonier Pulp Mill Discharge Destroys Fisheries. That report got a reaction from Rayonier, according to Mike Morrison in Jacksonville.com 8 November 2011, Rayonier acknowledges waste issues,

The head of Rayonier acknowledged Monday that there are problems with the water it discharges into the Altamaha River at its paper mill near Jesup but said the company is ahead of schedule on cleaning it up.

The Georgia Water Coalition on Saturday ranked a stretch of river in the vicinity of the mill second on its “Dirty Dozen,” a list of the state’s most polluted or otherwise damaged rivers, streams, wetlands and marshes.

“We are very committed to the water quality of the Altamaha River,” Rayonier Chairman and CEO Lee Thomas said. “It’s important to us, just as it is important to the people of southeast Georgia. We’re working hard to improve the discharge.”

Rayonier’s pollution remains famous in song and story, such as in this YouTube video.

Continue reading →

Caterpillar

What is this bug? I was mowing at Carolyn's place, when I lowered my arm and felt something like sandspurs on my shirt. Nope, it was this thing.

Long way Crawling

Head

Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 1 September 2012.

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Zucca to Valdosta Farm Days

Zucca, okra, and sweet potatoes to Valdosta Farm Days this morning, 9AM to 1PM (and pumpkins and peppers), down at the historic Lowndes County Courthouse, Central Avenue between Patterson and Ashley.

Zucca, okra, sweet potatoes Cards and dogs

Where did she get those zucca? The dogs helped.

John S. Quarterman, Gretchen Quarterman, Brown Dog, Yellow Dog,
Pictures and videos by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 1 September 2012.

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The whistleblowers show sued Fox (and lost)

Fox News hired Jane Akre and a couple of other reporters as an investigative unit and did a snazzy promo about that. The first case they investigated was Monsanto’s bovine growth hormone, RBGH. This is the whistleblower story behind the Fox Can Lie lawsuit.

ITN in the U.K. reporting about Health Canada’s report on bovine growth hormone:

Monsanto’s engineered growth hormone did not comply with safety requirements. It could be absorbed by the body, and therefore did have implications for human health. Mysteriously, that conclusion was deleted from the final, published version of their report.

That was for a product that U.S. EPA had approved with little or no testing. Fox’s investigative unit had the story, but Monsanto threatened to sue Fox. Watch the video for the details.

Eventually, Akre sued Fox. She won, but Fox won on appeal. An appeal that established that Fox can lie.

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PS: Owed to Paul Hollands.

John Quarterman on the Withlachoochee (audio)

Back at the end of March at a river conference in Roswell, Georgia, I was interviewed for a podcast. Here’s the audio, and here’s the blurb they included:

John Quarterman on the Withlachoochee
Monday, July 9th, 2012

John S. Quarterman was born and raised in Lowndes County, where he married his wife Gretchen. They live on the same land where he grew up, and participate in local community and government.

NPS talks with Quarterman and his observations on starting and strengthening a Withlachoochee Riverkeeper organization at Georgia River Network‘s 2012 Weekend for Rivers.

The water organization has since been incorporated as the Georgia non-profit WWALS Watershed Coalition:

WWALS is an advocacy organization working for watershed conservation of the Willacoochee, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Little River Systems watershed in south Georgia and north Florida through awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen advocacy.

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PS: They also recorded another podcast which starts out on what may sound like a completely different topic, but which is actually quite related.

Yellow jessamine root

A couple of French botanists came by to catalog our yellow jessamine. They want some for medicinal purposes. Up in North Carolina they heard it grew hereabouts and drove down. Contacting the Chamber, they were told Gretchen had some. She was in Valdosta and sent them out. I gave them a tour, including use of digging implements.

On longleaf pine Root freshly dug

Root closeup

Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 August 2012.

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