Tag Archives: bank

Beat the Food Crisis, Go Native. Free Seeds?

Our civilized society has taken too many things for granted, like where our food comes from.  Mass produced by big farms, using lots of chemicals, and even genetic modification.  Those chemicals and modifications are supposed to help our traditional crops produce more, and handle extreme weather.

Mother Nature already has plants that can do that, they’re called Native Plants, and you can eat them (not all of them, of course).  How do you know which native plants you can eat?  You can check your local bookstore, or public library, for local books on the subject.  You can check the internet, under native plants and whatever state you live in.

Can We Eat It? City Creek, Pocatello, Idaho.

In Idaho an organization has formed that is pushing for the use of native plants in landscaping (because they can save water and are fire resistant), and native plants you can eat.  The Boise based Idaho Native Plant Society even sponsors plant sales and seed exchanges.

Don’t think of snatching some native plants out of the wild, believe it or not, there is such a thing as plant poaching.

There’s a seed bank that has spent decades searching the world for food plants that do well in Idaho’s climate. They have lots of high altitude crops, Siberian Tomatoes, and Tomatoes developed by the University of Idaho (I think the company used to be in Idaho, but relocated to Arizona. You can still order the seeds).

Want to start a garden but don’t have the money?  Texas based The Dinner Garden gives away seeds.  They admit that they are backlogged trying to meet requests for seeds.  Their website says they have a partner in Kimberly, Idaho.

Bank of America in the Hole, Because of Debit Cards?

Today Bank of America, one of the big banks behind the housing foreclosure fiasco, announced a $7.3 billion dollar loss for the 3rd quarter.

Was it due to the foreclosure mess?  B of A is blaming the loss on the new limits on debit card fees.  Debit cards?  Are they sure limits on debit card fees caused them a $7.3 billion loss?

A customer stands at a Bank of America ATM machine in downtown Los Angeles October 8, 2010. Bank of America Corp expanded on Friday its suspension of foreclosures to include all 50 U.S. states as anger grows at how lenders have prepared documents to support evictions. The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will hold hearings after next month's elections to look into allegations that the nation's largest lenders have improperly foreclosed on struggling borrowers. REUTERS/Fred Prouser (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS)

According to a CNN article, if B of A throws out the loss from limited debit card fees, they would have made a $3.1 billion profit.   Bank of America says most of the money it made came from credit cards and, no surprise, mortgages.  And what about those foreclosures?  Bank of America says it will restart the process, after an internal review found no issues.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - AUGUST 27: Francois Cenadi (R) sits with a Bank of America negotiator as she tries to restructure her mortgage loan during a Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's 'Save the Dream' tour stop at the Palm Beach Convention Center on August 27, 2010 in Palm Beach, Florida. The tour, which makes stops around the United States, has on hand hundreds of mortgage counselors from various mortgage companies. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)