Instead of arguing who fluked up lets see what is working and build from there.
I have been reading a lot lately also posting. Frustrated that most folks only see the problems, and offer nothing but hyperbole and more accusations. I am guilty too, to a point.
So I am starting this thread, that is for solutions to problems that are working to help others, addressing key issues and provides real employment for those willing to work still.
As I have had a keen interest in what is happening in Haiti I was pleased to see solutions that meet my own requirements are out there. Today I am sharing the first of such finds and I am tickled that it is poised to feed the Haitians and create jobs. Quite interesting .....
Invasive Fish Becomes Nutritious Dish for Haitians in Need
May 2, 2012
Contact: Roy Kron/Louisiana Sea Grant, 225-578-6564 or Linda Joy/NOAA, 301-734-1165
Hundreds of thousands of Haitians died, were injured, or lost their homes in a devastating January 2010 earthquake. Many of the survivors continue to struggle to overcome their losses – among them, the young residents of the Zanmi Beni home for orphaned children.
More than 1,000 miles away, the invasive Asian carp has found its way into the lower Mississippi, Red and Ouachita rivers and the Atchafalaya Basin where it threatens to out-compete native fish for food and habitat. These fish are a common incidental catch in the hoop nets of Louisiana’s commercial freshwater fishermen.
Some innovative thinking is now turning the problem fish into a high-quality protein source for the children at Zanmi Beni, run by Operation Blessing International. Researchers at NOAA’s Louisiana Sea Grant program and the Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter have successfully produced canned Asian carp pleasing to the Haitian palate. Ultimately, the product could deliver high-quality protein to people in need, be a boon to fishermen, provide a new opportunity for canneries, and reduce the population of an unwanted invasive species.
The project began when Julie Anderson, a fisheries specialist with Louisiana Sea Grant and the LSU AgCenter, met Bill Horan, Operation Blessing International’s president and chief operating officer. Operation Blessing is a non-denominational Christian humanitarian organization providing disaster aid in the United States and 23 other countries. The group did extensive work in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. Horan and Anderson were introduced at an event celebrating Operation Blessings’ efforts to help New Orleans area soft-shell crab producers rebuild their shedding facilities.
"There are so many people in Haiti who are protein-starved and would love to have fish. The favorite fish meal is a canned sardine in tomato sauce. We have a children’s home with 47 disabled orphans. We thought that would be a good place with the kids and the staff to try the carp," Horan said.
"It was great to connect with Bill and Operation Blessing,” said Anderson. “This is an exciting opportunity to use an underutilized and sometimes misunderstood fish to feed people in need. We quickly marshaled resources at LSU to create this pilot project. We are now looking for ways to expand production."
Read full story here http://researchmatters.noaa.gov/news/Pages/HaitiAsianCarp.aspx
Feel free to comment and share your finds, just remember it must be a solution that is working not some pie in the sky BS Green Job. As we all already know green jobs do not provide full employment, the models of Spain and Portugal have proven that fact.
Thanks,
Jim Allen III