Welfare Ranching

"This book shows the real West, not the one seen in postcards or imagined from romantic movies and novels. With photographs and essays, it shows not only the most shocking cases of overgrazing, but also the subtle changes that signal ecological disruption on a massive scale. Welfare Ranching explains the cultural and historical causes of the wasting of the West and offers a vision of the renewal that is possible if citizens are willing to demand that their government shift land management priorities to serving the public and natural good, rather than facilitating private gain. Ultimately, this book points the way to the greatest opportunity yet remaining for ecological restoration and wildlife protection in this country."--BOOK JACKET.

The Ongoing Mass Extinction of species is the most overriding issue on Earth, transcending and encompassing all others. It's already proven; there's no debate. It is a monumental event occurring right now and escalating, its culmination set to happen within most of our lives. Forsaken Earth delves deeply into this matter like no other, that the worst of this earth-shattering extinction event might still be avoided. Forsaken Earth fully reveals that humans are undeniably causing and allowing this event to happen, and that we are the only ones who can and must stop it. Everything you ever wanted to know about our gorgeous Earth to the history of the cultural ideology at the root of the problem to the effect upon every ecosystem of Earth is written in this one potent volume. Forsaken Earth provides more solutions than any yet offered and leads us to discover and activate our most meaningful purpose, individually and as humanity, to participate and truly support the healing of life on Earth - now.

When the first version of this book came out in 1996, on the heels of "Welfare Reform," it was received with great popular acclaim. As Jim Hightower put it, "At last, the real welfare scandal [is] revealed in one handy little -volume." But the scandal was still in the making. The total amount of taxpayers' money going to subsidize corporations and rich individuals has grown from about $448 billion to over $800 billion--and the amount of that tax money that comes from those flush companies and individuals continues to shrink. In this greatly expanded and updated version of Take the Rich off Welfare, Mark Zepezauer still details who's on the government dole and how much they're getting. This time around, though, he has slowed down his rapid firing of the latest names and numbers in order to reveal how it all works. Using accessible language and revealing graphics, he takes the time to explain how programs once intended to profit the public have been warped to benefit only the corporate bottom line; how administrations manipulate the tax code to slide their extortion from the bottom half past congressional oversight; and how the politicians from both parties employ budget doubletalk and paper trickery to make it look as if the economy isn't being sucked further into a sinkhole in order to line the pockets of the few. A prolific writer of humorous but cutting analyses of government policy and its fallout, Zepezauer provides us with the tools we need to expose the political chicanery of current and past administrations, and make it much more difficult for politicians to play Three Card Monte with our money and our future. To the rallying cry of fiscal conservatives who claim that government must shrink, Zepezauer offers an easy answer. Shrink you. Mark Zepezauer has worked as a journalist, editor and publisher since 1985. His articles, columns and reviews have appeared in the Village Voice, In These Times and the Arizona Daily Star. Zepezauer also wrote two Real Story books (now published by South End Press): The CIA's Greatest Hits (1994) and the first version of Take the Rich Off Welfare (1996), which have sold over 25,000 and 22,000 copies respec

Discover the quintessential roadmap to transforming your calling into a thriving 10-acre ranch with "The New Ranch Owner's Guide." Crafted for the aspiring ranch owner, this comprehensive eBook is your proverbial fence-post to hang your hat on – a complete guide that doesn't just skim the surface but dives into the rich soil of ranch ownership. Embark on a journey starting with "Setting the Stage for Your 10-Acre Ranch," where you'll uncover your land's hidden potential and draft the blueprints for your agricultural aspirations. Next, traverse through the maze of "Zoning and Legal Requirements," ensuring your dream is not only robust but also regulation-compliant. Building your empire necessitates insight and "Infrastructure and Equipment Essentials" deliver just that. With practical advice on construction and investment, watch your ranch foundations set as solidly as the convictions that drive you. Then hone your attention to the heartbeat of any ranch – the land. The chapters on "Soil Health," "Water Resources," and "Land Management" equip you with sustainable tactics, making you the custodian of a land legacy. "The New Ranch Owner's Guide" is not just about the ground beneath your feet or the roofs over your head; it's about the life that animates your land. From "Selecting Livestock" and "Pasture Management" to "Raising Poultry," your journey is anchored in the intricacies of nurturing a resilient and productive ecosystem. As the seasons change, so must your strategies. The seasonal cycle of activities laid out in the "Seasonal Ranch Checklist" keeps you proactively engaged, ensuring your ranch thrives rain or shine. And with "Marketing and Selling Your Products," transform your toil into profit, linking farm to table in the most innovative ways. However, a ranch is more than crops and cattle; it's about community and continuity. Learn how to sow the seeds of "Community Involvement" and chart a course for the future with "Succession Planning." In facing the unpredictable, "Dealing with Challenges and Setbacks" offers solace and solutions ensuring that your spirit weathers every storm. The visions of sustainability and stewardship in "Innovations in Small-Scale Ranching" and "Ethics and Welfare in Ranching" will be your compass to a fulfilling ranch stewardship. Finally, relish the personal anecdotes of those who've walked this path in the "Case Studies of Successful 10-Acre Ranches," providing real-world examples that inspire and guide. Enter the gates of "The New Ranch Owner's Guide," where every chapter is a stepping stone to self-sufficiency and the realization of your pastoral dreams. Welcome to the first day of your life as a ranch owner – may it be as boundless and fruitful as the land you're about to shape.

A book that will set the course for the environmental movement for years to come, Confessions of an Eco-Warrior is an inspiring ecological call to arms by America's foremost and most controversial environmental activist. "Rude and brilliant. Read it and you will see the future".--William Kittredge.

Managing Healthy Livestock Production and Consumption is a highly interdisciplinary resource based on scientific and empirical evidence. It is illustrated with best practices of low-input livestock systems from different continents and offers predictive modelling alternatives for a more resilient future. By addressing gaps of knowledge and presenting scientific perspective studies of livestock’s impact on the environment and the global food supply up to 2050, this book is useful for those advocating for sustainable food systems. Existing evidence of the effects of livestock production on food quality and nutrition is reviewed. Livestock production and consumption is a highly diverse topic where current publications only include/focus a single aspect of the issues, for example, greenhouse gas emissions or health impacts, leading to unilateral decisions such as refraining from meat consumption. However, animals are necessary to soil fertility and ecosystems balance and a more realistic resource is necessary for researchers, scientists, and policy makers. This book clarifies perceptions by presenting sound scientific evidence across livestock landscapes for the scientific community to better appreciate the ecological web of life and the social web of community related to livestock production. An edited work written by globally diverse scientists and practitioners, including field workers, technicians, and policy makers, this is a valuable resource for researchers, teachers, and development agents working in the area of sustainable livestock production and consumption of animal source foods. National, international organizations, policy makers, and donors interested in sustainable development of the livestock sector will also find the information here practical and applicable. Describes the public-health impacts of sustainable diets and livestock products Presents the impacts of livestock production on the environment and food supply Explores future scenarios (up to 2050) of low input livestock systems Includes current case studies of low input livestock systems that offer potential for scaling-up and replication for sustainable livestock futures

In A Place for Dialogue, Sharon McKenzie Stevens views the contradictions and collaborations involved in the management of public land in southern Arizona—and by extension the entire arid West—through the lens of political rhetoric. Revealing the socioecological relationships among cattlemen and environmentalists as well as developers and recreationists, she analyzes the ways that language shapes landscape by shaping decisions about land use. Stevens focuses on the collaborative Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan initiated by Pima County, Arizona, the ubiquitous use of scientific argument to defend contradictory practices, and the construction and negotiation of rancher/environmentalist identities to illuminate both literally and metaphorically the dynamics of land use politics. Drawing specifically upon extensive interviews with a diverse array of agents on all sides of the debate—ranchers, environmentalists, scientists, land managers, government officials—on historical narratives, and on her own conflicting experiences as someone who grew up with those who work the western lands, she demonstrates that it is possible to use differences to solve, rather than to aggravate, the entrenched problems that bridge land and language. By integrating her richly textured case study of a fragile region with rhetorical approaches to narrative, science-based argument, and collective identities, Stevens makes a significant contribution to the fields of rhetoric, land management, and cultural studies.

Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch tells the story of a decades-long habitat restoration project in southwestern New Mexico. Rancher-owner A. Thomas Cole explains what inspired him and his wife, Lucinda, to turn their retirement into years dedicated to hard work and renewal on 11,300 acres of grass- and wetlands. The Pitchfork Ranch is an inspiring promise for the future in the face of crippling climate change.