5 ms·

My favorite Youtube channel. Please watch the latest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVcfSYcxc0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVcfSYcxc0. It's an interview

My favorite Youtube channel. Please watch the latest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVcfSYcxc0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVcfSYcxc0. It's an interview with an old botanist, who shares his wisdom and philosophy, remains engaged after decades of witnessing first hand America's nature getting destroyed. 2 main points: - destroyed old-growth forests, grassland, remnant prairies takes millennia to be back to what they were, not decades. Insects and other pollinators don't just reappear - water availability for plants comes in many forms, all of which disappear with tillage. Joey is an acquired taste, but if you look past the strong and odd personality (the persona?), his channel is a gold mine. But this time he was (rightfully) impressed by Gerry (Gerould) Wilhelm's wealth of knowledge.

AHabe 2mo ago
I love this guy, also my favourite Youtube channel and one of my favourite podcasts, he also guests on In Defence of Plants from time to time, I have the impression he's friends with the host. Loved him ever since I randomly stumbled across his guerilla tree planting video in I want to say 2020? Anyway, we all must support the train driver turned botanist.
andai 2mo ago
Brilliant, thanks for sharing. I'm reminded of an article I read once, it seems to have gone offline, an interview with indie game dev Jason Rohrer. He said the city took him to court for not mowing his lawn. He ended up winning under the 1st amendment (the lawn was "free expression" or something...)[0] I thought that was really interesting (and obviously wouldn't work in other countries). The other day I walked around the neighborhood and found this massive patch of grass and weeds that had been mowed, and scorched by the sun, so it was just mostly dead. Barely 5 minutes away, the city had fenced out special plots and paid to have a bunch of weeds instlled, to help the bees. Comedy. [0] Edit: Yeah it's deleted. I found backups though! https://archive.ph/j9025 https://archive.ph/j9025 https://web.archive.org/web/20150315123808/https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a5303/future-of-video-game-design-1208/ https://web.archive.org/web/20150315123808/https://www.esqui...
- badpun 2mo ago
  > I thought that was really interesting (and obviously wouldn't work in other countries). I don't know about other countries, but in Poland you're just not required to cut down your lawn at all, unless it's a fire hazard (you have a lot of dead and dried up plants).
  - graemep 2mo ago
    I think legal requirements are a US thing. I had only heard of it in HOA run places though. Here in the UK there are no usually legal requirements, but it might be a social problem as your neighbours will not like it.
    - voakbasda 2mo ago
      Not just HOAs. Talk grass allows insects and vermin to move more freely. In cities, this contributes to their spread, so some places have city-wide ordinances that require lawn maintenance.
      - nsvd2 2mo ago
        How terrifying that a bit of nature may be near a person! Better cover it with roundup so they don't have to suffer the horror of seeing a spider
        FuriouslyAdrift 2mo ago
        Rat and mice infestations are not fun. I have had enough trouble dealing with my pollinator and monarch butterfly habitats and mice. I actually TRY to get rabbits and squirrels but mice go after their babies.
        horsawlarway 2mo ago
        I mean, I get it - I somewhat agree with your take, but this is somewhat of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" case. I think you undermine your argument when you don't understand the complaint. Because I'd also like to see a lot more native plants, and less manicured, mono-culture yards with poison sprayed all over them. But at least in my area, the problem isn't "oh look a spider"... it's "oh shit, that house is collapsing because of termites", and "Oh shit, my neighbor's mom's house just burned down because rats chewed through the wiring in the walls", and "Fuck me! That's hogweed growing in that yard! Time to call the city". Pests are a real concern - they cause lots of monetary damage, and can seriously injure or hurt people if not monitored. Does that mean we should nuke everything with chemicals and make a sterile hellscape? No - I don't think it does. But it doesn't pay to be dismissive either.
dfltr 2mo ago
His instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt https://www.instagram.com/crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt) is up there with Chuck Tingle in terms of subscribing to little bits of life-affirming joy in a difficult world.
- deleted 2mo ago
  [deleted]
- mudil 2mo ago
  How is the world so difficult? People live nowadays better than kings of France used to live. In the last hundred years we've been going through an unprecedented wealth creation, not just in the West but accross the world.
  - andai 2mo ago
    Previously it was designed to be uplifting. You'd come together and look at beautiful things and sing. Now it's designed to crush your soul. I assume that has something to do with it.
cowsandmilk 2mo ago
I had an interesting internal debate the other day about whether farm fields were more natural than fields of solar panels. (Ignore fields that have both for now). To me, a tilled field that is being chemically fertilized and tilled is at this point just as far removed from the former native state.
aaron695 2mo ago
[dead]

AHabe 2mo ago

I love this guy, also my favourite Youtube channel and one of my favourite podcasts, he also guests on In Defence of Plants from time to time, I have the impression he's friends with the host. Loved him ever since I randomly stumbled across his guerilla tree planting video in I want to say 2020? Anyway, we all must support the train driver turned botanist.

andai 2mo ago

Brilliant, thanks for sharing. I'm reminded of an article I read once, it seems to have gone offline, an interview with indie game dev Jason Rohrer. He said the city took him to court for not mowing his lawn. He ended up winning under the 1st amendment (the lawn was "free expression" or something...)[0] I thought that was really interesting (and obviously wouldn't work in other countries). The other day I walked around the neighborhood and found this massive patch of grass and weeds that had been mowed, and scorched by the sun, so it was just mostly dead. Barely 5 minutes away, the city had fenced out special plots and paid to have a bunch of weeds instlled, to help the bees. Comedy. [0] Edit: Yeah it's deleted. I found backups though! https://archive.ph/j9025 https://archive.ph/j9025 https://web.archive.org/web/20150315123808/https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a5303/future-of-video-game-design-1208/ https://web.archive.org/web/20150315123808/https://www.esqui...

badpun 2mo ago
> I thought that was really interesting (and obviously wouldn't work in other countries). I don't know about other countries, but in Poland you're just not required to cut down your lawn at all, unless it's a fire hazard (you have a lot of dead and dried up plants).
- graemep 2mo ago
  I think legal requirements are a US thing. I had only heard of it in HOA run places though. Here in the UK there are no usually legal requirements, but it might be a social problem as your neighbours will not like it.
  - voakbasda 2mo ago
    Not just HOAs. Talk grass allows insects and vermin to move more freely. In cities, this contributes to their spread, so some places have city-wide ordinances that require lawn maintenance.
    - nsvd2 2mo ago
      How terrifying that a bit of nature may be near a person! Better cover it with roundup so they don't have to suffer the horror of seeing a spider
      - FuriouslyAdrift 2mo ago
        Rat and mice infestations are not fun. I have had enough trouble dealing with my pollinator and monarch butterfly habitats and mice. I actually TRY to get rabbits and squirrels but mice go after their babies.
      - horsawlarway 2mo ago
        I mean, I get it - I somewhat agree with your take, but this is somewhat of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" case. I think you undermine your argument when you don't understand the complaint. Because I'd also like to see a lot more native plants, and less manicured, mono-culture yards with poison sprayed all over them. But at least in my area, the problem isn't "oh look a spider"... it's "oh shit, that house is collapsing because of termites", and "Oh shit, my neighbor's mom's house just burned down because rats chewed through the wiring in the walls", and "Fuck me! That's hogweed growing in that yard! Time to call the city". Pests are a real concern - they cause lots of monetary damage, and can seriously injure or hurt people if not monitored. Does that mean we should nuke everything with chemicals and make a sterile hellscape? No - I don't think it does. But it doesn't pay to be dismissive either.

dfltr 2mo ago

His instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt https://www.instagram.com/crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt) is up there with Chuck Tingle in terms of subscribing to little bits of life-affirming joy in a difficult world.

deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]
mudil 2mo ago
How is the world so difficult? People live nowadays better than kings of France used to live. In the last hundred years we've been going through an unprecedented wealth creation, not just in the West but accross the world.
- andai 2mo ago
  Previously it was designed to be uplifting. You'd come together and look at beautiful things and sing. Now it's designed to crush your soul. I assume that has something to do with it.

cowsandmilk 2mo ago

I had an interesting internal debate the other day about whether farm fields were more natural than fields of solar panels. (Ignore fields that have both for now). To me, a tilled field that is being chemically fertilized and tilled is at this point just as far removed from the former native state.

aaron695 2mo ago

[dead]