Howard Garrett
   HOME
*





Howard Garrett
Howard Garrett, known as "the Dirt Doctor" (born 1947) is a radio talk show host and a leader of the Organic movement. He is a health activist, arborist, newspaper columnist and organic activist living in Dallas, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Park Administration and Landscape Architecture from Texas Tech University in 1969. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Garrett worked at Club Corporation of America, where he was a laborer and assistant golf course superintendent. Garrett promotes natural organic programs and products. He opposes the use of synthetic fertilizers and toxic chemical pest control products, as well as criticizing some organic products that he believes do not work. He thinks that homeowners, nurseries and landscape companies underestimate the dangers of non-organic solutions, and consults with commercial properties wanting to convert to organic techniques. His philosophy is that the natural organic program works better - in every ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Organic Movement
The organic movement broadly refers to the organizations and individuals involved worldwide in the promotion of organic food and other organic products. It started during the first half of the 20th century, when modern large-scale agricultural practices began to appear. Definition An organic product can broadly be described as not containing toxic chemicals (including synthetic pesticides, arsenic-containing herbicides, fertilization biosolids, chemical food additives, antibiotics, synthetic hormones, and industrial solvents). In addition to the absence of artificial chemicals, "organic" means not genetically engineered, and having not used ionizing irradiation, which can cause free-radicals and the removal of vitamins. For example, USDA organic restricts against such things, including genetic engineering in products or in the products' animal feed, and automatically allows the use of "Non- GMO" labelling similar to The Non-GMO Project. In the United Kingdom, the term us ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Arborist
An arborist, tree surgeon, or (less commonly) arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants in dendrology and horticulture. Arborists generally focus on the health and safety of individual plants and trees, rather than managing forests or harvesting wood (forestry or silviculture). An arborist's scope of work is therefore distinct from that of either a forester or a logger. Scope of work In order for arborists to work near power wires, either additional training is required or they need to be certified as a Qualified Line Clearance Arborist or Utility Arborist (there may be different terminology for various countries). There is a variety of minimum distances that must be kept from power wires depending on voltage, however the common distance for low voltage lines in urban settings is 10 feet (about 3 metres). Arborists who climb (as no ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County with portions extending into Collin, Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall counties. With a 2020 census population of 1,304,379, it is the ninth most-populous city in the U.S. and the third-largest in Texas after Houston and San Antonio. Located in the North Texas region, the city of Dallas is the main core of the largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States and the largest inland metropolitan area in the U.S. that lacks any navigable link to the sea. The cities of Dallas and nearby Fort Worth were initially developed due to the construction of major railroad lines through the area allowing access to cotton, cattle and later oil in North and East Texas. The construction of the Interstate Highway System reinforced Dallas's prominen ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University System. The university's student enrollment is the sixth-largest in Texas as of the Fall 2020 semester. As of fall 2020, there were 40,322 students (33,269 undergraduate and 7,053 graduate) enrolled at Texas Tech. With over 25% of its undergraduate student population identifying as Hispanic, Texas Tech University is a designated Hispanic-serving institution (HSI). The university offers degrees in more than 150 courses of study through 13 colleges and hosts 60 research centers and institutes. Texas Tech University has awarded over 200,000 degrees since 1927, including over 40,000 graduate and professional degrees. Texas Tech is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity." Research projects in the areas o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Insecticide
Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to be a major factor behind the increase in the 20th-century's agricultural productivity. Nearly all insecticides have the potential to significantly alter ecosystems; many are toxic to humans and/or animals; some become concentrated as they spread along the food chain. Insecticides can be classified into two major groups: systemic insecticides, which have residual or long term activity; and contact insecticides, which have no residual activity. The mode of action describes how the pesticide kills or inactivates a pest. It provides another way of classifying insecticides. Mode of action can be important in understanding whether an insecticide will be toxic to unrelated species, such as fish, birds and mammals. Insecticides may be repellent ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pyrethrum
''Pyrethrum'' was a genus of several Old World plants now classified as ''Chrysanthemum'' or ''Tanacetum'' which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants formerly included in the genus ''Pyrethrum''. Pyrethrum is also the name of a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of '' Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium'' and ''Chrysanthemum coccineum''. The insecticidal compounds present in these species are pyrethrins. Description Some members of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'', such as the following two, are placed in the genus ''Tanacetum'' instead by some botanists. Both genera are members of the daisy (or aster) family, Asteraceae. They are all perennial plants with a daisy-like appearance and white petals. * '' Tanacetum cinerariifolium'' is called the Dalmatian chrysanthemum, denoting its origin in that region of the Balkans (Dalmatia). It looks more like the common daisy than other pyrethrums do. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pyrethrins
The pyrethrins are a class of organic compounds normally derived from ''Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium'' that have potent insecticidal activity by targeting the nervous systems of insects. Pyrethrin naturally occurs in chrysanthemum flowers and is often considered an organic insecticide when it is not combined with piperonyl butoxide or other synthetic adjuvants.Mader, Eric, and Nancy Lee Adamson. "Organic-Approved Pesticides."Organic-Approved Pesticides (n.d.): n. pag. The Xerxes Society. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. Their insecticidal and insect-repellent properties have been known and used for thousands of years. Pyrethrins are gradually replacing organophosphates and organochlorides as the pesticides of choice as the latter compounds have been shown to have significant and persistent toxic effects to humans.They first appeared on markets in the 1900's and have been continually used since then in products such as bug bombs, bu ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Piperonyl Butoxide
Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) is a pale yellow to light brown liquidNational Toxicology Program, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NTP). 1992. National Toxicology Program Chemical Repository Database. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. organic compound used as a synergist component of pesticide formulations. That is, despite having no pesticidal activity of its own, it enhances the potency of certain pesticides such as carbamates, pyrethrins, pyrethroids, and rotenone. It is a semisynthetic derivative of safrole.Robert L. Metcalf "Insect Control" in Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry" Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2002. History PBO was developed in the late 1930s and early 1940s to enhance the performance of the naturally derived insecticide pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is and was an important insecticide against mosquitoes and other disease-carrying vectors, thereby providing public health benefits, e.g., preventing malaria. Although exhibi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Sex Steroid
Sex hormones, also known as sex steroids, gonadocorticoids and gonadal steroids, are steroid hormones that interact with vertebrate steroid hormone receptors. The sex hormones include the androgens, estrogens, and progestogens. Their effects are mediated by slow genomic mechanisms through nuclear receptors as well as by fast nongenomic mechanisms through membrane-associated receptors and signaling cascades. The polypeptide hormones luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone – each associated with the gonadotropin axis – are usually not regarded as sex hormones, although they play major sex-related roles. Production Natural sex hormones are made by the gonads (ovaries or testes), by adrenal glands, or by conversion from other sex steroids in other tissue such as liver or fat. Image:Steroidogenesis.svg Image:Biosinthesis of steroid hormones (simplified version).jpg Image:Biosinthesis of steroid hormones (extended version).jpg Imag ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Allergic Reactions
Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic dermatitis, allergic asthma, and anaphylaxis. Symptoms may include red eyes, an itchy rash, sneezing, coughing, a runny nose, shortness of breath, or swelling. Note: food intolerances and food poisoning are separate conditions. Common allergens include pollen and certain foods. Metals and other substances may also cause such problems. Food, insect stings, and medications are common causes of severe reactions. Their development is due to both genetic and environmental factors. The underlying mechanism involves immunoglobulin E antibodies (IgE), part of the body's immune system, binding to an allergen and then to a receptor on mast cells or basophils where it triggers the release of inflammatory chemicals such as histamine. Diagnosis is ty ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


International Society Of Arboriculture
The International Society of Arboriculture, commonly known as ISA, is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The ISA serves the tree care industry Tree care is the application of arboricultural methods like pruning, trimming, and felling/thinning in built environments. Road verge, greenways, backyard and park woody vegetation are at the center of attention for the tree care industry. Landsca ... as a paid membership association and a credentialing organization that promotes the professional practice of arboriculture. ISA focuses on providing research, technology, and education opportunities for tree care professionals to develop their arboricultural expertise. ISA also works to educate the general public about the benefits of trees and the need for proper tree care. Worldwide, ISA has more than 22,000 members and 31,000 ISA-certified tree care professionals with 59 chapters, associate organizations, and professional affiliates thr ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]