Friday, July 29, 2005  Friday Nudibranch Blogging  "Let Aquila
rejoice with Bornella stellifer, who is no fish but a stupendous
creeping thing."  Friday Hope Blogging  In honor of Julie
Powell, I've dug up a few heartening agricultural stories this
week. First, there's word of a new system that uses polarized
light pulses to measure the nitrogen levels of crops, which may
allow farmers to reduce their use of fertilizers.  Technological
advances are all well and good, but there's a lot to be said for
simply exercising common sense. In Africa, crop-destroying
elephants are often maimed or killed by farmers. Here's an
appealing low-tech solution to the problem: Supported by the
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other groups, the
Elephant Pepper Development Trust (EPDT) has not only promoted
the use of chili peppers as a means of keeping elephants,
buffalo, and other species away from important sources of human
food, but has also introduced a viable cash crop to the economy
of African nations.  "Chili peppe