Sunday, February 07, 2010

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

The high price of 'free'

by Julie Carter

An alarm went off in Jenna's head. Not a ringing bell kind of alarm, but the one that starts out in your gut, crawls up your spine and sends involuntary shivers to your body.

It was the same alarm you might feel when you realize your mother-in-law is coming to spend a week and the main ranch well just conked out or the sewer backed up again for the third time in a month.

Jenna had just come home from her honest job in town where she made a valiant attempt to support her husband's ranching habit.

On this day, his welcome home news was that their trusty insurance agent had come by and made him a deal he couldn't refuse.

The agent had talked Rusty into "trying out" a $1 million accidental death policy with Jenna the insured and Rusty the beneficiary. Not quite sure how one would "try-out" a pay-on-death accident policy, Jenna mentally listed other options including cancellation of the policy in 60 days if it wasn't used.

It was the "if not used" part that caused her the most concern. Her mind quickly went to all the times, when in the course of helping him on the ranch, her close calls with danger would warrant such a policy.

There were those days of helping him sort cattle in the alley afoot while he was horseback and the subsequent stampedes of cattle she was expected to stop, cut, turn or control.

And the days she had gone alone through brushy, snake-infested canyons riding colts that "needed the miles." Or those long days in the branding pen when calves were drug to the fire and not infrequently over the top of her.

There was the tractor with the cranky clutch that she sometimes drove and the feed truck with no brakes that was hers to use in the pastures with steep hillsides.
She distinctly remembered helping at the chute by giving shots and thanks to a fighting cow, gave herself the vaccination instead.

The more she considered the insurance "try out" idea, the more her level of anxiety rose.

Jenna recalled the years of their marriage and working together. It was her belief that 99.4 percent of the time it had been good.

She allowed that a time or two - surely no more than that - she had inadvertently and innocently gotten something slightly wrong.

At the time she thought Rusty, with his normal good humor, had just let it slide. However, just to be safe, she decided that during this policy "try out" period, she needed to watch her back.

A week or so later, when the policy discussion had faded somewhat, she began to relax again. Then one day, coming into the house through the back door, Rusty jumped out, hollered and scared her.

She screamed as she fell away from him and into the closed door that led to the basement stairs. The impact caused the door to pop open and instantly her life and a $1-million check passed before her eyes.

She managed to catch herself (without his help) before she took the plunge into the depths. Quite contrite, Rusty apologized profusely and told her it was just a joke.
He helped her sit down to catch her breath, re-claim her composure and hopefully, not get a gun. Many times over the years, he pulled similar practical jokes and she laughed with him.

But this time Jenna began telling her friends about Rusty's free $1-million policy on her and the subsequent "trying out" period. Collectively they began keeping an eye on Rusty and counting down the days. Several offered to hang Rusty should anything happen to her.

Rusty is typical of someone who had spent his life in cattle and ranching. His business sense simply would not let him pass up any good deal offered for free.

However, this time his reasonable intelligence overruled the monetary pressure. He called the insurance agent and gave him back 45 days of the "trying out" period.

He also requested written notification of the termination to be sent by registered mail, addressed to his wife. It was to be accompanied by a dozen roses.

Julie can be reached for comment at jcarter@tularosa.net

It's The Pitts: Cattle Feeders Anonymous

by Lee Pitts

My name is Lee Pitts and I was once a cattle feeder. Yes, I was addicted to cattle feeding. I have seen firsthand the impact this can have on families and their net worth so I am proud to say that I have been clean now for 20 years.

Since there is no Betty Ford Clinic for helping cattle feeding addicts I had to cure my own addiction by developing a 12 step program like those used in Alcoholics Anonymous, Sexual Compulsive Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous and over 200 other such programs. (It may not have been just the 12 step program that enabled me to quit cold turkey; a 58 cent fat market and a balky banker also contributed.) I offer my 12 step program in hopes that it may help others become cattle-feeding-sober.

Step 1: Stand up in a gathering of fellow cattlemen, in a bar or at a convention, and admit you are an addict and your behavior is unmanageable. Admit that when you see a pen of green feeders enter an auction ring and hear the auctioneer’s chant you are powerless in the face of your addiction and your hand automatically goes up.

Step 2: Because no one has yet developed a patch, drug, or chewing gum to rein in your cattle feeding addiction chew on alfalfa stems. You’ve already paid for them and you might as well put the hay to a better use than feeding it to cattle.

Step 3: If you absolutely must go to an auction take a person of higher authority with you, such as your wife, banker or Cattle Feeders Anonymous (CFA) sponsor to stop you when you try to bid on a cheap set of preggy Corriente feeding heifers.

Step 4: Remove the enablers; those people or things that are enabling you to feed cattle. These would include your banker, order buyer and futures trader. Sell your cattle truck and airplane. Cancel your membership in the Texas Cattle Feeders.

Step 5: Sell your calves at auction and don’t even consider retaining ownership. Let someone else have all the fun.

Step 6: Rediscover the other days in the week besides Thursdays when the price of fat cattle is usually established. Quit living solely for that 30 minute period when prices are set by the Big Three and admit that there is a higher power in this universe than Tyson, JBS and Cargill.

Step 7: Remove the temptation to be a farmer as well as a rancher. It is a short slippery step from growing your own hay or grain to building a set of corrals and having 3,500 head on feed.

Step 8: Cleanse your mind of the obsession. Quit reading articles authored by university professors or economists that advise that you are leaving $50 per head on the table by selling your calves instead of feeding them. Ask yourself, where are the teacher's and economist's feedlots?

Step 9: Break old habits. Don’t check the DTN machine first thing when you get up in the morning and every ten minutes thereafter until the markets close. Don’t let the price of corn ruin your day and rediscover a new life without margin calls, feed bills, mad cows, dairy buyouts and e coli outbreaks.

Step 10: Remove defects in your character. Become a CFA sponsor and don’t enable anyone to become an addict by financing them. Help wives and children who have been hurt by your fellow cattle feeding addicts by forming a CFA-anon group in your area.

Step 11: Pay your taxes. Stop buying trainloads of grain in December just to avoid paying taxes. Burn the money instead and save yourself a lot of grief.

Step 12: Replace the risk-taking behavior and euphoria you feel when feeding cattle with other activities. You may find you get the same rush from less risky activities such as hang gliding, sword juggling, car racing or bull riding.

Song Of The Day #235

Our Gospel tune this morning is by the bluegrass duo Beth & April Stevens and is titled In My Time Of Dying.

You will find it on their 12 track CD Sisters.


FBI wants records kept of Web sites visited

The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes. FBI Director Robert Mueller supports storing Internet users' "origin and destination information," a bureau attorney said at a federal task force meeting on Thursday. As far back as a 2006 speech, Mueller had called for data retention on the part of Internet providers, and emphasized the point two years later when explicitly asking Congress to enact a law making it mandatory. But it had not been clear before that the FBI was asking companies to begin to keep logs of what Web sites are visited, which few if any currently do. The FBI is not alone in renewing its push for data retention. As CNET reported earlier this week, a survey of state computer crime investigators found them to be nearly unanimous in supporting the idea. Matt Dunn, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Department of Homeland Security, also expressed support for the idea during the task force meeting. Greg Motta, the chief of the FBI's digital evidence section, said that the bureau was trying to preserve its existing ability to conduct criminal investigations. Federal regulations in place since at least 1986 require phone companies that offer toll service to "retain for a period of 18 months" records including "the name, address, and telephone number of the caller, telephone number called, date, time and length of the call."...read more

Courts, Congress Shun Addressing Legality of Warrantless Eavesdropping

Heads spun four years ago this weekend, when AT&T was accused of funneling every one of its customers’ electronic communications to the National Security Agency — without warrants. A Jan. 31, 2006, lawsuit alleged major violations of the Fourth Amendment right to be free from warrantless searches and seizures. Such a sweeping breach seemed far-fetched. Yet months after the lawsuit was lodged, the Electronic Frontier Foundation produced internal AT&T documents allegedly outlining secret rooms in AT&T offices connected to the NSA, which was siphoning all internet traffic, from e-mails to Voice Over Internet Protocol phone conversations. But four years and a mountain of court briefs and rulings later, the legal system has never addressed the merits of the allegations — and likely never will. Even Congress has weighed in and passed legislation to prevent the allegations from being heard. And many — including the former AT&T technician who produced the documents in the case and the EFF — believe the alleged dragnet surveillance program continues unabated today...read more

Air marshals say service roiled with cronyism, chaos

Despite calls from President Obama to beef up the program designed to provide security aboard U.S. flights, the Federal Air Marshal Service is in disarray, a CNN investigation has found. In more than a dozen interviews across the country, air marshals said the agency is rife with cronyism; age, gender and racial discrimination; and attempts by managers to make the agency appear more efficient than it is by padding numbers. Air marshals describe an agency in chaos, where bored and frustrated marshals focus more on internal squabbles than watching for bad guys. The marshals refused to let their identities be known, for fear of retaliation in an agency that is driven, they say, by intimidation and favoritism. International flights are considered to have the highest risk. However, air marshals from a half dozen FAMS field offices said the agency continues to assign marshals to short, regional routes on small jets. The marshals told CNN that lots of short-haul flights make the agency look more productive on paper. Rep. John Duncan, R-Tennessee, is one of FAMS' harshest critics. "It's just a total waste of money," he told CNN in a 4recent interview. "I had the statistic from last year," the Republican said. "They made four arrests for an appropriation of $800 million. It came out to more than $200 million per arrest. It's just ridiculous."...read more

Inquiry Into F.B.I. Raid That Killed Cleric

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into an F.B.I. raid near Detroit last fall that left a Muslim prayer leader dead with 21 gunshot wounds, officials said Tuesday. The shooting prompted an outcry from Mr. Abdullah’s family and peers, who accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation of using heavy-handed tactics against a sharp-tongued but peaceful man. On Monday, the Wayne County medical examiner’s office released its autopsy report, which showed that the death was caused by multiple gunshot wounds — including one in the back. Since then, calls have increased for an independent investigation by the Justice Department’s civil rights division...read more

Obama grows the drug war

It was not long ago when President Barack Obama's new drug czar, former Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske, swept into Washington, D.C. and declared the "drug war" a public policy relic. The Obama administration, he said, would move toward handling drug addiction as a medical problem, moving away from the brash enforcement tactics that hallmarked prior administrations. "We're not at war with people in this country," Kerlikowske told The Wall Street Journal in May. However, if the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) budget for fiscal year 2011 is to be believed, Kerlikowske was full of hot air. According to 2011 funding "highlights" released by the ONDCP (PDF link), the Obama administration is growing the drug war and tilting its funds heavily toward law enforcement over treatment...read more

'Trojans' embedded in memory sticks?

Along with warnings that Chinese intelligence agents have been recruiting prostitutes to use to entrap United Kingdom business leaders during the coming trade fair and electronic exhibition season, the government also is issuing an alert that those free memory sticks or even digital cameras being distributed could include spy software, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. "They will be providing gifts of the very latest cameras and memory sticks. We are satisfied that these contain electronic 'trojan bugs' which will provide the Chinese with remote access to businessmen's computers ," said a new report prepared the Security Service Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure. The alert, a 14-page document with an introduction from MI5 chief Jonathan Evans, describes how the Chinese Secret Intelligence Service, CSIS, is planning to try to obtain the industry's secrets...read more

Not much different than what our gov't is doing here, except we don't get any gift.

Gun owners hit the road to arm America

Gun rights activists, claiming that obtaining a concealed carry permit in some states is next to impossible, are planning to hit the road with a plan to help frustrated applicants around the country obtain permits for packing heat. Gun Owners of America, in partnership with the Second Amendment March and the New Jersey Coalition for Self Defense, are hoping their new "Right to Carry Road Show" will soon spread nationwide to assist gun owners and send a message of defiance to gun control advocates who push to bog down applications in endless red tape. The Road Show is a mobile processing system that brings to gun owners a consolidated program streamlining the steps to obtaining a self-defense firearm permit. "In the past," claims Gun Owners of America, "completing the application process often required several days for the applicant to arrange for fingerprinting and notarizing, sometimes even causing time off from work to coordinate scheduling with frequently uncooperative local agencies." But according to Robert Kreisler, president of NJCSD, "The 'Right to Carry Road Show' brings all the elements together in one place and lets people get everything done in about one hour." The system involves applying for a non-resident concealed carry permit from Florida, which has a streamlined process and reciprocity with many states where applying for a permit can be long and daunting...read more

Pentagon draws plans for immortal ’synthetic organisms’

The Pentagon's advanced research division has set aside $6 million from its next budget for research on the creation of "synthetic organisms" whose DNA can be altered to make them live forever, or die on command, and even keep a genetic record of what they have been doing. In its 2011 budget (PDF, 522 pages), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency lays out its intention to create "BioDesign," a project to create artificial life, presumably with military purposes in mind. "BioDesign eliminates the randomness of natural evolutionary advancement primarily by advanced genetic engineering and molecular biology technologies to produce the intended biological effect," the DARPA document states. The agency says it wants to develop "a robust understanding of the collective mechanisms that contribute to cell death" so as to "enable a new generation of regenerative cells that could ultimately be programmed to live indefinitely." But, if those organisms should malfunction or run the course of their usefulness, the agency also wants to have the ability to have them die on command, what it calls a "self-destruct option." The agency also wants to create "tamper-proof" genetic codes, so that enemy forces can't reprogram the life forms to switch sides. And finally, DARPA also wants these organisms' genetic sequences to "record" what they have been doing, presumably for surveillance purposes, "similar to a traceable serial number on a handgun."...read more

Google Asks NSA to Help Secure Its Network

Google is teaming up with the National Security Agency to investigate the recent hack attack against its network in a bid to prevent another assault, according to The Washington Post. The internet search giant is working on an agreement with the controversial agency to determine the attacker’s methods and what Google can do to shore up its network. Sources assured the Post that the deal does not mean the NSA will have access to users’ searches or e-mail communications and accounts. Nor will Google share proprietary data with the agency. But the move is raising concerns among privacy and civil rights advocates. The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Thursday, shortly after the agreement was made public, seeking more information about the arrangement (.pdf)...read more

President proposes cutting border patrol

Homeland security officials confirmed the proposed cuts Monday during a budget briefing for reporters. They said no border patrol agents would lose their jobs. Instead, the positions would be cut through attrition as agents retire or leave. Remaining agents would be better paid as part of a plan to increase the salaries of experienced frontline officers. Senior Obama administration officials said they do not expect the proposed cuts to reduce the effectiveness of the border patrol, which has doubled in size during the past five years to more than 20,000 agents. While cutting some border programs, the administration is seeking an additional $10 million to create Border Enforcement Security Task Forces in Honolulu, San Francisco, and Massena, N.Y. These multi-agency teams work to identify and stop criminal organizations that transport drugs and other contraband across U.S. borders. The administration also is seeking more than $103 million to improve the Internet-based E-Verify system that allows employers to check whether job applicants are in the United States legally and are eligible to work. The goal is to improve fraud detection and make the system easier and more reliable to use, homeland security officials said...read more

Border 'virtual fence' in jeopardy

An ambitious, $6.7 billion government project to secure nearly the entire Mexican border with a “virtual fence” of cameras, ground sensors and radar is in jeopardy after a string of technical glitches and delays. Having spent $672 million so far with little to show for it, Washington has ordered a reassessment of the whole idea. The outlook became gloomier this week when President Barack Obama proposed cutting $189 million from the venture. Ultimately, the project could be scaled back dramatically, with the government installing virtual fences along a few segments of the nation's 2,000-mile southern boundary but dropping plans for any further expansion, officials said...read more

Suspect in Border Agent Death Fled Months Earlier

Prosecutors say a man charged with murdering a Border Patrol agent by running him over with a drug-loaded Hummer escaped from custody three months earlier by fleeing to Mexico in a Border Patrol vehicle. Jesus Navarro Montes was extradited from Mexico last week on a charge that he struck Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar in January 2008. The agent was laying down spike strips to stop him in southeast California's Imperial Sand Dunes. The complaint says the Border Patrol detained Navarro Montes and an unnamed companion in September 2007 after their Toyota pickup got stuck in the sand. The companion allegedly took control of the Border Patrol vehicle and the pair drove it into Mexico. Authorities found 979 pounds of marijuana in the pickup. AP

Friday, February 05, 2010

U.S.D.A. Plans to Drop Program to Trace Livestock

Faced with stiff resistance from ranchers and farmers, the Obama administration has decided to scrap a national program intended to help authorities quickly identify and track livestock in the event of an animal disease outbreak. In abandoning the program, called the National Animal Identification System, officials said they would start over in trying to devise a livestock tracing program that could win widespread support from the industry. The agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, will announce the changes on Friday, according to officials at the Agriculture Department, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been made public. The officials said that it would be left to the states to devise many aspects of a new system, including requirements for identifying livestock. New federal rules will be developed but the officials said they would apply only to animals being moved in interstate commerce, such as cattle raised in one state being transported to a slaughterhouse in another state...read more

India forms new climate change body

The Indian government has established its own body to monitor the effects of global warming because it “cannot rely” on the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the group headed by its own Nobel prize-winning scientist Dr R.K Pachauri. The move is a significant snub to both the IPCC and Dr Pachauri as he battles to defend his reputation following the revelation that his most recent climate change report included false claims that most of the Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035. Scientists believe it could take more than 300 years for the glaciers to disappear. The body and its chairman have faced growing criticism ever since as questions have been raised on the credibility of their work and the rigour with which climate change claims are assessed...read more

American Pika Might Be First Animal under Federal Protections Due to Climate Change

The government is expected to decide whether a tiny, mountain-dwelling mammal should become the first animal in the continental U.S. to get federal protections primarily because of climate change. The Fish and Wildlife Service's decision about the American pika is expected Friday. If the furry, big-eared relative of the rabbit becomes protected under the Endangered Species Act, some legal experts predict it could have ramifications for future climate policies. The pika lives mostly in high, rocky mountain slopes in 10 Western states...read more

UPDATE: Federal agency denies endangered species protections for tiny pika Climate change might be hurting some populations of the American pika, a relative of the rabbit, but not enough to warrant endangered species protection for the tiny mountain-dwelling animal, according to a decision released Thursday...

Romanoff opposes Pinon Canyon expansion; Calls for ‘total ban’ on the enlargement debate

Andrew Romanoff says the four-year fight between the Army and Southern Colorado ranchers over the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site has gone on too long and — if elected to the U.S. Senate — he would permanently block any future expansion of the 238,000-acre training area near Trinidad. "We need a total ban on (the Army) expanding Pinon Canyon," the former Democratic speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives said in an interview Thursday. "The ranchers down there deserve to have this fight come to an end once and for all." Romanoff is challenging U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., for the party's nomination and he spoke to the Jac-X-Press Democratic Club in Pueblo on Thursday. Publicly, the Army has wanted to expand Pinon Canyon since 2006, saying it needs more training land to support troops at Fort Carson. Ranchers and other opponents have blocked that effort with federal and state legislation, forcing the Army to whittle its land acquisition effort from 418,000 acres in 2008 to 100,000 acres last year. Foes have been wanting a Colorado senator to take a hard line and rule out any future expansion — a step that would likely prevent the Senate from considering any expansion under its rules. While Sens. Mark Udall and Bennet, both Democrats, have voted for annual funding bans blocking any expansion, neither senator has gone so far as Romanoff, ruling out any future consideration...read more

When Windmills Don’t Spin, People Expect Some Answers

For those who suspect residents in places like Minnesota of embellishment when it comes to their tales of bitterly cold winter weather, consider this: even some wind turbines, it seems, cannot bear it. Turbines, more than 100 feet tall, were installed last year in 11 Minnesota cities to provide power, and also to serve as educational symbols in a state that has mandated that a quarter of its electricity come from renewable resources by 2025. One problem, though: The windmills, supposed to go online this winter, mostly just sat still, people in cities like North St. Paul and Chaska said, rarely if ever budging. Residents took note. Schoolchildren asked questions. Complaints accumulated. “If people see a water tower, they expect it to stand still,” said Wally Wysopal, the city manager of North St. Paul. “If there’s a turbine, they want it to turn.”...read more

NEPA filmmaker's documentary garners Sundance award

A Wayne County filmmaker took home a coveted award at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah for his documentary exploring the tribulations of natural gas drilling in the area and throughout the U.S. Packing along a camera and traveling the lonely roads of Arkansas, Texas and Wyoming, Josh Fox said he discovered a landscape once desolate and at ease transformed into an industrial complex. "What I saw when I went out on the road was an absolute nightmare," Fox said by phone after winning the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize on Saturday for his film "GasLand." "Of course you're always surprised," he said. "I think it's a testament to how strong the stories are of the people." The film, which runs an hour and 47 minutes, also earned one of very few premiere slots at the independent film festival, which was founded by Hollywood actor and director Robert Redford. Fox, 37, who owns 20 acres in Milanville and spent some of his childhood there, decided to investigate the contentious issue after receiving a lease offer in the mail for his property...read more

New Mexico Senate panel approves pore space bill

A Senate committee has approved legislation that would establish ownership rights for the empty spaces that lie beneath New Mexico's dusty landscape. Supporters of the measure say the so-called pore space will be valuable as technology advances to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel power plants and other industries. Three Western states already have tackled pore space ownership, and many others are considering legislation that would lay the groundwork for carbon capture and storage. New Mexico's effort is being led by Jack Chatfield, a rancher from northeastern New Mexico who has been spending every day at the state Capitol to ensure the bill passes. He said Thursday he was pleased with the 8-3 vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee. It clears the way for the bill to be heard by the full Senate...read more

Along with speed, sheepdogs rely on obedience and smarts

Driving a sheepdog -- even though they are considered brainiacs in the dog world -- can get a little complicated. To steer the dogs, usually border collies, to the right, handlers in the dusty arena say, "Away to me." "Come by" turns them back to the left. "Stand or stop" puts on the brakes. You can park the dog on the ground, walk him (with "walk up") and slow him down with "steady." Finally, "that'll do" means the dog will return to you and she's off the clock. Then there are the whistle commands. High and low whistles communicate the same turns and stops, with no two handlers' pursed-lip warbles sounding quite alike...read more

Ranch house built in 1850s

The house was built by pioneer Charles Kingsbury sometime in the late 1850s. Charles lived in the house with his bride, Agnes, and it eventually became home to their 10 children as well. Charles reportedly came to California in 1852 with Leland Stanford, the railroad mogul, but continued on his way to Shasta County to mine for gold. He was a man of all trades and often worked more than one trade at a time. Besides being a carpenter, he was a gold miner, storekeeper, postmaster, constable, Justice of the Peace and a cattle rancher. He was also chairman of the first Shasta County Republican Convention and a delegate to the local Republican Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860. Agnes traveled to California in 1857 with her brother and rode a mule across the Isthmus of Panama. She traveled here to teach school at Piety Hill, where she was the first schoolteacher. During that year, she met and married Charles...read more

Song Of The Day #234

More traditional bluegrass this morning on Ranch Radio. Hylo Brown & The Timberliners will perform The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band and Gathering Flowers From The Hillside.

A good sampling of his work can be found on the 2 disc collection Hylo Brown 1954-1960.


Thursday, February 04, 2010

Note

This is a shortened version of The Westerner today. Too much wilderness is going on. Senator Bingaman is holding a field hearing on his wilderness bill and I've been asked to present testimony. More on that later.

Corruption, collusion, or legal thievery

In 2008, the Forest Service issued a land use plan that environmental organizations didn’t like. The Earthjustice Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit on behalf of four environmental groups. The suit took 15 months. The bill to the federal government from Earthjustice was $279,711.40. The Western Environmental Law Center filed another lawsuit challenging the same land use plan. They represented 15 environmental groups and sent the government a bill for $199,830.65. These two outfits claim that seven attorneys spent more than 930 hours (working full time, that’s 116 days), at rates between $300 and $650 per hour. That’s good work if you can get it. Think that’s bad? Read on. In September of last year, the Wildearth Guardians sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency, asking the court to prohibit FEMA from issuing flood insurance to private citizens on 52,535 structures that may lie within the range of an endangered species. The group could not sue individual land owners unless they could prove that the structure caused the death or “harm” to any endangered species. This suit is designed to block the use of privately owned land, and to collect a handsome fee from the government for doing it. The government keeps no record of these “environmental” lawsuits. Payments, however, are made from a single budget line item called the “Judgment Fund.” During these five years, tax dollars have funded environmental groups to the tune of $4.7 billion dollars in attorney fees alone. Another $1.6 million was paid between 2003 and 2005 from the Equal Access to Justice Act. These funds come directly from the agency that loses the suit. This doesn’t begin to include all the direct grants and contracts that are awarded to dozens of environmental groups...read more

Penn State to Investigate Climategate

Penn State University said Wednesday it will proceed with an investigation into a leading climate scientist after an internal inquiry into alleged research misconduct stemming from leaked e-mails at the center of a controversy over global warming. Meteorology professor Michael Mann said he was pleased the inquiry results "found no evidence to support" four allegations against him. But Mann, long a target of criticism by skeptics of man-made global warming theories, said he welcomed the inquiry committee's decision recommending further investigation on one of the allegations, in hopes of removing lingering doubts. A three-member committee has been looking into e-mails pertaining to Mann or his work since late November, when computer hackers obtained messages between U.S. and British scientists from a British research center...read more

EPA biofuels guidelines could spur production of ethanol from corn

The nation's farmers got a big boost Wednesday when the Obama administration issued new biofuels guidelines that could open the way for large increases in the production of corn-based ethanol. The Environmental Protection Agency said new data showed that, even after taking into account increased fertilizer and land use, corn-based ethanol can yield significant climate benefits by displacing conventional gasoline or diesel fuel. The new renewable-fuel standard issued by the EPA drew criticism from some environmentalists as well as oil industry representatives, who accused the Obama administration of catering to farm interests. In an earlier draft of the standard, the administration had said that corn-based ethanol output should be limited because its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions exceeded renewable fuel standards. "The numbers are inconsistent with the great bulk of analyses by others, which consistently find that emissions from indirect land-use change for crops grown on productive land cancel out the bulk or all of the greenhouse gas reductions, but I will have to study the results," said Tim Searchinger, a research scholar at Princeton University and an author of articles critical of corn-based ethanol...read more

Idaho legislators approve new grazing lease rules

Legislators on Wednesday approved new state grazing lease rules aimed at helping resolve more than a decade of conflict that has pitted environmental groups against Idaho and the state's traditional ranching interests. The rules will govern how contested lease auctions are held; set out new categories of leases for conservation, recreation and even communication sites, in addition to those for grazing or cropland, and ease the process for allowing multiple leases on the same state parcel, provided there is no conflict. George Bacon, head of the Department of Lands, said he was optimistic they will help end strife that began in the 1990s when environmentalists bid for leases, only to lose even after offering more money than ranchers. The Idaho Cattle Association objected to the rules but eventually agreed after demanding several changes Wednesday. Among those changes were provisions to forbid lease bidders from saying they'll graze an allotment without actually intending to do so; requiring Idaho to renew expiring, uncontested leases when there were no concerns about past management, and dumping a plan let the Land Board decide rental rates. Association President Carl Ellsworth, who runs a ranch in Leadore in central Idaho, said his group can live with the new rules, at least for now...read more

Obama's Budget: $500 Million+ Cut to USDA Conservation Programs

Environmental Defense Fund urged Congress to reject a proposal in President Obama's Fiscal Year 2011 budget to cut more than half billion dollars from USDA conservation programs below funding levels mandated in the 2008 Farm Bill. "We recognize that the administration faces tough choices to cut the deficit, but these conservation programs help drive private investment in public benefits – including cleaner water, cleaner air and improved habitat for wildlife – so they are a great deal for taxpayers," said Sara Hopper, director of agricultural policy for Environmental Defense Fund and a former staff member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. "USDA conservation programs assist farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners who offer to spend their own time and money to improve the management of their land to benefit the environment." These conservation programs reward producers for improving the management of farms, ranches and private forest land to benefit water resources, air quality and wildlife; restoring and protecting wetlands; preserving and restoring grasslands; and maintaining farmland, ranchland and private forestland in the face of development pressures...read more

Visible symptoms of trap ban’s flaws

Olympia’s moles are breathing a bit easier today. The state has stopped using illegal traps to kill them on grounds around the Capitol and the governor’s mansion. The use of “body-gripping” traps for any animal were outlawed 10 years ago by voter-approved Initiative 713. But somehow – even after emotional campaigns for and against the measure – the state didn’t get the memo that it should discontinue using the traps. The Department of General Administration is the agency that’s been using up to 10 spring-loaded traps in late winter to reduce the Capitol grounds’ destructive mole population before the critters start breeding. Ironically, the GA is located right across the street from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is charged with enforcing the trap ban. Although Fish & Wildlife says no private citizens have been fined for using the same kind of illegal traps, some commercial exterminators have been cited – usually after a competitor has complained. The GA will be treated like any other first-time offender – with a warning. The fact that even an agency of state government sees a need for the traps to effectively control moles shows how absurd it is to use a voter initiative to make wildlife policy...read more

Red Lodge - Belle Fourche Robbery

Long before Sundance Kid began riding with Butch Cassidy, he was teamed up with Kid Curry. The two outlaws were a lot alike. Both were very fast and deadly accurate with six guns. Both shot and killed lawmen, as well as others who they considered to be threats. Most of all, no matter how hard they tried, neither one could plan a successful robbery. On June 28, 1897, Sundance Kid, Kid Curry, Tom Oday, Walt Puteney, and George Curry, held up the bank in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. They got away with about $87. When the outlaws reached Hole in the Wall, they found it was a powder keg ready to explode. The big ranchers and local lawmen had reached the end of their tolerance for outlaws rustling cattle and taking them into Hole in the Wall. A posse was being organized that would go behind the red wall and flush out any outlaw that remained. To make matters worse, telegraph wires were buzzing with news about the Belle Fourche robbers. Rewards for their capture far exceeded the few dollars obtained from the robbery. They were wanted by lawmen and bounty hunters, dead or alive. It seemed there was no place to hide. The only thing to do was to run, but even living on the run cost money and they had none to spend. The decision was made to attempt a six-gun withdrawal at the bank in Red Lodge, Montana. They camped outside of town to plan the heist. Sundance Kid and Kid Curry rode into town to get the layout. Unfortunately, the telegraph wires had been busy in Montana too. They were immediately recognized and raced out of town with a posse close behind...read more

Song Of The Day #233

Ranch Radio is cravin' some early George Jones. Here he is performing Tall Tall Trees and Too Much Water.

Both tunes are available on the 2 CD collection Cup Of Loneliness: The Classic Mercury Years.

And turn that volume up so your neighbors can enjoy it too.


Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Covering Greenie Weenies

That's the alternative title that J.R. Absher suggested for my post Condoms to Save the Environment about The Center For Biological Diversity's program of distributing "endangered-species-themed condoms" for free.

Everyone should check out his Free Condoms column at Outdoor Life.

Climate change emails between scientists reveal flaws in peer review

Scientists sometimes like to portray what they do as divorced from the everyday jealousies, rivalries and tribalism of human relationships. What makes science special is that data and results that can be replicated are what matters and the scientific truth will out in the end. But a close reading of the emails hacked from the University of East Anglia in November exposes the real process of everyday science in lurid detail. Many of the emails reveal strenuous efforts by the mainstream climate scientists to do what outside observers would regard as censoring their critics. And the correspondence raises awkward questions about the effectiveness of peer review – the supposed gold standard of scientific merit – and the operation of the UN's top climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)...read more

No apology from IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri for glacier fallacy

The embattled chief of the UN's climate change body has hit out at his critics and refused to resign or apologise for a ­damaging mistake in a landmark 2007 report on global warming. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said it would be hypocritical to apologise for the false claim that ­Himalayan glaciers could melt away by 2035, because he was not personally responsible for that part of the report. "You can't expect me to be personally responsible for every word in a 3,000 page report," he said. The IPCC issued a statement that expressed regret for the mistake, but Pachauri said a personal apology would be a "populist" step. "I don't do too many populist things, that's why I'm so unpopular with a certain section of society," he said...read more

Countries Submit Emission Goals

The climate change accord reached at Copenhagen in December passed its first test on Monday after countries responsible for the bulk of climate-altering pollution formally submitted their emission reduction plans, meeting the agreement’s Jan. 31 deadline. Most major nations — including the United States, the 27 nations of the European Union, China, India, Japan and Brazil — restated earlier pledges to curb emissions by 2020, some by promising absolute cuts, others by reducing the rate of increase from a business-as-usual curve. In all, 55 developed and developing countries submitted emission reduction plans to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the body overseeing global negotiations. Two major nations — Mexico and Russia — had not submitted plans as of Monday evening...read more

Largest-ever federal payroll to hit 2.15 million

The era of big government has returned with a vengeance, in the form of the largest federal work force in modern history. The Obama administration says the government will grow to 2.15 million employees this year, topping 2 million for the first time since President Clinton declared that "the era of big government is over" and joined forces with a Republican-led Congress in the 1990s to pare back the federal work force. Most of the increases are on the civilian side, which will grow by 153,000 workers, to 1.43 million people, in fiscal 2010...read more

Five western states named in EPA lawsuit

The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to meet numerous deadlines for limiting dangerous pollution from tiny airborne particles like soot and dust in Idaho, Alaska, Arizona, Montana and Nevada. In some cases, the deadline for EPA action passed more than 10 years ago. The EPA has violated the Clean Air Act by failing to determine the states are complying with existing standards designed to protect the public from air pollution, and by failing to ensure that states are implementing legally required plans to meet the standards, according to the Arizona-based nonprofit organization...read more

Understanding the ‘New’ West: Whither the Public Lands?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a logger, rancher, environmentalist, agency employee, local resident, or someone else with a strong feeling about public land, the past twenty to thirty years can’t be called terribly progressive. For many, in fact, we may be farther away from Stegner’s vision than ever. And as we tip over the top of the bell-shaped curve of the so-called ‘New West’ and enter a period dominated by 21st century anxieties, such as climate change, high fuel prices, water shortages and food security, how we view our public lands will be crucially important. The first step, however, is to actually leave the 20th century behind. This observation struck me a few weeks ago while attending a conference in Boise, organized by the Idaho Chapter of the Society for Range Management (SRM). Titled a “Western Congress on Rangelands,” the two-day event featured hopeful stories of collaboration, wildlife/cattle coexistence, and innovative management by speakers from the ranching, academic, and agency communities. The overall tone, however, was surprisingly “retro.” With a sinking heart, I learned that a handful of anti-grazing activists are still stoking the ‘range wars’ that dominated the 1980s and 1990s. I listened gloomily to the defensive tone of presenters as they catalogued an all-too familiar landscape of litigation, appeals, bureaucratic inertia, and political gridlock...read more

Montana approves removal of wolf pack

State wildlife officials have authorized another Big Hole Valley wolf pack to be wiped out after it repeatedly attacked cattle west of Wisdom. Officials with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks moved to have the remaining one or two members of the Bender Pack to be killed by federal trappers. Last week trappers confirmed that the pack had killed a calf on a private ranch west of Wisdom. The pack had already attacked and killed a calf on a different ranch nearby earlier in the month, prompting FWP to authorize that one wolf be removed. Trappers did that but the pack again got into trouble. "This is the second confirmed depredation and it's consisted of two different ranches," said Nathan Lance, FWP wolf biologist in Butte...read more

Idaho closes another wolf hunting area

State wildlife managers say another Idaho wolf hunting zone has been shut down after hunters filled a state quota. The Department of Fish and Game has closed the Middle Fork zone, where the limit of 17 wolves was reached Monday. Five other hunting zones have also been shuttered for the same reason. The wolf season closed in the Southern Mountains zone and in the Palouse-Hells Canyon zone in December. In November, the season closed in the Dworshak-Elk City zone, in the McCall-Weiser zone in west central Idaho and in the Upper Snake zone in eastern Idaho. Hunters have claimed 146 of the predators in Idaho. AP

Initiative would ban trappers on public land in Montana

A group seeking to ban trapping on public land in Montana is circulating petitions to put the issue on the November ballot as a citizens' initiative. Footloose Montana was formed in 2007 to oppose trapping on public land after a dog named Cupcake was killed in a trap while she and her owner were walking along Rock Creek east of Missoula. The group has since spawned Montanans For Trap Free Public Lands, which has the sole purpose of promoting the initiative. The initiative — I-160 — is one of a pair that has drawn significant attention from Montana outdoorsmen and women: the other is I-161, a move to eliminate the set-aside for outfitter-sponsored hunting licenses for nonresidents...read more

Bison going to Turner ranch

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks will place 88 Yellowstone National Park bison from an experimental quarantine program on Ted Turner’s ranch west of Bozeman, the agency said Tuesday. The herd is now in a 400-acre holding facility in Corwin Springs, north of Yellowstone. In sending the 88 bison to Turner’s Green Ranch, which straddles the Madison River and Norris Road, FWP decided against an alternative plan to send part of the herd to a Wyoming state park, a plan that drew protest from Wyoming ranchers. The bison will be housed on Turner’s 12,000-acre ranch, which is adjacent to his Flying D Ranch, for up to five years. During that time they will be tested regularly for brucellosis to see whether quarantine is an effective way to combat the disease. The animals have already tested negative for the disease, which causes many species to abort, but biologists say more testing is needed to prove quarantine works. As part of the plan, Turner will be allowed to keep 75 percent of the bison’s offspring to reimburse the ranch for the estimated $480,000 of costs associated with keeping the bison for five years...read more

Drummond's little blog on the prairie a hit

Ree Drummond traded Los Angeles, law school and lattes for life with her very own Marlboro Man, a fourth-generation cattle rancher from her native Oklahoma. Today she loves rural life, surrounded by 4,000 head of cattle and a herd of wild mustangs. She laughingly calls herself a "desperate housewife" and home-schools her four kids, ages 12, 10, 7 and 5. In 2006, she launched a blog, thepioneerwoman.com, to chronicle daily life on the ranch. Last year, the popular blog received three Bloggies and was named among the top 25 blogs by Time magazine. She also wrote and took all the photos for her first cookbook, "The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes From an Accidental Country Girl" (William Morrow, $27.50). It has remained in Amazon.com's top 10 since publication in October. She recently answered a few questions...read more

Morgan Hill man cooks for cowboys and greenhorns in the high country

The Los Gatos Horseman's Association is best described as an eating and riding club. Members are horse lovers in Los Gatos and nearby cities who generally keep their animals in the foothills of town and have been riding and eating together for more than 37 years. Their rides usually end with a potluck meal, or at a restaurant with a place to tie horses. Nowhere was the happy combination of food and horse more evident than at the club's annual camping trip in the mountains near La Honda. Joining the group of 44 horse people — including 11 youngsters — and 33 horses at Jack Brook Horse Camp was longtime member John Rosica of Morgan Hill. His occasional trail cookout for fellow members in past years is now a nearly a full time job in the Sierra. Rosica is a backcountry chef, serving pack outfits that crisscross the eastern and western slopes of the mountains, some of his 21 mules carrying his collapsible kitchen. As a backcountry chef, Rosica's skills parallel those of chefs in any upscale restaurant, but he creates his dishes under primitive conditions. "I do it because I love it," he says. Another draw of the job is the cosmopolitan people he meets and learns from on his trips. To date, he's been taught how to cuss in Persian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Sicilian, French, Arabic, Spanish and Chinese...read more

On life's trail, Conn left his mark

Veteran journalist Sam Conn, whose colorful prose and persona helped define his "cowboy reporter" image known by many, died Saturday in Silver City after a long illness. He was 47. "Sam passed away peacefully, with his long-time partner and friend Adrian Silva at his side," said Sherry Tippet, Conn's attorney and the executor of his estate. Conn's stories had an impact on community members and those he wrote about, especially his weekly feature, "On the Trail," which focused on the colorful people and places that make the region unique. "He inspired the heritage and preservation of the Old West and was a friend to all," said Tom Johnson of the Palace Hotel, who designed the "On the Trail" stickers for Conn's mobile reporting trailer. To those he worked with, Conn was remembered as a solid reporter with a passion for all things Western. Freelance photographer Kalen "Patch" Severe spent time traveling with Conn, shooting the photos for "On the Trail." "He called himself a simple cowboy but he was much more," Severe said. "He was the cowboy poet of old wrapped up Carhart jeans and a slightly musty smelling leather cowboy hat, hiding out in a nearly obscure corner of southwest New Mexico. He spun his stories with a passion that can only come from doing something you truly love. "Doing 'On the Trail' with Sam was always fun. We would go to what I thought were the most obscure places and Sam would pull the most amazing story out of it (he rarely ceased to amaze)...read more

Song Of The Day #232

Ranch Radio is featuring some traditional bluegrass today. We'll have two songs performed by Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and The Smokey Mountain Boys: Old Salty Dog Blues recorded in 1952 and the 1953 instrumental Dear Old Dixie.

Both tunes are available on the 4 disc box set Flatt & Scruggs 1948-1959.


Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Bin Laden: Global warming is US' fault

In a message that would make Al Gore proud, the man behind the Sept. 11 attacks called for the world to boycott American products and the US dollar -- blaming this country for global warming, according to an audiotape released today. In the tape, the terror lord rants of the dangers of climate change and said the only way to stop it is to bring "the wheels of the American economy" to a grinding halt. He called for "drastic solutions" to global warming -- "not solutions that partially reduce the effect of climate change," according to the taped message. The message was played today by the Qatar-based Arab satellite TV channel Al Jazeera...read more

Bin Laden's comments will make Al Gore proud. Hey, that must be it - Bin Laden wants a Nobel Peace Prize.

The Death of Global Warming

The global warming movement as we have known it is dead. Its health had been in steady decline during the last year as the once robust hopes for a strong and legally binding treaty to be agreed upon at the Copenhagen Summit faded away. By the time that summit opened, campaigners were reduced to hoping for a ‘politically binding’ agreement to be agreed that would set the stage for the rapid adoption of the legally binding treaty. After the failure of the summit to agree to even that much, the movement went into a rapid decline. The movement died from two causes: bad science and bad politics. After years in which global warming activists had lectured everyone about the overwhelming nature of the scientific evidence, it turned out that the most prestigious agencies in the global warming movement were breaking laws, hiding data, and making inflated, bogus claims resting on, in some cases, no scientific basis at all...read more

Alaska Atty Gen outlines endangered species fight

Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan has outlined plans for ramping up the state's fight against expanded use of endangered species laws. Sullivan told the House Finance Committee in Juneau on Tuesday that he will approach other states to tell them about Alaska's plan, which includes a request for $1 million next year to pay for a full-time attorney to focus on the Endangered Species Act and for more contract help from specialized lawyers. Sullivan said he's drafting letters to attorneys general in every state, outlining the Alaska Department of Law's efforts to gain a greater say in federal wildlife protection. Last week, Gov. Sean Parnell said in his State of the State address that the federal government has intruded into areas of state legal responsibility. Sullivan said the state also would look to share more analysis and biological data with the federal government and, when species make it onto the list, find a larger role for Alaska in shaping recovery plans...read more

U.S. Navy Sued Over Anti-Sub Training Range Where Rare Whales Calve

ver its decision to build an Undersea Warfare Training Range next to the only known calving ground for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Only about 350 whales of this species remain today. The range is set for a location 50 nautical miles offshore of Jacksonville, on Florida's northeast coast. The Navy plans to place undersea cables and sensor nodes in a 500 square-nautical-mile area of the ocean to create the range for anti-submarine warfare training. The range would begin operating in 2014. The Navy plans to conduct 470 annual exercises on the training range with up to three vessels and two aircraft deploying exercise torpedoes, parachutes and sonobuoys, and sonar and other noise pollution...read more

Enviros plan lawsuit claiming pesticides are harming endangered species

A conservation group says it plans to sue the federal government, claiming hundreds of protected animal species have been impacted because it has not evaluated or regulated nearly 400 pesticides. The Center for Biological Diversity sent the Environmental Protection Agency a letter of intent to sue on Thursday. It says the agency violated the Endangered Species Act by not consulting with wildlife regulators about the pesticides' impacts. The organization says as many as 887 species may be harmed, including the Florida panther, coho salmon and California condor...read more

Enviro group: US must respond to coral concerns

A U.S. conservation group announced Wednesday it would sue the federal government to force a decision on whether to protect 83 coral species it says are threatened by global warming and more acidic waters. The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity has sent notification of its intention to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service because the U.S. agency missed a deadline for an endangered species listing decision for dozens of coral species. A 60-day notification letter is required before a suit can be field. Miyoko Sakashita, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the corals, found in Florida, Hawaii and island territories in the Caribbean and Pacific, face a growing threat of extinction from rising ocean temperatures...read more

For environmental crimes, a public mea culpa

The Rockmore Co. has a confession: “Our company has discharged human waste directly into Massachusetts coastal waters.’’ That statement is part of an abject apology that will soon appear in newspaper ads if a federal judge approves a plea deal between the US government and Rockmore, which is accused of illegally dumping waste for years in Salem Harbor and in the Charles River off the Esplanade from its sightseeing cruise ship and its floating restaurant. The agreement would mark at least the fourth time in recent years that federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have required environmental scofflaws to buy large and costly advertisements atoning for their crimes as part of their sentences. Many legal scholars say the apologies foster contrition and save the government the high costs of more traditional punishments, such as incarceration. But some defense lawyers and scholars say the ads represent a throwback to the stocks and pillories of Colonial times and are designed less to educate the public and more to humiliate wrongdoers. “It’s the scarlet letter,’’ said Stellio Sinnis, a federal public defender...read more

Obama budget would eliminate funding for Yucca Mountain

President Barack Obama will propose eliminating funding for the Yucca Mountain Project in a new budget he will submit to Congress today, said Nevada lawmakers who were notified over the weekend. Also, White House officials said they will take steps "in the near future" to withdraw a pending license application to build the long-planned nuclear waste repository, which could be a decisive move in ending the government's 23-year focus on developing the Nevada site for radioactive waste storage and disposal. With the formation Friday of a commission to study nuclear waste management, officials said the budget will underscore Obama's "commitment to pursuing a responsible, long-term strategy" for handling waste generated by nuclear utilities and government defense agencies...read more

I'm sure its just a happenstance that this should aid Harry Reid's re-election campaign.

Green Math Is Bad Math

...The entire renovation costs $133 million. The plants are only one component, but the G.S.A. admits that the renovation is being undertaken for the purpose of making the building "green." Done as a project of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, the renovation is Oregon's largest federal stimulus project. The Obama administration proudly boasts that the effort will dramatically reduce the building's energy use, thereby saving federal taxpayers $280,000 a year in energy costs. Nowhere in the article did The New York Times bother to do the math. So I did. (It wasn't hard, I did it on my Blackberry while setting out for a winter hike.) To recoup its investment in this renovation, the government will have to keep the building running for the next 475 years. To provide a little perspective, the taxpayers are going to shell out $133 million -- more than half the cost of the nearby Rose Garden Arena, where the Portland Trailblazers play -- so the government can annually save the taxpayers $68,000 less than the combined yearly salaries of Oregon's two U.S. senators. This is what passes for a good "green" investment in Washington these days...read more

Los Angeles might require rainwater capture

A proposed law would require new homes, larger developments and some redevelopments in Los Angeles to capture and reuse runoff generated in rainstorms. The ordinance approved in January by the Department of Public Works would require such projects to capture, reuse or infiltrate 100% of runoff generated in a 3/4 -inch rainstorm or to pay a storm water pollution mitigation fee that would help fund off-site, low-impact public developments. The fairly new approach to managing storm water and urban runoff is designed to mitigate the negative effects of urbanization by controlling runoff at its source with small, cost-effective natural systems instead of treatment facilities. Reducing runoff improves water quality and recharges groundwater. Under the ordinance, builders would be required to use rainwater storage tanks, permeable pavement, infiltration swales or curb bump-outs to manage the water where it falls. Builders unable to manage 100% of a project's runoff on site would be required to pay a penalty of $13 a gallon of runoff not handled there -- a requirement the Building Industry Assn. has been fighting...read more

Long debate stalls NM natural resources bill

Opponents are lining up against a New Mexico bill that would allow the state natural resources trustee to pursue damages from polluters who have compromised groundwater or other natural resources. From ranchers to rural electric cooperatives and the oil and gas industry, critics said the legislation's language goes too far and would essentially transfer power from the Legislature to the trustee, an unelected position without public oversight. They also complain that numerous existing state and federal laws already protect air quality, water, wildlife and other natural resources. "This is just another level of regulation in the state of New Mexico, which is already a difficult place to do business," said Sonia Phillips, a lobbyist who represents Xcel Energy Inc. Dozens of people gathered in the House chamber Monday as a legislative committee considered the bill. The committee was forced to recess after more than two hours, promising to continue the debate Wednesday...read more

U.S. Agrees to Timetable for UN Gun Ban

The United Nations and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are moving forward with their plan to confiscate your guns. The United States joined 152 other countries in support of the Arms Trade Treaty Resolution, which establishes the dates for the 2012 UN conference intended to attack American sovereignty by stripping Americans of the right to keep and bear arms. Working groups of anti-gun countries will begin scripting language for the conference this year, creating a blueprint for other countries when they meet at the full conference. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Former United Nation’s ambassador John Bolton has cautioned gun owners about the Arms Trade Treaty and says the UN “is trying to act as though this is really just a treaty about international arms trade between nation states, but there’s no doubt that the real agenda here is domestic firearms control.” Establishing the dates for the Arms Trade Treaty Conference is just the first step toward their plans for total gun confiscation...read more

Video: What does the "budget freeze" actually mean?

Song Of The Day #231

Ranch Radio sends this tune out to all you snoopy government types. Listen carefully to Zeke Clements perform It's My Life.

The song is on his 19 track CD Early Star of the Grand Old Opry.


Monday, February 01, 2010

Condoms to Save the Environment

Endangered Animal-Themed Prophylactics Distributed Free

No mammal population has ever grown to as great a size or consumed as many resources as human beings do today, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) announced on January 27, 2010. More than 6,700,000,000 of our species now occupy Earth, according to the most recent government census information—and with our vehicles, buildings, technology, and emissions, an enormous strain is being placed on the other animals with which we share this planet, including endangered species. And with 80 million new humans being brought into the world each year, the C.B.D. is doing everything in its power to raise awareness of the need for population control—including distributing endangered-species-themed condoms for free!

Kierán Suckling, the executive director of the CBD, is calling for local volunteers to assist in the distribution of these animal-themed prophylactics. Since they first put out the call two weeks ago, she said, “more than 900 people have volunteered to help distribute condoms in their hometowns—an incredible response. I'm so impressed by our supporters' readiness to step up to tackle threats to endangered species.” The last day of signup for new volunteers is Monday, February 1, and the group has voiced a need for 300 additional signups before that time.

Homo sapiens’ overpopulation is becoming a cause for concern not only because of our own crowded cities, but because of the devastating effects it can have on our Earth’s wildlife. Human beings limit populations of various species all the time; the CBD is encouraging us to take an inward look and help to correct our own problem. The animal-themed condoms are designed to make an individual think about the consequences of a pregnancy, but also to begin a conversation about the environmental effects that our overpopulation is having on endangered species.

Looks like the CBD has come up with their own anti-stimulus, cap and no trade program.

UN climate change panel based claims on student dissertation and magazine article

The United Nations' expert panel on climate change based claims about ice disappearing from the world's mountain tops on a student's dissertation and an article in a mountaineering magazine. The revelation will cause fresh embarrassment for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which had to issue a humiliating apology earlier this month over inaccurate statements about global warming. The IPCC's remit is to provide an authoritative assessment of scientific evidence on climate change. In its most recent report, it stated that observed reductions in mountain ice in the Andes, Alps and Africa was being caused by global warming, citing two papers as the source of the information. However, it can be revealed that one of the sources quoted was a feature article published in a popular magazine for climbers which was based on anecdotal evidence from mountaineers about the changes they were witnessing on the mountainsides around them. The other was a dissertation written by a geography student, studying for the equivalent of a master's degree, at the University of Berne in Switzerland that quoted interviews with mountain guides in the Alps. The revelations, uncovered by The Sunday Telegraph, have raised fresh questions about the quality of the information contained in the report, which was published in 2007. It comes after officials for the panel were forced earlier this month to retract inaccurate claims in the IPCC's report about the melting of Himalayan glaciers...read more

Climate chief was told of false glacier claims before Copenhagen

The chairman of the leading climate change watchdog was informed that claims about melting Himalayan glaciers were false before the Copenhagen summit, The Times has learnt. Rajendra Pachauri was told that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment that the glaciers would disappear by 2035 was wrong, but he waited two months to correct it. He failed to act despite learning that the claim had been refuted by several leading glaciologists. The IPCC’s report underpinned the proposals at Copenhagen for drastic cuts in global emissions. Dr Pachauri, who played a leading role at the summit, corrected the error last week after coming under media pressure. He told The Times on January 22 that he had only known about the error for a few days...read more

Slowdown in Warming Linked to Water Vapor

Climatologists have puzzled over why global average temperatures have stayed roughly flat in the past decade, despite a long-term warming trend. New research suggests that lower levels of water vapor in the stratosphere may partly explain the anomaly. The study, appearing in the journal Science, points out that the concentration of water vapor in the stratosphere has dropped about 10% in the past decade, triggered by unexplained cooler temperatures at certain high altitudes above the tropics. The study concludes that in the last decade the decline in water vapor slowed the rate of rising temperatures by about 25%, thus partly negating the heat-trapping effect of increasing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. The recent fluctuation—the flattening of temperatures since the year 2000—isn't merely of academic interest. Those skeptical of man-made global warming say the temperature anomaly supports their case. Others say it is merely a blip, and that warming remains the long-term trend...read more

Overpaying for Green Power

“How can California encourage investors to generate renewable electricity? How about a guarantee that if they generate the power, they'll be paid at a good price?” suggests Ray Pingle of the Sierra Club. Fair enough. But the price proposed by the Sierra Club and some members of Congress is three to five times more than the current average price of electricity. Green power advocates in the United States have started pushing for a European-style subsidy scheme in which homeowners or businesses that install solar panels or windmills can sell their excess power back to the grid at inflated prices. Utilities are required by the state to pay above-market rates for this environmentally-friendly power. These so-called feed-in tariffs were first devised in Germany in the early 1990s and have been adopted by nearly 20 other countries since then as a way to boost the installation of renewable energy production...read more

In California, quest for cleaner power hits tortoise-sized speed bumps

On a strip of California's Mojave Desert, two dozen rare tortoises could stand in the way of a sprawling solar-energy complex in a case that highlights mounting tensions in the United States between wilderness conservation and the quest for cleaner power. Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource Energy has been pushing for more than two years for permission to erect 400,000 mirrors on the site to gather the sun's energy. It could become the first project of its kind on US Bureau of Land Management property, leaving a footprint for others to follow on vast stretches of public land across the West. The construction would come with a cost: Government scientists have concluded that more than 6 square miles of habitat for the federally threatened desert tortoise would be permanently lost. The Sierra Club and other environmentalists want the complex relocated to preserve what they call a near-pristine home for rare plants and wildlife, including the protected tortoise, the Western burrowing owl, and bighorn sheep...read more

Environmental group challenges logging plans

An environmental watchdog group is suing in seven California counties in an attempt to block an alleged plan to clear-cut 5,000 acres of forest in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. The Center for Biological Diversity accused the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection of illegally approving 15 timber harvest plans that improperly analyzed the effect of logging on the climate. The logging plans, all proposed by Sierra Pacific Industries, violated the California Environmental Quality Act and the Forest Practice Act by failing to take into account the large amounts of carbon dioxide that would be released into the atmosphere when the trees are cut, according to the lawsuits...read more

Tough choices follow in wake of invasive species

Which is worse? Closing two locks on a waterway that's used to ship millions of dollars' worth of goods from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi basin? Or allowing a voracious Asian carp to deplete the food supply of native fish sustaining a Midwestern fishing industry that nets $7 billion a year? And how do you put a price tag on the damage caused by the Burmese python and other constrictor snakes that are strangling the precious ecology of the Everglades? Invasive species, long the cause of environmental hand-wringing, have been raising more unwelcome questions recently, as the expense of eliminating them is weighed against the mounting liability of leaving them be. Those questions became more urgent Tuesday when a team of scientists led by the University of Notre Dame disclosed that silver carp dominating stretches of the Mississippi River and its tributaries had infiltrated Lake Michigan. The federal government had spent $22 million on electric barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to keep carp out, but it clearly wasn't enough. An additional $33 million is going into the effort next year. A coalition of six Great Lakes states and the Canadian province of Ontario sought a preliminary injunction from the Supreme Court to shut down two major locks immediately on the grounds that an Asian carp invasion would cause "irreparable harm." The court declined to grant the injunction this month, but it will accept briefs next month on the broader question of whether to close them at all...read more

U.S. Government Plans to Reduce Its Energy Use

The federal government will take steps to cut its energy use and reduce its heat-trapping emissions by 28 percent by 2020, compared with 2008 levels, the White House announced on Friday. The government is the largest user of electricity and fuel in the country, accounting for roughly 1.5 percent of the nation’s annual energy consumption and emissions of the gases that contribute to global warming. The White House said the emissions reduction goal, if met, would save $8 billion to $11 billion in energy costs over the next decade. The actions would provide only a fraction of the emissions reductions that President Obama has pledged the United States will achieve across all sectors of the economy by 2020: 17 percent below 2005 levels. But he said the federal government must lead by example. “As the largest energy consumer in the United States, we have a responsibility to American citizens to reduce our energy use and become more efficient,” Mr. Obama said in a statement...read more

Disquiet on the Western Front: Showdown in the Malheur Marshes

Six hundred miles north of Tonopah, Nevada, in the high desert of central Oregon, lies Harney County, another site of intense confrontation between federal officials and the militant property rights movement. Here federal Fish and Wildlife Service agents sought to fence off a wetland that had been trampled by a rancher’s cows on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge about thirty miles south of the dust-caked town of Burns. In an affidavit, Earl M. Kisler, a Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement officer, said that rancher Dwight Hammond had repeatedly threatened refuge officials with violence over an eight year period. On one occasion Hammond told the manager of the federal refuge that “he was going to tear his head off and shit down his neck.” According to the affidavit, Hammond threated to kill refuge manager Forrest Cameron and assistant manager Dan Walsworth and claimed he was ready to die over a fence line that the refuge wanted to construct to keep his cows out of a marsh and wetland. The tensions between the Hammond family and the government started when the refuge, which was established as a haven for migrating birds, refused to renew a grazing permit for Hammond’s cattle operation. Then came the incident over the wetland, which Hammond had been using as a water hole for his cows...read more

New Mexico Bill First Step Toward Carbon Storage

Rancher Jack Chatfield sees untapped value in the spaces that lie beneath New Mexico's dusty landscape. But he said the state needs to first decide who owns them. Scientists are looking at underground fissures and caverns as places where carbon dioxide emissions captured from fossil fuel power plants can be stored. Carbon emissions are among the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. The underground space also could store compressed air as part of a process to generate clean electricity. "This is a huge issue for our society today. It's technology that is on the cutting edge and if New Mexico blinks, we'll be left in the dust. Let's don't do that. Let's be ready," said Chatfield, who is leading an effort to settle the ownership of the underground spaces in the New Mexico Legislature. The ownership of the spaces has become a hot topic across the West. Wyoming was the first state to tackle pore space ownership. Montana and North Dakota followed, and dozens of states — from Texas to Michigan — are considering legislation that would lay the groundwork for carbon capture and sequestration...read more

PETA Calls for Robotic 'Phil' at Groundhog Day Festival

An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania's Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in. According to the longtime tradition, if Phil the groundhog sees his shadow on the Feb. 2 unofficial holiday, then there will be six more weeks of winter. If he does not appear to see his shadow, there will be an early spring. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it's unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each year in Punxsutawney, a tiny borough about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. PETA is suggesting the use of an animatronic model...read more

Brand inspector Lynn Gibson works to solve Indian Valley rustling case

Where a city person sees a herd of generic cattle, Lynn Gibson sees breeds, brands, earmarks and tags identifying each cow and its owner. Ownership has become an issue in the 2,800 square miles he roams as an Idaho brand inspector. Cattle rustling, a crime usually associated with the Old West, is alive and well there. A mirror of hard times, rustling is thought to be responsible for the disappearance of more than 2,000 cows in Oregon, Nevada and Idaho since 2007. Other neighboring states have reported smaller losses. In Idaho, the hot spot is the Indian Valley area, part of Gibson's two-county territory. Rustlers are suspected of stealing more than 300 cows worth more than $250,000 there in two years...read more

It's All Trew: It was burdensome training the beasts

Here is an interesting thought. For every mule, horse, oxen, steer or jackass used as a work animal down through history - and there were probably millions - someone had to train or break the animal to work. Those animals raised on a farmstead were somewhat gentle, but those raised on the range or captured from the wild were more like wild animals. Few journals or historical interviews record this particular phase of the Old West. Here and there, tidbits explain how the beasts of burden were trained. The early Spanish trained rookie jackasses and mules by catching and installing heavy halters and lead ropes, then tying them to big logs. They could drag the logs, but not far. They quickly became used to being tied, and to humans bringing them hay, grain and water. A second process saw a personal rawhide pack saddle called an aparejo soaked, cut and fitted to the mule's size and back contours, then stuffed between the layers of leather with prairie grasses for padding. The mule wore the wet pack saddle until it dried, then he was loaded, placed between two mule veterans, his lead rope tied to the mule's tail in front with the following mule's lead rope tied to his tail...read more

Song Of The Day #230

We'll get your heart started this Monday morning with Bob Wills, Tommy Duncan and The Texas Playboys performing Ida Red.

This version is from there 3 CD Box Set Encore.