Water interests argue new state dam proposals

Thirty years ago, a chunk of chain, an eyebolt and Mark Dubois helped end the era of big dam building in California. Dubois, a bearded, 6-foot-8, 30-year-old river guide from Sacramento, chained himself to a rocky outcropping on the north bank of the Stanislaus River and stayed there for a week, determined to prevent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from filling the canyons behind New Melones Dam and submerging the limestone caves, verdant meadows and petroglyphs of the river valley. As California grapples with an aging water-delivery network, growing population, worsening water quality, a drought and the potentially far-reaching effects of global climate change, dams are again on the table. Last month Schwarzenegger insisted he would not sign off on any major overhaul of the water system without money for new dams and reservoirs. The governor has the support of conservatives and the vast Central Valley, where many farmers are convinced that new, man-made lakes will help offset dry spells and ease the federal rulings that have cut water pumped through the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. But environmentalists and their liberal backers contend dams are a costly, ecologically dicey option set against the backdrop of California's unprecedented budget cuts and alarms over the decline of fisheries, waterways and water quality...SFChronicle

Growing corn for ethanol boosts water pollution, researchers find

A study out of Indiana concludes that growing more corn to meet ethanol demands would put more fertilizers and pesticides into rivers and streams. The Purdue University study looked at Indiana water bodies near farms that practice continuous corn rotations. The water had higher levels of nitrogen, fungicides and phosphorous than water near farms with corn-soybean rotations, the researchers found. Nitrogen and fungicides are more heavily used in corn crops than soybeans, increasing the amounts found in the soil of continuous-corn fields. Sediment losses are also larger because tilling is often required in continuous-corn fields, while corn-soybean rotations can more easily be no-till fields, Purdue professors Bernard Engel and Indrajeet Chaubey said. Fungicide and phosphorous move with the sediment, increasing water contamination, the researchers said...Oregonian

As part of their brilliant energy policy the feds provide subsidies and tax incentives that end up creating more water pollution.

And now they will turn to fixin' our health care system.

Cap and trade redistributes income...regressively

A new analysis released for the Institute for Energy Research, says

“Many of the current estimates of cap-and trade’s distributional impact are in direct contradiction to microeconomic theory. Using implausible assumptions about free emissions allowances, the government’s analysis concludes that the costs associated with cap-and-trade legislation are progressive. Unfortunately, they are almost certainly regressive, with America’s top income-earners profiting by more than $14 billion per year, and low- and middle-income households footing a large portion of the burden. What’s more, the free allowances distributed under Waxman-Markey will result in large windfall profits for the corporate allies of the legislation.”

From our pockets to Al Gore's.

West sees alternative-energy scramble

Want some solar energy with your geothermal? In Utah, state officials are fielding various combinations of energy proposals, a list that includes solar and geothermal installations and an energy storage project that would turn salt caverns into a kind of giant battery. The caverns would hold compressed air when they're not storing natural gas. Together, the 15 projects in the works, planned or being talked up amount to "a land rush of alternate energy" projects, said John Andrews, the No. 2 official at Utah's trust-lands administration, which manages about 5,500 square miles of land left over from a federal grant at statehood. It's a land rush across much of the West, which offers an abundance of wide-open public lands, steaming geothermal resources, blazing sunshine and unconstrained wind corridors. Scores of projects -- some speculative, others well-funded and a few quirky -- have surfaced with energy companies eager to take advantage of loan guarantees and tax breaks being promoted by President Barack Obama...AP

Agriculture secretary misses the message

There’s a big difference between what he "heard” and what the people of rural Oklahoma were actually saying. Vilsack wrote, "…the people I met said they are ready to embrace President Obama’s belief that the strength of our nation depends on a healthy and prosperous rural America.” That is true — we do want a prosperous rural Oklahoma. But that’s not the same thing as endorsing President Obama’s agenda, particularly on issues such as the cap-and-trade program. Although Vilsack said Oklahoma farmers were "excited about the possibility that energy and climate change legislation will reward farmers … and reduce the threat of climate change,” my neighbors (including many attending the Vilsack forum) see that legislation as a catastrophe for rural America. Agriculture production requires energy — lots of it — and anything that dramatically increases the cost of energy like the cap-and-tax plan will harm farm families and the consumers who depend on us for food. For us, cap and trade is a job killer and a sure way to drive even more people out of rural Oklahoma. That’s nothing to get "excited” about...NewsOK

EPA fines game & fish for fish kill

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says state fish and wildlife managers have agreed to pay a $14,000 fine to settle alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The EPA says the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has, along with agreeing to pay the fine, taken several steps in response to a chemical spill two years ago at a state hatchery near Pocatello. State officials reported in December 2007 that disinfectants had been spilled at the Grace hatchery in eastern Idaho and the chemicals killed all the fish, many of which were washed downstream into Whiskey Creek. The EPA said in a statement Monday that Idaho Fish and Game’s response included cleaning up the dead fish, creating a staff manual on correct chemical use and educating hatchery workers on federal rules regarding water pollution. AP

EPA Targets Plane De-Icing Chemical

Every winter, airports across the country spray millions of gallons of de-icing chemicals onto airliners and allow the runoff to trickle away. When the chemicals end up in nearby waterways, the de-icing fluid can turn streams bright orange and create dead zones for aquatic life. The practice is legal, but environmental officials want it to stop. Not every airport lets the chemicals drain off the tarmac uncollected, but those that do range from some of the nation's largest -- including John F. Kennedy in New York and Chicago's O'Hare -- to small regional airports such as the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids. Both activists and federal environmental officials say the chemicals slowly create waterways that won't support life...AP

Sierra Club Campaign For Parks

Hi Frank,

When we were in touch earlier this week, we mentioned the upcoming PBS series that launches next week from award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea."

We thought your readers would be interested to know that in honor of the series (and to spread the word about the importance of protecting our national parks for future generations), we are giving away a trip to Yosemite and San Francisco as part of our 100,000 Champions for National Parks campaign. Our goal is to get to 100,000 names by October 4th - All you have to do is sign our statement of support for parks at www.sierraclub.org/parks. Tell us your favorite national park and your name will be added to the scrolling list of "Champions for Parks" on our homepage.

Your readers might also be interested in the other info we have up on www.sierraclub.org/parks - tips for how to visit the national parks, an interactive map featuring info about 12 of our most iconic national parks, the best trails to enjoy in each of the parks, interviews with Ken Burns, video excerpt from the series, and more.

Best,
Sarah

Sierra Club Media Assistant
85 Second Street, Second Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105

Hunters open fire on bears

Two bowhunters from Columbia Falls fired pistols at a family group of bears early Sunday morning in the Great Bear Wilderness, but Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials were unable to locate any dead bears. The two hunters left the Grant Ridge trailhead west of Essex before dawn, hiking several miles up the trail in the dark. Just before dawn, they encountered three or four bears on the trail. One of the hunters fired a warning shot from his handgun, but the bears charged. Both hunters fired their pistols multiple times, but in the low-light conditions they could not tell if the bears were grizzlies or black bears. They hiked back to their vehicle and called the Flathead County Sheriff's Office. State game warden Perry Brown and Tim Manley, a state grizzly bear management specialist, responded and were on the trail with the two hunters by 10 a.m. to investigate. Manley and Brown found drops of blood at the scene of the encounter. With the help of bear dogs, they followed tracks and searched the area but were unable to locate any bears or more blood. Judging from tracks, Manley believes the bears were grizzlies. An analysis of blood samples collected at the scene should confirm the species...DailyInterLake

Matched set of 1851 Colts auction for $130,000

It sat on a shelf in the closet for years, a rosewood case containing two Civil War-era revolvers with ivory handles. The guns had been a gift from a friend to Sharlene Perez's late husband, but they held no sentimental value for her. So in June, she decided it was time to sell them. She slipped the case into a sturdy Lord & Taylor shopping bag and took a taxi six blocks to meet appraiser Greg Martin in midtown Manhattan, N.Y. She knew that there were engravings on the barrels, that the grips were monogrammed and that an inscription on the lid of the case indicated that townspeople in Watertown, N.Y., had given the guns to William C. Browne, a local man heading off to serve as a colonel in the Civil War. In her most optimistic moments, Perez hoped the guns might net $20,000...LATimes

HT: Outdoor Pressroom

Corb Lund's New CD "Losin’ Lately Gambler"

It's ironic that the head Hurtin' Albertan's first album to get a wide release in the U.S. is packed with Canadian references, but it's precisely Lund's ability to write honestly about his background that has made his voice unique among North American singer-songwriters. That point is made right from opening track "Horse Doctor, Come Quick," a tribute to his father, a veterinarian, and reinforced throughout the rest of Losin' Lately Gambler on "Steer Rider's Blues," "Long Gone To Saskatchewan" and "This Is My Prairie." Lund's familiar barebones sound remains intact, courtesy of usual producer Harry Stinson, but "Devil's Best Dress" has a distinct Marty Robbins flair, while "Chinook Wind" chugs along like a classic Waylon Jennings track. Some of the album's best moments are in fact the ballads, where Lund clearly displays how much his singing has improved, but his trademark lyrical playfulness on "Talkin' Veterinarian Blues" and "It's Hard To Keep A White Shirt Clean" will satisfy long-time fans. Whether Americans get it is hardly the issue; Lund has made another solid record that proves he's in this for the long haul...exclaim

Don't have it yet, but this Canadian has put out some good stuff.

Preserving his heritage

Driving across 600 acres of Oklahoma prairie southeast of Duncan, Pruitt stops his truck at a creek to get out and point at a rock bearing deep etchings. The etchings include a date — March 17, 1884 — and names or initials. Pruitt believes it is the work of soldiers or cowboys who passed that way in the days of Indian Territory. He says the creek crossing was made by pony soldiers traveling to Fort Sill. “This is the old military road from Fort Sill to Fort Washita.” The creek is part of old East Mud Creek, he shares. “We’ve been running cattle on this creek for 128 years, since the 1880s or thereabouts.” The Pruitt Ranch land has been in the Pruitt family since just after 1880. He knows that from family lore and original deeds and other documents. He says his grandfather and grandmother, Henry and Orinthia Pruitt, brought 450 head of cattle into southern Oklahoma around that time. Orinthia is buried near Comanche in an unmarked grave that will soon have a headstone, he says. He knows his grandparents were included in the Fort Worth, Texas, census in 1880. One of those original documents is a deed of unallocated land from the Choctaw-Chickasaw Nations, bearing the signature of Quanah Parker. It’s dated May 1, 1917, and is for the sale of 120.09 acres to Nannie F. Pruitt, in Jefferson County. “My grandfather was a pioneer Texas rancher. He finally settled on Mud Creek and was a fiddler. The old home place is 13 miles east of Comanche and a mile south,” he says...DuncanBanner

Song Of The Day #144

Today's tune is Kentucky by the Blue Sky Boys. I've written about them before. On that day's selection back in April, J.R. Absher, proprietor of The Outdoor Pressroom, wrote in the comments section:

Their style and harmony on "Kentucky" surpasses any other version ever recorded.

So J.R., Ranch Radio sends this one out to you.

Leaders warn time running out for climate deal

U.N. climate talks kicked off Monday in Bangkok with leaders calling for delegates to break the deadlock over a global warming deal and warning failure to act would leave future generations fighting for survival. Negotiations on a new U.N. climate pact have been bogged down by a broad unwillingness to commit to firm emissions targets, and a refusal by developing countries to sign a deal until the West guarantees tens of billions of dollars in financial assistance — something rich countries have so far refused to do. "Time is not just pressing. It has almost run out," U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said, with a clock nearby showing there were 70 days until world leaders are scheduled to meet in Copenhagen to finalize a pact. "If we don't realize Plan A, the future will hold us to account," he said...AP

Value of climate credits, foreign ownership concern U.S. farmers

Farmers believe they can play a part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but they want money for what they do. That demand is proving to be tough for Congress to do. A House-passed climate bill would allow farmers and landowners to earn credits for measures that can remove or keep carbon out of the atmosphere. When farmers stop tilling their fields or convert cropland to pasture, carbon in the form of plant material is kept in the soil rather than released into the air. The credits then could be sold to utilities or other companies that would be required to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. However, the House bill includes restrictions on farmers' carbon-saving projects that could make the credits virtually worthless, according to farm groups. David Miller, who helped set up a carbon-credit program for Iowa Farm Bureau, said credits could be worth "next to nothing." The legislation also includes provisions to guarantee that most of the credits permitted by the bill would go to landowners overseas who agree not to cut down rain forests. Senators have expressed concern that allowing the buying and selling of credits will primarily benefit foreign landowners who generate the credits and hedge funds and other big investors who speculate in them. There are differences over how tightly the credit market should be regulated: Some lawmakers fear a repeat of the financial meltdown tied to subprime mortgages...DesMoinesRegister




















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Many farming communities think global warming won't hurt them. They're wrong

You might think a little global warming is good for farming. Longer, warmer growing seasons and more carbon dioxide (CO2)—what plant wouldn't love that? The agricultural industry basically takes that stance. But global warming's effects on agriculture would actually be quite complicated—and mostly not for the better. Based on rationales from "climate change isn't real" to "it will increase crop yields so it's a good thing" to "it will cost us money" most of the country's farming sectors along with their elected officials have staunchly opposed taking action to curb U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. It's true that some crops will prosper on a warmer planet, but the key word there is "some." According to a 2007 government report, higher CO2 levels and longer growing seasons will increase yields for fruit growers in the Great Lakes region. But many major American crops, such as sorghum, sugar cane and corn already use CO2 so efficiently that more of it probably won't make much difference to them. What will make a difference are all the other things we'll have more of as temperatures rise—namely droughts, bugs and big storms. More droughts mean lower crop yields—especially for Southern states. Researchers at the University of Oregon found that in New Mexico alone, reduced stream flow could cost farmers $21 million in crop losses. Meanwhile, melting snow in the Western U.S. will increase water availability in spring but decrease it in summer, forcing farmers to change cropping practices. As pests adapt their migration patterns to our warmer climate, farmers will have to either use more pesticide (anywhere from 2 to 20 percent more, depending on the crop, according to another government study) or plant hardier crops...NewsWeek

Feds seek to settle Bush-era lawsuits over shale policies

The federal government is seeking to settle litigation involving oil shale policies established during the Bush administration, and is describing negotiations as “productive.” Government attorneys pointed to the settlement talks last week in court filings asking for yet another extension of the government’s deadline to answer the litigation. Colorado U.S. District Court Judge John Kane agreed to the government’s request to extend that deadline to Nov. 16. Conservation groups filed two lawsuits on Jan. 16, during George W. Bush’s last days in office. The suits challenge regulations the Bureau of Land Management issued in November for commercial oil shale development, and its earlier identification of 1.9 million acres of public land for potential oil shale development in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. This is the fifth extension the government has been given to respond to the suits...Sentinel

Obama Administration Orders Study on Removing Dams on Snake River to Help Fish

The Obama administration has ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct studies on the possibility of removing four hydroelectric dams on the Snake River in Washington state in order to “protect” 13 species of salmon on the federal endangered species list. The studies were part of a new “Adaptive Management Implementation Plan” created by a coalition of nine government agencies (which calls itself “the Federal Caucus”) that manages the salmon population in the Columbia River basin. The plan aims at trying to reverse a decline in the salmon population in the Pacific Northwest. The plan (or “biological opinion”), which was submitted to a federal court judge in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 15, is a revised version of a plan originally developed by the Bush administration. It explicitly raises the possibility of breaching the four hydropower dams on the Snake River in order to “save” salmon populations. The Bush-era plan did not recommend destroying dams...CNSNews

From Science, Plenty of Cows but Little Profit

Three years ago, a technological breakthrough gave dairy farmers the chance to bend a basic rule of nature: no longer would their cows have to give birth to equal numbers of female and male offspring. Instead, using a high-technology method to sort the sperm of dairy bulls, they could produce mostly female calves to be raised into profitable milk producers. Now the first cows bred with that technology, tens of thousands of them, are entering milking herds across the country — and the timing could hardly be worse. The dairy industry is in crisis, with prices so low that farmers are selling their milk below production cost. The industry is struggling to cut output. And yet the wave of excess cows is about to start dumping milk into a market that does not need it. “It’s real simple,” said Tony De Groot, an early adopter of the new breeding technology, who milks 4,200 cows on a farm here in the heart of this state’s struggling dairy region. “We’ve just got too many cattle on hand and too many heifers on hand, and the supply just keeps on coming and coming.”...NYTimes

Look-alike sturgeon may get protection

Good news for shovelnose sturgeon may be bad news for this region's commercial fishermen, who sell them to make caviar. The shovelnose are not endangered, but their relatives, the pallid sturgeon, are. Because a young pallid can be mistaken for a shovelnose, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week proposed declaring the shovelnose a threatened species in areas where the two types overlap, giving it regulatory authority. The areas include the Mississippi River from Alton downstream and the Missouri River from Montana to the Mississippi River. Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana ban all commercial fishing of shovelnose sturgeon. The Fish and Wildlife Service bases its proposal on a section of the Endangered Species Act that authorizes protection of a species if its appearance is so similar to that of a protected or endangered species that law enforcement is difficult...stltoday