Sunday, January 28, 2007

National defense policy Captain's Quarters: "Early this morning, an American anti-ballistic missile shot down a medium-range target over the Pacific Ocean, another in a string of successful tests aimed at building an umbrella against nuclear attacks on North America: The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency shot down a dummy target missile over the southern Pacific Ocean during a test of the U.S. missile defense shield early Saturday, according to an agency spokeswoman." "2008 pres" 9:10:48 AM

? for president? The Right's Field: "Right Wing News has published a poll of fifty top Republican bloggers on who their most and least desired nominees for 2008 is. Bloggers were asked to list their top five choices for the nomination, as well as the five they would least want to get the GOP nomination. The big winners were Newt 'The Right's Al Gore' Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani. The big losers were Chuck Hagel and John McCain." "2008 pres" 9:08:06 AM

McCain for president? The Right's Field: "This incident at Davos is a pretty strong cause for worry about John McCain's problem with his temper. Attempting to eat journalists at press conferences is not good for a presidential campaigns and is likely to cost McCain sympathy in the press corps." "2008 pres" 9:05:14 AM

Iraq From the Los Angeles Times, "About 100,000 antiwar protesters from around the country converged Saturday on the National Mall, galvanized by opposition to President Bush's plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq. Protests attended by several thousand people also were held in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities. But the demonstration in the nation's capital was among the biggest since the war began. Joining the Washington rally were several members of the House of Representatives and a few Hollywood liberal activists, including Jane Fonda, who said it was her first antiwar demonstration in 34 years." Thanks to the Daily Kos for the link. Jesus' General: "One of the most curious ideological contradictions to be produced (or perhaps merely revealed) by the Republican War in Iraq involves the expressed need to stifle liberty at home in order to spread liberty abroad. If you look around, you'll find this contradiction arising time after time in a variety of situations. The failure of all other stated reasons for invading and occupying Iraq has generally forced Republicans to rely almost exclusively on 'fighting terrorists' by spreading the values of liberty and democracy abroad. Many of these same Republicans, however, have never been good friends of liberty at home, and they see their war as a means for reinforcing their power over others' liberties in America." Blogs for Bush: "You'd think with the number of lefties we get comments from on this blog that one of them would have tipped me off to the anti-war demonstration...it was a slow day here for me in Vegas and I could have live blogged it from C-Span coverage. For crying out loud: we had Sarandon, Fonda, Kucinich..You realise how hard it will be to track down transcripts of what they said? It isn't a matter of if they said stupid and outrageous things, but how often and how vehemently! I feel really let down by the left...which isn't a new thing at all." Political Wire: "'In her first face-to-face meeting with voters since announcing for president, Hillary Clinton was asked about Iraq and ducked the question,' according to The Politico's Roger Simon. 'In the one-hour town meeting, Hillary did not mention Iraq a single time. She mentioned ethanol twice.' However, the pool report issued later from the Iowa Democratic Party Central Committee meeting, noted Clinton took on the question directly. She 'did her riff about how if we'd known then what we know now, there wouldn't have been a vote.' Said Clinton: 'I've taken responsibility for my vote. But there are no do-overs in life. I wish there were. I acted on the best judgment I had at the time. I said this was not a vote for preemptive war. The president took my vote, and others' votes, and basically misused the authority we gave him.'" Colorado Confidential: "The number of Iraq War protesters in front of the Post Office in Carbondale was nothing in comparison to the hundreds of thousands that rallied in Washington DC. Yet, the local demonstrators were as enthusiastic about their anti-war sentiment as their Capitol counterparts." "2008 pres" 8:52:14 AM

Don't eat (too much) Walleye The Cortez Journal is running an update on the problem of mercury pollution. They write, "Fish at Totten Reservoir are unsafe for young children and pregnant women to eat, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Elevated levels of mercury have been found in fish in five more Colorado reservoirs statewide, including Totten. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will issue advisories and post warnings at the lake saying pregnant and nursing women and young children shouldn't eat the fish and that other people should limit their intake. At Totten lake the species of concern is the walleye. In Colorado, the five new water bodies and the fish where elevated mercury levels were found were Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins, walleye and wiper, a hybrid; Horseshoe Reservoir, west of Walsenburg, saugeye, a walleye hybrid; Totten Reservoir near Cortez, walleye; Purdy Reservoir near Grand Junction, large mouth bass; and Trinidad Lake near Trinidad, walleye. Narraguinnep Reservoir and McPhee Reservoir already have advisories posted warning about levels of mercury in fish. "A new report by scientists with the Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon State University found mercury in every fish and every river they sampled for various environmental factors in 12 Western states. Findings from a survey of 2,707 fish randomly collected from 626 rivers between 2000 and 2004 were reported in this month's issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Another study published by the National Wildlife Federation showed high levels of mercury in eagles and otters that feed on affected fish." "colorado water" 8:46:20 AM

Tancredo or Giuliani for president? Tom Tancredo and Rudy Giuliani were in New Hampshire yesterday, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani served 400 New Hampshire activists a full breakfast spread Saturday before he gave the keynote address at the state Republican Party's annual meeting. He was greeted with whoops and hollers, welcomed as a hero. U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, meanwhile, offered a buffet at his afternoon reception. It sat for hours as state activists stayed holed-up at the state party meeting. His staff waited for the meeting to end so they could woo activists. Tancredo knows he's among the long-shot contenders for the GOP presidential nomination... "In Colorado, Tancredo's anti-immigration argument is the bread-and-butter of the Republican's identity. Here in New Hampshire, though, he's finding trouble selling it. In a state that includes metric measurements on its highway signs to accommodate visiting Canadians, illegal immigration isn't an issue that elicits fear or mobilizes voters." 8:39:58 AM

Snowpack The Longmont Daily Times Call is reporting that snowpack on Longs Peak is at the highest level since 1997. From the article, "Snowpack at the Longs Peak Snow Survey site - which hasn't seen above-average snowpack since 1997 - weighed in at 133 percent of average, said Don Graffis, a soil scientist with the federal NRCS in Longmont. 'What this tells us is that we have a very good start,' Graffis said. Graffis and Sylvia Hickenlooper, also with the NRCS, weighed 10 snow samples at the Longs Peak site Friday to determine the snowpack, which shows the water content in snow... "The 15 automated measurement sites for the South Platte River Basin, which feeds most of northern Colorado, showed the snowpack at 119 percent of average Friday." "colorado water" 8:30:53 AM

Eagle River cleanup Organizations on the Eagle River have determined how they're going to split up dough to restore the river, according to the Vail Daily News "reg". From the article, "Decades of gold and silver mining have caused a world of hurt for the Eagle River. Toxic metals from the Eagle Mine spilled into the stream, killing fish, tainting drinking water and staining the river orange until cleanup efforts began. Since then, media conglomerate Viacom Inc., which owned the mine, was required to contribute to a National Resource Damage Fund that would be used to restore stretches of the Eagle River affected directly or indirectly by the polluting mine. Four nonprofit and environmental groups have been competing for a share of the now $2.4 million fund, and now these groups know how much they're going to get. Projects pitched by the Eagle River Watershed Council and Minturn tied in an advisory work group's final scoring, and they'll get the bulk of the money. The other two projects, one headed by the Vail Valley Foundation and the other by Colorado Mountain College, were given much lower priority but were still awarded money. 'Every project got enough to do something with,' said Wendy Naugle, a member of the damage fund work group. The work group will make recommendations to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment board of trustees, which has the final say on who gets the money." "colorado water" 8:23:52 AM

Alternatives to drying up farmland Here's an update on the Statewide Water Supply Initiative [pdf] from the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "A statewide study of water needs is close to identifying projects that could help meet a gap in urban water supplies over the next 25 years. Rather than one big solution to all water shortages, the second phase of the Statewide Water Supply Initiative will look at regional projects and rely on the Interbasin Compact Committee and roundtables in each basin to weigh the merits of specific projects, said Rick Brown, who has coordinated SWSI for the Colorado Water Conservation Board since 2003... "Increasingly, conservation is seen by cities as a way to enhance flows as well to improve overall quality of life, said Greg Fisher of Denver Water planning department. Denver has entered a conservation plan to reduce water use by 20 percent. Meanwhile, Westminster is far along in its efforts to conserve water, but still looks for new opportunities, said Stu Feinglass, water conservation analyst... "The group looking at alternatives to drying up farmland rated five options: "Alternative cropping and irrigation: Farmers face uncertainty and up-front costs. While ag conservation meets other goals, it is not a good strategy to stop 'buy-and-dry' programs by cities. "Water banking: Water banking works well for temporary transfers, but provides no long-term certainty. Water banks are tough to get going. The Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District is one of the few groups actively looking at a water bank, but will need an extension on legislation to make it work. "Rotational fallowing: A long-term lease of large blocks of water satisfies the cities' need for certainty and farmers' need for income, but is limited to large tracts and expensive to set up. The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District is studying combining the resources of several ditch companies to set up a system. "Interruptible Service Agreements: Drawbacks to both parties were seen in such leases that would make agricultural water available to cities in dry years. "Purchase-leaseback: The water is sold, but leased back to farmers until needed. Tri-State Electric Generation and Transmission Association is using the strategy in obtaining water for a proposed coal-burning plant in the Lamar area." "colorado water" 8:15:42 AM

Quagga mussels in the lower Colorado River Officials are worried that Quagga mussels may spread to Lake Powell. Here's an article with some detail from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. They write, "The latest fishing report from Lake Powell fisheries biologist Wayne Gustaveson begins as do most, with a recap of the latest fishing conditions, water level (3,600 mean sea level) and water temperature (46-49 F) at the popular reservoir in southern Utah. But Gustaveson's tone quickly changes when he entreats anglers to help stop an invasion of what biologists say is a dire threat to Lake Powell's fishing. The threat is the quagga mussel, an innocuous looking shellfish smaller than your thumbnail but one that, in sufficient numbers, could completely disrupt Lake Powell as we know it today... "A seven-year program at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area aimed at preventing a mussel infection includes stopping all boats and trailers from east of the Continental Divide to check for mussels. Any boat with questionable credentials was offered a free hot-water wash to kill any hitchhiking mussels. The program seems to have been successful, Gustaveson reported, since mussels haven't been found in Lake Powell. Now, though, the quagga mussel suddenly is pounding on the door. Gustaveson likens the quagga to a 'zebra mussel on steroids,' and their proximity to Lake Powell makes Gustaveson fearful it's only a matter of time before an unaware boater carries the quagga to the lake... "The quagga mussel prefers deep, cool water and can attach itself to soft and hard substrate, including boat motors, shopping carts and sandy beaches. 'The problem with both species of mussel is that they are so prolific that they cover the lake bottom and structures with layer after layer of shellfish,' Gustaveson said. 'They can even attach to slow moving animals like crayfish. Nothing is safe.' He said quagga mussels have been known to form a shell reef more than a foot thick and actually deposit enough shells to close off water pipes less than 12 inches in diameter. In some places, the mussels have been counted at more than 700,000 per square meter. 'If they get established at high water, when the water level drops, as it always does in Lake Powell, you won[base ']t have any sandy beaches but rather beaches made of razor-sharp mussel shells,' warned Gustaveson. The shellfish eat by siphoning water through the shell. Biologists say zebra mussels are so common in the Great Lakes that every 12 hours, every drop of water in the vast lakes is funneled through a mussel. Lakes that were full of phytoplankton before zebra mussel infestation are devoid of the algae afterwards. Lake productivity is soon affected as mussels siphon away nutrients and plankton before other fish can eat it... "Gustaveson offered a list of what boaters should do before and after visiting any water where mussels might be found: Drain the water from your motor, live well and bilge on land before leaving the immediate area of the mussel-infested lake; Flush the motor and bilges with hot, soapy water or a 5-percent solution of household bleach; Completely inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull, these may be young mussels that can be hard to see; Wash the hull, equipment, bilge and any other exposed surface with hot, soapy water or use a 5-percent solution of household bleach; Clean and wash your trailer, truck or any other equipment that comes in contact with lake water. Mussels can live in small pockets anywhere water collects; Air-dry the boat and other equipment for at least five days before launching in any other waterway." "colorado water" 8:00:39 AM

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