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Monday, February 19, 2007
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U.S. H.B. 1182
DARCA: "Rep. Mark Udall has introduced H.B. 1182 in the U.S. House of Representatives to 'amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow section 1031 treatment for exchanges involving certain mutual ditch, reservoir, or irrigation company stock.' Co-sponsors are Rep. Doug Lamborn, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave and Rep. John Salazar."
"colorado water"
6:00:37 PM 
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? for president?
The Right's Field: "Cliff Schecter interviewed Leonard Clark, the Iraq veteran that is launching a recall campaign against Senator John McCain (R-Arizona)."
Colorado Confidential has a roundup of efforts on behalf of several presidential candidates here in Colorado.
"2008 pres"
5:17:38 PM
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War on terror
Josh Marshall: "You've probably seen today's report in the Times about the al Qaida resurgence along Pakistan's lawless frontier with Afghanistan. This should hardly be a surprise not only because of the Taliban's comeback in Afghanistan but much more importantly because of the de facto ceasefire with al Qaida militants and their backers that the Pakistani government recently agreed to."
"2008 pres"
5:16:18 PM
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Arkansas Valley Conduit
A Coyote Gulch reader (thanks Theo!) sent us this link [pdf] as a follow up to the Arkansas Valley Conduit story we ran yesterday (scroll through the document to page 8, Water Rights vs. Pollution Control Along the Arkansas River). It seems that flood irrigation is a major contributor to salinity in the Arkansas River. The river itself is high in natural salinity as a victim of it's geology.
From the article, "Ever since the first settlers plowed up the prairie along the Arkansas River, farmers have flooded their fields with river water to grow crops. They quickly learned that the river was naturally salty and located their towns near river tributaries to find fresh water. But today the Arkansas is slowly poisoning the agricultural economy it helped create. Salt buildup in farm soil has slashed crop yields and high salt loads in the river have forced rural communities to confront huge drinkingwater treatment bills, and provided a potential flash point of litigation between Kansas and Colorado, to say nothing of the impacts on stream ecology.
"The lower Arkansas River in Colorado is the saltiest stream of its size in the U.S. Its underlying problem is geology. The river picks up salt as it cuts through ancient seabed formations on its route through Colorado's southern plains. And traditional flood irrigation -- diverting river water across fields with canals,
ditches and pipes -- raises the salt content of the soil and the contaminant level of the river as it flows toward Kansas.
"Ongoing studies by Gates and other CSU researchers suggest the cycle of irrigation-amplified pollution can be broken but not without great expense. Gates said aging ditches, canals and other waterdelivery systems need to be rehabilitated and modernized; subsurface drainage systems must be installed and maintained; new and more salt-tolerant crop varieties will have to be planted. Widespread adoption of drip irrigation, which delivers water directly to crop roots, could help save farming and improve environmental conditions in the river, Gates believes. But the cost of installing drip systems -- up to $1,600 per acre -- deters many farmers."
Coyote Gulch linked to the original Denver Post article on February 27, 2005.
"colorado water"
8:44:15 AM
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Stem cell research
Science Blog: "The potential of stem cells has so far gone largely untapped, despite the great promise that stem cells hold. But new research from Rockefeller University now shows that adult stem cells taken from skin can be used to clone mice using a procedure called nuclear transfer."
Science Blog: "Human nerve stem cells transplanted into rats' damaged spinal cords have survived, grown and in some cases connected with the rats' own spinal cord cells in a Johns Hopkins laboratory, overturning the long-held notion that spinal cords won't allow nerve repair."
"2008 pres"
8:21:52 AM
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NOAA Activates Newest Climate and Weather Supercomputers
Science Blog: "NOAA announced today (Jan 31) that it has activated its newest weather and climate supercomputers, increasing the computational might used for the nation's climate and weather forecasts by 320 percent. The new IBM machines process 14 trillion calculations per second at maximum performance and ingest more than 240 million global observations daily.
"NOAA image of IBM supercomputers used for climate and weather forecasts.The primary and back up systems, ranked 36th and 37th in the world on the Top 500 list of the world's fastest computers, will enable the NOAA National Weather Service to deliver more products, with greater accuracy, at longer-lead times. These supercomputers will consume more data and generate highly advanced models that may enable meteorologists to begin making significant inroads in cracking hurricane intensity forecast challenges.
"These machines also will process data from Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) satellites, a series of six satellites launched in 2006 that will provide NOAA National Weather Service forecasters with better understanding of jet streams and related storm systems -- keys for the early prediction of storms like those that affected Denver and the Pacific Northwest in December and January.
"colorado water"
8:17:58 AM
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Informed Voters
Say hello to Informed Voters a, "Forum dedicated to inform and educate the voting public through articles, ideas, and links."
"2008 pres"
8:03:59 AM
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Iraq
Daily Kos: "This potential legislation terrifies the Republicans. They face having to vote against ensuring that our troops are properly trained and equipped before they are sent into battle in Iraq. And after four years of the Republicans looking the other way while the administration over-extended our military, they know that it can't be done. Finally facing the possibility of acting in the best interest of the men and women of our military rather than continuing with their empty, mewling platitudes about supporting the troops, they attack. And the target is squarely on John Murtha's back."
Captain's Quarters: "The Iraqi government faces many issues, but perhaps none as intractable as oil revenues. The proper division of monies from oil production has plagued the National Assembly and sectarian relations since the end of the Saddam Hussein tyranny. The Kurds and the Shi'ites, freed from Saddam's grip, want to use the oil revenue from their sectors to directly benefit themselves. The lack of such resources in Sunni-controlled territory fuels the Sunni insurgents, afraid that they will be left destitute in a federal system. Now, however, it appears that the Sunnis may have more resources than first thought. The New York Times reports that Western engineers have discovered significant fields of oil and natural gas in Anbar."
Captain's Quarters: "Investors Business Daily reports on a poll they conducted earlier this month that appears to contradict the conventional wisdom that the midterms were a referendum on the war. In fact, the IBD poll shows that sentiment has actually built towards a commitment to victory in Iraq, and they angrily denounce John Murtha and the defeatists."
Washington Post: "Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.
"This is the world of Building 18, not the kind of place where Duncan expected to recover when he was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from Iraq last February with a broken neck and a shredded left ear, nearly dead from blood loss. But the old lodge, just outside the gates of the hospital and five miles up the road from the White House, has housed hundreds of maimed soldiers recuperating from injuries suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely -- a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients. Almost 700 of them -- the majority soldiers, with some Marines -- have been released from hospital beds but still need treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty."
Thanks to Jesus' General for the link.
"2008 pres"
7:41:08 AM
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War on terror
unbossed: "Ali Shalal Abbas, a former prisoner at Abu Ghraib, has submitted an affidavit under oath in Malaysia about his brutal treatment at the prison."
"2008 pres"
7:34:53 AM
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? for president?
Captain's Quarters: "John McCain and Mitt Romney spent their weekends jogging -- to the right. McCain made his clearest statement yet on abortion, and Romney backpedaled from his previous stand on allowing gays to openly serve in the military. Both men appear to understand that the primaries will require significant support from social conservatives in the GOP, a group both men have eschewed at times during their careers."
The Right's Field: "Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), in an attempt to curry support from social conservatives, did a 180 degree flip on the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortions in the United States, Roe v. Wade...The John McCain Presidential Pander Parade continues." Ouch!
Jesus' General: "John McCain: The man with all the answers."
eyeon08.com: "MItt Romney's appearance on This Week will likely be viewed as one of the fundamental mistakes in the campaign. Not only has he had a problem with his statements on why he voted for Paul Tsongas. He is going to have another problem on taxes. In talking about taxes and the Americans for Tax Reform pledge, he said: 'But you can read the pledge, if you will,' Romney said in his 'This Week' interview, 'and you can see that it's drawn very narrowly. It's not drawn very broadly. It talks about raising the highest marginal income tax rate. It does not talk about all forms of revenue for the government.' And so Romney already tries to finesse his position on taxes. So you see, Romney starts on the far left of the Republican Party when he calls the ATR Tax Pledge 'government by gimmickry'. Then he signs it. Then he soft sells his position. Furthermore, he will likely continue to try to sell his position as having never raised taxes even though he raised fees and taxes substantially."
"2008 pres"
7:27:20 AM
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Denver record for measurable snow?
It looks likely that Denver will tie or set a new record this week for the number of days for measurable snow on the ground, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "The area is expecting more snow today, making it likely that Denver will surpass the record set nearly a quarter of a century ago. 'Right now, we're looking at maybe an inch or two from this little surge on Monday afternoon into Monday night,' Burroughs said. The record of 63 consecutive days of snow cover was set in the winter of 1983-84. The previous record of 60 days occurred in 1913-14. The snow is measured daily at 6 a.m. by weather specialists monitoring certain spots at the old Stapleton airfield. A measurement of at least one-tenth of an inch Thursday would break the record."
"colorado water"
7:14:22 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 9:05:03 PM.
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