| |
|
Sunday, March 11, 2007
|
|
Hickenlooper for mayor?
Mayor Hickenlooper has his revised website up. He uses some of the same graphics and layout from the 2003 election. We're particularly happy that he has a link to the 2003 video. His ad campaign that year set him apart from the crowd; as did his website.
No events page or weblog. There is an easy signup for his email list.
"denver 2007"
9:52:10 AM 
|
|
War on terror
TalkLeft:
"Say hello to The 'Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007' and 'Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007.' Introduced last week Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Jane Harman (D-CA) respectively, the bills would restore habeas and other rights to the detainees at Guantanamo."
"2008 pres"
9:38:27 AM
|
|
Iraq
Washington Post: "President Bush approved 8,200 more U.S. troops for Iraq and Afghanistan on top of reinforcements already ordered to those two countries, the White House said Saturday, a move that comes amid a fiery debate in Washington over the Iraq war. The president agreed to send 4,700 troops to Iraq in addition to the 21,500 he ordered to go in January, mainly to provide support for those combat forces and to handle more anticipated Iraqi prisoners. He also decided to send a 3,500-member brigade to Afghanistan to accelerate training of local forces, doubling his previous troop increase to fight a resurgent Taliban."
Thanks to beSpacific for the link.
Captain's Quarters: "The Washington Post, among other news outlets, made a stink last week about the lack of a publicly-stated Plan B in the event the surge strategy failed to make a difference in Iraq. However, with preliminary indications showing success, Robert Kagan wonders whether journalists have a Plan B for themselves."
"2008 pres"
9:33:45 AM
|
|
More Coulter fallout
The Horse's Mouth: "TPM Reader EF has written in to tell us he's a gay man living in New York who was dismayed to discover the other day that the hometown paper he delivered as a boy -- the Siskiyou Daily News in rural northern California -- is carrying Ann Coulter's column. He has now written a letter to the paper's managing editor, Deborra Clayton, pleading with her to drop Coulter. I'm reprinting much of his letter here, because it says a good deal about what this whole thing's about."
"2008 pres"
9:28:11 AM
|
|
? for president?
Captain's Quarters: "Democratic actiivists have rejoiced this week in the cancellation of a presidential campaign debate in Nevada, arranged by the state party to air on Fox. They demanded that the candidates reject the debate even before Fox executive Roger Ailes made a controversial joke about Barack Obama, but the effort gained so much steam afterwards that all of the candidates acquiesced. Nevadans who had hoped to host an important party function are now outraged over the end of the event, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal has special derision for the activists who screeched with outrage over Fox's involvement."
"2008 pres"
9:22:58 AM
|
|
Who's drying up this week?
Farmland continues to be taken out of production along the Arkansas River, from sales and leases of water, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. They write, "The amount of irrigated farmland in the Arkansas Valley has been dwindling for three decades and will continue to disappear as more water is converted to other uses. While past water deals or court cases have dried up more than 70,000 acres in the lower Arkansas Valley -- roughly one-fourth of the ground once irrigated -- a like amount of land could go out of production as new plans develop over the next 30 years. Three years ago, the Statewide Water Supply Initiative predicted 23,000 to 70,000 acres of Arkansas Valley farmland would be dried up to support growth of more than 450,000 additional residents in the Arkansas Valley, mostly in Colorado Springs, by the year 2030. That could happen sooner rather than later, and 70,000 acres may be the conservative end of the estimate, based on what's already happening. Some dryup also will be caused as water shifts to electrical generation or is exported from the valley."
"colorado water"
8:51:49 AM
|
|
Super Ditch for southeastern Colorado?
Officials from seven ditch companies looking to form a Super Ditch company in southeastern Colorado were hanging in southern California, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "In some ways, the Palo Verde district is like any of the large ditch companies back home -- it is run by farmers, has a proud agricultural heritage and has felt the sting of urban areas competing for limited water resources. In other ways, it is like visiting a whole 'nother planet -- farming is year-round, ditch levels are tightly controlled with computer telemetry and nobody actually owns an individual water right. The conversation -- one likely to be repeated many times in months to come -- was entirely down to earth, however, as the farmers discussed how they might somehow unite to form a 'Super Ditch' that would lease water to thirsty cities in the future. The farmers, representing seven canals east of Pueblo, came at the invitation of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, which has laid out $330,000 to look at legal and engineering details of forming the district...
"The seven ditches being considered -- Bessemer, Catlin, Fort Lyon, High Line, Holbrook, Otero and Oxford -- have at least 20 different decrees for appropriation dates. The date of appropriation determines how much water must be in the river before a canal can divert, based on when a specified amount of water was first put to beneficial use. There is no agreement about how much consumptive use each canal has, only that it's not the same in any two systems. While diversions measure the amount of water drawn from the river, consumptive use looks at how much water historically has been used and how much is returned to the river for the benefit of downstream users. If water were to be leased, the consumptive use would have to be quantified in court cases to allow a change of use, and farmers already fear pressure from the Colorado Division of Water Resources to account for return flows as farming methods like drip and sprinklers increase efficiency. The ditches under consideration irrigate 180,000 acres along 150 miles in the Arkansas River. Many of the farmers on the trip irrigate under more than one ditch, and acknowledge ditches have cooperated on some things in the past. But there is a complicated hierarchy of water rights.
"Fort Lyon is the largest ditch, but its headgates are farthest from the Pueblo Dam. While it has the most water, some of its rights are junior to other systems. Bessemer diverts directly from Pueblo Dam and has some of the oldest rights, but by itself controls only a fraction of the water that could be in the leasing program. Holbrook and Otero have relatively junior rights and during dry years would contribute less water. High Line, with senior rights, already has participated in a lease program that was successful for the farmers. With the help of Aurora, is applying for an exchange decree to facilitate future leases. But was the ditch company getting top dollar and could it lease water if there were no drought-driven emergency? Settling such differences would be the first step toward setting up the Super Ditch."
"colorado water"
8:42:13 AM
|
|
Energy policy: Ethanol
Is ethanol one of the pieces of the puzzle for energy independence? Here's an opinion piece on the subject from the Olberlin Times. They write, "America is drunk on ethanol. Farmers in the Midwest are sending billions of bushels of corn to refineries that turn it into billions of gallons of fuel. Automakers in Detroit have already built millions of cars, trucks and SUVs that can run on it, and are committed to making millions more. In Washington, politicians have approved generous subsidies for companies that make ethanol. And just this week, President Bush arranged with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for their countries to share ethanol production technology...
"The problem is, ethanol really isn't ready for prime time. The only economical way to make ethanol right now is with corn, which means the burgeoning industry is literally eating America's lunch, not to mention its breakfast and dinner. And though ethanol from corn may have some minor benefits with regard to energy independence, most analysts conclude its environmental benefits are questionable at best. There are many questions about ethanol's place in America[OE]s energy future. Some are easily answered; others, not so much. Ethanol is moonshine. Hooch. Rotgut. White lightning. That explains why the last time Americans produced it in any appreciable amount was during Prohibition. Today, just like back then, virtually all the ethanol produced in the United States comes from corn that is fermented and then distilled to produce pure grain alcohol. Any car will burn gasoline mixed with a small amount of ethanol. But cars must be equipped with special equipment to burn fuel that is more than about 10 percent ethanol. All three of the major American automakers are already producing flex-fuel cars that can run on either gasoline or E85, a mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Thanks to incentives from the federal government, they have committed to having half the cars they produce run on either E85 or biodiesel by 2012."
"2008 pres"
8:26:58 AM
|
|
Global warming: The Earth is a beautifully complex system
Here's an opinion piece on greenhouse gases and warming, written by Henry I. Miller, from the San Francisco Chronicle. From the article, "We're attacking global warming with a lot of hot air -- with strategies that will never work. Although many activists have been pushing for lower emissions of greenhouse gases, what we really need is resilience and adaptation. Significant reductions of emissions will be too costly, too little and too late. Reductions in the burning of fossil fuels sufficient to have even a modest impact would stifle economic growth and plunge the world into chaos. In any case, discernible effects on warming would be decades away. In addition, as pointed out recently in an article in the journal Nature by University of Colorado environmental studies Professor Roger Pielke Jr. and his collaborators. 'Vulnerability to climate-related impacts on society is increasing for reasons that have nothing to do with greenhouse gas emissions, such as rapid population growth along coasts and in areas with limited water supplies,' which exacerbates the impact of droughts...
"Such doctrinaire activism is inimical to resilience; it jeopardizes our survival as individuals and our success as a society. The need for resilience in both the private and public sectors is not new. The buggy-whip manufacturers had to adapt and begin supplying automobile components to Henry Ford's assembly line, or die. But resilience is in short supply these days, and there is plenty of blame to go around. Politicians tend to be short-term thinkers, their purview often limited to the next election, and many of them seem to care less about the public interest than about scoring political points. Moreover, many of them are just not very smart, and they're particularly challenged in science and logic If we are to meet economic, environmental and public health challenges, we need plenty of options and opportunities for innovation -- and the wealth to pursue them. In society, as in biology, survival demands adaptation. But in large and small ways, unimaginative, short-sighted politicians and venal activists have conspired to limit our options, constrain economic growth and make real solutions elusive."
Meanwhile a study of the global effects of warming on water supplies will be published next month, according to CNN. From the article, "The harmful effects of global warming on daily life are already showing up, and within a couple of decades hundreds of millions of people won't have enough water, top scientists will say next month at a meeting in Belgium. At the same time, tens of millions of others will be flooded out of their homes each year as the Earth reels from rising temperatures and sea levels, according to portions of a draft of an international scientific report obtained by The Associated Press. Tropical diseases like malaria will spread. By 2050, polar bears will mostly be found in zoos, their habitats gone. Pests like fire ants will thrive. For a time, food will be plentiful because of the longer growing season in northern regions. But by 2080, hundreds of millions of people could face starvation, according to the report, which is still being revised. The draft document by the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change focuses on global warming's effects and is the second in a series of four being issued this year. Written and reviewed by more than 1,000 scientists from dozens of countries, it still must be edited by government officials."
"2008 pres"
8:02:53 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 9:07:02 PM.
|
|
|
![A picture named waterfromtap.jpg](http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/images/water/waterfromtap.jpg")
