Thursday, February 7, 2008

Romney out MSNBC.com: "John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering campaign. 'I must now stand aside, for our party and our country,' Romney told conservatives." "2008 pres" 5:57:50 PM

? for President? Elevated Voices: "The prospect of the nomination not being locked up before the start of August's Democratic National Convention in Denver is making the rounds in political circles." GOAT: "Senator Barack Obama addressed native issues at a town meeting in Elko, Nev. on January 18, as he spoke to a crowd of about 1,600 people. In response to a question about what he would do for tribal members if he became President, Obama talked about acknowledging the "tragic history" of the U.S. government's relationship with native peoples; said he would appoint a Native American policy advisor to strengthen relationships between the chief executive and tribes; and pledged to ensure that adequate resources are appropriated for Indian agencies." Political Wire: "The latest Gallup tracking poll shows Sen. Hillary Clinton widening her national lead over Sen. Barack Obama to 52% to 39%. However, most of the interviews were conducted before the results of Super Tuesday were known." "2008 pres" 5:53:03 PM

War on terror Talking Points Memo: "Attorney General Michael Mukasey is back on the Hill today, testifying to the House Judiciary Committee. Paul Kiel is covering it at TPMmuckraker. So far, he's dropped two big bombshells. DOJ will not be investigating: (1) whether the waterboarding, now admitted to by the White House, was a crime; (2) whether the Administration's warrantless wiretapping was illegal. His rationale? Both programs had been signed off on in advance as legal by the Justice Department. Cynics may argue that those aren't bombshells at all, that the Bush Administration would never investigate itself in these matters. Perhaps so. But this is a case where cynicism is itself dangerous. We have now the Attorney General of the United States telling Congress that it's not against the law for the President to violate the law if his own Department of Justice says it's not." "2008 pres" 5:50:47 PM

Creede asking for help with point source pollution Governor Ritter is on board with Creede and Mineral County for a superfund designation for two sites near the town, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article: Gov. Bill Ritter has given his support to a request by the town of Creede and Mineral County to have two sites in the town's historic mining district considered for cleanup by the Environmental Protection Agency. Ritter's letter, which was sent to the federal agency last month, opens the door for the EPA to evaluate the two sites for a spot on the national priorities list. The list guides the agency in determining which areas across the country merit cleanup under the Superfund program. The two sites include the Nelson Tunnel, which drains five mines in the district and is Willow Creek's biggest contributor of metals such as cadmium, lead, zinc, aluminum and copper. The nearby Commodore Mine waste rock pile is also under consideration because of its instability... The governor's letter stated that a spot on the priorities list would ensure the long-term clean up of the two sites, but also spelled out his concern with EPA involvement beyond the tunnel and waste rock pile. "Any expansion of the NPL listing to incorporate areas beyond the Nelson Tunnel and the Commodore waste rock pile would be unacceptable without community involvement and acceptance," Ritter wrote. The nonprofit Willow Creek Reclamation Association, which has directed cleanup efforts, has made the preservation of scenic beauty and historic structures a priority, and Ritter called for future work to honor that commitment. Lastly, the governor's letter requested that any cleanup not interfere with the town's water rights in the Willow Creek watershed. Peggy Linn, a community involvement coordinator for the EPA, welcomed the governor's support of a listing. "If he can give us a little clout and ensure more regular funding, we would like that," she said. "It would help us get our job done." She said the agency did not foresee a problem with the town's water right... The EPA will host a meeting Feb. 28 at the Creede Community Center to discuss the agency's plans for stabilizing the rock pile, Linn said. The meeting will also review how the public can submit comments on the proposed listing, which the agency hopes to publish in the Federal Register in March. The publication would be followed by a 60-day comment period. The proposed listing would then be further evaluated and a final decision on the proposal would likely come in the fall, she said. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 7:02:56 AM

HB 08-1141 HB 08-1141 has run into opposition and is in trouble according to The Durango Herald. From the article: Developers have derailed a plan to require proof of their water supply before county commissioners approve new subdivisions, the bill's sponsor said Tuesday. State Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, canceled a hearing Tuesday afternoon for her House Bill 1141. Home builders and cities have rounded up enough opposition in the House Local Government Committee to kill the bill if she had moved ahead. "I think this is a responsible growth bill," Curry said. "I'm frankly disappointed at the opposition. I think it's not too much to ask to say that water supplies are sustainable prior to the approval of a new subdivision." The bill exposed east-west tensions about water that have simmered in Colorado for generations. An additional 3 million people are expected to move to Colorado in the next 30 years, mostly to the Front Range, demographers say. At the same time, the state is nearing the limit of the water it can expect under the Colorado River Compact of 1922 - the supreme water law in the southwestern U.S. Curry's bill is delayed "until further notice," she said. But its future is in doubt. "It's an uphill climb to get support from the opponents," Curry said. The Colorado Association of Home Builders opposed the bill, saying counties already do a thorough job of examining new subdivisions. The state shouldn't intrude, said Rob Nanfelt with the association. The bill would require developers to declare their proposed water source and get letters from a professional engineer and the state water engineer testifying to a long-term water supply. Counties already require developers to show they have an adequate water supply, Nanfelt said. But they don't always follow the specific steps in Curry's bill. The state water engineer's office would need to hire four new engineers at an annual cost of more than $300,000 to do the reviews called for in Curry's bill, according to the Legislature's nonpartisan budget analysts. Still, high-ranking Democrats support Curry's concept. "I think this state is incapable of sustaining an indefinitely growing population," said Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver. And the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee lamented the trouble HB 1141 has encountered. "It's too bad, really," said Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus. He has not closely examined Curry's bill, but said it makes sense to be upfront with home buyers about their water. "The worst is when you buy a high-priced home south of Denver thinking you have a good water supply, when really you don't have a good water supply. That's what we're trying to prevent," Isgar said. Many subdivisions in Denver's large southern suburbs use groundwater, and the aquifer is dropping a little more each year. The local water districts are now looking to the Western Slope for renewable supplies of water from rivers. More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here. "colorado water" 6:51:53 AM

Energy policy: Nuclear Fort Collins Now has been down in Texas checking out a proposed in situ uranium mining operation with a lot of local opposition. From the article: The first sign that there might be something wrong with the water on Craig Duderstadt's south Texas ranch was when the cows wouldn't drink. Last summer, they began to bypass their special groundwater well-fed trough, preferring to drink from a muddy puddle of rainwater. "This is a full water trough, and they'd walk a couple hundred yards and drink from a water hole. They'd walk right past that water trough," Duderstadt said. "You can't make 'em drink." About that same time, the well water used inside the house for everything from showering to drinking started running red and slimy. A well filter that would normally last six months plugged up in a matter of hours[~]one time, Craig couldn't even get it out of the filter casing because of all the sediment. The Duderstadts stopped drinking the water, too. A Culligan driver now brings four blue jugs of clean water a month from Victoria, the nearest big town, about a 30-minute drive northeast. The culprit, they say, is a uranium mining operation 1,250 feet from their front door. They say the water turns bad when the mining company drills exploration wells nearby... Fort Collins Now traveled to Goliad, Texas, to find out how ranchers and grandmothers are trying to stop a newly formed company from extracting uranium from the ground using their groundwater. The fight against in-situ uranium mining in south Texas is similar to a battle brewing in Northern Colorado. There are differences, to be sure, but in both places, the fight comes down to water and the fundamental fact that it is essential to life. It's an especially tough issue for people who long thought they could count on that water to work on the land and earn a peaceful living. But as the Duderstadts and their neighbors have learned, nothing is ever certain... Texas has bountiful uranium reserves, about 18 million tons of ore, equating to 23 million pounds of yellowcake, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency estimated reserves based on cost in 2003, and the 18 million figure is based on a price of $50 per pound. But last summer, uranium prices more than doubled that amount, and were hovering around $80 a pound the week of Jan. 28. It's evidence that investors and private and public utilities know uranium is an increasingly feasible alternative to coal and gas-fired power plants, especially since nuclear power plants don't generate greenhouse gases in the process of creating electricity. That is what led Paul Moore, a co-founder of the global environmental group Greenpeace, to advocate for nuclear. He is now a paid spokesman for the industry-funded Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, whose logo includes a 70's-style nuclear power plant protest pin with the phrase "No Nukes," but the "no" is crossed out and "yes" is scratched in. On the group's Web site, several national lawmakers are quoted saying good things about nuclear power, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, from Nevada, who reportedly said, "I'm cool with nukes," and GOP presidential front-runner John McCain, who is quoted saying, "We need to go back to nuclear power." Talk of a nuclear resurgence is being phrased in the language of national security, even patriotism -- the United States needs home-harvested material like uranium to survive, advocates say. It's not a renewable resource, but advocates say it could prolong stockpiles of fossil fuels that some say are right now reaching their peak. In large measure, fears about nuclear meltdowns have abated since the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant incident in 1979, when a malfunction caused the reactor core to overheat. Although no one died, or was even hurt, the incident prompted sweeping changes to the nuclear power industry. It also generated enough public mistrust and trepidation to help quash it. At the same time, uranium prices plummeted, and industry interest in the resources dissipated. Dain McCoig is evidence of the three-decade gulf in uranium interest. A 2002 Colorado School of Mines graduate, he now works as senior engineer at Uranium Resources Inc.'s Kingsville, Texas, in-situ mine and processing facility. There's a wide generation gap in his profession -- some of his colleagues are old enough to be his parents -- but the field is again ascendant as prices in uranium and even precious metals like gold have sparked a resurgence in mining education and employment. Read the whole article. More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here. "2008 pres" 6:43:09 AM

Cumulative Effect of Chemicals on Male Reproductive System Male reproductive health is effected by common household chemicals and pollutants according to 15 years of data collected by Colorado State University. From the article: Common household chemicals and widespread pollutants are changing male reproductive health and impacting sexual function, development and cancer rates of today's generations and possibly their offspring, according to more than 15 years of research by a Colorado State University expert. For example, one study looking at sperm counts globally from 1940 - when chemicals first began to be widely produced - to the 1990s, indicates a 1.15 percent per year decline in sperm counts. These declines may be linked to chemical exposure. Rao Veeramachaneni, a biomedical sciences professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has found that chemicals including insecticides; pesticides; common pollutants in ground water; and chemicals in plastics, make-up and nail polish are on a growing list of culprits causing developmental abnormalities such as hypospadias and cryptorchidism, impaired sperm quality and impotence. Reproductive health can be compromised if males are exposed at various times in life spanning from in utero up to adulthood. Veeramachaneni's findings span the globe and are across species lines, from humans to horses, wildlife to frogs. His research, coupled with the collective findings of other experts in the field, indicates a strong link related to pollutants, and incidence of such impacts continues to increase from year to year as chemicals infiltrate the modern world... Some of these chemicals can survive in the environment for 30 to 40 years, and the chances for exposure are high because the chemicals have permeated our world. For example, the EPA says that about one-third of the nation's lakes and one quarter of its rivers are polluted. There is also evidence that exposure today to some of these chemicals can affect the reproductive health of this generation as well as the future health of offspring of those exposed. The incidence of testicular cancer in young men 15 to 35 years old has increased three to four fold over the past 50 years, particularly in the Western world. These chemicals affect the body through several channels. They attach to receptors in the body that help hormones carry out their functions and either block actual hormones from attaching or mimic the expression of the real hormones, causing confusion in the male body. In addition, some interfere with the body's natural production of hormones. A pattern emerges when comparing the explosion of the world's use of chemicals, including pesticides and herbicides, and the steadily increasing incidence of testicular cancer, reproductive system abnormalities and impotence. Culprits include: - Phthalates, which are used in a variety of products including cosmetics, upholstery, pharmaceuticals and medical tubing, and also are found in drinking water and air. The chemicals can be found in body fluids of people who have been exposed, including in urine, blood and breast milk. Presence in breast milk can pass exposure on to an infant... - DDT and other pesticides, and herbicides have been linked to testicular cancer in humans and animals. Reflecting human trends in the U.S. and abroad, in collaboration with medical scientists at University of Pretoria, South Africa, Veeramachaneni has found instances of testicular cancer in wildlife in Africa, potentially tied to the increasing renewed use of DDT to fight malaria-carrying mosquitoes. His research showed that DDT causes precancerous lesions in the testis. Veeramachaneni also documented cancerous lesions in the testes of infertile domestic horses and wild deer, and is working on a possible connection to ubiquitous pollutants. - The incidences of hypospadias and cryptorchidism are increasing. While figures indicating the increase vary by population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites a marked twofold increase in the last 25 to 30 years, now impacting almost one per 100 males born. Hypospadias can affect urination and sexual function. Veeramachaneni's laboratory has found that exposure to some chemicals such as phthalates causes hypospadias and cryptorchidism. - Historical studies show that the quality of sperm in humans has decreased rapidly in the last 50 years. With the assistance of research associate Carol Moeller, Veeramachaneni's electron microscopic studies show that sperm quality is affected by malformations of structures that are needed for fertilization of the egg or two or more sperm attached to each other following exposure to a variety of so-called innocuous chemicals. - Erectile dysfunction is reported in one-third of the U.S. male population. It also is being linked to chemicals in the environment. Vinclozolin, a fungicide commonly used in agriculture, can contaminate food and water supplies. In laboratory tests, Veeramachaneni and his research associate, Jennifer Palmer, found that some male offspring of animals exposed to vinclozolin during pregnancy displayed a complete lack of interest in females. "colorado water" 6:28:00 AM

HDPE pipe Here's a background piece about the use of HDPE pipe on projects from Water News Online. From the article: One of the largest water wholesalers in the country got their first taste of what a growing number of water companies in the U.S. already know - the financial bottom-line for water projects using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is the same color as the pipe - black. That's what officials at the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) discovered when they let their bid-winning contractor value engineer a 15,000-foot pipeline for the Tonopah Desert Recharge Project (TDRP). The Tonopah Desert Recharge Project (TDRP) is part of a water conservation project developed by CAWCD, which owns a 336-mile canal that distributes Colorado River Water to a large part of Arizona. Water is taken from the canal through a gravity fed pipe system that includes 63 through 24-inch diameter HDPE pipe. The water is dumped into a series of shallow ponds that cover approximately 250 acres. From there it is allowed to seep into the ground where it eventually reaches the natural aquifer. The aquifer will act as a storage facility for future use. HDPE was not one of the pipe options on the original bid. But when KLB Construction, Inc. told CAWCD they could do the job for $125,000 less if they were allowed to use HDPE - the pipeline owner became intrigued. When CAWCD learned from several experts in the HDPE industry that the rare maintenance occurrences with the pipe were almost always associated with third party damage, the water company jumped at the opportunity to implement the pipe. "It's like the water industry dug up a time capsule from the 1970's and discovered a new pipe," said Steve Wilson, co-owner of High Country Fusion. He feels this project is a huge step for the pipe in water applications. "Polyethylene is being unleashed in a way that it hasn't been in thirty years. Look at its results in the gas industry. This is a pipe that is superior to its competition both financially and physically. And water engineers are starting to figure that out the way they did in Europe during the 90's and the way the gas industry did in the 70's." "colorado water" 6:16:21 AM

Snowpack news So how is the Front Range doing in the snowpack game? Here's a article from The Longmont Times-Call. They write:The St. Vrain watershed snowpack sits at 88 percent of the 30-year average, according to late-January data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service... On Jan. 28, [Don] Graffis snowshoed through knee-deep powder near Longs Peak, where he measured a snowpack equal to 5.7 inches of water, or about 86 percent of the 30-year average of 6.6 inches. Graffis measures the snowpack by sticking a long tube into the snow to extract a core sample and then weighing it with a scale. Later, he converts the weight to inches of water... At the Wild Basin site in Rocky Mountain National Park near the popular Ouzel Falls hiking area, Graffis found a snowpack equivalent to 5 inches of water. That's only 78 percent of the 30-year average of 6.4 inches. Down Gunnison way they're wondering if there will be flooding this spring according to The Gunnison Valley Times. From the article: The 1984 flood was the biggest since 1918, and current snowpack levels in the Gunnison Basin are right on track to produce a flood just as big, according to Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District Manager Frank Kugel. As of Tuesday, the amount of moisture trapped within the basin's snowpack was 153 percent of normal. The snow water equivalent exceeds the '84 levels for this date, Kugel said. In 1984, the Gunnison River's peak flow was 6,830 cubic feet per second (cfs) on May 25. In comparison, the river's average peak run-off is 2,700 cfs on June 9, according to Kugel... Areas likely to experience the brunt of a potential flood would be the lower elevation neighborhoods of West Gunnison; Dos Rios; Almont; and roads, bridges and houses along Tomichi Creek, Ohio Creek and Cochetopa Creek. [Steve] Glazer said Coal Creek, which runs through the Town of Crested Butte, has never actually spilled during his tenure here - dating back to 1969... Glazer believes one of the best mechanisms for flood control in the past has been ranchers opening their ditches to divert water into their fields and flood irrigate. If it floods this spring, it will be important to ensure that strategy is fully utilized, he said Morrill encourages property owners in the 100-year flood plain to start making preparations by buying sandbags and flood insurance and thinking about where they will go if their house is flooded. "colorado water" 5:56:55 AM

© Copyright 2009 John Orr. Last update: 3/14/09; 10:07:35 PM.