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Saturday, March 22, 2008
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Say hello to Change Congress. From the website: "Change Congress is a movement to build support for basic reform in how our government functions. Using our tools, both candidates and citizens can pledge their support for basic changes to reduce the distorting influence of money in Washington. Our community will link candidates committed to a reform with volunteers and contributors who support it."
"2008 pres"
6:05:22 PM 
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Political Wire: "As the host city of the Democratic National Convention, Denver must raise $40.6 million by June 16, reports the Los Angeles Times. 'This week, the host committee missed its second fundraising deadline, and Mayor John W. Hickenlooper said he believed the drawn-out battle between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois had distracted potential donors.'"
"2008 pres"
8:57:03 AM
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Juan Cole: "On Thursday, Bush lied about Iran again: 'President Bush said the Iranian government has declared they want to have a nuclear weapon to destroy people...' The Iranian leaders have consistently condemned nuclear weapons as inhumane and denounced them and said that they don't want them and it would be illegal in Islamic law to use them. Bush is welcome to disbelieve them, but he is not welcome to lie about what they said. He again hinted around that they might have a nuclear weapons program, for which there is no evidence and which flies in the face of the findings of his own intelligence analysts, in the National Intelligence Estimate.
"It is all the more insulting that these were Bush's remarks on the occasion of the Persian New Year, which should have been a moment for diplomacy and reaching out."
"2008 pres"
8:54:26 AM
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Hullabaloo: "At issue are the Concerned Local Citizens groups (CLCs) that we have been paying for over a year not to kill us and instead to defend their territories and drive out Al Qaeda in Iraq. You could not set up a more potentially unstable situation if you tried. The CLCs have no fealty to the national government; in fact they are if anything oppositional to it. The Shiites in power are afraid of incorporating the CLCs into the Iraqi security forces. It has been alleged that the CLCs include former insurgents and rogues, and they are primarily interested in 1) receiving money, and 2) defending their corner of Iraq from all invaders, foreign and domestic. This is not a path to national reconciliation but balkanization.
"And then the military and the Administration went and did the worst thing possible - they forgot to pay everyone on time. That's right - the incompetents that still reign throughout the Bush Administration aren't paying the bills. And so we may see a general strike."
"2008 pres"
8:46:19 AM
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From PublicWorks.com: "The nation's first large-scale seawater desalination plant is delivering drinking water to more than 2.5 million residents of the Tampa Bay area...The Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant can produce up to 25 million gallons per day of drinking water. The process works like this: About 44 million gallons of water from a nearby power plant cooling system is diverted to the plant. There, it goes through pretreatment steps to remove algae and other particles. Using reverse osmosis filters, 25 million gallons per day of freshwater is separated from the seawater. This leaves behind a twice-as salty byproduct that is blended with a large amount of cooling water from the power plant. That dilution is why environmental studies show no measurable salinity change in Tampa Bay related to plant production."
"2008 pres"
8:38:23 AM
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Here's an upate on the proposed uranium operation in Park County from The Fairplay Flume. They write:
Park County Development Services Coordinator Tom Eisenman met with Horizon Nevada Uranium Inc. President Bill Wilson on March 14, and Eisenman was scheduled to meet with county commissioners on March 19, but it's unclear at this point what input the commissioners will have in the decision-making process on uranium mining in Park County. Eisenman said on March 18 that he was in the process of determining what rights the county has with the proposed in-situ recovery uranium mines planned for South Park near Hartsel, in terms of using county land use regulations. The proposed uranium mines are a priority issue for the county, and officials would be watching the progress closely, Eisenman said.
According to information provided by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, three agencies each share a portion of the permitting process: the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A radioactive materials license must be issued by CDPHE to an applicant in order for a company to handle radioactive materials and uranium recovery operations. Part of the application process requires two public meetings and input from county commissioners. According to an e-mail from Warren Smith, community involvement manager for the CDPHE, when making a decision on the application, the CDPHE will take into consideration the county commissioners' comments, but "in the end, it comes down to a question of does the application demonstrate that the operation can be done in a way that protects people and the environment." The public input meetings would be further along in the process of applying for permits and could be years away, according to CDPHE documents.
The Colorado Department of Natural Resources also requires a notice of intent of prospecting activities be sent to property owners whose land might be mined. A mining company must also obtain a reclamation permit. The EPA requires that mining companies receive an aquifer exemption for any possible in-situ mining operation. During the application process, a company must prove that an aquifer isn't currently being used as a source of water and cannot be in the future, in order to obtain the exemption...
This summer, Horizon Nevada will be drilling exploratory wells to determine the level of uranium in the area. The process would involve drilling holes and measuring radiation...
Doran Moore, one of the founding members of Save Our South Park Water '08, said his organization is in the process of collecting membership and will hold a public meeting in early April. "We want to preserve the quality of life," he said, including property value and water quality. "I love the area." His property isn't on the list of properties on which a claim was filed, but neighbors all around him are, which prodded him into action. "We've certainly received a lot of inquiries and encouragement," said Moore, who has set up a Web site at SOSPW08.blogspot.com.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
From The Norwood Post: "Norwood could get a new neighbor: a uranium mill outside of Naturita to process all of the uranium ore that is being mined in and around San Miguel County. Energy Fuels, Inc. is in the early stages of permitting its Piñon Ridge Mill to process up to 1,000 tons of uranium ore, as well as vanadium, per day. It would be the first uranium processing facility to be constructed in the U.S. in 25 years."
"colorado water"
7:06:29 AM
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Today is World Water Day. Take time out of your day to reflect on the billion or so people around the world that do not have a sustainable clean supply of water. You can help by participating in today's UNICEF Tap Project. Go out to dinner tonight and donate a $1 to the project at participating restaurants. Click on the link, enter your zip code, donate, help someone.
"colorado water"
6:45:51 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 2:15:13 PM.
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