Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
STEPHEN C. WEBSTER, - The Raw Story
Stephan: Rick Perry's willful ignorance is condemning Texas to self-inflicted misery. Yet it is not just Perry. It is also the state legislators, and the people of Texas, who voted this buffoon into office.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Two top environmental officials in the state of Texas told Raw Story this week that not only is the state ill-prepared to face a summer this year even hotter than the record-breaking drought of 2011, it has largely neglected to begin planning for the unprecedented drought conditions forecast for the next several decades by the U.S. government’s 2013 National Climate Assessment.
The situation is so dire that if fundamental changes are not made to how water is conserved in Texas, the clashing trends of climate change and population growth threaten to utterly strangle the Texas economy over the coming 20-30 years as water costs soar, and activists warn that Gov. Rick Perry (R) is doing nothing but making the problem worse.
‘Because the folks on the Texas water board are appointed by Rick Perry, they tend to fall in line with what Rick Perry believes when it comes to climate change,
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Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
, - The State of Vermont - Office of the Speaker of the House
Stephan: In contrast to Texas, Vermont is choosing a very different path. It is for this reason that I see both the Texas story and this one about Vermont as being, in addition to the overt point of the story, an example of the growing Great Schism Trend, as I wrote about it in yesterday's edition.
MONTPELIER, VERMONT — Today the House of Representatives passed H.520 – An act relating to reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. This bill will help Vermonters insulate their homes, save money on their heating bills and cut down on their carbon emissions.
‘Vermonters are now spending twice what they were ten years ago to heat their homes and businesses, and that spending has contributed nothing to the local economy,
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Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
LISA ARCHER, - Friends of the Earth
Stephan: Two readers, one a beekeeper reader sent me this, the beekeeper saying he had lost over half his hives this year. I found it very depressing. All of this is the result of a few corporations I do not hesitate to call evil. If the bees go, the human race may not be far behind. Yet our government just dithers, our politicians too corrupt to see that this is going to affect them as much as anyone else.
I implore you to plant bee friendly plants in your gardens, and to refrain from using poisons like RoundUp on your lawn. One of every three bites of food that goes into your mouth, and the mouths of your children is dependent on bees, and other winged pollinators.
Spring is in the air, and as we plant our vegetable gardens and enjoy the blossoming flowers, it’s easy to forget the small creatures that keep many of our spring favorites alive and are essential to our food supply: bees.
One out of every three bites of food you and I eat is pollinated by honeybees. In fact, bees and other pollinators are necessary for about 75 percent of our global food crops. From nuts and soybeans, to squash and cucumbers, from apples, oranges, cherries and blueberries, to avocados, peaches and melons, bees play a critical role in producing the food we eat. Honey bees also contribute over $15 billion to the U.S. economy. Bees are a keystone species and with 75 percent and 95 percent of all flowering plants on the earth reliant on pollinators to reproduce, if we lose bees we will likely lose a host of other important species.
As you may have read in the news, these critical pollinators are in trouble, victims of Colony Collapse Disorder – or CCD, a phenomenon in which bee colonies have been mysteriously collapsing when adult bees seemingly abandon their hives. This last winter, beekeepers reported bee die-offs of more than 50 […]
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SUZANNE GOLDENBERG, - Mother Jones
Stephan: In this report we see the convergence of two major trends: Water as destiny, and climate change. This is also another argument for the today's lead story, and why the new urban farming model should be pursued.
The historic drought that laid waste to America’s grain and corn belt is unlikely to ease before the middle of this year, a government forecast warned on Thursday.
The annual spring outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted hotter, drier conditions across much of the US, including parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, where farmers have been fighting to hang on to crops of winter wheat.
The three-month forecast noted an additional hazard, however, for the midwest: with heavy, late snows setting up conditions for flooding along the Red and Souris rivers in North Dakota.
‘It’s a mixed bag of flooding, drought and warm weather,’ Laura Furgione, the deputy director of NOAA’s weather service told a conference call with reporters.
Last year produced the hottest year since record keeping began more than a century ago, with several weeks in a row of 100+degree days. It also brought drought to close to 65% of the country by summer’s end.
The cost of the drought is estimated at above $50 billion, greater than the economic damage caused by hurricane Sandy
The drought area has now fallen back somewhat to 51% of the country. But even the heavy snowfalls some parts of the country have seen […]
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JENNIFER MARTINEZ, - The Hill
Stephan: I think this is what the future holds but, unlike this report, I see the main importance of this trend to a virtual Congress to be part of the Great Schism trend, in which power devolves to the states, and regional arrangements between the states, with the Federal government overseeing foreign affairs, defense and similar national issues.
The West Coast states, and the Northeastern states increasingly have less and less in common with the Southern states and some of the central states, and the quality of life in the West and Northeast is growing increasingly different than the self-inflicted ignorance, obesity, and poverty of the South. (See Social Values, Social Wellness: Can We Know What Works? http://www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307%2811%2900346-6/fulltext.)
While it is far from certain, there is a probability that states like Mississippi, will increasingly organize as Protestant theocratic states, with a strong orientation towards the new American slavery trend, and a debased religious centered educational system, and social policies suppressing the equality of women.
Finally, I think it is notable that this is being proposed by a Republican, because it is becoming increasingly clear that Republicans are focusing on the state level of government, and this would serve that purpose.
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) wants to create a ‘virtual Congress,’ where lawmakers would leverage videoconferencing and other remote work technology to conduct their daily duties in Washington from their home districts.
Under a resolution Pearce introduced on Thursday, lawmakers would be able to hold hearings, debate and vote on legislation virtually from their district offices.
While Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer may have recently nixed the Web company’s work-from-home policy to boost its performance, Pearce believes a remote work arrangement may benefit Congress and make lawmakers more accountable to folks in their home districts.
Pearce says the resolution would eradicate the need for members to jet back and forth from their districts to Washington each weekend. This would allow lawmakers to spend more time with their constituents rather than the armies of lobbyists from K St., he argues.
‘Thanks to modern technology, members of Congress can debate, vote, and carry out their constitutional duties without having to leave the accountability and personal contact of their congressional districts. Keeping legislators closer to the people we represent would pull back Washington’s curtain and allow constituents to see and feel, first-hand, their government at work,’ Pearce told The Hill in a statement.
‘Corporations and government agencies use remote […]
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