Columns
& Podcasts
Bicyclists
must also heed regulations
(July
18, 2008)
"Bikes
- Slow and sound warning when passing."
This
sign appears at several locations on the MKT Trail and,
as bicycle enthusiasts know, is just common sense. Organized
bicycle groups routinely give a warning when passing a bicyclist
or pedestrian, and it is passed along the group when large
numbers of riders are participating. Read
more...
Local
food might soon be a necessity
(July
11, 2008)
So
far, those buying locally produced foods have done so as
a matter of choice.
There
are, to be sure, several reasons for this choice: less air
and water pollution, supporting family farms and the rural
economy, and health concerns. There are less objective issues
such as taste. Those who support local foods claim that
moving produce from hundreds or thousands of miles away
reduces the taste as well as adding to the costs. This has
some validity, as fresh fruits and vegetables must be picked
while not fully ripe. Read
more...
Big
Oil not solely at fault for high prices
(June
27, 2008)
Pogo
famously said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
Although Walt Kelly’s ’possum was a cartoon
character, in reality we find ourselves in the same situation
when it comes to the high price of gasoline. Today it is
about $3.85 a gallon in Missouri and even higher on the
West Coast and for our neighbors to the east. Gasoline prices
in Illinois are currently a bit above $4 per gallon, and
that is also the national average. Read
more...
Radioactive
waste is nuclear plants’ top pitfall
(June
20, 2008)
Until
there is a solution to a major problem, it is unlikely any
new nuclear plants will be built in this country. Renewals
of permits for current nuclear power plants will be difficult
to obtain because of the same problem. Read
more...
Service
can’t see forest for the trees
(June
13, 2008)
By
congressional mandate, wilderness areas are messy - places
where manipulation and management, motorized vehicles and
equipment, and other anthropogenic activities are not allowed.
Big trees dominate, but also brush, shrubs, grasses and,
yes, ticks, chiggers and poison ivy are present. Read
more...
Reality
of living near CAFOs stinks (June
6, 2008)
Hog
doo-doo stinks.
A
few hogs stink a little; thousands of hogs stink a lot.
If some way could be found to make hog manure not smell
bad, chances are that much of the opposition to the factory-like
concentrated animal feeding operations - CAFOs - would go
away. Read
more...
Science,
faith should be kept separate
(May
30, 2008)
I
am not a scientist, but, akin to most other folks, I rely
on scientific discoveries every day: traveling about, using
the Internet and even such mundane things as washing my
face and brushing my teeth. Read
more...
Bridge
blame spans state, federal offices
(May
23, 2008)
Is
the U.S Coast Guard avoiding compliance with the National
Environmental Protection Act and the National Historic Preservation
Act by asking Union Pacific to "divorce" the Boonville
lift bridge issue from the Osage River bridge?
Apparently so. Read
more...
Think
twice before turning on the tap
Toxic
sludge is good for you.
And,
the Columbia water utility folks say, trihalomethanes are
not harmful. This was reported in this newspaper and in
a letter that was sent to all Columbia water customers.
Being
somewhat suspicious of this claim and placing it in the
same category as statements by disgraced politicians - "I
am resigning to spend more time with my family" - I
did a bit of searching.
Read more...
Other
cities aren’t run by developers
(May
9, 2008)
A couple of weeks ago in this column, I asked the
question, "How is it that we let real estate developers
define the economy of this community?"
A
former Columbia city councilman took me aside at a gathering
and suggested the answer might be found in the makeup of
the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors
and that if I looked around at other communities in this
state and similar communities in other states, I would see
that developers were either not represented at all or were
in a minority. Read
more...
City
recycling program adds to trash
Who’d
a thunk it?
Akin
to about everybody else, when the "bottle deposit"
ordinance was voted down and we switched to the "blue
bag" system, I assumed that the blue bags would be
recycled. After all, that’s what we place all of our
recyclable plastic and cans in, so it stands to reason that
the blue bags containing all this stuff would be recycled.
Read
more...
Objectivity
missing in news report on CAFOs
April
25, 2008 If
KOMU-TV Channel 8, an NBC affiliate, is your only source
for news, then a recent two-part story on concentrated animal
feeding operations (CAFOs) would lead you to believe that
everything is hunky-dory and all the opposition is based
on emotion and passion.
It
turns out, however, that the person who did this alleged
news story is a Farm Bureau Youth Ambassador, a public relations
employee for Monsanto and a Brownfield (as in Derry) intern.
In short, the pieces done by KOMU were nothing but propaganda
for the agribusiness industry. Read
more...
If
ignorance is bliss, critics are smiling
April
18, 2008 Answering
the critics:
Unless
those representing agribusiness interests - Kristin Perry
of the Missouri Clean Water Commission and Charlie Kruse
of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation - know something
more recent than an April 2 EPA report, they are whistling
past the graveyard. While there is controversy about how
much is coming from each state in the Mississippi River
Basin (which includes the Missouri River and its valley),
there is no doubt that it is runoff from fertilizers containing
nitrogen and phosphorous that is the cause of the "Dead
Zone" in the Gulf of Mexico. Every federal agency that
has examined this issue has deemed that to be so. Read
more...
Development
doesn’t drive area’s economy
April
11, 2008 How
is it that this community’s economy got linked to
development?
Obviously,
we have much more going for us than clearing land for strip
malls and subdivisions filled with McMansions. We are a
vibrant, dynamic community, with an enthusiastic following
of our symphony orchestra, a growing number of oil-and-water
artists, a literary community and a number of people - including
me - who have written books. Read
more...
University
thumbs nose at Earth Hour
April
4, 2008 From
8 to 9 p.m. Saturday, we turned off all the electric lights
in our house, in keeping with the mayor’s edict and
the wishes of the Columbia Climate Change Coalition for
Earth Hour.
I
looked around our neighborhood, and it seemed that everyone
had gotten the message. Every house was dark. Read
more...
Global
Warming 101
(7:43)
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