Columns
& Podcasts
Fiscal
conservatism clearly has failed; it’s time to try
something else
(November
14, 2008)
Fiscal
conservatives, you’ve had your season in the sun,
and you’ve really messed things up.
Our
economy is in the tank, the U.S. environment is trashed
(Healthy Forests Restorative Act? Clear Skies Initiative?),
our status in the world is lower than dirt, and the president
(your man, George W. Bush) has an approval rating in the
mid-20s. Read
more...
Clean
coal is a dirty lie
(November
7, 2008)
Healthy
cigarette? Clean coal?
Just as there’s no such thing as a healthy
cigarette, there doesn’t appear to be any such thing
as clean coal.
First,
consider how coal is obtained. Either it is dug out from
underneath the ground, endangering human health and presenting
risks to human life, or it is obtained by extracting the
coal after removing the "over-burden" (soil, grass,
trees - anything on top of the coal). While the former has
immediate problems of risk to human lives and health and
long-lasting problems of subsidence and underground fires,
the latter is more harmful and probably even longer-lasting.
Read
more...
Even
‘unclassified’ streams merit protection in Missouri
(October
31, 2008)
If
the list of "classified" streams is consulted
in the Missouri Code of State Regulations, Flat Branch doesn’t
exist.
Neither
does Brush Creek, which flows through Crown Center in Kansas
City, nor River Des Peres, which originates at the zoo in
St. Louis. There are similar nonexistent creeks and rivers
in Springfield (Sequiota Creek), Joplin (Turkey Creek) and
other urban areas of this state. There are literally hundreds
of streams in rural areas that, as far as the classification
system is concerned, don’t exist.
Read more...
Observations
have solid scientific sources
(October
17, 2008)
Answering
the mail
Congress’
bailout is really a sellout
(October
10, 2008)
After
calls into U.S. representatives and senators opposing the
bailout of Wall Street by a margin of 100-1 (according to
CNN), Congress did the exact opposite of what its constituents
had called for and gave a bundle of money to those who had
caused the monetary woes.
That
is not to say some sort of assistance from Congress wasn’t
needed. Perhaps dealing with the root of the problem would
have been time-consuming and maybe even more costly, but
as can be observed by the continued ills of the stock market,
throwing money at Wall Street did not resolve our monetary
crisis. Read
more...
DNR
grasps at straws to guard CAFOs (October
3, 2008)
It
seems that when a court of law rules against something a
state or federal bureaucrat wants, the first cry is "judicial
activism" or "legislating from the bench."
Such
was the case when Judge Patricia Joyce, a senior judge on
the Cole County Circuit Court, ruled Aug. 25 that the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources had shirked its constitutional
duty to protect state parks and historic sites from the
ill effects of concentrated animal feeding operations.
The judge also ruled that DNR should permit no CAFO within
15 miles of a state park or historic site and that, in some
situations, even a 15-mile "buffer" might not
be sufficient. Therefore, she retained jurisdiction.
Read more...
City
shouldn’t have dived into Philips Lake
(September
26, 2008)
Nyah,
nyah, nyah. Told you so, told you so. OK, that’s somewhat
childish. But that was my first reaction when I learned
that Philips Lake (or Bristol Lake, or whatever it is called
these days) was recommended for placement on the state’s
"impaired waterbody" - or 303(d) - list.
This
documents that Philips Lake is officially "waters of
the state" and "waters of the United States."
It is not a farm pond, where all of the waters are contained
within one property. Rather the waters of Philips Lake drain
from across Highway 63 and into Clear Creek - both well
beyond the boundaries of the Philips Tract, now owned by
Jose Lindner. Read
more...
CAFOs
have no science to stand on
(September
19, 2008)
By
today’s standards, my FFA - then Future Farmers of
America - project wasn’t much: 12 hogs (or 4.2 "animal
units" by the reckoning of the federal government).
Even with that small number, my mother insisted that the
hog pen be situated downwind from the clothesline. Read
more...
Despite
assurances, Columbia’s water is unfit to drink
(September
12, 2008)
Our
drinking water is polluted, contaminated and unfit to drink.
It is not pure and clean. Regardless of assurances by city
officials, well-intended advocates and cockeyed optimists,
the short- and long-term effects can be devastating. The
long-term effect of ingesting trihalomethanes above EPA
standards (currently at 80 parts per billion) is well-known
and well-documented: cancer of the urinary tract. Read
more...
CAFOs
and Economic Development
(September
4, 2008)
Listen...
More
oil drilling is not the answer
(September
5, 2008)
A number
of years ago, I spent some time south of Port Arthur, Texas,
along the Gulf Coast. Out in the waters of the Gulf were
many oil platforms that were constructed in Port Arthur
and towed into the Gulf, where they were stood aright and
stabilized.
While
I marveled at the wizardry that enabled all these platforms
to drill and to pump up oil, I was taken aback by the amount
of debris that had washed up on the beaches near the platforms.
Some of this had clearly been discarded by workers on the
platforms - water bottles, candy wrappers and beer cans.
Some consisted of the usual debris found on coasts everywhere
- ropes, parts of nets, floats. Read
more...
Save
nature from developers, politicians
(August
29, 2008)
Approaching Licking - about 125 miles south of here - the
usual sign appeared: "Entering Texas County."
But that sign was unnecessary because it seemed that every
residence had a "Linda Garrett for County Commission"
yard sign installed. While the high-visibility yards along
Highway 63 might be expected to harbor political messages,
these signs also were encountered on Highway 32 and even
on graveled back roads. Read
more...
State
turning blind eye to water issues
(August
15, 2008)
When
it comes to the health of our streams, rivers and lakes,
we are the canaries in the coal mine.
Although
most people believe that the state departments of natural
resources and health are there to protect us, such is not
the case. Read
more...
The
people should dictate death lab site
(August
8, 2008)
Too
bad elected and appointed officials aren’t blessed
with the 20-20 foresight of their constituents, for in hindsight
the decision of several citizens and organizations to oppose
the Bio- and Agro-Defense (aka death) Facility sure looks
like the right one.
Consider
that it has recently been revealed that the existing Level
4 biodefense labs - of which Plum Island is one (although
it is actually called something else, it is indeed a biodefense
lab or a quasi-military establishment) - haven’t been
quite as secure as the Department Homeland Security or the
U.S. Department of Agriculture had touted.
Read more...
Missouri’s
streams are not open sewers
(August
1, 2008)
Flat
Branch doesn’t exist. That’s according to the
Missouri Department of Natural Resources and its policy-making
body, the Missouri Clean Water Commission. Neither does
Brush Creek, which flows through Crown Center Plaza in Kansas
City. Same with River Des Peres in St. Louis. And similar
streams in Springfield, Joplin and other cities in Missouri.
These nonexistent streams total about 80,000 miles. More...
In
the end, we’re all environmentalists
(July
25, 2008)
Lately,
just about every news story that has to do with drilling
in ANWR, national forest protection, energy policy and other
so-called conservation issues contains quotes of representatives
from "environmental groups." This is done in the
style of objective journalism, as if maybe, just maybe,
there’s another side to a story about decimation and
destruction in the name of profit and in the interest of
reporting both sides of the story.
Not-so-objective
reports on, say, Fox News refer to "radical environmentalists."
It is almost one word - sort of like DamnYankees in the
Civil War era. Read
more...
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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