Tag Archives: monterey

Pesticide sprayers have been hitting kids at recess.

The congressman accused the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday of unfairly targeting the oil giant by investigating whether the company disclosed its financial risks from climate change and greenhouse gas regulations to investors.

In a letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White, Smith demands that the commission provide his committee with documents related to the Exxon probe by Oct. 13.

Smith writes that the SEC has advanced “a prescriptive climate change orthodoxy that may chill further climate change research,” which seems odd for someone who doesn’t actually believe in climate change.

Still, it’s about what we’d expect from Smith, a recipient of $680,000 from oil and gas over his career.

Smith — who, ironically, is both a climate denier and the head of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology — has used his position to aid Exxon before: He’s accused 17 state attorneys general of violating the corporation’s right to free speech by looking into allegations that Exxon has known about climate change for decades.

Why does Smith go to bat for Exxon repeatedly, despite risking political backlash? Gretchen Goldman, an analyst at Union of Concerned Scientists (one of the groups being targeted by Smith), has a theory.

“If you’re talking about climate change and doing anything to try to hold actors accountable, he wants to intimidate you.”

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Pesticide sprayers have been hitting kids at recess.

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Japan’s $320 Million Gamble at Fukushima: An Underground Ice Wall

The project is designed to keep water out of the damaged reactor buildings at the nuclear power plant, and radioactive water from reaching the Pacific. Critics say it may not work. Read more –  Japan’s $320 Million Gamble at Fukushima: An Underground Ice Wall ; ; ;

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Japan’s $320 Million Gamble at Fukushima: An Underground Ice Wall

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Japan’s ‘Hail Mary’ at Fukushima Daiichi: An Underground Ice Wall

The project is designed to keep water out of the damaged reactor buildings at the nuclear power plant, and radioactive water from reaching the Pacific. Critics say it may not work. See the original article here –  Japan’s ‘Hail Mary’ at Fukushima Daiichi: An Underground Ice Wall ; ; ;

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Japan’s ‘Hail Mary’ at Fukushima Daiichi: An Underground Ice Wall

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This Region Is Twice Flint’s Size—And Its Water Is Also Poisoned

Mother Jones

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In two of California’s most productive farming regions, at least 212,000 people rely on water that’s routinely unsafe to drink, with levels of a toxin above its federal limit. And even if the pollution source could be stopped tomorrow, these communities—representing a population more than twice as large as that of Flint, Mich.— would endure the effects of past practices for decades. That’s the takeaway of a major new assessment by researchers at the University of California-Davis.

The toxin in question is nitrate, which leaches into aquifers when farmers apply synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and/or large amounts of manure to fortify soil. Although probably not as ruinous as lead, the contaminant that fouled Flint’s water, nitrate isn’t something you want to be gulping down on a daily basis. Nitrate-laced water has been linked to a range of health problems, including birth defects, blood problems in babies, and cancers of the ovaries and thyroid.

According to the Davis report, nitrate takes a leisurely path from farm soil into the underground water sources that provide both irrigation and drinking water to these regions—taking anywhere from years to millennia. That means the high nitrate concentrations these communities now find in their water are the result of farming decisions made years and even decades ago—and “will persist well into the future” even if farmers ramp down fertilization rates.

The reality is that the practices are unlikely to change anytime soon. The regions in question are two crucial nodes in California’s industrial-agriculture economy: the Tulare Basin in the southern Central Valley, a massive producer of milk, cattle, oranges, almonds, and pistachios; and the coastal Salinas Valley, which churns out about a half of the leaf lettuce and broccoli grown in the United States, and about a third of the spinach. Together, the two regions produce more than $12 billion in ag commodities and account for 40 percent of the state’s irrigated farmland and half of its confined animal operations, according to an earlier Davis report.

While huge economic interests are invested heavily in maintaining the status quo, the drinking-water impact falls largely on low-income farm worker communities. A 2011 study by the Pacific Institute of four small community water systems in Tulare County painted a depressing picture: A third of residents drank the water available to them, “despite years of existing nitrate contamination.” The rest spent extra money on bottled water. As a result, study participants spent 4.6 percent of median household income on water —”more than three times the affordability threshold” recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the study noted.

And because the areas vulnerable to nitrate pollution are spread out and fragmented, it’s difficult to organize to clean up the water. At least the 207,000 residents of Des Moines, Iowa—which faces a similar nitrate problem from proximity to corn and hog farming—has a municipal water works system that spends hundreds of thousands of dollar per year to filter the water—and has even challenged farm interests to clean up their act with a high-profile lawsuit. Municipalities and private well owners throughout the corn belt—in Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Missouri—grapple with the issue of heightened nitrate levels in drinking water.

Of course, the Tulare Basin’s nitrate problem—which is completely independent of the current drought—isn’t the only water crisis Big Ag imposes on the region’s residents. The industry’s intense thirst for irrigation sends water tables tumbling, making it ever more expensive to extract groundwater as wells need to be deepened. In times of intense drought like the current one, some low-income communities have trouble accessing any tap water at all. Last year, Mother Jones’ Julia Lurie filed a report from the Tulare County town of East Porterville, “home to the pickers and packers of the fruits, veggies, and nuts grown nearby and distributed across the country,” where thousands of households lacked access to tap water due to dry wells.

And for my feature on California’s nut boom, I visited the Tulare County farm-worker town of Alpaugh (pop. 1000), where a plunging table meant the town’s residents drew tap water laced with dangerous levels of arsenic, a naturally existing toxic chemical that concentrates at the aquifer’s lower depths. They, too, were urged to buy bottled water. It was a stark experience to drive less than five minutes out of Alpaugh and see thousands of acres of brand-new pistachio groves, irrigated by wells drawing down that same aquifer.

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This Region Is Twice Flint’s Size—And Its Water Is Also Poisoned

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Coal Industry, Feeling Cornered, Peeks at Big Tobacco Playbook

A presentation at a trade group meeting showed that coal companies were seeing comparisons that environmentalists typically make. Link:   Coal Industry, Feeling Cornered, Peeks at Big Tobacco Playbook ; ; ;

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Coal Industry, Feeling Cornered, Peeks at Big Tobacco Playbook

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As Peat Bogs Burn, a Climate Threat Rises

Warming temperatures can dry out northern peatlands, increasing the risk of fires that release thousands of years of stored carbon into the atmosphere. Source:  As Peat Bogs Burn, a Climate Threat Rises ; ; ;

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As Peat Bogs Burn, a Climate Threat Rises

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How Lowering Crime Could Contribute to Global Warming

The rebound effect describes changes that inadvertently raise carbon emissions. A recent study illustrated one such rebound involving crime reduction. Source article:  How Lowering Crime Could Contribute to Global Warming ; ; ;

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How Lowering Crime Could Contribute to Global Warming

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How to make an instant garden. From trash.

green4us

How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

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Spark Joy – Marie Kondo

Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up  has revolutionized homes—and lives—across the world. Now, Kondo presents an illustrated guide to her acclaimed KonMari Method, with step-by-step folding illustrations for everything from shirts to socks, plus drawings of perfectly organized drawers and closets. She also provides advice on frequently asked questions, such as whether to […]

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The General’s Handbook Enhanced Edition – Games Workshop

An essential resource for all warlords of the Mortal Realms, the General’s Handbook comes packed with new, exciting ways to play Warhammer Age of Sigmar, including: Open Play – Ideal for new hobbyists, this straightforward system will have you playing games in no time. Narrative Play – Narrative play brings the stories of the Age […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

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Training the Best Dog Ever – Larry Kay & Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz

Training the Best Dog Ever , originally published in hardcover as The Love That Dog Training Program , is a book based on love and kindness. It features a program of positive reinforcement and no-fail techniques that author Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz used to train the White House dog, Bo Obama, and each of Senator Ted Kennedy’s […]

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A Big Little Life – Dean Koontz

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In a profound, funny, and beautifully rendered portrait of a beloved companion, bestselling novelist Dean Koontz remembers the golden retriever who changed his life. A retired service dog, Trixie was three when Dean and his wife, Gerda, welcomed her into their home. She was superbly trained, but her greatest gifts couldn’t […]

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Marijuana Horticulture – Jorge Cervantes

Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower’s Bible is the most complete, thorough, and comprehensive cultivation book available on the market today.  This book has been dubbed the “bible” by its readers because it explains every aspect of cultivating marijuana and yielding high quality and abundant crops.  It explains the science, the simple how-to, practical and […]

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Legiones Astartes: Age of Darkness Army List iPad – Forge World

This book provides you with updated and revised rules to field the armies of the Legiones Astartes – whether Loyalist or Traitor – in games of Warhammer 40,000 set during the tumultuous Horus Heresy. Compiled within are rules for the Space Marine Legions as they fought at the close of the Great Crusade and throughout […]

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Inside of a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz

The bestselling book that asks what dogs know and how they think. The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a […]

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How to make an instant garden. From trash.

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As a Heat Wave Builds, Obama Wisely Presses for Community Cohesion

With a heat wave building, President Obama uses Twitter to press communities to check for vulnerable neighbors. Originally posted here:   As a Heat Wave Builds, Obama Wisely Presses for Community Cohesion ; ; ;

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As a Heat Wave Builds, Obama Wisely Presses for Community Cohesion

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Ahead of the Election, Americans’ Climate Concerns Slosh

A new analysis of voters’ attitudes on global warming show partisans are alarmed and energized but most Americans are focused elsewhere. Follow this link:   Ahead of the Election, Americans’ Climate Concerns Slosh ; ; ;

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Ahead of the Election, Americans’ Climate Concerns Slosh

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