The USDA Risk Management Agency released a map showing the extent of their crop indemnities for 2012. Take a deep breath and click here.
And the drought continues.
Considering that, this wasn’t a headline I wanted to read: “Worst Drought in 1,000 Years Could Begin in Eight Years.”
Well, at least with last weekend’s snow the South Platte watershed is up to 60% of normal.
Yippee.
Cassandra
I just got this article via Common Dreams: “Lose Your Lawn.”
Hmmm. Something familiar here. Oh yes, on June 21, 2008 I posted “Death to Infidel Lawns.”
Of course, my hatred of bluegrass lawns does not mean I hate grass. I love grass. In fact, I have lush grass everywhere and I even water it–a couple of times a summer or maybe even once a month if we have an abundance of irrigation water. I also cut it–in March, but other than that, the yard’s on its own.
Below, is a photo of our east yard on the 8th of September 2012:
I can’t–don’t want to?–claim to have a politically correct landscape though. The tree in the photo is a Russian Olive, a noxious weed. So, clearly, I have an outlaw spirit. Make that a left wing outlaw spirit; I also have Russian Sage and lots of wonderfully edible white-topped Chinese garlic as well as my oh-so-American native grasses and bushes.
Actually, I’m just cheap and eccentric. I don’t like to waste water, time, and money trying to grow the standard, conformist American lawn. Besides, the occasional English estate excepted, bluegrass lawns are boring.
Cassandra
A good article from Summit County Citizens Voice:
OK, this is one of the stranger stories I’ve read lately:
“I Drank Fracking Fluid, Says Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper”
I’m sure Gov. Hickenlooper drank something Halliburton told him was harmless. In fact, I’m sure it was harmless. Considering what Halliburton did, does, and will do, I’m far from convinced it was their fracking fluid. More likely, he just drank Halliburton’s Kool-Aid.
Call me a cynic.
Cassandra
I do not consider myself an alarmist, but facts can be alarming. For example, consider this short video.
And then there’s this CIA-funded study:
“A New Harvard Report Probes Security Risks of Extreme Weather and Climate Change”
The report finds that the early ramifications of climate extremes resulting from climate change are already upon us and will continue to be felt over the next decade, directly impacting U.S. national security interests. “Lessons from the past are no longer of great value as a guide to the future,” said co-lead author Michael McElroy, Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies at Harvard University. “Unexpected changes in regional weather are likely to define the new climate normal, and we are not prepared.”
Have a nice day and carry an umbrella, hip waders, a snow shovel, sunscreen, and of course a clean towel.
Cassandra
I was not happy when I read this: “When It Comes to Drones, Trust the Churchgoing CIA Director”
When I was growing up during the Cold War, I believed in American exceptionalism. I was young and naive. Yet I still feel the morals of the country were a bit less flexible back then.
And what does going to church every day have to do with any sort of morality? The priests of the Spanish Inquisition went to church.
Now, instead of America the Beautiful, I think of America, the land of fear, greed, hubris, and irrationality.
Cassandra
Uncommon Scolds 