Every word is true, but, there are measures to be examined for viable use of the dam.

The Colorado River is a magnificent river and has been a loyal partner to an American West that grows even today. Besides the people that rely on the river for water and professions there are numerous creatures that call the river home. This drought has been hard on them and now it is threatening the people themselves.

But, there are a few things to consider. This is not a short read necessarily.

December 1, 2022
By Joshua Partlow

Page, Arizona - The first sign of serious trouble (click here) for the drought-stricken American Southwest could be a whirlpool.

It could happen if the surface of Lake Powell, a man-made reservoir along the Colorado River that’s already a quarter of its former size, drops another 38 feet down the concrete face of the 710-foot Glen Canyon Dam here. At that point, the surface would be approaching the tops of eight underwater openings that allow river water to pass through the hydroelectric dam.

The normally placid Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir, could suddenly transform into something resembling a funnel, with water circling the openings, the dam’s operators say....

..Anxiety about such outcomes has worsened this year as a long-running drought has intensified in the Southwest. Reservoirs and groundwater supplies across the region have fallen dramatically, and states and cities have faced restrictions on water use amid dwindling supplies. The Colorado River, which serves roughly 1 in 10 Americans, is the region’s most important waterway.

The 1,450-mile river starts in the Colorado Rockies and ends in the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. There are more than a dozen dams along the river, creating major reservoirs such as Lake Powell and Lake Mead....

To begin the Upper Colorado has a snow pack that will melt come spring and supply water to the river and below. Currently, the early stages of the snow pack are following the trend in 2020. That is not an optimistic point of view, but, may provide relief to some extent.

Snowpack is 97.5% of the December 1st average. (click here)

This is only December and we have a way to go yet so optimism is not the way to view the dam and it's porous rock.

On that graph 2017 and 2019 has seen the highest snow pack, but, it has not returned to that level since. The trend is more the 2018, 2021 and 2022 accumulations. I do not expect the snow pack to return to higher levels. The amount for December 2023 shows the trend is still down from those maximums. The current levels look similar to 2020, however, there is still a chance it will drop to the power snow pack amounts. I do not believe it will fall below the snow pack of 2018.

Now, as to the Powell Dam. It has always been a problem. Always and everyone involved with the dam knows it. They have known it from the beginning.

RED SANDSTONE, ROCK STRUCTURE, GLEN CANYON DAM, LAKE POWELL, PAGE, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES (click here)

"Rainbow of Rocks" (click here)

The picture to the right is an overhang of red sandstone at Lake Powell.

Lake Powell is a tier of rock, but, the largest part of the rock that surrounds the lake is "Navajo Sandstone." It appears on Page 4 of the "Rainbow of Rocks" article. Yes, there are people all over the USA and the world interested in rocks and not just as geological formations to find oil in the ground which were once dead dinosaurs.

The Navajo Sandstone is very porous. That means when the dam was built and the water started to accumulate there was an enormous amount of water that had to fill all that porosity before the lake level increased. Lake Powell is one of the most selfish lakes in the world simply because it requires enormous amounts of water to fill the shores first and then the lake.

That is probably clear as mud, so let me put it this way. You are coming home after an especially terrible day at work. All you could think of all day long was climbing into the tub, lighting some candles and adding your favorite bath salts. You arrive at the bathroom to find the tub has been replaced with a sponge lined ceramic modernized renovation. Your spouse is especially proud of the new design as it will cushion any fall. Not bad thinking really. So, you are the first to try it out.

You turn on the water to fill this new modern idea of a bathtub, but, it is taking longer than usual to fill it. See, the sponge lining has it's price. It has to be saturated first before the level in the tub rises. You have lighted your candles and are waiting to put the bath salts in the tub, but, it is taking a long time and it is rather frustrating.

That, my friend is Lake Powell. It has to absorb a lot of water before it fills the shores to deliver water to the hydroelectric power dam. Lake Powell's rock formation is sandstone. Sandstone has it's price.

It, for the most part, regardless of the frustration in filling it initially has not been as much an issue as today. Drought is forcing everyone involved to take a look at that beautiful lake and it's magnificent rock and ask what can be done?

Now, AI folks will be coming to the rescue to increase the dams efficiency. And all those engineers currently worried will be looking at improving the performance of the dam, but, what if after all that there is still a problem? The obvious answer to me regardless of the horrible impact of such an act is to line the lake with white concrete.

It is an outrageous idea that no one will even entertain, but, if one is talking about electric power to millions of Americans it is definitely in the running of a myriad of answers to this problem.

The dark stand stone now only absorbs water, it absorbs heat making the drought even worse as the water evaporates with hot temperatures. White color will cool the land surrounding the lake and change the dynamics of water retention in the basin which is Lake Powell. It is not a minor change. There are all sorts of wildlife in and around that lake. Change in albedo will change the daytime and nighttime temperatures in the area. It is not a minor consideration at all. 

The concrete is almost a no brainer, it will be far less permeable and remove the issues with sandstone that has plagued Lake Powell since it's inception. When producing hydroelectricity every inch counts in the case of drought.

The project of this enormity may be untenable simply because it may require building coffer dams to temporarily wall off the water to pour the concrete. The issue is enormous and I do not envy anyone making decisions. 

But, at this point it is a wait and see to decide what the snow pack is looking like and how much of it will make its way to the lake.

This is a climate crisis and it is more or less becoming a climate emergency. There are a few factors that are dictating avoiding radical changes in what we do with issues such as large lakes like Powell. This is an illustration of how ridiculously expensive surviving this climate crisis might cost. But, lives are at stake and it is completely impractical to shutdown towns and states and move all those people, economy and culture to places in the country where they won't be effected. Some of that might already be underway by personal choices, but, currently there is no such policy by the government to do so.

Desert Wildlife of Lake Powell (click here)

‘Gaslighting’ is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2022

28 November 2022

In this age of misinformation (click here) —of “fake news,” conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls, and deepfakes—gaslighting has emerged as a word for our time.

A driver of disorientation and mistrust, gaslighting is “the act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage.” 2022 saw a 1740% increase in lookups for gaslighting, with high interest throughout the year.

Its origins are colorful: the term comes from the title of a 1938 play and the movie based on that play, the plot of which involves a man attempting to make his wife believe that she is going insane. His mysterious activities in the attic cause the house’s gas lights to dim, but he insists to his wife that the lights are not dimming and that she can’t trust her own perceptions.

When gaslighting was first used in the mid 20th century it referred to a kind of deception like that in the movie. We define this use as:

: psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator

But in recent years, we have seen the meaning of gaslighting refer also to something simpler and broader: “the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for a personal advantage.” In this use, the word is at home with other terms relating to modern forms of deception and manipulation, such as fake news, deepfake, and artificial intelligence.

The idea of a deliberate conspiracy to mislead has made gaslighting useful in describing lies that are part of a larger plan. Unlike lying, which tends to be between individuals, and fraud, which tends to involve organizations, gaslighting applies in both personal and political contexts. It’s at home in formal and technical writing as well as in colloquial use:...

Shut-Up!!!!

This isn't the United States. This is a bunch of right wing wackos trying to get attention, fans and money. This is a method to consolidate White Supremacists/Nationalists under one nation within a nation. It seeks to undermine democracy and hate is especially successful with these people. 

Star of David (click here) 

April 25, 2022

Incidents reported in all 50 states, (click here) including a dramatic spike during Hamas-Israel conflict; Attacks against synagogues and JCCs increased 61 percent

New York, NY, April 26, 2022 … Antisemitic incidents reached an all-time high in the United States in 2021, with a total of 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to ADL (the Anti-Defamation League). This represents the highest number of incidents on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979 – an average of more than seven incidents per day and a 34 percent increase year over year.

ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, issued today, found that antisemitic incidents reached a high watermark across virtually every category. Attacks against Jewish institutions, including Jewish community centers (JCCs) and synagogues, were up by 61 percent, incidents at K-12 schools increased 106 percent, and incidents on college campuses rose 21 percent.

Assaults – considered the most serious incident type because it involves person-on-person physical violence triggered by antisemitic animus – increased 167 percent, jumping to a total of 88 reports in 2021 from 33 in 2020. Incidents of harassment were up 43 percent, and acts of antisemitic vandalism rose 14 percent....

And the complaint by six states which the Supreme Court believes has a claim...

(click here)

There are income limits that will govern who receives balance reductions. Individuals who earn $125k or less per year will see their federal student loan balances reduced by up to $10k. (People won’t receive checks in the mail. Their loan balance will just be reduced.) Married couples earning less than $250K will also be eligible for $10k in relief. Using those same income guidelines, the government will forgive up to $20k for borrowers who had received Pell Grants.

Parent PLUS loan borrowers and current college students will also be eligible for relief using the same $125k/$225k income guidelines. Dependent college students will use their parents’ income. Loans taken out after June 30, 2022, are not eligible for a reduction.

Most people will need to complete a simple application form to receive forgiveness, but roughly 8 million current loan holders whose income data is already on file with the US Department of Education won’t need to apply. The application form and process are still in development but are promised to be ready by the time loan payments resume in January 2023.

The administration is also proposing significant changes to income-driven repayment, which calculate monthly payments at 10% to as much as 20% of discretionary income. The proposal would limit monthly payments to 5% of discretionary income, cutting most monthly payments in half. These changes will need to be posted in the Federal Register and be open to public comment for 30 days. The changes could be in place when payments resume.

Chart at right (click here)

...states they will lose tax income from this loan forgiveness? 

What? How the devil do you lose tax income from student debt? My imagination may be somewhat limited, but, these are federal loans. The states income tax from banks servicing the loans? Is that the loss of tax income? Like how much loss of tax income, because, banks are really the issue, are they?

My understanding is that the federal government forgiveness plan will impact federal collections and it touches up to trillions. But, the states have no losses. These are federally insured educational monies and were not a burden to the states when they were incurred. The federal loans are granted nationally by a FAFSA which is uniform in every state. If anything the FAFSA has brought billions to state universities and 2 year colleges across this country, so where are these states collecting taxes on the loans? It sounds corrupt to me.

August 31, 2022
By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel and Jeff Stein

The White House estimates roughly 43 million federal student loan borrowers (click here) are eligible for forgiveness, and about 20 million could have their debt completely wiped out, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on Aug. 24. The policy will deliver the single largest discharge of education debt on record.

“This is going to change the lives of a lot of people,” said Mark Huelsman, director of policy and advocacy director of the Hope Center, a higher education think tank. “When we’re talking about full cancellation for 20 million people, this is unprecedented.”

Still, the announcement disappointed some activists who had fought for a more generous policy. And it angered other Democrats and conservatives who say it is fiscally irresponsible and unfair to people who never borrowed, as well as those who have already repaid their student loans....

The majority of states were trying to decide if loan forgiveness was actually income subjected to state income tax. It doesn't make sense six states are complaining they are losing income through taxes when they have every right to tax it as income.

...After some confusion (click here) regarding whether or not states would count the money saved by student loan forgiveness as taxable income, student loan borrowers in a few more states can also relish in the fact that they’ll no longer have this hanging over their heads. With the exception of three states — Mississippi, North Carolina and Indiana — that have decided to levy state taxes on federal student loan forgiveness, and several others that have yet to announce their final decision, in most states, additional state taxes will not be required for those whose federal student loans have been forgiven....

...Taxes on forgiven student loan debt.

Typically, when you have debt discharged, the IRS treats it as taxable income. Since you didn’t pay the debt you owed but kept the money that would normally have been sent to a debtor, it is seen as income, which makes it taxable.

With student loan forgiveness, taxes work differently. In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, which included a clause regarding student loan forgiveness saying that any federal student loans that were discharged between 2021 and 2025 would not be considered taxable income — in terms of federal taxes.

That said, as Eric Bronnenkant, certified financial planner, certified public accountant and head of tax at Betterment, tells Select, residents of several states may still be on the hook for state taxes if their state determines the money saved from student loan forgiveness to be taxable income.

It all comes down to the concept of conformity — whether or not a state chooses to conform to federal tax regulations or go its own way thanks to statutes that are already in place — and whether or not non-conforming states have time to update those statutes to conform with the new legislation.

″[37 states] choose to have conformity with the federal tax system, have conformity with specific federal legislation or create their own specific exceptions and exclusions,” Bronnenkant said. “There are 13 states where the debt forgiveness may be considered taxable income.”

According to Bronnenkant, these states can adjust this for their respective residents through “legislative changes or administrative decisions by state tax authorities.”...

There is complete separation of federal and state tax structures unless the state decides it will follow the federal tax system which does not consider loan forgiveness taxable income. 

So what are these six states complaining about? These are federal loans and only federal loans. The federal government has control over these loans. They don't have any room to complain and their tax structure is still within States Rights to decide if loan forgiveness is income. The complaint makes no sense.