May 1, 2017
By Jennifer Jacobs and Margaret Talev
President Donald Trump (click here) said he’s actively considering a breakup of giant Wall Street banks, giving a push to efforts to revive a Depression-era law separating consumer and investment banking.
“I’m looking at that right now,” Trump said of breaking up banks in a 30-minute Oval Office interview with Bloomberg News. “There’s some people that want to go back to the old system, right? So we’re going to look at that.”
Trump also said he’s open to increasing the U.S. gas tax to fund infrastructure development, in a further sign that policies unpopular with the Republican establishment are under consideration in the White House. He described higher gas taxes as acceptable to truckers -- “I have one friend who’s a big trucker,” he said -- as long as the proceeds are dedicated to improving U.S. highways....
There is a lot to consider when reflecting on 2008, if that is what President Trump is doing. Reviving Glass-Steagall is a strong cornerstone of reform, but, there has been a great deal of mischief that created a perfect storm in 2008.
There is no super computer built today that can perform a complete overview of the 2008 crash. Call it what you want, but, 2008 was a collapse. It was a Great Recession in regard to labor, but, President Obama carried out a large funding as his first act when taking office in 2009. It turned the failing labor numbers around.
At the time Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize winner (click here) stated, the funding wasn't enough to fill in the hole left by the collapse. He was right. The funding bill was short by about half a trillion. It worked out, but, it took a little longer and required more legislation and funding for the Small Business Administration.
April 21, 2017
By William D. Cohan
Among the many silly ideas (click here) floating around Washington these days about how to re-regulate Wall Street is that old chestnut about separating investment banking from commercial banking.
It’s getting a fresh look after Gary Cohn, the powerful head of President Trump’s National Economic Council, supposedly told a private gathering of the Senate Banking Committee recently that the Trump administration would be open to the idea. The president has yet to confirm publicly that he would support such legislation.
The concept is nothing new, of course. After the stock market crash of 1929, the so-called Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 gave banks a year to choose between commercial banking and investment banking. For the next 66 years, the law more or less stood until Congress repealed it, making de facto what had long been de jure. (Many banks had been violating it for years without consequences.)
Then in 2013, a bipartisan group of United States senators — led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona — proposed what they called the 21st-Century Glass-Steagall Act with the goal of breaking up banks with assets greater than $50 billion. They argued — incorrectly — that what caused the 2008 financial crisis was big banks again using their customers’ deposits to take big risks....
Monday, May 01, 2017
Stop the pollution, cities are people, too.
By Cristian Farias
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday (click here) that the city of Miami can sue Bank of America and Wells Fargo under federal housing law for allegedly engaging in discriminatory lending practices toward minority borrowers. But in the same ruling, it set a high bar for cities claiming that they too were victims, down the road, of that discrimination.
In its lawsuit, filed in 2013, Miami contended that the two banks’ targeting of prospective black and Latino homeowners for riskier, less favorable mortgage loans ultimately drove a wave of defaults, foreclosures and a fall in property values in the city. As a result, Miami argued, it was left with less tax revenue and a rash of blighted homes that forced it to funnel more municipal resources into the affected communities.
The Supreme Court held in a 5-to-3 decision that Miami counts as an “aggrieved person”under the Fair Housing Act and therefore may use the law to pursue its claims against the banks.
So, now, cities are people, too.
“Here, we conclude that the City’s claims of financial injury in their amended complaints — specifically, lost tax revenue and extra municipal expenses — satisfy the ‘cause-of-action’ ... requirement” in the law, wrote Justice Stephen Breyer....
Start with an arrest warrant for Marc T. Short for obstructing justice.
Everyone knows Russia is involved, it is no secret. Russia is carrying out the same methodology in nearly every democracy on Earth. Arrest Short!
If necessary Congress needs to appoint a "Special Prosecutor."
STOP PLAYING WITH NATIONAL SECURITY!
May 1, 2017
by Oliver Willis
Marc T. Short, (click here) the White House director for Legislative Affairs, is leading the Trump administration’s obstruction of the congressional inquiry into Michael Flynn and Russia. Short is also a major player in Vice President Mike Pence’s political operation, and further connects Pence to the Flynn scandal.
As previously reported, Pence was in charge of the Trump transition team, which ostensibly included vetting Donald Trump’s appointments to his White House. Pence received information detailing Flynn’s status as a lobbyist for a foreign government, but later denied knowledge of the entire affair, claiming Flynn had lied to him. That claim led to Flynn’s removal from the position of national security adviser.
But a recent report from NBC News reveals that Pence did conduct a background check, albeit “very casually,” and was aware of Flynn’s connections to foreign governments, which the Trump team apparently ignored in order to appoint Flynn anyway.
The House Oversight Committee is seeking documents related to this process, but the White House is actively obstructing that investigation. Short authored the April 19 letter to the committee, refusing to turn over the requested documents about what the Trump team knew about Flynn and payments he received from the Russian government for an appearance at an event that was followed by dinner with Vladimir Putin.
In the letter, Short said it was “unclear” how the documents requested “would be relevant” to the inquiry. Both Democrats and Republicans have indicated that they view Flynn’s actions as potentially criminal, as he received guidance from the Department of Defense that taking money from Russia as a former military officer could break the law....
If necessary Congress needs to appoint a "Special Prosecutor."
STOP PLAYING WITH NATIONAL SECURITY!
May 1, 2017
by Oliver Willis
Marc T. Short, (click here) the White House director for Legislative Affairs, is leading the Trump administration’s obstruction of the congressional inquiry into Michael Flynn and Russia. Short is also a major player in Vice President Mike Pence’s political operation, and further connects Pence to the Flynn scandal.
As previously reported, Pence was in charge of the Trump transition team, which ostensibly included vetting Donald Trump’s appointments to his White House. Pence received information detailing Flynn’s status as a lobbyist for a foreign government, but later denied knowledge of the entire affair, claiming Flynn had lied to him. That claim led to Flynn’s removal from the position of national security adviser.
But a recent report from NBC News reveals that Pence did conduct a background check, albeit “very casually,” and was aware of Flynn’s connections to foreign governments, which the Trump team apparently ignored in order to appoint Flynn anyway.
The House Oversight Committee is seeking documents related to this process, but the White House is actively obstructing that investigation. Short authored the April 19 letter to the committee, refusing to turn over the requested documents about what the Trump team knew about Flynn and payments he received from the Russian government for an appearance at an event that was followed by dinner with Vladimir Putin.
In the letter, Short said it was “unclear” how the documents requested “would be relevant” to the inquiry. Both Democrats and Republicans have indicated that they view Flynn’s actions as potentially criminal, as he received guidance from the Department of Defense that taking money from Russia as a former military officer could break the law....
This was one of the tornadoes that killed so many people over the weekend.
1930.18z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and East Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)
I checked this satellite about 7 AM today and I thought for sure it would be out of the Gulf of Mexico by now.
1930.18z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite (click here)
I am not so sure that is even a vortex so much as a tropospheric tornado. It has enormous size. That system has depth and width that stretches out into the Atlantic.
May 1, 2017
By Mika Miyashima
Honolulu (click here) - The Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu recorded a record low temperature of 61 degrees Sunday morning. That beats the record low of 63 degrees set in 1995.
"There are a couple of different systems that are combining to affect our weather. One is a big upper level disturbance which is diving down from the north across the islands today, and then the other one is an old stationary front which is down by the big island." Said Robert Ballard, Science and Operations Officer at the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service says it's the combination of those two weather systems that's bringing the rain and cool weather.
In the last 24 hours, Maui has seen the most rainfall.
"They've had anywhere between 3 and 7 inches, a couple spots maybe even heftier than that." Said Ballard.
On Oahu, the Honolulu Zoo was closed for the day due to the wet weather....
That accumulation of water vapor creating a structure over Hawaii is new. It is extremely rare.
1 May 2017
1930.18z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)
April 30, 2017
By Jobeth Devera
...And on Maui, (click here) the torrential rain left parts of South Kihei Road underwater near the Maui Lu Resort.
That accumulation of water vapor creating a structure over Hawaii is new. It is extremely rare.
1930.18z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)
April 30, 2017
By Jobeth Devera
...And on Maui, (click here) the torrential rain left parts of South Kihei Road underwater near the Maui Lu Resort.
A landslide covered Kahekili Highway near mile marker 11 and crews were out in the rain over on the east side near Kaupo fixing a large sinkhole.
At Kaupo Gap, Piilani Highway remains closed due to water flowing over the road....
May 1, 2017
By Kelly Simek
The National Weather Service (click here) has issued a flood advisory for Hawaii Island until 8:30 a.m. Monday.
At 5:25 a.m., the radar showed showers and thunderstorms streaming over the Big Island from the southeast, affecting the area from near South Point to Cape Kumukahi to Hilo.
Additional heavy showers are poised to move ashore through the morning. Rainfall rates between one and two inches per hour can be expected in the heavier showers.
Locations in the advisory include but are not limited to Hilo, Kailua-Kona, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Captain Cook, Honokaa, Paauilo, Naalehu, Orchidlands Estates, Pepeekeo, Kawa Flats, Pahoa and Pohakuloa Camp.
Stay away from streams, drainage ditches and low lying areas prone to flooding. Rainfall and runoff will also cause hazardous driving conditions due to ponding, reduced visibility and poor braking action.
Do not cross fast flowing or rising water in your vehicle, or on foot
This advisory may need to be extended beyond 8:30 a.m. if heavy rain persists.
Tornado season officially starts June 1, 2017. There is a shift east of the density in the number of tornadoes.
May 1, 2017
By Kelly Simek
The National Weather Service (click here) has issued a flood advisory for Hawaii Island until 8:30 a.m. Monday.
At 5:25 a.m., the radar showed showers and thunderstorms streaming over the Big Island from the southeast, affecting the area from near South Point to Cape Kumukahi to Hilo.
Additional heavy showers are poised to move ashore through the morning. Rainfall rates between one and two inches per hour can be expected in the heavier showers.
Locations in the advisory include but are not limited to Hilo, Kailua-Kona, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Captain Cook, Honokaa, Paauilo, Naalehu, Orchidlands Estates, Pepeekeo, Kawa Flats, Pahoa and Pohakuloa Camp.
Stay away from streams, drainage ditches and low lying areas prone to flooding. Rainfall and runoff will also cause hazardous driving conditions due to ponding, reduced visibility and poor braking action.
Do not cross fast flowing or rising water in your vehicle, or on footThis advisory may need to be extended beyond 8:30 a.m. if heavy rain persists.
Tornado season officially starts June 1, 2017. There is a shift east of the density in the number of tornadoes.
Seattle, Washington passed a $15.00 minimum wage in 2014. The economy has never been better.
June 2, 2014
...Jobs: (click here)
Overall, the Seattle labor market was exceptionally strong over the 18 months from mid- 2014 to the end of 2015.
Seattle’s job growth rate tripled the national average between mid-2014 and late 2015.
This job growth rate outpaced Seattle’s own robust performance in recent years.
Surrounding portions of King County also had a very good year; the boom appears to fade with geographic distance.
Job growth is clearly driven by increased opportunities for higher-wage workers, but businesses relying on low-wage labor showed better-than-average growth as well.
For businesses that rely heavily on low-wage labor, our estimates of the impact of the Ordinance on the number of persistent jobs are small and sensitive to modeling choices. Our estimates of the impact of the Ordinance on hours per employee more consistently indicate a reduction of roughly one hour per week.
Fewer hours per employee could reflect higher turnover rather than cutbacks in staffing.
Reductions in hours are consistent with the experiences of low-wage workers...
There is every reason to believe increasing the minimum wage RETURNS quality of life to Americans, increase their opportunities in housing and recreational time in movie theaters, parks and picnics and sports events, including sports events of their children.
One of the most devastating effects of 2008 was the instability of neighborhoods. REBUILD and continue to grow the local economy. Local economies REACT FIRST to increased income in a neighborhood. Local economies are vital, provide stability and encourage quality of life. Local economies have a real stake in the game.
Congratulations, Seattle!
By Lynn Thompson and Amy Martinez
The Seattle City Council (click here) unanimously approved a $15 minimum wage Monday, giving its lowest-paid workers a path over the next seven years to the nation’s highest hourly pay.
The outcome was not in doubt as a progressive mayor and City Council throughout the spring vowed to address the national trend of rising income inequality and a city that has become increasingly unaffordable for many of its residents....
Seattle, Washington wasn't going to take chances. They are followed in their higher minimum wage by "The University of Washington" to report on "how things are going."
Seattle, Washington wasn't going to take chances. They are followed in their higher minimum wage by "The University of Washington" to report on "how things are going."
...Jobs: (click here)
Overall, the Seattle labor market was exceptionally strong over the 18 months from mid- 2014 to the end of 2015.
Seattle’s job growth rate tripled the national average between mid-2014 and late 2015.
This job growth rate outpaced Seattle’s own robust performance in recent years.
Surrounding portions of King County also had a very good year; the boom appears to fade with geographic distance.
Job growth is clearly driven by increased opportunities for higher-wage workers, but businesses relying on low-wage labor showed better-than-average growth as well.
For businesses that rely heavily on low-wage labor, our estimates of the impact of the Ordinance on the number of persistent jobs are small and sensitive to modeling choices. Our estimates of the impact of the Ordinance on hours per employee more consistently indicate a reduction of roughly one hour per week.
Fewer hours per employee could reflect higher turnover rather than cutbacks in staffing.
Reductions in hours are consistent with the experiences of low-wage workers...
There is every reason to believe increasing the minimum wage RETURNS quality of life to Americans, increase their opportunities in housing and recreational time in movie theaters, parks and picnics and sports events, including sports events of their children.
One of the most devastating effects of 2008 was the instability of neighborhoods. REBUILD and continue to grow the local economy. Local economies REACT FIRST to increased income in a neighborhood. Local economies are vital, provide stability and encourage quality of life. Local economies have a real stake in the game.
Congratulations, Seattle!
The Rooster
"Okeydoke"
What was the reason for the $15 minimum wage?
Quality of life?
Yes, happy Americans do better in life. They have more time of their own to pursue education, marriage and more quality time with the family that go ON VACATION.
But, what was the reason for the $15.00 minimum wage economically?
Wall Street wants to know, right? Wall Street says it will cost jobs.
A $15.00 minimum wage will NOT cause job cuts, UNLESS, the CEO is looking for a quick fix for his BONUS CHECK. Got that. Right?
Okay. Does a $15.00 minimum wage in ACTUALITY cause SHRINKAGE of the economy?
No, the economy experiencing higher minimum wages will EXPAND. It takes the PROFIT MARGIN of any CEO to STOCKHOLDERS and put it all back into circulation in the local economy. Right? What does that mean in the long run? It means a more vibrant economy with low unemployment, happy people expanding their QUALITY OF LIFE and SPENDING MONEY on the aspects of life they could not reach before.
Does it help housing? You know the place where Americans pack away EQUITY for their asset balance for RETIREMENT.
The rule of thumb is that prices in houses go up with demand.
March 28, 2017
By Mike Rosenberg
For the fifth straight month, (click here) Greater Seattle has registered the sharpest home-price increases of any major market in the country, as home costs soared at their fastest pace in three years.
The typical price of a home across King, Snohomish and Pierce counties rose 11.3 percent in January compared to a year prior, according to the monthly Case-Shiller home price index, released Tuesday....
Seattle is into the beginnings of the $15.00 minimum wage and the housing market is feeling the increased demand. My guess is two income families are ready to move out of those apartments and into their own homes where EDUCATION of the children can be garnered with participation in their local Board of Education.
Is being involved in local government where decision makers effect the education of children a QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE? Yes, it is. Americans like to feel their tax dollars are working for them and local involvement is vital to that peace of mind.
Duterte was a populous candidate.
Globally there is a change in candidates within democracies since the change in USA Supreme Court leanings of "Citizens' United" (click here)
There are remarkable dynamics that are consistent from case to case. The large amount of money into a candidates ambitions is removed from the moral message of that same candidate. The winning candidates find a hate filled populous message powerful enough to be elected. Then no matter how humane and unrealistic the hate filled promise is, the candidate is propelled forward to carry it out to maintain his/her elect-ability.
Russia has a winning strategy, learned from the US Supreme Court.
Russia has a winning strategy, learned from the US Supreme Court.
It is repeated over and over. The immoral monies of entities without hearts, lungs and body are causing huge insults to the human condition. Those non-living citizens within a democracy are becoming a weapon that is used against the living citizen and they actually believe their liberties are being upheld.
The machines are winning within democracies.
April 30, 2017
By Mark Landler
Mr Duterte has been mobbed by supporters throughout much of the election campaign which culminates next month
...“By essentially endorsing Duterte’s murderous war on drugs, (click here) Trump is now
morally complicit in future killings,” said John Sifton, the Asia
director of Human Rights Watch. “Although the traits of his personality
likely make it impossible, Trump should be ashamed of himself.”
Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Twitter, “We are watching in real time as the American human rights bully pulpit disintegrates into ash.”
Administration
officials said the call to Mr. Duterte was one of several to Southeast
Asian leaders that the White House arranged after picking up signs that
they felt neglected because of Mr. Trump’s intense focus on China, Japan
and tensions over North Korea. On Sunday, Mr. Trump spoke to the prime
ministers of Singapore and Thailand; both got White House invitations.
Mr.
Duterte’s toxic reputation had already given pause to some in the White
House. The Philippines is to host a summit meeting of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations in November, and officials said there was a
brief debate about whether Mr. Trump should attend....
"Good Night, Moon"
5.3 days old
28.2 percent lit
April 28, 2017
By Alan McRobert
Sunday, April 30 (click here)
• These spring evenings, the long, dim sea serpent Hydra snakes far across the southern sky. Find his head, a rather dim asterism about the width of your thumb at arm's length, in the southwest. (It's lower right of Regulus by about two fists at arm's length.) His tail reaches all the way to Libra rising in the southeast. Hydra's star pattern, from forehead to tail-tip, is 95° long.
• As twilight fades, look above the crescent Moon in the west for Pollux and Castor, and a similar distance left of the Moon for Procyon.
Monday, May 1
• At nightfall, the first-quarter Moon forms part of a gigantic curving arc: To the Moon's lower left is Procyon, to its upper right are Pollux and Castor, and continuing way farther right, you can include Menkalinan and then brilliant Capella. These stars alone, minus the Moon, form the Arch of Spring.
Tuesday, May 2
• It's May now. But wintry Sirius still twinkles very low in the west-southwest in twilight, far below Procyon. It sets soon after dusk. How much longer into the spring can you keep Sirius in view each evening? In other words, what will be its date of "heliacal setting" as seen by you?
Wednesday, May 3
• The waxing gibbous Moon, 1.3 light-seconds away, shines near Regulus, 79 light-years away. Regulus is the bottom star of the Sickle of Leo, marking Leo's forefoot.
Thursday, May 4
• The moon now shines under the belly of Leo — with Regulus to its right, Algieba a little farther to its upper right, and Denebola a lot farther to the Moon’s upper left.
Friday, May 5
• Now the Moon is under Leo's tail star, Denebola (by about a fist at arm's length). To the Moon's lower left is bright Jupiter, with Spica about half again farther on.
Saturday, May 6
• The Moon tonight forms a gently curving arc with, to its lower left, bright Jupiter and then Spica. Look between the Moon and Jupiter for 3rd-magnitude Porrima (Gamma Virginis), a fine, close telescopic double star.
• Summer is more than six weeks away, but the Summer Triangle is beginning to make its appearance in the east, one star after another. The first up in view is Vega. It's already visible low in the northeast as twilight fades.
Next up is Deneb, lower left of Vega by two or three fists at arm's length. Deneb rises about an hour after Vega does, depending on your latitude.
The third to rise is Altair, which shows up far to their lower right around midnight.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
The USA has lost it's dignity. The only real respect it receives is due to it's military might. No war is going to bring about the end of the climate crisis.
American agriculture historically has feed the world. An ever growing global population is complicated by a climate crisis that causes shrinking farm lands. The saddest example of this reality is Syria. The stress caused by drought forcing farmers to abandon their land is considered the one single reason for the civil war. Yet, no one is addressing the need to correct Syria's suffering landscape. When war breaks out it is about killing, not about what has gone wrong.
Water is a vital commodity in the year 2017 and getting more and more important was drought robs reservoirs, lakes and streams of water. Realizing agriculture can contribute to waters that are not healthy is important. Agriculture has to address it's use of chemicals and containment of those chemicals from water resources used for animal and human consumption. Economies have to protect from pollutants.
Methane is a more dense GHG when it comes to heating Earth. It is 25 more dense than CO2. That means for every percent of GHG emitted it is causing 25 times more heating. So, while methane is considered to be ONLY 9 percent at it's lowest estimate of all GHG, it doesn't mean it can be given a pass.
Of all the GHGs methane is probably one of the most difficult to control when it comes from agriculture. That fact means commercial emissions have to be controlled. The source methods of commercial methane is known and can be controlled. It is just that the petroleum industry has no will to do it. The petroleum industry is one of the most crudest industries on Earth with absolutely no will to contain it's environmental pollution. Methane must be contained. It is dangerous to human life through it's explosive nature as well as it's density in heating Earth.
When it comes to agricultural environmental effects, the water is as much a concern as the air.
Good night.
American agriculture historically has feed the world. An ever growing global population is complicated by a climate crisis that causes shrinking farm lands. The saddest example of this reality is Syria. The stress caused by drought forcing farmers to abandon their land is considered the one single reason for the civil war. Yet, no one is addressing the need to correct Syria's suffering landscape. When war breaks out it is about killing, not about what has gone wrong.
Water is a vital commodity in the year 2017 and getting more and more important was drought robs reservoirs, lakes and streams of water. Realizing agriculture can contribute to waters that are not healthy is important. Agriculture has to address it's use of chemicals and containment of those chemicals from water resources used for animal and human consumption. Economies have to protect from pollutants.
Methane is a more dense GHG when it comes to heating Earth. It is 25 more dense than CO2. That means for every percent of GHG emitted it is causing 25 times more heating. So, while methane is considered to be ONLY 9 percent at it's lowest estimate of all GHG, it doesn't mean it can be given a pass.
Of all the GHGs methane is probably one of the most difficult to control when it comes from agriculture. That fact means commercial emissions have to be controlled. The source methods of commercial methane is known and can be controlled. It is just that the petroleum industry has no will to do it. The petroleum industry is one of the most crudest industries on Earth with absolutely no will to contain it's environmental pollution. Methane must be contained. It is dangerous to human life through it's explosive nature as well as it's density in heating Earth.
When it comes to agricultural environmental effects, the water is as much a concern as the air.
Good night.
The USA is 117 times larger than Ireland.
The will of the people of the USA are not reflected by it's government.
September 30, 2014
...In the U.S., (click here) methane emissions come primarily from industry, natural gas and petroleum systems; and from agriculture, respiratory and digestive emissions from livestock and manure management. An important additional source is landfills. However, across the globe it’s the agricultural sector that is more decidedly the primary source of methane emissions.
Between 1990 and 2012, methane emissions in the U.S. decreased by about 11 percent because of decreased exploration of natural gas and petroleum within the country, but emissions from animal agriculture still increased....
September 30, 2014
...In the U.S., (click here) methane emissions come primarily from industry, natural gas and petroleum systems; and from agriculture, respiratory and digestive emissions from livestock and manure management. An important additional source is landfills. However, across the globe it’s the agricultural sector that is more decidedly the primary source of methane emissions.
Between 1990 and 2012, methane emissions in the U.S. decreased by about 11 percent because of decreased exploration of natural gas and petroleum within the country, but emissions from animal agriculture still increased....
The Republicans laugh at "preventing cow farts." Methane is a very powerful GHG. Laugh if you will.
The current thinking is that agriculture emits about 13 percent of GHG. The problem lies in the amount of increasing percentage the future will hold. There is a real drive for terrestrial meat to be included in diets everywhere, but, that means agriculture will have an ever increasing impact. Facing that fact means agricultural GHG have to be addressed.
And, yes, factory farms are a problem. It is really strange to think of the world moving in a different direction than the USA. Perhaps it is being out of touch, but, it seems to me more Americans are looking to vegetables and their products to satisfy a healthy diet. Yet, the world wants to eat meat. The reason so much movement exists in producing meat for a global diet is because the fisheries in many countries are failing. Another negative feed back loop of the climate crisis.
In today’s world (click here) there are a host of serious environmental problems, and factory farming is one of the top causes of pollution. Scientific
research has found that factory farming’s method of crowding and
confining animals in warehouse-like conditions before killing them and
mass-producing both “meat” from cows, pigs and chickens as well as dairy and eggs poses “an unacceptable level of risk to public health and damage to the environment…” Yet,
despite factory farming’s severe social and ecological costs, many
governments promote this unsustainable industry to supply a growing
global “meat” market that is projected to double by 2050....
...Unlike human waste, animal excrement from factory farms is not processed as sewage—making it about 500 times more concentrated than treated human waste while leaving pathogens (like Salmonella and E. coli) and volatile chemicals intact. Even so, farmers typically spray some liquidized manure onto the food being grown for animals using giant sprinkler jets, and store the rest in open-air cesspools that can be as large as several football fields and hold millions of gallons of waste. However, neither of these dispersal techniques is environmentally safe or sustainable....
...Various gases from animal waste are all major sources of factory farm air pollution, and particulate matter and bacterial toxins found in high concentrations at and around industrialized animal facilities have caused serious respiratory and cardiac disorders. The ammonia from waste slurry lagoons also breeds bacteria, which creates acid that evaporates and combines with nitrous oxide from fertilizers and industrial pollution to form nitric acid rain—which leaches nutrients from the soil, despoils forest habitats, and kills fish by releasing toxic minerals from the earth that flow into aquatic ecosystems. Even though agricultural fertilizer emissions are the leading cause of nitric acid rain (after motor vehicles and coal plants), they remain virtually unregulated in the U.S.
In addition, animal agriculture is responsible for more than half of humanity’s total greenhouse gas emissions (largely created by using arable land to grow food for animals, animal belching and flatulence, and chemical emanations from manure). This includes 37 percent of anthropogenic (i.e., human-made) methane, and methane gas is 23 times more potent a climate change agent than carbon dioxide. Yet, despite factory farming’s leading role in the climate change crisis, the EPA does not currently have the authority to regulate the U.S. livestock industry’s greenhouse gas emission...
And, yes, factory farms are a problem. It is really strange to think of the world moving in a different direction than the USA. Perhaps it is being out of touch, but, it seems to me more Americans are looking to vegetables and their products to satisfy a healthy diet. Yet, the world wants to eat meat. The reason so much movement exists in producing meat for a global diet is because the fisheries in many countries are failing. Another negative feed back loop of the climate crisis.
In today’s world (click here) there are a host of serious environmental problems, and factory farming is one of the top causes of pollution. Scientific
research has found that factory farming’s method of crowding and
confining animals in warehouse-like conditions before killing them and
mass-producing both “meat” from cows, pigs and chickens as well as dairy and eggs poses “an unacceptable level of risk to public health and damage to the environment…” Yet,
despite factory farming’s severe social and ecological costs, many
governments promote this unsustainable industry to supply a growing
global “meat” market that is projected to double by 2050.......Unlike human waste, animal excrement from factory farms is not processed as sewage—making it about 500 times more concentrated than treated human waste while leaving pathogens (like Salmonella and E. coli) and volatile chemicals intact. Even so, farmers typically spray some liquidized manure onto the food being grown for animals using giant sprinkler jets, and store the rest in open-air cesspools that can be as large as several football fields and hold millions of gallons of waste. However, neither of these dispersal techniques is environmentally safe or sustainable....
...Various gases from animal waste are all major sources of factory farm air pollution, and particulate matter and bacterial toxins found in high concentrations at and around industrialized animal facilities have caused serious respiratory and cardiac disorders. The ammonia from waste slurry lagoons also breeds bacteria, which creates acid that evaporates and combines with nitrous oxide from fertilizers and industrial pollution to form nitric acid rain—which leaches nutrients from the soil, despoils forest habitats, and kills fish by releasing toxic minerals from the earth that flow into aquatic ecosystems. Even though agricultural fertilizer emissions are the leading cause of nitric acid rain (after motor vehicles and coal plants), they remain virtually unregulated in the U.S.
In addition, animal agriculture is responsible for more than half of humanity’s total greenhouse gas emissions (largely created by using arable land to grow food for animals, animal belching and flatulence, and chemical emanations from manure). This includes 37 percent of anthropogenic (i.e., human-made) methane, and methane gas is 23 times more potent a climate change agent than carbon dioxide. Yet, despite factory farming’s leading role in the climate change crisis, the EPA does not currently have the authority to regulate the U.S. livestock industry’s greenhouse gas emission...
Farmer organizations in Ireland seek to act responsibly.
13 April 2017
By Caitríona Murphy
...Farmer reaction (click here)
Reacting to the EPA projections, the IFA said the climate report highlights the need for urgent action on farm-scale renewables.
James Murphy, IFA renewables project chair called on Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten to urgently progress plans to introduce supports for farm-scale and community renewable projects, as emissions from transport and energy continue to spiral out of control.
“Climate gases from agriculture have reduced by 5.5% since 1990, with emissions from transport increasing by 130% over the same time period,” said Murphy. “This is not a reason for inaction in agriculture; farming can do more particularly in bioenergy and farm scale and community based renewables.”
“To achieve this, Minister Naughten must immediately put in place the long-awaited National Energy Forum to develop a coherent policy framework.
“More importantly, this must be supported with meaningful tariff supports for farm-scale and community-based energy production,” he added....
By Caitríona Murphy
...Farmer reaction (click here)
Reacting to the EPA projections, the IFA said the climate report highlights the need for urgent action on farm-scale renewables.
James Murphy, IFA renewables project chair called on Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten to urgently progress plans to introduce supports for farm-scale and community renewable projects, as emissions from transport and energy continue to spiral out of control.
“Climate gases from agriculture have reduced by 5.5% since 1990, with emissions from transport increasing by 130% over the same time period,” said Murphy. “This is not a reason for inaction in agriculture; farming can do more particularly in bioenergy and farm scale and community based renewables.”
“To achieve this, Minister Naughten must immediately put in place the long-awaited National Energy Forum to develop a coherent policy framework.
“More importantly, this must be supported with meaningful tariff supports for farm-scale and community-based energy production,” he added....
Hero to modern day organic farming.
...Formal education of blacks was not widespread, and only through his own tenacity did Carver become Iowa State's first African-American college graduate, earning a bachelor of science degree in 1894 and a master of science degree in 1896....
... In 1896, Carver took a job at the Tuskegee Institute, where he discovered how rotating alternative crops such as sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, and especially peanuts restored nitrogen to depleted soil. Carver also experimented with hybridization to increase plant resistance to common pests. To popularize his methods, Carver wrote instructional manuals, and in 1906 he founded the "moveable school" to give hands-on demonstrations to illiterate farmers. This school on wheels taught approximately 2,000 farmers per month during its first summer, and served as a model for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's extension program...
Family farms are known to be most productive with least environmental impact.
By Orlan Love
Family farms, (click here) the wellspring of many Iowans’ values, have shrunk in number and gotten larger and more complex, but, with few exceptions, they are still run by families.
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“Yes, farms have changed. The farms are bigger and more specialized. The machinery is nicer. The yields have doubled. But they are still operated by families who want to take care of soil and water,” said Iowa Corn Promotion Board President Larry Klever, who raises corn and soybeans near Audubon.
Klever said family farmers, who operate more than 97 percent of the state’s farms, are tired of hearing that food today is produced mainly by soulless corporations and industrialized agriculture.
Family farmers reject the “Big Ag stigma” often associated with large-scale grain and livestock production, he said.
Family farmers reject the “Big Ag stigma” often associated with large-scale grain and livestock production, he said.
But modern farms “do tend to mirror the corporate model more than the old image of the family farm,” said Neil Harl, a retired Iowa State University agriculture and economics professor and longtime observer of the Iowa farm scene....
Agricultural chemicals as of 2012 was a $62 billion business.
Of that, it is estimated $11 billion are in genetically modified seeds. I'd be cautious of seeds classified as an agricultural chemical product.
Global fertilizer use was merely 27 million tons in 1959 and 1960; it increased five times to 141 million metric tons over the forty-year period ending in 2000. The projected fertilizer demand for the year 2020 is 220 million metric tons. Intensive fertilizer use on input-responsive cultivars grown on prime irrigated land was the basis of the green revolution in South Asia and elsewhere that saved millions from hunger and malnutrition. As the world population increases and cropland becomes more valuable, total cropland acreage is beginning to diminish, increasing the reliance on fertilizer.
Similar to fertilizer use, there has also been a rapid increase in global
pesticide use. In fact, much of the success of the green revolution
depended on the use of pesticides. Global pesticide use was four million
tons in 1970, five million tons in 1985, and six million tons in 2001. As
much as 85 percent of all pesticides are used in agriculture. The misuse
of pesticides can cause severe environmental problems, especially in
developing countries. It is estimated that chemical pollution in
agriculture costs about $100 billion in diverse public health and
environmental damage each year worldwide. The health risks are due to a
lack of or inadequate occupational and other safety standards,
insufficient enforcement, poor labeling, illiteracy, and insufficient
knowledge about the hazards of pesticides and fertilizers.
Global fertilizer use was merely 27 million tons in 1959 and 1960; it increased five times to 141 million metric tons over the forty-year period ending in 2000. The projected fertilizer demand for the year 2020 is 220 million metric tons. Intensive fertilizer use on input-responsive cultivars grown on prime irrigated land was the basis of the green revolution in South Asia and elsewhere that saved millions from hunger and malnutrition. As the world population increases and cropland becomes more valuable, total cropland acreage is beginning to diminish, increasing the reliance on fertilizer.
Similar to fertilizer use, there has also been a rapid increase in global
pesticide use. In fact, much of the success of the green revolution
depended on the use of pesticides. Global pesticide use was four million
tons in 1970, five million tons in 1985, and six million tons in 2001. As
much as 85 percent of all pesticides are used in agriculture. The misuse
of pesticides can cause severe environmental problems, especially in
developing countries. It is estimated that chemical pollution in
agriculture costs about $100 billion in diverse public health and
environmental damage each year worldwide. The health risks are due to a
lack of or inadequate occupational and other safety standards,
insufficient enforcement, poor labeling, illiteracy, and insufficient
knowledge about the hazards of pesticides and fertilizers.
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