No emissions. It is the most sophisticated method of transportation in the world.
Any idea how many employees work because of the trains of Japan? A lot. They are highly skilled and demand perfection in their work.
This is a high speed magnetic train. The high speed is a by-product of the magnetic rail it travels on. I think Elon Musk is working on a pneumatic system. It could work.
Americans forgot how to reach for the highest ambitions and make it happen. This does not require an enormous investment that isn't already expected. I am not talking about corporate money. There are a lot of American dollars ALREADY APPROPRIATED every year for energy and transportation. It is about getting rid of the old and bringing on the new.
Example:
Power plants last about 30 years. The conventional power plants. That means the monies needed for the public's best interest is going to be available every year AND the states will be planning for these expenses AND the board of trustees of public utilities already know when INFRASTRUCTURE is becoming obsolete.
When infrastructure monies are spent on conventional methods of energy that investment is planned for 30 years, which means modernization won't happen for 30 FLYIN' YEARS!
STOP IT!
The AMBITIONS of the American people REQUIRE a new direction for investments that will change the face of energy AND remove HARMFUL greenhouse gases from the troposphere.
This can be done. This needs to be done. It needs to be done NOW!
ANYONE stating it will happen in 2050 is not using current scientific knowledge, is insensitive to the losses of Americans every year, month after month and they sure don't care about how many deaths occur because the troposphere is TOO HOT!
The money is there, the plans for that money has to change and America has to stop propagating it's own problems!
The food supply for the USA is going to be lost. This year in the Midwest spells what the future will look like. It is not the problem of the US Army Corp of Engineers, ie: New Orleans and it's category 3 hurricanes. The US Army Corp wanted to plan for THE BIG ONE. It didn't happen because politicians in Washington, DC had OTHER PLANS FOR THE MONEY. Don't talk to me about the US Army Corp. They do what they can with what they are provided. It is time they and all the other agencies working within the Climate Crisis paradigm are properly funded AND LISTENED to.
The Bay of Thailand is dead. The only majority species is squid. No other fish has survived the onslaught of the squid because their reproduction outpaces every other species. Why? Because squid will reproduce according to the temperature of the water. The warmer the water the more squid. At least the people of Thailand have squid. The American Midwest may be a place of commercial fishing if the pollution in the water comes under control.
This is not a joke. This is the Climate Crisis and the world needs to be transformed by MONIES ALREADY AVAILABLE by the year 2030.
SC Maglev, (click title above - thank you) or superconducting magnetic trains, were developed by the Central Japan Railway Company and the Railway Technical Research Institute beginning in the 1970s. Maglev trains work on the principle of magnetic repulsion between the cars and the track. The word maglev is actually a combination of the words “magnetic” and “levitation.” The magnetic levitation, or floating of the train, is achieved through the use of an electrodynamic suspension system, or EDS.
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
Get it right!
THIS IS NOT NEW!
American scientists were among the very first to carry the warning and helped the American people develop "Earth Day."
Get over the idea this is something new, it is not. The problem is that the USA has never risen to the demand for change required to end this crisis and reverse the effects of severe and growing threats of climate.
Climate 2050 is too late.
I do not care who is saying it, it is wrong. There is no scientific evidence to support Climate Crisis measures in 2050.
The Climate Crisis demands all measures be established by 2030. That is ten years, six months and 27 days away.
2030 is the year all scientists agree on and it is supported by scientific fact.
The Midwest of the USA is underwater.
California fires has seen a fire tornado 3 miles high. A California community is gone because of a wildfire.
The number of tornadoes in May was doubled the USA record.
An island off Puerto Rico is gone because of the enormous Climate Crisis hurricanes.
If anyone running for President of the USA wants to kick the can down the road beyond 2030, they need not run for the office.
The Climate Crisis demands all measures be established by 2030. That is ten years, six months and 27 days away.
2030 is the year all scientists agree on and it is supported by scientific fact.
The Midwest of the USA is underwater.
California fires has seen a fire tornado 3 miles high. A California community is gone because of a wildfire.
The number of tornadoes in May was doubled the USA record.
An island off Puerto Rico is gone because of the enormous Climate Crisis hurricanes.
If anyone running for President of the USA wants to kick the can down the road beyond 2030, they need not run for the office.
I think we need reopen the Iran-Contra Affair to recapture THE TRUTH in the history of the USA.
Barr has never been detached from the Oval Office in any of his positions of power. The Attorney General's cabinet position has that "air" about it. The cabinet seat of the AG is supposed to be objective. But, in realizing the preconceived image acts as a shield for corruption to hide behind, it can't go unrecorded.
Barr changed history in the Iran-Contra criminal dealings. This is NOT about Weinberger's pardon, it is about the history of the USA and in this case, the abuse of power. It needs to be set straight and that level of "history steering" should never be tolerated again or NOW.
Bill Barr needs to be held responsible for his actions and let history record the level of corruption he was and is willing to carry out. It should be a stark example of what can happen and never should.
Why is it Robert S. Mueller was never Attorney General? Not asked? Why?
April 17, 2019
By Greg Walters
Washington - Weeks before (click here) former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger’s criminal trial over his role in the 1980’s Iran-Contra scandal, then-Attorney General William Barr dropped a bomb on the prosecution.
“People in the Iran-Contra affair have been treated very unfairly,” Barr told USA Today in December 1992, blasting the charges as illegitimate. “People in this Iran-Contra matter have been prosecuted for the kind of conduct that would not have been considered criminal or prosecutable by the Justice Department.”...''
The people in the Iran-Contra affair was not treated unfairly, the people of the USA was treated unfairly and cheated out of the truth and justice.
It is important the history is correct and the corruption evident all the way to the AG's office.
Barr is under the impression the Executive Branch of the USA is a free for all, so long as it can be sold to the people. I don't think so.
Barr changed history in the Iran-Contra criminal dealings. This is NOT about Weinberger's pardon, it is about the history of the USA and in this case, the abuse of power. It needs to be set straight and that level of "history steering" should never be tolerated again or NOW.
Bill Barr needs to be held responsible for his actions and let history record the level of corruption he was and is willing to carry out. It should be a stark example of what can happen and never should.
Why is it Robert S. Mueller was never Attorney General? Not asked? Why?
April 17, 2019
By Greg Walters
Washington - Weeks before (click here) former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger’s criminal trial over his role in the 1980’s Iran-Contra scandal, then-Attorney General William Barr dropped a bomb on the prosecution.
“People in the Iran-Contra affair have been treated very unfairly,” Barr told USA Today in December 1992, blasting the charges as illegitimate. “People in this Iran-Contra matter have been prosecuted for the kind of conduct that would not have been considered criminal or prosecutable by the Justice Department.”...''
The people in the Iran-Contra affair was not treated unfairly, the people of the USA was treated unfairly and cheated out of the truth and justice.
It is important the history is correct and the corruption evident all the way to the AG's office.
Barr is under the impression the Executive Branch of the USA is a free for all, so long as it can be sold to the people. I don't think so.
The US House Intelligence Committee needs to find out why George Nader was arrested a second time.
I find it odd that while the Middle East is a focus of Trump's war secretary and Bill Barr is allowing a parallel story to be constructed regarding a Deep State, this arrest takes place.
Additionally, things are not going well for Benjamin Netanyahu. He has been unable to form a government due to his insistence of having all religious students in Israel serve in the defense forces. These students have never been required to enter the Israeli military before now. There are also multiple investigations occurring.(click here) that the Prime Minister is supposed to appoint qualified persons in order to carry them out. But, the Prime Minister is dragging his feet hoping other matters will occupy the country and all the investigations will go away.
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered regarding this arrest and unfortunately, oversight falls to the US House once again. The arrest is relevant to the current House investigations. Barr is in contempt of Congress and this is a very curious arrest.
15 March 2018
Washington - It was a few days (click here) before the one-year anniversary of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration and a Lebanese-American businessman was on his way to Mar-a-Lago.
George Nader, an international fixer whose long history included intrepid back-channel mediation between Israel and Arab countries — and a 15-year-old pedophilia conviction in Europe that has not been previously reported — was transiting through Dulles International Airport outside Washington.
It was hardly his first far-flung journey to see top aides of the world’s most powerful leader, as Nader had met the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and chief strategist Steve Bannon in the days before they stormed the White House.
But he encountered an altogether different scene awaiting him at the airport.
There, special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators stopped Nader, people familiar with the case said. His electronics were seized and he was then allowed to go to his lawyer. Nader later agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation, said the people with knowledge of the case as it pertains to Nader. They weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the case and demanded anonymity....
Additionally, things are not going well for Benjamin Netanyahu. He has been unable to form a government due to his insistence of having all religious students in Israel serve in the defense forces. These students have never been required to enter the Israeli military before now. There are also multiple investigations occurring.(click here) that the Prime Minister is supposed to appoint qualified persons in order to carry them out. But, the Prime Minister is dragging his feet hoping other matters will occupy the country and all the investigations will go away.
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered regarding this arrest and unfortunately, oversight falls to the US House once again. The arrest is relevant to the current House investigations. Barr is in contempt of Congress and this is a very curious arrest.
15 March 2018
Washington - It was a few days (click here) before the one-year anniversary of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration and a Lebanese-American businessman was on his way to Mar-a-Lago.
George Nader, an international fixer whose long history included intrepid back-channel mediation between Israel and Arab countries — and a 15-year-old pedophilia conviction in Europe that has not been previously reported — was transiting through Dulles International Airport outside Washington.
It was hardly his first far-flung journey to see top aides of the world’s most powerful leader, as Nader had met the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and chief strategist Steve Bannon in the days before they stormed the White House.
But he encountered an altogether different scene awaiting him at the airport.
There, special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators stopped Nader, people familiar with the case said. His electronics were seized and he was then allowed to go to his lawyer. Nader later agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation, said the people with knowledge of the case as it pertains to Nader. They weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the case and demanded anonymity....
The US House needs to do more than pass bills to deal with disasters.
The US House should let the country know if it weren't for a Democratic majority the bill still would not have passed. But, the US House has to include initiatives to deal with the climate crisis whenever it passes a disaster bill.
Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change (click here)
Jurisdiction includes the Clean Air Act and air emissions; all matters related to soil, air, and water contamination, including Superfund and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the regulation of solid, hazardous, and nuclear wastes, including mining, nuclear, oil, gas, and coal combustion waste; emergency environmental response; industrial plant security, including cybersecurity; the regulation of drinking water (Safe Drinking Water Act), including underground injection of fluids (e.g., deep well injection or hydrofracking); toxic substances (Toxic Substances Control Act); noise; and all aspects of the above-referenced jurisdiction related to the Department of Homeland Security.
That description is great, however, it does not go far enough. The Subcommittee has to develop a national policy to be included in these disaster relief bills that actively evaluates the causes of the disaster and the means to end them from occurring again. There has to be a national overlay to any government spending that demands climate assessments and actions that resolve the problem of the Climate Crisis in rehabilitating the USA following the disasters.
If the assessments are included in the bill, the solutions at the grassroots will follow.
June 3, 2019
The House has approved a $19.1 billion disaster (click here) aid package despite earlier objections from Republicans.
The legislation was approved 354-58. All those who opposed it were Republicans. The Senate already passed the bill overwhelmingly and it heads to the president's desk for his signature.
President Trump has said he backed the measure, even though it did not include border money he urged Congress to add. He said he would continue pressing for that as part of separate legislation.
With Trump's signature, the legislation would help speed relief funds to communities hit by tornadoes, wildfires, volcanoes, drought, flooding and other disasters. It also includes money for Puerto Rico, which is still rebuilding after 2017 hurricanes devastated significant portions of the island....
Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change (click here)
Jurisdiction includes the Clean Air Act and air emissions; all matters related to soil, air, and water contamination, including Superfund and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the regulation of solid, hazardous, and nuclear wastes, including mining, nuclear, oil, gas, and coal combustion waste; emergency environmental response; industrial plant security, including cybersecurity; the regulation of drinking water (Safe Drinking Water Act), including underground injection of fluids (e.g., deep well injection or hydrofracking); toxic substances (Toxic Substances Control Act); noise; and all aspects of the above-referenced jurisdiction related to the Department of Homeland Security.
That description is great, however, it does not go far enough. The Subcommittee has to develop a national policy to be included in these disaster relief bills that actively evaluates the causes of the disaster and the means to end them from occurring again. There has to be a national overlay to any government spending that demands climate assessments and actions that resolve the problem of the Climate Crisis in rehabilitating the USA following the disasters.
If the assessments are included in the bill, the solutions at the grassroots will follow.
June 3, 2019
The House has approved a $19.1 billion disaster (click here) aid package despite earlier objections from Republicans.
The legislation was approved 354-58. All those who opposed it were Republicans. The Senate already passed the bill overwhelmingly and it heads to the president's desk for his signature.
President Trump has said he backed the measure, even though it did not include border money he urged Congress to add. He said he would continue pressing for that as part of separate legislation.
With Trump's signature, the legislation would help speed relief funds to communities hit by tornadoes, wildfires, volcanoes, drought, flooding and other disasters. It also includes money for Puerto Rico, which is still rebuilding after 2017 hurricanes devastated significant portions of the island....
Monday, June 03, 2019
Child protection legislation in the UAE is relatively new to the Kingdom since President Obama took office.
It is easily noted that these laws came into effect and not just a draft while the Former First Lady, Former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in service to the USA.
In 2008 a federal child protection law was drafted, (click here) but never enacted; this will serve as the framework for a new child protection system. Currently Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai is rushing to draft and pass a federal child protection law as a result of a case that shocked the nation. It was recently reported that a father is suspected of killing his 8 year old daughter and torturing her younger sister. The Sheikh visited the younger daughter in the hospital, realizing this situation highlighted the current law’s inadequacies. The new child protection law will be tailored to children instead of the current general penalty code, under which killing a child is no different than killing an adult. A second proposal is also currently being drafted, which seeks to cover child pornography and criminal penalties for the mistreatment of children. The federal law could seek to merge both proposals....
We know the Child Protection Laws of the UAE are in effect because people are being arrested and serving jail time. The penalties are not what they are in the USA, but, these laws do exist.
March 19, 2017
A man who was caught with hundreds of child pornographic films (click here) on his computer devices, and was also distributing the illegal material to small children, has been given six months in jail.
Abu Dhabi Appeal Court has upheld an earlier ruling by the Criminal Court of First Instance that handed down the sentence to the man from Philippines after he was found guilty of possessing child pornography and distributing it among children.
The court has also fined him Dh50,000.
Official court documents stated that the man in his 30s had downloaded the indecent and illegal content from pornography websites.
After downloading the porn films using proxy software, the man allegedly sent them out to mobile phones of children aged aged below 11 and to some adults....
In 2008 a federal child protection law was drafted, (click here) but never enacted; this will serve as the framework for a new child protection system. Currently Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai is rushing to draft and pass a federal child protection law as a result of a case that shocked the nation. It was recently reported that a father is suspected of killing his 8 year old daughter and torturing her younger sister. The Sheikh visited the younger daughter in the hospital, realizing this situation highlighted the current law’s inadequacies. The new child protection law will be tailored to children instead of the current general penalty code, under which killing a child is no different than killing an adult. A second proposal is also currently being drafted, which seeks to cover child pornography and criminal penalties for the mistreatment of children. The federal law could seek to merge both proposals....
We know the Child Protection Laws of the UAE are in effect because people are being arrested and serving jail time. The penalties are not what they are in the USA, but, these laws do exist.
March 19, 2017
A man who was caught with hundreds of child pornographic films (click here) on his computer devices, and was also distributing the illegal material to small children, has been given six months in jail.
Abu Dhabi Appeal Court has upheld an earlier ruling by the Criminal Court of First Instance that handed down the sentence to the man from Philippines after he was found guilty of possessing child pornography and distributing it among children.
The court has also fined him Dh50,000.
Official court documents stated that the man in his 30s had downloaded the indecent and illegal content from pornography websites.
After downloading the porn films using proxy software, the man allegedly sent them out to mobile phones of children aged aged below 11 and to some adults....
George Nador is not insane, he is a pervert. One of Trump's perverts.
I want to know if George Nader was ever at the Teen Miss USA pageant to tour the dressing rooms with Trump.
Probably one of the most decent things Nader did was to testify to the Special Counsel. A child porn addict is capable of testimony. This strange obsession with child porn is a sexual obsession issue, not a cognitive one.
This arrest just proves one more time that the affiliates of Donald Trump are not mainstream folks, ask Mar-a-Lago. If only the staff could talk. Maybe subpoena them as to how many Chinese spies frequent the place.
The arrest of George Nader makes the illegal pursuit of prostitutes by Robert Kraft look like something grown-ups do.
June 3, 2019
By Ryan Bort and Andy Kroll
Figures associated with President Trump (click here) have been charged with everything from lying to the government to violating federal campaign finance law to just about every financial crime imaginable. Add trafficking child pornography to the list.
Probably one of the most decent things Nader did was to testify to the Special Counsel. A child porn addict is capable of testimony. This strange obsession with child porn is a sexual obsession issue, not a cognitive one.
This arrest just proves one more time that the affiliates of Donald Trump are not mainstream folks, ask Mar-a-Lago. If only the staff could talk. Maybe subpoena them as to how many Chinese spies frequent the place.
The arrest of George Nader makes the illegal pursuit of prostitutes by Robert Kraft look like something grown-ups do.
June 3, 2019
By Ryan Bort and Andy Kroll
Figures associated with President Trump (click here) have been charged with everything from lying to the government to violating federal campaign finance law to just about every financial crime imaginable. Add trafficking child pornography to the list.
George Nader, a Middle East fixer who advised the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates and whose connections to Trump drew the attention of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, was apprehended on Monday and indicted on federal child pornography charges. According to federal prosecutors, he was arrested upon landing at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and charged with “transporting visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct....
Trump arrives in UK and attends welcome ceremony - live
The Rooster
"Okeydoke"
The people of the USA provide a great jet along with a couple of helicopters and all the needed and highly qualified staff to facilitate a trip to a trusted ally, the United Kingdom.
What do we get in return?
Trump called the Duchess of Sussex, a new mother with a beautiful baby boy, nasty. He did this all on hearsay. REGARDLESS, if it is hearsay or not there is absolutely no reason to aim lousy remarks at this wonderful lady.
We get the London Mayor nearly declaring war on Trump and rightfully so.
1 June 2019
By Sadiq Kahn
Praising the “very fine people on both sides” (click here) when torch-wielding white supremacists and antisemites marched through the streets clashing with anti-racist campaigners. Threatening to veto a ban on the use of rape as a weapon of war. Setting an immigration policy that forcefully separates young children from their parents at the border. The deliberate use of xenophobia, racism and “otherness” as an electoral tactic. Introducing a travel ban to a number of predominately Muslim countries. Lying deliberately and repeatedly to the public....
Here again, rather than rising to the occasion to make lemonade out of lemons rather than resorting to 3rd grade intellect, Trump says of the Mayor, "He is a "stone cold loser," "very dumb and incompetent," and short."
SHORT? OMG. I'd say Trump wants to take the London Mayor into the back alley, but, I already know Trump is too chicken to show.
He is not welcome in the UK. His itinerary is more that of a tourist.
l. Lunch with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry.
2. Lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior
3. Tour the World Heritage site
4. Have tea with Prince Charles and Camilla at their residence at Clarence House
5. Attend a state banquet at Buckingham Palace
6. Meet with the Prime Minister Theresa May
The Brits seem to have accomplished something few others do, silence the mouth and minimize social trauma. That is what the President of the USA has come to, a trauma riddled mouth that seeks to destroy the social fabric of most if not all civilized nations.
"Good Night, Moon" (click here for official website of "Spacex" - thank you)
29.2 days old
0.1 percent lit.
The climate crisis is a primary example of how human beings overrun the capacity of the natural world. We should not make the same mistake with the moon, Mars or other space ventures as has occurred with a very stressed Earth and it's dead global coral reefs among other factors that should be telling human beings their technology is more than the natural world can handle.
Before large amounts of assets are assigned to space and exploration to change the way human beings think about the world and space, we need to have a UN Conference on the ethics of space and how decision making occurs. Now is the time for such conventions of thought, not after all the mistakes are made.
SpaceX is an interesting company and the precision of this launch and satellite deployment cannot be ignored.
June 2, 2019
The Moon (click here) has always served as an inspiration for humanity, and there are many potential benefits for further exploration of our planet’s rocky satellite.
But we need to establish guidelines to prevent unethical behaviour on the Moon, particularly regarding the use of natural resources and off-planet labour.
How humans should interact with space and celestial objects is central to the emerging field of space ethics. It’s something I’ve been involved with since 2015, when I taught my first class on consent for the use of celestial objects at Yale University’s Summer Bioethics Institute....
Sunday, June 02, 2019
Aerial footage shows scale of destruction after tornado in Dayton, Ohio
I wanted to include this reality of Dayton, Ohio.
I mentioned Darwin. The Juncos have a large variety of plumage that is specific geographically. We know the Oregon variety is the dominant of all the others. Each of the others has some degree of the characteristic of the majority population.
The difference between the varieties are the trees where they nest and the food they consume.
The Oregon variety enjoys the temperate forest on the west coast which have a higher density of pines than the east coast. When a forest is temperate it supports more varieties of seeds and live food. The east coast has pines, in the case of New York state, it is the White Pine.
The Oregon species has a hearty environment to nest and live. The New York species of "Slate Colored" Dark Eyed Junco has fewer pines trees, hence, fewer types of seeds and live food.
What occurred with these varieties is that they all started out like the Oregon species, but, were unable to survive among changing lands, trees and food sources, so each species adapted with their inherent genetic content. With each new plumage came a territory. That territory has a finite amount of calories for each bird that lives within that ecosystem.
The available calories encouraged a robust plumage with an abundance of food while the palest color CHOSE to limit the number of calories available to the young as they were conceived and hatched. That CHOICE occurred because of the genetic basis for it's calorie use. It is not to say one species is heartier or healthier than another. It simply means as the calories available to a migrating species were realized, the genetic basis of the animals CHOSE it's best outcome. It was not a cognitive choice, it was a genetic choice.
I will continue to discuss the Slate Colored Dark Eyed Junco next week and it's habitat in New York State that supplies it's nesting environment and it's food source.
There are other indicator species, both plant and animal. I believe in examining this bird it will open up a greater understanding of the others.
The difference between the varieties are the trees where they nest and the food they consume.
The Oregon variety enjoys the temperate forest on the west coast which have a higher density of pines than the east coast. When a forest is temperate it supports more varieties of seeds and live food. The east coast has pines, in the case of New York state, it is the White Pine.
The Oregon species has a hearty environment to nest and live. The New York species of "Slate Colored" Dark Eyed Junco has fewer pines trees, hence, fewer types of seeds and live food.
What occurred with these varieties is that they all started out like the Oregon species, but, were unable to survive among changing lands, trees and food sources, so each species adapted with their inherent genetic content. With each new plumage came a territory. That territory has a finite amount of calories for each bird that lives within that ecosystem.
The available calories encouraged a robust plumage with an abundance of food while the palest color CHOSE to limit the number of calories available to the young as they were conceived and hatched. That CHOICE occurred because of the genetic basis for it's calorie use. It is not to say one species is heartier or healthier than another. It simply means as the calories available to a migrating species were realized, the genetic basis of the animals CHOSE it's best outcome. It was not a cognitive choice, it was a genetic choice.
I will continue to discuss the Slate Colored Dark Eyed Junco next week and it's habitat in New York State that supplies it's nesting environment and it's food source.
There are other indicator species, both plant and animal. I believe in examining this bird it will open up a greater understanding of the others.
It is the largest of this species. It is 12 percent larger than the Oregon species. It has the largest beak of all the varieties. It also has white stripes on its wings. When it flies it is more difficult to find against a white or blue sky if looking up from the ground.
It is a pale grey color with a variety of that grey throughout the body, chest and head. The tail has extensive white feathers.
The reason I chose this individual is that he appears to be slender under all those feathers. Body weight and survival, especially through winter and/or migration, matters. Birds have a very high demand for calories. When a food supply falls off, there needs to be an alternative source otherwise the birds will fail.
The Juncos tend to have variety in their diets for the reason of survival. But, if the forest is ailing in any way, including overharvest of trees for wood, the insects or other live food sources can fail as well. There is a balance, including the grains it obtains, so the forest has to be healthy and ABUNDANT.
If individuals begin to have an emaciated appearance even with plenty of feathers, that is something to be concerned with especially if that body weight loss sustains after reaching home following migration.
Being good stewards to a forest is a very responsible task, but, nature will talk to any keen observer.
The more uncertain the USA crop yields, the more expensive they get.
Higher agricultural commodity prices, the higher the food prices. BUT, that isn't the worst part. What if the crops are yielding low. Insurance is interesting, but, it doesn't feed people. High commodity prices might drive food costs up, but, what if there isn't enough to produce food products in the first place.
BE GRATEFUL OF ALL THE NON-GMO PRODUCERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. They just might be the best friend to American consumers.
Wall Street Journal
May 30, 2019
By Joe Wallace
Crop prices (click here) are vaulting higher as massive disruption on U.S. farms raises concerns about the size and quality of this year’s harvest....
It is highly unusual for the USA to have these problems. We are often considered the bread basket of the world. That reality will taint predictions. The best indication is always THE STATE AGRICULTURAL AGENTS that know the farmers and the crops. Try talking to the folks that lend to farmers like "AgAmerica" (click here).
May 6, 2019
By Andrew Heckt
Summary (click here)
- Agricultural commodities limping into the report.
- Soybeans and corn under pressure.
- Wheat is weak.
- Cotton edges lower.
- Animal proteins falter.
BE GRATEFUL OF ALL THE NON-GMO PRODUCERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. They just might be the best friend to American consumers.
Wall Street Journal
May 30, 2019
By Joe Wallace
Crop prices (click here) are vaulting higher as massive disruption on U.S. farms raises concerns about the size and quality of this year’s harvest....
It is highly unusual for the USA to have these problems. We are often considered the bread basket of the world. That reality will taint predictions. The best indication is always THE STATE AGRICULTURAL AGENTS that know the farmers and the crops. Try talking to the folks that lend to farmers like "AgAmerica" (click here).
May 6, 2019
By Andrew Heckt
Summary (click here)
- Agricultural commodities limping into the report.
- Soybeans and corn under pressure.
- Wheat is weak.
- Cotton edges lower.
- Animal proteins falter.
It is that time of the month again. If the prices of grains and most other agricultural commodities limped into the April WASDE report, they are crawling into the USDA's May release which is coming on May 10 at noon EST. There have been no new earth-shattering developments on trade between the US and China and a combination of better weather, a stronger dollar, and a more hawkish Fed likely combined to send price to lower levels in the grain, cotton, and animal protein futures markets over recent sessions.
We are at the very start of the growing season for the grains and cotton, and the grilling season will only commence at the end of this month during the Memorial Weekend holiday. The agricultural markets are taking a leap of faith that 2019 will be another year of enough products to meet the world's requirements for food. Meanwhile, each quarter the global population grows by approximately 20 million which means that there are more mouths to feed and the world has become addicted to bumper crops and increasing supplies of food products. With the demand side of the fundamental equation always growing, the direction of prices is now in the hands of Mother Nature as the weather will be the primary factor that determines if there are enough supplies to feed the world.
The Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA) (click here) holds a basket of agricultural futures contracts and is trading near its multiyear lows.
The graph at this website shows a years worth of value. June of 2018 the value to this fund was $19.14. As of May 31, 2019 it is $16.62. Agricultural commodities is a very big deal. No one should be ignoring this trend.
An important migration map. It is a matter of understanding the species and it's habits.
Get this, there are four separate types of Dark-Eyed Juncos. This map outlines the four groups I recognize, the Oregon Group, the Pink-Sided, the White-Winged and the Slate-Colored groups. There is one in Mexico that called the Grey Headed Group. But, for our purposes there are just four separate PLUMMAGE arrangements. What is more interesting to think about, is the question, how do the birds keep all this straight?
Believe me, it is easy for them. A lot is territorial and the habitat each group has gotten used to, but, it is the bird watchers with the greatest difficulty. Although over time it is easy for conservationists to see each species and their unique color pattern.
Spring planting is behind. Given the Mississippi is only recently receding, it should not be a surprise.
June 1, 2019
By Kelsey Rettke
Farmers face looming insurance deadline as flooding, rain, continues to dominate planting (click here)
Don Young, a farmer in DeKalb and Kane counties, sighed heavily Friday and said he lately feels like a crisis counselor.
“It’s been a very difficult year,” said Young, 50. He also works as a crop insurance agent for Country Financial in Elburn. “For the insurance companies, for farmers, I don’t think anyone ever dreamt that we’d be discussing something like this on this massive scale, Midwest-wide. It’s pretty amazing, not in a good way.”
In addition to working in the crop insurance business for 20 years, Young grows corn and soybeans on 2,100 acres. He said his phone has been ringing off the hook for a week and a half, as farmers in northern Illinois struggle with the effects of one of the wettest springs to date. Farmers face a federal deadline: By Wednesday, they must decide whether to plant their fields and risk low yields in the hope that crop insurance will cover up to 85% of any loss, or face losing 1% of crop insurance coverage each day afterward.
Poor corn and soybean prices could fall further as the U.S. and China impose new tariffs, and torrential rain and flooding has made planting impossible or killed off crops that managed to get into the ground early. In the 18 states that grow most of the nation’s corn, only 58% of the crop had been planted, a far cry from the 90% ordinarily planted by now. In states that grow nearly all soybeans, less than half of the normal crop is planted.
This is Wisconsin.
June 1, 2019
By Aaron Maybin
Left is a rain gauge.
Oak Creek - The storms and rainy weather (click here) are creating challenges for folks in the agriculture industry. Many farmers are far behind schedule and unable to plant crops.
"The money comes in when you go to the farmers market. If you don't have anything to sell, the money is not coming in," said David Kozlowski, farmer.
David Kozlowski admits he's worried....
These are smaller tractors. If a plow or seeder or cultivator sinks into it's axles in the mud, there is no progress that is going to be made in planting or cultivating the crop.
Some of the largest farms in the Midwest have tractors and equipment a lot heavier than this. There ability to plant is that much more inhibited.
Sooner or later, the USA's political choices based in guns, god and extremism was going to come home to roost. Welcome to the Climate Crisis. This is not going away. The Republicans are voted into office in the Midwest and for the life of me, I have yet to understand it.
June 2, 2019
By Alex Norton
Corn planting in the U.S. is delayed. (click here) Very delayed. Historically delayed.
As of May 26th, just 58% of the intended 92.8 million acres of corn had been planted. The five-year average pace is 90%, and even last year (that saw a slow start to planting) had gotten caught up to the normal pace by late May. This delay means that roughly 39 million acres are not yet planted (assuming all of the intended acres are still going to be planted to corn is a big stretch). And weather forecasts suggest more delays. Storms have been raging all week in spots across the Corn Belt, bringing rain and powerful winds that are keeping farmers from planting anything.
The market has responded. Prices have been firming all week with more wet weather. Speculative funds have gotten long, rising from a record short position just a month ago (adding fuel to the rally). Even for areas that have not been suffering from the insane wet weather, the support is being felt....
By Kelsey Rettke
Farmers face looming insurance deadline as flooding, rain, continues to dominate planting (click here)
Don Young, a farmer in DeKalb and Kane counties, sighed heavily Friday and said he lately feels like a crisis counselor.
“It’s been a very difficult year,” said Young, 50. He also works as a crop insurance agent for Country Financial in Elburn. “For the insurance companies, for farmers, I don’t think anyone ever dreamt that we’d be discussing something like this on this massive scale, Midwest-wide. It’s pretty amazing, not in a good way.”
In addition to working in the crop insurance business for 20 years, Young grows corn and soybeans on 2,100 acres. He said his phone has been ringing off the hook for a week and a half, as farmers in northern Illinois struggle with the effects of one of the wettest springs to date. Farmers face a federal deadline: By Wednesday, they must decide whether to plant their fields and risk low yields in the hope that crop insurance will cover up to 85% of any loss, or face losing 1% of crop insurance coverage each day afterward.
Poor corn and soybean prices could fall further as the U.S. and China impose new tariffs, and torrential rain and flooding has made planting impossible or killed off crops that managed to get into the ground early. In the 18 states that grow most of the nation’s corn, only 58% of the crop had been planted, a far cry from the 90% ordinarily planted by now. In states that grow nearly all soybeans, less than half of the normal crop is planted.
This is Wisconsin.
By Aaron Maybin
Left is a rain gauge.
Oak Creek - The storms and rainy weather (click here) are creating challenges for folks in the agriculture industry. Many farmers are far behind schedule and unable to plant crops.
"The money comes in when you go to the farmers market. If you don't have anything to sell, the money is not coming in," said David Kozlowski, farmer.
David Kozlowski admits he's worried....
These are smaller tractors. If a plow or seeder or cultivator sinks into it's axles in the mud, there is no progress that is going to be made in planting or cultivating the crop.Some of the largest farms in the Midwest have tractors and equipment a lot heavier than this. There ability to plant is that much more inhibited.
Sooner or later, the USA's political choices based in guns, god and extremism was going to come home to roost. Welcome to the Climate Crisis. This is not going away. The Republicans are voted into office in the Midwest and for the life of me, I have yet to understand it.
June 2, 2019
By Alex Norton
Corn planting in the U.S. is delayed. (click here) Very delayed. Historically delayed.
As of May 26th, just 58% of the intended 92.8 million acres of corn had been planted. The five-year average pace is 90%, and even last year (that saw a slow start to planting) had gotten caught up to the normal pace by late May. This delay means that roughly 39 million acres are not yet planted (assuming all of the intended acres are still going to be planted to corn is a big stretch). And weather forecasts suggest more delays. Storms have been raging all week in spots across the Corn Belt, bringing rain and powerful winds that are keeping farmers from planting anything.
The market has responded. Prices have been firming all week with more wet weather. Speculative funds have gotten long, rising from a record short position just a month ago (adding fuel to the rally). Even for areas that have not been suffering from the insane wet weather, the support is being felt....
Indicator species usually have a feeding habit that requires a healthy forest, not just specialized food sources.
Dark - eyed Juncos are not specialists. They require a variety of both seeds and bugs. The bugs have higher protein and are eaten more so during breeding seasons.
Below is from the "Kid's Inquiry of Diverse Species."
The Dark-Eyed Junco is not endangered. It is considered a stable population and of least concern. It's habitat demands is what brings it to the level of an idicator species.
Dark-eyed juncos eat insects, (click here) non-insect arthropods (arachnids or spiders. Spiders are not insects. Centipedes and millipedes, and crustaceans), and seeds during the fall and winter. They are often seen at bird feeders during migration and in the winter months, but they prefer to search for food on the ground. When there is snow on the ground, dark-eyed juncos scratch away a small circle of snow to look for grain. To eat grass seed, dark-eyed juncos "ride" a grass stem. They fly to a tall grass stem and hold on as the stem bends down to the ground. The junco can stand on the grass stem on the ground and eat the seeds. During the breeding season, dark-eyed juncos eat mostly insects, including caterpillars, beetles, and ants. They also eat the seeds of many weed species.
Dark-eyed juncos drink water from streams or pools or from raindrops or dew on plant leaves. During the winter, they eat snow in order to get water.
The Mississippi River has only recently began to fall from it's swollen status.
The reason the Missouri River and the Arkansas River are still well over their banks and breaching levis is that as those tributaries drained their huge amounts of water into the Mississippi, it caused a back force from the Mississippi itself.
The Mississippi holding the waters in the Arkansas and Missouri Rivers IN PLACE until it drains into the Gulf of Mexico. That only started to occur and if there is more rain, the subsiding of the rivers will stop and they will return to their current status or worse.
The current floods are record setting. THE US ARMY CORP FREQUENTLY IS BLAMED FOR THESE EVENTS. IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT. THE USA HAS ON COMPREHENSIVE POLICY THAT DEALS WITH THE CLIMATE CRISIS.
There has to be a NATIONAL STRATEGY coming out of Washington, DC.
Thoughts and prayers won't cut it.
EVERYONE WAS TOLD OVER THE PAST SEVEN DECADES.
May 30,2019
By Brian Kahn
The United States has faced historic flooding this spring. (click here) From the Midwest to California to the Southern Plains, record precipitation has begotten both slow-moving and flash floods.
All this is happening following the wettest 12 month period in U.S. history. But it’s also indicative of bigger issues afoot. Extreme precipitation has become more common due to climate change, raising the risk of floods. A recent analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that the alarm bells are ringing ever louder with a 71 percent uptick in flood watches and warnings this year and that flood alerts have become more common in many parts of the U.S. since 1986. The findings and what we’ve observed this spring show that the country’s infrastructure needs to be shored up fast to deal with a wetter, wilder future....
...“These factors combine to increase the likelihood of life-threatening floods such as the ones we’ve seen recently in the Midwest,” Declet-Barreto said.
His analysis underscores this isn’t just a 2019 problem, though. Declet-Barreto pulled 33 years of National Weather Service flood watches, warnings, and advisories. The results show basically every region of the U.S. is seeing more of these alerts. The Midwest is a hot spot, but so is the Southwest, particularly around central Arizona. The types of floods these two regions experience are very different—in the Midwest, it’s usually river floods while Arizona usually sees flash floods and runoff from the desert during the summer monsoon—but the risks they pose are equally challenging society. And if governments don’t improve how they manage stormwater, the impacts will grow ever worse.
“It’s clear we need a coherent and comprehensive federal response to climate change—a response that encourages progress at state and local levels,” Declet-Barreto said....
The Mississippi holding the waters in the Arkansas and Missouri Rivers IN PLACE until it drains into the Gulf of Mexico. That only started to occur and if there is more rain, the subsiding of the rivers will stop and they will return to their current status or worse.
The current floods are record setting. THE US ARMY CORP FREQUENTLY IS BLAMED FOR THESE EVENTS. IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT. THE USA HAS ON COMPREHENSIVE POLICY THAT DEALS WITH THE CLIMATE CRISIS.
There has to be a NATIONAL STRATEGY coming out of Washington, DC.
Thoughts and prayers won't cut it.
EVERYONE WAS TOLD OVER THE PAST SEVEN DECADES.
May 30,2019
By Brian Kahn
The United States has faced historic flooding this spring. (click here) From the Midwest to California to the Southern Plains, record precipitation has begotten both slow-moving and flash floods.
All this is happening following the wettest 12 month period in U.S. history. But it’s also indicative of bigger issues afoot. Extreme precipitation has become more common due to climate change, raising the risk of floods. A recent analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that the alarm bells are ringing ever louder with a 71 percent uptick in flood watches and warnings this year and that flood alerts have become more common in many parts of the U.S. since 1986. The findings and what we’ve observed this spring show that the country’s infrastructure needs to be shored up fast to deal with a wetter, wilder future....
...“These factors combine to increase the likelihood of life-threatening floods such as the ones we’ve seen recently in the Midwest,” Declet-Barreto said.
His analysis underscores this isn’t just a 2019 problem, though. Declet-Barreto pulled 33 years of National Weather Service flood watches, warnings, and advisories. The results show basically every region of the U.S. is seeing more of these alerts. The Midwest is a hot spot, but so is the Southwest, particularly around central Arizona. The types of floods these two regions experience are very different—in the Midwest, it’s usually river floods while Arizona usually sees flash floods and runoff from the desert during the summer monsoon—but the risks they pose are equally challenging society. And if governments don’t improve how they manage stormwater, the impacts will grow ever worse.
“It’s clear we need a coherent and comprehensive federal response to climate change—a response that encourages progress at state and local levels,” Declet-Barreto said....
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