Mar 22, 2013

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New congressional caucus puts focus on Mississippi River - Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative. The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI) received a grant from the Walton Family Foundation to create a new and influential voice for the Mississippi River


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Full Article: New congressional caucus puts focus on Mississippi River


Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative.

The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI) received a grant from the Walton Family Foundation to create a new and influential voice for the Mississippi River dramatically increasing demand for effective river protection, restoration and management in Washington, DC in 2012. NEMWI Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) addresses matters of mutual concern, including:
River water quality and habitat restoration,

Flooding and floodplain issues, River-focused recreation, Sustainable economies, Celebration of the River culture and history.



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Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative Capitol Meeting March 19-21

Mayors from along the entire length of America’s Great Waterway will gather in Washington, DC to give a new and powerful voice to the growing national chorus for the Mississippi River.

The official meeting flyer can be found here and a working agenda can be found here.
This event is by invitation only. For further information, please email the projector director, Colin Wellenkamp at cwellenkamp@nemw.org .

The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI) received a grant from the Walton Family Foundation to create a new and influential voice for the Mississippi River dramatically increasing demand for effective river protection, restoration and management in Washington, DC in 2012. NEMWI Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) addresses matters of mutual concern, including:
River water quality and habitat restoration, Flooding and floodplain issues, River-focused recreation, Sustainable economies, Celebration of the River culture and history.

Over 3 million residents collectively populate the 124 Mississippi River main stem cities and towns. These riparian population centers are soundly River-centric. MRCTI gives a common voice to those who depend most upon the River, and by virtue of doing so, spans political and economic interests. That is, it taps a natural source of the longed-for integration of transportation, farming, industrial, municipal and environmental interests to launch lasting solutions to River management issues.

The outcome of the MRCTI is designed to be tangible improvement of Mississippi River:
Water quality,

Flood and floodplain management, and River economy and environmental protection.

The MRCTI articulates and helps drive multi-stakeholder solutions to recurring federal and state policy problems that impede environmental and economic health of river communities. This project also builds capacity of the MRCTI members to undertake effective local initiatives to attract green jobs, move to sustainable economies and achieve local environmental protection goals. Ultimately, this work helps protect and restore the Mississippi River as a natural system that can sustainably support human culture and economies as well as wildlife.

MRCTI is a local government-lead effort empowering the ten States and over one hundred cities that border the Mississippi River to act for its continued prosperity, sustainability, and economic growth. Through MRCTI mayors and other leaders cooperate to give new urgency to issues facing the Mississippi River, and new strength to effectively resolve them. Contact: Colin Wellenkamp, Director,cwellenkamp@nemw.org , 202-464-4010.

MRCTI Roster, 1st Quarter 2013

Mar 21, 2013

Introduction to Permaculture Design | Watch Free Documentary Online


Permaculture is a system for sustainable living on Earth that benefits all creatures and supplies all the needs of humanity.

Present systems are failing miserably: resource depletion, water storage, degraded landscape, food shortage, climate change.

All these things are negative and we don’t need to focus on them completely, but we need to look at how we can positively design our way out of this problem.

How we can come up with solutions that will supply all our needs, benefit the environment, and create absolute abundance. A designed system that gives you a positive view on the future, something that you can engage in and feel meaningful.

Based on the 72-hour Permaculture Design Certificate Course as devised by Bill Mollison, join Geoff Lawton as he takes you into the world of Permaculture Design and introduces you to a new way of looking at the world.

Learn how to apply your design skills by observing, analyzing and harmonizing with the patterns of Nature. Discover the theory and then see the examples in action in this unique video.

Essential information for anyone interested in learning more about Permaculture and how they can apply it in their daily lives to create sustainable abundance.
Introduction to Permaculture Design | Watch Free Documentary Online

Living and Breathing in the Shadow of Chevron - YouTube


Published on Mar 21, 2013

When California passed its Global Warming Solutions Act, Assembly Bill 32, in 2006, many environmental justice advocates hoped that the legislation, which regulates greenhouse gas emissions, would also combat health problems caused by big polluters, like refineries. A refinery emits carbon dioxide, which causes climate change, along with other kinds of pollution that are linked to respiratory disease and cancer. Some residents of the state believe that the regulation should force refineries to clean up their own operations, not allow them to trade permits to pollute through a policy called "cap and trade."

AB32 began regulating industrial greenhouse gas emissions this year. Residents of Richmond, a low-income city alongside Chevron's oil refinery in the San Francisco Bay, believe the regulation should require Chevron to clean up ongoing air pollution in their community.

Read the full story of California's cap-and-trade promises and drawbacks at http://thenat.in/YqVElp

Can we learn from our experiences?   Monte
Living and Breathing in the Shadow of Chevron - YouTube

Good sign spring is close! - Mergansers On The Mississippi with Ice - Andalusia Slough - March 21, 2013


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Good sign spring is close!  Monte

Common Merganser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

US ARMY Corps of Engineers Public Web Site: Corps Data, Layers of Information, Locks Data, etc.

This is an excellent Google driven resource tool!  You can even measure distances off of satellite maps...  Monte

US ARMY Corps of Engineers Public Web Site: Corps Data, Layers of Information, Locks Data, etc.
( https://corpslocks.usace.army.mil/ ).

The following features have recently been added to the site and one or the other may provide information that would be useful to you.

RIVER-AT-A-GLANCE - This allows the selection of a range of locks on a waterway to see the vessel locations either arriving or leaving a lock. Included is a map feature for an individual vessel or the Show All Vessels map feature. Since the USCG is the owner of AIS data and prohibits other agencies from posting vessel location based on it, the maps for the public are based on the LPMS data rather than the AIS signal.

Source Links:
https://corpslocks.usace.army.mil/
http://geo.usace.army.mil/egis/cm2.cm2.map

Mar 20, 2013

The Very Real Danger of Genetically Modified Foods - Ari LeVaux - The Atlantic

New research shows that when we eat we're consuming more than just vitamins and protein. Our bodies are absorbing information, or microRNA.


Update 1/12: Thanks to science and biology bloggers, Christie Wilcox and Emily Willingham at the Scientific American blog network and The Biology Files, respectively, we've learned of the scientific inconsistencies made in Ari LeVaux's most recent Flash in the Pan column, which is syndicated by a number of newspapers and magazine websites. This column has been expanded and updated for AlterNet, with LeVaux discussing specific improvements in the comments.
Full Story: The Very Real Danger of Genetically Modified Foods - Ari LeVaux - The Atlantic

Overturning Citizens United: Is a Constitutional Amendment the Best Path to Limit Dark Money? | Democracy Now!



Everyone should get knowledgeable and involved in order to save our democracy ! Monte

Mar 19, 2013

John Ikerd Keynote Presentation - 2012 National Small Farm Conference and Trade Show


Published on Mar 12, 2013

John Ikerd is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri and an author of several books about agricultural sustainability.

This video is his keynote presentation at the 2012 National Small Farm Conference and Trade Show with an introduction by Joanne Macher. Ikerd has received several SARE grants. Learn about one of his SARE projects here: http://mysare.sare.org/mySARE/ProjectReport.aspx?do=viewProj&pn=ENC98-028

John Ikerd Keynote Presentation 2012 - YouTube

Mar 18, 2013

New Shale Gas Report - Drill Baby Drill - David Hughes

Outstanding Interview If You Want Understand Shale Gas Revolution!   ... Monte


Published on Mar 8, 2013
Source: http://peakoil.com/geology/post-carbon-david-hughes-new-shale-gas-report-drill-baby-drill

Interview by CBC Radio New Brunswick

Post Carbon David Hughes New Shale Gas Report: Drill Baby Drill

A provocative new analysis of so-called unconventional fuel reserves in the United States concludes that the exuberant forecasts are simply unwarranted based on the facts of geology. In short, the hype around shale gas is just that. Hype. We speak with the author of the Drill Baby Drill study [http://www.postcarbon.org/drill-baby-...].

David Hughes is a fellow at the Post Carbon Institute.

In this landmark report, PCI Fossil Fuel Fellow David Hughes takes a far-ranging and painstakingly researched look at the prospects for various unconventional fuels to provide energy abundance for the United States in the 21st Century. While the report examines a range of energy sources, the centerpiece of "Drill, Baby, Drill" is a critical analysis of shale gas and shale oil (tight oil) and the potential of a shale "revolution."

The full report (PDF 25.8MB) at http://www.postcarbon.org/reports/DBD-report-FINAL.pdf

New Shale Gas Report - Drill Baby Drill - David Hughes - YouTube

Free Geoff Lawton Permaculture Videos - YouTube


Published on Mar 18, 2013

Watch here: http://www.geofflawton.net/crisis/?10004

We're rolling out a series of free videos from Geoff Lawton. The first video is about how Geoff Lawton got started in Permaculture and how he used it to transform his burnt out farm to abundance and what a little permaculture knowledge can do for you. This first video has been a terrific hit and has had thousands of views and over 1,800 comments.

The response has been truly phenomenal. See what you've been missing.

The second video in the series looks at broader farmland and how to identify good quality land using Permaculture techniques to redesign the landscape back into abundance, to get it to work for you naturally. Geoff visits a number of poorly designed farms that are not functioning properly and explains ways you can harvest rainfall and store that runoff in a series of small ponds to rehydrate and nourish the land back to fertility. This information is not commonly taught in college or university. People pay thousands of dollars to learn this technique, but its your free. So make sure you watch this video. Its very good.

The third video looks at the small urban space and at an amazing suburban backyard and how many vegetables, fruit and medicinal herbs can generated if the design is done right.

Please note you need to register your email as not all videos were up at time of posting of this trailer. We'll email you when the next series of videos are up. Don't worry, you won't get spammed and you can unsubscribe safely any time you like.

Each video is over 30 to 45 minutes long. When you signup, please leave a comment. Any questions you have should be directed to Geoff Lawton on his website, not here on YouTube.

Click on this link to signup now: http://www.geofflawton.net/crisis/?10004

Free Geoff Lawton Permaculture Videos - YouTube

Mar 17, 2013

More Studies Back Hockey Stick: Recent Global Warming Is Unprecedented In Magnitude And Speed And Cause

Has any piece of climate science been more vindicated than the Hockey Stick?

This RealClimate piece adds three more independent studies to the ever-growing list (at the end).

"FROM THE FRONTLINES" of the Fracking War Going on in this Country!

There is war going on in this country to save our water from pollution... Are we too blinded by $ signs to understand the consequences of our actions or inaction's?   Let's get the science right before we destroy our water resources....  Monte


Published on Feb 28, 2013

From The Frontlines is at Montrose, PA HS with Vera Scroggins and Craig Stevens as they attempt to enter a closed door meeting about a compressor station proposed by Williams Co.

This is the frontlines of the hydrofracking movement..Vera is one of the bravest people I've ever seen. She has quite a few good men who are watching her back. It's dangerous times. Vera and her friends aren't backing down...It's do or die..Hydrofracking is serious business and there are no federal laws regarding slick water hydraulic fracturing and only a few state laws regulating the gas giants.....yikes! 

What is the rush, the gas isn't going anywhere..Get the science right and take responsibility for your actions..Hydrofracking is laying waste to everything in it's path..Talk about David vs Goliath... Vera, Craig, Ray and Brett have recently been banned from any future Williams Co. events..Welcome to Frackland...Welcome to Pennsylvania. Where gas companies run the show.

"FROM THE FRONTLINES", Vera Scroggins & Craig Stevens - YouTube

Samantha Brown, "Saving 4 The Future" - YouTube


Published on Mar 13, 2013

Samantha Brown, 18 yr old hs senior lives in a frack zone. She is the host of "Saving 4 The Future", a anti hydrofracking show featuring young people.

Samantha introduces Madison Burton and Adam Headley, young children living in the gas fields whose families have had their water contaminated after fracking began near them. 

Madison and Adam are young but they know the value of water....It would be nice if politicians had the same values.

The wisdom of this 18 year is not blurred by $ sign worship of the short sighted!   Monte

Samantha Brown, "Saving 4 The Future" - YouTube