Senator Jones Statements on Energy

In the Thursday, July 28, 2011 edition of the Marion County Observer was an article by Leigh Williams entitled "Gas prices inch back toward record highs."  Much of the article was filled by statements by State Senator John O. Jones, a friend of the "energy interests."  Several of his comments call for response, so he is mine (I have taken the liberty of correcting two obvious word-choice errors in the original article):

"We have different blends of gasoline in this country.  Chicago has a different blend than we do because of pollution and government regulations.  If [the federal government] would life (lift?) those regulations all of our refineries could produce the same gas.  Gas produced in Wood River could be sold in California."  If that happened, which blend would go to California?  Would our "simple" and, presumably cheaper, blend be forced upon the good people of Los Angeles?  The picture above was taken in 1988!  This was after the worst of the smog years.  Maybe we could vote on it, LA's 8,000,000 people vs Salem's 8,000 people.  OOPS! [Tad]

I was born in New York City in 1939 and lived for a number of years there and just across the Hudson River in New Jersey.  When we went to visit "in the country" we would always remark, as we returned home again, about the grey cover over New York City from their terrible smog.

Senator Jones goes on the say, "We could help everyone if the federal government could go to a single standard." I hate to point it out, but smog KILLS people.  In the days of heavy smog, hundreds of deaths each year would be attributed to smog.  How Sen. Jones can think that doing away with modern flexible standards would help anyone but the oil companies is beyond imagination. [Tad]

Senator Jones then goes off into some sort of imaginary world: "We have somebody filling up a few weeks ago for $50 and not (now?) that costs $80 which is an additional $30 that can't be spent on other things."  I suppose it all depends upon the meaning of "a few weeks."  Earlier in the article author Williams notes that, 'on average, [gas costs] 8.4 cents per gallon higher than one month ago.  Let's take that almost five weeks to mean "a few weeks ago."  So if one bought $50 worth of gasoline a month ago, at $3.709 per gallon, they got 13.48 gallons of gas.  At the higher price of 3.799 their 13.48 gallons would cost $51.21, HARDLY the $30 increase that Jones mentions.  But, of course, using outlandish figures is what politicians do - facts be DAMNED! [Tad]

We might consider looking at two other culprits - Big Oil and Oil Speculators (businessmen).  Everyone in the industry with current knowledge recognizes that Oil Speculators (these are business people who "play" the commodities markets, running prices up to the point where they can sell their holding at as large a profit as possible) were largely responsible for the Spring prices increases.  But as the chart above shows, the Oil Companies are taking advantage of that price run-up to achieve record profits (the blue bar represents oil costs, the red bar, corporate profits - all for the second quarter of the year, 2009, 2010, and 2011).  Senator Jones might consider looking at his sponsors for some answers rather than continuing to try to "baffle us with bullshit."

If we, American citizens, let ourselves be persuaded by the BS factories and don't take the trouble to learn the truth, then, of course, we will achieve the future we deserve.  Or, to use an old Indian saying, "If we continue to go the way we are headed, we will get there." [Tad]

Where the Wild Things Are

Boston Pond, Stephen A. Forbes State Park, Marion County, Illinois.

On Tuesday, May 3rd and Wednesday, May 4th, I served as a guide to about 380 fifth grade students from around the county, plus their teachers and a few accompanying parents.  The walk was listed as a Habitat Walk, in which the students would see multiple habitats.  The original walk dealt with three habitats, prairie, wetland pond, and forest.  But an excess of rain in the last few weeks made that trail far too wet for all but those equipped with good boots, so I was shifted to the Boston Pond area where we looked at forest and pond habitat.  I had conducted a partial species survey of the original Wetlands Trail and found about 30 - 35 species to pick from, but had not seen Boston Pond until 30 minutes before the first group showed up, so I took a quick walk over the 1/4 mile trail looking for a few topics to discuss.

At 9:20 AM on a cool, wet, Tuesday the first group arrived.  Over the next two days I would escort sixteen groups on a twenty minute walk around Boston Pond.  The group pictured was the first group on Wednesday, May 4th when the temperature was close to 40 degrees F!  Strangely, a few boys noted that it was cold!  I briefed each group on some simple safety items (don't touch 3 leaved small plants - Poison Ivy, or 5 leaved plants - Poison Oak; don't run, don't pick up sticks, be careful of wild blackberry - it has thorns, and watch your step - you might trip over a root and fall).  In the two days, only one person tripped over a root and fell - me!  And, oh, by the way, it had been raining and he pathway was quite muddy and wet.  I was my own best bad example!  Then off we all went.

The main habitat was forest.  We looked into the forest to see, in general, the kinds of trees it had - pine and broadleafed deciduous, which is good cover for the animals that live there; deer, fox, coyote, racoon, squirrel, skunk, and an assortment of birds and reptiles.  They all call it "home" because it had all the things they needed to live, which is as good a definition of habitat as there is, I suppose.  We looked at the shells of many walnuts in one place and talked about the importance to the animals of having a good food supply.  The learned the semi-technical term, "Mast," which literally means "a pile of nuts" and is used to define in general the presence of good food for the animals.

The kids all looked at the "lay of the land" and most figured out right away that the gullies were formed by flowing water and erosion.  The question I had posed was, "How did these gullies form?"  One girl, in a church school, said, "God put them there."  I told her the since this was not a science classroom quiz, I'd accept the answer, but would pose another for her, "Very good, but tell me, just how did he do that?"  That led to a nice discussion about water, etc. by her and all of her classmates.

We then walked across the earthen dam and looked at  what they called a "Honeysuckle Bush," that has the formal name "Amur Honeysuckle."  It is an example of an invasive species that is crowding out the native flora.  Among the most important native trees are Oaks and Hickories (producers of "hard" mast).  When the seed (nut) is dropped and germinates, the young plant is very shade intolerant.  With the honeysuckle (Amur and Japanese/Asian) and other invasive plants providing a strong shade cover, the young Oak or Hickory can't survive.  And so our native trees are beginning to disappear.  One parent on the tour told me that she "just loves" honeysuckle, but doesn't let it spread.  I didn't say anything, but the birds are carrying the seeds away without her knowledge, and spreading the plant anyway.  From such innocent and benign events come great tragedy in the natural world.

We looked at transplanted Bald Cypress growing in the water (it is actually native to far Southern Illinois, but with climate change will likely adapt here fairly well if it is given shelter from winter's harshest cold and winds).  There was a small stand of cattails, which gave me an opportunity to talk about the filtering qualities of many water grasses, like the cattail and the common reed.

Then we reached the end of our little quarter-mile hike.  Some kids asked good questions or had excellent observations to add to the group.  Some just had a day off from school, but that's ok, too.  They might have heard something that will stick with them.  My final pitch to them was that the park, all 1600 acres of it, is there for them and for their use.  Since they were all 12 years old, they could come to Boston Pond and try their hand at catching trout, bass, or catfish without even getting a fishing license - just bring an adult, with one, with you.  The park is a return of a little bit of land to a more natural state.  Come and enjoy it.

I also learned a couple of lessons myself:
    1.  Obey your own teachings - look for the roots before you stop talking and simply turn to walk away.
    2.  Fifth grade boys are drawn to primitive toilets like flies to a garbage heap (they must have the smallest bladders on the planet).  In one class, every single boy had to visit the "outhouse."
    3.  When in the company of 20 - 25 fifth graders, don't expect to actually see any real wildlfe.
    4.  They all understood the value of "catch and release."

I had fun.  I hope that most of them did, as well.  This way to the egress!

Note:  All photographs copyright Thomas A. Davis 2011.  Permission granted to download and/or use for personal non-commercial use only.

The Fake Debt Crisis

The latest clamor over the evils of public debt have me puzzled. According to certain members of GOP, Inc., public debt is the grandest scam ever perpetuated on the American people. According to recent polls, over 60% of the people agree with that and note that getting rid of the debt is absolutely necessary, even in these times of economic stress.


To help me understand all the noise, I have set up a simple model for myself. First, a couple of figures:

1. 2010 USA Gross National Product (GDP) was approximately $13.2 Trillion Dollars.

2. 2010 National Debt Limit is approximately $14.4 Trillion Dollars

3. The Ratio of 2010 Debt/2010 GDP is, therefore, 1.09 to 1.

The question is, is this ratio dangerous? Well, here is my simple model, based upon the GOP, Inc. statement that “I have to pay all my bills. The Federal government should have to do the same.”

Let’s create a hypothetical simple nation, named “You.” The nation of "You" has a population of four, one producer, one supporter, and two welfare cases, ranging in age from 6 to 9. "You" doesn’t do manufacturing or agriculture or mining. It is a nation that provides services to other nations in the form of labor. The GDP of "You" is, for purposes of discussion, $60,000. From that amount the nation conducts its business, buying groceries, insurance, communications, fuel, etc. It also pays the welfare recipients $3.00 and $5.00 per week for miscellaneous chores.

Now what about debt? If the GOP, Inc. people are correct, "You" shouldn’t have any since “the bills are paid each month and year.” But is that really true? Experience shows that it is not. Consider the following debts of "You":

1. Borrowed from foreigners (banks) to pay other foreigners (Sellers) for land and building purchases = $180,000 (approx)

2. Borrowed from foreigners (banks) to pay other foreigners (Car financing firms) for transportation equipment = $40,000 (approx)

3. Borrowed from foreigners (banks) to pay other foreigners (appliance stores) for Infrastructure needs = $10,000 (approx)

4. Borrowed from foreigners (banks) to pay other foreigners (contractors) for construction labor (to put a add-on into the main government and legislation building) = $40,000 (approx)

5. So total debt to foreigners is $270,000, giving "You" a debt to income ratio of 4.5 to 1

This is the same as if our federal government had a debt of $59.4 Trillion Dollars!

There are those who will say that the Federal Government is a different situation because it doesn’t make or sell anything, but they would be incorrect. The Federal government buys security, control, assistance, transportation infrastructure, scientific services, and all sorts of other things, like medical care for retired people (ALL retired people, not just the poor), and the security needed to help with the vicissitudes of old age by assisting in the social security of elder citizens.

Does the national debt need to be taken in hand? Undoubtedly. But the problem is nowhere near as disastrous as GOP, Inc. would have us believe. Doing this rationally and effectively if one party to the conversation insists that it can only be done by punishing the poor and middle classes while enhancing the wealth of the richest one percent of the population is a recipe for disaster and, in the end, an invitation to social revolution.  Doing it together cooperatively might even work and make us a better nation.  Well, one can hope, can't one?

More on Gardening

Today was a bit cool, but I decided to get out and work on my compost bins.  Here's the story behind them.

About 12 years ago I bought a dump-truck load of what was called "top soil."  When the guy left it in my back yard he said, "Better use it as soon as possible."  Well, one thing led to another, my health had some ups and downs, and the soil sat in place for about four years.  When I went out to take some to use in my Rose Garden, I found it to be a hard as a rock - some topsoil!  More time went on and I would, every so often, take a pick ax to the pile and chop up a few wheel barrow loads.  Each time I would add peat moss, organic matter, and, when I had it, planting soil.  Then I would place the load where I wanted it.  In a few months, the little hill would get hard and difficult to handle.

Thinking about it, I thought, "Well, maybe if I put it into a compost heap with loads of other stuff it would actually soften up."  So last year I built a new set of two compost bins - not very fancy and, to be honest, of rather poor construction.  I am a simple man.  Then I began to add organic matter and grass clippings, layering that with the "topsoil" from my old pile.  In a couple of weeks it got as hard as concrete and when I tried to turn it, I was able only to turn part of it.  By fall I said, "The heck with it," and let it sit over winter.  to the left is a picture, after I tried to turn it all over.  You can see the big clumps of clay.  Welcome to Marion County, Illinois.

Well, now it is spring and I'm determined to get this mess straightened out.  I divided the bin into two piles, separating them by a wire fence.  In one I added all of the peat moss I had, about two bales.  The other awaits my attention.  Over the last week, I've turned the better bin twice and, lo and behold, it is beginning to take shape.  It is fairly easy to handle and lacks the compactness of the clay I had been having, so I feel that I'm on the right track.

As noted previously, I bought 120 pounds of good topsoil in 40 pound bags.  I put that into a trash can parked at one end of the compost bins (there will be a set of three when I'm done.).  Yesterday I bought some limber to use for the front of the bins.  Then today, I finished setting posts for the front of bin #1 and bin #2.  Bin #1 holds the "good compost," while bin #2 has the old stuff.  I also put my new 1" X 6" X 4' boards in the front of Bin #1 and Bin #2, to assist in taking out composted material and adding new material to be composted.

The next stage is to complete bin #3, then turn half of bin #2 into #3, removing the worst clay to the final bin.  I was able to start working the soil in bin #2 today and it is loosening up already.  I added about 12 pounds of kitchen slops to bin #2 and covered it with good topsoil.  Now maybe it can actually begin to compost properly, generating heat as it decays.

Tomorrow or Thursday I'll buy more peat moss (probably only two bales) to split between Bin #2 and Bin #3.  Then I can start the process of working the three bins to get good nutritious compost for the gardens.

I'm something of a "satisficer" - I don't aim for perfection in these things.  The side and read walls of the bins are wire fencing wrapped around metal posts driven into the ground.  That means the walls are not straight, but bow before the weight of the soil.  I'll work on that over time, as well as covers for each of the bins to keep nutrients from leaching away in the rains - although some water is needed for the composting process.  It is all a work in progress and if anyone actually reads this, have pity on me, a poor sinner who doesn't know any better!

Arming Libyan Fighters

We are now at a point in which we have basically fullfilled, insofar as possible, the UN mandate to establish a no-fly zone in Libya to protect the civilian populace.  We learned, today, that there are CIA operatives on the ground in the "liberated" areas advising the fighters and getting to assess them.  One would expect that part of that assessment process would be to determine the depth of Al Qiada influence with these people.  I would also hazard a guess that these good people are being assessed for their ability to handle the kinds of arms needed to defend themselves and the amount of training required to make them capable of functioning as an effective fighting force.

Qaddafi, of course, has an army that is equipped with artillery, armour (tanks, mostly), and some hefty machine guns, grenade launchers, and small arms.  The people we are thinking about arming have, as a group, little of no experience in using weapons to counter Qaddafi's, the ubiquitous AK-47 being the gun of choice; a great small arm. but useless against the massed fire of a well-armed platoon .  If we decide to arm them, we will be taking on an enormous task - likely made more difficult by the inability of CIA operatives to fully comprehend the level of arms and extent of training neccessary.  Who will determine the weapons mixture likely to be successful?  A CIA guy?  Give me a break.

I have watched the TV reports showing these "freedom fighters" in action.  When, and if, they are successful, they immediately leap up, dance and shout, and fire their rifles into the air, thereby showing their total lack of military discipline.  Unknown is whether or not they develop and carry out military operations that display any knowledge of tactics (some things would, perhaps, be obvious, like use the high ground effectively, use the low ground to conceal movement, etc).  Who is going to train these people?  Will they be willing to suspend their private lives for weeks or months, learning things military?  Bear in mind that we send a soldier to basic training for several months, then on to Advanced Infantry Training for more months before we let them be followers.  Where will the leaders come from?  How long does it take to minimally train a fire team leader, a squad leader, a platoon commander, a company commander?

And while that is taking place, someone (NATO?) is going to have to hold Quaddafi at bay.  Will that take "boots on the ground?"

I don't doubt that the thing is do-able, I simply question whether of not it is being thought out in anything other than political terms - the "wimpy President" vice the "warmonger President."  The charge, by the way, seems to come from the same people, depending upon which they believe will most embarrass him.  The point here is that none of those critics has had to confront these issues, even those with some military experience.  Sen. John McCain was a Navy Squadron Commander of an Attack Squadron.  I was the Weapons Officer on a Guided Missile Destroyer.  He and I have comparable capabilities for conducting combined operations warfare - zilch!

With all of the harping going on, is there really going to be a sensible conversation over what the best course of action might be?  The Commander in Chief will have to make the final decision.  I have no clue right now what that will be, although Sec State keeps dropping "shoot 'em up, bang, bang" signals.  I just want there to be the best chance possible for a good outcome to all of this.  And that will take much more than just "seat of the pants" flying.

Climate change: Rising waters threaten North Carolina | McClatchy

Climate change: Rising waters threaten North Carolina McClatchy

Above is a link to a news article concerning the responses of coastal North Carolinians to sea level rise resulting from climate change. In the article, a panel of experts in NC noted that they expect to see a one foot rise in sea level by the year 2100. That would bring about massive damage to the coastal eco-system of that state. The problem, like so many in this area, is that the science keeps updating the anticipated results of climate change. The latest data, as of January 2011, is that a sea level rise of 1 yard (actually 1 meter, but let's not quibble over a few inches), and that estimate may be conservative (it could be more, probably not less).

The Greenland icecap is melting at a rate far higher than expected AND the current models do not yet factor that increased rate of melting. Each new report brings with it a greater estimate. The current large snowfalls in the United States are symptomatic of warming in the Arctic regions. In fact, the temperatures in Northern Canada are currently running 30 degrees warmer than normal, on the average. The melting of the Arctic ice over the summer resulted in a much later than normal autumn freeze, hence sunlight that should have been reflected back to space by sea ice hit, instead, a darker ocean surface. The increased warmth of the polar atmosphere is disturbing normal ice forming regions in dramatic ways.

The sun is still in an abnormally cool phase, which slows the rate at which the earth is warming. Imagine what will happen when the sun goes back to a maximum output phase, which it will, since the average cycle is about eleven years.

In the meantime, our human output of CO2, the gas that is the current climate forcing agent, increases instead of decreasing. How much more will we damage our climate system before we finally come to our senses? I hope and pray we do so before we bring about a major extinction event - something that appears increasingly likely.

Old Folks

From a military Retired Affairs Office newsletter:

Have You Heard?


An old prospector shuffled into the town of El Paso, Texas leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town, to clear his parched throat. He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?" The old man looked up at the gunslinger and

said, "No, I never did dance... never really wanted to."

A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna' dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet. The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied. When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.

The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels.. The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever kissed a mule's ass?" The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir..... but I've always wanted to." There are two lessons for us all here:

1. Don't waste ammunition.

2. Don't mess with old people.