03/31/2011

Faster Than Ever

It’s supposed to snow tonight. It’s supposed to snow tomorrow, tomorrow night and into the middle of Saturday morning. Except during the warmer, mid-day hours tomorrow, when it’s supposed to turn to rain and then back into snow.

Spring snow is not unusual around here, but tonight’s will probably carry radiation. It’s been dry since the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. Tests taken by the Vermont Health Department have shown radioactive iodine, presumably from Fukushima is showing up in the state. There’s no safe level of radiation, but what we’re getting in Vermont is no cause for panic.

Now that precipitation is on the way, however, it might be a good time to take a holiday from milk. Not easy to contemplate in a diary state, where small farmers have enough to contend with, but milk drinking was the primary route for radioactive material into people’s bodies after Chernobyl in 1986. Radiation was detected in Washington State milk earlier this week.
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By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary, Energy, Nuclear Energy, Oil | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
03/24/2011

Some More Than Others

We’re all Japanese now. Some of us more than others.

I’m in the latter group. In Vermont, we’ve been trying for years – and we’re close to success – to shut the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor in Vernon, in the southeast corner of the state, where Vermont joins New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

It’s a General Electric boiling water reactor with a Mark I (GE BWR Mk I) containment system, the same design as the reactors falling apart at Fukushima Daiichi. No one’s expecting a 9.0 earthquake or tsunami in southeast Vermont, but we don’t need either.

Entergy, the Louisiana-based conglomerate is mismanaging the plant into the ground. The series of Homer Simpsonesque mishaps would be funny if they didn’t involve serious threats to human health and the environment – collapsed cooling tower, fires, lost fuel rods. For over a year, radioactive material has been leaking into the groundwater from underground pipes that Entergy’s managers swore under oath did not exist.

In 1972, the year Vermont Yankee commenced nuclear fission, an official at the Atomic Energy Commission (forerunner of today’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission) warned the design of the GE BWR Mk I was badly flawed and failure of its cooling system could lead to catastrophe, as we’re seeing in Japan.
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By floegel | Posted in Commentary, Energy, Nuclear Energy | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
03/17/2011

Romantic Poetry

BILOXI, MS – It’s five in the morning, St. Patrick’s Day 2011; I’m in a cheap motel 75 yards from the Gulf of Mexico. I’ve opened the door to let in cool pre-dawn air. I hoped to hear the surf but it’s drowned out by the hum of electric lights outside and the traffic on US 90. The first birds are beginning to sing, however, and I’m glad to hear them.

I’m escorting two Germans – Joerg and Daniel – documenting the effects of BP oil on the gulf as we approach the one-year anniversary. I’m part guide, part fixer, part cultural interpreter.

The results of their investigation are what you’d expect. I’m not going to blow their surprise if I tell you. The oil is still here, everywhere one looks. The effects on the environment are clear for those with eyes to see past three speeds of spin.

Fast spin is from BP and the other oil companies. “The oil is almost gone, thanks to our efforts and Mother Nature’s oil-eating microbes.” There are still work crews around. In the Louisiana bayous yesterday we saw them and counted 10 workers sitting on boats or driving around for every one actually raking up oil-covered vegetation.

Medium spin is from the government and mimics the corporate spin. It spins faster at the federal level and slows closer to truth the more local it gets. These folks just want it to be over, so they can move on to the economy. They’d like tourists to come back and feel safe spending money; they worry about their constituents’ livelihoods.
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By floegel | Posted in Commentary, Economy, Nuclear Energy, Oceans, Oil | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)
03/10/2011

Too Late Smart

The envelope arrived Tuesday. The dreaded envelope, the one I knew was coming and containing the invitation to join AARP. It hasn’t happened yet but yes, I will soon turn 50.

Like KFC, AARP is now just a set of initials. The initials used to stand for American Association of Retired Persons, but in 1999 became just another ubiquitous brand. I don’t think I’ll join. The temptation to pull the membership card out of my wallet at the movie ticket window would be great, as would be the ensuing embarrassment.

I handed the envelope to Adrienne. “Go ahead, have your fun. I waved yours around when it came.” (I won’t say when.)

“No,” she said, “I’m going to be the bigger person. It’s not hard.” Ouch.

As I lapse into geezerhood, should I start voting Republican? There’s a case to be made, because as I look at the Republican Party today – despite the stunning gains of last November – the word that comes to mind is “sclerotic.”
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By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary, Electoral Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
03/03/2011

The Price of Free Speech

Here I am, agreeing with the Roberts Court twice in one week.

Tuesday’s ruling was fun. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that ATT cannot claim its communication with various government agencies are exempt from Freedom of Information laws based on a clause protecting “personal privacy.”

Although the court has ruled – unfortunately – that corporations are “persons,” Justice Roberts ruled they are not covered by the adjective “personal.” “Adjectives typically reflect the meaning of corresponding nouns, but not always,” he wrote. “The noun ‘crab’ refers variously to a crustacean and a type of apple, while the related adjective ‘crabbed’ can refer to handwriting that is ‘difficult to read.’ ‘Corny,’ has little to do with ‘corn.’”

Wednesday’s ruling was not fun. I agree with it nonetheless. The court ruledthe hate mongers at the Westboro Baptist Church have the right to spew venom publicly. Even hateful speech is covered by the First Amendment, or perhaps is especially covered by the First Amendment.
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By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
02/24/2011

Gumbo? Again?

WINTER PARK, FL – Last week’s helping of gumbo was favorably received and since I’m supposed to be on vacation this week and because there’s still dozens of issues popping up – more gumbo.

The venom I received from the bees last week was not, in the longer view, as effective as I’d hoped it would be. This comports with what Bill Mraz (he’s highly esteemed in the beekeeping community) told me a few weeks ago – bee venom is more potent in some seasons than others and winter is an “other” season.

We came down on USAirways and I was again astounded at how wooden-headed airline policies can be. Our first flight was late and some dozen of us missed the connection because waiting another minute for us would have meant missing an “on-time departure.” The plane got its “on-time departure,” but the passengers didn’t. I guess we don’t count in the statistics. I don’t want to sound too grumpy. At least no guitars were broken.

In other travel-related news, Rolling Stone is reporting Congressional representatives and senators visiting Afghanistan were subjected to “psychological operations” techniques at the order of Lt. General William Caldwell, supposedly to convince the legislators to increase budgets for the Afghanistan war or – more likely – to plump Gen. Caldwell’s career. (Underlings called it “Operation Fourth Star.”)
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By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary, Economy, Energy, Nuclear Energy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
02/17/2011

Some Call it Gumbo

I’m busy this week and have many things on my mind and small bits of unfinished business, so while I usually restrict my commentaries to one topic, I’m going to borrow my friend Renee’s term and give you some Thursday gumbo – a little of everything.

The good thing about beekeeping is you have ready access to bee venom for your arthritic joints. The bad thing is that in winter, when your (and by “your,” I mean “my”) arthritis flares up, the bees are all inside.

Except when the sun shines. Bees won’t defect in the hive, so when you get a warm sunny day like today, the snow around the hives is speckled with yellow bee crap. I went out and thumped a hive and when the girls came out to see what was up, I grabbed one and stung the forefinger that’s been stiff and sore and now I have warm venom coursing through it. First sting of 2011.

It got up to 50 in northwest Vermont today and it’s 17 February. The first week of January, I noted most sub-zero weather in Vermont occurs between 31 December and 15 February. It was unusually warm that first week of January and it’s stayed that way. We did have a week, or almost a week, of sub-zero weather toward the end of January, but that was it. I feel cheated. We’ve had plenty of snow, but then global warming predictions for this area include more precipitation of all kinds.
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By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary, Global Warming, Oil, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)