One of the important strategies we feel would benefit the Parkway is to have it managed, through contract with government, by a nonprofit organization which could provide the dedicated funding and management focus now lacking.
In that sense, the increased scrutiny of the nonprofit sector this article examines is a good thing, as it is important that nonprofits be held accountable to the high standard all public organizations should meet.
For just one example: in this era of easy online access to information it should be incumbent upon all public organizations, including nonprofits, to provide detailed annual reports including financial statements, on their websites.
An excerpt.
IRS Takes a Tougher Stance
The tax agency's new approach sparks concern among charities
By Elizabeth Schwinn Washington
The Internal Revenue Service has a message for charity officials: Cross the line, and the odds are higher than ever that you'll get caught.
The agency has been increasing the number of nonprofit examinations it conducts each year, as well as taking other approaches aimed at showing charity leaders, the public, and Congress that it means business.
"We're touching a significant number of organizations and a significant cross-section of different types and sizes of organizations," says Lois G. Lerner, director of the IRS's exempt-organizations office. "Charities need to be aware."
In the past five years, Ms. Lerner's division has added about 100 full-time employees, bringing the total to 905 workers. Most of the new employees have been added to the audit division, which grew from 432 full-time workers in 2001 to 501 this year.
The IRS expects to complete audits of about 6,000 organizations this year, as well as contact another 5,000 groups through a new review process that is less time-consuming and comprehensive than an audit — but that requires them to clarify or correct information submitted to the tax agency.
'More Audit Activity'
Even with the increased enforcement, the percentage of organizations contacted by the IRS within a given year remains small — about 2 percent of the roughly 650,000 nonprofit organizations and foundations that are expected to file informational tax returns with the agency in 2006.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Governing By Network
Building on the entrepreneurial spirit of such landmark works as Reinventing Government, (1993) by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler (who is now city manager of Rancho Cordova), Built to Last, (1994) by James C. Collins and Jerry I, Porras, the 2004 book Governing by Network, (reviewed in our current member newsletter) by Stephen Goldsmith and William D. Eggers proposes vision, mission, and innovation as the foundation of effective management of public organizations.
In this article Mr. Goldsmith talks about his book and how crisis breeds innovation.
An excerpt.
Management Insights
A weekly columnpublished in collaboration withthe Government Innovators Network
at Harvard’s Kennedy Schoolof Government
Posted October 11, 2006
Crisis Breeds Innovation
By Stephen Goldsmith
If crisis breeds innovation, then we are surely on our way to a large set of new initiatives.
Officials at all levels of government experience the incessant demand for services that exceed the revenues available to support them. And today’s “pressures” will become full blown crises over the next 25 years as an aging population produces demands that far outstrip resources. Health care and pension costs, combined with national security requirements, will overwhelm government’s funding ability — if government continues to perform as it does today.
I remember a comment that now-Governor Ed Rendell made when asked how he had the courage to accomplish so much in Philadelphia in his first term as mayor. He responded that Philly was on fire and the conditions of the time drove citizen demand for innovation; as he said, “The fire department had to be called.” Similarly, the prospectively difficult circumstances outlined above will provide the context for bold government innovation.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Harvard’s Innovations in American Government Awards. Since 1986, the Kennedy School of Government has awarded more than $20 million to innovative government programs, recognizing and promoting excellence and creativity in the public sector. (Click here for more information on the IAG Awards.)
Already we are seeing a shift in the types of programs that win the seven $100,000 prizes we bestow each year on programs that meet a significant need and are truly creative, measurably effective and transferable to other jurisdictions. Current winners represent a shift from an older model in which enlightened officials tried to wring more production out of government
bureaucracies to a newer model that looks at how government can manage partners to produce public goods. Twenty years ago, officials primarily promoted internal increases in productivity accomplished through government bureaucracies, a model similar to the way U.S. automakers produced cars. Today we see government officials creatively managing relationships, similar to the just-in-time supply chain process more commonly seen in manufacturing now.
In fact, in the United States, local, state and federal governments all deliver ever-increasing high-quality government services through third-party providers — nonprofits, private-sector, and faith-based and other community organizations. In our most recent book, Governing by Network, Bill Eggers and I write about this shift from traditional, command-control, hierarchical government bureaucracy to government by and through partnerships. Fundamentally, government simply cannot successfully discharge all of its current and future responsibilities by itself. For government to move forward, private and not-for-profit providers need to contribute public value by providing solutions.
In this article Mr. Goldsmith talks about his book and how crisis breeds innovation.
An excerpt.
Management Insights
A weekly columnpublished in collaboration withthe Government Innovators Network
at Harvard’s Kennedy Schoolof Government
Posted October 11, 2006
Crisis Breeds Innovation
By Stephen Goldsmith
If crisis breeds innovation, then we are surely on our way to a large set of new initiatives.
Officials at all levels of government experience the incessant demand for services that exceed the revenues available to support them. And today’s “pressures” will become full blown crises over the next 25 years as an aging population produces demands that far outstrip resources. Health care and pension costs, combined with national security requirements, will overwhelm government’s funding ability — if government continues to perform as it does today.
I remember a comment that now-Governor Ed Rendell made when asked how he had the courage to accomplish so much in Philadelphia in his first term as mayor. He responded that Philly was on fire and the conditions of the time drove citizen demand for innovation; as he said, “The fire department had to be called.” Similarly, the prospectively difficult circumstances outlined above will provide the context for bold government innovation.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Harvard’s Innovations in American Government Awards. Since 1986, the Kennedy School of Government has awarded more than $20 million to innovative government programs, recognizing and promoting excellence and creativity in the public sector. (Click here for more information on the IAG Awards.)
Already we are seeing a shift in the types of programs that win the seven $100,000 prizes we bestow each year on programs that meet a significant need and are truly creative, measurably effective and transferable to other jurisdictions. Current winners represent a shift from an older model in which enlightened officials tried to wring more production out of government
bureaucracies to a newer model that looks at how government can manage partners to produce public goods. Twenty years ago, officials primarily promoted internal increases in productivity accomplished through government bureaucracies, a model similar to the way U.S. automakers produced cars. Today we see government officials creatively managing relationships, similar to the just-in-time supply chain process more commonly seen in manufacturing now.
In fact, in the United States, local, state and federal governments all deliver ever-increasing high-quality government services through third-party providers — nonprofits, private-sector, and faith-based and other community organizations. In our most recent book, Governing by Network, Bill Eggers and I write about this shift from traditional, command-control, hierarchical government bureaucracy to government by and through partnerships. Fundamentally, government simply cannot successfully discharge all of its current and future responsibilities by itself. For government to move forward, private and not-for-profit providers need to contribute public value by providing solutions.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Book Review: The Creation
Good review of Edward O. Wilson’s new book on environmentalism, by an evangelical writer.
An excerpt.
September 10, 2006
God Is Green
By MATTHEW SCULLY
In the academic habitat of evolutionary scientists, religious sympathies are weeded out over time, and the fittest survive to pass along their traits through haughty books and lectures examining the “delusion” and purely biological origins of faith. So when an eminent evolutionary biologist breaks from the pack to address religious folk in warm and respectful terms, this is what’s known in the field as “punctuated” change — a sudden and, in this case, pleasant variation.
There is good reason for the friendlier tone, explains Edward O. Wilson in this engaging and gracious book. A renowned entomologist and Harvard professor emeritus, Wilson has warned for years, in books like “The Future of Life” (2002), of global warming, mass extinction and other troubles of humanity’s own making. But these works were addressed largely to fellow environmentalists, and that approach will get you only so far.
More out of habit than considered judgment, Wilson believes, many religious people and especially conservative Christians tend to brush off environmental causes as liberal alarmism, vaguely subversive, and in any case no concern of theirs. Wilson’s book is a polite but firm challenge to this mind-set, seeking to ally religion and science — “the two most powerful forces in the world today” — in an ethic of “honorable” self-restraint toward the natural world.
In learned and congenial prose (I understand now how a book called “The Ants” could win a Pulitzer Prize), Wilson casts his appeal as a letter to an imaginary Baptist minister from the South. As a boy in Alabama, Wilson recalls, he too “answered the altar call,” and though today a “secular humanist” he proposes to the pastor that as gentlemen and Southerners they lay aside principled disagreements about evolution and intelligent design. We do not need to answer or agree upon every mystery of the universe to confront problems that are, by any account, serious and urgent. Some will see in the natural world a divine creation, and the Lord of Life who makes nothing in vain. Enough for others “living Nature,” every plant or animal a “masterpiece of biology,” as Wilson writes. “Does this difference in worldview separate us in all things?” he asks. “It does not. ... Let us see, then, if we can, and you are willing, to meet on the near side of metaphysics in order to deal with the real world we share.”
And a good review on the review here: http://www.firstthings.com/ :
John Rose writes:
Christians look at creation and see the handiwork of the Lord. Nonreligious environmentalists marvel at what natural selection has produced. Despite their differences, the two can agree we have a moral responsibility to care for our earth. Such is the truce E.O. Wilson calls for in his new book, The Creation: An Appeal to Save the Earth . “Does this difference in worldview separate us in all things? It does not,” says Wilson. “Let us see, then, if we can, and you are willing, to meet on the near side of metaphysics in order to deal with the real world we share.”
Or are we meeting on the far side of metaphysics? Stephen Barr’s review of the book will appear in the next issue of First Things. Meanwhile, reviewing Wilson in the New York Times, the evangelical conservationist Matthew Scully, author of the interesting book Dominion , asks about origins of Wilson’s green ethic.
“In his own defense, however, the pastor might reasonably wonder just how Wilson managed to wring all of these praiseworthy moral sentiments from evolutionary biology. The “universal values,” sense of “honor” and “inborn sense of decency” to which Wilson appeals are of no traceable origin in the blindly amoral operations of natural selection. And grandiose attempts to explain conscience and reason in purely biological and material terms still leave us with little in the way of moral guidance—without a firm obligation to care for the earth and for our fellow creatures. It may be, the good pastor could reply, that Judeo-Christian thought itself is a kind of moral biosphere from which this and all good causes continue to draw, with or without acknowledgment, and that more deference is due from scientists on that account alone.”
An excerpt.
September 10, 2006
God Is Green
By MATTHEW SCULLY
In the academic habitat of evolutionary scientists, religious sympathies are weeded out over time, and the fittest survive to pass along their traits through haughty books and lectures examining the “delusion” and purely biological origins of faith. So when an eminent evolutionary biologist breaks from the pack to address religious folk in warm and respectful terms, this is what’s known in the field as “punctuated” change — a sudden and, in this case, pleasant variation.
There is good reason for the friendlier tone, explains Edward O. Wilson in this engaging and gracious book. A renowned entomologist and Harvard professor emeritus, Wilson has warned for years, in books like “The Future of Life” (2002), of global warming, mass extinction and other troubles of humanity’s own making. But these works were addressed largely to fellow environmentalists, and that approach will get you only so far.
More out of habit than considered judgment, Wilson believes, many religious people and especially conservative Christians tend to brush off environmental causes as liberal alarmism, vaguely subversive, and in any case no concern of theirs. Wilson’s book is a polite but firm challenge to this mind-set, seeking to ally religion and science — “the two most powerful forces in the world today” — in an ethic of “honorable” self-restraint toward the natural world.
In learned and congenial prose (I understand now how a book called “The Ants” could win a Pulitzer Prize), Wilson casts his appeal as a letter to an imaginary Baptist minister from the South. As a boy in Alabama, Wilson recalls, he too “answered the altar call,” and though today a “secular humanist” he proposes to the pastor that as gentlemen and Southerners they lay aside principled disagreements about evolution and intelligent design. We do not need to answer or agree upon every mystery of the universe to confront problems that are, by any account, serious and urgent. Some will see in the natural world a divine creation, and the Lord of Life who makes nothing in vain. Enough for others “living Nature,” every plant or animal a “masterpiece of biology,” as Wilson writes. “Does this difference in worldview separate us in all things?” he asks. “It does not. ... Let us see, then, if we can, and you are willing, to meet on the near side of metaphysics in order to deal with the real world we share.”
And a good review on the review here: http://www.firstthings.com/ :
John Rose writes:
Christians look at creation and see the handiwork of the Lord. Nonreligious environmentalists marvel at what natural selection has produced. Despite their differences, the two can agree we have a moral responsibility to care for our earth. Such is the truce E.O. Wilson calls for in his new book, The Creation: An Appeal to Save the Earth . “Does this difference in worldview separate us in all things? It does not,” says Wilson. “Let us see, then, if we can, and you are willing, to meet on the near side of metaphysics in order to deal with the real world we share.”
Or are we meeting on the far side of metaphysics? Stephen Barr’s review of the book will appear in the next issue of First Things. Meanwhile, reviewing Wilson in the New York Times, the evangelical conservationist Matthew Scully, author of the interesting book Dominion , asks about origins of Wilson’s green ethic.
“In his own defense, however, the pastor might reasonably wonder just how Wilson managed to wring all of these praiseworthy moral sentiments from evolutionary biology. The “universal values,” sense of “honor” and “inborn sense of decency” to which Wilson appeals are of no traceable origin in the blindly amoral operations of natural selection. And grandiose attempts to explain conscience and reason in purely biological and material terms still leave us with little in the way of moral guidance—without a firm obligation to care for the earth and for our fellow creatures. It may be, the good pastor could reply, that Judeo-Christian thought itself is a kind of moral biosphere from which this and all good causes continue to draw, with or without acknowledgment, and that more deference is due from scientists on that account alone.”
Three Gorges Dam
Nice travel blurb about Three Gorges Dam, which has become quite a tourist site, from the New York Times.
September 24, 2006
The Other Great Wall
By JOSEPH KAHN
Since the end of imperial rule, Chinese leaders have shared a colossal engineering ambition: to dam the mighty Yangtze River. In May, 87 years after Sun Yat-sen, the Chinese Nationalist leader, first proposed locating a dam downstream of the scenic Three Gorges, workers added the last blocks of concrete to raise the Three Gorges Dam to its full 610-foot height and 1.4-mile girth.
The dam demands superlatives: it is the world’s largest concrete structure and the largest dam in terms of water displacement, flood control and power generation. It is five times as wide as the Hoover Dam, and the reservoir it has created stretches for about 400 miles, longer than Lake Superior. When it becomes fully functional in 2009, the dam’s 26 turbines should produce 84.68 billion kilowatt hours of electricity a year, meeting nearly one-tenth of China’s needs.
If it works as planned, the dam will also contain the summer rains that regularly flood settlements along the lower Yangtze, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives. Yet the costs are also enormous, even beyond the $25 billion price tag. The dam has changed the geographic face of China, its reservoir forming a giant man-made lake amid stunning and once splendidly remote cliffs. Scores of cities and towns, some of them with artifacts that date back 2,000 years, have disappeared. And at least 1.3 million people have been relocated.
Whatever the pros and cons, the dam is fast becoming a beacon for tourists, a Great Wall across the Yangtze. The Chinese expect it to attract more than a million visitors this year. They come to see an engineering marvel, a hulking edifice that consumes the river and then spits it out in a pressurized spray that arcs hundreds of feet into the sky. The “placid lake” once promised in a poem by Mao Zedong has indeed replaced the muddy rapids. And the Three Gorges, though diminished in stature, have acquired a new kind of tranquillity.
Essentials: Three Gorges Dam
The easiest way to see the dam is on a cruise. Reputable lines with itineraries that stop at the dam include Viking River Cruises (877-668-4546; www.vikingrivercruises.com; 13 nights from $2,779 a person, double occupancy), Orient Royal Cruises (www.orientroyalcruise.com; three nights from $820 a person, double occupancy) and Victoria Cruises (800-348-8084; www.victoriacruises.com; three nights from $820 a person, double occupancy).
September 24, 2006
The Other Great Wall
By JOSEPH KAHN
Since the end of imperial rule, Chinese leaders have shared a colossal engineering ambition: to dam the mighty Yangtze River. In May, 87 years after Sun Yat-sen, the Chinese Nationalist leader, first proposed locating a dam downstream of the scenic Three Gorges, workers added the last blocks of concrete to raise the Three Gorges Dam to its full 610-foot height and 1.4-mile girth.
The dam demands superlatives: it is the world’s largest concrete structure and the largest dam in terms of water displacement, flood control and power generation. It is five times as wide as the Hoover Dam, and the reservoir it has created stretches for about 400 miles, longer than Lake Superior. When it becomes fully functional in 2009, the dam’s 26 turbines should produce 84.68 billion kilowatt hours of electricity a year, meeting nearly one-tenth of China’s needs.
If it works as planned, the dam will also contain the summer rains that regularly flood settlements along the lower Yangtze, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives. Yet the costs are also enormous, even beyond the $25 billion price tag. The dam has changed the geographic face of China, its reservoir forming a giant man-made lake amid stunning and once splendidly remote cliffs. Scores of cities and towns, some of them with artifacts that date back 2,000 years, have disappeared. And at least 1.3 million people have been relocated.
Whatever the pros and cons, the dam is fast becoming a beacon for tourists, a Great Wall across the Yangtze. The Chinese expect it to attract more than a million visitors this year. They come to see an engineering marvel, a hulking edifice that consumes the river and then spits it out in a pressurized spray that arcs hundreds of feet into the sky. The “placid lake” once promised in a poem by Mao Zedong has indeed replaced the muddy rapids. And the Three Gorges, though diminished in stature, have acquired a new kind of tranquillity.
Essentials: Three Gorges Dam
The easiest way to see the dam is on a cruise. Reputable lines with itineraries that stop at the dam include Viking River Cruises (877-668-4546; www.vikingrivercruises.com; 13 nights from $2,779 a person, double occupancy), Orient Royal Cruises (www.orientroyalcruise.com; three nights from $820 a person, double occupancy) and Victoria Cruises (800-348-8084; www.victoriacruises.com; three nights from $820 a person, double occupancy).
Government Working Better
This report highlights the subject of the book reviewed in the Fall 2006 issue of the ARPPS Newsletter, Governing by Network: The New Shape of the Public Sector, by Stephen Goldsmith & William D. Eggers (2004).
One of the six keys is:
"Using networks and partnerships. As society becomes more complex, agencies cannot succeed in delivering services or programs on their own any longer, the IBM report says. Agencies will probably be more successful by creating collaborative efforts that reach across agencies, across levels of government, and across the nonprofit and private sectors, according to the report.”
We noted in our book review:
“Increased speed of response and an increased reach are also advantages as governments tap into outside expertise [by using networks] and in the process are also able to deepen their connection to the public consumers of the service.
“A great example of this in the parks arena is the public private partnership that the Central Park Conservancy entered into with the city of New York which has allowed a great increase in the diversity of services offered and has brought the park back from long-term neglect and abuse that characterized it in the 1980’s.
“A related example locally is the partnership between the Sacramento Zoological Society and the city of Sacramento to manage the zoo which the Society has now done successfully for almost 10 years.
“Moving to that type of arrangement to take care of the Parkway, would be the appropriate and evolutionary, public administrative culmination of the vision of the people who founded it so many years ago.” (p. 3.)
An excerpt.
Report Offers 6 Keys to a More Successful Government
By Stephen Barr
Monday, September 18, 2006; Page D04
Federal managers looking for that road map to the future may want to check out a report, to be released today, on six trends that are keys to overhauling government operations and improving federal performance.
The trends were identified by three senior staff members at the IBM Center for the Business of Government with an eye to helping federal agencies prepare for an era in which incremental change may not be enough to meet public expectations or to address such megaproblems as terrorism.
The challenges facing governments call for comprehensive and profound change," Jonathan D. Breul , a senior fellow at the IBM Center, writes in the report. He adds, "Those that play a waiting game, postponing these changes, will find their fiscal strength and programmatic effectiveness eroding."
For the report, Breul, Mark A. Abramson , the IBM Center's executive director, and John M. Kamensky , an IBM senior fellow, pull together themes from 150 research papers prepared for IBM since 1998. The center, a component of IBM's federal consulting practice, awards $20,000 stipends to researchers who produce papers on federal management issues.
One of the six keys is:
"Using networks and partnerships. As society becomes more complex, agencies cannot succeed in delivering services or programs on their own any longer, the IBM report says. Agencies will probably be more successful by creating collaborative efforts that reach across agencies, across levels of government, and across the nonprofit and private sectors, according to the report.”
We noted in our book review:
“Increased speed of response and an increased reach are also advantages as governments tap into outside expertise [by using networks] and in the process are also able to deepen their connection to the public consumers of the service.
“A great example of this in the parks arena is the public private partnership that the Central Park Conservancy entered into with the city of New York which has allowed a great increase in the diversity of services offered and has brought the park back from long-term neglect and abuse that characterized it in the 1980’s.
“A related example locally is the partnership between the Sacramento Zoological Society and the city of Sacramento to manage the zoo which the Society has now done successfully for almost 10 years.
“Moving to that type of arrangement to take care of the Parkway, would be the appropriate and evolutionary, public administrative culmination of the vision of the people who founded it so many years ago.” (p. 3.)
An excerpt.
Report Offers 6 Keys to a More Successful Government
By Stephen Barr
Monday, September 18, 2006; Page D04
Federal managers looking for that road map to the future may want to check out a report, to be released today, on six trends that are keys to overhauling government operations and improving federal performance.
The trends were identified by three senior staff members at the IBM Center for the Business of Government with an eye to helping federal agencies prepare for an era in which incremental change may not be enough to meet public expectations or to address such megaproblems as terrorism.
The challenges facing governments call for comprehensive and profound change," Jonathan D. Breul , a senior fellow at the IBM Center, writes in the report. He adds, "Those that play a waiting game, postponing these changes, will find their fiscal strength and programmatic effectiveness eroding."
For the report, Breul, Mark A. Abramson , the IBM Center's executive director, and John M. Kamensky , an IBM senior fellow, pull together themes from 150 research papers prepared for IBM since 1998. The center, a component of IBM's federal consulting practice, awards $20,000 stipends to researchers who produce papers on federal management issues.
Our Economic System
It is the foundation of our ability to provide the public good of the Parkway, and its uniqueness is rightly celebrated in this excellent overview by yesterday’s Nobel Prize winner in economics; continuing the sweep (so far) by the Americans.
An excerpt.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Dynamic Capitalism Entrepreneurship is lucrative--and just.
BY EDMUND S. PHELPS Tuesday, October 10, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
There are two economic systems in the West. Several nations--including the U.S., Canada and the U.K.--have a private-ownership system marked by great openness to the implementation of new commercial ideas coming from entrepreneurs, and by a pluralism of views among the financiers who select the ideas to nurture by providing the capital and incentives necessary for their development. Although much innovation comes from established companies, as in pharmaceuticals, much comes from start-ups, particularly the most novel innovations. This is free enterprise, a k a capitalism.
The other system--in Western Continental Europe--though also based on private ownership, has been modified by the introduction of institutions aimed at protecting the interests of "stakeholders" and "social partners." The system's institutions include big employer confederations, big unions and monopolistic banks. Since World War II, a great deal of liberalization has taken place. But new corporatist institutions have sprung up: Co-determination (cogestion, or Mitbestimmung) has brought "worker councils" (Betriebsrat); and in Germany, a union representative sits on the investment committee of corporations. The system operates to discourage changes such as relocations and the entry of new firms, and its performance depends on established companies in cooperation with local and national banks. What it lacks in flexibility it tries to compensate for with technological sophistication. So different is this system that it has its own name: the "social market economy" in Germany, "social democracy" in France and "concertazione" in Italy.
Dynamism and Fertility
The American and Continental systems are not operationally equivalent, contrary to some neoclassical views. Let me use the word "dynamism" to mean the fertility of the economy in coming up with innovative ideas believed to be technologically feasible and profitable--in short, the economy's talent at commercially successful innovating. In this terminology, the free enterprise system is structured in such a way that it facilitates and stimulates dynamism while the Continental system impedes and discourages it.
Wasn't the Continental system designed to stifle dynamism? When building the massive structures of corporatism in interwar Italy, theoreticians explained that their new system would be more dynamic than capitalism--maybe not more fertile in little ideas, such as might come to petit-bourgeois entrepreneurs, but certainly in big ideas. Not having to fear fluid market conditions, an entrenched company could afford to develop radical innovation. And with industrial confederations and state mediation available, such companies could arrange to avoid costly duplication of their investments. The state and its instruments, the big banks, could intervene to settle conflicts about the economy's direction. Thus the corporatist economy was expected to usher in a new futurismo that was famously symbolized by Severini's paintings of fast trains. (What was important was that the train was rushing forward, not that it ran on time.)
Friedrich Hayek, in the late 1930s and early '40s, began the modern theory of how a capitalist system, if pure enough, would possess the greatest dynamism--not socialism and not corporatism. First, virtually everyone right down to the humblest employees has "know-how," some of what Michael Polanyi called "personal knowledge" and some merely private knowledge, and out of that an idea may come that few others would have. In its openness to the ideas of all or most participants, the capitalist economy tends to generate a plethora of new ideas.
Second, the pluralism of experience that the financiers bring to bear in their decisions gives a wide range of entrepreneurial ideas a chance of insightful evaluation. And, importantly, the financier and the entrepreneur do not need the approval of the state or of social partners. Nor are they accountable later on to such social bodies if the project goes badly, not even to the financier's investors. So projects can be undertaken that would be too opaque and uncertain for the state or social partners to endorse. Lastly, the pluralism of knowledge and experience that managers and consumers bring to bear in deciding which innovations to try, and which to adopt, is crucial in giving a good chance to the most promising innovations launched. Where the Continental system convenes experts to set a product standard before any version is launched, capitalism gives market access to all versions.
An excerpt.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Dynamic Capitalism Entrepreneurship is lucrative--and just.
BY EDMUND S. PHELPS Tuesday, October 10, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
There are two economic systems in the West. Several nations--including the U.S., Canada and the U.K.--have a private-ownership system marked by great openness to the implementation of new commercial ideas coming from entrepreneurs, and by a pluralism of views among the financiers who select the ideas to nurture by providing the capital and incentives necessary for their development. Although much innovation comes from established companies, as in pharmaceuticals, much comes from start-ups, particularly the most novel innovations. This is free enterprise, a k a capitalism.
The other system--in Western Continental Europe--though also based on private ownership, has been modified by the introduction of institutions aimed at protecting the interests of "stakeholders" and "social partners." The system's institutions include big employer confederations, big unions and monopolistic banks. Since World War II, a great deal of liberalization has taken place. But new corporatist institutions have sprung up: Co-determination (cogestion, or Mitbestimmung) has brought "worker councils" (Betriebsrat); and in Germany, a union representative sits on the investment committee of corporations. The system operates to discourage changes such as relocations and the entry of new firms, and its performance depends on established companies in cooperation with local and national banks. What it lacks in flexibility it tries to compensate for with technological sophistication. So different is this system that it has its own name: the "social market economy" in Germany, "social democracy" in France and "concertazione" in Italy.
Dynamism and Fertility
The American and Continental systems are not operationally equivalent, contrary to some neoclassical views. Let me use the word "dynamism" to mean the fertility of the economy in coming up with innovative ideas believed to be technologically feasible and profitable--in short, the economy's talent at commercially successful innovating. In this terminology, the free enterprise system is structured in such a way that it facilitates and stimulates dynamism while the Continental system impedes and discourages it.
Wasn't the Continental system designed to stifle dynamism? When building the massive structures of corporatism in interwar Italy, theoreticians explained that their new system would be more dynamic than capitalism--maybe not more fertile in little ideas, such as might come to petit-bourgeois entrepreneurs, but certainly in big ideas. Not having to fear fluid market conditions, an entrenched company could afford to develop radical innovation. And with industrial confederations and state mediation available, such companies could arrange to avoid costly duplication of their investments. The state and its instruments, the big banks, could intervene to settle conflicts about the economy's direction. Thus the corporatist economy was expected to usher in a new futurismo that was famously symbolized by Severini's paintings of fast trains. (What was important was that the train was rushing forward, not that it ran on time.)
Friedrich Hayek, in the late 1930s and early '40s, began the modern theory of how a capitalist system, if pure enough, would possess the greatest dynamism--not socialism and not corporatism. First, virtually everyone right down to the humblest employees has "know-how," some of what Michael Polanyi called "personal knowledge" and some merely private knowledge, and out of that an idea may come that few others would have. In its openness to the ideas of all or most participants, the capitalist economy tends to generate a plethora of new ideas.
Second, the pluralism of experience that the financiers bring to bear in their decisions gives a wide range of entrepreneurial ideas a chance of insightful evaluation. And, importantly, the financier and the entrepreneur do not need the approval of the state or of social partners. Nor are they accountable later on to such social bodies if the project goes badly, not even to the financier's investors. So projects can be undertaken that would be too opaque and uncertain for the state or social partners to endorse. Lastly, the pluralism of knowledge and experience that managers and consumers bring to bear in deciding which innovations to try, and which to adopt, is crucial in giving a good chance to the most promising innovations launched. Where the Continental system convenes experts to set a product standard before any version is launched, capitalism gives market access to all versions.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Snowmelt & Auburn Dam
Climate change is another driver in the argument for an Auburn Dam, as this article, though focusing on the Tuolumne River, makes well.
An excerpt.
Early melt makes flood more likely
Experts: Rising temps alter progress of snow to valley
By MICHAEL G. MOONEYBEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: October 8, 2006, 05:23:44 AM PDT
The water collection, storage and distribution that today is the linchpin of the California economy was built around the premise of catching water produced by slowly melting Sierra snow.
Traditionally, the mountain snow begins melting about April 1 and is through by the end of July. A series of reservoirs collects the water as it weaves its way from the Sierra to the valley floor.
During the winter months, reservoir levels are controlled through dams — release flows are gauged to leave enough space in the reservoir to collect water during the runoff without flooding downstream farms and cities.
But if scientists and researchers are correct, the worldwide temperature increase already under way is changing the dynamics, perhaps permanently.
Wes Monier, strategic issues and planning manager at the Turlock Irrigation District, says utility records show the Sierra snowpack is melting before April 1.
In recent years, he said, the snowmelt has started between the middle and the end of March.
An earlier snowmelt, coupled with warm late-winter and early spring rains, causes reservoirs to fill much faster — bringing some potentially dire consequences in the process.
That happened this past winter and spring, forcing dam operators to release millions of acre-feet of water into rivers such as the Tuolumne to avoid severe flooding.
The plan worked. There were no major levee failures and no major flooding — this time.
As the world's climate continues to change, however, experts say the valley won't fare as well.
Edwin Maurer of Santa Clara University and other experts say the region almost certainly will experience more frequent large-scale flooding, similar to what happened during the winter of 1997.
An excerpt.
Early melt makes flood more likely
Experts: Rising temps alter progress of snow to valley
By MICHAEL G. MOONEYBEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: October 8, 2006, 05:23:44 AM PDT
The water collection, storage and distribution that today is the linchpin of the California economy was built around the premise of catching water produced by slowly melting Sierra snow.
Traditionally, the mountain snow begins melting about April 1 and is through by the end of July. A series of reservoirs collects the water as it weaves its way from the Sierra to the valley floor.
During the winter months, reservoir levels are controlled through dams — release flows are gauged to leave enough space in the reservoir to collect water during the runoff without flooding downstream farms and cities.
But if scientists and researchers are correct, the worldwide temperature increase already under way is changing the dynamics, perhaps permanently.
Wes Monier, strategic issues and planning manager at the Turlock Irrigation District, says utility records show the Sierra snowpack is melting before April 1.
In recent years, he said, the snowmelt has started between the middle and the end of March.
An earlier snowmelt, coupled with warm late-winter and early spring rains, causes reservoirs to fill much faster — bringing some potentially dire consequences in the process.
That happened this past winter and spring, forcing dam operators to release millions of acre-feet of water into rivers such as the Tuolumne to avoid severe flooding.
The plan worked. There were no major levee failures and no major flooding — this time.
As the world's climate continues to change, however, experts say the valley won't fare as well.
Edwin Maurer of Santa Clara University and other experts say the region almost certainly will experience more frequent large-scale flooding, similar to what happened during the winter of 1997.
Green Jetsetters
An interesting perspective on them.
An excerpt.
The Sunday Times
October 01, 2006
A green snag they emitted to mention...
Jonathan Leake Environment Editor
THEY are the green jetsetters — environmental campaigners who are leading the fight to restrict aviation and cut greenhouse gas emissions, but who also clock up hundreds of thousands of miles flying around the world on business and pleasure.
In the past year the directors and chief executives of groups such as WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Soil Association have crisscrossed the globe, visiting the Falklands, Japan, Africa and Brazil.
All are running high-profile campaigns to persuade people to change their lifestyles and cut emissions of carbon dioxide.
George Monbiot, a leading environmentalist, said this weekend he was “very disappointed — especially if they are flying on holiday”. Heat, Monbiot’s new book on climate change, warns of disastrous temperature rises unless western countries cut carbon emissions by 90% by 2030, meaning a virtual end to flying.
Among those with the highest air miles is Bob Napier, chief executive of WWF, formerly the World Wildlife Fund, one of the best-known environment groups. In the past 12 months he has visited Spitsbergen, Borneo, Washington, Geneva, and Beijing on business trips and taken a holiday in the Falklands, generating more than 11 tons of carbon dioxide. A typical British household creates about six tons of CO2 a year.
Tony Juniper, director of Friends of the Earth, flew to Malaysia, South Africa, and Amsterdam on business and took his family on holiday to Slovakia in the past year. This weekend he is on a business trip to Nigeria. His trips are estimated to have generated at least eight tons of CO2.
“This is the dilemma faced by all international organisations, including green ones,” said Juniper. “We do all we can to cut travel but we need to do some flying to make decisions.”
Aviation generates about 5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions but their warming effect is up to four times greater at high altitudes.
Graham Wynne, chief executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, says he was acutely aware of such issues when he made business trips to Indonesia, Washington and Scotland over the past year, clocking up more than five tons of CO2. He also takes occasional holidays to New Zealand.
Next month the RSPB will bus hundreds of supporters to a rally in Trafalgar Square against climate change.“There are a lot of contradictions like these which organisations like ours have to solve,” said Wynne.
Other “green” leaders share such concerns. All of those interviewed had imposed “green” measures on their families and organisations, including encouraging staff to walk to work, installing low-energy light bulbs and insulating their homes.
Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, who has flown this year to Japan, America (twice) and four European destinations, generating about six tons of CO2, said: “I am deeply concerned about my flying. I am campaigning for a solution but I am still part of the problem.”
Such conflicts are also found in Greenpeace, which recently helped organise a runway blockade at Nottingham East Midlands airport. John Sauven, the group’s campaigns director, has flown his family on holiday to Italy and taken a business trip to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil (total emissions, three tons).
An excerpt.
The Sunday Times
October 01, 2006
A green snag they emitted to mention...
Jonathan Leake Environment Editor
THEY are the green jetsetters — environmental campaigners who are leading the fight to restrict aviation and cut greenhouse gas emissions, but who also clock up hundreds of thousands of miles flying around the world on business and pleasure.
In the past year the directors and chief executives of groups such as WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Soil Association have crisscrossed the globe, visiting the Falklands, Japan, Africa and Brazil.
All are running high-profile campaigns to persuade people to change their lifestyles and cut emissions of carbon dioxide.
George Monbiot, a leading environmentalist, said this weekend he was “very disappointed — especially if they are flying on holiday”. Heat, Monbiot’s new book on climate change, warns of disastrous temperature rises unless western countries cut carbon emissions by 90% by 2030, meaning a virtual end to flying.
Among those with the highest air miles is Bob Napier, chief executive of WWF, formerly the World Wildlife Fund, one of the best-known environment groups. In the past 12 months he has visited Spitsbergen, Borneo, Washington, Geneva, and Beijing on business trips and taken a holiday in the Falklands, generating more than 11 tons of carbon dioxide. A typical British household creates about six tons of CO2 a year.
Tony Juniper, director of Friends of the Earth, flew to Malaysia, South Africa, and Amsterdam on business and took his family on holiday to Slovakia in the past year. This weekend he is on a business trip to Nigeria. His trips are estimated to have generated at least eight tons of CO2.
“This is the dilemma faced by all international organisations, including green ones,” said Juniper. “We do all we can to cut travel but we need to do some flying to make decisions.”
Aviation generates about 5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions but their warming effect is up to four times greater at high altitudes.
Graham Wynne, chief executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, says he was acutely aware of such issues when he made business trips to Indonesia, Washington and Scotland over the past year, clocking up more than five tons of CO2. He also takes occasional holidays to New Zealand.
Next month the RSPB will bus hundreds of supporters to a rally in Trafalgar Square against climate change.“There are a lot of contradictions like these which organisations like ours have to solve,” said Wynne.
Other “green” leaders share such concerns. All of those interviewed had imposed “green” measures on their families and organisations, including encouraging staff to walk to work, installing low-energy light bulbs and insulating their homes.
Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, who has flown this year to Japan, America (twice) and four European destinations, generating about six tons of CO2, said: “I am deeply concerned about my flying. I am campaigning for a solution but I am still part of the problem.”
Such conflicts are also found in Greenpeace, which recently helped organise a runway blockade at Nottingham East Midlands airport. John Sauven, the group’s campaigns director, has flown his family on holiday to Italy and taken a business trip to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil (total emissions, three tons).
Government Pensions
Pensions are long-tem debt and voters need a say in assuming that. That is one reform needed to deal with the huge burden government pensions are piling on taxpayers.
Another already underway is a change in how government conducts its business.
As the cost of using government to perform specific public functions increases partly due to pensions, such as the management of parks and zoos, it becomes more efficient to contract with nonprofit organizations to provide management.
This results in one immediate benefit regarding funding.
Tax monies governments use to fund public services are generally obtained coercively and unless a straightforward case can be made for its public utility or fairness of funding (as we are now seeing in the discussion around the faux arena funding tax increase) the public, given the opportunity, will not approve it.
Funding coming from donations is funding given freely towards a cause and from a well-made case that a specific public resource is important to the community and worth supporting.
We see this working here with the Sacramento Zoo and in New York with Central Park, which has built a financial endowment well in excess of $100 million.
Seen from that perspective, the cost of public pensions, while burdensome, is leading to the kind of changes in providing government service that may benefit all of us.
An excerpt.
Dan Walters: Reckoning day coming for pensions
By Dan Walters - Bee ColumnistPublished 12:00 am PDT Monday, October 9, 2006
We'd like to think that those we elect to public office are motivated solely by the long-term betterment of their constituents' lives, but if we've learned anything about politics, it is that it is, at best, a short-term business.
Just as corporate executives live or die by how investors view their annual profit-and-loss statements, politicians are driven by how action plays with interest groups and voters in anticipation of the next election.
We have seen any number of corporate scandals -- Enron, for example -- that involved efforts to mislead the investing public about a company's true fiscal condition. Generally, however, political figures have been given a pass when they play Enron-like games with public money by hiding liabilities and inflating assets.
San Diego city officials might have skated when they played games with the city pension fund, deliberately underfunding it after granting big benefit increases. However, they not only misled the public, but hid the fund's condition in paperwork to market city bonds, and that's illegal.
San Diego's mayor was driven to resignation by the scandal, and eight former officials face criminal charges for the cover-up of what turns out to be a $1.43 billion long-term deficit in the pension fund. To restore public confidence, city leaders are proposing a ballot measure that would require all future pension increases for city workers to be ratified by voters -- a provision that San Francisco has had for many years.
Court decisions have declared, in effect, that once granted, pension benefits to public employees cannot be abrogated. Fiscally, therefore, they have the same long-term effects as any other debt. We require voter approval of general obligation debt, so it's not outlandish that obligations for pensions face the same hurdle.
Another already underway is a change in how government conducts its business.
As the cost of using government to perform specific public functions increases partly due to pensions, such as the management of parks and zoos, it becomes more efficient to contract with nonprofit organizations to provide management.
This results in one immediate benefit regarding funding.
Tax monies governments use to fund public services are generally obtained coercively and unless a straightforward case can be made for its public utility or fairness of funding (as we are now seeing in the discussion around the faux arena funding tax increase) the public, given the opportunity, will not approve it.
Funding coming from donations is funding given freely towards a cause and from a well-made case that a specific public resource is important to the community and worth supporting.
We see this working here with the Sacramento Zoo and in New York with Central Park, which has built a financial endowment well in excess of $100 million.
Seen from that perspective, the cost of public pensions, while burdensome, is leading to the kind of changes in providing government service that may benefit all of us.
An excerpt.
Dan Walters: Reckoning day coming for pensions
By Dan Walters - Bee ColumnistPublished 12:00 am PDT Monday, October 9, 2006
We'd like to think that those we elect to public office are motivated solely by the long-term betterment of their constituents' lives, but if we've learned anything about politics, it is that it is, at best, a short-term business.
Just as corporate executives live or die by how investors view their annual profit-and-loss statements, politicians are driven by how action plays with interest groups and voters in anticipation of the next election.
We have seen any number of corporate scandals -- Enron, for example -- that involved efforts to mislead the investing public about a company's true fiscal condition. Generally, however, political figures have been given a pass when they play Enron-like games with public money by hiding liabilities and inflating assets.
San Diego city officials might have skated when they played games with the city pension fund, deliberately underfunding it after granting big benefit increases. However, they not only misled the public, but hid the fund's condition in paperwork to market city bonds, and that's illegal.
San Diego's mayor was driven to resignation by the scandal, and eight former officials face criminal charges for the cover-up of what turns out to be a $1.43 billion long-term deficit in the pension fund. To restore public confidence, city leaders are proposing a ballot measure that would require all future pension increases for city workers to be ratified by voters -- a provision that San Francisco has had for many years.
Court decisions have declared, in effect, that once granted, pension benefits to public employees cannot be abrogated. Fiscally, therefore, they have the same long-term effects as any other debt. We require voter approval of general obligation debt, so it's not outlandish that obligations for pensions face the same hurdle.
Salmon Fact
25, 948 is the average number of salmon counted during the annual run in late summer and early fall on the American River, based on counts made since 1944, according to the California Department of Fish 7 Game. Sacramento Bee 10/8/06
Sunday, October 08, 2006
US Approaching 300 Million
The question, how that affects Sacramento’s Parkway is put succinctly in this editorial:
“One issue that urban dwellers ponder is how to make everyday life more agreeable. This country is vast, with far more living space per inhabitant than many countries. But we tend to crowd together so much that it often doesn’t feel spacious. Urban congestion and the irritation and environmental strains that go with it are being addressed with too little imagination and too little sense of urgency.”
This goes directly to the core of the primary value of our Parkway.
It is a vital natural sanctuary in the heart of a growing urban area.
What is needed are three key initiatives:
1) Strengthening its attributes, particularly through land acquisition.
2) Protecting and expanding its funding source.
3) Preserving the ambiance of the natural sanctuary
Virtually none of these key management actions are being done very well by current Parkway management.
Our strategy is to have government, who owns the Parkway, contract with a nonprofit organization to provide management (as is being done with the Sacramento Zoo locally, and Central Park in New York) as a much more effective way of providing those three key management initiatives.
An excerpt.
Editorial: And baby makes 300M
- Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 8, 2006
Any day now, the Population Clock outside the U.S. Census Bureau in Washington will record the 300 millionth U.S. resident. It could be a newborn Latino boy or Anglo girl or even an immigrant: 40 percent of U.S. population growth in recent decades has come from immigration.
The 300 million number is an educated guess, based on surveys and government calculations that add births (one every 7 seconds), subtract deaths (every 13 seconds), then add new immigrants (every 30 seconds).
This milestone amounts to a tripling of the population since 1915, during a long period of high immigration. (It reached 200 million in 1967.) Much has happened in 91 years: wars, a major depression, countless fads, assassinations, riots, medical progress bringing longer life expectancy, huge economic growth and greater individual prosperity. An American house now costs an average $225,000 compared with $3,200 in 1915 -- $64,000 in 2006 dollars; a gallon of gasoline is about $2.50, nominally 10 times the 1915 price but a bargain when inflation is factored in (that 1915 quarter bought as much as $5 does today).
These facts and figures raise important questions -- about who we are; what we hope to achieve; how we can improve the lives of a large, poor minority amid so much plenty; and how to improve relations with the rest of the world and with each other.
One issue that urban dwellers ponder is how to make everyday life more agreeable. This country is vast, with far more living space per inhabitant than many countries. But we tend to crowd together so much that it often doesn't feel spacious. Urban congestion and the irritation and environmental strains that go with it are being addressed with too little imagination and too little sense of urgency.
“One issue that urban dwellers ponder is how to make everyday life more agreeable. This country is vast, with far more living space per inhabitant than many countries. But we tend to crowd together so much that it often doesn’t feel spacious. Urban congestion and the irritation and environmental strains that go with it are being addressed with too little imagination and too little sense of urgency.”
This goes directly to the core of the primary value of our Parkway.
It is a vital natural sanctuary in the heart of a growing urban area.
What is needed are three key initiatives:
1) Strengthening its attributes, particularly through land acquisition.
2) Protecting and expanding its funding source.
3) Preserving the ambiance of the natural sanctuary
Virtually none of these key management actions are being done very well by current Parkway management.
Our strategy is to have government, who owns the Parkway, contract with a nonprofit organization to provide management (as is being done with the Sacramento Zoo locally, and Central Park in New York) as a much more effective way of providing those three key management initiatives.
An excerpt.
Editorial: And baby makes 300M
- Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 8, 2006
Any day now, the Population Clock outside the U.S. Census Bureau in Washington will record the 300 millionth U.S. resident. It could be a newborn Latino boy or Anglo girl or even an immigrant: 40 percent of U.S. population growth in recent decades has come from immigration.
The 300 million number is an educated guess, based on surveys and government calculations that add births (one every 7 seconds), subtract deaths (every 13 seconds), then add new immigrants (every 30 seconds).
This milestone amounts to a tripling of the population since 1915, during a long period of high immigration. (It reached 200 million in 1967.) Much has happened in 91 years: wars, a major depression, countless fads, assassinations, riots, medical progress bringing longer life expectancy, huge economic growth and greater individual prosperity. An American house now costs an average $225,000 compared with $3,200 in 1915 -- $64,000 in 2006 dollars; a gallon of gasoline is about $2.50, nominally 10 times the 1915 price but a bargain when inflation is factored in (that 1915 quarter bought as much as $5 does today).
These facts and figures raise important questions -- about who we are; what we hope to achieve; how we can improve the lives of a large, poor minority amid so much plenty; and how to improve relations with the rest of the world and with each other.
One issue that urban dwellers ponder is how to make everyday life more agreeable. This country is vast, with far more living space per inhabitant than many countries. But we tend to crowd together so much that it often doesn't feel spacious. Urban congestion and the irritation and environmental strains that go with it are being addressed with too little imagination and too little sense of urgency.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Nation’s Heritage
This editorial is correct that the nation’s wilderness areas belong to the nation, but incorrect about the development of the natural resources within, which also belong to the nation, and their development, while retaining an appropriate balance of wilderness and commerce, is also vital to our national life.
An excerpt.
Editorial: Wrong road
Policy on roadless areas runs into ditch
- Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, October 7, 2006
The Bush administration claims it wants to give states more say over how national forests are managed. That's why -- administration officials say -- they reversed a Clinton-era plan for preserving 58 million acres of public lands where no roads have been carved.
Yet the record shows the Bush administration has been selective in heeding local desires for these so-called roadless areas. In Colorado, federal land managers this year offered up 20,000 acres of roadless forest for natural-gas development even though Colorado hadn't yet had a chance to petition the government on how this land should be managed.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is frustrated by the Bush administration's plan for national forests in Southern California. The governor's Resources Agency is appealing a Forest Service plan that would allow road development and energy development on large swaths of the Cleveland National Forest in Orange County and other areas.
As is now clear, the Bush administration is using the states-rights argument as a smoke screen for opening up more forestlands for logging and energy development. A ruling two weeks ago by U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth D. Laporte bolsters this conclusion.
An excerpt.
Editorial: Wrong road
Policy on roadless areas runs into ditch
- Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, October 7, 2006
The Bush administration claims it wants to give states more say over how national forests are managed. That's why -- administration officials say -- they reversed a Clinton-era plan for preserving 58 million acres of public lands where no roads have been carved.
Yet the record shows the Bush administration has been selective in heeding local desires for these so-called roadless areas. In Colorado, federal land managers this year offered up 20,000 acres of roadless forest for natural-gas development even though Colorado hadn't yet had a chance to petition the government on how this land should be managed.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is frustrated by the Bush administration's plan for national forests in Southern California. The governor's Resources Agency is appealing a Forest Service plan that would allow road development and energy development on large swaths of the Cleveland National Forest in Orange County and other areas.
As is now clear, the Bush administration is using the states-rights argument as a smoke screen for opening up more forestlands for logging and energy development. A ruling two weeks ago by U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth D. Laporte bolsters this conclusion.
Pocket Area Doesn’t Have 100 Year Protection
While no one should be surprised at this failure of public leadership, it is still disconcerting that any area of a city lying in the confluence of two flood prone rivers, underneath the Sierra watershed, would have any metro areas with less than 100 year protection, but there it is.
An excerpt.
Plan to fix levee stretch falls short as rains near
Pocket area won't receive 100-year status if officials reject temporary wall.
By Deb Kollars - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Saturday, October 7, 2006
The unexpected discovery of a low stretch in a levee south of the Pocket-Greenhaven neighborhood has flood control engineers scrambling to figure out how to build it up before the rainy season hits -- possibly with a temporary floodwall of concrete barriers and sand.
The dip in the levee and the prospect of a fix involving sand and big chunks of concrete left the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers warning Friday that the Pocket and Meadowview areas may not achieve official 100-year flood protection status by the end of the year, as residents have been promised.
However, Stein Buer, head of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, which has been working all summer with the corps to upgrade levees protecting the south-area neighborhoods, insisted Friday his staff would somehow find a way to meet the 100-year goal this year. (A 100-year flood has a 1 in 100 chance of occurring in any given year.)
"This is not a show stopper," Buer said.
In a finding with big ramifications, engineers learned late last spring that an 800-foot stretch of levee on the Sacramento River did not have the required 3 feet of "freeboard" above the high water level of a 100-year flood event. The levee is 2 feet short in some places.
An excerpt.
Plan to fix levee stretch falls short as rains near
Pocket area won't receive 100-year status if officials reject temporary wall.
By Deb Kollars - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Saturday, October 7, 2006
The unexpected discovery of a low stretch in a levee south of the Pocket-Greenhaven neighborhood has flood control engineers scrambling to figure out how to build it up before the rainy season hits -- possibly with a temporary floodwall of concrete barriers and sand.
The dip in the levee and the prospect of a fix involving sand and big chunks of concrete left the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers warning Friday that the Pocket and Meadowview areas may not achieve official 100-year flood protection status by the end of the year, as residents have been promised.
However, Stein Buer, head of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, which has been working all summer with the corps to upgrade levees protecting the south-area neighborhoods, insisted Friday his staff would somehow find a way to meet the 100-year goal this year. (A 100-year flood has a 1 in 100 chance of occurring in any given year.)
"This is not a show stopper," Buer said.
In a finding with big ramifications, engineers learned late last spring that an 800-foot stretch of levee on the Sacramento River did not have the required 3 feet of "freeboard" above the high water level of a 100-year flood event. The levee is 2 feet short in some places.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Global Warming Needs Dam to Address
Another argument for the Auburn Dam, more drought, less snowpack, more rain…
An excerpt.
Report warns of warming in West
Wildlife group urges action to curb wildfires, habitat die-offs
Robert Lee Hotz, Los Angeles Times
Friday, October 6, 2006
Rising temperatures in the 11 Western states from global warming will cause more pervasive droughts, a fourfold increase in wildfires and extensive die-offs in regional plant, fish and game habitats, according to a report Thursday by the National Wildlife Federation.
"The American West is truly on the front line," said Patty Glick, the federation's global warming specialist. "The latest science is painting a bleak picture."
To avoid the consequences of climate change, the 1 million-member wildlife organization urged national limits, following those recently adopted in California, on the greenhouse gases believed responsible for rising temperatures, such as carbon dioxide and methane.
The national appetite for energy, fed by carbon-rich coal, oil and natural gas, imposes a double penalty on the ecological health of the West, the group said. The search for fossil fuels -- drilling permits on public lands have tripled in six years -- disrupts fragile habitats, even as the rising levels of carbon dioxide alter the regional climate in ways that will make it impossible for many species to survive.
The federation report, called "Fueling the Fire," brings a regional focus to climate research findings from federal agencies, academic reports and science journals.
The researchers offered growing evidence that rising regional temperatures already have had an effect, causing warmer winters, earlier springs, less snow and more rain. That, in turn, has raised the risk of floods in winter and the likelihood of diminished water supplies in summer.
The winter snowpack, the source of 75 percent of the water supply in the West, has declined by almost a third in the northern Rocky Mountain region and more than 50 percent in the Cascades since 1950, the federation reported.
An excerpt.
Report warns of warming in West
Wildlife group urges action to curb wildfires, habitat die-offs
Robert Lee Hotz, Los Angeles Times
Friday, October 6, 2006
Rising temperatures in the 11 Western states from global warming will cause more pervasive droughts, a fourfold increase in wildfires and extensive die-offs in regional plant, fish and game habitats, according to a report Thursday by the National Wildlife Federation.
"The American West is truly on the front line," said Patty Glick, the federation's global warming specialist. "The latest science is painting a bleak picture."
To avoid the consequences of climate change, the 1 million-member wildlife organization urged national limits, following those recently adopted in California, on the greenhouse gases believed responsible for rising temperatures, such as carbon dioxide and methane.
The national appetite for energy, fed by carbon-rich coal, oil and natural gas, imposes a double penalty on the ecological health of the West, the group said. The search for fossil fuels -- drilling permits on public lands have tripled in six years -- disrupts fragile habitats, even as the rising levels of carbon dioxide alter the regional climate in ways that will make it impossible for many species to survive.
The federation report, called "Fueling the Fire," brings a regional focus to climate research findings from federal agencies, academic reports and science journals.
The researchers offered growing evidence that rising regional temperatures already have had an effect, causing warmer winters, earlier springs, less snow and more rain. That, in turn, has raised the risk of floods in winter and the likelihood of diminished water supplies in summer.
The winter snowpack, the source of 75 percent of the water supply in the West, has declined by almost a third in the northern Rocky Mountain region and more than 50 percent in the Cascades since 1950, the federation reported.
The Use of DDT Endorsed
This is good news as millions have died because of the mistaken stoppage of using the most effective weapon in the war against malaria.
An excerpt.
Tina Rosenberg: Fighting malaria with DDT
By Tina Rosenberg - Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, October 6, 2006
Of all the wars in Africa, the most deadly is between humans and mosquitoes. More than a million Africans die of malaria every year, the vast majority of them small children. Malaria shrinks the economies of countries where it is endemic by 20 percent over 15 years. One reason the mosquitoes are winning is that the world had essentially discarded its single most effective weapon, DDT.
But Washington recently resumed financing the use of DDT overseas, and the dynamic new malaria chief of the World Health Organization, Arata Kochi, has said that the WHO, too, endorses widespread indoor house spraying with DDT.
This is excellent news for the humans in Africa. DDT both repels mosquitoes and kills them. It is the cheapest, longest lasting and most effective insecticide, and it will not threaten the ecosystem.
Unlike in the past, DDT will now be sprayed inside houses once or twice a year in minute amounts.
DDT was the most important insecticide in the eradication of malaria in the United States, and in malaria control in southern Europe, Asia and Latin America. With DDT, malaria cases in Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, dropped from 2.8 million in 1946 to 17 in 1963.
But Rachel Carson's 1962 book "Silent Spring" documented how DDT, sprayed over crops and over cities, built up in the ecosystem, killing birds and fish. William Ruckleshaus, the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency, banned DDT in 1972 for all but emergencies.
This was the right decision -- for the United States. Malaria was no longer an issue, and Washington needed to ensure that it would not be used on crops. But the decision had deadly consequences overseas.
"If I were a decision maker in Sri Lanka, where the benefits from use outweigh the risks, I would decide differently," Ruckleshaus told me in 2004. "It's not up to us to balance risks and benefits for other people."
An excerpt.
Tina Rosenberg: Fighting malaria with DDT
By Tina Rosenberg - Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, October 6, 2006
Of all the wars in Africa, the most deadly is between humans and mosquitoes. More than a million Africans die of malaria every year, the vast majority of them small children. Malaria shrinks the economies of countries where it is endemic by 20 percent over 15 years. One reason the mosquitoes are winning is that the world had essentially discarded its single most effective weapon, DDT.
But Washington recently resumed financing the use of DDT overseas, and the dynamic new malaria chief of the World Health Organization, Arata Kochi, has said that the WHO, too, endorses widespread indoor house spraying with DDT.
This is excellent news for the humans in Africa. DDT both repels mosquitoes and kills them. It is the cheapest, longest lasting and most effective insecticide, and it will not threaten the ecosystem.
Unlike in the past, DDT will now be sprayed inside houses once or twice a year in minute amounts.
DDT was the most important insecticide in the eradication of malaria in the United States, and in malaria control in southern Europe, Asia and Latin America. With DDT, malaria cases in Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, dropped from 2.8 million in 1946 to 17 in 1963.
But Rachel Carson's 1962 book "Silent Spring" documented how DDT, sprayed over crops and over cities, built up in the ecosystem, killing birds and fish. William Ruckleshaus, the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency, banned DDT in 1972 for all but emergencies.
This was the right decision -- for the United States. Malaria was no longer an issue, and Washington needed to ensure that it would not be used on crops. But the decision had deadly consequences overseas.
"If I were a decision maker in Sri Lanka, where the benefits from use outweigh the risks, I would decide differently," Ruckleshaus told me in 2004. "It's not up to us to balance risks and benefits for other people."
No Surface Water Storage (Dams)
He’s right, there is no surface water storage in this bond, and that makes it much less than adequate, as we still seek legislative leadership understanding the important role dams play in storage and safety.
An excerpt.
Another View: No on 84: Too little oversight on water, park bonds
By Greg Aghazarian - Special to the Bee Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, October 6, 2006
Since 1988, California voters have approved nearly $12 billion in funding for clean water, secure water, safe water, open space, habitat restoration, habitat acquisition, coastal protection and other seemingly worthy projects. However, of this amount, nearly 70 percent, or more than $8 billion, has been appropriated to projects and programs that do not impact water quality.
Unfortunately, Proposition 84, also called a "water bond," would not provide one new acre-foot of water for the people of California.
The authors did manage to set aside billions for bureaucratic studies and other frivolous projects, but they couldn't find a single penny to build any new surface water storage to meet the needs of our state's growing population.
An excerpt.
Another View: No on 84: Too little oversight on water, park bonds
By Greg Aghazarian - Special to the Bee Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, October 6, 2006
Since 1988, California voters have approved nearly $12 billion in funding for clean water, secure water, safe water, open space, habitat restoration, habitat acquisition, coastal protection and other seemingly worthy projects. However, of this amount, nearly 70 percent, or more than $8 billion, has been appropriated to projects and programs that do not impact water quality.
Unfortunately, Proposition 84, also called a "water bond," would not provide one new acre-foot of water for the people of California.
The authors did manage to set aside billions for bureaucratic studies and other frivolous projects, but they couldn't find a single penny to build any new surface water storage to meet the needs of our state's growing population.
Rancho Cordova & the Parkway
Some good comments mixed in this political endorsement editorial about Parkway governance and Rancho Cordova’s role in it.
An excerpt.
Editorial: Rancho Cordova
Vote for Linda Budge and Dan Skoglund
- Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, October 6, 2006
Incorporated just four years ago, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County's latest new city, is off to a rollicking good start. Its first-generation City Council has been smart, congenial and productive. The only complaint: Council meetings have run too long, a problem that largely has been corrected.
Like most of the region's new cities, Rancho Cordova has followed a contract model, negotiating mostly with private vendors rather than the county for municipal services such as garbage removal and animal control. Using that model, Rancho Cordova has been able to deliver better services to residents at lower costs than the county.
The council has moved quickly to spruce up the city's aging core, especially along gritty Folsom Boulevard.
It has engaged in a number of important issues, most notably governance of the American River Parkway, the regional jewel that slices through Rancho Cordova. City leaders have pushed hard to gain authority to decide what happens on the 14 miles of river parklands within city limits.
Some county officials see Rancho Cordova leaders' actions as intrusive, but it makes sense for cities to partner with the county in maintaining the parkway and planning for its future. The county should welcome city input, particularly if the engagement comes with city revenues.
An excerpt.
Editorial: Rancho Cordova
Vote for Linda Budge and Dan Skoglund
- Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, October 6, 2006
Incorporated just four years ago, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County's latest new city, is off to a rollicking good start. Its first-generation City Council has been smart, congenial and productive. The only complaint: Council meetings have run too long, a problem that largely has been corrected.
Like most of the region's new cities, Rancho Cordova has followed a contract model, negotiating mostly with private vendors rather than the county for municipal services such as garbage removal and animal control. Using that model, Rancho Cordova has been able to deliver better services to residents at lower costs than the county.
The council has moved quickly to spruce up the city's aging core, especially along gritty Folsom Boulevard.
It has engaged in a number of important issues, most notably governance of the American River Parkway, the regional jewel that slices through Rancho Cordova. City leaders have pushed hard to gain authority to decide what happens on the 14 miles of river parklands within city limits.
Some county officials see Rancho Cordova leaders' actions as intrusive, but it makes sense for cities to partner with the county in maintaining the parkway and planning for its future. The county should welcome city input, particularly if the engagement comes with city revenues.
Online Crime Reporting Needed for Parkway
This is one of the innovations, now being done in Oregon, that we proposed for Parkway users to report illegal camping and other crimes in the Parkway’s Lower Reach, (see our report at http://www.arpps.org/report.pdf )
It is cost efficient to establish and very user friendly for Parkway users.
An excerpt.
City unveils faster way to file police reports
By Leslie Albrecht ;The Merced Sun-Star (California)September 26, 2006
Copyright 2006 The Merced Sun-Star All Rights Reserved
Next time neighborhood kids egg your house, don't waste precious hours waiting for a police officer to drive over and take a report.
With a new tool on the city's Web site, residents can report some crimes online, from the comfort of their home, any time of day.
"I'm sure there are times when people haven't reported crimes because they decided it was too much of a hassle," said city spokesman Mike Conway. "Hopefully this will make it a little bit less of a hassle."
The online crime reporting tool, which debuted Sept. 15 on www.cityofmerced.org, is for citizens to report nonemergency crimes like vandalism, graffiti or property stolen from cars.
Those kind of crimes, which aren't in progress and don't have a suspect on the scene, are the lowest priority for the police department, but they make up about half of all police calls, said Merced Police Department data analyst Emily Christensen.
In the first six months of this year, 11,168 such crimes have been reported, said Christensen.
Writing reports for minor crimes takes officers 20 minutes on average, said Christensen.
Reporting the crimes online will free police up to respond to higher priority calls and save time for residents too, said Christensen.
"Sometimes people can wait two to four hours for an officer to come to their house when all they really want is a case number for insurance purposes," said Christensen.
It is cost efficient to establish and very user friendly for Parkway users.
An excerpt.
City unveils faster way to file police reports
By Leslie Albrecht ;The Merced Sun-Star (California)September 26, 2006
Copyright 2006 The Merced Sun-Star All Rights Reserved
Next time neighborhood kids egg your house, don't waste precious hours waiting for a police officer to drive over and take a report.
With a new tool on the city's Web site, residents can report some crimes online, from the comfort of their home, any time of day.
"I'm sure there are times when people haven't reported crimes because they decided it was too much of a hassle," said city spokesman Mike Conway. "Hopefully this will make it a little bit less of a hassle."
The online crime reporting tool, which debuted Sept. 15 on www.cityofmerced.org, is for citizens to report nonemergency crimes like vandalism, graffiti or property stolen from cars.
Those kind of crimes, which aren't in progress and don't have a suspect on the scene, are the lowest priority for the police department, but they make up about half of all police calls, said Merced Police Department data analyst Emily Christensen.
In the first six months of this year, 11,168 such crimes have been reported, said Christensen.
Writing reports for minor crimes takes officers 20 minutes on average, said Christensen.
Reporting the crimes online will free police up to respond to higher priority calls and save time for residents too, said Christensen.
"Sometimes people can wait two to four hours for an officer to come to their house when all they really want is a case number for insurance purposes," said Christensen.
West Coast Alliance
A very interesting agreement to work together to protect the oceans of the West Coast.
An excerpt.
States link up to protect ocean
Terry Rodgers and Mike LeeCopley News ServiceSeptember 19, 2006
Copyright 2006 Copley News Service All Rights Reserved
LONG BEACH, Calif.
The governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced a landmark, bipartisan pact Monday to safeguard the ocean and lobby Congress and the president on coastal issues.
As an exclamation point, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also signed seven bills Monday that his office said would "extend the state's leadership" on ocean protection. The legislation ranged from establishing a research program on sea otter deaths to controlling invasive species in ballast water discharged by ships.
The biggest buzz was generated by the new West Coast bloc, a signal that the three states are dissatisfied with the federal response to a wide range of marine threats.
The governors unveiled their Agreement on Ocean Health at the California and the World Ocean conference in Long Beach. Schwarzenegger was at the podium, while Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, both Democrats, appeared live via satellite.
"Just as our Western states have started to work together to fight global warming and protect our air, we now join forces to make sure we are doing everything in our power to maintain clean water and beaches along our coasts," Schwarzenegger said. "It's harder for the federal government to ignore us when we speak with a common voice."
Members of the partnership said their efforts would bolster state economies by protecting the massive coastal tourism industry and enhancing keystone fisheries.
An excerpt.
States link up to protect ocean
Terry Rodgers and Mike LeeCopley News ServiceSeptember 19, 2006
Copyright 2006 Copley News Service All Rights Reserved
LONG BEACH, Calif.
The governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced a landmark, bipartisan pact Monday to safeguard the ocean and lobby Congress and the president on coastal issues.
As an exclamation point, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also signed seven bills Monday that his office said would "extend the state's leadership" on ocean protection. The legislation ranged from establishing a research program on sea otter deaths to controlling invasive species in ballast water discharged by ships.
The biggest buzz was generated by the new West Coast bloc, a signal that the three states are dissatisfied with the federal response to a wide range of marine threats.
The governors unveiled their Agreement on Ocean Health at the California and the World Ocean conference in Long Beach. Schwarzenegger was at the podium, while Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, both Democrats, appeared live via satellite.
"Just as our Western states have started to work together to fight global warming and protect our air, we now join forces to make sure we are doing everything in our power to maintain clean water and beaches along our coasts," Schwarzenegger said. "It's harder for the federal government to ignore us when we speak with a common voice."
Members of the partnership said their efforts would bolster state economies by protecting the massive coastal tourism industry and enhancing keystone fisheries.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Another Water Suit
Another battle in the continuing war over water, of which California has too little because it has not followed through on the original plans creating a larger dam at Shasta (it was engineered to hold three times as much water as it now does and could still add the extra 200 feet in height to accomplish that) and building the Auburn Dam, which was first part of state water planning in the 1920’s (see our report on Auburn Dam at our website, www.arpps.org (news page).
An excerpt.
DWR sued by fishing alliance
Fish: DWR working on new plan
By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Thursday, October 5, 2006
A coalition of fishing groups on Wednesday sued the state Department of Water Resources, alleging the agency never obtained the proper legal authority to kill fish while exporting north-state water to Southern California.
Each year, thousands of fish die in pumps near Tracy in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Screens keep thousands more out of the pumps, but the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance claims DWR never obtained a permit that would set pumping rules and impose measures to restore the fish.
The so-called "take permit" is required under the California Endangered Species Act, or CESA, and would be issued by the state Department of Fish and Game. Fish species cited in the lawsuit are the endangered winter-run chinook salmon, and the Delta smelt and spring-run chinook, both threatened.
For the past 18 months, the finger-sized smelt has endured an unprecedented population crash. A team of scientists has not found the cause, but pumping operations are one suspect.
"Here we are with a downward spiral of Delta fisheries, in the midst of virtually an ecosystem collapse in parts of the estuary, and DWR has not complied with the full requirements of CESA," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the alliance. "It's amazing."
If upheld in court, the lawsuit could result in reductions in the amount of water exported or radical changes in the pumping routine to protect fish.
Jerry Johns, DWR deputy director, said he hasn't read the lawsuit and couldn't comment on it.
But he explained that DWR believes it has authority to kill fish during water exports under other agreements. A key component, he said, is a change in the state Endangered Species Act, authorized by the Legislature in 1997, which allows such prior agreements to serve as compliance under the act.
An excerpt.
DWR sued by fishing alliance
Fish: DWR working on new plan
By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Thursday, October 5, 2006
A coalition of fishing groups on Wednesday sued the state Department of Water Resources, alleging the agency never obtained the proper legal authority to kill fish while exporting north-state water to Southern California.
Each year, thousands of fish die in pumps near Tracy in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Screens keep thousands more out of the pumps, but the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance claims DWR never obtained a permit that would set pumping rules and impose measures to restore the fish.
The so-called "take permit" is required under the California Endangered Species Act, or CESA, and would be issued by the state Department of Fish and Game. Fish species cited in the lawsuit are the endangered winter-run chinook salmon, and the Delta smelt and spring-run chinook, both threatened.
For the past 18 months, the finger-sized smelt has endured an unprecedented population crash. A team of scientists has not found the cause, but pumping operations are one suspect.
"Here we are with a downward spiral of Delta fisheries, in the midst of virtually an ecosystem collapse in parts of the estuary, and DWR has not complied with the full requirements of CESA," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the alliance. "It's amazing."
If upheld in court, the lawsuit could result in reductions in the amount of water exported or radical changes in the pumping routine to protect fish.
Jerry Johns, DWR deputy director, said he hasn't read the lawsuit and couldn't comment on it.
But he explained that DWR believes it has authority to kill fish during water exports under other agreements. A key component, he said, is a change in the state Endangered Species Act, authorized by the Legislature in 1997, which allows such prior agreements to serve as compliance under the act.
Dedication Creates Park Treasure
Another example of what a few people, with vision and pluck, can accomplish in this creation of a new state park along the shoreline in the Bay Area.
An excerpt.
Activists, officials christen Eastshore State Park
By M.S. Enkoji - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Thursday, October 5, 2006
Just after World War II, on the hills rising from the San Francisco Bay, Sylvia McLaughlin would look down from her Berkeley home and watch as heaps of garbage slowly filled in the watery expanse.
"That was a time when people considered their waterfronts dumping grounds," she said.
But as the bay's eastern shore seemed destined to close in on San Francisco, McLaughlin envisioned something different on the scrappy shoreline. She helped found one of several movements that galvanized the fight to rescue the waterfront, restore and preserve it.
On Wednesday, she got to take her bow.
Now 89, McLaughlin journeyed down to the grounds of those long-ago garbage dumps to join other activists and park managers as they christened one of the state's most distinctive parks: a nearly nine-mile ribbon of bayfront, mostly marshy wetlands, salvaged from industrial duties and blessed with world-class views.
Called Eastshore State Park, vast stretches -- 2,002 acres -- are tidelands, with only 260 acres of the park on terra firma, some of it made from packed garbage 12 feet deep.
The park runs from Richmond to the Bay Bridge, sandwiched in the narrow swath between Interstate 80 and the bay. Freeway drivers can catch a whizzing glance at the reedy growth and swooping sea gulls if they look west toward the city spires.
An excerpt.
Activists, officials christen Eastshore State Park
By M.S. Enkoji - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Thursday, October 5, 2006
Just after World War II, on the hills rising from the San Francisco Bay, Sylvia McLaughlin would look down from her Berkeley home and watch as heaps of garbage slowly filled in the watery expanse.
"That was a time when people considered their waterfronts dumping grounds," she said.
But as the bay's eastern shore seemed destined to close in on San Francisco, McLaughlin envisioned something different on the scrappy shoreline. She helped found one of several movements that galvanized the fight to rescue the waterfront, restore and preserve it.
On Wednesday, she got to take her bow.
Now 89, McLaughlin journeyed down to the grounds of those long-ago garbage dumps to join other activists and park managers as they christened one of the state's most distinctive parks: a nearly nine-mile ribbon of bayfront, mostly marshy wetlands, salvaged from industrial duties and blessed with world-class views.
Called Eastshore State Park, vast stretches -- 2,002 acres -- are tidelands, with only 260 acres of the park on terra firma, some of it made from packed garbage 12 feet deep.
The park runs from Richmond to the Bay Bridge, sandwiched in the narrow swath between Interstate 80 and the bay. Freeway drivers can catch a whizzing glance at the reedy growth and swooping sea gulls if they look west toward the city spires.
Strange Bill Implementer
The story about who gets to implement the strange global warming bill we passed.
An excerpt.
Daniel Weintraub: Air board will do the real work on global warming
By Daniel Weintraub - Bee Columnist Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, October 5, 2006
The legislation California enacted last month to seize for itself a leading role in the fight against global warming is only the beginning of what will likely be five years of intense, behind-the-scenes battles over just how to reduce greenhouse gases to the level emitted in 1990, when California's population and its economy were much smaller than they are today.
AB 32 was titled the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. But the bill does little more than establish the goal of reducing the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent below levels now projected for 2020. That's about 174 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which, by volume, is equivalent to filling 64 Empire State Buildings from the lobby to the tower above the observation deck.
Most of the heavy lifting will be done by the Air Resources Board, an 11-member panel that includes 10 citizen regulators and one full-time chairman appointed by the governor. The legislation grants the board extraordinary powers to set policies, draw up regulations, lead the enforcement effort and levy fees to finance it all and fines to punish violators.
What will it take to achieve the benchmark? Consider that California could take every one of its 14 million passenger cars off the road, and still be less than halfway toward its goal. Shutting down 100 state-of-the-art, natural-gas-fired power plants still wouldn't get us there. Closing the entire cement industry, although it is a major source of greenhouse gases, wouldn't finish the job.
An excerpt.
Daniel Weintraub: Air board will do the real work on global warming
By Daniel Weintraub - Bee Columnist Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, October 5, 2006
The legislation California enacted last month to seize for itself a leading role in the fight against global warming is only the beginning of what will likely be five years of intense, behind-the-scenes battles over just how to reduce greenhouse gases to the level emitted in 1990, when California's population and its economy were much smaller than they are today.
AB 32 was titled the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. But the bill does little more than establish the goal of reducing the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent below levels now projected for 2020. That's about 174 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which, by volume, is equivalent to filling 64 Empire State Buildings from the lobby to the tower above the observation deck.
Most of the heavy lifting will be done by the Air Resources Board, an 11-member panel that includes 10 citizen regulators and one full-time chairman appointed by the governor. The legislation grants the board extraordinary powers to set policies, draw up regulations, lead the enforcement effort and levy fees to finance it all and fines to punish violators.
What will it take to achieve the benchmark? Consider that California could take every one of its 14 million passenger cars off the road, and still be less than halfway toward its goal. Shutting down 100 state-of-the-art, natural-gas-fired power plants still wouldn't get us there. Closing the entire cement industry, although it is a major source of greenhouse gases, wouldn't finish the job.
Bruce Forman, Salmon Festival Founder
A well deserved article about the man many feel would be the perfect person to fill the vacancy at the Sacramento County Park’s Director position, if we would take it and relinquish the terrific work he ahs been doing for the state for so many years.
An excerpt.
King salmon
The founder of the American River Salmon Festival has spawned a decade of educational fun
By Gwen Schoen - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Thursday, October 5, 2006
The annual American River Salmon Festival is just over a week away, and Bruce Forman isn't wasting any time. He kicks up dust as he hikes down the levee trail next to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, making notes of areas that need weeding and signs that need to be spruced up.
On the weekend of Oct. 14-15, about 25,000 visitors will attend the festival to welcome the arrival of king salmon to the hatchery.
There are banners to hang, fish statues to polish, croquet hoops to post and puzzles to assemble. Never mind the hundreds of volunteers from more than 30 sponsoring organizations already in motion -- Forman is in overdrive. With one eye on the river, watching for signs of salmon, he makes an unsuccessful attempt to power down while he talks about the festival.
"The boat rides will launch from here," he says, charging down a rocky slope toward the river. "Of course, we'll clean up this trail. And over here we'll set up the giant aquarium, and across the trail will be the croquet area."
He heads off down the levee, pausing just long enough to check on a trail sign. "Look," he says, pointing across the river, "there's a heron. He's probably waiting for a salmon, too."
Forman, a supervisor of interpretive services for the state Department of Fish and Game, is the man who dreamed up the festival and has nurtured it for 10 years, turning it into one of the area's most successful events.
"When I first got the idea, I had been to a few festivals and I was sitting here in the office looking at the river. And I thought, 'What a shame it is that more people don't know about this wonderful resource.' It seemed like we had the perfect opportunity to educate people about stewardship of the river, conservation, responsible recreation and the wildlife in the region -- if we could just get them out here."
So the salmon, which make their run up the river every fall to spawn, were really the excuse to have a river festival. The first year, about 9,000 people came to the event.
"We timed the festival to coincide with the return of the salmon. It's a phenomenal message and it's a big draw because of its sex appeal," he says with a chuckle. "You know, the fish go through this incredible journey up the river and they end up here where they come to spawn. It's very exciting.
"And besides," Forman says, "if we don't take care of the river, there won't be any salmon, so the salmon are the perfect ambassador. And kids love the big fish."
Forman loaded up the first festival with homey events such as salmon golf, storytelling, singalongs, craft booths, a giant aquarium, fishing ponds, boat rides, barbecues and puppet shows. It was great family fun.
That year, there were six other nature-oriented festivals in the state, Forman says, and today, there are more than 45 similar events.
The American River Salmon Festival charges no admission, but there is a charge for parking. That money is used as seed funding for the following year's festival, and any excess is given away as grants to programs that benefit river preservation and wildlife education.
"We've awarded about $35,000 in grant money," Forman says. "We keep track on a big fish puzzle, with each piece showing how much money we have given to various programs."
The same year that Forman organized the first Salmon Festival, he also spearheaded the Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi.
"Well, we were already doing crane tours, and it seemed like another untapped opportunity to promote wildlife in the region," he says. "And besides, we were so busy with the salmon festival, we figured we might as well go ahead and promote the cranes at the same time."
Five years ago, Forman organized a theater company called Crane Culture Theater.
An excerpt.
King salmon
The founder of the American River Salmon Festival has spawned a decade of educational fun
By Gwen Schoen - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Thursday, October 5, 2006
The annual American River Salmon Festival is just over a week away, and Bruce Forman isn't wasting any time. He kicks up dust as he hikes down the levee trail next to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, making notes of areas that need weeding and signs that need to be spruced up.
On the weekend of Oct. 14-15, about 25,000 visitors will attend the festival to welcome the arrival of king salmon to the hatchery.
There are banners to hang, fish statues to polish, croquet hoops to post and puzzles to assemble. Never mind the hundreds of volunteers from more than 30 sponsoring organizations already in motion -- Forman is in overdrive. With one eye on the river, watching for signs of salmon, he makes an unsuccessful attempt to power down while he talks about the festival.
"The boat rides will launch from here," he says, charging down a rocky slope toward the river. "Of course, we'll clean up this trail. And over here we'll set up the giant aquarium, and across the trail will be the croquet area."
He heads off down the levee, pausing just long enough to check on a trail sign. "Look," he says, pointing across the river, "there's a heron. He's probably waiting for a salmon, too."
Forman, a supervisor of interpretive services for the state Department of Fish and Game, is the man who dreamed up the festival and has nurtured it for 10 years, turning it into one of the area's most successful events.
"When I first got the idea, I had been to a few festivals and I was sitting here in the office looking at the river. And I thought, 'What a shame it is that more people don't know about this wonderful resource.' It seemed like we had the perfect opportunity to educate people about stewardship of the river, conservation, responsible recreation and the wildlife in the region -- if we could just get them out here."
So the salmon, which make their run up the river every fall to spawn, were really the excuse to have a river festival. The first year, about 9,000 people came to the event.
"We timed the festival to coincide with the return of the salmon. It's a phenomenal message and it's a big draw because of its sex appeal," he says with a chuckle. "You know, the fish go through this incredible journey up the river and they end up here where they come to spawn. It's very exciting.
"And besides," Forman says, "if we don't take care of the river, there won't be any salmon, so the salmon are the perfect ambassador. And kids love the big fish."
Forman loaded up the first festival with homey events such as salmon golf, storytelling, singalongs, craft booths, a giant aquarium, fishing ponds, boat rides, barbecues and puppet shows. It was great family fun.
That year, there were six other nature-oriented festivals in the state, Forman says, and today, there are more than 45 similar events.
The American River Salmon Festival charges no admission, but there is a charge for parking. That money is used as seed funding for the following year's festival, and any excess is given away as grants to programs that benefit river preservation and wildlife education.
"We've awarded about $35,000 in grant money," Forman says. "We keep track on a big fish puzzle, with each piece showing how much money we have given to various programs."
The same year that Forman organized the first Salmon Festival, he also spearheaded the Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi.
"Well, we were already doing crane tours, and it seemed like another untapped opportunity to promote wildlife in the region," he says. "And besides, we were so busy with the salmon festival, we figured we might as well go ahead and promote the cranes at the same time."
Five years ago, Forman organized a theater company called Crane Culture Theater.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Discount & Premium Downtowns
Nice look at what makes each as we try to create ours as a premium destination.
An excerpt.
Otis White’s Urban Notebook
Where Rents Are Cheaper in the CBD Discount Downtowns
Today’s question for the class: Which office building usually commands higher rents for comparable space, a downtown high-rise or one out in the suburbs? Most people would guess the downtown building, and in most cases they’d be right. But not always. In some places the bargain office space is downtown. Assignment for tomorrow: Write a three-page essay on why this is so.
OK, just joking about the essay. But it is true that in some cities, you can find on average cheaper class A space in the central business district than in the suburbs. Examples of cities with “downtown discounts,” according to a recent study by Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, a Boston real estate firm: St. Louis, where rents are 19 percent cheaper downtown than in the ’burbs; Oklahoma City, 16 percent cheaper; Phoenix, 12 percent; Kansas City, Mo., 11 percent; and Detroit, Nashville and Philadelphia, 6 percent each.
This is not the case everywhere, of course. If you want an office in New York’s Midtown Manhattan office district, expect to pay 135 percent more than in the suburbs. Other cities with premium downtowns: Boston, 80 percent higher; Toronto, 74 percent; Washington, D.C., 55 percent; Montreal, 39 percent; and San Francisco, 33 percent. Even Los Angeles’ undersize downtown commands a 15 percent premium over rents in the suburbs.
What’s the difference between the discount downtowns and those where landlords get a premium? Discount downtowns appear to have some combination of slow regional growth, high downtown taxes, inadequate transit, bleak streetscapes or just bad buzz. That’s not a perfect answer (Phoenix and Nashville are fast-growing regions, and Philadelphia has a fully developed transit system and a well-maintained downtown), but each of the ailing center cities does appear to have two or more of these factors.
And the “premium” downtowns? Good buzz, nice public spaces and convenient transit play major roles, an executive at Richards Barry Joyce told the Wall Street Journal. “These are all areas that evoke prestige and provide superior high-quality public transit, are generally considered safe and all seem to contain inviting pedestrian-friendly public spaces,” he added.
An excerpt.
Otis White’s Urban Notebook
Where Rents Are Cheaper in the CBD Discount Downtowns
Today’s question for the class: Which office building usually commands higher rents for comparable space, a downtown high-rise or one out in the suburbs? Most people would guess the downtown building, and in most cases they’d be right. But not always. In some places the bargain office space is downtown. Assignment for tomorrow: Write a three-page essay on why this is so.
OK, just joking about the essay. But it is true that in some cities, you can find on average cheaper class A space in the central business district than in the suburbs. Examples of cities with “downtown discounts,” according to a recent study by Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, a Boston real estate firm: St. Louis, where rents are 19 percent cheaper downtown than in the ’burbs; Oklahoma City, 16 percent cheaper; Phoenix, 12 percent; Kansas City, Mo., 11 percent; and Detroit, Nashville and Philadelphia, 6 percent each.
This is not the case everywhere, of course. If you want an office in New York’s Midtown Manhattan office district, expect to pay 135 percent more than in the suburbs. Other cities with premium downtowns: Boston, 80 percent higher; Toronto, 74 percent; Washington, D.C., 55 percent; Montreal, 39 percent; and San Francisco, 33 percent. Even Los Angeles’ undersize downtown commands a 15 percent premium over rents in the suburbs.
What’s the difference between the discount downtowns and those where landlords get a premium? Discount downtowns appear to have some combination of slow regional growth, high downtown taxes, inadequate transit, bleak streetscapes or just bad buzz. That’s not a perfect answer (Phoenix and Nashville are fast-growing regions, and Philadelphia has a fully developed transit system and a well-maintained downtown), but each of the ailing center cities does appear to have two or more of these factors.
And the “premium” downtowns? Good buzz, nice public spaces and convenient transit play major roles, an executive at Richards Barry Joyce told the Wall Street Journal. “These are all areas that evoke prestige and provide superior high-quality public transit, are generally considered safe and all seem to contain inviting pedestrian-friendly public spaces,” he added.
Suburban Deer in Pennsylvania
They are now being hunted, not so good, but if the population gets too large, what other choice is there?
A dilemma.
An excerpt.
Pa. allows deer bait for hunts in region
The Game Commission approved the practice to help suburban hunters lure prey to safer areas.
By Don Sapatkin, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Pennsylvania Game Commission yesterday legalized the use of bait to hunt deer in five southeastern counties, part of its strategy to reduce conflicts between deer and people by creating more access for hunters.
The measure will take effect Dec. 26, after the main statewide hunting seasons but in time for late seasons that have been added over the years largely to target deer in densely populated areas. Baiting will be allowed only on private land.
More than a dozen other states, including New Jersey and Maryland, have recently loosened or repealed bans on baiting in suburban areas, where safety limits where hunters can shoot. By placing bait, hunters are able - at least in theory - to lure deer where they can be safely killed.
The prohibitions often were placed on the books many decades ago as part of the "fair chase" credo developed by early conservationists trying to bring back wildlife nearly wiped out by market hunting and other perils. In Pennsylvania, baiting remains illegal everywhere except the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia.
While allowing baiting to kill deer, the commission is urging municipalities to ban feeding intended simply to attract deer. Feeding increases a problem that many towns are trying to reduce - often with opposition from citizens who oppose using lethal force.
Yesterday in East Goshen, supervisors introduced a limited version of a plan to shoot deer on township-owned open space. The proposal had drawn 10 times the usual turnout to previous meetings, and the supervisors voted, 4-1, last night to kill the deer cull.
A dilemma.
An excerpt.
Pa. allows deer bait for hunts in region
The Game Commission approved the practice to help suburban hunters lure prey to safer areas.
By Don Sapatkin, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Pennsylvania Game Commission yesterday legalized the use of bait to hunt deer in five southeastern counties, part of its strategy to reduce conflicts between deer and people by creating more access for hunters.
The measure will take effect Dec. 26, after the main statewide hunting seasons but in time for late seasons that have been added over the years largely to target deer in densely populated areas. Baiting will be allowed only on private land.
More than a dozen other states, including New Jersey and Maryland, have recently loosened or repealed bans on baiting in suburban areas, where safety limits where hunters can shoot. By placing bait, hunters are able - at least in theory - to lure deer where they can be safely killed.
The prohibitions often were placed on the books many decades ago as part of the "fair chase" credo developed by early conservationists trying to bring back wildlife nearly wiped out by market hunting and other perils. In Pennsylvania, baiting remains illegal everywhere except the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia.
While allowing baiting to kill deer, the commission is urging municipalities to ban feeding intended simply to attract deer. Feeding increases a problem that many towns are trying to reduce - often with opposition from citizens who oppose using lethal force.
Yesterday in East Goshen, supervisors introduced a limited version of a plan to shoot deer on township-owned open space. The proposal had drawn 10 times the usual turnout to previous meetings, and the supervisors voted, 4-1, last night to kill the deer cull.
Flood Control Letters
Here are a couple from the Bee today.
Letters: Flood control, health, etc.
No either/or in flood protection
- Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Re "Prop. 1E: California's one-legged flood control stool," Peter Schrag column, Sept. 27: The Bee deserves much credit for reporting on flood threats and for urging readers to support Propositions 1E and 84 for better flood protection.
So it was surprising to see Peter Schrag argue that Proposition 1E is insignificant without comprehensive flood reforms.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has never considered this an either-or issue. The governor understands that both flood management investment and reform are necessary -- and is championing both.
Well before Hurricane Katrina, the Schwarzenegger administration published "Flood Warnings: Responding to California's Flood Crisis," detailing the deficiencies in California's flood control system and outlining strategies to improve flood protection.
This year, the governor declared a state of emergency in order to fast-track the repair of 29 critical levee sites. He has increased funding for levee maintenance and provided money for advanced measures and emergency flood fighting.
Administration officials fought hard at the state Capitol for new laws to protect Californians living in floodplains. This year, legislative politics killed the administration's flood proposal and other flood reforms.
Schwarzenegger remains committed to protecting the public. His administration will renew efforts on real flood reform in the next legislative session.
- Lester Snow, Sacramento
Director, California Department of Water Resources
Levees need work immediately
Given the benefit of hindsight, I'm sure the people living in and around New Orleans would have liked the opportunity to approve a bond to shore up their levees a few years back.
If there is anything to be gained from the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, it is to learn from the mistakes of others.
We know that California's vast, aging network of levees is inadequate and vulnerable. And if we don't move immediately to reinforce our levees and improve our flood control capabilities, we will be jeopardizing the homes, drinking water and farmlands serving millions of Californians.
Peter Schrag ("Prop. 1E: California's one-legged flood control stool," commentary, Sept. 27) has a point: The state needs a more enlightened policy on building in flood-prone zones, but that will take time to do right.
In the meantime, the most responsible course of action is to protect ourselves. We should vote Yes on Proposition 1E, which would provide $4.1 billion to repair levees and improve flood control.
- Jim Earp, Sacramento
Chair, Let's Rebuild California
Letters: Flood control, health, etc.
No either/or in flood protection
- Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Re "Prop. 1E: California's one-legged flood control stool," Peter Schrag column, Sept. 27: The Bee deserves much credit for reporting on flood threats and for urging readers to support Propositions 1E and 84 for better flood protection.
So it was surprising to see Peter Schrag argue that Proposition 1E is insignificant without comprehensive flood reforms.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has never considered this an either-or issue. The governor understands that both flood management investment and reform are necessary -- and is championing both.
Well before Hurricane Katrina, the Schwarzenegger administration published "Flood Warnings: Responding to California's Flood Crisis," detailing the deficiencies in California's flood control system and outlining strategies to improve flood protection.
This year, the governor declared a state of emergency in order to fast-track the repair of 29 critical levee sites. He has increased funding for levee maintenance and provided money for advanced measures and emergency flood fighting.
Administration officials fought hard at the state Capitol for new laws to protect Californians living in floodplains. This year, legislative politics killed the administration's flood proposal and other flood reforms.
Schwarzenegger remains committed to protecting the public. His administration will renew efforts on real flood reform in the next legislative session.
- Lester Snow, Sacramento
Director, California Department of Water Resources
Levees need work immediately
Given the benefit of hindsight, I'm sure the people living in and around New Orleans would have liked the opportunity to approve a bond to shore up their levees a few years back.
If there is anything to be gained from the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, it is to learn from the mistakes of others.
We know that California's vast, aging network of levees is inadequate and vulnerable. And if we don't move immediately to reinforce our levees and improve our flood control capabilities, we will be jeopardizing the homes, drinking water and farmlands serving millions of Californians.
Peter Schrag ("Prop. 1E: California's one-legged flood control stool," commentary, Sept. 27) has a point: The state needs a more enlightened policy on building in flood-prone zones, but that will take time to do right.
In the meantime, the most responsible course of action is to protect ourselves. We should vote Yes on Proposition 1E, which would provide $4.1 billion to repair levees and improve flood control.
- Jim Earp, Sacramento
Chair, Let's Rebuild California
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Java Mud Flow Follow Up
This follow up from the story we posted awhile back.
An excerpt.
3 October, 2006
INDONESIA
Mud flow: government sanctions firm responsible for disaster
Indonesia’s Manpower Minister asked Lapindo Brantas to find work for more than 3,000 people who have lost their jobs as a consequence of the hot mud flow from its oil drilling well. Eight villages and several industrial areas have been submerged, making them uninhabitable.
Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Indonesia’s Manpower and Transmigration Minister has asked Lapindo Brantas to find work for more than 3,000 people left jobless by the hot mud flowing from the company's gas drilling site in Porong, Sidoarjo regency, East Java province.
Yesterday, Minister Erman Suoarno said: "In line with the conclusion of the limited cabinet meeting on 27 September, Lapindo has to be responsible for the fate of the 3,000 employees of 15 companies, which have stopped their operations because of the mudflow, which has submerged not only housing areas but also many factories."
Since 29 May, boiling mud has been gushing out of a fault created in the drilling well of the firm Lapindo Brantas in Porong. The mud comes from a depth of around 6km at a rate of around 50,000 cubic metres per day. It has already flooded eight villages – declared uninhabitable by Jakarta – engulfing at least 1,810 homes, 18 schools, 20 factories, paddy fields and 12 mosques, and forcing the evacuation of 10,000 people.
The minister said he hoped that Lapindo "reemploys all the workers at its units in other areas to show its commitment to solving all the problems triggered by the mudflow." Further, Erman Suoarno asked the firm to pay Muslim workers one month's salary as a bonus to allow them to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday (end of the month of Ramadan). He said: "The annual bonus stipulated by a 1994 ministerial decree is compulsory and is part of management's corporate social responsibility to improve the social welfare of its workers." According to the government directive, Lapido should pay the bonus at least seven days before the feast, which falls this year on 24 October, to allow workers time to return to their villages of origin
An excerpt.
3 October, 2006
INDONESIA
Mud flow: government sanctions firm responsible for disaster
Indonesia’s Manpower Minister asked Lapindo Brantas to find work for more than 3,000 people who have lost their jobs as a consequence of the hot mud flow from its oil drilling well. Eight villages and several industrial areas have been submerged, making them uninhabitable.
Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Indonesia’s Manpower and Transmigration Minister has asked Lapindo Brantas to find work for more than 3,000 people left jobless by the hot mud flowing from the company's gas drilling site in Porong, Sidoarjo regency, East Java province.
Yesterday, Minister Erman Suoarno said: "In line with the conclusion of the limited cabinet meeting on 27 September, Lapindo has to be responsible for the fate of the 3,000 employees of 15 companies, which have stopped their operations because of the mudflow, which has submerged not only housing areas but also many factories."
Since 29 May, boiling mud has been gushing out of a fault created in the drilling well of the firm Lapindo Brantas in Porong. The mud comes from a depth of around 6km at a rate of around 50,000 cubic metres per day. It has already flooded eight villages – declared uninhabitable by Jakarta – engulfing at least 1,810 homes, 18 schools, 20 factories, paddy fields and 12 mosques, and forcing the evacuation of 10,000 people.
The minister said he hoped that Lapindo "reemploys all the workers at its units in other areas to show its commitment to solving all the problems triggered by the mudflow." Further, Erman Suoarno asked the firm to pay Muslim workers one month's salary as a bonus to allow them to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday (end of the month of Ramadan). He said: "The annual bonus stipulated by a 1994 ministerial decree is compulsory and is part of management's corporate social responsibility to improve the social welfare of its workers." According to the government directive, Lapido should pay the bonus at least seven days before the feast, which falls this year on 24 October, to allow workers time to return to their villages of origin
A Win Win for Beetles & Development
The beetles appear fine, and needed development, especially that involving flood protection, can resume with much less cost due to beetle protection regulation.
An excerpt.
Agency hails beetle comeback
Developers cheer plan to lift endangered status; some scientists skeptical.
By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Federal wildlife officials said Monday they plan to remove the valley elderberry longhorn beetle from the endangered species list.
A five-year review showed its fortunes have improved.
The dime-sized beetle, unique to the Central Valley, has been the bane of developers and flood-control officials since it was first listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1980.
Since it relies on a single host plant, the relatively hardy valley elderberry, hundreds of construction projects have been required to take extraordinary steps when encountering the shrub.
"Thank God. This is the happiest day of my career," said Joe Countryman, president of MBK Engineers, a Sacramento consulting firm that has repeatedly confronted the beetle issue. "It makes me want to cry to think of the amount of money that's been wasted on this thing."
The beetle's status was reported Monday as part of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service review of 12 protected species in California. The beetle is the only one proposed for a complete delisting in its habitat.
Spokesman Al Donner said delisting is justified because the beetle now exists in 190 locations in the region, compared to 10 sites in 1980. Also since that time, about 50,000 acres of floodplain habitat have been protected to benefit the beetle.
An excerpt.
Agency hails beetle comeback
Developers cheer plan to lift endangered status; some scientists skeptical.
By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Federal wildlife officials said Monday they plan to remove the valley elderberry longhorn beetle from the endangered species list.
A five-year review showed its fortunes have improved.
The dime-sized beetle, unique to the Central Valley, has been the bane of developers and flood-control officials since it was first listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1980.
Since it relies on a single host plant, the relatively hardy valley elderberry, hundreds of construction projects have been required to take extraordinary steps when encountering the shrub.
"Thank God. This is the happiest day of my career," said Joe Countryman, president of MBK Engineers, a Sacramento consulting firm that has repeatedly confronted the beetle issue. "It makes me want to cry to think of the amount of money that's been wasted on this thing."
The beetle's status was reported Monday as part of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service review of 12 protected species in California. The beetle is the only one proposed for a complete delisting in its habitat.
Spokesman Al Donner said delisting is justified because the beetle now exists in 190 locations in the region, compared to 10 sites in 1980. Also since that time, about 50,000 acres of floodplain habitat have been protected to benefit the beetle.
Winter Rains Coming
Another winter is approaching without the flood protection we need, but some of our public leaders will keep working to get it done, we wish them well and will continue to do what we can on this end.
An excerpt.
Early warning for winter safety
By Carrie Peyton Dahlberg - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, October 3, 2006
As October gets off to a cool and possibly damp start, the nip of fall should remind Sierra drivers and residents in low-lying areas to start preparing for winter, weather and flood officials said Monday.
For hundreds of thousands of Sacramento-area residents whose homes are kept dry by levees, that means having an emergency plan to evacuate quickly and safely.
And for drivers heading into the mountains, it means allowing extra time to cross snowy passes.
"The first few storms of the season, we definitely worry about people who aren't that prepared for it," said Kathy Hoxsie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Snow levels could reach about 6,000 feet on Wednesday, she said, and while flakes won't necessarily stick or accumulate, that still means drivers should slow down and take it easy on slick roads. She didn't expect chains would be needed.
In the Valley, up to a quarter-inch of rain could fall between tonight and Thursday morning, Hoxie said.
That's well below anything that would stress levees along the Sacramento River and other major waterways, said Eric Butler, acting flood operations branch chief at the state Department of Water Resources.
"There's almost no chance of a major flood in October or November," Butler said, adding that the time to start worrying is "when you start seeing consecutive days of multiple inches of rain a day." That pattern is much likelier to occur from December through March.
An excerpt.
Early warning for winter safety
By Carrie Peyton Dahlberg - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, October 3, 2006
As October gets off to a cool and possibly damp start, the nip of fall should remind Sierra drivers and residents in low-lying areas to start preparing for winter, weather and flood officials said Monday.
For hundreds of thousands of Sacramento-area residents whose homes are kept dry by levees, that means having an emergency plan to evacuate quickly and safely.
And for drivers heading into the mountains, it means allowing extra time to cross snowy passes.
"The first few storms of the season, we definitely worry about people who aren't that prepared for it," said Kathy Hoxsie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Snow levels could reach about 6,000 feet on Wednesday, she said, and while flakes won't necessarily stick or accumulate, that still means drivers should slow down and take it easy on slick roads. She didn't expect chains would be needed.
In the Valley, up to a quarter-inch of rain could fall between tonight and Thursday morning, Hoxie said.
That's well below anything that would stress levees along the Sacramento River and other major waterways, said Eric Butler, acting flood operations branch chief at the state Department of Water Resources.
"There's almost no chance of a major flood in October or November," Butler said, adding that the time to start worrying is "when you start seeing consecutive days of multiple inches of rain a day." That pattern is much likelier to occur from December through March.
Monday, October 02, 2006
India’s Need for Dams
In the land of the monsoon the need for dams is great, but also a great struggle to build.
An excerpt.
Thirsty Giant
Often Parched, India Struggles to Tap the Monsoon
SURAT, India — Early on a Monday morning during the August monsoon, after several days of torrential rains, the engineers in charge of a massive dam about 50 miles upstream from this diamond-polishing hub faced a harrowing crisis.
With water brimming well past the permitted levels at the 350-foot Ukai Dam, according to official records, and the skies showing no sign of relief, the engineers apparently threw open the reservoir’s 21 sluice gates. Water then did what water does. It surged downriver, swallowing this city of three million people like a hungry beast. The diamond lanes of India became a warren of muck and ruin.
In less than three days, at least 120 people died. More than 4,000 animal carcasses were later hauled out of the mud. Two weeks after the floods, Surat’s diamond-polishing factories were practically empty of workers, who had fled fearing disease. An industry group estimated the losses at $60 million.
Exactly what happened in Surat is still under investigation. But the deluge has drawn new attention to a puzzle that is crucial to securing India’s future: how to harness and hold on to its rich but capricious rains.
The problem is a matter of bitter and enduring debate in this country — and the answer may hold a key to India’s prosperity. Every year, India is crippled by floods in some areas, even as it is parched in blighted corners elsewhere.
India’s average annual rainfall rate hovers at an abundant 46 inches, as much as Ireland’s. Yet growing water scarcity threatens both farms and cities. With the population hitting 1.1 billion, the amount of water available to each Indian is roughly the same as the amount available to the average Sudanese, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.
India’s rains tend to come in short, furious bursts, meaning that much of that water escapes as untapped potential, washing into the sea and wreaking havoc on the fragile villages and flourishing cities that stand in its way.
India is likely to become even more vulnerable, environmentalists warn. Global climate change threatens to make weather patterns even more erratic. Steadily shrinking Himalayan glaciers will inexorably melt and rush down the flood plains.
Floods in India are already a perennial and costly affair, especially in human terms. The southwest monsoon killed 2,545 people in less than four months this year, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Part of the problem lies in India’s rapid and unruly development. As water demand has soared, the natural sponges of Indian cities — lakes, ponds, marshes, mangroves — have been lost to construction. Only a handful of city and state governments have lately begun to mandate rainwater harvesting to slowly replenish groundwater.
Moreover, the country faces a water storage crunch. Traditional small-scale Indian storage systems, from temple tanks to elaborate step-wells, have fallen into disrepair. China, a country with similar development issues, manages to store five times the water that India does per person, the World Bank estimates. But the Chinese government, with scant public debate, has moved thousands of people to make way for colossal water projects.
India, too, has tried. But here, in the world’s largest democracy, the big-money water solution — the big dam — has been the subject of rancorous disputes. Some projects have met resistance for decades.
Proponents say India must build many more reservoirs to meet its growing water and energy needs. India’s founding prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, under whose watch the Ukai Dam was built, called them “modern temples” of his newly sovereign nation. India has roughly 4,300 large dams, like the one east of Surat, and an additional 475 under construction.
An excerpt.
Thirsty Giant
Often Parched, India Struggles to Tap the Monsoon
SURAT, India — Early on a Monday morning during the August monsoon, after several days of torrential rains, the engineers in charge of a massive dam about 50 miles upstream from this diamond-polishing hub faced a harrowing crisis.
With water brimming well past the permitted levels at the 350-foot Ukai Dam, according to official records, and the skies showing no sign of relief, the engineers apparently threw open the reservoir’s 21 sluice gates. Water then did what water does. It surged downriver, swallowing this city of three million people like a hungry beast. The diamond lanes of India became a warren of muck and ruin.
In less than three days, at least 120 people died. More than 4,000 animal carcasses were later hauled out of the mud. Two weeks after the floods, Surat’s diamond-polishing factories were practically empty of workers, who had fled fearing disease. An industry group estimated the losses at $60 million.
Exactly what happened in Surat is still under investigation. But the deluge has drawn new attention to a puzzle that is crucial to securing India’s future: how to harness and hold on to its rich but capricious rains.
The problem is a matter of bitter and enduring debate in this country — and the answer may hold a key to India’s prosperity. Every year, India is crippled by floods in some areas, even as it is parched in blighted corners elsewhere.
India’s average annual rainfall rate hovers at an abundant 46 inches, as much as Ireland’s. Yet growing water scarcity threatens both farms and cities. With the population hitting 1.1 billion, the amount of water available to each Indian is roughly the same as the amount available to the average Sudanese, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.
India’s rains tend to come in short, furious bursts, meaning that much of that water escapes as untapped potential, washing into the sea and wreaking havoc on the fragile villages and flourishing cities that stand in its way.
India is likely to become even more vulnerable, environmentalists warn. Global climate change threatens to make weather patterns even more erratic. Steadily shrinking Himalayan glaciers will inexorably melt and rush down the flood plains.
Floods in India are already a perennial and costly affair, especially in human terms. The southwest monsoon killed 2,545 people in less than four months this year, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Part of the problem lies in India’s rapid and unruly development. As water demand has soared, the natural sponges of Indian cities — lakes, ponds, marshes, mangroves — have been lost to construction. Only a handful of city and state governments have lately begun to mandate rainwater harvesting to slowly replenish groundwater.
Moreover, the country faces a water storage crunch. Traditional small-scale Indian storage systems, from temple tanks to elaborate step-wells, have fallen into disrepair. China, a country with similar development issues, manages to store five times the water that India does per person, the World Bank estimates. But the Chinese government, with scant public debate, has moved thousands of people to make way for colossal water projects.
India, too, has tried. But here, in the world’s largest democracy, the big-money water solution — the big dam — has been the subject of rancorous disputes. Some projects have met resistance for decades.
Proponents say India must build many more reservoirs to meet its growing water and energy needs. India’s founding prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, under whose watch the Ukai Dam was built, called them “modern temples” of his newly sovereign nation. India has roughly 4,300 large dams, like the one east of Surat, and an additional 475 under construction.
Lower Reach Parkway, Nature Walks
This message from Dave Lydick is good news about scheduled nature walks, led by an armed parks ranger, which will begin this month in the Parkway's Lower Reach.
It is the type of organized activity that can have a positive result, as the increase of people pursuing legitimate activity in that area will tend to decrease the illegitimate activity already present.
We'll also post the flyers as they become available.
Message:
All,
We finally have a couple of dates set for nature walks in the lower portion of the American River Parkway. I anticipate us having some flyers designed in the next couple of days and I will forward those along as an attachment when they are available.
The first walk will be on October 21st at 9 am and will meet at the Archery Range parking lot at Discovery Park and head east (upstream) from there. This will be a general nature walk led by Ranger Randy Lewis. The walk will take approximately 2.5 hours. We do not recommend bringing children younger than 7.
The second walk will be on November 4th at 9 am and will meet at the Northgate access parking lot at the end of Northgate Boulevard. This will be a nature walk emphasizing birds. This walk will also take approximately 2.5 hours and will be led by Ranger Randy Lewis. We do not recommend bringing children younger than 7.
We appreciate any assistance you can give us in getting the word out about these walks.
Dave Lydick
Deputy Director
American River Parkway &
Regional Parks
(916) 875-6548
It is the type of organized activity that can have a positive result, as the increase of people pursuing legitimate activity in that area will tend to decrease the illegitimate activity already present.
We'll also post the flyers as they become available.
Message:
All,
We finally have a couple of dates set for nature walks in the lower portion of the American River Parkway. I anticipate us having some flyers designed in the next couple of days and I will forward those along as an attachment when they are available.
The first walk will be on October 21st at 9 am and will meet at the Archery Range parking lot at Discovery Park and head east (upstream) from there. This will be a general nature walk led by Ranger Randy Lewis. The walk will take approximately 2.5 hours. We do not recommend bringing children younger than 7.
The second walk will be on November 4th at 9 am and will meet at the Northgate access parking lot at the end of Northgate Boulevard. This will be a nature walk emphasizing birds. This walk will also take approximately 2.5 hours and will be led by Ranger Randy Lewis. We do not recommend bringing children younger than 7.
We appreciate any assistance you can give us in getting the word out about these walks.
Dave Lydick
Deputy Director
American River Parkway &
Regional Parks
(916) 875-6548
Strategic Philanthropy
Review of a book by one of the most astute observers of the world of philanthropy, and the strategy of giving.
An excerpt.
The Pitfalls of Professional Grant Making
Outlining a strategy for innovative, values-driven giving
Albert Keith Whitaker September 25, 2006
A friend of mine is a "Boston Trustee" at one of our oldest downtownlaw firms, meaning that for the last few decades a small number of families have entrusted their most important financial and sometimes familial matters to him and his firm. When it comes to charitable trusts, however, his firm has provided him with the advice of a number of philanthropic experts, who help define the grantmaking process, evaluate proposals, and subtly but not-too-subtly let him know which grants they think wisest. He, in turn, has delegated much of his charitable role to them, while at the same time teasing them gently as "the mandarins."
The complexity of contemporary finances and law probably makes this arrangement a necessity for my friend. He is involved closely in a wide variety of charitable endeavors, but he is not trained as a philanthropist (if such a thing is possible). Rather, he is a humanist, and as such, he seems to have the broadness of mind and of judgment not usually connoted by the term "mandarin."
Peter Frumkin has a similar broadness of mind and judgment, deepened by a profound knowledge of the literature of philanthropy. So as I read his book, I thought about how it might help people like my friend, people who as donors or as friends to donors are struggling with the growing problems in this field, such as newly declared professionalism and specialization, and with the age-old problems of effectiveness and accountability and "charity versus philanthropy."
An excerpt.
The Pitfalls of Professional Grant Making
Outlining a strategy for innovative, values-driven giving
Albert Keith Whitaker September 25, 2006
A friend of mine is a "Boston Trustee" at one of our oldest downtownlaw firms, meaning that for the last few decades a small number of families have entrusted their most important financial and sometimes familial matters to him and his firm. When it comes to charitable trusts, however, his firm has provided him with the advice of a number of philanthropic experts, who help define the grantmaking process, evaluate proposals, and subtly but not-too-subtly let him know which grants they think wisest. He, in turn, has delegated much of his charitable role to them, while at the same time teasing them gently as "the mandarins."
The complexity of contemporary finances and law probably makes this arrangement a necessity for my friend. He is involved closely in a wide variety of charitable endeavors, but he is not trained as a philanthropist (if such a thing is possible). Rather, he is a humanist, and as such, he seems to have the broadness of mind and of judgment not usually connoted by the term "mandarin."
Peter Frumkin has a similar broadness of mind and judgment, deepened by a profound knowledge of the literature of philanthropy. So as I read his book, I thought about how it might help people like my friend, people who as donors or as friends to donors are struggling with the growing problems in this field, such as newly declared professionalism and specialization, and with the age-old problems of effectiveness and accountability and "charity versus philanthropy."
Uncertain Voters
The real poll is still weeks away but one would think the lack of clear-cut flood control, meaning money for dams and water storage many legislators wanted in the initiatives, may be playing a role in the uncertainty.
An excerpt.
THE TIMES POLL
Voters Cool Toward State Bond Package
Public works initiatives spark little enthusiasm. Democrats Feinstein, Brown hold wide leads.
By Mark Z. Barabak, Times Staff WriterSeptember 30, 2006
A $37-billion package of public works bonds that has strong bipartisan support in Sacramento is in some peril among voters, along with ballot measures dealing with alternative energy and a cigarette tax, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll.
The vast majority of likely voters knew too little about the infrastructure bonds — backed by both Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators — to express an opinion.
After poll respondents were read a ballot summary of each measure, none of the items generated much enthusiasm. Only two eked out a bare majority: those on housing and disaster preparedness.
An excerpt.
THE TIMES POLL
Voters Cool Toward State Bond Package
Public works initiatives spark little enthusiasm. Democrats Feinstein, Brown hold wide leads.
By Mark Z. Barabak, Times Staff WriterSeptember 30, 2006
A $37-billion package of public works bonds that has strong bipartisan support in Sacramento is in some peril among voters, along with ballot measures dealing with alternative energy and a cigarette tax, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll.
The vast majority of likely voters knew too little about the infrastructure bonds — backed by both Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators — to express an opinion.
After poll respondents were read a ballot summary of each measure, none of the items generated much enthusiasm. Only two eked out a bare majority: those on housing and disaster preparedness.
Good Idea
Louisiana, with so much at stake, has made a good public policy decision by requiring levee board members to know what they are doing and focus solely on it.
Let’s hope it works, and that California is paying attention
An excerpt.
Voters merge levee boards
Support strongest where effect greatest
Sunday, October 01, 2006 , By Frank Donze, Staff writer
A citizens campaign to abandon politics-as-usual culminated Saturday in an overwhelming statewide vote to consolidate southeast Louisiana's balkanized system of levee boards and replace them with flood protection authorities that will be governed for the first time by appointees with expertise in fields such as engineering and hydrology.
The amendment to the state Constitution, which also strips levee boards of responsibilities and assets unrelated to flood control, was one of 11 amendments on a list of 13 that appeared poised to win voter approval, with 97 percent of precincts counted. The ballot also included races for secretary of state, insurance commissioner and a host of local offices.
"It's a great victory for people who want to see Louisiana crawl out of the dark ages," said state Sen. Walter Boasso, the Arabi Republican who authored the levee board legislation and, with Gov. Kathleen Blanco's support, steered it through a resistant Legislature. "Finally, we're seeing some light of reform."
With only pockets of tepid opposition visible, the amendment enjoyed widespread backing across the state, garnering support from eight of every 10 voters who went to the polls.
Let’s hope it works, and that California is paying attention
An excerpt.
Voters merge levee boards
Support strongest where effect greatest
Sunday, October 01, 2006 , By Frank Donze, Staff writer
A citizens campaign to abandon politics-as-usual culminated Saturday in an overwhelming statewide vote to consolidate southeast Louisiana's balkanized system of levee boards and replace them with flood protection authorities that will be governed for the first time by appointees with expertise in fields such as engineering and hydrology.
The amendment to the state Constitution, which also strips levee boards of responsibilities and assets unrelated to flood control, was one of 11 amendments on a list of 13 that appeared poised to win voter approval, with 97 percent of precincts counted. The ballot also included races for secretary of state, insurance commissioner and a host of local offices.
"It's a great victory for people who want to see Louisiana crawl out of the dark ages," said state Sen. Walter Boasso, the Arabi Republican who authored the levee board legislation and, with Gov. Kathleen Blanco's support, steered it through a resistant Legislature. "Finally, we're seeing some light of reform."
With only pockets of tepid opposition visible, the amendment enjoyed widespread backing across the state, garnering support from eight of every 10 voters who went to the polls.
Water is Expensive
In an area where water meters were once thought unthinkable, they are now beginning to cause great harm, and one wonders what future affect having the Auburn Dam up and storing water will play in this development.
An excerpt.
Rising water rates threaten Placer farm
By Todd Milbourn - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Monday, October 2, 2006
Leaning against his tractor on a recent morning, his eyes shaded from the sun by the rumpled brim of his baseball cap, Tosh Kuratomi recalled the history of his family's nearly century-old farm.
There's the agricultural history -- how, over the years, the farm refined the ancient Japanese art of hoshigaki, winning acclaim for distilling persimmons to their cinnamony essence.
Then there's the family history -- how Kuratomi's daughter loved the farm so much she had her wedding there.
But Kuratomi's reminiscence turns to apprehension as he discusses the future of the farm, a 40-acre operation along Eureka Road, tucked among the vast estates and luxury homes in Granite Bay. He worries he won't be able to pass the farm on to his kids, because rising water rates are making it too costly.
"What's Placer County's agricultural legacy going to be other than the record books?" Kuratomi pondered, while just over his shoulder, sprinklers moistened a patch of peach trees.
Kuratomi's water dilemma is somewhat unique, because the farm relies on water from an urban district, the San Juan Water District, which spans eastern Sacramento County, parts of Granite Bay and a sliver of Roseville. Most California farms get their water from groundwater, state and federal water projects or local irrigation districts.
An excerpt.
Rising water rates threaten Placer farm
By Todd Milbourn - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Monday, October 2, 2006
Leaning against his tractor on a recent morning, his eyes shaded from the sun by the rumpled brim of his baseball cap, Tosh Kuratomi recalled the history of his family's nearly century-old farm.
There's the agricultural history -- how, over the years, the farm refined the ancient Japanese art of hoshigaki, winning acclaim for distilling persimmons to their cinnamony essence.
Then there's the family history -- how Kuratomi's daughter loved the farm so much she had her wedding there.
But Kuratomi's reminiscence turns to apprehension as he discusses the future of the farm, a 40-acre operation along Eureka Road, tucked among the vast estates and luxury homes in Granite Bay. He worries he won't be able to pass the farm on to his kids, because rising water rates are making it too costly.
"What's Placer County's agricultural legacy going to be other than the record books?" Kuratomi pondered, while just over his shoulder, sprinklers moistened a patch of peach trees.
Kuratomi's water dilemma is somewhat unique, because the farm relies on water from an urban district, the San Juan Water District, which spans eastern Sacramento County, parts of Granite Bay and a sliver of Roseville. Most California farms get their water from groundwater, state and federal water projects or local irrigation districts.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Yuba County Flood Control
A good perspective with relevance to Sacramento County.
An excerpt.
Another View: Yuba plans for effective flood control
By Mary Jane Griego - Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 1, 2006
I lived through the floods that devastated south Yuba County in 1986 and 1997. Preventing a third disaster is more than a job -- it's personal.
After years of hard work to rebuild, Yuba County leadership discovered a workable strategy to vastly improve our level of flood protection. Landowners are providing funding toward more than $250 million in improvements to our levee system in exchange for allowing controlled growth. But we haven't seen that story in The Bee, which has criticized the state Board of Reclamation for lifting building permit limitations.
Critics of this decision forget that 40 percent of our existing population already lives in south Yuba County, a situation similar to that in North Natomas. This is not irresponsible development. Instead, we are using controlled growth to fund improved flood protection for some 25,000 existing residents. Until developers funded the levee improvements, our residents had a meager 33-year level of flood protection. That number has significantly increased and will soon reach a 200-year level of flood protection.
A complete ban on building would have forced us to wait for federal funding. That process can take 20 years -- 20 flood seasons -- before the first shovel hits the dirt. We simply do not have that kind of time. That's why the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority sought to combine state funding with contributions from landowners in the Plumas Lake area.
An excerpt.
Another View: Yuba plans for effective flood control
By Mary Jane Griego - Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 1, 2006
I lived through the floods that devastated south Yuba County in 1986 and 1997. Preventing a third disaster is more than a job -- it's personal.
After years of hard work to rebuild, Yuba County leadership discovered a workable strategy to vastly improve our level of flood protection. Landowners are providing funding toward more than $250 million in improvements to our levee system in exchange for allowing controlled growth. But we haven't seen that story in The Bee, which has criticized the state Board of Reclamation for lifting building permit limitations.
Critics of this decision forget that 40 percent of our existing population already lives in south Yuba County, a situation similar to that in North Natomas. This is not irresponsible development. Instead, we are using controlled growth to fund improved flood protection for some 25,000 existing residents. Until developers funded the levee improvements, our residents had a meager 33-year level of flood protection. That number has significantly increased and will soon reach a 200-year level of flood protection.
A complete ban on building would have forced us to wait for federal funding. That process can take 20 years -- 20 flood seasons -- before the first shovel hits the dirt. We simply do not have that kind of time. That's why the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority sought to combine state funding with contributions from landowners in the Plumas Lake area.
California’s Oil Company Suit
Another perspective countering the one that says it was a political move by the Attorney General currently running for another office.
An excerpt.
Should state haul big oil and auto giants to court?
By Stuart Leavenworth - Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 1, 2006
Ten years ago, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was enhancing his movie career with "Jingle All the Way," his future environmental adviser Terry Tamminen was working as a pool-cleaning expert, water cop and would-be Bard of the Bay.
As Santa Monica Baykeeper, Tamminen spent his days tooling around in his boat harassing litterbugs. He also was promoting copies of his book, "The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual," while playing the role of Shakespeare in a children's play he wrote.
His life has since taken several dramatic turns. Tamminen became director of a leading environmental foundation, and he and Schwarzenegger bonded during the actor's successful run for governor during the 2003 recall election. The two then produced an environmental platform that surprised skeptics.
Over the objections of some Republican advisers, Schwarzenegger appointed Tamminen as secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Then he became the governor's cabinet secretary, and later, a special adviser, before he left the state payroll in August.
Now Tamminen is about to launch a new crusade, one that few would expect from a close adviser to a Hummer-driving governor. In a few weeks, bookstores will begin stocking copies of "Lives Per Gallon," a book by Tamminen that examines America's petroleum addiction and launches a blistering attack on the practices of the world's oil and automobile industries.
In the 250-page book, Tamminen argues these companies are perpetrating frauds similar to the tobacco industry by employing hired-gun experts and front groups to fight regulation and sidestep the health and environmental costs they impose on society. These two industries, he argues, are deserving of the same forceful litigation and taxation that has successfully reduced smoking rates in the past decade.
The timing of "Lives Per Gallon" could give the book a wide readership and make it an issue in the governor's campaign. Don't be surprised if Schwarzenegger's opponent, Treasurer Phil Angelides, starts waving "Lives Per Gallon" in the governor's face and pressuring him to endorse Proposition 87, a proposed severance tax on California oil production that Tamminen supports.
"Lives Per Gallon" also will give cover to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who last month filed a lawsuit against major automobile manufacturers. Lockyer alleges that auto industry products are contributing to air pollution and global warming, and therefore they constitute a public nuisance.
Some quickly dismissed the suit as a publicity stunt with no legal foundation. The Los Angeles Times editorial page called it a "silly legal battle" that tries to hold "law-abiding companies liable for the government's past failures" to regulate emissions.
Tamminen strongly disagrees. In his book, he notes that the lead paint industry and other companies have been successfully sued for nuisance even though they were obeying the law. In nuisance cases, a plaintiff does not need to prove that an activity is illegal, only that the harm it poses to the public outweighs any benefits.
An excerpt.
Should state haul big oil and auto giants to court?
By Stuart Leavenworth - Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 1, 2006
Ten years ago, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was enhancing his movie career with "Jingle All the Way," his future environmental adviser Terry Tamminen was working as a pool-cleaning expert, water cop and would-be Bard of the Bay.
As Santa Monica Baykeeper, Tamminen spent his days tooling around in his boat harassing litterbugs. He also was promoting copies of his book, "The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual," while playing the role of Shakespeare in a children's play he wrote.
His life has since taken several dramatic turns. Tamminen became director of a leading environmental foundation, and he and Schwarzenegger bonded during the actor's successful run for governor during the 2003 recall election. The two then produced an environmental platform that surprised skeptics.
Over the objections of some Republican advisers, Schwarzenegger appointed Tamminen as secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Then he became the governor's cabinet secretary, and later, a special adviser, before he left the state payroll in August.
Now Tamminen is about to launch a new crusade, one that few would expect from a close adviser to a Hummer-driving governor. In a few weeks, bookstores will begin stocking copies of "Lives Per Gallon," a book by Tamminen that examines America's petroleum addiction and launches a blistering attack on the practices of the world's oil and automobile industries.
In the 250-page book, Tamminen argues these companies are perpetrating frauds similar to the tobacco industry by employing hired-gun experts and front groups to fight regulation and sidestep the health and environmental costs they impose on society. These two industries, he argues, are deserving of the same forceful litigation and taxation that has successfully reduced smoking rates in the past decade.
The timing of "Lives Per Gallon" could give the book a wide readership and make it an issue in the governor's campaign. Don't be surprised if Schwarzenegger's opponent, Treasurer Phil Angelides, starts waving "Lives Per Gallon" in the governor's face and pressuring him to endorse Proposition 87, a proposed severance tax on California oil production that Tamminen supports.
"Lives Per Gallon" also will give cover to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who last month filed a lawsuit against major automobile manufacturers. Lockyer alleges that auto industry products are contributing to air pollution and global warming, and therefore they constitute a public nuisance.
Some quickly dismissed the suit as a publicity stunt with no legal foundation. The Los Angeles Times editorial page called it a "silly legal battle" that tries to hold "law-abiding companies liable for the government's past failures" to regulate emissions.
Tamminen strongly disagrees. In his book, he notes that the lead paint industry and other companies have been successfully sued for nuisance even though they were obeying the law. In nuisance cases, a plaintiff does not need to prove that an activity is illegal, only that the harm it poses to the public outweighs any benefits.
Wetlands & Global Warming
A very interesting news brief about the connection!
China, Wetlands Driving Global Warming
By Dan Whipple Science NOW Daily News 27 September 2006
Some countries have been trying to reduce greenhouse gases emissions over the last decade, but a perfect storm of methane emissions may undo all the good work. According to a new study, the environmental threat posed by China's booming economy has been partially masked by a decline in natural methane emissions from wetlands. Soon, however, the drought that has reduced wetland emissions will end, pumping additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as China's own emissions continue to rise.
Methane accounts for about 20% of the 20th century enhanced greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide makes up about 60%, and other gases account for the remainder. Whereas carbon dioxide emissions have marched steadily upward, methane emissions have varied considerably over the last 25 years. Different explanations have been offered for these fluxes, including emissions from fires, wetlands, melting permafrost, and plants (ScienceNOW, 28 August).
The team--led by climate scientist Philippe Bousquet of Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement in Gif-sur-Yvette, France, and colleagues--used a technique known as inverse modeling to figure out why the methane flux has varied. It's a bit like the game show Jeopardy, in which you have an answer but must find the question that best fits it. Methane from each source--such as fires, wetlands, and so on--has a distinctive isotopic signature, which allows researchers to identify the source of the methane with more precision.
The team found that anthropogenic methane emissions began to increase in 1999, especially in northern Asia, probably a result of the fierce pace of growth of China's economy. Meanwhile, natural methane emissions from wetlands around the world declined by 5 to 20 teragrams between 1999 and 2003, somewhat offsetting China's contribution. The results suggest that when the global drying trend is reversed, atmospheric methane levels will increase again, exacerbating global warming.
The biggest concern is what might happen in the Arctic, says co-author Ed Dlugokencky, a research chemist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado. As permafrost gets warmer, it could become wetlands. This would release large amounts of additional CO2 and methane and further drive warming trends, the team reports tomorrow in Nature.
"The comparison with model emissions from wetlands driven by climate and biomass-burning models looks good," says David Archer, a geochemist at the University of Chicago in Illinois. "The conclusions about a possible continued rise in atmospheric methane concentration seem sensible and justified."
China, Wetlands Driving Global Warming
By Dan Whipple Science NOW Daily News 27 September 2006
Some countries have been trying to reduce greenhouse gases emissions over the last decade, but a perfect storm of methane emissions may undo all the good work. According to a new study, the environmental threat posed by China's booming economy has been partially masked by a decline in natural methane emissions from wetlands. Soon, however, the drought that has reduced wetland emissions will end, pumping additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as China's own emissions continue to rise.
Methane accounts for about 20% of the 20th century enhanced greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide makes up about 60%, and other gases account for the remainder. Whereas carbon dioxide emissions have marched steadily upward, methane emissions have varied considerably over the last 25 years. Different explanations have been offered for these fluxes, including emissions from fires, wetlands, melting permafrost, and plants (ScienceNOW, 28 August).
The team--led by climate scientist Philippe Bousquet of Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement in Gif-sur-Yvette, France, and colleagues--used a technique known as inverse modeling to figure out why the methane flux has varied. It's a bit like the game show Jeopardy, in which you have an answer but must find the question that best fits it. Methane from each source--such as fires, wetlands, and so on--has a distinctive isotopic signature, which allows researchers to identify the source of the methane with more precision.
The team found that anthropogenic methane emissions began to increase in 1999, especially in northern Asia, probably a result of the fierce pace of growth of China's economy. Meanwhile, natural methane emissions from wetlands around the world declined by 5 to 20 teragrams between 1999 and 2003, somewhat offsetting China's contribution. The results suggest that when the global drying trend is reversed, atmospheric methane levels will increase again, exacerbating global warming.
The biggest concern is what might happen in the Arctic, says co-author Ed Dlugokencky, a research chemist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado. As permafrost gets warmer, it could become wetlands. This would release large amounts of additional CO2 and methane and further drive warming trends, the team reports tomorrow in Nature.
"The comparison with model emissions from wetlands driven by climate and biomass-burning models looks good," says David Archer, a geochemist at the University of Chicago in Illinois. "The conclusions about a possible continued rise in atmospheric methane concentration seem sensible and justified."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)