Nebraska Village Was Open for Business

The small town of Mead, Nebraska, population 500, was concerned when an ethanol plant moved in next door over a decade ago. Their concern proved precient. The plant owned by AltEn LLC became a dumping ground for pesticide coated seed corn manufactered by major ariculture chemical companies like Monsanto, Syngenta and Corteva. AltEn advertised itself as a "green recycling" center. The companies could pay a fee to unload unwanted seeds coated with a variety of fungicides and insecticides. The service proved popular and the plant became inundated with a witches brew of toxic chemicals that spread to the surrounding environment. AltEn lagoons are awash in millions of gallons of pesticide-laden wastewater and 84,000m pounds of distillers grains byproduct sit in piles around the plant. State tests on the water and the byproduct show staggeringly high levels of several pesticides associated with a range of health problems for people and wildlife according reporting by UK's Guardian newspaper. Fish die-offs have been reported downstream from the plant, honeybee colonies have been decimated and there are instances of sick geese and other birds. disoriented dogs and unexplained ailments in humans. Incredibly, the company had also distributed "green mash"--a toxic waste product-- to area farmers for spreading across fields as a “soil conditioner”.  [photo credit: C. Gillam]

The state governor nor the state department of environment and energy would respond to the Guardian's request for comment on the situation. The company also refused to comment. A state senator, Carol Blood, told the press, “Based on the scale of the issue … it is an environmental catastrophe,” After the media began reporting the widespread poisoning, regulators finally acted to shut the plant down.

The road to the plant's closure is a familiar one in cases of toxic industrial pollution. A company called E3 Biofuels originally sold the plant to local residents as "closed loop" system in which 30,000 head of cattle would have their waste processed for methane to be burned in the plant as fuel and as fertilzer for nearby corn fields. The wet cake produced as a by-product of distillation could be fed to the cattle, a common process. But just after a few months of operation E3 Biofuels filed for bankruptcy in 2007. AltEn bought the plant and told regulators it would use corn as a fuel. Regulators found out in 2015 that the company was actually using treated seeds, only one of two plants in the United States to do so. Tests run by the EPA on the wet cake and wastewater showed “very high levels of pesticide residues”, including neonicotinoids, which are known neurotoxins. The company racked up numerous regulatory violations, but it was not closed until February of this year. Only days after the shutdown, a pipe attached to a 4million gallon digester tank broke, washing toxins into waterways and spreading them at least 4.5 miles away, according to regulators. In May, another leak was discovered in a pipe adjacent to a wastewater lagoon reports the Guardian.

Researchers from the University of Nebraska and Creighton University are now launching a 10-year study of the impacts on human and environmental health. Locals appreciate the attention they are finally getting from authorities but think it is rather late. Residents of Mead are worried the beef cattle next to the plant may be contaminated as well as their soil and water. Blood, as does US Person, thinks many cancers in rural America can be traced to environmental pollution. In her home town of Hastings, NE, cancers developed by residents were linked to chemicals in the soil and water; the area was designated a Superfund site. “There is a lot of stuff like this that goes on in a lot of these small towns,” Blood told reporters, “There are more Meads out there.” Amen.

No Beavers in the Beaver State

Further: The Kalamath Basin in under stress due to climate change. Fingerling salmon have been dying en masse. According to the Yurok tribe, around 97% of salmon juveniles were infected with C. shasta a warm water disease. The juveniles were either dead or dying. This spring, which has been abnormally dry, is but part of an exceptional multi-year drought. Kalamath waters have been fought over for decades, pitting tribes against farmers in a cyclic competition for water that is simply over-appropriated. Climate change has exacerbated the basin's problems. Wet years used to be the norm, but that changed in 2014. Now, dry years with not enough water to satisfy users is the norm. Congress failed to act on the Klamath Restoration Agreement, the last major attempt at a comprehensive plan for the basin. Newly installed Secretary Deb Haaland has expressed interest in Klamath issues, but no new plan has been forthcoming. Another multi-party agreement, the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement, calls for the removal of four dams on the river to improve flow and water levels. Dam removal is still awaiting approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The emerging mass fish die-off reminds river residents of the 2002 mass mortality in which adult fall-run Chinook died from low water levels. The river became a death zone as 60,000 dead salmon littered the banks and floated downstream. This time, it is juvenile salmon who are dying, and who will never reach the sea to reach spawning age. The learnings from 'Merica go on.

{27/05/21} In this age when irony has died, it is unremarkable that the state known as the "beaver state" has very few beavers remaining. The aquatic rodent (Castor canadensis) was nearly wiped out by the trade in beaver pelts during the 19th century. It is still listed as a predator by state government and can be trapped or killed all over the state with few restrictions or reporting. Now, Kalamath tribes want to reintroduce the species to aid in the preservation of native fish species that are prized as a food source. Two bills in the legislature would make take the beaver off the predatory list and prohibit the taking of beaver on federal public lands. [photo: C. Reynolds]

Beavers are keystone species, responsible for the creation of fish habitat and healthy waterways. They also help the spread of wildfires by creating wetlands. Last year Oregon experienced the most devastating wildfires in its history in which more than a million acres burned. The goal of tribal efforts to attract beavers back to the Williamson River is to naturally create a shallow lake wetlands that would encourage the return of C'wamm and Koptu, fish species favored by natives. A man-made analog of a beaver dam was created last year to give the industrious rodents a head start on their construction project. So far no beavers have been attracted to the area, but there are plans to relocate problem beavers to the site if none arrive naturally by next year. Relocation of beavers is permitted on private land, but the process in laborious and requires a state-issued permit. Consent must be obtained from landowners within four miles of the relocation site. Beavers are just as particular about their living quarters, requiring low elevation and low gradient to better control water flow. Often these same areas are occupied by humans who consider the animal a nuisance and who want beavers removed. Under state regulation whole families must be moved within the same watershed in the correct season. Being highly territorial, there is no guarantee that once moved to new quarters, the beavers will stay there.

The Umatilla tribe has been successfully moving unwanted beavers for years with the cooperation of state wildlife officials. In their program to restore select native foods--salmon, deer, cous, and huckleberry--beavers play a vital role, altering the landscape to create healthy habitat. “There is little dispute that beavers improve streams,” says Kent Woodruff, a former U.S. Forest Service biologist in Washington who spearheaded a relocation program called the Methow Beaver Project. “The scientific literature is solid on the multiple benefits beavers provide.” Their role as Nature's engineers has been overlooked by humans who only see them as pests. As a result, the land has suffered. [photo: J. Jensen]As of this writing the federal Wildlife Services, which regularly kills beavers in Oregon at the request of landowners, has agreed to stop removals while it consults with the national Marine Fisheries Service on whether beaver removal harms salmon, a protected species under the Endangered Species Act.

The universe live and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved. All of them differ one from another, yet none of them has He made in vain. For each in turn as it comes, is good; Can one ever see enough of their splendor? Sirach 42:24-25

'Toontme: Nothin' to See Here, Folks

credit: M. Lukovich

Update:Just six, Mr. Manchin, count them! Only six "good, solid patriots" voted to save our Republic from fascist plutocrats. You do not have to be Sherlock Holmes to surmise there were supporters of the coup lodged in the Senate chamber. What is it going to take for you to support your Democratic party colleagues? If you cannot wake up from your bipartisan daydream to eliminate the filibuster all together, just support an exception for civil rights legislation like the federal election standards bill (For the People Act). As you well know, the filibuster is used to block civil rights legislation. Otherwise the plutocrats will "destroy our government".  US Person thinks you could "sell your soul" for a lot less than democracy, Senator!

Repugnants, led by the intransigent bourbon Mitch McConnell, are preparing to filibuster the 1/6 Commission; even their fellow traveler from West Virginia is frustrated by the craven obstruction. As usual, Repugnant opposition is partisan--the inevitable investigation fallout may implicate the cult and its leaders with sedition, wrecking their chances of resuming control of Congress. In other words, democracy, truth and the "American Way" be damned and embrace the Trumpian lie. The crazy is spreading beyond Arizona's private 'audit' in the conniving hands of MAGA grifters to Michigan, Florida and Wisconsin. Unless Biden puts Manchin and his colleagues in line, to either: a) end the filibuster and/or b) pass his economic agenda and federal voting rights bill, his administration will end in disaster, and the party of sedition will then be able to "destroy our government".

credit:  Darlo Castellejos

Wackydoodle sez: Better than that there tire blimp!

News before the Internet

COTW: Crypto Crisis

As readers undoubtably know, US Person is not a fan of crypto-currencies. It is not a thing, but a digital ephemera concocted from software iterations of galactic proportions. Even that iconic futurist, Elon Musk, has expressed doubts about bitcoin and the massive energy consumption needed to support trades. He announced that bitcoin would no longer be accepted in trade for one of his electric vehicles. Consequently the coin dropped precipitously in value [chart]. Here is a graphic showing bitcoin's history of extreme volatility:

When will the digital mania end? Not soon, because there is always a greater fool round the corner. There are now over 5,000 cryptos! In this regard, this so-called currency is no different from the fiat dollar crypto fans love to hate. Meanwhile, US suggests as an investment vehicle for risk lovers: tulip bulbs. Hey, they worked before!

A Victory for Lions

South Africa has announced that it will end the captive breeding of lions in the country. Conservationists and animal welfare advocates celebrated the reccomendation for more humane treatment of lions. The recommendations of a diverse study committee that issued a report on May 2nd still must be ratified to become law. Captive raised animals are abused in "canned hunts" and in petting zoos for tourists. Advocates expressed confidence that the recommendation will end commercial captive breeding in South Africa. Unhygenic, stressful conditions experience by captive lions contributes to poor health and the spread of disease, which could spill over into the human community. There are about 366 captive breeding operations in the country with an estiamted population of 8,000 lions according to official statistics. An NGO working to end the industry puts the numbers at 450 facilities with upwards of 12,000 lions. Besides touristic exploitation, captive lions are killed for their body parts used in Chinese folk medicine. [photo courtesy: Blood Lions]

A wildlife protection organization inspected 95 breeding facilities in 2016-17 and found dozens of operations without adequate enclosures, proper hygiene, food, enrichment activities, or even veterinary care for injured or sick lions. In essence, lions are treated as disposable livestock instead of a needed, threatened predator. Closing such a large industry will have to be done in phases, and unfortunately some captives not suited to rehabilation will have to be ethanized. Animal welfare experts say an audit of the industry will be needed to stop any more breeding activity. The pandemic's crush of the tourist industry may have contributed to the realization that breeding lions in captivity is not a humane, profitable, or even logical activity.

Now ask the beasts to teach you, and the birds of the air to tell you; or the reptiles of the Earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of God has done this?Job 12:7-10

'Toontime: The Anti-Democratic (Repugnant) Party

Most Repugnants in the House voted against a bi-partisan commission to investigate the origins of the violent insurrection that took place at the US Capitol on January 6th. 'Moscow' Mitch vowed to filibuster the bill in the Senate. What logical explanation could there be for that anti-democratic action other than they and their ersatz boss of bosses would be implicated by the truth? Speaker Pelosi labeled their Orwellian attempts to trivialize what took place on that infamous date, as "sick" US Person could not agree more. The commission bill passed in the House with a bi-partisan majority. The GOP's dangerous "evil lunacy" epitomized by co-conspirator, INDIVIDUAL ONE'S BIG LIE clearly demonstrates the need to modify the Senate's filibuster rule that is preventing the restoration of democratic government and economic recovery. Ending the sixty vote threshold will not be easy and we may "get our hair mussed" as General Turgidson warned, but it is the only alternative to ending the American Experiment prematurely.

credit: P. Byrnes

  

breaking racial barriers with Babaloo!

Another Sign of the Times

The Jews wanted signs too. Corinthians 1:22 Here is one for you climate skeptics out there: the biggest iceberg on Earth calved from the Ronne Ice Shelf and is now floating in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The gigantic iceberg labeled A-76, is 4,320 km² (1,668 sq miles) in area and roughly the shape of Manhattan Island. The next largest berg is also floating in the Weddell Sea. The Earth's average surface temperature has increased by one degree Celsius since the 19th century. The warmest increases in air temperature have occurred in the arctic regions. That is bad news for coastal dwellers as each massive ice berg that detaches from the polar ice caps on land contributes to an increase in sea levels. [photo credit: ESA].

Another huge berg threatened South Georgia Island recently, but fortunately for the millions of birds and marine mammals that live there, it broke up before reaching the sanctuary. According to one Colorado geologist the break off A-76 from the Ronne Ice Shelf is not related to climatic changes since the shelf has, "behaved in a stable, quasi-periodic fashion" over the past century or more. Some ice shelves along the Antarctic peninsula, farther from the South Pole, have undergone rapid disintegration in recent years, a phenomenon scientists believe may be related to global warming, according to the U.S. National Snow & Ice Data Center. [clarification provided by PNG in response to misleading local news reports]. 

Chinstraps on Elephant Island, Greenpeace

Further: Antarctic penguins are certainly feeling the heat in this era of global warming. Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus) that live on Antarctic coastal islands have experience a dramatic 50% population drop over the past fifty years. A Greenpeace expedition to one colony on Low Island found a seventy-seven reduction in numbers. Researchers from Stony Brook University counted 58% fewer breeding pairs on Elephant Island compared to the survey in 1971. Human caused combustion has pushed temperatures in and around the Antarctic Peninsula by 5C over pre-industrial levels. The region, which extends above the Antarctic Circle, recently set a new record high of 18.3C recently. A few years ago, scientists warned that warming could force King penguins find new breeding grounds or go extinct by the end of the century. An earlier study found that 60% of Adèlie penguin habitat could be lost. Krill, which makes up the base of the marine food chain, is also declining in some areas of the Southern Ocean with consequential impact on marine mammals. This decline in protoplakton is one reason the Gentoo penguin, a more generalist feeder, is replacing the Chinstrap. To highlight the plight of Antarctica's endemic species and support for a global ocean treaty that would protect habitat, Greenpeace installed melting penguin ice sculptures in international cities. No warming in Antarctica? NOT!

COTW Addendum: Supermoon and Lunar Eclipse Together!

A supermoon will occur on May 26th. Supermoons are full moons that are closer to Earth than usual thereby appearing larger in the sky (about 7% this time). The supermoon on May 26th will be special because it occurs during a partial lunar eclipse that will be visible in the western US, weather permitting. This chart gives the details:

Since the light reaching the Moon during an eclipse is reflected from Earth, the 'blood' Moon will look reddish in color. Haven't seen a UAP? Look, skywatchers, for this rare cosmic event!

COTW: Deja Vu All Over Again

Wolf Richter at WolfStreet.com is telling US we have been here before. LOOK....at this chart: The last major spike in reported margin leverage was just before the 2008-09 meltdown. This time around market leverage--debt used to buy securities--is at "WTF" levels. Cheap money from the FED is fueling the buying spree, while it simultaneously issues "chicken little" warnings of over-leveraging leading to collapse like the one the private hedge fund, Archegos, experienced. As a private office, no one knew--including its creditors--how much leverage Archegos was applying until it imploded. Here is what the FED said: “The episode highlights the potential for material distress at NBFIs [Nonbank Financial Institutions such as hedge funds] to affect the broader financial system,” A polite way of saying excess leverage drives up prices until they cannot be supported any longer by frantic buying. When prices stall at the top, exit selling begins and entire market decline accelerates.

It is not only Wall Street that is using more debt. This chart shows the average US household debt categories. Total household debt has doubled since 2003 despite some credit card pay down occurring during the pandemic:

Chernobyl Still Burns

Like a dying camp fire, but a lot more dangerous, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is smoldering from a uncontrolled nuclear reaction deep in an inaccessible basement of the ruin. The plant blew up in 1986 creating the worst nuclear disaster in history. "Liquidators"--the name reflects the human sacrifice involved--put the external fire out, eventually. They could not remove the fuel rods inside the ruined building. Unit Four was covered by a movable steel shield in 2018, but the original concrete sarcophagus is now old and could crumble in an explosion. [photo] Over time the shelter, as the concrete and steel sarcophagus is called, leaked rain water into the destroyed reactor, which had the perverse effect of increasing neutron counts. Sprinklers were installed to shower Unit Four with gadolinium nitrate solution to absorb neutrons that might cause a chain reaction to initiate. The spray cannot penetrate some basement areas.

The room where the suspected nuclear reactions are occurring is full of radioactive rubble concealing a hellish mush of fuel material, cladding, graphite, and sand that flowed into the lower parts of the plant like lava where it hardened. One hundred seventy tons of uranium fuel is thought to be trapped inside, about 95% of the original fuel load. Rising neutron levels indicate a chain reaction is occurring, raising the possibility of another, but smaller explosion if the embers are left to fully ignite. Neutron levels have been steadily rising in room 305/2 for four years. Removing the nuclear fuel material is problematic as radiation levels are too high for humans to access. Robots might be able to drill down into the rubble and install boron control rods to absorb neutrons. Ukraine hopes to present a plan for controlling the nuclear fire by September. A hard lesson: nuclear fusion is a fire from hell that does not easily die. [photo credit: Getty Images/ TASS]

'Toontime: Wishful Thinking

credit: R. McKee, Augusta Journal

By booting Liz Cheney off the leadership list, Repugnants confirm they are still loyal subjects of Individual One. Make no mistake, US Person has no love lost for a die-hard conservative like Cheney, but the Trumpists are simply out of bounds in a representative democracy. Are you reading this MTG?  

More trouble in Trumpworld:  Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz seems headed to federal prison for human trafficking, corruption, and drug possession as his wingman, Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty to six felony counts out of 38 in return for cooperation with investigators.  So much for the "unhinged" liar claiming his election loss was "THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY"  US Person wishes to clarify the record: his election to public office was THE ACTUAL CRIME OF THE CENTURY, WHICH ENDED WITH INSURRECTION against a duly elected government on January 6th!

BC Idonwanna sez: Maybe, but you dangerous!

Wishful thinking: Donny goes to jail?

Bees Understand Zero

the zero option

Bees have joined an elite group in the animal kingdom: they know what zero means. In some recent research bees were able to place zero in the correct number order in the sequence 0<1<2<3<4<5<6... Understanding zero in humans comes in four stages. First is the recognition that zero is the absence of something, which arrives in early stages of visual processing. A baby quickly understand that there is no food on their plate as opposed to a plate full of yummy combustibles. The second state is understanding that "nothing" is actually "something" as in the absence of light at night is a sensible condition. The third state is recognizing that nothing--zero--has a numerical value. This is the stage bees have reached in the experiment where they place zero at the low end of the positive number line. The fourth stage is what humans have reached in understanding zero. The number zero can be used in complex mathematical expressions and as a place holder in counting. This last stage was not reached until the first millennium BCE of human cultural development. The Maya civilization was probably the first to use the concept zero fully in their complex calendar calculations . The Mayans represented zero with a shell glyph. The Chinese, Greeks and Romans did not use zero. A record for zero as a written symbol appeared in 628 AD when Indian mathematician Brahma Gupta noted it in his book, Brahmasputha Siddhanta. that provided rules for calculations using zero. The current Arabic symbol for zero did not reach Europe until about 1200 AD. [photo credit: S. Howard]

Researchers took a day to familiarize bees with numerical cognition through positive reinforcement with sugar, after which the bees placed the concept zero in the proper order of a sequence of six numbers. Bees soon learned to choose a blank space--zero--as opposed to a space containing the concept of a non-zero number. Accuracy increased as bees were asked to choose between numbers with greater difference. The research makes clear that brain size and complexity does not fully determine what humans recognize as "intelligence".

Breakthrough Achieved in Batteries

Scientists and engineers working at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have solved a forty year problem with lithium-metal batteries that makes them longer lasting and more efficient than the current lithium-ion batters now found in smartphones and electric vehicles. If the proof of concept design can be translated into commercial product, it will revolutionize the EV industry. Lithium-metal batteries have high energy density and high capacity making them faster to recharge and last longer. The problem has been they were too unstable for commerical use in electric vehicles. The Harvard researchers, who published in Nature, studied the fundamental thermodynamics of solid-state battery operation to come up with an innovative multi-layer approach to battery assembly, which solves the problem of electrode degradation.

Scaling up will not be easy, but the researchers are confident that the methods they used in experimentation are compatible with current mass production technologies, and that solid state batteries can be competitive with lithium-ion versions. A commercial solid state battery could be charged and discharge at least 10,000 times, which would increase the lifetime of electric vehicles to that of gasoline fueled counterparts while simultaneously increasing their range and reducing their charge time. One of the drawbacks to current electric vehicles is that the massive battery packs must be replaced after a ten year life span--a process similar in scope and cost to installing a new engine in a combustion driven vehicle. This new battery technology could eliminate that drawback from consideration.

East Coast Pipelines Shut Down in Cyber Attack

Update: Colonial Pipeline Co. is putting its system back on line after reports of hoarding behavior, supply shortages, and rising gas prices in the southeast. Bloomberg reported that the company paid nearly $5 million in cyrptocurrency as ransom to eastern European hackers.  The company generated $1.4 billion in revenue last year.

More: Colonial Pipeline's four main lines to the northeast remain closed after the ransomeware attack
launched by a gang known as DarkSide on Friday. Officials scrambled to contain the damage to northeastern markets by allowing emergency transportation of fuels by road.  Despite the emergency declaration relaxing rules, it will not be enough to replace lost capacity.  DarkSide released a statement saying it was "apolitical", and only trying to "make money".  A London cyber security firm says the organization operates as a business, licensing encryption software it develops to "affiliates" who pay a percentage of their extortion gains.  DarkSide is not adverse to publicity about its activities.  When it developed improved encryption software, it invited journalists  in March to review the product.  The gang even has a website where it lists all of the companies it has hacked, and those types of companies it will refrain from attacking.

{13.05.21}The security firm went on to tell BBC that the pandemic aided DarkSide, when engineers with access to the company's data work from home.  It could have bought account login details for remote desktop software such as TeamViewer and Microsoft Remote Desktop.  There are so-called "access brokers" who steal login details on active users and sell them to the highest bidder.  According to the security firm, it is likely that DarkSide is based in a Russian-speaking country, as it avoids attacking companies in post-Soviet states including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  Joe Biden will be meeting with Valdimir Putin soon.  Undoubtedly the issue of criminal cyber attacks, which is becoming a major on-line problem for infrastructure firms, will be discussed.

{07.05.21}For the first time in US history a major energy infrastructure system was shut down by a cyber attack. The Friday attack on Colonial Pipeline, which supplies half of the East Coast's fuel supply through 5,500 miles of pipe, affected its IT network. The resulting shut down is expected to drive fuel prices above $3.00/gal. in the southeast. Officials say ransomware was used by a gang known as "Darkside". The group depicts itself as a sort of "Robin Hood" organization that targets deep corporate pockets and donates to charities via bitcoin. "I’m unaware anything approaching this magnitude in the U.S.," said Bob McNally, president of energy consultancy Rapidan Energy, who served on the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration. If so, the strike represents an escalation of attacks on vital infrastructure in the US. It also reveals the vulnerability of national infrastructure owned and operated by private companies. Imports through eastern ports should buffer the outage at Colonial Pipeline, which makes deliveries to terminals every five days. If the outage is prolonged, shortages may occur as customers begin to hoard. What the demand for ransom is, has not been made public.

Colonial Pipeline is the largest refined products pipeline in the United States, transporting 2.5 million barrels per day, and about 45 percent of all fuel consumed on the East Coast, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil. The attack will add pressure on congressional negotiators who are debating Biden's $2+ trillion infrastructure plan, which so far lacks funds for improving cyber security. Cyber security is clearly lacking at some facilities: last year a leak that spilled 1.2 million gallons of gasoline into a nature reserve in Charlotte, North Carolina went undetected for a week. In February, hackers busted into a Tampa, FL water treatment facility and attmepted to raise the level of sodium hydroxide, lye, used to purify water. Russian GRU hackers have played havoc with Ukraine's computer systems attacking banks, airports, energy firms and government officials. Fortunately, that has not yet happened in the US. But you do not have to be a leftist hot-head to imagine the worse.

COTW: Inflation is Baaack!

Wolf Richter at WolfStreet.com tells US that inflation is back and red hot at 7.0% annualized on the CPI. Here is the chart:

The increase in prices has been especially noticeable in the hone, lumber, and used cars markets. Apparently consumers are itching to spend the few extra bucks [chart below] ]they have stashed during the pandemic. With Repugnants claiming that Americans do not want to work, and some low-wage employers claiming a labor shortage because of the enhanced unemployment benefits many are receiving, it is unlikely that the so-called 'free ride' will last beyond September.  Biden has made it clear that workers will have to take "suitable" employment or lose the benefits they may be enjoying. Remember what happen to Oliver Twist when he asked,"Please Sir,  may I have some more?"

WTF= Wha the F**K!

More Room for Jaguars

Conservationists say there is more room in the United States for the return of "America's Big Cat" and only surviving member of the genus Panthera than previously estimated. The US Fish & Wildlife Service reported in 2018 that there was only enough suitable habitat along the border for six jaguars to roam. Now a group of scientists write in Conservation Science and Practice that there is enough habitat in central Arizona and New Mexico spanning 2 million acres so that 90-150 jaguars could be reintroduced. Surviving jaguar ppopulations in Mexico are unlikely to repopulate the US border region due to human interference and habitat loss in this century. So reintroduction to the more northerly portion of their former range is the way forward to increasing their numbers in the USA. This area was not considered by the USFWS in their 2018 recovery plan study. The jaguar, once common in the southwest before extermination mostly by government hunters, is on the Endangered Species list. Their ancestors crossed the Beringian land bridge milenia ago and lived in the central mountains of Arizona and Mexico long before the white man occupied the land.

The central mountains of this region are well populated with prey animals and suitable vegetation. Water, all important in this arid zone is also available. Given its latitiude and elevation the vast region could prove to be a snctuary for the species in an age of climate change. A recent reintroduction effort has met with success in Argentina where only 200 jaguars remain in the wild. Seventy years after their extermination, jaguars will return to the protected Iberá wetlands as part of a rewilding program. As a keystone species, jaguars shaped the ecosystems of our southwest canyonlands. Putting them back in their natural place is the humane thing to do.

'Toontime: Never Forget

credit D. Whamond

The MAGA folks that brought you the latest insurrection and their politico enablers want you to forget all of it--the lying, the pardons, the collusion, the grafting, the psycho-drama, the cult of personality, or death, take your pick. Don't swallow their amnesia juice! Rudy, the mouthpiece of Oxy Contin, is under severe pressure to flip on his former client. Either he will be indicted or given a plea deal. He clearly colluded with Russian agents to smear Biden and acted as their lobbyist with Trump. Former AG Bill Barr has been exposed as a lying bootlicker who made sure the Mueller investigation did not end in an indictment of the President for obstruction of justice.

So the quest for justice goes on. If the Democrats want to hold on to their meager majority next year they need to prosecute Killer and reform the filibuster to pass a new voting rights act regardless of Joe 'Dino' Manchen and other closet reactionaries. Otherwise, Killer will be back like a bad dream, and people will vote for him on watermarked"bamboo ballots".

credit WaPo; Wackydoodle sez, I heard the Gran Cyclops ordered it!

US COVID-19 DEATHS (est.): 780,654

COTW: Pfizer Cashes In

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, maker of the first successful Covid-19 vaccine, revealed that it made $3.5bn in profit on the vaccine during the first three months of 2021, about a quarter of its total revenue. Pfizer points out it did not accept any government money to produce the vaccine, but conveniently omits the facts that its German partner, BioNTech, did receive substantial government financial support, and the technology--messenger RNA--used to manufacture its drug was developed and patented by the US National Institutes of Health. Pfizer has agreed to contribute 40 million doses to COVAX the international partnership that distributes vaccines to poor countries. That figure is less than 2% of total doses it plans to produce in 2021. World Health Organization figures make clear that Pfizer has provided minimal help to the world’s poorest countries where there is a vaccine shortage. India is the best example of a developing nation facing a crippling increase in cases due to lack of vaccine and medical equipment. Pfizer sells it shot in the US for about $19.50 per dose, which is comparable to a flu shot. Israel reportedly paid $30 a dose. Pfizer previously predicted that profit margin for the drug could be as high as twenty percent.

Use of the Pfizer vaccine is problematical for countries without a well-developed medical infrastructure since it requires transportation and storage in sub-zero refrigeration. Vaccines not requiring this special treatment such as Johnson & Johnson's and Astra-Zeneca's have run into problems surrounding possible rare side effects. In the US, use of the J&J vaccine was paused for a short time while cases of rare blood clots occurring were investigated. Astra-Zeneca experienced similar problems with EU regulators concerned with safety of its vaccine for elderly patients. Both companies said they would provide their medicine at cost. This chart from the BBC shows the relative amount of public investment in each company's vaccine:

Progressive politicians like Senator Bernie Sanders have called on pharmaceutical companies to waive their intellectual property rights so the world can be provided more easily with vaccine. President Biden, when running for office, said he supported waiving patent rights by vaccine makers. Pharmaceutical companies are not enthusiastic about developing and marketing vaccines--they are risky, expensive to produce, and the life span is relatively short lived compared to popular products like pain killers. But as evidence of the SARS-CoV2 behavior accumulates it appears the virus will become chronic in which case vaccines sales will resemble the flu shot, worth several billion a year. Governments around the world have pledged to buy billions of doses of the COVID vaccines at set prices. India has resumed its negotiations with Pfizer after breaking them off over disagreeing whether an in-country trial would be required first. India recently experienced over 400,000 infections a day, no doubt providing added incentive to purchase an effective drug even with a healthy profit margin.

Trashing Paradise

The far northwest Hawaiian Islands, a chain of tiny coral and sand atolls extending into the vast mid-Pacific like a string of pearls [map] is as about as far as you can get from civilization outside the poles. Many endemic Marine birds and mammals live here among some 7000 species. These specks were protected by establishing a national marine monument in 2006, the nation's largest covering 583,000 square miles. President George W. Bush was moved to create the monument after viewing Jean-Michel Cousteau's film, Voyage to Kure [atoll]. The reserve protects pelagic habitats, sea mounts, coral reefs, and lagoons. Commercial fishing in the monument is banned; several species like the spiny lobster have not yet recovered from exploitation. On two of the islands there are archeological remains of pre-European settlement and use. To native Hawaiian culture these islands are where life originates and where spirits return after death.

credit: M. Chauvin

However idyllic Papahānaumokuākea is, there is trouble in this paradise. Because of its location in the Pacific Gyre, a vast area of circular ocean currents, the islands are inundated with man-made debris ranging from micro-plastic waste to abandoned nets and fishing tackle. A team of volunteers supported by federal and state authorities recently collected and removed 47 tons of debris during a twenty-four day expedition. During their first day of clean-up team members spotted a young female monk seal tightly entangled in derelict fishing line. The line clearly irritated her as she dug at with her flipper. The crew was able to release her from the unwanted collar. Entanglement is a common hazard for marine life and there is no permanent human presence to help them. So-called 'ghost gear' is washed ashore, where it often has to be dug out of the sand. Plastic pieces smaller than 10 cm are left behind because there is so much of it. An estimated 11 tons of plastic enters the world's oceans every year where it quickly enters the marine food chain; this waste stream is expected to triple in the next twenty years. Clean up efforts like this one are barely keeping up with the waste stream. More than 2 million pounds of debris have been removed from the monument since 1996.

No More Free Lunch

Humans have been counting on the Amazon Basin absorbing a great deal of atmospheric carbon produced by economic activity. Over the past half-century plants and soil have taken up 30% of emissions with the oceans contributing 20% even as the amount of emissions have increased 50%. The Amazon contains about half of the world's tropical rainforest, which is more effective sponging and storing carbon than other types of vegetation. Not any more. A new study alarmingly reveals that for the past ten years the Brazilian Amazon is a net emitter of carbon dioxide by about 20%. The authors reported in Nature Climate Change that the region gave off 16.6 tons of carbon dioxide while absorbing only 13.9 tons from 2010 through 2019. Scientists suspected the Amazon might have flipped to being a net emitter. They are not sure if this process can be reversed.

As readers might expect deforestation and wildfires have been the biggest contributors to the change. Deforestation increased four fold in 2019--the year anti-nature President Jair Bolsonaro was elected to office--compared to the previous two years. Bolsonaro has been pursuing a exploitation policy, encouraging forest clearances and weakening environmental protections. Degradation of existing forest through fragmentation, selective cutting and damaging fires that do not destroy trees causes three times more emissions than outright destruction.  [illegal fire in the Amazon, photo: Getty Images]

One flicker of hope is that the study only examined the Brazilian Amazon. If the Amazonian Basin is looked at as whole, scientists think that the Basin is carbon neutral. No longer a carbon sink to assist man, reducing carbon in the global atmosphere will be more difficult. The massive forest is also threatened by drought, which could turn it into savanna. Grassland is great for cattle, which may be the end game for the exploiters.