Water Withheld From Texas Rice Growers
Decision Exacerbates Economic, Migratory Bird Problems
RICHMOND, Texas – Although not unexpected in the face of ongoing drought conditions, Ducks Unlimited is once again disappointed in the decision to restrict the water supply to rice growers for the coming growing season. Waterfowl, wading birds and other wetland wildlife will face yet another year of reduced habitat availability in the critical wintering area of the Texas Mid-Coast. Severe drought continues to plague the region, including the Highland Lakes watershed that supplies irrigation water for agriculture on the Texas Mid-Coast.
“We understand that the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) must take a conservative approach when dealing with limited and unpredictable water resources, and we continue to support LCRA’s proactive decision to move forward with the construction of a proposed off-channel reservoir in the lower basin. However, withholding water from rice growers for a second straight year represents another setback for wintering waterfowl and an insurmountable economic challenge for local economies dependent on agriculture and waterfowl hunting,” said Dr. Todd Merendino, Ducks Unlimited manager of conservation programs.
According to a Texas AgriLife economic impact analysis, on average, rice contributes $374.3 million and more than 3,300 jobs annually in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties alone. Those numbers do not include rice farming’s substantial contribution to the revenue and jobs generated from waterfowl hunting and other outdoor recreation.
Those same rice-producing lands provide important waterfowl habitat that is the basis for the region’s waterfowl hunting heritage. The loss of that rice acreage will not only be a substantial economic blow to the many farmers, communities and service industries related to rice agriculture; it will double current waterfowl habitat shortfalls along the Gulf Coast.
Recent research already indicates that lack of adequate habitat along the Gulf Coast is impacting the health of some species. Approximately 60 percent of the estimated 1.96-million-bird midwinter waterfowl population for the Texas Mid-Coast is expected to rely on ricelands (active and idle flooded rice fields) to meet their food needs. In addition, the Gulf Coast Joint Venture identifies specific population objectives for more than 12 million shorebirds and wading birds that are highly dependent on water in ricelands for nesting, migration and wintering habitat.
“A recent suggestion by the Central Texas Water Coalition (CTWC) indicating that wildlife would be better served by LCRA simply buying out the rice farmers is completely unrealistic,” said Kirby Brown, DU conservation outreach biologist.
The effort would require the outright purchase of approximately 58,000 acres that are farmed for rice each year. With land costs of approximately $3,000-4,000 per acre, such a buyout would require between $174 and $232 million. Rice is grown on a three-year rotation in Texas, meaning the buyout of all 150,000 acres managed for rice would cost between $450 million and $600 million.
“Even if the financial resources for such a buyout were available, the land would still require intensive annual management (now provided by rice growers as part of annual growing operations) to provide the needed resources for waterfowl and other migratory birds. Additionally, water would still be needed to flood the habitat beginning with the arrival of early migrant shorebirds and waterfowl in August—so we do not view the CTWC suggestion as a feasible solution to provide habitat for waterfowl nor to increase water resources,” Brown said.
For every 10,000 acres of flooded ricelands lost, the region loses the ability to support 120,000 waterfowl. While the current impact of the LCRA decision cuts off water to more than 50,000 acres of ricelands used by waterfowl, setting aside 10,000 acres of idle land as CTWC recommends will not provide anywhere near the same habitat values for waterfowl and other wildlife.
“The resources provided by these flooded agricultural habitats are critical to waterfowl for overwinter survival and subsequent reproduction in the spring. Even if landowners are interested in selling, buying them out and allowing the land to go fallow and dry will drastically reduce available waterfowl habitat. Without annual management to promote favorable waterfowl habitat conditions, these acres would essentially provide no resources for waterfowl and other wetland-dependent wildlife. Equally important, the suggestion does nothing to address the long-term need to develop additional water supplies in the region,” Brown said.
With projections predicting a doubling of the population in the state over the next 50 years, water availability will become an increasingly difficult issue. Ducks Unlimited is committed to ensuring wildlife habitat needs are fully communicated so that decision makers can make the most informed water allocation choices.
“If there is any silver lining, perhaps it is that the ongoing drought has increased awareness of the urgency with which the state should address water needs. We need to be working together across all user groups and geographies to conserve water resources every step of the way, and to ensure that future generations of Texans, business owners, wildlife and waterfowl all have sufficient water resources to thrive in the Lone Star State,” Brown said.
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information, visit www.ducks.org.
Let The Punishment Fit The Crime?
Haiti, Baby Doc, GWB & Obama: Let The Punishment Fit The Crime?
http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com/2013/03/haiti-baby-doc-gwb-obama-let-punishment.html
David Pratt, my favorite war correspondent (besides myself, of course), just wrote an excellent article describing the BBC’s recent interview with Tony Blair — wherein Blair repeatedly made embarrassingly ineffective attempts to excuse and defend his indefensible and inexcusable actions regarding the illegal invasion of Iraq 10 years ago.
But one particular thing that Pratt wrote caught my eye bigtime. “Challenged in the interview [emphasis mine] on what kind of mandate or legal basis would be required for military action in Syria,” wrote Pratt, “Mr. Blair dismissed the role of the UN as readily now as he did back in the days leading up to the Iraq war.” http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/world-news/blair-still-misleading-on-the-middle-east.20380809
Might this actually mean that somebody in the British mainstream media actually came up with the integrity and guts to actually challenge Tony Blair live on national TV? That’s amazing.
But where, exactly, was this brave and intrepid reporter back when we needed him most — back in 2003, when nobody in the mainstream media ever challenged Tony Blair or even thought of challenging him. Nobody. And also, where were the intrepid reporters back then who had the cojones to challenge George W. Bush as well? 2003 was definitely not our mainstream media’s finest hour.
But it’s still not too late. Our mainstream media can still spring into action and demand the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth from Mr. Blair (and also from Mr. Bush and even from Mr. Obama as well) — and win a Pulitzer Prize doing it too.
And then perhaps some intrepid souls in the mainstream media might even demand that the punishment fit the crime as well.
But Bush, Blair and Obama aren’t the only ones who have happily murdered folks for fun and profit — and gotten away with it too. Various courts in Haiti are, even as we speak, still trying to bring Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier into the dock of justice for his crimes — and are equally having no luck.
Twenty-seven years after committing innumerable horrible atrocities between 1979 and 1986, Baby Doc is finally being subpoenaed for his crimes. Hey, maybe 27 years from now, Blair, Bush and Obama may finally get subpoenaed for their crimes too!
However, Baby Doc’s lawyers are apparently trying to postpone his trial, claiming that Duvalier’s statute of limitations are up. According to IPS News Service, “Duvalier was first indicted for crimes against humanity in 2008 and then again in 2011. But last year, the court suddenly ruled that he would only be tried for embezzlement, saying that the alleged abuses had taken place too long ago.” http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/02/all-eyes-in-haiti-on-duvalier-hearing/
No, no, no and no.
The statute of limitations for torture and murder are never, ever up — no matter what “Zero Dark Thirty” might lead us to believe. Baby Doc must pay for his crimes. And so must Blair, Bush, Cheney and even Obama.
PS: I’m still trying to get to Haiti by the end of March, but so far things aren’t looking so good. Why? Because of problems with money, transportation, in-country contacts and even hotel accommodations. But wouldn’t it be any (non-mainstream-media) reporter’s dream come true to sit in on Baby Doc’s trial for murder in Haiti? That would be almost as good as being here in an American courtroom when Cheney, Bush and Obama go on trial for murder in the Middle East!
PPS: Since War Street has so obviously screwed up our own American interests in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Palestine and Syria, what makes us think that a war on Iran is gonna go any better?
War Street, however, has not screwed up their own interests in these countries at all — only ours. Trillions of dollars in profits have been pouring into War Street as a result of these cruel and unnecessary invasions. “Keep it coming!” cries War Street. And so Iran is now next. And once again all of us poor “sequestered” fools in America will be paying for this whole new war adventure for the rest of our lives as well.
Here’s an article from the Washington Post that a friend of mine just sent me — her sons have served in Iraq and Afghanistan as Marines so she keeps on top of this kind of stuff. The article’s headline reads, “The U.S. may not have money for infrastructure repairs, but Afghanistan does.” Maybe some people in the MSM are finally getting it right after all. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/the-us-may-not-have-money-for-infrastructure-repairs-but-afghanistan-does/2013/02/27/c11b475e-7f9c-11e2-8074-b26a871b165a_story.html
Time To Dismantle SBOE In Texas
It fascinates me that legislators continue to believe and tell the public that they “aim to ensure quality” of public education. They simply do NOT know how to do that and they do NOT have the training to do that. Neither do business people who constantly direct legislators on how to provide quality to public education and who in turn are asked to join committees on public education. Neither can The State Board of Education, which is too political and special interest driven to do it.
Only parents, students, school administrators and teachers have the knowledge and/or training to get public education back on track.
The SBOE should be dismantled. School-Based Management should replaced the SBOE at each district because management should be at the local level.
Get rid of the nonsense State tests that prove nothing about what a child has learned. Educational progress should be determined by the schools via a child’s entire record by each teacher who observes each child and administers tests in the classroom. Teach learning for learning’s sake and not for some obscure and unsubstantiated test. Help children better learn the basics: reading, writing and mathematics.
Treat teachers as professionals, give them a reasonable salary and ensure they get the proper training. Provide mentors, a.k.a., established teachers, for every new teacher hired into the system. Parents should be involved in their children’s learning. Establish business collaboratives so children may be mentored by members of the business community.
All of these things will provide a better quality of education.
Peter Stern of Driftwood, Texas is a former Director of Information Services in private industry and government, a University Professor, Public School Administrator and Teacher, is a disabled Vietnam Veteran and holds three post-graduate degrees.
Spreading War Instead Of Democracy
Spreading War: Kerry’s Gift To Syria
We spent much of the 19th century spreading US hegemony in several directions, starting with owning slaves and stealing both native lands and Mexican lands, and, toward the end, invading and overthrowing governments in Central America. We only invaded Canada once.
We spent much of the 20th century making the world safe for democracy whoops US corporations. Mostly, we won–got rid of some threats to US interests who happened to be elected by their people but who were unfriendly to predatory capitalism. Mohammed Mossaddegh in Iran, Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala, Patrice Lumumba in Congo, Salvador Allende in Chile come to mind. These are the sorts of cases that make the world somewhat suspicious and of course the illegal, immoral invasion of Iraq based on two Big Lies feed into that mistrust.
Why, then, would the Obama administration, in the person of John Kerry, offer to assist the Free Syrian Army? It looks like it fits the pattern, the Yes-he’s-a-son-of-a-bitch-but-he’s-our-son-of-a-bitch routine, where we pick an armed thug or a bunch of them, give them weapons and training, and expect them to be US-corporate-friendly at the end of the day, plus providing war profiteers upfront profits immediately by grabbing US taxpayer money, shoveling it into the accounts of corporations. Which corporations? All corporations. Seriously.
Just a tiny example, only a couple of brief notes from just one day of Pentagon contracts, from Friday, March 1, only a select few:
There were more, of course. I mean, when you are tasked with spending a half a $trillion each year, you need to keep it flowing out and flowing heavy in many directions. You’ll hear nothing but dire threat complaining from the military about their budget, of course–if a general fails to kvetch they can find another who will. Really, however, when will it finally become poor form to talk poor mouth with their mouths full?
Creating conflict, nurturing threat, all requires violence capacity-building, and John Kerry is fitting right into that groove right away. The results will be fabulous, no doubt. The contracts for more non lethal military aid to the Free Syrian Army will begin to appear in the DOD daily contract listings and already, just on the great news of Kerry’s support, the FSA is promising to widen the war into Lebanon and, while they are at it, Iraq! Nice going, John! We’ve done so so much to help inflame hatred and violence between Shia and Sunni in Iraq and now you’ve helped spread that more assuredly and now violently into Syria and Lebanon–and doubling back on Iraq yet again. What a Secretary of State.
President Obama, are you paying any attention to John? There are Syrians who still believe in nonviolence, know how to wage a nonviolent campaign, and every time we pay attention and pay money to the violent rebels we make it all worse. You thought it couldn’t get worse? It’s about to, thanks to US help. State Department should be about spreading real democracy, about enlightenment, about reason and rational discourse and indigenous decision, not about military aid to the least worst armed bunch.
Dr. Tom H. Hastings directs PeaceVoice.