Hey what the hell is happening at Lake Mead? Is this just the tip of the iceberg? Who's going down with the ship?

 

What's happening?
politics.

You see, over 100 years ago the 7 Colorado river basin states got together and divided up the water in the Colorado River.
The problem is, they made the mistake of "guaranteeing" that each basin (the upper basin and the lower basin) would get a set amount of water each year.
Then later they added in Mexico's cut and the indigenous finally got their cut.

But the river doesn't work that way. Some years you get more water than others, and the years they used to decide how much water would be divided up were high water years.

Then they built a bunch of damns. Flaming gorge. McFee. Powell. Mead. To, you know, hold the spring run off and send it to the stake holders.
Well, despite not hitting those high water numbers most years from 1922 on, things worked out mainly because the states didn't use their full allocation of water. The reservoirs filled up and everyone was happy. Well, not everyone. But the folks that mattered were happy.

Then the states (notably California) started using their full allocation even in years when the river didn't produce that much water. So, the water stored in the reservoirs made up the difference. And from about 2000 forward, the levels of the reservoirs dropped.
And in 2021 suddenly we had a crisis.
ITS A DROUGHT!! NO WATER!! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!

Nope. No one dies cause the water has been drained out of the reservoirs.
But say, the climate shift folks made some great propaganda out of it.

Then along comes the 2022-2023 winter.
Up to 200% of normal snowpack.
Water, water, everywhere.
So while it won't get the job done of filling up Powell and Mead, it will avert the actual emptying of the bigger reservoirs.

But that "flash flood" thingy they've released?
All part of the politics.
You see, when they built Powell just above the Grand Canyon they changed the river.
Forever.
Instead of annual floods bringing down lots of wood and dirt and shit, Glen Canyon became a kind of filter.
So that all that got to the canyon was clear, really cold water.
No wood.
No silt.
So the fish started dying cause, you know, fucking cold water.
And the beaches eroded cause, no dirt.
And where there used to be piles of driftwood 20' high, there were cottonwood patches that changed the course of the river.

So the smart lads in Washington decided to create artificial floods.
They'd open the gates and let rip for a few weeks each year.
Still no wood, and no dirt and still too fucking cold for the fish, but say, at least the cottonwood patches would get washed away.

And those floods are not close to natures' way.
See, 100,000 CFS was possible before Powell.
And 50,000 CFS was kind of the expected annual spring run off norm.
But with Powell, you get a pretty stable 10,000 to 20,000 CFS through the canyon.
And when they "let rip" you get around 30,000 CFS.

But say, the politicians are having a field day telling us what a wonderful thing they're doing.

So, you see?
Politics is what's going on.

 

Kanas is drier than a popcorn fart.

 

What with the 2024 election circus fast approaching we see that the climate crisis bunch are cranking up the propaganda machine to, you know, make sure that their agenda gets attention and after the election, no matter who wins, they can go back and demand that all those campaign promises be kept.

But none of it will matter cause we're all going to be facing Armageddon in 7 seconds anyway................
Scientists update their prediction of how close we are to the end of the world | Watch (msn.com)
Created in 1947 by a group of scientists who worked on the atomic bomb, the Doomsday Clock represents how close humanity might be to destruction. Over the years, the clock has been set further or closer to midnight according to an increasingly diverse range of threats, from nuclear capabilities to climate change. In January, experts revealed what time they believe we’re on in 2024.

 

Posted in a Science Humor feed.....

 

Blue state’s bag ban meant to protect environment backfires at staggering rate: study
New Jersey banned retailers from providing single-use plastic bags to customers in 2022
By Emma Colton Fox News
Published January 24, 2024 4:00am EST

Plastic consumption in New Jersey spiked by nearly three times following the state’s implementation of a strict ban on single-use plastic shopping bags, a study found.

"Following New Jersey’s ban of single-use bags, the shift from plastic film to alternative bags resulted in a nearly 3x increase in plastic consumption for bags," Freedonia Custom Research (FCR), a business research division for MarketResearch.com, reported in a study published this month.

New Jersey implemented a ban on single-use plastic bags in 2022, the strictest ban on bags in the nation at the time, billing it as an effort to cut back on the plastic one-use bags piling up in landfills.


"Plastic bags are one of the most problematic forms of garbage, leading to millions of discarded bags that stream annually into our landfills, rivers and oceans," Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said after signing legislation in 2020 that authorized the bag ban. "With today’s historic bill signing, we are addressing the problem of plastic pollution head-on with solutions that will help mitigate climate change and strengthen our environment for future generations."

NEW JERSEY LAWMAKERS CONSIDER TWEAKING PLASTIC BAG BAN AS REUSABLE BAG PLAN CAUSES 'PROBLEM'

The ban took effect in May 2022, forbidding larger retail, grocery and food service stores from providing single-use plastic bags to customers. Instead, shoppers may purchase reusable bags made of woven and non-woven polypropylene plastic, or can bring their previously-purchased reusable bags to the store.

It didn't take long, however, until shoppers started airing their grievances to local media that the reusable bags were stacking up in their homes due to repeatedly purchasing reusable bags at the grocery store, or due to home grocery delivery services using new reusable bags each drop-off.

NEW JERSEY'S PLASTIC BAG BAN: WHAT TO KNOW

"I keep them in the basement," one New Jersey mom told NJ Advance Media in 2022. "I have another bag by the door in case I go out to the farmer’s market. Most of them are brand new, even have the tag on them. I use them one time but don’t throw them out."

Some Garden State lawmakers soon acknowledged the issues of shoppers not reusing the reusable bags and simply throwing them out, floating proposed amendments that have since apparently stalled, such as requiring home delivery services use cardboard boxes or paper bags instead of the heavy reusable plastic bags.

PLASTIC BAG BANS HALTED IN SEVERAL CITIES DUE TO CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Instead of having the intended beneficial impact on the environment, the reusable bag ban has actually backfired, data reported in the study show. Plastic consumption in the state has nearly tripled, with New Jerseyans previously consuming 53 million pounds of plastic before the ban, compared to 151 million pounds following the ban, FCR researchers reported.

Reusable bags made of non-woven polypropylene are much thicker than the typical single-use plastic bags typically found at grocery and convenience stores, using roughly 15 times the amount of plastic, the study reported. Though the bags are built for repeated shopping trips, most New Jerseyans only reuse the bags two to three times before they're discarded.

NEW YORK'S PLASTIC-BAG BAN FRUSTRATES MANY SHOPPERS

"[Six times] more woven and non-woven polypropylene plastic was consumed to produce the reusable bags sold to consumers as an alternative. Most of these alternative bags are made with non-woven polypropylene, which is not widely recycled in the United States and does not typically contain any post-consumer recycled materials. This shift in material also resulted in a notable environmental impact, with the increased consumption of polypropylene bags contributing to a 500% increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to non-woven polypropylene bag production in 2015," the study reported.

In order to have a positive impact on the environment and the state’s plastic consumption, researchers found shoppers would have to reuse the bags a minimum of 16 times.

Reusable bags have also resulted in windfall profits for retailers since the ban took effect, with the researchers finding the average retailer could make $200,000 annually at a single location.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP


Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Murphy’s office for comment on the study, but did not receive a response by time of publication.

New Jersey is just one of a handful of states that have implemented plastic bag bans in an effort to stymie plastic consumption and benefit the environment. States such as Vermont, Oregon, California and others have their own versions of bans on single-use plastic bags.

 

We have to ask;
Is there 10% in it for "the big guy"?
​

Biden vetoes bipartisan bill protecting US EV industry from China (msn.com)
Biden vetoes bipartisan bill protecting US EV industry from China
Story by Thomas Catenacci • 18h

President Biden vetoed a bipartisan resolution Wednesday that would have reversed his administration's decision to waive "Buy America" requirements for taxpayer-funded electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

The resolution, which was authored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and introduced in July, would have specifically overturned the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers. Rubio, the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and other Republican lawmakers argued DOT's waiver benefits Chinese manufacturers who dominate the EV charger supply chain.

"If enacted, this resolution would harm my Administration’s efforts to encourage investment in critical industries and bring high-quality jobs back to the United States," Biden said in a statement Wednesday. "It would not only thwart the collective goal of the Congress and the Administration to establish a domestic EV charger manufacturing industry, but it would also delay the significant progress being made by my Administration and the States in establishing the EV charging network."

"Establishing resilient supply chains is critical to our national economic and energy security, and my Administration will not support policies that would undermine efforts to bring this critical manufacturing back to the United States," the president continued.

Biden further argued that his administration's actions in effect promote domestic manufacturing while the Senate resolution would do the opposite. But he acknowledged the DOT waiver allows newly announced manufacturing capacity for EV charger components "the necessary time to ramp up production."

DOT unveiled the final Made in America EV charger waiver rule in February 2023 which axed more stringent requirements and pushed certain deadlines back months what was considered a victory for green energy industry groups. The waiver governs manufacturing and assembly requirements for EV charging companies to be eligible for millions of dollars in federal subsidies.

The waiver rules revised a stricter proposal put forth by DOT in August 2022. The four-phase proposed waiver would have immediately scrapped all requirements; then required EV charger companies to assemble all products in the U.S. beginning Jan. 1, 2023; manufacture chargers with no less than 25% American-made components by cost beginning July 1, 2023; and manufacture chargers with no less than 55% American-made components by cost beginning Jan. 1, 2024.

The finalized waiver finalized in 2023 knocked it down to a two-phase process and pushed key deadlines back. It requires EV charger companies to ensure final assembly of chargers is in the U.S. and that the cost of American-made components in chargers represents 55% of total product costs beginning on July 1, 2024. The waiver notably scrapped the 25% domestic component requirement.

"The bottom line is this: if we’re going to spend $5 billion of taxpayer money to build electric vehicle charging stations for the United States, it should be made by Americans in America using American products," Rubio said in a floor speech in November.

"Joe Biden and his America Last agenda would sooner invest taxpayer money into Communist Chinese EV chargers than American-made products," House Republican Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., added this month. "The Buy America provision is meant to support American businesses and bolster U.S. manufacturers, neither of which this pro-Communist China Administration is interested in."

The Senate passed the resolution in November by a 50-48 vote with Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Jon Tester, D-Mont.; and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., joining Republicans. Then, on Jan. 11, the House passed the bill in a 209-198 vote with two House Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Donald Davis of North Carolina, joining 207 Republicans who voted in favor.

DOT's waiver was finalized as part of Biden administration's push to both expand EV manufacturing and the network of chargers nationwide needed to fuel zero-emissions vehicles. Biden has set goals of constructing an EV charging network of 500,000 chargers along U.S. highways and ensuring 50% of all new car sales are electric by 2030.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the massive infrastructure package Biden signed in 2021, earmarks $7.5 billion for EV charging programs while the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act expands tax credits for EVs and charger installations.

 

My boss is a climate denier. Her evidence that there's no change?

Well, you see, when he was a kid, on several occasions this town flooded, as he remembers swimming across one of the major roads, the water was so deep. And so, when we flooded here a year ago, it wasn't climate change, it was just like when he was a kid... And the same goes for when we have several 40+C days - yep, he sweltered through plenty of them as a kid, too. Nothing has changed, he says.

Of course... actually recorded data, and not just a few memories, prove otherwise...

 

Oh, by all means you need to have the discussion with your boss.

Our discussion about guns changed shooters level of repect for you considerably.

 

It’s been obvious in recent years in the Great White North that winters are not what they used to be.
Ice fishing, trapping, snowmobiling, dog sledding, snowshoeing, skiing (cross country& downhill), pond hockey& outdoor ice rinks have all had their season shortened. The people to ask are the ones that earn a living that is dependent on cold winter weather. They look at their bottom line to see a difference.

 

I just luv how darkride is always talking about climate change & yet his country has done very little to improve their own earth poisons...

Most of Australia's electricity is produced from burning black and brown coal at large power stations. Natural gas is the third highest energy source in Australia (after oil and coal)