NATURE NEWS from Jake Sigg

1. San Mateo County coast wildflowers video - try again

2. California Native Plant Society annual plant sale of San Francisco natives

3. San Francisco ballot propositions

4. Pacifica Land Trust assembles stewardship team for Pedro Point Headlands

5. Brisbane Full Moon walk Sunday 3.45

6. Can you assist some young minds in a long-term conservation activity?

7. The largest environmental restoration project in human history? Big, anyway. And we could use your help. Nov 5

8. Friends of Edgewood Docent Training 2010

9. Nature in the City's first-ever gala fundraiser November 14

10. Restore habitat on San Bruno Mtn, learn to grow native plants--new Mission Blue Nursery

11. Golden Gate Audubon Society events - many!

12. What is the Real Cost of Power Production?

13. Toulouse - another dark-sky city, but first of its kind

14. Fraud in the Marketplace: Greenspan, Summers, Rubin again

15. Where Keynes Went Wrong - his quack system refuted?

16. Mini book reviews: Lawyers on water, Forests Forever, Darwin's Armada

17. Science miscellany

18. The diplomacy of water: The Colorado River Compact past its limits?

19. Feedback

20. Climate warming news: House and Senate prevent "Cow Tax" - flatulence to remain unregulated. No shit



1. Regarding the video of San Mateo coast wildflowers in last newsletter:



Here is the link to the YouTube of the TV show.



http://www.youtube.com/user/PacificaCurrents#p/c/7AE35E6A53D58355/0/Ru4j5dNjECw



If it says: "video not available", Just click on the 3 tours to the right.



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2.

CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY 15TH ANNUAL SALE OF SAN FRANCISCO NATIVEPLANTS

NOVEMBER 5, THURSDAY, 7.30 PM

San Francisco County Fair Bldg, 9th Avenue & Lincoln Way



This is your opportunity to find some of the native plantspecies that aren�readily available at garden centers. Most ofthe plants are propagated from seeds and cuttings which havebeen collected in San Francisco, or Montara and San Brunomountains. They are grown by chapter volunteers. There willbe a few California native plants offered which are not native tothe chapter area but are valuable to insects and birds, and arehorticulturally-proven. These will be on a separate table fromthe plants of local origins. Plants will be organized according totheir plant community of origin. There will be a large selectionof plants whose flowers attract pollinators, including native bees,butterflies, moths, and birds. These include host and nectarplants for the Green Hairstreak butterfly. For each plant, therewill be signage with a photo of the flower/form as well asinformation as to its type, habit, size, and wildlife interest.

Severalexperts in native plant horticulturewillbe available at the sale for consultation. In addition, books, posters, andother print materials will be available for reference at the sale.On our website, you will find manyarticles and links about gardening with natives to inspireand assist you with your garden planning, as well as more detailsabout our plant sale. Cash, checks, and memberships will bewelcomed. Anyone who renews a lapsed membership or joins as new member will receive a free plant.



We will also have a few bird boxes and bee blocks.



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3. (I paste here San Francisco ballot recommendations of Denise D'Anne. Her comments mirror my sentiments.)



NO ON PROP A: Would establish a two-year budget cycle.

Some features are good, such as adopting a five-year financial plan or fixed two years budget cycles for department but these do not need a charter amendment.



YES ON PROP B: This would delete the requirement that each member of the Board of Supervisors has just two aides.

Argument for this proposition: Staffing levels in City offices should be set according to need and availability of funding, not by some arbitrary figure in the City Charter.



NO ON PROP C: Renaming of Candlestick Park stadium. This stadium was paid for my taxpayer money. We are already over-corporatized. It would be like naming the Statue of Liberty after Coors Beer. Can we please break away from relying on corporations and their control of all facets of our life? If we need money the best way is to make sure the corporations pay their fair share of taxes. The Voter Pamphlet states naming rights in the past only brought in enough money to run the City for one hour per year.



NO ON PROP D: Mid-Market Special Sign District. This proposition would create the most intrusive of billboard technologies. From nearby hotels and apartments as well as vantage points like Twin Peaks, one would see ads for commercial products blinking every few seconds, blazing away 24 hours a day. Only commercial interests could love this proposition not people on the ground that have to suffer under these massive billboards.



YES ON PROP E: This proposition would prohibit further advertising signs.

We need less commercialization of our society not more. We are inundated with products we do not need but feel compelled to purchase because of advertising. Small revenue but high costs in detracting from San Franciscos attractiveness to tourists and from the pleasant surroundings for our residents.

________________________



From San Francisco Beautiful:



And Proposition D should be of particular concern to anyone who cares aboutlight pollution.



This proposition would permit enormous digital billboards to be installedalong a section of Market St. Many think this is a slippery slope that willsoon lead to digital billboards and other forms of gaudy outdoor advertisingthroughout the city.



SF Beautiful has more on their position statement. See http://sfbeautiful.org/billboards/No_on_D.pdf



Digital billboards pose a new and difficult issue for light pollutionreduction advocates for 2 reasons:



(a) unlike most outdoor light sources where a rational argument can be madefor using full shielding, turning off when not in use, etc, digitalbillboards are specifically designed to shine their light output sideways,thus a large proportion of their light is directed at the low upward anglesthat most intensely contribute to artificial sky glow over vast areas.



(b) moneyed interests desire to make them as big and bright as possible, andcan easily hire numerous propagandists, lobbyists, and lawyers to imposetheir will on the public.



Golden Gate Audubon Society has recommended a No on D because of the night lighting issue, which disorients birds, causing them to crash into buildings.



The SF Chronicle and SF Weekly both recommend No on D



SF WEEKLY TAKES A LOOK AT PROPOSITION D



Columnist Matt Smith writes from his own perspective on the motivations behind Proposition D. Here is a highlight from his piece:

"It's preposterous to assert that the main thing holding back the slummy part of downtown San Francisco is a lack of computer-controlled LED billboards. An entrenched antigentrification ethos and a cacophony of nonprofits that treat Skid Row as their political fiefdom, combined with city laws and policies making it difficult to convert single-room-occupancy buildings to hotels, have discouraged investors from the neighborhood for decades."

But you can read Matt Smith's entire column here.



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4.

Join the Pedro Point HeadlandsStewardship Team

Saturday, November 7th - 10:00 am

Have you always loved the Pedro Point Headlands? Have you enjoyed hiking there and appreciated the native plants and wildlife? Perhaps you've wanted to learn more about these special speciesorto be more involved. The Pacifica Land Trust, in partnership with the Pedro Point Community Association, has received a California Coastal Commission grant to watch over the public land portion of the Headlands and has been tasked with preserving the Headlands.

We can't do this without your help. If you are interested in helping with the Headlands and connecting with other interested parties, please join us at a Volunteer Workshop on Saturday, November 7th. We'll discuss various possibilities for the future of the Headlands and how Pacificans can be a part of that future. We'll organize the four workgroups (described to the left) and look for volunteers to participate in those workgroups.

Joinus - Saturday, November 7th, at 10:00 am to 12:00- Pedro Point Firehouse,1227 Danmann, Pacifica Ca 94044

10:00 to 10:15 Introductions

10:15 to10.30 The future of the Headlands Presentation of the work groups

10:30 to 11.30 Breakout into the four workgroups

11:30 to 12:00Conclusions, present ideas, &wrap-up

12:00 to 12:30 ---- Break for lunch ---- (BYOL)

12:30 to ??? (Optional) Hike to the Headlands by group

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5. Brisbane Full Moon walk Sunday, 3.45 pm

The moon is full on Monday, but that's the day of the Dia de los Muertos festival in San Francisco, so we're going to have our moon walk the night before,Sunday, November 1starting at3:45 PM. That looks early, but it is the right time. We set our clocks back the night before. And since it's the night before the actual full moon, the moon will rise before sunset; the sun sets that night at 5:10.



As always, the walkwill start at the Quarry Road Entrance Park by the Brisbane Post Office and Community Garden. The Brisbane Post Office is at 280 Old County Road, Brisbane. These quarry walks are fun, a companionable walk with friends and neighbors. Come join us. Children and dogs are most welcome.



Round trip distance is about two miles on a nearly flat road. Dress in layers. It can be cold and/or windy. Heavy rain cancels, but a bit of fog or a few clouds won't stop us. Right now, they're predicting clear weather in Brisbane on Sunday.



When you trace it back through the twists and turns of history, you find that Dia de los Muertos has some astronomical roots. The organizers of the festival point out -http://www.dayofthedeadsf.org/history.html- that it is a hybrid of Aztec and Spanish culture. The Aztecs honored their dead during their summer month of Miccaihuitontli. The Spanish brought with them their own feast of the dead, the Catholic feast of All Saints and All Souls held the first two days of their month of November. The conquerors imposed their dates and the conquered preserved their rituals in the feast of the dead now celebrated at Dia de los Muertos. But the Catholic feast the Spanish brought with them itself has roots deep in pre-Christian Europe. Something like what happened in 16th century Mexico,including a shift in dates,happened a millennium earlier in northern Europe. All Saints and All Souls correspond to the Celtic feast of Samhain, the start of winter, the death of the old and the beginning of the new year. There is evidence at Newgrange in Ireland that Samhain, along with the other cross-quarter days, was celebrated there at least 4,000 years ago. But there, the dates were determined by the rising sun. Each cross quarter day marked the day the sun reached the half-way point in its journey from its rising positions at the solstices to its rising position at the equinoxes. The sun 'moves' faster near the equinox, so these dates are closer to the equinoxes than the solstices. Samhain was October 24. Jo Coffey



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6. Alan Fleming here wondering if you could assist some young minds in a long term conservation activity. I'm a Board member and Green committee member at my children's school-- Synergy (25th & Valencia). Our 4th and 5th graders would like to participate in a outdoor classroom- habitat restoration, conservation education, or green business. I was hoping youmight know of some on-going projectsor could point me in the right direction.



Respond to: asfnative@yahoo.com

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7. RESTORE HETCH HETCHY-Please join usto learn about the exciting 2010 campaign to win approval to remove thereservoir from Yosemite National Park and to bring the Hetch Hetchy Valley back to life. This will be the largest environmental restoration project in human history--andwe need your help!!

Thursday, November 5th,5:30 - 7:00 pm -Sierra Club Headquarters,85 2nd Street @ Mission

14,5,9,71,6 MUNI -Mongomery BART/MUNI Station
Pizza served. BRING A FRIEND!

RSVP: volunteer@hetchhetchy.orgor 415.956.0401

FEATURING: "Discover Hetch Hetchy"With Harrison Ford
An award winning 26 minutedocumentary about the historical fightto restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley.
&
Mike Marshall,Executive Director, Restore Hetch Hetchy
Mike will provide an overview of the campaign to remove the reservoirfrom Yosemite National Park andto bringtheHetch Hetchy Valley back to life.


It's time to finish John Muir's final battle. It's time to Restore Hetch Hetchy!



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8. Friends of Edgewood Docent Training, 2010

Edgewood is a wonderful small park/preserve located at the junction of 280 and Edgewood Road in Redwood City. Friends of Edgewood offer docent-led Wildflower Walks through its serpentine grasslands and other plant communities. In order to do so, FoE trains docents to lead these 3-hour and 3-mile hikes. Docents are vital to our ability to attract people to Edgewood Natural Preserve and to educate them about preservation and restoration projects as well as the bright serpentine flowers they see as they drive past on 280 in April.

This spring, train to lead Wildflower Walks! Docent training classes for 2010 will begin Jan. 20 and continue to Apr. 11. Each training week, a trainer will give a Wednesday evening class followed by a Saturday morning hike at Edgewood Natural Preserve. Training materials cost $25. The training schedule is below. To register or to get more information, email Mary Wilson at docent-trainer@friendsofedgewood.org or leave a phone message at 1(866) GO EDGEWOOD.



2010 Docent Training Schedule -Veterans Memorial Senior Center,Redwood City



Wednesday- SaturdayTopics,7 9:15 p.m. 9:30 1 p.m. .

Jan. 20 Jan. 23 Introduction & History

Feb. 03 Feb. 06 Geology of Edgewood

Feb. 17 Feb. 20 Chaparral

Mar. 03 Mar. 06 Oak Woodlands

Mar. 17 Mar. 20 Serpentine Grasslands

Apr. 07 Apr. 11 Leading Hikes



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9.

Nature in the City Gala Fundraiser

Saturday, November 14, 2009,6:00 - 10:00 pm -San Francisco County Fair Building -Golden Gate Park,9th Avenue and Lincoln Way



Live music, dinner by Radio Africa & Kitchen, dancing, silent auction, raffle, and more! All proceeds benefit Nature in the City, a local non-profit dedicated to the restoration of local biodiversity and wildlife habitat by connecting people and nature where they live. All ages welcome - Kids 12 and under get in for $20.



Cost: Ticket prices start at $35

More Info: Go to http://natureinthecity.org/growing_NTC.php for more information and to buy tickets!

Contact: Ellie Billings, Program Associate, 415-564-4107, ellie@natureinthecity.org



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10. Mission Blue Nursery Volunteer Day - help restore habitat on San Bruno Mountain, learn to grow native plants



Nursery work has begun. We will be doing a mixture of planting and continuing to set up the nursery. Join Joe Cannon and other volunteers as we begin the gratifying work of bringing this nursery to life.



10 AM, Wednesday, October 28, at the Nursery. We will meet weekly.

Directions: From the intersection of Old County Rd (in Brisbane) and Bayshore Blvd., go South on Bayshore Blvd. After about 25 yards, turn right on the access road, which goes over a little bridge and runs parallel to Bayshore. Just beyond the fire station is the Mission Blue Nursery.



Join Our Mailing List!



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11. GOLDEN GATE AUDUBON SOCIETY EVENTS

AN EVENING WITH THE AUTHOR OF THE OWL AND THE WOODPECKER

Join Golden Gate Audubon for wine, cheese, and dessert, followed by a presentation by Paul Bannick, author of The Owl and the Woodpecker: Encounters with North Americans Most Iconic Birds. This event will take place on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 7:00 p.m. at ACLU of Northern California, 39 Drumm Street, SF. Tickets are $25 a person. Please RSVP to Rue Mapp, 510.843.7295 by October 30. All proceeds support the ongoing work of Golden Gate Audubon.

SIGN UP FOR CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

Join your friendsor meet new onesby taking part in Golden Gate Audubons 2009 Christmas Bird Counts: in Oakland on Sunday, December 20, and in San Francisco on Tuesday, December 29. Not only will you have an enjoyable day of birding, but you can cap it off with a delicious dinner where area leaders report results from the field, including the whereabouts of unusual species found that day. Sign up at www.goldengateaudubon.org.

IMPORTANT NEWS: SEABIRDS CAUGHT IN DEADLY ALGAL BLOOM IN OREGON

Former GGA Board Member Beth Slatkin wants to get the word out to other bird lovers about the deadly algal bloom on the Oregon coast. Oregon and Washington wildlife rescue centers are overwhelmed with epidemic numbers of wet, cold, and dying sea birds soiled by unusual sea slime. The first group of 150 of the slimed sea birds were driven Saturday from Portland, Oregon by van to International Bird Rescue's (IBRRC) Fairfield, CA bird center for treatment. Read more at: www.ibrrc.org/algae-slime-response-2009.html.

NOVEMBER FIELD TRIPS

Upcoming: Lincoln Park and Lands End,San Francisco
Sunday, November 1, 1 4 p.m.
Dominik Mosur, polskatata@yahoo.com

Join local birder Dominik Mosur for an afternoon of birding his favorite spots. Some notable birds found here in the last couple years at this time include vagrant warblers such as Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, and Palm; Tropical Kingbird; and Townsends Solitaire, along with most of the commonly expected western migrants. Depending on the weather, this is also a great place to see raptors flying in from Hawk Hill. The trails have some brief, semi-strenuous uphill sections, so bring comfortable shoes and drinking water. Trip is limited to 15 participants; contact Dominik in advance to reserve a spot. Meet in the parking lot at Fort Miley in the Presidio.

Take Geary St. west until it becomes Point Lobos. Turn right on El Camino del Mar and follow it to Fort Miley west parking lot. If coming from the Great Highway, go past the Cliff House and Merrie Way, then turn left onto El Camino del Mar.

Updated: San Francisco Botanical Garden
Sunday, November 1, 8 10:30 a.m.
Alan Ridley, allanrid@pacbell.net; Helen McKenna, 415.566.3241; Ginny Marshall

Meet at front gate of the botanical garden in Golden Gate Park, 9th Ave. at Lincoln Way. This delightful section of the park has several micro-habitats that attract an array of resident, migrant, and vagrant birds. This monthly trip is oriented toward helping beginning birders develop their skills in spotting and identifying birds.

Experience inland and shoreline birding with Golden Gate Audubon volunteers on our monthly field trips: www.goldengateaudubon.org/html/fieldtrips/fieldtrips_main.htm. Know of a good spot to start a field trip? Interested in becoming a field trip leader? Let us know!

UPCOMING FALL CLASSES

To view our list of upcoming classes on birds and butterflies, please visit: http://www.goldengateaudubon.org/html/speakerclass/classes.htm.

UPCOMING VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

Saturday, November 7, 9 a.m. noon: Pier 94 wetlands restoration workday. As part of our ongoing efforts to restore wetlands along San Franciscos southern waterfront, we will continue weeding the Pier 94 wetlands and working on the new upland plots. Join us and see what birds have come to use this habitat. Refreshments provided.

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12. Scientific American:



GREENWIRE: What is the Real Cost of Power Production?

Market prices don't reflect hundreds of billions of dollars in hidden costs of energy production to human health and the environment

http://cl.exct.net/?qs=d7d804521c90937b600e00228b5e87ffce7a4ef17b2d1b7001f58ebf60746329



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13. Toulouse saves on city lights



The lights have gone down in Toulouse. Early-rising residents of the Allee Camlle-Soula in the southwestern French city have set out to work with the morning gloom held at bay by new technology that turns on streetlights only when pedestrians pass.



Installed on a 500-metre section of pavement, the lampposts double the strength of the light they cast when they detect human body heat. Ten seconds later they revert to normal.



"Nothing like this exists anywhere in the world. We pretty much built the technology ourselves," said the deputy mayor. The aim is to cut energy consumption by 50%, first on the busy street which runs between a sports stadium and university halls, then more widely. If it is a success, it will be rolled out across the city of 450,000, France's fourth-largest.



The technology has attracted interest across France and overseas. Last month Toulouse received a deputation of councillors from Osaka.



There is a growing campaign in France against nocturnal light pollution. Last weekend saw countrywide demonstrations against the contamination of the night sky by urban lighting. "Concern started just among astronomers and other specialists but is now getting much more mainstream attention."



Guardian Weekly29.10.09



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14. The power of Greenspan, Rubin, Summers et al:



Last week I carried an item about the warnings of a high Clinton administration official regarding fraud in the marketplace: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/20/pm-frontline-the-warning/. Here is the New York Times version of the story:

Joe Nocera's a reporter with the New York Times. He says fraud came up during Born's first meeting with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan.

JOE NOCERA:He (ie, Greenspan) said something to the effect that, "Well, Brooksley, we are never going to agree on fraud. You probably think there should be rules against it." And she said, "Well, yes, I do." He said, "You know, I think the market will figure it out and take care of the fraudsters."

Instead of taking the hint, Born began investigating. She immediately ran up against opposition from the president's Working Group on financial markets. She even got an angry call from Larry Summers, the Deputy Treasury Secretary.

BORN: They were totally opposed to it. That puzzled me. You know, what was it that was in this market that had to be hidden? So, it made me very suspicious and troubled.

Summers, his boss at the Treasury Robert Rubin, and Alan Greenspan were big believers in letting the markets look after themselves.

Mark Brickell is a former derivatives banker at JPMorgan Chase, and an industry lobbyist. He says Greenspan wanted to regulate over-the-counter derivatives as little as possible.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/20/pm-frontline-the-warning/

("Morality represents the way that people would like the world to work--whereas economics represents how it actually does work." Steven Levitt)

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15. Where Keynes Went Wrong, by Hunter Lewis

"Just what the world needs, and just in time. Keynes is demolished and his quack system refuted. But this wonderful book does more. It restores clear thinking and common sense to their rightful places in the economic policy debate. Three cheers for Hunter Lewis!" James Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer



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16. FromIn Brief,newsletter of Earthjustice



Unquenchable, by Robert Glennon



The number of law professors who write accessible and entertaining books is short: Joe Sax, Ollie Houck, and Bill Rogers come to mind. And here's a splendid addition: Robert Glennon...He has put together a magnificent examination of water in the U.S., how it's used and abused and how the system must be adjusted before we get more deeply in trouble. He's not a privatizer, by the way, but a very thoughtful and compelling thinker. And a damn fine writer.



Forests Forever, by John J. Berger



This lovely book is many things--history, science, policy analysis, a primer on how to restore our wounded forests and protect those that are still intact. Plus, it's a gallery of historic and modern photographs, beautifully reproduced, both beauty shots and old chestnuts. I suspect it will be a hit in colleges (Berger had degrees up one side and down the other, including a PhD in ecology), and in the trade as well. Very valuable and useful.



Darwin's Armada by Iain McCalman



The theory of evolution, almost universally accepted by scientists and still challenged and derided by creationists and religious fundamentalists, is generally credited to Charles Darwin, as it should be. But in this engrossing addition to the Darwin literature, Iain McCalman, an Australian historian, fleshes out the story with tales of three of Darwin's collaborators--Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley, and Alfred Russel Wallace--who conducted studies across the globe that confirmed the theory and provided ample evidence to prove it. Part history, part science, part adventure story, this is a winner.



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17. Scientific Observations



"Surveys show that only about a third of U.S. respondents have a problem with evolution and religion. These are fundamentalists, and there is no need to convert or argue with them. But another 40-50 percent of mainstream Americans would be open to evolution, except that they get all this creationist misinformation. It seems obvious that if we spent more time in our textbooks talking about how tetrapods came up on land, how birds evolved from dinosaurs, how whales went back into the oceans, the average American would not be so vulnerable to the claims of creationists."

Paleontologist Kevin Padian of the University of California, Berkeley in the Sept. 15 Current Biology

________________



From Science News:

"Becoming Human" is premiering on Nov. 3, 10 and 17.



http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/becominghuman/



(I expect there was wailing and gnashing of teeth when the Ardipithecus research results were released after they'd finished making this film.)

_______________



www.sciencenews.org:

"Finding flu meds in rivers has fueled fears of a drug-resistant virus. See "Excreted Tamiflu found in rivers."



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18.

The diplomacy of waterReview-From the October 26, 2009 issue ofHigh Country Newsby Matt Jenkins
Water and the West: The Colorado River Compact and the Politics of Water in the American West (Second Edition)Norris Hundley Jr.

Norris Hundley's bookWater and the Westhas long stood as the classic account of the epic negotiations to divide up the Colorado River's water. First published in 1975, the book quickly went out of print. Yet it is such an essential history of the river's politics that, for the last several years, it's been hard to find a used copy for less than $150.

Now,Water and the Westis back, in a second edition with a new preface and epilogue. Many good books on the topic have followed in its wake, butWater and the Westremains the single most important source for understanding the origins of (and the seemingly incomprehensible political gyrations behind) the 1922 Colorado River Compact. Hundley's painstakingly assembled account of the Compact negotiations was drawn, in part, from a long-lost set of minutes that he rediscovered. It was like unearthing the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Colorado.

Hundley calls the negotiations "a pioneering venture in interstate diplomacy" that yielded "an alleged peace treaty" between the seven Southwestern states. That peace treaty was important in its own right, but it was also a significant departure from the way water had traditionally been "done" by white Westerners. Since the mid-1800s, the doctrine of prior appropriation -- i.e., the first to put water to use gets the right to it -- largely reigned supreme. But prior appropriation is a crude system, little more than a legally sanctioned version of the old playground dictum: I was here first, so I win.

The Compact was an effort to find an alternative, because prior appropriation would likely have left the majority of the seven states bone-dry and sniffling like bullied second-graders. Back in 1922, California gave every indication that it might use all the water in the river. Through the Compact negotiations, the six other states managed -- using equal measures of coercion and persuasion -- to reach a negotiated division of the river's water.

It was a remarkable achievement, and yet, as Hundley demonstrates, the Compact was also an imperfect agreement that sparked "the beginning of a special kind of war," marked by subsequent disagreement and legal fights. Today, as climate variability and global warming threaten to push the Compact past its limits,Water and the Westis more important than ever.

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19. Feedback



Alice Moseley:

Dear Jake,I, too, had my doubts about water purification methods that either relied on relatively high energy use, or wasting water to provide pure water. I contacted the Sierra Club, even got in touch with Mr Green!, as well as asking everyone I knew. Eventually, after many months, years (?), I opted for the Wellness Kitchen filter, which lasts a long time, and provides high quality water which is not stripped of its minerals. The only reservation I had about it is that it does not remove fluoride. Apparently the only method of doing that is through reverse osmosis (much water is wasted this way, and possibly it consumes more energy, though I'm not certain about that) - OR, not having it added by the local water authority(!).



We're quite happy with the Wellness water system, and I notice, checking again online, that it seems to be available for less than we paid for it (the under-sink system).





Time.com has postedBrian Malow'svideo interview withNorm Gershenz, Director of SaveNature.Organd co-founder of the Insect Discovery Lab.



Click on the following link to see this exclusive clip and learn more about SaveNature.Org's educational outreach efforts:

www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,45603812001_1931361,00.html



SaveNature.Org has consistently conducted more than 700 hands-on Insect Discovery Lab presentations annually since its inception, bringing to classrooms and communities live, exotic insects and an unforgettable and unique learning experience. The Insect Discovery Lab's success can be attributed to the kind and helpful contribution of donations and grants.



Help SaveNature.Org provide scholarship for bringing its signature Insect Discovery Lab to underserved children and schools in the Greater Bay Area. We are in great need during these trying financial times. Your contribution, partnership, and support can help inspire children and adults alike to take an active stance in environmental awareness and wildlife conservation.



For more information about supporting SaveNature.Org and the Insect Discovery Lab or to book a presentation, please call (415) 648-3392 or go online to www.savenature.org



Which automatically segues into:



Ze digs deep into the history of the 'Graveyard of Empires' to offer a condensed timeline of Afghanistan from Genghis Khan to 9/11.

(This is guaranteed to be the shortest and the quickest history--and the quickest-delivered--of Afghanistan or any country since time began.)



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20. House and Senate Prevent "Cow Tax" -Flatulence to remain unregulated

http://cl.exct.net/?qs=b2762668226e7bb120646fb040d1dfb95bb44ee8a987676315db42c8e59aed6f



House and Senate conferees on the appropriations bill funding U.S. EPA for fiscal 2010 approved an amendment yesterday to block agency efforts to requireClean Air Actpermits for greenhouse gases emitted by livestock.

The amendment was agreed to last night as part of the $32.2-billion HouseSenate conferencepackageto fundEPA, theInterior Departmentand theForest Servicefor fiscal 2010.

Both chambers had already adopted amendments to their versions of the bill that would have prevented EPA from using funds to implement rules requiring livestock producers to obtain Clean Air Act operating permits for the biologicalemissionsof carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases.

The conference package includes the Senate provision, introduced bySen. Sam Brownback(R-Kan.); the House had adopted a similar amendment fromRep. Todd Tiahrt(R-Kan.).



Politics is the art of the possible. Adage

Politics is the art of choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. John Kenneth Galbraith