bigeasternotes archive

28Jan2008 - Death Valley pics; where the water goes

I posted a little commentary about current cover photo on vocalo: Zabriskie Point - Death Valley, including a link to a higher quality version of the photo. If you're bored with flooded flatlands, you can take a virtual tour of Death Valley National Park (mixed with the obligatory familial shots) on my Picasa Web Album for DeathValley.

Just one comment about the recent 'hundred year floods'. All those drainage projects in this region make matters much worse. The water will come, and yes, we live in a flat place. The water must have somewhere harmless to go or it will go somewhere harmful. A harmless place to flood: a lowland forest, a prairie, a marsh. A harmful place to flood: your home, your street, your school. It's really as simple as that.

25Jan2008 - San Pierre biofuel, C2C 2008, links...

Rural community challenges plans for a biofuel plant - Interesting coverage of dispute about proposed ethanol plant at San Pierre, in western Starke County. [Medill Reports - Kroh - 1.24.2008]

Plans for the C2C-2008 are underway - check here for details.

Three Oaks Michigan based Long Haul Productions have an extensive collection of audio programs available online likely to be of interest to bigeastern.com readers.

Benton County remains knee-deep in CAFO issues - [Lafayette C-J - Larson - 1.14.2008]

CAFO bill moves to House - [Richmond P-I - AP - 1.17.2008]

12Dec2007 - The Lesson from Iraq, ethanol glut, remember 'BioTown'?

The War in Iraq: it's a touchy subject. Here's an interesting and scholarly analysis -- Fighting Identity: Why We Are Losing Our Wars - A quote: 'The war remorselessly morphed into a political testament tied to a desperate vision of triumphant American religious nationalism.' [Military Review - Vlahos - 11.07]

IDEM levies fines in NE Indiana, but not all are collected: Area polluters amass $2 million in fines [Ft. Wayne J-G - Street - 12.9.07]

Road gets bumpy for ethanol plants 39 ethanol plants 'under consideration' likely to result in failures as margins drip precipitously [IBJ - O-Malley - 12.8.07]

BioTown stumbles but regains its footing Despite the Times/NWI's headline, there's little in the story to suggest any real progress in the much ballyhooed 'BioTown' project at Reynolds, Indiana. [Times/NWI (originally Lafayette CJ) - Larsen - 12.9.07]

Reward Offered In Endangered Bat Killings [Lexington 18]

ecology of christmas: christmas trees [Bootstrap Analysis - 12.1.2007]

21Nov2007 - Benton Harbor beach, Ethanol jitters

Should Benton Harbor's lakefront park be converted to a private golf course? Saving a Public Park [In These Times - Street - 11.19.07]

Rush to build ethanol plants loses its steam rising corn prices, dropping ethanol prices squeeze ethanol plant boom. [In These Times - Street - 11.19.07]

15Nov2007 - taxes, prosperity, climate sceptics and a pretty picture

Read Doug Masson's comments, and mine, on his always worthy blog: Counties: Let the State Raise Taxes [11.14.07]

The Daily Yonder has an interesting piece about rural economies: Rural America's Most Prosperous Counties - the DY lists 289 rural counties in the US found to support better than average prosperity, as measured by U of I prof Andrew Isserman. The study appears to confirm the link between family farm ownership and rural prosperity, a link I, for one, had wondered about. For deeper waters follow the link to the original study.

The BBC opened the floor to people claiming that the science community is biased against 'climate sceptics'- here's what they found: - Climate science: Sceptical about bias [BBC - Black - 11.14.07]

The best part of autumn is passing on now, if you didn't get a chance to get into the woods yourself, download a large image from last Saturday. I took it at Lena Park on the corporeal Big Eastern last Saturday around noon.

6Nov2007 - some reading

Weed It and Reap - Op-Ed on the Farm Bill [11.4.07 - Pollan - NYT]

Sixth Gives Green Light to Environmental Tort Suit - Sixth Circuit is allowing a group of Kentucky homeowners to proceed with their claims that a nearby uranium enrichment plant brought down their property values. [11.2.07 - Loblaw - eNotes]

19Oct2007 - US Steel Permit/New Invasive species

The public outcry over the IDEM permit for pollution discharges into Lake Michigan earlier this year may resulted in a higher level of scrutiny over IDEM permits for Lake Michigan discharges. EPA recently blocked a proposed IDEM permit that would have allowed the giant US Steel plant five more years to comply with discharge requirements; probably the environmental consequences for the lake are more significant from US Steel's discharges as compared with BP. However, it's unlikely that US Steel will be much swayed by public sentiment -- they don't sell steel to the public. Here are some links of interest on the US Steel permit issue:

Pressure mounts on U.S. Steel - [Oct. 18 2007 - Laasby - Gary P-T]

Alliance for the Great Lakes - press release requesting public hearing on the issues raised by the US Steel permit.

Media Advisory: EPA has additional objections to Indiana's draft permit for US Steel Gary Works [Oct. 18 2007 - USEPA]

EPA finds problems with mill permit [Oct. 19 2007 - Ingerson - IndyStar]

If we didn't have enough invasive species yet, here's another one:

Oriental Beetle Exomal orientalis [U. Minnesota entomology]

Oriental Beetle Discovered in Indiana - 'Purdue University entomologist Doug Richmond said a graduate student recently found an unusual beetle in Tippecanoe County and identified it at a Purdue lab as an Oriental beetle.' [October 16 2007 - AP - Newsvine]

3Oct2007 - interesting links

It's been altogether too long since I've posted here -- lately I've found it more interesting to post comments on other sites. There's so much excellent material going out on the web these days. Here are some tasty links:

Chris Jordan: Photographic Arts - visualizing the scale of the waste stream from current American consumerism.

I've been posting a few things at vocalo.org, discussed in the previous post. Here's a direct link to my :Vocalo page. So far, just some photos, but I'm planning some audio content. If you can't get :Vocalo on the air (their signal is still a bit weak where I live), try their online feed. It's an exciting project. So much so, one wonders if it will last. I hope so, but anyway, catch it now while it's fresh.

9/11 is Over, an NYT Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman is spot-on. We cannot afford to continue being this stupid.

Speaking of stupid, Indiana government has been making some puzzling moves lately. One of the worst is the 'tax rebate' dictated by the legislature, and discussed in Tax rebate checks cost 2 counties $240,000 [8.9.2007 - Byrne - Gary P-T]. These rebate checks are an insult to the intelligence of the voting public; the cost of sending them out is not trivial and it's just such a pathetically obvious effort to buy a few votes. If there really is extra money in the coffers (highly unlikely), reducing next year's taxes would be a great idea. Personally, I think it would be smarter to invest in fixing tired bridges, or better yet, investing in energy efficiency improvements for governmental buildings and equipment. The Byrne article indicates the average cost per parcel for this rebate is $1.30. What a waste.

16aug2007 - check out :Vocalo, quick links

The Chesterton Indiana public broadcasting channel, 89.5 FM, is now in a bold new format - check it out at Vocalo.org. :Vocalo (accent on the first sylable) is a grassroots, local content project. It's not a radio station with a web site, it's more the other way around, and they actively seek content from listeners, some of which they broadcast and some of which they host on the net. They have an excellent quality MP3 online 'radio' feed.

9aug2007 - 4th C2C Results Posted

The official results of the 2007 Race Coast to Coast of Indiana are now posted here. Kudos to the 'Rotten Robbie Underdogs' from Crawfordsville for their win and record setting time of 14:37:55.

8aug2007 - Travelin' Food

The food choices available to most Americans are improving, with even small supermarkets offering a much greater variety including world cuisine, vegetarian and organically grown items. Typically, many items are shipped in from long distances, sometimes absurdly so. In reaction perhaps, the local food movement espouses a diet composed exclusively of items produced locally and prepared simply. Sometimes local foods advocates place a specific distance beyond which they will not eat anything, say one hundred miles. Some only eat perishable foods in season, avoiding frozen foods.

Local foods advocates point out that local foods are fresher, that they are helping to support a vibrant food production economy in the region they reside, and that the long distance transport of foods contributes excessive carbon emissions. A desire to reduce environmental and social ills caused by large corporate agriculture operations is also cited, and 'locavores' argue that they are resisting the excesses of globalization. It seems that most local foods adherants are in urban areas, where there is little food production.

I've been thinking about the local food thing for the past couple of weeks, and I think it's a good concept but far too rigid. It's a diet and as such will prove to be a fad, not a sustainable lifestyle improvement. Our dinner plates, the environment, and the rural economy would all benefit if more people ate more high quality regionally produced foods. But there's no reason to get fanatical about it.

Rather than drawing an arbitrary circle on a map like some sort of blast zone diagram, I would suggest a simple cost/benefit analysis regarding the transportation of foods. On the cost side, one must consider the cost of purchase, the environmental impacts of transportation, and to the extent possible, the negative social and environmental costs of the production system. On the benefits side, consider how much enjoyment you get from the item, its nutritional value, and the social and environmental benefits of the production system.

Locally produced garden produce, in season, is all good. It's not expensive, the quality is the very best, it's highly nutritious, and the social and environmental impacts of your local (typically organic) producer are top notch. Freeze these items, and the cost goes up (more carbon emissions), and the quality drops a bit, but it still looks like a clear winner to me.

Spices from southeast Asia are shipped in from a very long distance, but your local grower cannot produce vanilla, or nutmeg, or even black pepper. These items have a high cost per unit weight, both from your pocketbook, and on the environment. However, most people use them in low quantities and they are tremendously beneficial in terms of the quality of the food on your table.

Consider beer; locally brewed beer is excellent. Dragging beer over here from Europe is one of the least justifiable trips. The beer does not improve on a slow boat. But how local is local beer? The water is local, and beer is mostly water. The grains may be local, you'd need to inquire to be sure, and one would think locally grown grains would be just fine. But good beer requires excellent hops as a bittering agent. Hops are a lot like a spice. Hops are grown in relatively limited areas, and the benefit of excellent hops in terms of the quality of the finished product seems to justify the transportation.

When do the costs of distant production and transportation outweigh the benefits? It's a personal decision, but seafood from Asia seems hard to accept, and its often not that good. Bad wine from Europe makes no sense to me -- a bottle of something special from France is another thing, but very pricey. Cheese from Europe is hard to justify, and beans from Africa?

Most of the hardcore locavores are urbanites. I can't help but feel that they are, subconciously perhaps, attempting to get a little of the 'thrill of the hunt' to the otherwise exceedingly easy task of getting food in a modern city. This reminds me that the ultimate in local food is what you grow, pick or collect yourself. It might be in your backyard garden, while hunting or fishing, or on a foray in the woods for wild foods. The foods you get personally, and share with friends and family, is not only of the highest quality, it is a deeply satisfying experience. It scratches an instinctual need that can never be fulfilled in a store. But I still want some pepper on my wild mushrooms. Just a little...

Here's a link that covers some of the same turf: Too Many Chefs: Eat Local, No Thanks.

Speaking of eating local, I've added a new blog to the list, Hungry Hoosier.

7aug2007 - Dust Bowl to BP

First, a hearty 'Happy Birthday' to my Mom! She grew up in eastern Kansas not too far from where the Dust Bowl was happening. She says, after it rained it would sometimes be necessary to 'sweep Texas off the front walk'; I think I picked up some of my appreciation for the need for conservation and environmental awareness from hearing about those experiences -- it is possible to mess things up really badly. So call me a tree-hugger if you like...these folks would, I'm sure, appreciate a few trees. [note: Eastern Kansas has quite a few trees, and wasn't too badly hit by the Dust Bowl]

This marks the 11th anniversery of bigeastern.com, which long predates 'blogging' [check out an early version of bigeastern.com courtesy of the WayBack Machine].

The web is a landscape totally transformed since August 1, 1996 -- in the early days bigeastern.com focused on resources about prairie plants, an area where much more professional resources are now available. As web publishing has become ever more accessible my enthusiasm for reading on the web has increased, and my enthusiasm for publishing has ebbed. Why write something when somebody else is doing it better? So instead of spending tons of time here, I've been learning to play the guitar, after a lifetime of piano playing. Sort of a low-budget midlife thing, perhaps.

The BP permit row continues to dominate local environmental news. I'm a little amused by the reaction of Chicago officials -- the City of Chicago is currently draining the big lake at a thoroughly irresponsible rate, around sixty-five million gallons per day [source - 'Great Lakes Water Wars: A Brief History of the Chicago Diversion'. Not that this fact excuses Indiana officials -- the problem with BP is that it's an increase in pollution, and there has been so much work to improve the lake that backsliding of any sort is unacceptable. One can't help but wonder why IDEM allows administrative extensions of permits of large industrial polluters to go on year after year -- but, alas, the problem spans more than one administration.

BP has been mounting a major PR campaign, inlcuding purchasing Google Ad links. You'll probably see one on the right side of this page. It's possible to ban links that are unacceptable, but I don't do it very often and anyway I encourage you to follow it -- if enough of you do, BP will help fund this website. For a full round-up of the BP and US Steel permit stories see Marcia Oddi's Indiana Law blog: Environment - More on the U.S. Steel Gary Works/Grand Calumet permit, and related issues. One thing I can't help commenting on is my disappointment with the Times of NWI: to me their coverage has bordered on BP cheerleading.

2aug2007 - links

Today, just some links of interest.

Yesterday, I posted a comment about why I voted against a motion proposed at Saturday's regional HEC meeting calling for ouster of IDEM Com'r Easterly. Counterpunch posted a piece by Thomas Healy making the opposite argument: The Toxic Career of Indiana's Environmental Commissioner. Did Healy's argument change my position? Not really, the bottom line is that we need to elect a governor who will view environmental protection as beneficial. One who doesn't feel compelled to hide in a gated community, perhaps.

The Gary Post Tribune has been providing good coverage of environmental issues in NWI's industrial core. Related to the well publicized BP permit controversy, but possibly a more significant story is: IDEM gets an earful at U.S. Steel open meeting. [8.2.2007 - Laasby - Gary P-T]

A reader recently wrote about a prior posting here, where I wondered what officially constitutes a BMP for drainage projects in Indiana. Here's a useful link for anyone interested in the subject -- download the Indiana Drainage Handbook [IN-DNR, Div/Water]. Here's a quote I found interesting:

'Vegetation is probably the single most component of wildlife habitat. Deep-rooted native plants (grasses, shrubs and trees) are usually the most economical means of bank stabilization and erosion control. Therefore, extensive use of debrushing should be reserved only where such activity is absolutely needed for maintaining access, maintaining the flow capacity and conveyance, or selectively controlling nuisance species.' [page 5.3-1, last paragraph]

Here's a link another reader sent, this one about CAFOs: A Factory Farm Near You - [7.31.2007 - Editorial - New York Times]. Be sure to check out the link to Food and Water Watch, Factory Farm Map, a detailed interactive map of where CAFOs are around the US.

2aug2007 - 4th C2C of Indiana photos posted

The fourth annual Race Coast to Coast of Indiana was the biggest and bestest yet. For 2007 the race started in Evansville and ended in Dunes State Park. We've posted some photos:

Photo Album of the 2007 C2C of Indiana. Feel free to download, print and share the photos.

1aug2007 - HEC NWI meeting

A rarity for me: I attended a meeting voluntarily -- HEC's NWI regional meeting in Chesterton. Like most practicing attorneys, I suspect, I get more than my fill of meetings at work, so going to one on a Saturday isn't something I relish. But it seems the time may be ripe for some sorely needed environmental progress here, and the concept of a regional meeting seemed sound. Plus, Chesterton is a pleasant destination. Its old downtown is quite cutsified since the days of my youth, but that's better than decay.

I was considering writing about the meeting here, but as it turns out I don't need to. Vicki Urbanik from the Chesterton Trib attended and wrote an excellent overview of the meeting, and also a piece focusing on the debate about the IDEM permit for the BP refinery. Here are the links:

Residents meet to help form statewide environmental strategy [7.30.2007 - Urbanik - Chesterton Trib] (small point: actually the meeting was about a regional environmental strategy)

Area residents debate calling for ouster of Daniels' IDEM chief [7.30.2007 - Urbanik - Chesterton Trib],

For the record, I was one of the seven 'nay' votes regarding the resolution for Com'r Easterly's ouster. I am definitely opposed to increases in pollution discharges in Lake Michigan, but I'm not opposed to upgrading the refinery, and I don't think it's productive to make these issues personal. Most things Gov. Daniels stands for I am utterly opposed to, but he is nonetheless the duly elected governor and is entitled to select IDEM's commissioner.

As for social context, we'll need to move 'beyond petroleum', but it's going to take awhile.

Speaking of BP, I mentioned in an earlier post that I sent an e-mail to BP's web site editor. I was somewhat surprised, but pleased, to get a response. Basically, they say (a) they are in compliance with all environmental regulations, (b) the permit set maximum effluent amounts, and they expect to do better than that, and (c) the silt is very fine non-toxic particulate matter that is both benign and exceedingly difficult to filter out. Even if all of that is true (and I wonder how they can be sure that some of the silt particles are not toxic materials) the fact remains that they intend to increase pollution into Lake Michigan. I, along with lots of other people, have a problem with that.

26jul2007 - ruminations on the BP permit row

The outcry over IDEM's permit allowing BP to increase pollutant discharges into Lake Michigan has (thankfully) largely bypassed Indianapolis; most notably a bipartisan resolution criticizing the permit passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a resounding 387-26 vote. Here's some good coverage of the current state of matters in the Post-Tribune: Congress votes to disapprove. I was pleased to see my Congressman, Joe Donnelly voting 'yea' alongside of Pete Visclosky.

For a survey of recent press accounts visit Marcia Oddi's Indiana Law Blog: Environment - Much more on: Protests grow over BP permit to increase dumping in Lake Michigan.

Looking at the press accounts and the related blog and online discussion posts, I had a few thoughts that aren't directly related to the merits of the permit. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. IDEM lacks credibility. Nobody believes they possess or exercise the highly skilled and independent judgment that is a requisite feature of establishing credibility. Unfortunately, the press also lacks credibility: the confusion as to whether the permit would result in 'silt' or 'sludge' going into the big lake is an obvious example, there were many other examples of confusion in the coverage. Also unfortunately, there are no environmental spokespeople with the credentials and position to have a lot of credibility either. So we're left more or less guessing who's right. It almost made me sympathize with the BP techs. Almost. Better information would make for a better debate; it's particularly difficult to understand (a) why BP feels the increased discharges are necessary, and (b) what exactly is the composition of the silty material. There is no question that more ammonia in the lake will result in eutrophication, and that's bad.

2. Indiana has a terrible reputation as a backwater of pollution, ignorance and bigotry. Like most stereotypes, it may be based to some degree in fact but it's nevertheless unfairly prejudicial. However, as long as our government is out there reinforcing the stereotype, we're unlikely to shake it.

3. The Great Lakes are very special places, shared with other states, and with Canada, and in some sense with the whole world. You don't dump junk in the Grand Canyon, even though it most certainly has the capacity to hold a lot of junk. You don't spray paint your name on the Washington Monument even though 'scientifically' it would not cause any structural damage. The debate is not strictly science based: to those of us who have a reverence for these, the crown jewels of the American heartland, no increase in harm is acceptable. The only acceptable course is to reverse the past and make them cleaner, year by year. Or, said another way, Lake Michigan is not the White River.

I continue to suggest avoiding buying BP products. I also sent their website editor a brief e-mail criticizing the plan to increase pollutant discharges into Lake Michigan.

18jul2007 - No BP for Me

BP's Whiting refinery has received approval from Indiana regulators to significantly increase ammonia and sludge dumping in Lake Michigan. The Whiting refinery is one of the oldest in the nation, and has been slated for a $3.8 billion expansion which will create about 80 new jobs. One of the purposes of the upgrades is to allow the facility to process oil from Canada.

Legislators from other Great Lakes states have protested and are asking the fed's to step in. No doubt we can rely on the Bush administration to save us from the excesses of the Daniels administration.

There doesn't seem to be much controversy about the need for the upgrades at the Whiting refinery, but it's difficult to understand why BP is unable to find the funds to control their pollution discharges into the big lake in their $3.8 billion budget. But then you can't see Lake Michigan from Indianapolis, or from London for that matter. BP claims there's no room for improved pollution control facilities at their 1400 acre site; apparently they found room for what they really wanted to do. I guess they've used up all their environmental funds buying ads telling us how they're all green and stuff.

My suggestion: don't buy fuel at BP.

Here are some links: Legislators blast waiver for BP plant near lake - [Chicago Tribune - Hawthorne - 7.18.2007]
BP to dump more toxins in Lake Michigan - [Money Times of Indiana]
Lawmaker wants answers on BP, Horseshoe - [NWI-Times - Guinane - 7.18.2007]

12jul2007 - updated C2C course

Luke Becknell has made a minor adjustment to the course for the 2007 running of the Coast to Coast of Indiana. Get details here and pay attention to the ending section in the dunes area.

12jun2007 - CWARA, and pouring pollution into loopholes

Recent court decisions have raised questions about the extent of federal regulatory jurisdiction over certain non-navigable waters. For legal purposes, the issue is expressed as whether a particular river, stream, wetland or whatever, constitutes 'waters of the United States.' If a particular body of water -- an 'isolated wetland' or an 'intrastate stream' -- is not a water of the United States, then the reach of federal jurisdiction does not extend to matters related to that body of water. In the absence of federal jurisdiction, federal regulatory agencies, including the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, lack authority to take action regarding pollutants, wetland drainage, and other potentially harmful activities.

The court decisions involved are sometimes referred to as the 'post-Rapanos' line of cases. I won't attempt to explain the precise state of the law on this subject; it's not easily done and I'd probably get it wrong. In light of these decisions the Army Corps of Engineers ('ACOE') recently announced they would henceforth limit their application of the Clean Water Act ('CWA') more narrowly than they had done in the past. [details here]

Some have decried the ACOE decision, some have decried the court decisions; personally, I think both are reasonable given the legislation that the jurisdiction is based on. Both ACOE and the courts are required to determine the scope of jurisdiction conferred by the CWA primarily on the language of the CWA, not on their opinion about what would be the best policy for the government to pursue. Generally, at least in this particular arena, the legislative branch has primary authority over policy making decisions.

Regardless of their policy viewpoints, most observers agree that uncertainty now exists as to the jurisdictional reach of federal regulatory agencies with respect to non-navigable intrastate waters. Some uncertainty almost always exists on these kinds of issues, but in this instance the uncertainty is impeding progress on dealing with pressing needs to address serious water issues including wetlands preservation and control on non-point water pollution, such as agricultural runoff.

One solution has been proposed in the form of the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (CWARA). Jeff Kray and Laura Fandino at the Marten Law Group have posted an overview entitled: Democrats Introduce Controversial Legislation to Broaden EPA's Clean Water Act Authority.

Basically, CWARA solves the problem by specifying a broad definition of waters of the United States -- under CWARA surface waters in the US would presumably be waters of the US. That's logical, easy to understand, and consistent with achieving progress towards clean water, but it's not popular with those whose businesses benefit from pouring pollution into loopholes.

CWARA was first proposed a couple of years ago, but languished in the Republican controlled Congress. With Democrats now positioned better in Congress, CWARA is being considered again. Environmental organizations have universally expressed support for CWARA. An association of interests opposed to effective environmental regulation -- they call themselves the 'regulated community' -- called the 'Waters Action Coalition' ('WAC') has responded by a campaign opposing the passage of CWARA. Here are some links that outline the debate surrounding CWARA:

Clean Water Action's 'Myths and Fact' - Clean Water Action counters arguments posed by groups opposed to CWARA
Waters Advocacy Coalition letter opposing CWA - summarizes the opposition to CWARA by industry and agriculture, and provides a list of the organizations lobbying against passage of CWARA.
The Clean Water Restoration Act - A statement of the Sierra Club explaining their support for CWARA.
No boats needed: New clean water bill would make gutters 'waters of the U.S.' - by Julie Ufner, on the National Association of Counties web site argues that the CWARA is an unfunded mandate, and slow ACOE permitting would delay needed infrastructure projects without significant environmental benefits. NACo is a member of WAC.

My opinion: the waters of the United States are a single system, and are critical to the functioning of nature, commerce, and indeed all life on this fine chunk of planet Earth. Development and population have surpassed the point where piecemeal efforts to control pollution, waste, and environmental degradation will be effective, and a patchwork of regulation in a competition driven economy encourages localities to save a buck by trashing the folks downstream. 'Isolated wetlands' and 'intrastate waters' are mythological beasts created by corporate lawyers and previously unknown to hydrologists, and the fact that waterway is a dredged ditch is irrelevant to its functioning as part of the nation's vascular network. Waters in the United States are waters of the United States. Pass CWARA; if there are activities that deserve faster permitting promulgate rules to facilitate that end.

4jun2007 - Race Coast to Coast of Indiana Route now posted

The official course for the fourth annual running of the Race Coast to Coast of Indiana is now posted -- here's the link. This year the race will start in Evansville, with stage one going to Crawfordsville. The second stage on day two starts in Crawfordsville and ends at Indiana Dunes State Park near Chesterton.

The Race Coast to Coast of Indiana is a four person team relay, and a benefit for cystic fibrosis research. This year's race is July 28 and 29, so there's still time to get together a team.

8may2007 - tall fescue

Tall fescue. Bootstrap Analysis has a brief review of a scholarly paper Forest succession suppressed by an introduced plant-fungal symbiosis. [J. A. Rudgers, J. Holah, S. P. Orr, and K. Clay. 2007. Ecology 88: 18-25]. The study shows that a common agricultural grass, tall fescue, inoculated with an endophyte fungus, causes very serious disruption of ecological progression. Stated simply, once tall fescue is established on a piece of ground nothing else is likely to grow there. In particular, trees and other woody vegetation can't grow once a tall fescue monoculture is established.

Tall fescue is probably the most commonly planted agricultural grass for ditch banks, and it's often planted on roadsides. While many contracts specify 'low endophyte' fescue, I'm doubtful that anybody bothers with that. Ironically, many people would probably think it's great that nothing else can grow in a planting of tall fescue. To me, it's worse than wasting the land, it's like planting kudzu. Vast mileages of stream banks in northern Indiana are planted in this worse-than-worthless species every year, and it's a subtle and pervasive aspect of the environmental harm caused by wrongheaded governmental resource management policies.

There's a constant flow of accounts about how damaging exotic, aggresive invasive plants are to the environment and the economy. But these plants are often planted extensively, especially after an area is stripped of natural vegetation. That's partly because people like to see an area 'green up' very quickly, and they don't want it to get too 'weedy'. Aggressive plants like tall fescue will take hold quickly, suppress messy weeds, and they are certainly green, in color at least. It takes time, and therefore patience, to re-establish something with even a shadow of the complexity of a natural ecosystem.

3may2007 - Viscloskey promotes commuter rail expansion

Congressman Pete Viscloskey (Dem. Ind. Dist 1) has an op-ed in Insided Indiana Business: Invest in South Shore For Future of Northwest Indiana. In my opinion no investment would be more beneficial to NWI than extensions of the South Shore. Less traffic, easier access to Chicago from her -- and vice versa -- less pollution, more non-gasoline sucking travel options. Well I could go on. Here's a simple way to look at the future: train good, car bad.

1may2007 - Meat factory action goes local

I'm disappointed to see that the Indiana legislature made no progress in dealing with the CAFO issue this session. However, the issue is now 'up on the screen', and is ripe for action at the local level. I think citizen blogs like Kemplog and WAHMDiary have shown they can have an impact.

It's difficult to read the machinations of the legislature from afar, but it's tempting to conclude that CAFO promoters were working to achieve an impasse and managed to get the job done.

Here are some links:
CAFO regulations die over impasse on setbacks [5.1.2007 - Yencer - Muncie StarPress]
Animal farm setback rules receive setback [5.1.2007 - Tharp - Richmond PalItem]
Indiana Farm Bureau Disappointed that Livestock Bill Didn't Pass General Assembly [5.1.2007 - MuncieFreePress]
Senator Gard Calls Us Losers [4.30.2007 - Karen Myers - WAHMDiary]
Sen. Gard loses cool at CAFO meeting [4.25.2007 - Slabaugh - Muncie StarPress]

All-in-all it appears that the one mile setback was more than the meat producers would accept. They argue that planning and zoning should be done at the county level -- and that argument has merit, so I'm giving Senator Gard just a teeny bit of support on that point despite my dissappointment with the results. I would suggest that nuisance jurisdiction should also be at the local level, and the setbacks wouldn't be needed if meat factories didn't have a special exemption from nuisance liability.

I was never convinced that the proposed setbacks were the right answer anyway. The proposed system would have created privileged areas (incorporated towns, schools), and therefore, by default would have established disfavored zones. Does it make sense to say that it's okay to trash your neighbor's property, just so long as you do it in an unincorporated area? That's an environmental justice shortcoming, in my opinion. All lawfully established homes in Indiana deserve to be protected from ruination by irresponsible neighbors. If an offending neighbors' activities are so mission-critical to society that the impact is unavoidable, then there should be just compensation paid to the damaged party.

Incorporated communities generally have the power to extend their zoning jurisdiction beyond their corporate boundaries, so localities have the power to act. Some will, some won't.

All is most certainly not lost. Meat factory operators have heard the complaints. It appears there is some effort among them to clean house. My suggestion to the operators: cooperate with legitimate university research projects.

One area of clear progress - the legislature has ramped up funding for IDEM inspections. IDEM's jurisdiction is limited, but more inspections should help a little.

Now that the legislature is out of session, the hot arenas are your local county and municipal zoning boards. Opponents of the CAFO bill said they want local control -- so they're not in a position to argue against it now. It's a great, but brief, window of opportunity. Some localities will enact meaningful controls and they will be rewarded with residential, recreational and other upscale developments in the future. Others, sometimes where the meat factory operators are actually local elected officials, will let anything go, and their communities will also reap just what they sow.

27apr2007 - Arbor Day 2007

Arbor Day isn't necessarily one particular day, but today is a good one in our climate. I've personally planted thousands of trees, both with a shovel and by collecting and planting acorns, nuts, seeds. In fact, if you count all the seeds and acorns, I've planted over 100,000 trees (most didn't survive, but thousands did). So I'm not an armchair Arbor Day guy, tree planting is something I have some opinions about, and Arbor Day seems like a good time to share them. So here are some random thoughts about trees, and planting them, in no particular order.

Row planting is ugly. Machines plant trees in rows, and yes, we've planted lots of trees with machines at Big Eastern, but I'm never really happy with the results. The result looks like, well, a farm. If you're really growing trees purely as a crop, that makes sense, but if you're trying to reforest an area it looks a lot better if the trees are planted to simulate the natural distribution of species in the area, keeping in mind slopes, exposures, soil types and that sort of thing. Sometimes I hand plant through a machine plantation to try to disguise the lines, it helps a little. Of course, pro foresters use the rows for chemical treatments, and no doubt that improves the growth and survival rates of the trees. That's probably good business, but if your goal is forest restoration, such chemicals seem like an unnecessary expense and environmental burden.

Don't just plant native species, preserve them. If you buy trees from a nursery, mostly they're going to sell you trees that are (a) easy to grow in a nursery, and (b) easy to transplant, and to some extent (c) produce something people find useful. That all makes sense, but it leaves out some species that really deserve to be maintained as part of our forestry mix. Whether we're talking about a forest restoration on a landscape scale, or a few trees in a lawn and garden setting there are trees that you won't find at your nursersy, but are worth keeping around. The sassafras is a great example: they grow wild throughout Indiana, are attractive year around, have excellent autumn foliage color, and seem to be mostly pest-free. They rarely break off big limbs and fall on things, and even if they did most aren't massive enough to be dangerous. All-in-all they are excellent lawn and garden, and roadside trees. But because they are difficult to transplant they are slowly being pushed out of developed areas, and the only remedy is to preserve existing sassafras trees and allow them some degree of natural regeneration.

Don't just plant native species, foster natural regeneration. Oaks are the finest hardwoods in Indiana and most landowners prize a fine old oak. Many oak species, especially white oaks, have the potential to live for a long time, even centuries, but the truth is most don't live beyond 150 years. That's a long time from a human perspective, but in many Indiana communities the stock of ancient native oaks is declining. I have a big dead black oak in my front lawn. These trees are a legacy of native America, and the time has come to get serious about fostering a new generation. Sure, you can buy oak trees at the nursery, but those are probably not local native genotypes. Who knows where the seed came from? Every locality has unique genetic variants, and there's no substitute for preserving the truly local trees. You can collect acorns and plant a few. It's said that mighty oaks grow from tiny acorns, but in nature, about a zillion acorns come and go for every one that develops into a really fine tree. Perhaps most of the acorns possess the potential to develop, but then again, maybe not. So, eco-conscious gardeners, it's worth keeping an eye out for a promising young volunteer sapling that appears to be the progeny of a fine old oak. Give it a chance to grow, future generations will thank you. If we don't blow the place up first.

Never say 'debrushing'. There are ugly words that should never be said. Never say the 'n' word anywhere (unless you are actually Patti Smith). Never say the 'f' word in public discourse, or in front of children. Here's another one -- 'debrushing' -- this so-called word is used by tree-haters to make their heinous destructive actions sound like some sort of cleaning. Most commonly the 'd' word is used by developers or drainage boards in reference to a total bulldozing and denuding of the land. One doesn't refer to tree-planting as 'rebrushing'. One does not call today 'Brush Day'. There are forms of woody vegetation that are invasive or oppresive enough to deserve being called 'brush' but behind the 'd' word lurks a plan to destroy without even first determining what is there.

26apr2007 - pollution of Chinese farmland could be warning for US

In the Chesterton Trib: IDEM boss kicks off Porter County Earth Day, written by Vicki Urbanik. Easterly recounts the many areas of environmental progress in NWI over the past few decades. Easterly points out that economic progress is often hand-in-hand with environmental progress.

I'd suggest that this is not solely the product of the availability of funds for improving pollution controls in more affluent economies, but also that people with money leave environmentally degraded areas behind as soon as they can, prompting a sort of death spiral. It's also why communities need to be very careful about welcoming 'environmentally challenged' operations into their communities. The costs, and the loss of attractiveness in the community, can easily outweigh the benefits.

I got to the Urbanik piece from Marcia Oddi's Indiana Law Blog. Marcia also pointed out this interesting quote: 'Easterly said permit issues are not the same as land use decisions, which should be made by local officials, not the state. Just because IDEM determines that projects meet environmental standards, 'doesn't mean you should allow them,' he said.'

It reminded me of recent reports from China describing extensive soil pollution, see for example Soil survey to monitor pollution [2007.04.09 - Sun Xiaohua - China Daily]:

'The Yangtze River Delta region, the country's granary, has shown the results of soil degraded by heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants.

The weekly said that 2,000 tons of mercury, from more than 2 billion tons of coal burned every year, finds its ways into soil and poses a threat to human health.

Vegetables and fruits have also been polluted by excessive amount of nitrate in the soil.'

Once soil is polluted, fixing it isn't going to be easy, in fact it might not be feasible at all. The combination of causes behind the destruction of Chinese farmland -- heavy metals from airborne industrial sources, mercury from coal-fired plants, and nitrates from excessive manure applications -- ought to give Hoosiers pause. I hope folks at Indiana's new Dept. of Agriculture will keep the Chinese experience in mind.

3apr2007 - food burning revisited

More about food burning. I couldn't help but notice the Cuban 'president for life' Fidel Castro has recently criticized corn based ethanol production, here's a link: Castro ends 8-month silence to slam US ethanol plans [29.3.2007 - jurnalo]. Bigeastern readers will no doubt recall that I've questioned corn-based ethanol production over the past couple of years in part because there's not a large net gain in energy, and because I have doubts about 'food burning'. Castro's comments set me thinking about this again -- because, in truth, my thinking has changed a little.

First, I think if you've got a corn crop (just like if you have pertroleum) you have the right to sell it to the highest bidder. If corn production becomes more profitable, that's a good thing -- farmers make more, have more to spend, and maybe the government could cut back on subsidies.

The environmental costs of corn production are considerable, no doubt, but an improvement in profitability might mean more funds for controlling some of these problems. I've talked to some farmers about this, and I think most see corn-based ethanol as a transitory strategy and not a long-term solution. For now, we have the infrastructure in place to grow a lot of corn, and it'll take awhile to develop alternative systems on the huge scale required.

The environmental issues are not all one way either -- what's worse for the environment, ethanol, or CAFOs? Ethanol plants produce an odor, but the workers are relatively skilled and well-paid, and there's little risk of groundwater contamination. Ethanol production uses a lot of water, but so do CAFOs. If ethanol production demands push corn prices too high for CAFO operators, well, there are many of us in rural Indiana who wouldn't shed a tear about that. Here's a question: do you want a pork tenderloin, or do you want to be able to drive your car? Most Americans are too fat anyway, and eating less meat would be a good thing.

So I think Castro is simply stating the obvious when he says corn can't run everybody's car, and I do share his concern that every tree will be chopped down to grow another ear of corn, but I'm hopeful that landowners now understand the importance of conservation. I don't doubt that he has a sincere concern for low income people who will find it more difficult to buy staple foods (esp. tortillas), but I can't help but observe that his policies have a nasty way of keeping people poor -- maybe an improving price for farm commodities will help revitalize rural areas in Latinamerica, so folks won't have to leave home to get work. That would be good, wouldn't it?

Eventually, low-input agriculture for production of biomass for ethanol production will be developed. Perennial plants that require little in the way of fertilizer, pesticides or other attention will grow out in a field and be chopped down and hauled away on a train every couple of years. The residue will be dried and brought back to reduce nutrient loss. Food-burning will be a thing of the past.

23mar2007 - soundstreams

Broadband connections are becoming the norm these days, and one of the best uses of that bandwidth is bringing interesting music to your desktop. I've been paddling up and down the soundstreams of the Internet for awhile now. It takes a little tenacity to pick out the good channels among the many that are either unreliable, or simply lacking in interest. So I've added a new set of links on the left side of this page, called 'soundstreams' -- my suggestions for interesting Internet listening.

Of course you're going to need speakers (or headphones, if you can stand wearing them) and a broadband connection. You'll also need a player; I've tried most and find the freely available winamp player to my liking, and mostly I use the MP3 streams. The Windows Media player is okay, and Mac users swear by iTunes.

Internet 'radio' offers an amazing diversity of listening choices. Naturally it's under attack as the feds recently set out a plan to drastically raise royalties to such a degree as to send the entire medium into oblivion (at least the interesting indy channels). Just today, it seems there may be some progress on this though, here's a late breaking article: Feds Agree To Rethink Internet Radio Royalties.

Sure, the fate of Internet radio seems minor next to the Iraq war, global warming and the CAFO blitz, but for me, a little music in the office is an invaluable aid to maintaining a halfway positive attitude.

14mar2007 - Bill proposes permit-free dredging

HB 1762 proposes to make dredging of ditches flowing into Indiana's lakes free from any permit requirements, so long as the ditch continues to empty into the lake at the same location and 'best management practices' are observed. It appears the primary purpose is to yet further exclude the public from input on Indiana's other March Madness, i.e. the dozing and dredging of every creek, stream or river with little regard for the cost or environmental consequences.

The 'best management practices' sounds fine, but as is so often the case in Indiana, it's likely to be little more than lip service provided the lake being impacted can't be seen from a gated community Indianpolis. And what does it mean, exactly?

I'm pretty much categorically against any further erosion of the public's right to be involved in the collective traditiion of waste and despoilation that passes as Indiana's drainage law. The only hope for change will be for the public to see how ghastly and wasteful the process can become when there's no oversight, and little interest by the media.

Now maybe I missed something, but I'm a little concerned that 'best management practices' is a bit of a buzzword. I didn't find a definition for it in the Indiana Code using Westlaw. There is a sort of a definition in the Indiana Administrative Code in the NRC section for floodplain management. I doubt it would apply and it's quite nebulous, but I'll reprint it here in the interest of suggesting that merely mumbling the phrase 'best management practices' doesn't make everything all better:

'Best management practices' means those practices best suited to specific site conditions that will control soil erosion and the nonpoint source pollution associated with sediment run-off. The Indiana Handbook for Erosion Control in Developing Areas (October 1992) may be used as a reference in developing an erosion and sediment control plan that is consistent with best management practices. [312 IAC 10-2-7]

It looks like HB 1762 has a good chance of passing - maybe there is more to the 'best management practices' thing than I'm aware of -- if a reader knows of a solid definition and enforcement mechanism, I hope they'll enlighten me. But, from what I can see, I'm disappointed that the legislature seems to be going along with this; it's going to hurt some of Indiana's finest natural features, our beautiful, fragile, and much loved natural lakes. It can't do anything but help bad projects happen faster.

As is typical of this sort of legislation, I found no press accounts at all.

14mar2007 - ten ways to greener gov

Back in the 70s, when we thought of governmental action to improve the environment we thought of legislation to control pollution. Today, it's time to push for other kinds of governmental actions that could help. Here are ten things I thought of for Hoosierland in particular, without trying too hard, in no particular order

1. Phase out incandescent bulbs in government buildings, in favor of more efficient systems

2. Demand that most publications be made electronically, on the Internet, with printing at the user's expense. This would save trees, landfill space and money too; government prints too many documents at public expense that never are read anyway. To make it fair to those who don't have net access (a minority these days), we need to be sure public libraries have low cost (maybe coin-op) printers freely available...maybe kiosks in some other public areas too, in case some people don't feel comfortable going into a public library.

3. No more halfdays of school...it's a waste of time and fuel. Calling off early in an emergency is okay; otherwise a full day or not at all.

4. Curbside recycling in all reasonably densely populated areas. In the little town of North Judson, where I live, we still don't have curbside. Lots of people still recycle using the drop-off facility, but more would if it were easier.

5. More teleconference meetings - government officials could use their time more efficiently and conserve fuel by conducting more meetings by Internet teleconference rather than in person. This would require development of a well integrated set of facilities, but it's not that difficult these days. It wouldn't eliminate the need for all travel, of course -- sites need to be visited, and people need to 'do lunch' once in awhile. But, overall, it could improve access to government, especially for those of us who are relatively far from Indianapolis.

6. Less militarism -- all Americans are justly proud of the skills of the U.S. military, but wars are expensive, destructive, and lots of good folks are killed, maimed and traumatized. Let's wage peace for a change.

7. No Mow -- there's vastly too much mowing and spraying in America and especially here in the Midwest. It wastes fuel, money, is bad for the environment, and is just way out of hand. Mowers are dirty and inefficient machines. I like mowed areas, and visibility at intersections is important. But what's with the huge acreages of mowed lands? We need to phase this out slowly with careful mixes of groundcovers and native plants. Government could be a leader by phasing out at least 50% of their mowed areas on government property over the next five years.

8. Fuel efficient government vehicles -- Sure, a highway dumptruck needs to be huge, but there could be lots of savings elsewhere. All government cars should get at least thirty miles to the gallon. At least. Maybe a police need a big, brawny vehicles, but what about building inspector? Hint: they're going to start making Civics in Indiana.

9. Energy audits - all government buildings should get energy audits, and follow-up on the changes that need to be made. Sure, it might take a few years to get all the issues resolved, but as energy costs go up it would be worth it. Top of the list: schools and government office buildings. The results of the audit should be handed to the media, so we'd all know where the waste is.

10. 21st Century Water Management - Indiana is blessed with an abundance of water. It's time to abolish drainage boards, and replace them with water management districts based on modern thinking about the functioning of waterways, and dedicated to preserving this critical resource. Sure, ag drainage is important, but it's just one interest and it currently has too much clout.

Wow, that was easy.

6mar2007 - Banned in China...and kinda' proud of it

Bigeastern.com has been online for a long time, but it's always been a fairly low traffic affair. Obscurity hasn't been enough to keep me from getting banned in China, or so it appears. An intriguing project called The Great Firewall of China allows testing to see if a particular URL is filtered out in China. I was surprised to see bigeastern.com filtered, and so I googled 'bigeastern China'; sure enough there was a 'bigdumbhoosier' post referencing China from 2001 entitled Technology Transfer, and a link to a WorldNet article from 2003 entitled 'Smart bomb' technology moving to China. It reminds me of garage rock song Louie Louie -- it was supposedly banned from numerous radio stations, including all of them in Indiana by order of Gov. Welsh. (I don't recall this because we listened to Chicago stations where I grew up). The banning was the best publicity money couldn't buy -- it made Louie Louie by the Kingsmen seem rebellious, dangerous and exciting -- instead of merely sloppy and raucous.

If a couple of isolated mentions of China are really what got bigeastern.com banned there, it seems silly. On the other hand, maybe what they really are concerned about is that the Chinese people might start demanding environmental protections and improvements. The absurd slowness of US poliymakers to wake up to climate change issues may be changing -- that could be bad news for China as better behavior here in the USA would turn the world's attentions on Chinese contributions to world environmental problems. I visited the Asian rim in the 1980s, and one of my most vivid memories was the sickly brown color of the ocean off of seemingly vast areas of the Chinese coast. I imagine it's only gotten worse. Then there's the air pollution from largely unregulated east Asian industry.

One more (unrelated) thing: Here's a link to the Indiana Heritage Trust's Northwest Indiana Projects. If you click on the links a little window pops up with a photo and some info about the project. It appears that the web site is still under construction so it's a little buggy, but a nice idea.

26feb2007 -
Links

Word for today: those traditional Edison type lightbulbs -- start calling them 'obsolescent' bulbs.

CAFO beat. Jolinda Buchanan, the Farm Program Coordinator for the Citizen's Action Coalition of Indiana sent me a copy of the newly enacted CAFO ordinance for St. Joseph County, Indiana. (For you non-Hoosiers, that's the South Bend area) It seemed important to me, so I took the liberty of convertng it to .pdf and posting it HERE. Please feel free to circulate it. IMHO, every county ought to consider passing serious local CAFO controls. Here's a link to the Citizen's Action Coalition of Indiana website.

Karen Myers has made some interesting posts on WAHM diary of late, including one rather subtle, but quite interesting link: Organic will lead the food revolution, says Melchett wherein the head of the UK Soil Association predicts the passing of the heyday of industrial food production. When people tell you that resistance to the excesses of industrial food production is merely standing in the way of progress, point them to this article.

We Americans were, once upon a time, a fairly progressive people, but we've lost our mojo a bit of late, and it seems the Euros are a bit quicker on the uptake. So while it may take a little longer here, it's happening -- people are turning back to more wholesome, tastier and more fun foods. Personally, the CAFO view of the future (part of the whole 'hive society') is a rather bleak vision. I prefer to believe that we can make the future better instead of worse.

Organic is only part of the story; heirloom and locally produced foods, and where possible, wild foods too, are all part of the mix. Once people try eggs from organically fed, uncaged chickens, they'll taste the difference and the modest price difference will seem less critical - especially when they realize they don't end up throwing 25% of their eggs away due to a bad odor.

So I submit, for the consideration of the reading public, that the future of agriculture is quite the opposite of industrial CAFOs. It's more like the past: local gardens, orchards, vinyards and livestock farms. Yes, meat will be relatively more expensive, but most folks are way too fat anyway. You want to drop some pounds? Quit eating so much meat!

Rural communities that want to get ahead in the future might seriously consider working to encourage more organic growing, more community supported agriculture and more free range livestock in their area. That's where the smart people will want to live -- where there's clean air and water, pastures with fine stock and room for them to roam, apples in the autumn, fishes in the creeks and locally grown produce.

Events. The Kankakee Valley Historical Society will host a program on Cindy Deardorf discussing Native American gardening methods on February 27 at the Kouts library at 6:30 pm. Here's a synopsis.

20feb2007 -
River Links

Here are some watershed links I found interesting:

A river related environmental issue these days is dam removal. Many older dams are at the end of their useful life and, rather than repain the ageing structures, many are being removed. Scientific American has a good article about the subject this month; it's not available online, but discusses the trade-offs involved in dam removal. Hydro provides clean renewable power (but in many instances, not much) and reservoirs can store water for irrigation, domestic and recreational use. Dams also pile up sediment, sometimes laced with hazardous materials. For an account of dam removal in the arid southwest read Fossil Creek Unbound, and the Fossil Creek Watershed and Riparian Restoration page. In the midwest, Wisconsin has been a leader in the dam removal movement -- here is WDNR's Dam Removal information page. The River Alliance of Wisconsin hosts a Dam Removal FAQ.

Todd F. of San Francisco has a nice flicker slideshow mostly showing Indiana's Yellow River, apparently in the Marshall Co. area. I've been hearing some talk that yet another plan to dredge the Yellow River may be afoot - certainly there are some log jam issues, but I hope we're not going to see the mistakes of the past repeated yet again. It's 2007 folks, I'm pretty sure. You might want to check your calendars. Here's a link to a small project slated for the Yellow River sponsored by the Kankakee River Basin Commission; this one sounds reasonable. I didn't find any online resources about a proposal for a large project.

The Nature Conservancy's Tippecanoe River Project is offered at no cost to participants - explains TNC's project aimed at increasing conservation tillage in the Tippecanoe watershed. [2.20.07 - Howell - Herald Journal]

24jan2007 -
Grab bag

CAFOs - Check out State Rep. Ryan Dvorak's recent post: What is a CAFO and Why Should You Care? including a link to the recent Rolling Stone expose on CAFOs Boss Hog.

Two CAFO related bills have been introduced: House Bill 1197 'Prohibits construction of a confined feeding operation (CFO) within two miles of a school or a municipality. Permits application to land of manure generated by a CFO only by incorporation or injection. Requires certification of applicators of manure generated by a CFO.' My opinion: Well meaning, no doubt, but kind of an ad hoc approach to the problem; what about people who don't live within two miles of a municipality? Incorporation or injection of manure may reduce odor, but that probably doesn't solve the groundwater pollution problems, especially here in sand country where the aquifer is especially vulnerable. More to my liking is Senate Bill 0447 establishing a three year moratorium on CAFO permits.

Kemplog and others have already commented on the LaPorte Co. BZA rejection of a CAFO proposed there, but it's worth looking at the article in the LaPorte Herald Argus (by Derek Smith), Petition for CAFOs Denied to read the lively discussion.

Proposed Illiana Tollroad - Marcia Oddi published an opinion piece in the ILB: Governor's Illiana and Commerce Connector proposals under fire including lots of background links on the controversial proposal. The link from I-65 to I-57 has been discussed for many years, but the proposal also included a partial loop south of Valparaiso, then north to I-94 near Michigan City, considerably increasing the scope of the project. The need and route seem debatable propositions, but it's pretty stunning that the Governor plans to use money from tolls on this route to fund I-69's southern leg and keep it toll free.

The Essence of Cool - To see a couple of American masters at the height of their powers check out Miles Davis and John Coltrane performing 'So What' on YouTube.

11jan2007 -
Time to restore nuisance law property rights

The November election left Democrats in a considerably strengthened position in Indiana, as well as in the US national government. The excesses of the past Republican dominated years can't be corrected overnight, but it's not too early to start talking about specific changes that would bring some immediate relief.

A simple change I'd like to see is a roll-back of a key state statute on nuisance law to the pre-2005 language. For a good primer read Wikipedia's entry on Nuisance law.

Here's the current language in Ind. Code 32-30-6-9(d):

(d) An agricultural or industrial operation or any of its appurtenances is not and does not become a nuisance, private or public, by any changed conditions in the vicinity of the locality after the agricultural or industrial operation, as the case may be, has been in operation continuously on the locality for more than one (1) year if the following conditions exist: (1) There is no significant change in the type of operation. A significant change in the type of agricultural operation does not include the following:
(A) The conversion from one type of agricultural operation to another type of agricultural operation.
(B) A change in the ownership or size of the agricultural operation.
(C) The:
(i) enrollment; or
(ii) reduction or cessation of participation;
of the agricultural operation in a government program.
(D) Adoption of new technology by the agricultural operation.
(2) The operation would not have been a nuisance at the time the agricultural or industrial operation began on that locality.

Before 2005, this section read as follows:

An agricultural or industrial operation or any of its appurtenances is not and does not become a nuisance, private or public, by any changed conditions in the vicinity of the locality after the agricultural or industrial operation, as the case may be, has been in operation continuously on the locality for more than one (1) year if:
(1) there is no significant change in the hours of operation;
(2) there is no significant change in the type of operation; and
(3) the operation would not have been a nuisance at the time the agricultural or industrial operation began on that locality.

Both provisions are examples of 'right to farm' legislation, originally intended to remedy the problem of city folk moving out to the country and complaining about noise or dust from farming operation. Here's a backgrounder on the evolution of Right to Farm laws.

I've been practicing law for quite a number of years in an area where city people often build country homes. Nobody has ever asked me to sue a farmer for running his tractor too late at night. People expect and accept that, and more to the point, it's not overly intrusive on neighbors. While its purpose is veiled somewhat, the 2005 amendment of Indiana's right-to-farm statute is an example of the morphing of right-to-farm laws from shields for traditional farming operations into swords for CAFO operators. This shield to sword process is described in the article linked in paragraph above. By specifying that changes in size, ownership and technology cannot be considered a 'change' under the statute, the 2005 amendment created a blanket exemption from nuisance liability for CAFOs. Said another way, building a CAFO is defined as a continuation of existing agriculture regardless of any change in the 'size' and 'technology' of the operation. So when huge barns, manure pits and dead critter compost piles replace a bean field, nothing has changed within the eyes of the law. It's just more farming. Justice, in this case is not only blind; it also has a poorly developed sense of smell.

At common law, a homeowner or any neighboring landowner could seek redress for damage to their property by instituting a nuisance action. The key point is that the right to sue a neighbor under a nuisance theory is a property right, part of the bundle of rights one acquires by paying for a piece of the planet, and keeping all those taxes and assessments paid up to the govenrment. Legislative action eroding the right to file a nuisance action against an offensive neighbor constitutes the transfer of property rights from one group of property owners (homeowners) to another group (CAFO owners). That's good if you're a CAFO owner, but if you're an impacted homeowner your ox is getting gored.

I'm not opposed to 'right-to-farm' legislation that doesn't unduly erode common law property rights. The concept that one can't complain when one moves to a nuisance has long been recognized. Therefore codifying that concept to protect farmers engaged in conventional agriculture from nuisance lawsuits is reasonable. However, the 2005 change went beyond that, granting to CAFO operations an easement to damage their neighbors property. No reasonable person could honestly say a CAFO isn't a significant change from a bean field in terms of its impact on neighboring properties.

Ask IDEM officials whether they regulate odor. The answer is 'no'. In fact, there is no regulation of odor at all in Indiana. Ask IDEM whether they regulate activities likely to result in a plague of flies. I'm pretty sure the answer is 'no'. But I don't want to be dependent on IDEM anyway. Give us back our property rights -- in this case, the right to sue an operator who is unreasonably impacting his neighbors. Property rights are in the hands of citizens, and we need more grass-roots action to help rural communities grow and prosper. If the hog facility next door becomes a problem, you should have the right to seek redress -- and not in Indianapolis, but in a court in your own county where people actually might care about your community and your home.

Recently, CAFO operators have been quoted in numerous press accounts saying the concerns about their operations are not based in facts. They say they can control odors and be good neighbors. That would be great. If that's true and if the operators really believe that, then they shouldn't need legislation taking away their neighbors' rights. If CAFO operators want to prove they will be good neigbhors they should support amendment of Indiana's right to farm statute to remove the free ride for CAFOs. If they feel they need special protection from nuisance lawsuits, well, the conclusion is obvious.

If you're concerned about the impact of CAFOs on rural Indiana, please consider passing that concern along to your elected representatives. I feel Indiana's legislators have been slow to sense how widespread concern about this issue really is; I suppose most live in areas far from CAFOs. Democrats can demostrate they care about all the people, including rural homeowners, by restoring this important property right. The right-to-farm law as it existed before 2005 was adequate to protect farmers from unreasonable lawsuits. Better IDEM oversight would be a good idea, but the place to start is restoration of property owners' nuisance rights.

3jan2007 -
SciAm on corn-based ethanol

It's not available online (unless you pay for it) but the January 2007 edition of Scientific American has an article about ethanol as a fuel source. It concludes that ethanol may contribute to the long-term energy picture, but doubts that corn-based ethanol is practical; a view bigeastern readers are familiar with by now. Here's the link: Is Ethanol for the Long Haul?. The article is also in the print edition.

12dec2006 -
trees and carbon

Lately I've been wondering about the role of trees and forests in the global carbon cycle. Here are some links on the subject:

Carbon Storage and Accumulation in U.S. Forests - this study says about 58 billion tons of carbon are stored in US forests -- that's several decades worth of fossil fuel emissions at the current rate of 1.5 billion per year. US forests account for about 4% of the world's forests. Most forest carbon is in the soil, and generally more carbon accumulates in northern forests. Pacific coast forests have the most carbon per acre, a fact that won't surprise anybody who has taken a walk in a redwood grove. In general, more carbon is stored in older forests, not only in the trees but also in the soil.

Carbon Sequestration - A Georgia Factsheet [pdf] - This study estimates that from one to four metric tons of carbon per acre per year can be trapped in a loblolly pine plantation. It promotes the use of managed forestlands for carbon sequestration, saying that fast growing trees have the greatest carbon grabbing potential. Comparing it with the prior link, one can conclude that forests with low carbon rates may have the greatest capacity to absorb more carbon -- think of them as dry sponges. But the old growth northern forests have the greatest capacity to release carbon, so we need to also make sure activities in old growth don't wipe out any gains in new growth areas.

The complex dynamics of boreal forest growth and carbon sequestration are discussed in Fire Frequency Determines Forest Carbon Storage a Science Daily article from 2003. A study in Canada's northern forests indicated that forests in the 20 to 30 year range absorb the most carbon. Young trees are too small to grab much, and old forests reach an equilibrium state. The article doesn't mention whether the death of an old-growth forest by fire, for example, releases large quantities of carbon but that seems likely. Whether these studies would apply to a fire adapted woodland like our black oak savannas is another thing; my guess is probably not, because most fires in savannas do not result in significant reduction in biomass. Getting back to boreal forests (mainly in Canada and Russia) -- they matter a lot, being the largest forest in the world. According to the study 25% of the total carbon held by forests is in the frosty vastness of the taiga.

Okay, just one more, and this one is pretty nerdy, but worth a look if you're interested in ways to cut carbon using nature's toolbox: Biomass, Fuels, Energy, Carbon, and Global Climate Change.

4dec2006 -
tune break

Blues and R and B fans, check out Tad Robinson's new live performance videos hosted by YouTube.

While I'm on the topic of music, here are links to a couple of my favorite Internet 'radio' stations of the ShoutCast variety:

SOMA FM - 'Listener-supported, commercial-free, underground/alternative radio broadcasting from San Francisco.'

Radio Paradise - Also listener supported, featuring eclectic rock oriented music.

29nov2006 -
Benefit Sharing or Exploitation? - CAFO link

A reader tip: Bioprospecting: Mining Our National Parks One Gene at a Time [11.28.2006 - Parrish - AlterNet] - delves into a proposal to allow 'bioprospecting' in US national parks. Bioprospecting means investigating genetic and chemical material of organisms with the intent to produce a private patent based upon the properties of the substances that can be made using that material. The marvelous organisms in Yellowstone's thermal vents are obvious targets.

My take on this: research into natural processes and chemistry is generally a good thing. The problem is with patent law -- it's difficult to accept that a chemical produced by a wild organism can become private property of a corporation simply because a company employee found it -- a novel use for that material might be another matter.

Still, the research needs to be funded somehow, and that's where the profit motive kicks in. These kinds of rights are typically analyzed under patent law; maybe that's obsolete thinking. Patent law was originally intended to reward inventors of the tinkering mechanic sort one associates with the now quaint sounding phrase 'yankee ingenuity', but has recently been extended to concepts like software interface designs where it really seems a stretch.

Granting exclusive rights to a chemical of natural origin seems an inappropriate extension of patent law. We need new, preferably international, standards to help insure that this research gets done but without excessive privatization of the benefits. Basically, that means that the people who conduct the research should be funded and well rewarded personally and professionally for makind productive contributions to scientific knowledge, but that knowledge should pass to the public domain as quickly as possible.

Reading the comments on AlterNet one sees a virulent anti-corporation sentiment. I sometimes feel that way too, but I differ a bit as to the remedy. I really want to see this research get done, but I'd prefer to strengthen public interest oriented institutions and give them this turf. Done right, this would give publicly minded scientists and researchers some excellent career options so they can be financially successful themselves, while serving the public interest.

The proposal is open to public comment until December 15, 2006 -- here's a link to the typically euphemistically named proposal: Benefit-Sharing in the National Parks: Environmental Impact Statement - What is Bioprospecting?. Despite the tedious spin doctoring, the NPS materials are quite informative and well organized.

On the CAFO front, Kemplog recently posted a link to this LA Times piece: Foul state of affairs found in feedlots summarizing recent scienctific reviews of the growing impacts of CAFOs on the environmental health and social conditions in rural areas. Of particular interest to me was the recognition of the environmental justice issues raised by CAFO sitings. It's a worthwhile read. Here's a brief passage:

One of the new reports says a serious impact of feedlots "is their disruption of quality of life for neighboring residents," mostly in low-income and nonwhite communities.

'More than an unpleasant odor, the smell can have dramatic consequences for rural communities whose lives are rooted in enjoying the outdoors," says the report, compiled by researchers in Iowa, Illinois and North Carolina. "The highly cherished values of freedom and independence associated with life oriented toward the outdoors gives way to feelings of violation and infringement. Homes become a barrier against the outdoors that must be escaped.'

Here in Indiana (and no doubt in Iowa as well) the rural communities impacted are predominantly Euro (you know, white), but for social purposes they have achieved a sort of minority status. We are supposed to enjoy the smell of money. Sorry, no thanks, I prefer the smell of pines.

27nov2006 -
WAHM Diary, Hupfer resigns, Tree Farm Certification for Classified Forests

Karen Myers has been making some interesting posts lately, documenting what seems to be an awakening among rural people to their neighborhood issues -- CAFOs, landfills, the ethanol craze, and the like. Here's a recent post that serves as a good starting point: Black Friday Hangover.

In case you missed it: Indiana DNR boss Hupfer resigns. Hupfer will be replaced by two-time Clay County sheriff and current DNR law enforcement boss Robert Carter, Jr. of Brazil Indiana. I searched for additional information about Mr. Carter's c.v., but didn't find anything of substance. I can't help but think this is related to the results of the recent election, which seemed to reject much of Gov. Daniels' policies, particularly privatization of state owned assets -- it seems unlikely the state will be 'leasing' any more of its most valuable assets in the near future, and that means IDNR won't be in the dealmaking business.

While I recognize the need for good adminstration of large organizations like DNR, personally I believe the director should be a person whose 'career' demonstrates, above all else, committment to the ideal of preserving and enhancing our public spaces for the benefit of present and future generations of Hoosiers. I think some degree of science background is a plus too. Here's a crazy idea -- the director's 'career' ought to be less important than service to the public. And maybe, just maybe, a little love of nature of the all creatures great and small variety wouldn't hurt.

Not that I'm always opposed to what the Daniels administration does, and I'm certainly not against looking at some fresh ideas. Here's one that looks pretty good. Recently I received a newsletter that goes out to all owners of Classified Forest and Wild Lands explaining that the state is seeking American Tree Farm certification for all classified forest lands in Indiana. Certification includes an inspection process, and most lands that meet the specs for Indiana's classified forest program should be able to pass muster for the American Tree Farm certification. Timber produced from certified lands is becoming more sought after as consumers try to green up their purchases. By certifying Indiana classified forest acreage in bulk, the cost to individual landowners is reduced, and Indiana can vastly increase the stock of certified timber in the state. That, in turn, should help local furniture, cabinet and flooring manufacturers find a supply of certified hardwoods, all of which should help keep skilled wood based factories here in Indiana.

I like the idea of increasing timber production on private lands, and devoting more of Indiana's public forests to long-term reserves, allowing significant tracts return to old-growth conditions if at all possible. As long as landowners are constrained by the need to maintain certification, and as long as the certification process remains legitimate, I think private landowners are better equipped to make harvesting decisions. The more valuable the timber is, the more worthwhile it is to devote lands to timber production.

Landowners can opt-out of the bulk certification without penalty, but I doubt that many will. This is a new program, so my opinions here are just first impressions, but so far it looks like this should be a winner.

1nov2006 -
Two more links

Tim Roemer has a good OpEd piece on the IndyStar: Watch on Election Night for Indiana's political shift.

Development on the Dunes by Jeff Fleischer [Chicago Wilderness Magazine, Fall 2006} provides a thoughtful overview of the issues surrounding the proposal for a hotel at Indiana Dunes State Park. IDNR offered up an RFP for the project earlier this year, but for now at least, no proposals have been submitted. The article also references one of my favorite environmental books, Reading the Landscape by May Thielgaard Watts. I find the skills she describes to be not only interesting, but also useful in my law practice...for example, in a property line dispute the question may arise, 'how long has this fenceline been here?' In northern Indiana's sand country a long established fenceline may show a mounded effect, due to the accumulation of windblown sand during the mid 20th century before most farmers took steps to control wind erosion.

25oct2006 -
Two quick links

Here on bigeastern.com, Tad Robinson has posted a new Blues Journal piece: Soundtracking the Guardian.

Yesterday I guested on Kay Westhues' photoblog, fourteen places to eat with Electra-Glide at the Nick. I'm a big fan of Kay's photoblog; it so captures the authentic feel of small town life in northern Indiana in a way that is hard to describe, but I'll try anyway: quaint, funny, and with a 'little bit of love and affection'. I'm honored to be guest photographer there -- 'Electra-Glide at the Nick' was very much inspired by Kay's work.

Oh, and one more thing. If you're in North Judson, the Wooden Nickel is a great little tavern, with good food (esp. the pizza made in classic Chicago made ovens) and friendly folks.

18oct2006 -
Up from the ashes

On the night of September 28, 2006 our ISP, Nautilus Commercial Data of Iola Kansas, was utterly destroyed by fire. Bigeastern.com is now mostly restored, though there are no doubt some holes here and there.

Nautilus Commercial Data is operated by my cousin, Robin Boyer, a genuine pioneer of citizen based electronic communcation -- he started out as a ham operator in the 1960s, operated a BBS throughout the 80s and has run a successful independent ISP through the 90s and to the present.

The destruction of his entire (highly customized) facility was a terrible blow, but he's perservered and rebuilt his operation from the ground up. It's currently running on his kitchen table while a new building is created and he wrangles with the inevitable nonsense from his insurance company. Have you ever seen The World's Fastest Indian? Well -- Robin is a lot like Burt Munro, only a Midwesterner instead of a Kiwi and with electronics instead of motorcycles.

I'll begin publishing regular posts soon, but today I just want to thank Robin for his work in getting back online, and supporting bigeastern.com for lo, all these years. And thank all the bigeastern.com readers who asked about it when it was down.

We're up from the ashes, thanks for coming back!

18sep2006 -
London calling

Strange days indeed, when London comes calling on the Rochester Kiwanis Club - War puts the Republican heartland back into play - [9.8.2006 - Reid - London Times]

18sep2006 -
Bubble trouble

Some ethanol reading:

Aaron Pressman's somewhat tongue-in-cheek Top 10 signs of an inflating ethanol bubble [5.9.2006 - Business Week]

Not as much fun, but more evenhanded: In Perspective: is an ethanol bubble coming [6.2006 - Sherer - AgProfessional]

Some of the market factors that make ethanol look vulnerable are outlined in: Smart Investors Should Look at Ethanol Before They Catch Ethanol Fever [7.7.2006 - Hasan - altenews/Investorideas.com]

The role of multiple governmental subsidies in supporting the ethanol market is the prime subject of: Going Crazy for Ethanol [7.7.2006 - Pearlstein - WaPost]

A somewhat more optimistic view of the ethanol business is espoused in: Ethanol Skeptics [9.7.2006 - Kruse - Commstock Report]

13sep2006 -
Three things...

Thing #1. Corn based ethanol plants are sprouting all across Indiana, but is corn based ethanol a big part of the solution to America's energy problems? I remain unconvinced, and would go so far as to suggest that many of the plants being built today will be shut down within five years. Sure, the people who construct the plants will make money, and it may provide a temporary boost to corn prices, but corn production as it is currently practiced is so input intensive that ethanol isn't cheaper than gasoline and isn't likely to become so in the forseeable future. For a look at part of the problem check out this online overview of a current Consumer Reports article: The Ethanol Myth. Hoosiers need to view promotional 'information' more critically.

Not that plant produced ethanol might not be a real winner, but it's likely going to require designing a new production system from the ground up; mainly one with lower inputs. Corn agriculture as its currently practiced evolved in a cheap energy environment with the goal of maximizing edible carbohydrate output per unit of labor input. This equation is largely irrelevant for fuel production in an expensive energy environment.

Thing #2. I get e-mail and phone calls almost every day from the good folks around Indiana's verdant countryside horrified by the news that a monster CAFO is about to become their neighbor. They want to know what we can do about it. I don't have much of an answer. It's a fairly depressing scenario when one's dream home is rendered unlivable by an unceasing wave of hog manure, and simultaneously unmarketable. What I find particularly depressing is that not only is the current Republican administration actively promoting more CAFOs as 'economic development', but even more worrisome, I simply haven't seen Democrat candidate take a stand on this issue. My opinion: the best place to fight CAFOs is at the local level, and it is a largely political issue. Don't count on any kind of regulation at the state level to help you. If Democrats won't step up to the plate on this issue, then try the Republicans. They are, supposedly, all about property rights, and it really is a property rights issue.

As always, Kemplog is keeping me up-to-date on the CAFO issue. Thomas recently posted a link to a strongly worded editiorial in the Eugene Oregon Register-Guard:Unlovely lagoons arguing against exemptions from Superfund liability for CAFO operators. If CAFOs are not a problem, why do they need all these exemptions?

Thing #3. My least favorite trend in recent cinema (as bigeastern readers will know) is the 'skinny supermodel with a sword' school of martial arts films (e.g. Kill Bill). That's not exciting, it's just plain silly. A couple of days ago I watched a real martial arts film - Kurosawa's Tsubaki Sanjuro, the sequel to the better known Yojimbo. Toshiro Mifune, in peak form, stars with marvelous instensity, and his exploits are awesome, but not incredible. More importantly, his clever sense of strategy and love for life shine through the violence. The action is balanced with gentleness -- the best quote of the film comes, not from Mifune, but from a recently rescued lady: 'A good sword is left in its sheath.' Words America needs to contemplate these days, IMO.

8sep2006 -
A two-stage ditch?

In yesterday's posting penned by Chad Watts, project manager for TNC's Tippecanoe River Project, Chad mentioned a pilot project for construction of a two-stage ditch, a design concept that may help make agricultural ditches more self-maintaining and provide additional environmental benefits including better habitat, improved flood attenuation, and help reduce sediment and nutrient transport.

For those interested in this concept I've collected a few links:

Ohio Natural Design Project - a faily ambitious research project in Ohio's Lake Erie watershed, an area with many similarities to northern Indiana. [OSU]

Promoting Naturalized Drainage Channel Design - The Great Lakes Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control (grantee TNC) are studying a 'modified two-stage design' on Laird Creek in southern Michigan (in the St. Joseph River watershed).

A recent article in the Chesterton Trib: Tourism seeks budget increase to operate new visitor center mentions a two-stage ditch project underway in Porter County.

Dan Mecklenberg's A Brief Overview of 2-stage Ditch Characteristics gives a technical synopsis of two-stage ditch design including profiles and graphs illustrating the flow characteristics of two-stage ditches.

7sep2006 -
TNC's Chad Watts on sediment in the Tippecanoe

In response to my recent post sedimentary journey, The Nature Conservancy's Tippecanoe River Project manager, Chad Watts, writes sharing his knowledge about sediment problems in the Tippecanoe River, including Lakes Shafer and Freeman:

I appreciate your words about the sediment problems being experienced in Lake Shafer and Freeman. Your comments are on target in terms of looking at slack waters and their ability to become sediment traps. Also, I agree with you that placing dams in natural rivers interrupt the natural sediment transport systems that are inherent in our rivers and steams, as well as being barriers to the movement of aquatic organisms. Sediment transport in rivers is a natural phenomenon as all rivers have a certain bed load of sediment that comes naturally given the grade of the stream and the volume of water in each stream. Dredging and straightening streams is not the answer to arresting these sediment transport and deposition issues that are being faced by rivers across the country and certainly prevalent in the Midwest.

I would also add to your discussion that the altered hydrology within these rivers and streams is also a very large contributor to sediment delivery and transport in our streams. As you well know, altering the amount and timing of large water flows to our surface waters is a major contributor to sediment detachment and transport, both from within the streambed and from the stream banks. Loss of natural wetlands and natural vegetation on the land, manipulation of the drainage systems by dredging and straightening, the overall efficiency of our drainage systems, and loss of streamside perennial vegetation are all contributors to this phenomenon. When you look at dredged and deepened streams, you also see that these manipulated drains are disconnected from their natural flood plains, which serve natural streams as a means of slowing water down during high flows and allowing for some sediment deposition on flood plain lands. When disconnected from their flood plains, this sediment that would have been deposited on the flood plain is now being carried downstream and deposited in areas like Lake Shafer. Also, when straightened, streams tend to flow more rapidly than do natural, meandering streams, which exacerbates the erosion potential of these streams.

Every stream has a natural grade, width and depth at which it is most comfortable given the water volume that it must transport. Streams will continually work to attain this natural depth, width and flow speed that would put the stream at equilibrium within its environment. Streams will naturally meander to reduce flow speeds in areas that are higher gradient, often causing bank erosion. Straightening streams simply acts to turn back the clock on these streams and causes them to start over on their journey to reach that equilibrium. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get people to recognize altered hydrology as a major problem because it is insidious and not outwardly noticeable. We tend to rely on our technology to arrest these problems rather than allowing nature to take its course. Often times, our technology is not the right answer to these problems, as we are simply exaggerating the problems that are being experienced because of the misuse or misapplication of this technology.

Currently, The Nature Conservancy is piloting a new technology with drainage channels that will hopefully work to restore some hydrologic function of these streams and reconnect the stream with its flood plain. This new practice is called a two-staged ditch. Simply put, we are recreating flood plain "benches" on either side of the normal flow channel, and allowing the channel to meander within the confines of these flood plain benches to achieve its equilibrium. Just some experimental technology that we are trying out that may help with these types of problems, or at least be a building block that will help to build the sound foundation that will help alleviate these types of problems if applied across the landscape at the appropriate scale. We are doing some intensive monitoring of this project to determine its overall impacts and prove to the decision makers that the technology will work if all goes as planned. Our target date for construction will be fall of 2007, but we have initiated a monitoring program that will give us some good information pre and post construction. Stay tuned.

Chad Watts
Tippecanoe River Project Manager
436 Northwest Street
Winamac, IN 46996
tele/fax: 574.946.7491

5sep2006 -
Sedimentary journey

Kevin Howell of the Monticello Herald-Journal has written a piece Silt problems muddy the waters for residents recounting some of the problems caused by silt build-up at two impoundments on the Tippecanoe River, Lakes Freeman and Shafer.

Siltation is a major problem on many waterways in Indiana, but the cure can be somewhat elusive. Rivers impounded by dams are always subject to silt deposition. It's really a simple phenomenon. When it rains (especially when it rains hard) storm runoff picks up soil, leaf and dust particles and various flotsam, all which are held in suspension as the water rushes downstream. The faster the water moves, the more it can carry. A big flood can sweep up large objects.

As a stream approaches a slackwater area (one with little or no current), it slows and begins to drop the burden. First the biggest, heaviest particles fall to the bottom, then as the water slows more, smaller particles drop to the bottom. When the flow comes to a virtual halt, as it does upstream from a dam, even tiny silt particles drop ever so slowly to the bottom. It's not all bad, this process helps clean the water -- the Tippecanoe downstream from Lakes Freeman and Shafer is relatively free of sediment.

All rivers and streams have some silt and sand flowing along with them, so anytime a dam is placed across a river it has an effect on sediment transport. In the slack area upstream from the dam, more silt falls to the bottom and there is little current to introduce new silt. It piles up there until the reservoir eventually becomes a big mud flat. Conversely, at the tail of the dam, water runs fast gouging at the river bed. Not only that, its sediment has been removed during its passage through the reservoir, so the net is negative; areas immediately downstream from a dam are characterized by erosion. That's why there's usually a big hole in a river bed just downstream from a dam.

Of course, allowing tons of mud to wash carelessly into tributaries upstream from the reservoir results in a much larger input of sediment into the system, speeding up the filling of the reservoir. The most obvious solution is to periodically remove the silt from the reservoir. Obviously, that doesn't get the problem at its source.

'Cleaning' (that means 'dredging') of upstream ditches is mentioned in the Howell piece -- that's the universal Hoosier solution for all watershed problems. I'm skeptical that more old fashioned scorched earth dredging of the ditches upstream would reduce sediment transport to the reservoirs. The dredging process itself muddies the waters severely, and all that mud is going to end up in the reservoir. Worse, most such projects involve systematic defoliation of riparian corridors, making them more vulnerable to erosion. Most ditch projects are intended to speed drainage of the areas upstream, not to diminish sedimentation downstream. That means they are designed to increase the flow rate of the tributary streams by making them straighter, free of obstructions, and steeper. Faster flow rates mean increased sediment transport. Conventional dredging as we see in most of rural northern Indiana will probably make the problem worse.

Generally, natural streams with bends, wetlands, riffles and pools and all that other messiness will carry less sediment, so where possible, restoration of tributary streams to a more natural condition would reduce sediment inputs into the reservoir. Well vegetated riparian corridors -- on all streams, small and large -- will reduce the inputs of sediment into the system. In agricultural areas where stream restoration may not be feasible, 'filter strips' of perennial vegetation along watercourses curb erosion and therefore reduce sediment inputs to the reservoir, but their effect will be cancelled out if there are thousands of field tiles or drainage pumps in the same watershed without any sediment control whatsoever.

People love to blame developers for all the world's ills, though they are mostly responding to market demands. There's no doubt that a particularly irresponsible development can introduce huge quantities of mud into waterways. Once it's in there, it's headed to a new home in the bottom of the reservoir. Policing construction projects to ensure erosion control practices are implemented is a necessary component of a watershed wide sedimentation control strategy. Developers may be partly to blame, but I wouldn't count on finding a single bogeyman. There's plenty of blame to go around.

While I'm skeptical about the scorched earth school of ditch digging, there's little doubt that some engineering solutions are possible to help stem the inevitable flow of sediment. Along with filter strips, grade control structures and well designed sediment traps can help.

At the corporeal Big Eastern we have a small dam, and two channelized creeks, so I've been watching these processes in action for quite a long time. Located as we are in the heart of the Kankakee Sand Region, it's not so much silt here, as sand. In sand country, every stream of water carries below it a slower moving stream of wet sand. It's a dual problem really -- at its source is harmful erosion, and it's destination is harmful deposition.

Grade control structures (also called 'sediment control structures') are like micro-dams. They can be placed where excessive gradient (or 'fall') causes the water to move too fast, creating erosion. The Starke County Drainage Board recently installed a small one of these on our place. It's simplicity itself: an artificial riffle of glacial rock to help the transition between a high gradient stream and a low gradient stream. The little structure is just three or four inches high, but it's placed at a strategic location -- where erosion is a problem upstream, deposition is a problem downstream and there aren't any drainage problems. The glacial rocks resist erosion, and keep the channel of the faster stream from cutting into the natural substrate, easily eroded pure sand. If the sand doesn't get eroded in this fast stretch, then it won't get deposited downstream. Along with the sediment/erosion benefits, the grade control structure creates a little bit of whitewater, which helps add oxygen to the water. [Thanks to the Starke Co. DB for their support in testing this concept -- looks good so far]

A sediment trap is basically big hole dug along the channel of a stream. You've probably heard that 'still waters run deep' -- that's the concept behind a sediment trap. By digging a wide, deep section on a ditch or creek, an area of still water is created and sediment moving downstream falls into the hole. This is similar to traditional dredging, but it's more strategic. The sediment traps are placed where access to the stream is easy and cheap, and where impacts on forests and wetlands will be minimalized. They are maintained free of woody vegetation, so the costs of dipping the sediment periodically will be less than huge scorched earth 'reconstruction' projects. The holes also add some deep water habitat on smaller creeks and that helps fish and other aquatic organisms. So it's cheaper, and better environmentally at the same time.

Some designs place a small control structure at the downstream end of a sediment trap. That helps to create more slack water, allowing the silt to pile up where it can easily be removed. A system of well-designed and maintained sediment traps and sediment control structures on tributaries around a reservoir could drastically reduce inputs of sediment. If the trap fills up without being dipped out, it isn't going to trap anything.

30aug2006 -
failure, dirty truth, and cheap fun

Wow, it's been two weeks since my last posting. Sorry folks, I've been busy doing other things, mostly actual work. Here are a few quick links. Oh, btw, I've received a few suggestions for my list of movies that might be worth sitting through, and will post them when I get to it. If you have a couple for the list feel free to send me an e-mail.

Failure. For some cheap fun, pop over to Google and type in the word 'failure'. You may be amused or annoyed according to your political leanings (I'm guessing which way most bigeastern readers will lean). This result is most likely due to a practice that's been dubbed Googlebombing [wikipedia]. Basically, a whole bunch of people out on the net have posted a link like this one: failure. Hey, you do what you can.

Dirty truth. On the CAFO beat, Kemplog has a worthwhile post, The Dirty and Deadly Truth. Probably we should all seriously think about cutting meat consumption. Most Hoosiers are too fat anyway.

Cheap fun. Now, I must confess I haven't been working all the time. My wife and I bought 'his and hers' Coleman inflatable kayaks (the one person sport kayak model), and they are just about the most fun you can get for under $60.00 a piece. I don't try to sell a lot of product here, but in this case I'd heartily recommend a pair of these and you can help support bigeastern.com by buying them through this link to amazon.com.

They are cheap, lightweight, easy to learn, comfy, and you can enjoy tiny little creeks that wouldn't be accessible in a canoe. They were recommended to us by an avid outdoor couple who said they've had their's for three years without any maintenance problems. The kayaks have several chambers, so they won't sink if you poked a hole in one while out on the water. Did I mention they are CHEAP? They'll easily fit in the trunk of a little rice-burner, and they inflate in about 10 minutes with the (also thrifty) quick pump. We've been exploring the two creeks on the corporeal Big Eastern, which add up to a couple of miles of unspoiled, human powered water sports fun. We've found that it's easy to go upstream against a modest current. That means excursions can be from a single point -- paddle upstream until you get tired, and then float back down. There's something about a workout that involves contending with natural obstacles -- you use your whole body and have to think too. Now that's recreation! If we can just keep a few rivers and creeks clean enough to enjoy.

15aug2006 -
some interesting links

If somebody asked me to name my least favorite US Supreme Court decision, I'd have no difficulty whatsoever, and it's not just the result I don't like. It seems I'm not alone in my opinion: Adam Cohen has an opinion piece in the NYT today that stares this one right in the face, Has Bush v. Gore Become the Case That Must Not Be Named?

NRDC's overview of CAFOs in Indiana - interesting quote: 'In 1993, the LaGrange County Health Department identified a cluster of women living near a hog operation who experienced miscarriages (always in the eighth week of pregnancy) after drinking water with high levels of nitrates from their private wells. Nitrates were as high as 19 to 26 mg/l, well above the federal drinking water maximum of 10 mg/l. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia published this report in 1996.' [editor's note: I haven't checked out this report.]

A recent Kemplog entry mentions the contamination of the Walkerton Ontario municipal well water in May 2000, resulting in thousands of illnesses and seven deaths. Here's the clinically gruesome and thoroughly official account: WATERBORNE OUTBREAK OF GASTROENTERITIS ASSOCIATED WITH A CONTAMINATED MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY, WALKERTON, ONTARIO, MAY-JUNE 2000 [Public Health Agency of Canada]. So, yes, a nearby CAFO can in fact kill you. You see, that foul odor is nature's way of warning you of an unhealthful situation. What, you might ask, is IDEM doing to protect domestic wellheads in rural areas from this kind of contamination? Yeah, a good question.

10aug2006 -
the job in Iraq

You can read my comment about 'the job' in Iraq on Masson's Blog. As to those who say Ned Lamont is an 'extremist' apparently because he opposes the war in Iraq -- recent polls show about 60% of Americans now oppose the war.

1aug2006 -
bigeastern at ten

This month bigeastern celebrates its tenth year continuously online, throughout that run served up reliably by Robin Boyer's nautilus.net in Iola, Kansas.

Foolishly perhaps, I've resisted flow toward blogging software and continue to serve bigeastern up in standards compliant hand-coded html. I've been working with blogging software on the Starke County Democratic Party website, and I like it okay, but I just can't seem to get inspired about doing that here.

I know it makes it a little hard to use my website sometimes, and I thank those of you that still do. To those who can't quite wrap your brain around the idea of a handcoded website, or who think I'm a odd old curmudgeon for clinging to my old ways, I can only say, 'well, yes, that's partly true'.

27jul2006 -
fifty films that might be worth sitting through

So it's hot and humid outside, and the Cubs are awful. Here's a list of movies that you might find worth sitting through in alphabetical order, more or less.

1984 (1984 version)
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Anatomy of a Murder
Airplane
Being John Malkovich
Best in Show
Blade Runner
Blazing Saddles
Brazil
The Big Lebowski
Casablanca
Circle of Iron
Citizen Kane
Donny Darko
Don't Look Back
Double Indemnity
Dr. Strangelove, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fargo
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The Four Hundred Blows
Ghost World
The Good Girl
Hard Day's Night
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
High Noon
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (either version)
Jean de Florette
El Jardin de las Delicias
Life of Brian
The Lion in Winter
Midway
Miller's Crossing
Nosferatu (original silent version)
Office Space
Pulp Fiction
Rashomon
The Seven Samurai
Shrek
Sid and Nancy
The Station Agent
This is Spinal Tap
Team America: World Police
To Kill a Mockingbird
Vertigo
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Wild Strawberries
The Wizard of Oz
Young Frankenstein

Many are older films, but isn't it better to watch an excellent old movie than a second rate new release? In particular, I'm not impressed by the current crop of martial arts films -- you know where one undernourished super-model type defeats entire armies of sword wielding buffoons, and all that 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Wire' stuff. If you actually liked those movies, give 'Circle of Iron' a chance -- it's what Bruce Lee thought a martial arts movie should be like (alas, he didn't live long enough to appear in it).

19jul2006 -
Cedar Creek case decision and 'cumulative effects'

Those interested in the struggle to improve management practices on Indiana's rivers and streams will want to review a decision posted by the Court of Appeals yesterday and available on Access Indiana: Izaak Walton League of America, Inc. and Cedar Creek Wildlife Project, Inc. v. DeKalb County Surveyor's Office and Indiana Department of Natural Resources [link X ILB].

The case is a little convoluted, but interesting nonetheless. The decision turns on a relatively technical interpretation of what constitutes compliance with legal requirements for a record submitted for judicial review of an Natural Resources Commission (NRC) decision. In judicial review, a judge reviews the action of an administrative agency based solely upon a (typically written) record of the proceedings in the administrative agency; no new evidence or testimony can be submitted to the judicial review judge. Therefore, the exact contents of the record submitted to the judge for review are often the basis of some controversy.

The Court of Appeals interpretation favors substance over form, finding that relatively minor deviations in the record on judicial review cannot act as a jurisdictional bar to judicial review of this administrative decision. That's important, because the state had argued for a jurisdictional bar at the trial court and succeeded. I haven't studied the issue closely enough to have a firm opinion, but in general I'm concerned that the state seems to be seeking to curtail citizen's rights to seek judicial review of administrative actions. In environmental cases in particular, the significance of a resource like the scenic Cedar Creek area may be better understood in the community where it's located rather than (in this case) far away in Indianapolis.

Perhaps even more significance lies at a deeper layer. The case involves a permit to remove a log jam. The objectors before the NRC argued inter alia that the DNR shouldn't have issued the permit because DNR had failed to adequately consider the 'cumulative effects' of numerous such actions as required by IC 14-28-1-22(f):

'In deciding whether to issue a permit under this section, t

bigeasternotes archive

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12Dec2007 - The Lesson from Iraq, ethanol glut, remember 'BioTown'?

21Nov2007 - Benton Harbor beach, Ethanol jitters

15Nov2007 - taxes, prosperity, climate sceptics and a pretty picture

6Nov2007 - some reading

19Oct2007 - US Steel Permit/New Invasive species

3Oct2007 - interesting links

16aug2007 - check out :Vocalo, quick links

9aug2007 - 4th C2C Results Posted

8aug2007 - Travelin' Food

7aug2007 - Dust Bowl to BP

2aug2007 - links

2aug2007 - 4th C2C of Indiana photos posted

1aug2007 - HEC NWI meeting

26jul2007 - ruminations on the BP permit row

18jul2007 - No BP for Me

12jul2007 - updated C2C course

12jun2007 - CWARA, and pouring pollution into loopholes

4jun2007 - Race Coast to Coast of Indiana Route now posted

8may2007 - tall fescue

3may2007 - Viscloskey promotes commuter rail expansion

1may2007 - Meat factory action goes local

27apr2007 - Arbor Day 2007

26apr2007 - pollution of Chinese farmland could be warning for US

3apr2007 - food burning revisited

23mar2007 - soundstreams

14mar2007 - Bill proposes permit-free dredging

14mar2007 - ten ways to greener gov

6mar2007 - Banned in China...and kinda' proud of it

26feb2007 - Links

20feb2007 - River Links

24jan2007 - Grab bag

11jan2007 - Time to restore nuisance law property rights

3jan2007 - SciAm on corn-based ethanol

12dec2006 - trees and carbon

4dec2006 - tune break

29nov2006 - Benefit Sharing or Exploitation? - CAFO link

27nov2006 - WAHM Diary, Hupfer resigns, Tree Farm Certification for Classified Forests

1nov2006 - Two more links

25oct2006 - Two quick links

18oct2006 - Up from the ashes

18sep2006 - London calling

18sep2006 - Bubble trouble

13sep2006 - Three things...

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7sep2006 - TNC's Chad Watts on sediment in the Tippecanoe

5sep2006 - Sedimentary journey

30aug2006 - failure, dirty truth, and cheap fun

15aug2006 - some interesting links

10aug2006 - the job in Iraq

1aug2006 - bigeastern at ten

27jul2006 - fifty films that might be worth sitting through

19jul2006 - Cedar Creek case decision and 'cumulative effects'