After delay, hearing on fracking goes off smoothly

Journal photo by William Moyer

The last of four nationwide Environmental Protection Agency public hearings about its hydraulic fracturing study went off without a hitch in Broome County, N.Y., despite a postponement and venue changes resulting from security concerns. "Speaker after speaker stepped up over 16 hours to sound off to an EPA panel of researchers on how they think the agency should proceed with its hydraulic fracturing study, or to vent -- sometimes loudly -- about where they stand on the drilling technique," Jonathan Campbell reports for the Ithaca Journal. The meeting had bene set for Aug. 12 at Binghamton University but was moved and postponed following a contract dispute centering on security and rental costs.

Around 1,350 people attended, far below the 8,000 predicted for the original Binghamton date, meaning EPA spent about $17 per person on security. "Rallies and protests outside the venue were also light," Campbell writes. "A few hundred stood before the Monday sessions in separate barricaded areas wielding signs and chanting their support or disdain for the drilling process." Despite repeated reminders from the meeting's facilitators that the meeting was not a policy debate, many speakers took their allotted time to comment on whether EPA should take over regulation of fracking from the states
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"We need the EPA to step in with federal regulations to protect all water resources," State Democratic Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton said. "Federal oversight is integral to management of interstate water sources, as well." Several speakers said the study should be expanded to include air, noise and other types of pollution, while others said it should stick to fracking's effects on groundwater, as Congress mandated. "We believe Congress asked you to answer a simple question," Jerry Simmons, executive director of the National Association of Royalty Owners, said. "So cut to the chase, don't spend any more money than you have to, and answer the question." (Read more)

Plans for huge California solar plant clear hurdle

UPDATE: Another solar energy project received approval in California, reports the Press-Enterprise. A 370-megawatt solar field in rural northeast San Bernardino County unanimously cleared the California Energy Commission, the latest in a string of projects on a fast track to qualify for federal stimulus money by the end of the year. Unlike the others, this development would displace a protected species, the desert tortoise, which is threatened with extinction.  The $2 billion project, located in the Ivanpah Valley near Primm, Nev., was approved over the objections of environmental groups and others, according to the Press-Enterprise.

The California Energy Commission approved what would be the world's largest solar plant Wednesday, perhaps paving the way for dramatic solar expansion in the U.S. The proposed $6 billion-plus Blythe, Calif., plant has a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, Sarah McBride of Reuters reports. "By comparison, for all of last year, the U.S. installed about 481 megawatts of solar energy, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association," McBride writes. "The largest solar plants to date are in the 200-350 megawatt range."

The Blythe plant would group four 250 megawatt plants, with the first expected to go online in 2013. The total projects has a projected $6 billion price tag, and Southern California Edison has already agreed to purchase the full capacity of the first two plants, McBride writes. The Blythe plant is one of nine solar facilities California regulators are trying to evaluate by the end of the year. As part of last year's stimulus package, "solar plants that begin construction before December 31 qualify for a Treasury Department grant totaling 30 percent of a project's cost," McBride writes.

If all nine plants gain approval they would create an additional 4,300 megawatts of solar energy, McBride writes, noting the bulk of the energy wouldn't go online until 2013. A spokesman for Solar Millennium, one of the plant's developers, said the project would create up to 1,004 construction jobs. Ferrostaal AG is also working with Solar Millennium through a U.S. joint venture, Solar Trust of America LLC. "The developers still need final approval from the Bureau of Land Management for use of public lands," McBride writes. "The BLM is scheduled to rule on the matter toward the end of next month." (Read more)

British pigeons faster than rural Internet speed

Rural broadband speeds are a contentious issue around the world. To demonstrate of the speed of rural broadband in the United Kingdom, pigeons carrying tiny computer flash drives were released from a Yorkshire farm at the same time that a five-minute video upload was begun from the farm, reports the BBC. A little more than hour later, the pigeons had reached their destination in Skegness, about 75 miles away, while only 24 percent of the 300-megabyte file had uploaded.

"The farm we are using has a connection of around 100 to 200 Kbps (kilobits per second)," Tref Davies, the stunt's organiser, told BBC. Lloyd Felton, founder of the Rural Broadband Partnership, said the effort to draw attention to rural broadband deprivation and low speeds was laudable. "You've got massive deprivation -- this long-quoted 'digital divide.' As we all get more dependent on the internet, that divide gets wider."

N.C. law enforcement calls for expanded access to prescription drug database

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper voiced support for expanding access to state computer records to track prescription drug abuse. Speaking Wednesday at a Charlotte meeting with law enforcement leaders from North Carolina and 25 other states, Cooper called prescription drug abuse "the biggest drug threat today," Franco Ordoñez of the Charlotte Observer reports. North Carolina deaths associated with prescription-drug abuse rose from 798 in 2008 to 826 in 2009, Ordoñez writes.

"The state sheriff's association called for access to the electronic records earlier this month at a legislative health care committee meeting," Ordoñez writes. "Groups such as the ACLU and the American Pain Foundation said law enforcement shouldn't be poking around people's medicine cabinets." Cooper said 20 state bureaus currently have access to prescription-drug records, and he would support expanding access to include other law enforcement officials like designated sheriff's deputies or police.

"Obviously there needs to be balance with privacy. This is very private information about people's prescription drugs," he said. "On the other hand, we know the deaths that these drugs can cause and the abuse of them. And being able to have a system in place that can show us who is abusing prescription drugs and who is getting them illegally can be helpful." North Carolina began collecting prescription drug data in 2007 to track patients going from doctor to doctor for prescriptions they may not need, Ordoñez reports. (Read more)

Public libraries should be necessities in rural and urban communities

Funding of U.S. libraries, including those in rural areas, should be considered a matter of national security, writes an Atlanta novelist. "Keeping libraries open, giving access to all children to all books is vital to our nation’s sovereignty," Karin Slaughter, author of 10 crime novels and native of Jonesboro, Ga., writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Librarians are soldiers in the battle for our place in the world, and in many cases they are getting the least amount of support our communities can offer."

Slaughter notes that 85 percent of children in rural areas only have access to technology and books outside of the classroom in public libraries, and "for many urban kids, the only safe haven they have to study or do homework is the public library." Reading is an essential element of child development because fundamentally children are selfish and "reading about other people creates a sense of balance in a child’s life," Slaughter writes. She notes children who read well do better in school, and those who do better in school are more likely to go to college, get better jobs and in turn, pay more taxes.

"We need to shift our national view of libraries not as luxuries, but as necessities," Slaughter writes. "When tragedy strikes in other nations, Americans are generous, but our libraries are being hit with a tsunami and there has been no call to action. Staffs are being fired. Hours are being cut. Doors are being closed. Buildings are being razed. Kids are being left behind. Futures are being destroyed." She concludes, "Libraries are not simply part of our guarantee to the pursuit of happiness. They are a civil right, the foundation upon which time and time again the American dream has been built. If we lose our libraries, we risk losing our communities, our families and ourselves." (Read more)

Teaching Tolerance magazine devotes full issue to rural education

Stories from a Southern Poverty Law Center issue devoted to rural education reveal that rural schools face many of the same problems as their urban counterparts. Those problems include violence, homelessness, substance abuse, and academic failure, but often remain invisible. The series of articles, published in Teaching Tolerance magazine, "also points out the diversity in race, ethnicity and degree of ruralness in what it calls 'country' schools, documenting varied experiences from Appalachia to South Dakota," Mary Schulken of Education Week reports on the Rural Education blog.

"As it turns out, ignorance about rural schools is pretty widespread," Maureen Costello, the director of Teaching Tolerance and a former teacher, writes in the issue's introduction. In preparing the issue, Costello writes the staff "soon discovered that no one — not even the federal government — has a single definition for what constitutes 'rural.' We also learned about the degrees of rurality and the world of difference between a rural school that's a mere bus ride away from a big city and one that's hundreds of miles from a population center."

"Little of the reporting in Teaching Tolerance uncovers new information," Schulken writes. "What it does do is shine a spotlight on the challenges faced by rural schools. The series uses statistical research from the Rural School and Community Trust about poverty, demographics and rural school districts to compile graphics showing the face of rural schools in plain numbers." Teaching Tolerance makes no suggestions for rural education policy changes, but does note "reforms often emanate from inside those schools and their communities...and don't necessarily follow prescribed political policies from state or federal governments." (Read more) (Read the full issue here)

Safety first for farms open to tourists

As the calendar turns to fall, the season for agri-tourism is upon us, which means those welcoming visitors to their rural farms should be prepared. Always consider safety first when welcoming those unfamiliar to farming to your operation, land consultant Curtis Seltzer of Highland County, Va., writes for LandThink. "Folks who are not familiar with farms, machinery, tools, animals and the idiosyncrasies of your layout and equipment are high-probability candidates for accidents," Seltzer writes. "You, the country landowner, have to anticipate every possible thing that can go wrong, backfire, fall down, spring up and run amok, among others."

Second, rural hosts should avoid putting "visitors into excessively dusty, dirty or chemically enriched circumstances," Seltzer writes, noting "someone will be allergic to something, perhaps more than one something." Seltzer advises keeping jobs simple for urban visitors, he encourages "very slow lifting and lots of rest breaks," but, "still there are the dangers of dropping a stick on someone’s toes or breaking a fingernail." He also advises prohibiting alcohol on the job and keeping jobs short. Following these steps will help "smart landowners look forward to repeat visits from friends who they can fit into a country 'vacation' safely and with good cheer all around," Seltzer writes. (Read more)

Rural America has lost over 1 million jobs during recession

Analysis of the recessions impact on rural America has revealed wide variances across regions, but few rural places have thrived since the start of the recession in 2007. In comparing the number of rural jobs in July 2007, just a few month before the beginning of the recession, and the most recent available job data, shows rural America lost 1.2 million jobs during that period, Bill Bishop and Roberto Gallardo report for The Daily Yonder. Still five states, Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota and Texas, have actually gained rural jobs during the recession.

"None of those states added many jobs," Bishop and Gallardo write. "North Dakota, in the middle of an oil and gas boom, increased its number of rural jobs by just over two percent in the last three years, the largest percentage increase in the country." Four states, Michigan, Alabama, West Virginia and Georgia, lost over 10 percent of their rural jobs during the period. North Carolina had lost the largest number of rural jobs at just under 111,000. (Read more)

Daily Yonder chart

The USDA Economic Research Service takes a slightly different look at similar information in the just-released 2010 Rural America at a Glance (PDF).  The USDA plotted how rural job loss/gain compared to the U.S. average. The maps looked similar, with some job growth in the Midwest, but job loss around the periphery of the country. The USDA also plotted population mobility across rural America, which showed some growth in the Northwest, but pockets of growth sprinkled across the country.

Fields, queen of Mississippi journalism, dies at 86

Visitation and funeral will be held Saturday in Tupelo, Miss., for Norma Fields, a longtime reporter and state-capital correspondent for the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, America's largest rural newspaper. "She was well-known throughout Mississippi, and beyond, for her hard-hitting news stories, and sometimes scathing political commentary," says her obituary, written by her children.

Reporting Fields' death at 86 and recounting her career, Daily Journal veteran Joe Rutherford wrote that "Mississippi lost one of its most respected and tenacious journalistic voices Sunday," and "She was the first woman to cover the Mississippi Capitol on a full-time basis and was well-known around the state as an outspoken advocate for women's advancement in government, business and the professions."

Rutherford's story quotes the dean of Mississippi journalists, Bill Minor, who wrote in a tribute, "It didn't matter who or what rank the news subject was, Norma Fields came after him with hammer and tongs. . . . The shenanigans of the highway gang became her passion, and there's no telling how much she saved taxpayers by catching things such as change orders or overruns on highway contracts." Minor also notes that Fields was the first Mississippi woman to be admitted to the Society of Professional Journalists, then Sigma Delta Chi.

Daily Journal columnist Marty Russell of the University of Mississippi writes, "After years of failed attempts to get an open meetings law passed in this state to prevent public bodies from meeting behind closed doors, it may very well have been Norma who finally devised a scheme to get it passed," by inviting a key legislator to an SPJ meeting and passing in his presence a resolution endorsing the legislation, which passed in 1975. (Read more)

Coal industry supporters rally in D.C.

  (Photo by Associated Press) 

 Hundreds of people rallied in Washington, D.C., Wednesday in support of the coal industry. "Those who plan to participate say the federal government needs a reminder of how important the hard-working people of Appalachia are to the nation," reports Debra McCown of the Bristol Herald Courier. Many in the region are concerned that coal is "under attack" as "some new regulations apply exclusively to the six Appalachian states, excluding Western states with large amounts of mining," McCown writes. (It should be noted that the region is targeted because the regulations are aimed at mountaintop-removal mining.)

"The reason we’re going to Washington is to stop this administration we’ve got now from closing our coal mines down," Jennings Webb, a retired mine foreman who worked for four decades in the mines. "They are wanting to put us out of business, and they don’t have the common sense enough to know every time they turn the light on in the White House, they think the electricity comes out of the wall. It doesn’t. It is generated by coal." Buses from southwest Virginia and eastern Kentucky took industry supporters to the rally, across the street from the Russell Senate Office Building. The industry group Faces of Coal paid for most of the travel and lodging expenses for the coal miners who attended the rally, according to the Associated Press.

Glen Besa, director of the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, noted Western mining states face other regulations to protect water quality there."The environmental community has nothing personal against miners at all," Besa said. "People who are dependent on the coal industry are obviously concerned about changes, but there is a critical need to diversify the economies in these areas because in fact every year the number of people employed in the coal industry declines, and it has nothing to do with the Obama administration or the environmental community." (Read more)

The Associated Press reported that Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said to the rally, "This administration is trying to shut down coal and fire all of you," adding that the EPA was practicing "strangulation by regulation," referring to the Obama administration's efforts to stifle mountaintop removal mining. A rival rally is planned for later in the day by opponents of mountaintop mining. (Read more)

High-fructose corn syrup by any other name is still pretty sweet

In May we reported corn farmers were launching a public relations campaign to counter the perception that high-fructose corn syrup causes obesity, among other things. Now the Corn Refiners Association has taken the next step by petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to rebrand high-fructose corn syrup as "corn sugar," Tara Parker-Pope of The New York Times reports. Market research firm NPD Group reports 58 percent of Americans say they are concerned high-fructose corn syrup poses a health risk.

"Clearly the name is confusing consumers," Audrae Erickson, president of CRA, told Parker-Pope. "Research shows that ‘corn sugar’ better communicates the amount of calories, the level of fructose and the sweetness in this ingredient." Research into the link between high-fructose corn syrup and obesity has been inconclusive, Erickson reports. Consequently most scientists believe high-fructose corn syrup has a similar effect on health as regular sugar: too much of either is bad for you.

"I’m not eager to help the corn refiners sell more of their stuff," Dr. Marion Nestle, professor in New York University's department of nutrition, told Parker-Pope in an e-mail. "But you have to feel sorry for them. High-fructose corn syrup is the new trans fat. Everyone thinks it’s poison, and food companies are getting rid of it as fast as they can." Nestle, a longtime food industry critic, said the industry has plenty of motivation to change the name. "Even I have to admit it's not an unreasonable one," Nestle told Parker-Pope. (Read more)

Livestock industry wary of FDA's crackdown on antibiotics

Many in the livestock industry have been vocal in their disapproval of the Food and Drug Administration restricting antibiotic usage in healthy animals. Now, some are alleging the decision is being made for political rather than medical reasons. In a letter to Congress in July, Dr.Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cited "compelling evidence" of a "clear link between antibiotic use in animals and antibiotic resistance in humans," Erik Eckholm of The New York Times reports. Still, the National Pork Producers Council claims, "There is no conclusive scientific evidence that antibiotics used in food animals have a significant impact on the effectiveness of antibiotics in people."
"In the end, the producers will do what is right," Craig Rowles, proprietor of Elite Pork and a trained veterinarian, told Eckholm. "We will make sure we deliver a product that meets the needs of consumers. My only concern is that we make decisions in a scientific fashion, not a political fashion." FDA appears ready to "issue its strongest guidelines on animal antibiotics yet, intended to reduce what it calls a clear risk to human health," Eckholm writes. Final version of the rules are expected within months. You can read our most recent item about antibiotic use in the livestock industry here.

 Drug use in humans has been linked to antibiotic resistant infections, but now scientists say mounting evidence of antibiotic use in agriculture is contributing, as well. "Is producing the cheapest food in the world our only goal?" asked Dr. Gail R. Hansen, a veterinarian and senior officer of the Pew Charitable Trusts, which has campaigned for new limits on farm antibiotics. "Those who say there is no evidence of risk are discounting 40 years of science. To wait until there’s nothing we can do about it doesn’t seem like the wisest course." (Read more)

Rural Florida schools create a sports division

In June we reported the Florida High School Athletic Association created a separate division for rural schools in eight sports, the rural division cleared another hurdle this week with the necessary number of teams agreeing to join. FHSAA Executive Director Roger Dearing said Tuesday, "33 football-playing schools which meet the rural division requirements ... have notified the FHSAA they will join," D. C. Reeves of The Pensacola News Journal reports. "Each classification of any sport is required to have 32 teams to make the rural division viable for state championship competition."

"I'm very pleased," Dearing said. "One of the things I've tried to press since I came on is that we've got 788 member schools and we've got (rural schools) that have been saying something about having to compete against (metro area) schools that draw from a much larger territory. I think this answers that concern for them." FHSAA sent inquiry forms to 59 schools that met the rural division requirements. While the initial proposal set up an eight-sport division, soccer will no longer be included as many of the rural schools didn't have teams. The division is scheduled to begin in the 2011-12 school year. (Read more)

Pa. homeland security watching anti-drilling groups

UPDATE 9/16: Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell termed natural gas drilling protesters' inclusion in the Homeland Security bulletins as "absolutely ludicrous" and said the state would not renew its contract with the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, which supplied to information to state regulators. Rendell, who said he didn't know of the contract until reading Tuesday's Patriot-News story, "said he was 'embarrassed' and 'appalled' that a state contractor tracked 'legitimate protest groups' and that a state agency then disseminated that information to law enforcement around the state," Gilliland reports for The Patriot-News. "Let me make this as clear as I can possibly make it," Rendell said. "Protesting against an idea, a principle, a process, protesting is not a real threat. Protesting is a God-given American right, a right that’s in our Constitution." (Read more)

The Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security thinks anti-natural gas drilling groups may be a threat as they have included the groups' activities in weekly briefings sent to law enforcement agencies. Leaked documents show the department "has been tracking anti-gas drilling groups and their meetings — including a public screening of the film 'Gasland,' a documentary about the environmental hazards of natural gas drilling," Donald Gilliland of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports. The briefings were also sent to gas companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Information about which meetings protesters were planning to attend was supplied by "the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, a Philadelphia firm contracted with the state Office of Homeland Security to provide information for the intelligence briefings," Gilliland writes. "There’s something dead-fishy here. ... Something is rotten," activist Gene Stilp told Gilliland, calling for a formal House and Senate inquiry into the activities of the Homeland Security Office. State Homeland Security Director James Powers said he's been including the groups in the briefings for over a month because there have been 5-10 cases of vandalism related to the natural gas industry. "I don’t care" which side of the issue someone is on, Powers told Gilliland. "My concern is public safety."

The briefings include lists of public meetings the state thinks anti-drilling activists will attend. In an e-mail to a staffer who leaked the first briefing to a Web site, Powers wrote, "We want to continue providing this support to the Marcellus Shale formation natural gas stakeholders, while not feeding those groups fomenting dissent against those same companies." Powers was non-committal when asked if he would include pro-drilling groups in future briefings. "I’m trying to think ... I see your point," he told Gilliland. "This seems to be a very polarizing issue around the state." (Read more)

Tea Party opposes net neutrality

Net neutrality advocates have a new opponent with the backing of several large telecommunication companies: the Tea Party. Net neutrality is the principle that all Internet traffic must be treated equally by service providers as has been the case until now, but many large telecommunication companies want to charge websites for faster speeds or block bandwidth-hogging users. Now, Tea Party "activists are doing their best to tip the scales toward the corporate behemoths, following conservative leaders' warnings that the [Federal Communications Commission] is plotting a government takeover of the Internet," Benjamin Sarlin reports for The Daily Beast.

"Conservative organizations active in the Tea Party, including billionaire David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey’s Freedomworks, are leading campaigns against Net Neutrality," Sarlin writes. Thirty-five Tea Party affiliated groups recently signed a letter to the FCC advocating against net neutrality. According to the Center for Responsive Politics the House Tea Party Caucus has received $350,000 from AT&T during this election cycle. The conservative backlash against net neutrality reflects a shift in recent years, Sarlin writes. "About five years ago, you saw Republicans and Democrats in support of net neutrality," Jonathan Askin, a professor at Brooklyn Law School and former FCC staffer in the Clinton administration, told Sarlin. "Now you see Republicans trying to frame this as an Obama issue."

"Brian Dietz, a spokesman for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association told The Daily Beast he was unaware of any specific outreach to Tea Party organizations, but that NCTA had no comment on the matter either way," Sarlin writes. Dietz added, "I think there's a natural alignment on this issue." Net neutrality supporters note that grassroots organizations, like the Tea Party, who rely on amateur-run Web sites are among those that stand to lose the most from an end to net neutral policies. (Read more)

Colorado broadband grant to help rural schools

Colorado was among the states receiving stimulus package funding for broadband investment, and the state's award will be used in part to help rural schools. The $100.6 million federal grant, combined with $34.7 million in matching funding, will "cover the cost of laying optical fiber and copper cable and the addition of microwave switching stations that will bring fast Internet connections to rural outposts," Jeremy P. Meyer of The Denver Post reports. "We have an elementary school that has less bandwidth than a well-connected house in Denver," John Dudley, board member for Ault-Highland RE-9 School District in northeast Colorado. "So this is huge."

"Many rural schools that have labored with slow Internet will have access to the speediest broadband available, allowing students from their classrooms to control electron microscopes in North Dakota, learn astronomy in the daylight hours by looking through a telescope in Australia or map the ocean floor with scientists on submarines," Meyer writes. The grant application was led by Colorado's Centennial Board of Cooperative Education Services and was the third-largest broadband grant awarded. (Read more)

Northeast regulator could be key to shale gas development

As the stakeholders around the country debate the merits of hydraulic fracturing, an obscure northeast U.S. regulator is holding up shale gas production in the region. The Delaware River Basin Commission, "has stopped the gas rush in its tracks in northeastern Pennsylvania's Wayne and Pike counties," and in the four-state river basin where it controls development, Mike Soraghan of Environment & Energy Daily reports. DRBC executive director Carol Collier said, "Pennsylvania and New York regulators do not have strong authority to regulate water issues, and the commission can fill in the gaps to protect the Delaware watershed," Soraghan writes. (DRBC map)

"We are hoping to have a stronger umbrella of protection because of the Delaware's unique qualities," Collier told Soraghan. DRBC is expected to propose new regulations for Marcellus Shale development as early as Wednesday that could be among the most, if not the most, stringent in the country. "They are expected to require companies to put aside much more money than the state requires for reclamation and cleanup," Soraghan writes. Now as DRBC delays development many local landowners are blaming the agency for preventing them from cashing in on the drilling boom.

The basin includes Pennsylvania, where lawmakers hope a severance tax will help them cash in on the drilling boom, and New York, where the state legislature could vote on a temporary drilling moratorium this month. DRBC's decision could have implications across the country, Soraghan writes, noting if the agency says drilling could harm drinking water "it would provide powerful political ammunition to drilling opponents from New York to Ohio, and beyond." (Read more, subscription required)

UPDATE 9/17: The DRBC announced it would scale back some of its proposed regulations, including the amount of money it will require drilling companies to set aside for environmental cleanup and regulation. "Previous drafts, according to a source, had recommended requiring a $5 million financial assurance bond for each well site," Mike Soraghan of Environment & Energy Daily reports. "We started off very high," Carol Collier, executive director of DRBC, said after a commission meeting Wednesday. "We're coming down a bit." The regulations were expected by the end of the month, buy Collier said they may be delayed until Oct. 15. (Read more, subscription required)

Experts unclear about Asian carp's ability to survive in Great Lakes

We have been following the progress of invasive Asian carp up the Mississippi River toward the Great Lakes, but now some scientists question whether the fish could thrive in the lakes. "There is considerable debate in the scientific community about precisely where they are in the waterway system, what conditions are best for spawning, what triggered the fish's population explosion in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and, most importantly, whether Asian carp have the capability to destroy commercial and recreational fishing on the Great Lakes," Joel Hood of The Chicago Tribune reports.

Testimony from noted fish biologists at a three-day hearing in a Chicago federal court last week "cast doubts on the Asian carp's ability to sustain a thriving population in the Great Lakes as so many have feared," Hood writes. U.S. Geological Survey biologist Duane Chapman, who has studied Asian carp in the U.S. and abroad for a decade, testified, "I do believe individual (fish) will survive, but a large population? It's hard to say. We don't know what will happen, but we can make some guesses."

Researchers at University of Illinois' Natural History Survey concluded in a recent study that scarce supplies of plankton in the Great Lakes would make it unlikely the carp would survive. Konrad Dabrowski, a professor of aquatic sciences at Ohio State University, maintains "water temperature, depth, the speed of currents and food shortages will be the Great Lakes' best defense against Asian carp" after 15 years of Asian carp research. "Even if we put unlimited numbers of Asian carp [in the Great Lakes] they may not survive," Chapman said in court. "We simply don't know." (Read more)

Coal appears to be losing its battle with natural gas

We've been following the battle between natural gas and coal for the principle fuel of U.S. electricity, most recently here. Further evidence is pointing to natural gas winning the fight. The switch from coal to natural gas "is occurring globally and is getting a push from regulators who want to limit emissions that contribute to climate change, haze and health problems such as respiratory illness," Rebecca Smith of The Wall Street Journal reports. "Though efforts in Congress to pass legislation attaching a price to carbon emissions appear stalled for now, utilities still anticipate eventual carbon restrictions."

"It's pretty clear that, whether it's caused by future carbon legislation or action by the EPA, the migration away from coal has begun," Constellation Energy Group Chief Executive Mayo Shattuck told Smith. Coal-burning facilities are expected to account for just 10 percent of total new U.S. capacity in 2013, down from 18 percent in 2009. "Gas, meanwhile, is expected to soar to 82% of new capacity in 2013 from 42% last year," Smith writes.

"Most big coal-burning utilities have invested billions of dollars to install pollution-control equipment on their largest coal-fired plants," Smith writes. "But they are replacing or idling smaller coal plants for which such expenditures can't be justified." Even some large coal-burning utilities who are looking to find cleaner ways to burn the fuel have suffered setbacks. "American Electric Power Co. failed in its bid, in July, to get Virginia customers to pay $54 million of the cost of creating an experimental carbon-capture-and-storage system at its Mountaineer coal-fired plant in West Virginia," Smith writes, noting Duke Energy has also been hurt by escalating costs at its state-of-the-art coal gasification plant in Indiana. (Read more)

Tennessee hunting advocates want to protect their right to hunt

Tennessee voters will have the chance this fall to make Tennessee the 11th state to designate hunting and fishing as constitutional rights. "Advocates, including the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, say amending the state constitution will prevent radical animal rights activists and an increasingly urban state legislature from one day shutting down the activities," Anne Paine of The Tennessean reports. But some hunters and non-hunters find the proposal perplexing, saying that hunting and fishing don't appear to be at risk in Tennessee.

"We're trying to do something pro-active so we're not in a position like the people in Michigan when they outlawed dove season there," Mike Butler, executive director of TWF, a conservation group, told Paine. Butler noted that getting an amendment on the ballot is a long, complicated process and "if you wait until you need it, the reality of being able to get it done would be pretty difficult." Butler said he knew of no groups trying to band hunting or fishing in the state, but noted the state legislature could pass a law to do so.

"The citizenry has no protection over what the General Assembly might do when it comes to hunting and fishing," Butler told Paine. "Times will change as they always do. These uses of the land and the resources need to be protected." Animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which opposes hunting, does not have a chapter in Tennessee, but an official with the group told Paine proposals like the Tennessee one are "frivolous." Ashley Byrne, a PETA official in New York, added, "All these amendments are a solution in search of a problem. If people have a right to hunt, why not a right to shop or golf." (Read more)

Long-time family farms look to adapt in tough economic times

So-called "Century Farms," those owned by the same family for over 100 years, have been affected by the recession, and the steps owners are taking to protect them may offer an interesting look at the future of agriculture. "Their descendants can be determined to stay, despite a tough farm economy and the incessant push of development," Noah Adams of National Public Radio reports. "In East Tennessee, it's not hard to find those who inherited land. The owners face differing prospects — and are making key decisions for the next century."

Wendy Niebruegge, whose East Tennessee family farm dates back to 1909 and may soon qualify for century farm status, has turned to organic farming. "Those who are tracking Tennessee's farm economy say this is the future: think green and add value," Adams reports. Other century farms have turned to ag-tourism as a means to bring in more income. Ann Birdwell "left her college theater department job and started dressing up her farm for weddings, reunions, and kids at $6 each, who come by the busload," Adams writes. Now the Birdwells have converted the Still Hollow Farm's granary, which dates to 1860, into an antique store and a gift shop. (Read more)

FEMA revokes accreditation for hundreds of levees nationwide

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has declared hundreds of levees across the U.S. no longer suitable to ensure protection during major floods. The decision forces thousands of property owners to purchase flood insurance, Peter Eisler of USA Today reports. FEMA "revoked its accreditation of the levees as part of an effort to update the government's flood hazard maps, which guide state, local and federal decisions on development in flood-prone areas," Eisler writes. "Properties protected by the levees now are in flood hazard zones, which means owners who have federally backed mortgages are required by banking laws to carry flood insurance."

The maps updated so far by FEMA cover 65 percent of the U.S. population with most of 300 levees failing to gain accreditation in California and Arizona. Maps for the rest of the country are expected to be finished over the next three years, Eisler reports. "There's a lot of real money and real consequences to this," Rob Vining, adviser to Congress' National Committee on Levee Safety and former chief of civil works programs for the Army Corps of Engineers, told Eisler, noting many of the suspect levees protect prime and commercial real estate.

Local governments or other responsible parties must prove a levee is strong enough to protect against a flood so severe it has only a one percent chance of occurring each year. "Some communities where levees have deteriorated face tens of millions of dollars in rehabilitation to meet that standard," Eisler writes. The map updates are mandated by Congress, but several lawmakers from the affected areas are pushing for more time for the localities to improve flood protections, Eisler reports. (Read more)

Iowa proposal to end direct payments garners mixed reactions

Last week we reported the Iowa Farm Bureau had broken with most mainstream agriculture groups in favoring the end to direct payments to farmers beginning with the 2012 Farm Bill. Now, Iowa's "landmark vote for overhauling farm subsidies is getting attention from farm groups and policymakers around the country," Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reports. "Whether it gets their support is another matter." The American Farm Bureau Federation will rule on the Iowa proposal when it reviews its policies in January.

"The smaller and more populist-leaning National Farmers Union likes the idea of ending the fixed payments," Brasher writes. Roger Johnson, president of the union, explained, "We really think that the support that's provided to farmers and ranchers ought to be based on some sort of rationale that involves performance below average, a disaster, low prices, poor production." Congress is interested in the idea as well after "the House Agriculture Committee brought in Iowa State University economist Bruce Babcock to lay out a plan for shifting the money that goes to fixed payments into expanding the Average Crop Revenue Election program," Brasher writes.

Many farmers across the South and Plains states favor the fixed payments and will likely resist giving them up, Brasher writes. "The direct payments are more important on some crops than others in terms of the contribution they make to income," John Anderson, an economist with the AFB, told Brasher. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows "rice growers receive $96 an acre, while cotton farmers collect about $34 per acre," Brasher writes. "Payments to corn growers average $24 an acre." (Read more)

FCC telemedicine investment to help rural areas

Rural health care is among the areas that stand to benefit from the Obama administration's National Broadband Plan because the Federal Communications Commission pledged $400 million a year to connect nearly 12,000 rural health-care providers. FCC has had a rural telemedicine pilot program at the University of California, Davis, which Chairman Julius Genachowski calls a success, Laura Sydell of National Public Radio reports. "If you have rural connectivity for health care, then patients don't have to drive two or three or four hours for their treatments — instead, [they] can stay back where they live, consult with a medical profession[al] remotely," Genachowski told Sydell.

Dr. Tom Nesbitt, who heads the program, told Sydell the UC Davis hospital serves around 3,000 rural patients every year. "The demand would even be greater if the remote locations had equipment, bandwidth and training," Nesbitt said. FCC maintains by shifting Universal Service Fund money to help rural telemedicine the agency can save a lot of money in health care, but some critics of government overspending are still wary. "One of the greatest forms of savings will come from health care spending that we don't have to make because we catch problems earlier. ... We can treat and diagnose remotely," Genachowski told Sydell. (Read more)

Energy secretary: CO2 capture will save coal

Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a University of Charleston crowd Thursday that West Virginians should not fear the Obama administration's energy policies and pointed to carbon-dioxide capture and storage technology as the future of coal. "It will save coal," Chu told reporters after speaking at the forum on the topic, Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette reports. Chu said his agency's experts are "convinced carbon capture and storage "can be part of the solution to climate change, despite concerns about its costs, safety and the feasibility of ramping up from pilot projects to widespread deployment," Ward writes.

"I think we can do this, but it will take time," Chu said. Also speaking at the forum was Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who made perhaps his strongest comments yet in support of the science behind global warming. The senator "blasted industry leaders and members of West Virginia media who promote the notion that global warming isn't real," Ward writes. "I'm concerned that powerful voices in West Virginia continue to argue that climate change is a myth," Rockefeller said. "I'm not on the same bandwagon that some of you are."

"Burying one's head in the sand is not a solution, and can only backfire," Rockefeller added. Still, Rockefeller said he was opposed to any broad energy bill that would place a cap on carbon dioxide emissions, and he favors a narrower bill that would pump money into CCS research. Chu echoed previous Obama administration assertions that without a carbon cap there would be no incentive to invest in low-carbon technologies like CCS. "You need a long-term signal to investors," he said. (Read more)

Repeal of estate tax could hurt competition in agriculture, Center for Rural Affairs argues

While family farms and businesses could use more stability in the estate tax, they should be wary of proposals that make big cuts in the tax, writes one rural columnist. "Some are pushing for raising the exemption to $10 million for couples ($5 million per spouse) and dropping the tax rate on the largest estates to 35 percent. Others would repeal the tax entirely on farmland,"writes Chuck Hassebrook of the Center for Rural Affairs. "Each of these proposals is overly generous to wealthy heirs and puts farmers, ranchers and small business people who must earn their way at a competitive disadvantage. The overwhelming majority of family farms and businesses would be hurt, not helped."

Nine years ago Congress and President Bush launched a gradual reduction in the estate tax, which culminated in its scheduled full repeal this year. "But there was a catch," Hassebrook writes. "Congress could not pay for permanent repeal. So next year the estate tax returns to its 2002 levels – with the first $2 million of an estate exempt for married couples ($1 million per person) and a 55 percent tax on the largest estates." Farmers who would inherit a tax-free $10 million estate would have big advantage over those who receive no inheritance or a modest one.

"The estate tax helps level the playing field between those whose success is based on being born into the right family and those who must earn success through hard work, brains and determination," Hassebrook writes. The estate tax is all the more important when one considers wealth is concentrating in the U.S. with 66 percent of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 going to the top 1 percent, the center writes. "A big reduction in the tax on large estates would add fuel to the fire, undermining the idea of a level playing field at the core of America and hurting family-size farms, ranches and businesses," Hassebrook concludes. (Read more)

EPA asks drillers to disclose fracking fluids

The Environmental Protection Agency Thursday asked nine drilling companies for information about chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing. The request was part of the agency's preparation for a long-term study of the effects of "fracking." In a letter the agency asked them to respond to the request "within seven days and to voluntarily provide the information within 30 days," Tom Zeller Jr. of The New York Times reports. EPA warned if the information was not handed over voluntarily, the agency "will be exploring legal alternatives to compel submission of the needed information."

"Natural gas is an important part of our nation’s energy future, and it’s critical that the extraction of this valuable natural resource does not come at the expense of safe water and healthy communities," EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, said in a statement. EPA concluded in a 2004 study that fracking was essentially safe, but "critics quickly condemned that analysis as sloppy and politically motivated," Zeller writes. "Congress used that study as partial justification the following year to exempt hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act."

The letter went to Halliburton, BJ Services, Complete Production Services, Key Energy Services, Patterson-UTI Energy, RPC Inc., Schlumberger, Superior Well Services and Weatherford International. Halliburton spokeswoman Cathy G. Mann told Zeller the company had not yet received the request, but planned to fully cooperate with EPA. But a leading industry group took issue with the threat of  legal action for noncompliance. "I’m not sure how they would do that, or if they even have the authority to do that," Stephanie Meadows, upstream senior policy adviser for the American Petroleum Institute, told Zeller. (Read more)

Local newspapers report on Muslim communities

Muslims across rural America are navigating the waters of a tide of issues: where to build a mosque, how to observe Muslim holidays, reaction to burning the Qur'an. These are topics new to some rural places, and local media have an important role to play in helping readers understand Islam and its adherents. A variety of approaches are being taken to cover Muslims in local communities:

The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., pop. 28,327, explains the holy month of Ramadan to its readers by visiting the mosque in Salisbury and speaking with Dawood Ahmad, president of the Islamic Society of Delmarva (the peninsula with parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia). The period from Aug. 11 to today is observed by prayer and daytime fasting. Ahmad, the local imam, explained the prayers to the Daily Times: "You remember God. You bless God. You say, 'God is good.' You ask for forgiveness. You praise God."

In Evansville, Ind., the Courier & Press interviewed soldiers who have recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan about the minister in Florida who planned to burn the Qur'an. "This spawns more terrorists because it creates more fodder to feed recruits," Ernie Griffin, who served two tours of duty in Iraq as a member of the Indiana National Guard, told the newspaper. "It creates a backlash you can't really measure. I personally agree with Gen. (David) Petraeus that it puts Americans at risk overseas."

The evening meals of Ramadan were a topic for the Columbia, Mo., Daily Tribune. The international mix of people at the Islamic Center of Central Missouri reflects the diverse community surrounding the University of Missouri. Roxana Rahman Nizam told the newspaper. The story also includes recipes and a description of the celebration with food after the fasting time ends.

In Garden City, Kan., the local meatpacking plant has attracted an immigrant community, including many Muslims. The Garden City Telegram reports area cemeteries have a shortage of space that can accommodate Muslim burial practices. "This is very important to us. As long as we work here and we live here, we need a place to bury our people," Abdulkadir Mohamed, who has been a Garden City resident for nearly six years, told the Telegram.

The Silver City Sun-News in New Mexico advanced a local church's interdenominational service held to counter the planned Qur'an burning. "It's like that saying, 'It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness,'" Rev. Dr. Wallace Ryan Kuroiwa, interim pastor of Valley Community Church, told the paper. "In the big picture, this service might not make that big of a difference. But if enough people in enough places light enough candles, it won't be as dark."

The Bowling Green Daily News in Kentucky reported on how area teens are observing Ramadan. “Muslim kids start to observe the Muslim tradition of Ramadan around 11 or 12, and I have been observing since,” high school soccer player Emina Husic told the paper. She plays soccer during Ramadan and gets very thirsty during practice: "Sometimes I want to quit, but when I think of the reason I am not eating or drinking, I don’t want to quit anymore."

Several media outlets took the same approach as the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, by getting local reaction to a variety of issues from area Muslims. Mohamed Salih, who lives in Cheyenne, told the paper that buring the Qur'an was highly offensive to Muslims everywhere, but that freedom of religion was one of America's "most beautiful" values.  In Wilmington, N.C., Muslims told the Morning Star that they are celebrating the end of Ramadan, not the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "We’re American citizens," Musa Agil, who is chairman of the board of the Islamic Center of Wilmington, said. "We’re very patriotic. Nineteen deranged people are not typical of the vast majority of Muslims."

Guthrie's Oklahoma birthplace has mixed feelings

WOODY GUTHRIE
(Library of Congress photo)

Tim Murphy, writing for Mother Jones, visits the birthplace of that "rabble-rousing, labor-loving, leftist,"  Woody Guthrie. His hometown is Okemah, Okla., pop. 2,823, "equidistant from Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and the surface of the sun," Murphy writes. Guthrie, composer of "This Land is Your Land," described his hometown thusly: "Okemah was one of the singiest, square-dancingest, drinkingest, yellingest, preachingest, walkingest, talkingest, laughingest, cryingest, shootingest, fist-fightingest, bleedingest, gamblingest, gun, club and razor-carryingest of our ranch towns and farm towns, because it blossomed out into one of our first Oil Boom Towns."

Guthrie's house has been torn down and replaced with local folk art. Teresa Labbe at the Okemah Public Library told Murphy the town is conflicted about Guthrie. "All the old-timers here all thought he was a communist," says Labbe. "Even now, some of the old-timers in town don't like him." A festival intended to honor him was halted by the local American Legion post. The library has a few items belonging to and about Guthrie.

Even though the town has mixed feelings, Murphy says, "I like to think the old balladeer would be pretty satisfied with what his reluctant hometown's done in his name. The monument's full of hometown pride, artistically sound, and, to the end, dutifully subversive." (Read more)

Oil and gas producing rural counties have low unemployment; housing market hurts others

July marked the third consecutive month the rural unemployment rate was lower than the national average, but it still varied widely across the country. "Only 405 out of 2,038 rural counties — fewer than one in five — are within one percentage point of the national average unemployment rate," Bill Bishop and Roberto Gallardo report for the Daily Yonder. "States that had a large portion of their workers employed in construction and manufacturing — such as Michigan, Nevada, California and Florida — have been hit worst. Farm states and counties with significant oil and gas production have low unemployment rates."

The poor housing market, which has prevented some from moving to find work after failing to sell their homes has influenced the variance, the Yonder writes. "Four years ago, you might have been working in construction in Nevada and overpaid for your house," Annie Lowrey writes in the Washington Independent. "Today, you’re likely out of a job and, worse, can’t move to a state like North Dakota because you can’t sell the property." The news may not be good for rural America in the future: Ernest Goss’s Mainstreet Economy Index, which regularly polls bankers across rural communities in 10 Plains and Midwest states, reported Aug. 19 that four in 10 bankers expect the nation to slip back into recession in 2011. (Read more) (Yonder map below)

Biomass emission rules could have big impact on timber industry

In June we reported an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to regulate biomass emissions like those of fossil fuels and complaints from the biomass industry that the rules would place an unfair burden on them. In Montana, the growing biomass industry is watching the proposal closely as industry executives say it could have big implications for the state's forestry industry, Phil Drake of MontanaWatchdog reports. "If the rule goes through, I think it would be an enormous (impact)," Ellen Simpson, executive vice president of the Montana Wood Products Association, told Drake. "It’s a fledgling industry and a lot of things in motion … It could be a very big economic deal for the timber industry."

In an e-mailed statement, the EPA said the agency "is committed to working with stakeholders to examine whether treating biomass-derived carbon emissions as carbon neutral is appropriate, and to assess the associated effects on the development of policies and programs that recognize the potential for biomass to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions and enhance U.S. energy security." The comment period on the proposal ends Sept. 13. "It’s a very serious issue for our folks," Simpson said. "It changes the playing field completely for anyone who wants to burn wood. The tailoring rule adds another layer. It’s a roadblock in getting something positive to happen." (Read more)

Nonpartisan group provides lesson plans for Constitution Day

Friday Sept. 17 is Constitution Day, and free teaching materials are available for educators across the country looking to plan lessons around the event. National nonpartisan group 1 for All, a coalition of educators, journalists, librarians, artists and many others, has developed creative lesson plans for grades K-12, accessible here. The campaign features ads that celebrate freedom in America and the ways "we exercise those freedoms in our daily lives. ... The First Amendment gives us freedom of speech, but it also provides freedom to tweet. It protects political speeches, but it also guarantees our right to sing, dance and perform."

Additional educational material from the Newseum can be accessed here. "Lessons may be used in history and government, civics, language arts and journalism, art and debate classes. They may be used in sections or in their entirety," 1 for All writes. "Many of these lesson plans indicate an overall goal, offer suggestions on how to teach the lesson and list additional resources and enrichment activities." (Read more)

Black farmers still waiting for settlement money after Senate delays

In February we reported the Obama administration had approved additional money for black farmers as part of the settlement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture over decades of discrimination. After five months of stalling in the Senate, the farmers have yet to receive the payments. "John Boyd, founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association, says that bills to fund the settlement have failed seven times in the Senate, and a black-farmer attachment was taken out of the recent farm-aid disaster bill," Frank McCoy of National Public Radio reports. "In August alone, Senate Republicans blocked the settlement twice."

The settlement came from the so-called Pigford II case, which "occurred after the USDA admitted that thousands of other black farmers' claims from the 1990s went uninvestigated," McCoy writes. Senators are believed to be concerned about giving anyone over $1 billion in advance of November elections, even if the money was promised long ago. "Don't these legislators in states suffering economically know the money will boost the income in their state?" Gary R. Grant, president of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, asked McCoy.

Black farmers were further angered by the Obama administration's summer promise to Arkansas Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln.  Mostly white farmers in her state would receive $1.5 billion for disaster-relief aid. Still, "major newspaper editorials have castigated the deal, saying that the plan will bypass congressional approval and benefit wealthy farmers," McCoy writes. An editorial from The Washington Post declared, "If you think this looks like a back-door plan to almost double almost everyone's subsidy, we agree with you." Lincoln is currently trailing her Republican challenger, Rep. John Boozman, in the polls. (read more)

A review: Get Low, an homage to the rural South

Sony Pictures photo by Sam Emerson

Rural East Tennessee, in 1938, is the setting for Get Low, a gentle new movie starring Robert Duvall (left) and Bill Murray. Everything about the movie feels so authentic. It is as sepia-toned as waking up in your grandmother’s rural Tennessee home while the morning sun shines through the yellowed window shades. The daffodils that occasionally appear in the hands of Sissy Spacek’s character stand out like an explosion. You could almost smell pine trees, too. The movie was filmed in Georgia, but the mountains look lush and green as the Smokies (and the Cumberlands around Oliver Springs, site of the true story on which the movie is based).

Robert Duvall is ever the masterful actor, saying more with less, playing the scary man in the town. He is Felix Bush, the bearded, crazy-haired hermit feard by the town's children. One morning, Felix hitches up a mule and rides into town to ask the preacher to hold a funeral for him while he is still alive. Preacher portrayals are so often dreadful in the movies. Usually, it’s more Elmer Gantry than kindly minister. What a relief that Gerald McRaney is a preacher willing to sit down, ask Felix what’s on his mind, then respond to him thoughtfully, if not necessarily in the way Felix would wish. The only other character who knows Felix and his secret is also a kindly minister, played by Bill Cobb.

Eventually, Felix hooks up with Frank Quinn, the shady funeral home operator who says if your funeral home fails, you have no one to blame but yourself. Bill Murray is Quinn, an actor most interesting when he also says more with less. Is he honest? Is he a snake? Who knows. Murray’s assistant at his funeral home is played by Lucas Black. Blessedly, he is really from Alabama so – thank goodness! – he has a real Southern accent. So many movies are ruined by actors trying to sound Southern. Black, as Buddy, represents a kind of sweetness and purity that Felix can recognize, even though he’s been a hermit for 40 years.

Another real-life Southerner, Sissy Spacek, is also the real deal actor. She has that authentic accent (she’s from Texas) and that steel spine she made famous as Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter. She, too, is wonderful in this movie, hinting at lost love. Was it for Felix?

Felix wants this funeral party to find his own redemption and perhaps, forgiveness, of a grevious sin he felt he committed. Fortunately, Felix didn't make moonshine, he didn't spit tobacco. He crafted beautiful furniture, built a church. This movie offers so much more than frightful portrayals of rural hicks (ack, Deliverance!). Rather, it offers the kindness, sense of place, hope and sadness as rich as the rural heartland really is. This lovely movie is an homage to that place.

Other reviews: Los Angeles Times("one of his [Duvall's] finest performances"), Time magazine, The New York Times (two trailers and several clips)

Small tobacco farmers making an exit from rural Kentucky county

Dean and Steve Prewitt, the last contract tobacco farmers in Whitley Co., Ky., are putting up what is likely their last tobacco crop. "I'm surprised by what has happened," Dean Prewitt said to Trent Knuckles at  News-Journal.net. "Used to be, you could leave Williamsburg and drive to Corbin on this road and we could count 20 to 25 tobacco crops that you could see just along the edge of the road. Now they are all gone. It's kind of sad when you think about it. ... The younger generation just ain't going to do it. It's hard work."

The News-Journal.net reports that 15 years ago, Whitley County farmers produced about 800,000 lbs. of burley tobacco, much of it high quality. Today, it will produce about 10,000 lbs., all from the Prewitts' farm. Whitley County has never been a big agricultural county but with the Cumberland River and some places on the Cumberland Plateau it was a good place to raise tobacco – until the federal program of quotas and price supports was removed, bringing economies of scale to the business of growing tobacco and moving it west, where larger tracts were available. "It's a case of the bigger producers here in Kentucky are getting bigger and the smaller producers are just getting out of it completely," University of Kentucky Agricultural Extension Agent Phil Meeks said to the News-Journal. "There are other things people are turning to, other things to diversify, but none of them really, alone, replace tobacco. ... There have been a lot of families that, once they quit tobacco, just got out of farming altogether."

Whitley County's largest tobacco producer has switched his farm to another crop: corn for his feeder calf operation. Jim Clawson grew roughly 100,000 lbs. of tobacco a year for about 37 years on a 45-acre farm. He didn't plant any  this year because he could not come to an agreement with either Phillip Morris or rival R.J. Reynolds on a contract. "I'm very happy with not growing it. I would probably never go back again to raising tobacco under any circumstances," Clawson said. "This tobacco thing is just not good anymore."

Ethics policy to stop revolving door for industry and regulators of offshore drilling

The first ethics policy for the agency that oversees offshore oil and gas drilling will require employees to report potential conflicts of interest. The policy implemented by the Obama Administration will also require Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement employees "to recuse themselves from inspecting companies that employ family members or close friends," Katie Howell of Environment & Energy Daily. "Newly hired inspectors are also barred from performing inspections or working with their former employers for two years after leaving the industry."

The new policy comes in the wake of the increased scrutiny placed on the agency following the Gulf of Mexico oil blowout. Mary Kendall, the Interior Department's acting inspector general, told Howell she was most concerned with the revolving door between industry and agency officials. "Inspectors and oil company employees have lived in the same communities all their lives and attended the same engineering schools, Kendall said, adding that their relationships took precedence over their jobs," Howell writes.Liz Birnbaum, the former Minerals Management Service head, told the presidential commission investigating the spill, "The inspectors who accepted gifts had extensive social and community relations; they all live in the same towns. Offshore inspectors have to live along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, which are dominated by two industries: oil and gas and shrimping." (Read more, subscription required)

Rural law practices can be a nice change

Few people usually complain about a lack of lawyers, but some parts of rural America may be facing just that. In recently talking to a small-town Minnesota lawyer, Eric Cooperstein of Lawerist.com was struck by two statements in the conversation: "One was a complaint about how difficult it is to attract new lawyers to join law firms in rural areas," Cooperstein writes. "The other was the lawyer’s prediction that in the next ten years, half the lawyers in her quarter of the state were going to retire from the practice of law."

"That prediction probably is not unique to Minnesota," Cooperstein writes. "New lawyers unable to find a job in a major American city may want to broaden their job searches beyond their local beltways." Cooperstein notes there is plenty of work to go around in small towns. Small town law firms may appeal to lawyers who aren't sure in what area they want to specialize, as most are general practices. "The cost of housing may be less than half of what you would find in a major city," Cooperstein writes. "Your mortgage could be so small that even with your law school debt you would have less overall debt than you would have living in the city."

Cooperstein notes there are drawbacks to practicing in rural areas because small towns lack many big city amenities. "Quite frankly, rural lawyers probably do not want you to just show up for two or three years and then back your bags and go back to the city," Cooperstein writes. "But there is always the possibility that once you get out to the country, you might like it and stay." (Read more)

Appalachian St. to host symposium about future of coal

The future of coal in Appalachia will be the subject of a three-day symposium hosted by Appalachian State University Oct. 14-16. The keynote address will be given by journalist Jeff Biggers, author of The United States of Appalachia and Reckoning at Eagle Creek. Other speakers include Hywel Francis, labor historian and Member of Parliament representing the former mining communities in South Wales, and Helen Lewis, considered the "grandmother of Appalachian Studies," who has coordinated exchanges between the Welsh and Appalachian coalfields since the 1970s.

Appalachian State, located in Boone, N.C., is located 50 miles from the nearest coal mine, and even farther by road. During the symposium "a range of scholars, artists, and activists will provide an interdisciplinary view of how issues relating to how coal, climate change, economy and technology have shaped the coalfields of South Wales and Appalachia," ASU writes in a news release. All of the events at the symposium are free and open to the public. A complete schedule can be viewed here.

New York Times calls for end of anti-competitive agriculture industry

The U. S. Department of Agriculture's move to address anti-trust issues in the agriculture industry are an important step in the right direction, but more can be done, The New York Times writes in an editorial. "New rules proposed by [USDA Sec. Tom] Vilsack aim to restore the balance between independent livestock producers and the industrial behemoths," the newspaper writes. "The behemoths have screamed, a sign of how entrenched they really are."

"An even bigger problem is increasing concentration and vertical control," the newspaper writes. "The number of hog farms in the country has declined by 89 percent in the past 30 years, the number of cattle ranches by 40 percent." The Times also points to the decline in open, cash markets for livestock, where just four percent of hogs were sold on the open market in 2010, as a key problem in the industry. "As a result, livestock is increasingly traded from packer to packer, not farm to packer, giving packers more control of the total market — in the pasture, in the barns, in the feedlots and on the killing floor," the newspaper writes.

"By themselves, these changes will only modestly reduce the concentration in the industry today," The Times concludes. "We hope Mr. Vilsack will be able to make his modest rule changes stick. But we also think it’s time for a larger initiative in preparation for the next farm bill — which could reach Congress in 2012 — to prevent packers from owning animals before they’re ready for slaughter, restore open markets and let small farmers back into the game." (Read more)

N.C. newspaper sparks community to rally around child welfare

What began as a normal crime beat assignment for Shelby Star reporter Olivia Neeley, right, quickly evolved into an ongoing series by the newspaper and eventually into a call for action among community members. Neeley reported on a shooting that left two people dead in Shelby, N.C., in August 2009, and produced a short online update and blurb for the next morning's print edition. Upon returning to the community the next day, Neeley was struck by the matter-of-fact tone several children  took toward the shooting. One girl, in a nonchalant tone, simply asked "Who got killed?" (Freedom Communications photo)

"I felt particularly uncomfortable at the scene (the night before), so I could only imagine how those children felt," Neeley told Freedom Communications, for a feature story on the company's Web site. "When the girl said it the way she did, very casually, I just couldn’t believe it." The question, "Who got killed?," became the headline for an ongoing series sparked by reader input regarding their shock at the problems facing children in the community. Star publisher Skip Foster appointed Neeley the lead reporter on the project, shifting her from the crime beat to covering children in peril.

"It would not be an easy task or pledge to live up to," reported Freedom. "People, including the children themselves, are reluctant to talk about abuse or neglect. Secondly, it was very important to protect the children’s identities while still giving a detailed account of those involved." The series produced a number of heart-breaking stories about local children, and after much reaction from readers, Neeley began pointing them to local charity organizations. A group of local community leaders announced an event, called Connect, Commit to Change, to benefit the agencies helping children.

"The Star ran ads in the paper to promote the event, and set a goal of recruiting 15 agencies to participate. They got more than 50," according to Freedom. Participants were asked to fill out "I commit to" cards that contained promises to connect specific talents, like pro bono legal help, with specific needs. The Star later published the cards to hold participants to their promise."We had no idea how many people would attend the event, and were naturally a little nervous when the day arrived," Neeley said. "But then people kept rolling in, and it was amazing to see what one quote from a little girl a year ago could do to inspire an entire community." (Read more)

Texans question whether state has enough oversight of drilling operations

Texas Railroad Commission inspectors personally supervised just 15.4 percent of the 10,140 surface-casings performed at drilling sites in the 12 months ending Aug. 31. The casing process, which has oil and gas operators sink steel pipe into the ground and cement it into place, is considered a key step in preventing water pollution at well sites, Jack Z. Smith of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Commission spokeswoman Ramona Nye said commission inspectors witnessed as many casings as possible, and for the rest, agency "geologists and engineers closely reviewed forms filed by oil and gas operators regarding well construction," Smith writes.

Nye explained that when operators make their filings, "they must declare, under threat of prescribed penalties, that the information is 'true and correct.'" Sharon Wilson, an organizer for the Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project, joined with other critics in saying the agency is too close to the industry to regulate it, telling Smith the industry "has been running roughshod over Texas for decades." She added, "We have hundreds of drilling waste pits that have been abandoned all over North Texas or not covered up and properly remediated. All these are potential sources of water contamination."

Houston attorney Claude Cooke Jr., who has energy clients and worked in the oil industry, countered that regulators throughout the U.S. "have been doing a good job," and oil and gas operators and the contractors they hire have "a lot of financial incentive to do it right." Due to the recent boom in natural gas drilling operations in the Barnett Shale, the commission has been left understaffed, Gary Hogen, president of the North Central Texas Communities Alliance, told Smith. "We're not anti-drilling," Hogan said of the alliance. "We're very pro-responsible drilling." (Read more)

Coal could be deciding factor in U.S. Senate race in Kentucky

It's no secret that coal is playing a large role in political campaigns across central Appalachia, and in Kentucky the issue may end up deciding whether Democrat Jack Conway or Republican Rand Paul wins the state's contested U.S. Senate seat. "In Western Kentucky, one concern is that cap and trade would cause higher rates for electricity produced by burning coal, hurting two large aluminum smelters that employ 1,500 people and support thousands more jobs," Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. "In Eastern Kentucky, where coal is an economic linchpin, companies and many miners fear tougher environmental regulation will cripple surface mining."

Bell County Judge-Executive Albey Brock predicts coal will be the deciding factor in who wins the eastern counties. "On Election Day, when they go vote, how (Conway and Paul) stand on coal is how these counties are going to go," Brock, a Republican, told Estep. Among the issues is the candidates' stance on cap-and-trade, which both say they oppose. Paul rejected cap-and-trade early on, and claims Conway originally supported the proposal before changing his mind, which the Conway campaign denies.

"When asked whether Congress should do anything to limit greenhouse-gas emissions, Conway said the government needs to invest in technology that would allow coal to be burned more cleanly," Estep writes. "Paul said any discussion of whether the government should move to limit emissions should acknowledge that the nation’s skies already are much cleaner than 30 years ago." Conway told Estep he believed the science behind global warming was "fairly well established on that." Paul was less clear in his opinions on climate change, saying "I think anyone who makes an absolute conclusion is probably overstating their conclusion."

Paul's general platform of reducing government's role on many fronts includes a lessened role for the Environmental Protection Agency. Conway told Estep water-quality standards must be met and that the EPA has a role in policing coal, but the agency doesn’t need to "come in and legislate." Paul also said earlier reports that he was against any federal oversight of mine safety were wrong, but he generally favored local control over federal. (Read more)

Iowa Farm Bureau proposes end to direct payments

In breaking with most mainstream agriculture industry groups, the Iowa Farm Bureau announced last week it favored ending direct payments to farmers beginning with the 2012 Farm Bill. "Iowa's position now goes to the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in January in Atlanta, where it will be considered for the organization's position as debate gathers for the 2012 bill," Dan Piller of the Des Moines Register reports. "Southern cotton and rice farmers traditionally advocate for direct payments, so nobody at Iowa Farm Bureau headquarters in West Des Moines, where the delegates met, predicted an easy ride for Iowa's position."

"I've been talking to the Texas and Illinois Farm Bureaus," Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Lang, an advocate of a changed position, told Piller. "They're just getting started. Iowa is out front on this one." The resolution, adopted at the Farm Bureau's summer policy conference reads that "direct payments should be replaced by using this money for an improved revenue insurance program." The proposal "reflects a a plan suggested by Iowa State University professor Bruce Babcock, who has said that most farmers would benefit more from a stronger subsidized crop insurance program," Piller writes. (Read more)

Feds yet to allow solar projects on public land

Five years after the federal government opened vast stretches of federal land in the southwest for solar energy generation, no electricity has been produced there. "An Associated Press examination of U.S. Bureau of Land Management records and interviews with agency officials shows that the BLM operated a first-come, first-served leasing system that quickly overwhelmed its small staff and enabled companies, regardless of solar industry experience, to squat on land without any real plans to develop it," Jason Dearen reports for AP.

In Nevada, a Goldman Sachs & Co. subsidiary with no solar power background has claims on nearly half the land for which applications have been filed, but has no plans for any of the sites, AP reports. "The Obama administration says it is expediting the most promising projects, with some approvals expected as soon as September," Dearen writes. "And yet, it will be years before the companies begin sending electricity to the Southwest's sprawling, energy-hungry cities." In 2005, Congress mandated BLM approve by 2015, 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy on public lands, about enough to fuel five million homes during peak production.

"The Bush administration, however, kept BLM's focus on oil," Dearen writes. "BLM's database of solar applications shows many languished for years while the agency approved more than 73,000 oil and gas leases in the last five years. BLM has yet to give final approval to one solar lease." Two Goldman subsidiaries filed 52 of the 354 applications throughout the region, more than any other company. "Those 52 applications are an example of the problem of clogging up the system," V. John White, executive director of the California-based Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, told AP. "Some of these lease applications tied up more land than would be needed for a real project." (Read more)