Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog

Quoting caneswatch:


Not all sharks are bad. Whale sharks only eat plankton. Thresher sharks are not attackers. Bulls and great whites are the worst.

Quoting EYEStoSEA:


Not enough money in the world to pay me to go in there....no way...

Quoting caneswatch:


My father went there for some bicycle trail trip. He said he saw over 200 gators, babies and all. He told me that one of the gators were a tail's length away from the bikes, and never attacked.

Quoting Grothar:


When I was younger, before moving to Europe, it was common for kids in Florida to keep Caymans as pets. I had a few of them. They would follow me outside and walk with me. They were very small of course.

Quoting Grothar:


When I was younger, before moving to Europe, it was common for kids in Florida to keep Caymans as pets. I had a few of them. They would follow me outside and walk with me. They were very small of course.

Quoting caneswatch:


I've heard of stories like these.

Now i'm off. I've got a breakfast to go to in the morning. Night y'all.

Quoting Grothar:


This is what Swedish meatsballs should look like. Normally served with lingonberry sauce, which is prized by the Swedes. This variety is only found in the bogs of Northern Sweden. The Norwegians are quite notorious in sneaking over the border and stealing them, much to the dismay of the Swedes. The Swedes call them Tyttebaer. No two households make them the same.

Quoting washingtonian115:
You floridians are very strange...when it comes to pets.

Quoting Orcasystems:


The statement would have been true even without the bold part :)

Quoting EYEStoSEA:
I know....just send me the leftovers COD....I know you have some...

Quoting Grothar:


HEY! I'm a Floridian.

Quoting Neapolitan:

Here in Naples we've had a daytime seabreeze front with associated showers twice in the past week. I don't know that it's unheard of, but it's certainly not anything I remember seeing in February before.

The high at my house--I'm a few miles inland--was 88 today. Nice...

Quoting Grothar:


The everglades is actually a river, as you know, not just a swamp. It is called a river of grass.

Quoting P451:
Looking pretty bad, Keeper.

Seems more confidence in this storm producing severe weather than the last one.

Looks like those of us in the northern mid-atlantic and the Hudson Valley into southern New England stand a better chance at also getting Thunderstorms.

Last system the convection only got into Central NJ where it did an absolute number on several towns.

Up here the Hudson Valley kept on the cold side - seems we'll get the warm sector. Eager to see it. Still snow on the ground haven't seen ground since December LOL. Growing a bit tired of that!

Quoting KEEPEROFTHEGATE:
if seasonal pattern holds that we have been having to take us into the spring the entire region from lower lakes south and then east will be prime ground this severe season

Quoting pottery:
Good Morning...
Well, the rain is back this morning. What is going ON ????. 6.5" so far for the month at my location. Plenty more in other areas.. The 10-year average is .75".
I have 'outside' tasks to perform, and they are on hold. (sanding and varnishing 2 new beds that I made this week).
I guess I better have another cup of Coffee , and see what happens next.

Quoting Patrap:
Many sections of the bill forbid government agencies from studying climate change - a leading contributor to Louisiana's coastal crises. Above, wetlands just south of New Orleans on Oct. 4.

House Republicans are cutting a lot more than the deficit
Published: Sunday, February 27, 2011, 4:44 AM

Last November Americans demanded that Congress take immediate action to shrink fish and wildlife populations, speed the end of duck hunting, reduce the safety of our drinking water, destroy more wetlands, dirty the air we breathe, increase the rate of sea level rise swamping our coast- and protect profits for oil companies.

Didn't know that?

Then you haven't been listening to Republicans like our own Steve Scalise (R-Jefferson) and Tea Partiers who now control the House of Representatives. All those changes are included in the budget resolution they sent to the Senate last week.

I know, I know. They say it's all about Americans' No. 1 concern - cutting the deficit. And we all have to suffer to achieve that goal.

Two problems with those claims.

First, polls taken during and after that election show voters' top concern was job creation, not the deficit. And, as you'll see, these cuts will cost jobs and the treasury money.

Second, the pain isn't spread evenly. The public properties that support hunting, fishing and public health are being clubbed while the industries that profit from those resources are getting not just a free pass - they're being given an open door to do as they please. Many provisions in the bill don't cut funds, just order federal agencies not to do their jobs.

This isn't just about the deficit. It's about using the back door to push an anti-environment, pro-business agenda most Americans don't support. And sportsmen will pay the biggest price.

At the risk of ruining your Sunday, I urge you to read the entire list.

Here are just a few samples:

The entire $47.6 million budget for the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund would be cut. This program has protected and preserved more than 25 million acres of waterfowl habitat over the last 30 years, leveraging over $2 billion in matching contributions from some 4,000 partners.

At the same time, Sec. 1747 of the bill states: "None of the funds made available by this division or any other Act may be used by the Environmental Protection Agency to implement, administer, or enforce a change to a rule or guidance document pertaining to the definition of waters under the jurisdiction of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et 18 seq)."

That section has nothing to do with saving money. It's simply rolling back wetlands protections at the behest of several industries that support your congressmen.

Dale Hall, head of Ducks Unlimited, says those provisions could deal a death blow to duck hunting by leaving the prairie pothole region - the continent's duck factory - unprotected.

Passed amendments to House continuing resolution

Another example:

Many sections of the bill would prevent the EPA from enforcing any laws that restrict carbon pollution. Little or no savings would be realized, but the primary cause of the sea level rise swamping what's left of our coast will go unaddressed.

At the same time the bill does not reduce the $36 billion in tax breaks to be handed to the oil industry over the next decade, or close the loophole in offshore royalty payments costing the nation billions.

You shouldn't be surprised to learn big oil - one our most profitable yet heavily subsidized industries - doesn't want to give up its freebies, and also has opposed carbon legislation.

Another example:

The bill would cut funding for the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program by $200,000, a vital initiative that has already lost more than $100,000 in state funding recently. Kerry St. Pe, who runs the program, says "it definitely means some restoration projects just won't happen - even though we're still losing wetlands at the same rate (25 square miles per year)."

At the same time many sections of the bill actually forbid government agencies from even studying climate change - a leading contributor to Louisiana's coastal crises. Once again this isn't saving money; it's just another nod to industries that don't want to clean up their acts.

Leaders of the most prominent sportsmen's conservation groups were disbelieving when they read the final version of the bill. After all, many of these Republicans claim to be friends of sportsmen. Yet this bill not only attempts to blindfold and gag government agencies designed to protect fish, wildlife and us, it swings an axe at industries that actually are net gains for the treasury.

"The federal government spends about $5 billion a year in conservation programs that are essential to the habitat that supports hunting and fishing, but it gets back about $14 billion in direct tax payments from people who make their livings in those industries - and that's a conservative estimate," DU's Hall said.

"This makes no sense. Yes, we need to cut, but we need to do it intelligently. And we have to look everywhere."

The deck is clearly stacked against fish, wildlife and sportsmen. The nation's most prominent sportsmen's groups - from Ducks Unlimited to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation have already fired off letters to the powers that be.

And they are urging all sportsmen to tell their congress people they won't stand for the two-fisted attack on our traditions.
Related topics: bob marshall

Quoting overwash12:
If all the ice in the Antarctic were to melt they say it would raise the ocean by approx. 197 feet.   

Quoting Patrap:
At the same time many sections of the bill actually forbid government agencies from even studying climate change - a leading contributor to Louisiana's coastal crises. Once again this isn't saving money; it's just another nod to industries that don't want to clean up their acts.

Leaders of the most prominent sportsmen's conservation groups were disbelieving when they read the final version of the bill. After all, many of these Republicans claim to be friends of sportsmen. Yet this bill not only attempts to blindfold and gag government agencies designed to protect fish, wildlife and us, it swings an axe at industries that actually are net gains for the treasury.



Well,,America got what it wanted last November..

Congrats.

WUnderful.

Maybe Dr. Jeff Masters and some others in the Bizz will bark maybe a tad over this Bill.

Maybe.

Dunno.

We shall see.

We need voices of reason to stop this insane Bill.

Quoting hydrus:
"I guess I better have another cup of Coffee", and see what happens next............More rain?...Water-proof sand paper and varnish?..no?...maybe?..Morning Pott..:)