Red Terroir in America

An urban bee keeper,in Red Hook section of Brooklyn has found her bees have a strange problem. The forager bees were arriving back at the hive with mysterious stripes of color.

Where there should have been a touch of gentle amber showing through the membrane of their honey stomachs was instead a garish bright red. The honeycombs, too, were an alarming shade of Robitussin.
A fellow beekeeper sent samples of the red substance that the bees were producing to an apiculturalist who works for New York State, and that expert, acting as a kind of forensic foodie, found the samples riddled with Red Dye No. 40, the same dye used in the maraschino cherry juice.

What a strange example of Terroir, the taste of place, than the red overly sweet metallic tasting honey given by the bees that frequent the vats at the nearby maraschino cherry processing plant nearby.

Terroir, the “taste of place.” Originally used by the French to describe the way that local conditions such as soil and climate manifest themselves in the flavor of a wine, the terroir concept has since been extended to discussions of many foods that are dependent on place for their uniqueness. France long ago mapped its terroir into a network of regions that produce distinctive wines, cheeses, meats, and other foods, and other nations in Europe followed suit. America is finally catching up, and terroir is a fast-rising buzzword in the food world.

Why the big paws?

Well,why not? I need a break.

But logic doesn’t apply to Palin.

Worry? You bet.

This from Frank Rich's Sunday column which explores the logical void of Sarah Palin's world at the moment.

If logic applied to Palin’s career trajectory, this month might have been judged dreadful for her. In an otherwise great year for Republicans she endorsed a “Star Wars” bar gaggle of anomalous and wacky losers — the former witch, Christine O’Donnell; the raging nativist, Tom Tancredo; and at least two candidates who called for armed insurrection against the government, Sharron Angle and a would-be Texas congressman, Stephen Broden, who lost by over 50 percentage points. Last week voters in Palin’s home state humiliatingly “refudiated” her protégé, Joe Miller, overturning his victory in the G.O.P. Senate primary with a write-in campaign.

But logic doesn’t apply to Palin.

It's all about Saks

Through thick and thinner.
Saks Inc. and Wal-Mart may not be the best measure, but their sales do indicate spending patterns in limited segments of the economy.

Total revenue at U.S. Wal-Mart stores fell as fewer customers visited and spent less when they did. According to a Wal-Mart spokesperson: "are focusing on necessities and being practical in how they're spending their money,"

Saks Fifth Avenue reports their overall revenue rose 4%.They sold more at full price noting strong demand for jewelry, woman’s clothing and sportswear. A Saks spokesman remarked that “we feel much better about the overall tone of business”.
Saks does caution that the increase isn’t due to wealthy mindless spending but because:

stores are starting to hold the line on prices and inventory and train customers not to wait for a big sale.

What good tax cutting trickle down Republican wouldn’t see this as reaffirming anecdotal evidence, perhaps proof positive Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy need to be extended or even made permanent? Why even the working poor (once known as the middle class) Wal-Mart shoppers are scrimping and saving in an admirable fashion. Attention shoppers boot-straps half off.

Shimkus,Barton,Upton and Stearns read our lips, ‘no new light bulbs’

In the new Republican controlled congress Democrat Henry Waxman the current Energy and Commerce Chairman will be leaving that post. The House Energy and Commerce Committee oversees legislation related to issues including the supply and delivery of energy, public health, and air quality and environmental health. Republican Congressmen John Shimkus (Illinois), Joe Barton (Texas), Fred Upton (Michigan) and Cliff Stearns (Florida) are all vying for the chairmanship and clinging to their old familiar light bulbs as ferociously as their retrograde views.

Shimkus ,Barton,Stearns and Upton

Here is a quick look at some remarks that the candidates have made which offers some insight to each congressman’s views on energy issues.
Rep.John Shimkus has said that "Greenhouse gases are not toxic - every time we exhale we emit carbon dioxide; does EPA propose we stop breathing," He made clear he is not worried about global climate change because "The Earth will end only when God declares it's time to be over. Man will not destroy this Earth. This Earth will not be destroyed by a Flood."

Texas Rep.Joe Barton famously called Obama’s proposal for the oil company to establish a $20 billion escrow account for oil spill remediation a “shakedown” and apologized to the oil giant. He did back track afterward but he remains a recipient of large oil industry contributions.

Rep.Cliff Stearns supports drilling in ANWR and has claimed that this alone would reverse the decline in the US oil supply in a decade. Doubts about climate change science. In 2007 he gave a speech on the house floor saying the experts were wrong about global cooling in the 1970’s and that “…does not necessarily mean that they are wrong about global warming today, but it does at least show that experts are sometimes incredibly, incredibly wrong”.

What is happening with Rep.Fred Upton’s effort to gain the chairmanship is interesting. In 2007, Upton suffered an apparent spasm of reason and supported and co-sponsored bills aimed at phasing out incandescent light bulbs and establishing efficiency standards for light bulbs.

Although he has established his retrograde credentials by questioning the science of global warming and says the Democratic-controlled congress has let the EPA run wild and that the EPA must be held accountable.
Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have attacked him as a socialist and supporter of the nanny-state for his ideas on light bulbs.

IAMVY, I am old

Google, googles up some odd marriages, search-wise but what does this say about Vermont Yankee? The flurry of news from Public Service Commissioner David O’Brien about Entergy putting the aging Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant up for sale found its way onto an anti-aging news webpage as the screen capture shows. Maybe poor VY, suffering the indignities of old age, leaking pipes, collapsing cooling towers and now up for sale is searching for a miracle cure.
http://www.bestantiagingcenter.com/anti-aging-market-vermont-yankee-owner-expected-to-announce-sale-plan.html.
Here are a couple anti aging insights offered alongside the thirty year old plant’s news link. From Salamat Dok a Philippine medical TV show that featured a discussion on aging asking:

‘Why look old when you can age beautifully?’ Maria Isabel “Maribel” Lopez. Winner of the Miss Philippines-Universe 1982! That was 28 years ago but the feisty actress with beauty and brains has not aged at all. What’s her secret?

Or

10 Skin Care Steeps

a process which claims to be science based. This offers 10 ways to turn back the clock, now using a new science of reverse aging that scientists have recently pinpointed!
Science based reverse aging suitable for any aging power plant.
Please consult your NRC for approval before using this product.

The American upper-most class

Nicholas Kristof often travels to banana republics as part of his New York Times reporting. In his column this past Sunday he pointed out what to some might be a troublesome characteristic the US now shares with those plutocracies.

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976. As Timothy Noah of Slate noted in an excellent series on inequality, the United States now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana.
C.E.O.’s of the largest American companies earned an average of 42 times as much as the average worker in 1980, but 531 times as much in 2001. Perhaps the most astounding statistic is this: From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the total increase in American incomes went to the richest 1 percent.

The crème de la ubber class and how's everyone else? In the past three years US households lost 17percent of their wealth which according to the Federal Reserve is more than $10 trillion. Nearly one in ten Americans are unemployed and one in six now receive food stamps, jobless benefits or some form of government assistance
But enough of that, can’t we do more for those who have it all?

Washington

— how far to extend the Bush tax cuts to the most affluent 2 percent of Americans. Both parties agree on extending tax cuts on the first $250,000 of incomes, even for billionaires. Republicans would also cut taxes above that.
The richest 0.1 percent of taxpayers would get a tax cut of $61,000 from President Obama. They would get $370,000 from Republicans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. And that provides only a modest economic stimulus, because the rich are less likely to spend their tax savings.

Vermont Yankee shutdown ,leak in 24”pipe

A 24” pipe in the feedwater system at the Vermont Yankee (VY) nuclear power plant in Vernon, VT is leaking and therefore the plant has commenced a shutdown. The NRC has been notified according to a press release from VY spokesperson Larry Smith.

At approximately 7:00 p.m. Sunday night plant operators identified leakage of approximately 60 drops per minute from a system pipe. Subsequent investigation by technicians and engineers identified the leak to be in the feedwater system piping. Because the leak is in a 24 inch piping section which cannot be repaired with the plant in operation, a conservative decision was made to take the plant out of service to perform a repair.

It’s a big pipe and it’s under pressure.
The difficult to access heavily insulated feedwater pipe carries radioactive water at about 300 degrees in temperature and is operated under 400 psi (pounds per square inch of pressure).
At 24” in diameter this pipe is roughly as big in diameter as the rescue tunnel used to rescue the trapped 33 Chilean miners. Plant reliability at this aging nuke are at issue here as the feedwater system is one of those systems the state legislature asked to be scrutinized by the public oversight panel in the Act 189 Reliability Assessment.

In Jan. 2009, an age related feedwater leak required a 50% power reduction.

Last week Entergy public ally addressed persistent rumors and disclosed that Vermont Yankee is up for sale and they are actively trying to find a buyer. Accumulating reliability issues could make the sale of the 30 plus year old plant difficult as it is clear faces accumulating series of hurdles.

Maggie Gundersen, president of Fairewinds Associates, Inc, notes that this is another significant reliability issue for the aging VY plant and emphasizes the need for its retirement, decommissioning, and dismantlement beginning in 2012.

Vermont Yankee IAM4 Sale

Entergy is actively peddling the aging Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The rumors Vermont Public Service Commissioner David O’Brien mentioned last week have proven to be true. According to reportsEntergy will make an announcement this week. Officials at VY didn’t respond but David O’Brien, continuing his policy of active public commentary on Vermont Yankee offered up his assessment of the value of the aging plant. David O’Brien is proving Entergy Louisiana’s most active broker,real estate agent or simply a nuclear used car salesman.

He stresses the NRC’s rating of the plant he never mentions the condition of the plant. At the same time he fails to mention why this sale is in the interest of the people of Vermont and turns a blind eye to leaking under ground pipes, a tritium plume and the dangerously under funded decommissioning fund that may leave taxpayer footing the bill.
What does Commissioner David O’Brien see as the largest hurdle to the sale of Vermont Yankee? He does note one environmental problem surrounding the sale.

He said its biggest liability is the political environment in a state with a powerful anti-nuclear movement and where the incoming governor and key legislators are longtime critics of it.
"Certainly the political environment that's developed in recent years in Vermont is a cause for concern for any potential bidder," O'Brien said. "That's real. That I would say is the largest hurdle" to a sale.

But Vote!

"A politician should have three hats. One for throwing into the ring, one for talking through, and one for pulling rabbits out of if elected"

...Carl Sandburg