Free Republic

Off-roaders, environmentalists vie for canyon near Death Valley By GILLIAN FLACCUS,12/18/06 00:52:32 Whoever named Surprise Canyon got it right. Mere miles from bone-dry Death Valley, the canyon cradles two unexpected jewels within its soaring, whitewashed walls: a gushing mountain stream and what's left of a once-bustling silver mining town. These treasures have attracted visitors going back decades - and now they're at the heart of a legal battle between two modern foes, off-road drivers and environmentalists. Five years ago environmentalists successfully sued to get the narrow canyon and its spring-fed waterfalls closed to vehicles. In response, more than 80 off-roaders...

Islamofascism, not warming, the enemy By: BOB KOWELL - Commentary Recently, Al Gore stated that the Iraq war was "the worst strategic mistake in the entire history of the United States" and "worse than a civil war." These statements suggest that our Civil War was also a strategic blunder. Do his statements mean that freeing Southern black slaves was wrong and that trying to free the people of Iraq from a tyrant was wrong, as well? Iraq was more of a threat to world peace than the Southern states. Even though the South attacked Fort Sumter first, they thought the...

WHO? All Men and Women, you and everyone you know. WHERE? Everywhere in the world, but especially in countries with weapons of mass destruction. WHEN? Winter Solstice Day - Friday, December 22nd, at the time of your choosing, in the place of your choosing and with as much privacy as you choose. WHY? To effect positive change in the energy field of the Earth through input of the largest possible surge of human energy ( a Synchronized Global Orgasm. There are two more US fleets heading for the Persian Gulf with anti-submarine equipment that can only be for use against...

Jennifer Kolar and Lacey Phillabaum seem unlikely criminals. Well-educated young women passionate about environmental causes, they share a love of the outdoors and similar backgrounds. Both grew up in Spokane and attended the same public high school. Those who know Phillabaum call her bright, outspoken, sometimes in-your-face but never dull. She was a skilled debater in high school and college and once worked for a well-regarded non-profit that promotes sustainable agriculture. Kolar Kolar studied under one of the nation's top atmospheric scientists while pursuing a doctoral degree and had the makings of a good scientist, her adviser said, but her...

Fears that major fireworks shows may be polluting the Pacific Ocean could dampen pyrotechnics displays along the California coast. A threatened lawsuit by an environmental group prompted SeaWorld San Diego to scrap its fireworks shows for the rest of the year, and beach cities are wondering if heightened scrutiny by state regulators will make fireworks for the Fourth of July and other traditional celebrations Environmentalists "are pushing the envelope and, yes, it will be troublesome for any agency firing over water," said Dusty Crane, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, which shoots fireworks off Marina...

CHICAGO - These are dangerous times for waterfowl in Chicago. With the city’s ban on foie gras — a delicacy made of duck and goose liver — days away from going into effect, upscale restaurants in the city are serving it up like never before. They’ve put together special menus featuring it in course after course — searing it, chilling it, throwing it into salads and turning it into sauce. At the same time, foie gras (pronounced fwah-GRAH) enthusiasts are cooking up a lawsuit to keep it on menus or put it back after the ban takes effect Aug. 22,...

a proposed 15-foot-tall triple barrier is built between the United States and Mexico, illegal immigrants may have to take a tip from The Odyssey to get across. That's assuming measures are taken to safeguard the crossing of the endangered peninsular ranges bighorn sheep, whose survival could be threatened by the wall. In Washington earlier this month, a legislative rider attached to the 2007 defense appropriations bill by Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., calls for spending $2 billion to construct the 370-mile-long wall. The bighorns, which inhabit parts of the San Bernardino National Forest and thrive on Mount San Jacinto, migrate across...

Some 750,000 trees have burned due to fires ignited by rockets landing in open areas. JNF estimates damages stand at NIS 36 million Ynet reporters Rocket damages beyond casualties and property: The fires sparked when rockets hit open areas in the north have scorched large forested areas, and according to the Jewish National Fund, it will take 60 years for the forests to regenerate. Altogether, in the 29 days of fighting, some 750,000 trees have burned, including oak, pine, pistachio and others. Direct damage stood at no less than NIS 36 million. On Wednesday a number rockets landed in open...

The Pope took a couple of days off to visit the mountains of Alaska for some sight-seeing. He was cruising along the campground in the Pope mobile when there was a frantic commotion just at the edge of the woods. A helpless Democrat, wearing sandals, shorts, a "Save the Whales" hat, and a "Bush Lied - People Died" T-shirt, was screaming while struggling frantically, thrashing around trying to free himself from the grasp of a 10 foot grizzly. As the Pope watched, horrified, a group of Republican loggers came racing up. One quickly fired a .44 magnum into the bear's...

It has become a big no-no in school lunchboxes because of its unhealthy reputation. But it seems that Sunny D, formerly known as Sunny Delight, is not half as bad for children as it is for fish. Around 8,000 litres of concentrate used to make the drink leaked into a watercourse on Wednesday morning, turning the river bright yellow. Dozens of fish were found floating on the surface, poisoned by the lurid mixture. The spill of 'sub-standard' juice was a category one pollution incident, the most serious kind, according to the Environment Agency. It was caused by a split in...

A Canadian company has developed a new, more efficient process to make the alternative fuel ethanol from farm waste. With today's high oil prices, experts hope the new technology could reduce demand on fossil fuels and increase energy security. "In the past, ethanol fuel use has been limited, because the cost of production was too high," said Jim Easterly, a Washington, D.C.-based bioenergy consultant. "Ethanol produced from corn kernels and wheat grain has historically been more expensive than gasoline produced from oil." Producing corn-based ethanol, for example, uses energy from oil and electricity for everything from growing the corn to...

California's tougher mercury-disposal restrictions are opening the way for innovation in mercury containment and transport The California Department of Toxic Substances (DTSC) began enforcing Universal Waste management rules for all waste generators effective Feb. 9, 2006. All businesses and households are now required to properly dispose of batteries and mercury-containing lamps and devices at a certified recycling facility. This is being supported by increased enforcement by state and county environmental personnel. Disposing of even one spent fluorescent lamp in the regular municipal waste supply could result in costly penalties, including up to a $25,000 fine per day and criminal prosecution....

Iran's order that U.N. nuclear surveillance gear be removed from key sites by mid-February may prevent U.N. inspectors from discovering whether Tehran's atomic drive has wholly peaceful aims, diplomats said. The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board of governors voted on Saturday to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council over fears that it secretly wants to build atomic bombs. Iran, insisting it wants only nuclear power, retaliated by halting compliance with a U.N. system of short-notice nuclear inspections. Diplomats said this could make it difficult for Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to get clear answers for a...

I am a documentary fan. I will even sit through bad documentaries, except anything put out by Mikey Moore, but I stumbled upon a gem a few days ago on television. It is called, Being Caribou. The premise was that these two canucks, male and female, would follow the migration of the Porcupine Herd of Caribou on their migration route in Alaska. No red flags were up yet, but then they said that they were going to do it on foot and I noticed right away that they had a 15" doll of President Bush strapped onto one of the...

Birth control for Canada geese is a reality. A Midwest company's drug-laced goose food, tested in Oregon in spring 2004, has been approved and may be coming soon to a park near you. It's called OvoControl G, developed by Innolytics LLC for distribution to licensed applicators -- local governments, school districts or golf course superintendents already licensed to use chemicals. OvoControl contains nicarbazin, a drug that prevents chicks from forming inside the egg. Its makers say it's safe for geese to eat in formulated pellets, designed to be distributed from feeders put out at the outset of the goose nesting...

DDT Saves Lives - November 8, 2005 It's horrifying enough that malaria -- a preventable and curable disease -- claims one million lives every year and that most victims are Africa's pregnant women and children under five. Compounding this tragedy, however, is the global lobbying effort against the most effective method of combating the mosquito-borne illness: spraying outdoors and inside houses with the insecticide DDT...

Opening today, the documentary Grizzly Man revisits the life and violent death of Timothy Treadwell, a controversial wildlife activist who spent 13 summers living among bears in the Alaskan wilderness. Treadwell was discovered dead and partially eaten by one of his beloved grizzlies at his campsite in Katmai National Park in the fall of 2003. His girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, was also killed. Using Treadwell's own dramatic video footage, the film tells the story of a controversial figure who put a history of drug and alcohol abuse behind him to devote his life to grizzlies. It was an obsession that cost...

LONDON, England (AP) -- Ahead of this week's G8 summit, President Bush says he wants to shift debate on global warming away from limits on greenhouse gas emissions to new technology that would reduce environmental harm without restricting energy use. In an interview with British journalist Trevor McDonald to be broadcast on ITV television Monday, Bush repeated his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and said the United States would not sign it or any similar deals limiting gas emissions. "I think you can grow your economy and at the same time do a better job of harnessing...

Wildflower on Development Site Prompts Criminal Investigation (Note: This is likely anything BUT 'unusual,' and will certainly be used by countless 'copycat' self-proclaimed and diseducated 'environmentalists' and 'direct action' domestic terrorism groups, who currently get away with burning ski resorts, luxury car/SUV dealerships, etc., and will certainly not be dissuaded by the possibility -- and a remote one at that -- of a fine or jail time, knowing the current overcrowding of jails.) June 5, 2005 (No author provided at originating website URL.) KCBS - San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, California CBS 5 855 Battery St. San Francisco, CA 94111-1597 415-362-5550 Fax:...

Pepper-sprayed Humboldt activists awarded $1 each by jury By JUSTIN M. NORTON, Associated Press Writer Thursday, April 28, 2005 Humboldt County and Eureka law enforcement officers were found liable Thursday of using excessive force when they swabbed pepper spray on the eyes of nonviolent logging protesters during a 1997 protest. The jury only awarded the eight plaintiffs $1 each in the case. The was the third trial after the first two ended in deadlocked juries in 1998 and 2004. The plaintiffs laughed and hugged in the courthouse hallways after the verdicts were read and applauded when jurors left their chambers....