http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/apr/16/ban-mountaintop-mining-revived-tenn-legislators/
Tennessee committee is reconsidering the ban, and voted to put the bill in effect, and possibly reverse their earlier veto.
I feel this is a good thing, and a potential jumping point for many more such measures.
What do you feel?
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/apr/03/bill-surface-mining-halted/
Says that a bill that would limit mountaintop removal mining was halted. Mountaintop mining is where they cut the top off the mountain and take the ore. This is very destructive. The coal companies say it is worth the harm for the benefit we get.
I feel this needs to stop.
What do you feel?
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/apr/13/tellico-dam-still-generating-debate/
More on the Tellico Dam debate…Says who despite the arguments about the Snail darter, the fish has thrived in the reservoir. However, it still cost a lot of people their farmland. TVA says it generates power, but all it does is redirect water towards Fort Loudon. A yacht maker says that people can reach 24 states by that water.
I feel that the dam is ok having been made, although I am not SURE about it.
What do you think?
http://www.myspace.com/vsknoxville Great little place. Go there, and for whatever price, use some pretty nice systems and game a bit.
Went to the Blogfest at wild Wings…had a great time. Met a guy who recommended a few WoW blogs to me…namely, http://www.wowinsider.com/ and http://www.massively.com/. The food was good, as well. Fun!
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/apr/05/program-addresses-environmental-ethics/
This article says how UT is having a discussion involving global warming, the rising gasoline prices, and increased energy use, among other things. This IS a rising problem. The fact that they are having actual talks about it IS an improvement, though.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/apr/05/more-riders-katching-on/
This article says that more people are taking buses because of rising gas prices, for the most part. Some people, though, take the bus because they like to sit back and enjoy the ride. The buses are a LOT more green, and they are cheaper, as well. Although the buses are not an option for many people, they are a lot better for the environment.
They would be feasible, if there were more buses, more routes, and they were more friendly toward family life-aka, pets, young kids, etc.
I am a culprit of this one, myself. My parents suggest I should get a bus pass, but, in addition to the inconvenience of the buses, I feel it is a sense of pride to have my own driver’s license. That, and buses smell bad.
I was interested in what Kari said about plastic bags and found this article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/123038/page/1
This article says how various cities are considering bans on plastics, and that the plastics industry is fighting it, city by city. San Francisco has banned them, and other cities are trying. The plastic bags take roughly 1,000 years to decompose, and take a lot of oil to make. They choke birds and small animals. They can even kill a rhinoceros, by wrapping around its foot, cutting circulation, foot dies, rhino can’t move, and it starves. Paper bags kill trees. I feel that the only green choice is reusable fabric bags. Are we going to let the plastics lobby destroy our earth so they can have a bit more money? Our family uses fabric bags. What do YOU use and why?
Basically, Georgia says that when the lines were drawn, they messed up 200 years ago. They want the lines redrawn to where Georgia would have on shore of the Tennessee river. Tennessee says no.
My feeling is this:The border may have been misplaced, but after this long, I believe the term “fait accompli” would be useful here. After the border has been in place for so long, it is useless to continue argument. The border is where it is. If it had changed, say 75 years ago, when there was not so much on the waterline, no problem. However, if the border moves now, then countless businesses and homes would have to re-register with Georgia.
I await opinions.
I just spent 5 days in a swamp. It was great! We went in, and spent the first night at an RV plugin campground with our tents. Then, then next day, we canoed in and set up camp on the island. The raccoons had to be chased away several times. Later, We cooked dinner. The mosquitoes were very bad…my arm has lots and lots of bites on it. We went canoing the next day and saw several very large alligators. Canoing against wind and current, I learned by experience, is very difficult. We canoed a few miles upriver to Gary’s Island, and saw the Lee family graveyard, as in Robert E. Lee. We mostly floated downriver form there. We canoed daily, and had a great time. On the way home, my Nintendo DS Lite ran out of battery, so i was a boring 14-hour ride home except when people were willing to listen to my iPod while I played their game boys. It got better when I was able to move up front and watch the movie on the portable DVD player. We had a great time.