| Click the button below to search for articles... View News Items from prior months... June 2021 July 2020 June 2016 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 July 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 November 2012 October 2012 August 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 November 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 October 2010 September 2010 February 2010 January 2010 | Driving Blind for Three Seconds - What Would You Hit? The average time spent reading or typing a text message is 4.6 seconds, and just 3 seconds of texting while driving at 65 mph is the equivalent of driving 100 yards, or the length of a football field, blindfolded. This is just one of the shocking statistics that you will learn about at the statewide kickoff for April’s National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), California Highway Patrol (CHP), and more than 250 law enforcement agencies across the state will join forces in a month-long public awareness and enforcement campaign aimed at preventing distracted driving deaths and injuries on California roadways. Published: 03/28/14 A Trillion Gallons Wasted: Mr. Rooter and Fix a Leak Week Fight Common Household Leaks Mr. Rooter Plumbing Recognizes National Fix a Leak Week with Tips, Tools With the weather across America reaching record lows this winter, homeowners’ plumbing may be weeping – and not tears of joy. The harsh winter has caused thousands of homes to experience busted and leaking pipes, causing major damage – to both the home and the wallet. Add to this number a rash of running toilets and dripping faucets and the water wasted due to household leaks is colossal. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Fix a Leak Week, celebrating its sixth anniversary, will be held March 17-23. Mr. Rooter Plumbing will be participating by offering an online tool designed to help calculate the amount of water a home is wasting due to leaks that are not repaired in a timely manner. According to the EPA, untreated leaks can add up to more than one trillion gallons of wasted water per year, equaling more than the combined annual water usage of Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. “Most people don’t realize that the little leak in their faucet is costing them a pretty penny and wasting a very valuable resource,” says Mary Kennedy Thompson, President of Mr. Rooter LLC. “Oftentimes, the leaks found in the home are fairly simple to correct. These include dripping faucets and leaking toilet flappers and valves.” Mr. Rooter Plumbing offers these tips and tools to help alleviate the burdens a leak can cause: Check the homes water usage during winter months. If your usage exceeds 12,000 gallons a month, it is possible you have a leak. If a faucet is leaking, replace the faucet washers and gaskets if they appear worn. Tighten loose showerheads. Running toilets can waste more than 200 gallons of water daily. A simple method for checking for leaks is placing one to three drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. After 15 minutes, if the water in the bowl has changed color, you have a leak. Old flappers are often the cause of these leaks. Replace any flappers that have decayed or retained mineral build-ups to alleviate this problem. “These simple tips can save a homeowner money and can save millions of gallons of water annually,” says Thompson. “All of our small efforts can lead to big change.” For more information on Fix a Leak Week, visit: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/fi Published: 03/17/14 Uncharted Territory in California Drought: Difficult Decisions Weigh on Ranchers The year 2013 went down in the record books as the driest ever for the state. Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency on Jan. 17, 2014, as a result. The minimal rainfall has had significant negative ramifications on the landscape. Due to this, agriculture and livestock in the state have taken a large hit, which could have economic impacts in the years to come. Almost half of the fruits and nuts grown in the United States come from California. The state leads the country in the production of many different crops, including almonds, artichokes, grapes, kiwi, olives, peaches, pomegranates, rice and walnuts. In a University of California Davis study, led by Leslie Roche, postdoctoral researcher for the Department of Plant Sciences, the California Cattlemen's Association was surveyed to see how the drought conditions were impacting their businesses and ways of life. "We basically asked ranchers, there were about 511 respondents, what are their strategies for drought management, what are their goals that they have on their ranches and what practices work for them," Roche said. After the initial surveys, Roche's team began to conduct personal interviews with ranchers and farmers in the state. After this interview stage, the team will begin onsite ranchland health assessments to evaluate how these methods are helping to combat the drought. So far, their results have shown that the widespread nature of this current drought is forcing difficult decisions on ranchers. "This drought is particularly deep," said Dr. Ken Tate, professor and cooperative extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. "It's affecting ranchers across the entire state, nobody's really immune from it." Tate explained that costs are rising for ranchers, forcing the purchase of more expensive hays, for instance. For those who cannot afford the rising costs, they are reluctantly selling off cattle that they would much rather keep. "One of the questions that Leslie asked them was 'out of the last 10 years, how many of them have been drought?' In some parts of the state people are saying eight, nine years," Tate said. Looking ahead, the dry winter will continue to have negative impacts on farmers and ranchers. Tate explained that many farmers who grow their own crops rely on irrigation systems, and that with a lack of snowpack this season reservoirs may not have an adequate supply of water this summer. The state of California made $44.7 billion in 2012 off its agricultural products, more than any other state in the country. As water reserves dwindle and the cost of maintaining farms and livestock go up, production abilities will suffer. California's leading cash commodity is its dairy industry, which went down 10 percent from 2011 to 2012. From 2011 to 2012, there were 1,000 farms lost. "It's really been cumulative impacts for them," Roche said. "We started talking to people last April, and we were already hearing about the drier years just in the last two years that has resulted in quite a few people, especially in Southern California, who have had to reduce their herds by almost half." With that already occurring, Roche said, then the larger growing regions of the state entering exceptional drought this year, many are concerned about the further reduction of their crops and livestocks. Across the country, the increased costs of production for California farmers could mean increased prices for the crops that the state provides the majority of. Tate said that the ranchers in the study are being asked whether their current methods of sustaining will be adequate if the drought persists. "The fast majority, 95 percent if not more, say no, that their current strategies or their past strategies are not going to be adequate going into the future. It's a bit of an uncharted territory for a lot of folks. Strategies, even past, multigenerational strategies, most people think are not going to continue being adequate going in to the future if this persists." By Samantha-Rae Tuthill, Staff Writer for AccuWeather.com Published: 03/14/14 Cattle Ranching Critical to Environment, Even During Drought Posted on March 14, 2014 by Karen Sweet, Livermore Cattle Rancher Cattle in Bridgeport, CA It is human nature to come at a crisis from one’s own point of view. Sometimes, however, that can lead to conclusions and courses of action that are ineffective at best and drastically short-sighted at worst. With the drought and its impact on agriculture in the news, I am taking this opportunity as a beef cattle rancher to provide insight into California’s cattle production, its value to our environment and our state’s economy, and what ranchers are doing to conserve water not only during this severe drought, but all the time. First, let’s start with the water usage numbers. A lot of erroneous statistics have been tossed around that aren’t based in cited evidence. In reality, it takes 441 gallons of water to produce one pound of boneless beef—a fraction of the amount of water that is used to produce everyday items such as one cotton T-shirt. That 441 gallons of water includes the water the animals drink daily, water used to irrigate pasture land and grow crops cattle are fed, and the water used in processing the beef. Water conservation has long been a commitment of U.S. ranchers, and we have reduced the amount of water used to raise beef by 12 percent compared to 30 years ago. (Source: “The environmental impact of beef production in the United States: 1977 Compared with 2007,” J. L. Capper, Journal of Animal Science, 2011) Secondly, cattle production has many positive aspects beyond providing food that benefit everyone. California ranchers—in fact, all ranchers—think about the environment daily. We understand that raising cattle requires careful use of resources with an eye toward both sustainability of the cattle operation and preservation of wildlife habitat. Contrary to what you might have heard, ALL beef cattle spend the majority of their lives eating grass on pastures. About 85 percent of U.S. rangeland is unsuitable for crop production, but it is suitable for grazing and for complementary wildlife habitat. This is particularly true for California, a state with more diversity in our rangeland than any other in the country. Some 60 to 70 percent of California’s endangered species such as the California tiger salamander and the California red-legged frog live on privately-owned rangeland. This rangeland also plays a critical role in California’s water supply. According to the California Department of Conservation, while California’s rangeland is about 25 percent of all land in California, about 85 percent of California’s drinking water is collected and stored within these rangeland watersheds. Ranchers actively support on-going watershed research to help them improve their land stewardship practices and protect the water quality leaving their ranches. In addition to the interconnectedness of rangelands, water, and wildlife, farmers and ranchers have a huge impact on our state’s economy. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, there are 80,500 farms and ranches in California and agriculture is a $44.7 billion dollar industry generating at least $100 billion in related economic activity. Milk, cattle and calves are among the top five valued commodities for California agriculture. Most people don’t realize that across the United States, 97 percent of the cattle ranches are family-owned. These are individuals and families like mine that have been doing this work for generations, and who have been working to continually improve the sustainability of what they do. My grandchildren, for example are the seventh generation to live on the ranch in the East Bay. California’s ranchers and farmers are caring for our animals during this stressful time, often at great financial risk to purchase hay and other carbohydrate feedstuffs like almond hulls. There is less rain water for the pastures, and some stock ponds and creeks have gone dry since there has not been rainwater runoff. Ranchers are using our compromised water and forage sources carefully. In too many cases some need to sell some or all of their livestock to others who have both sufficient feed and water to take care of the animals. It hurts ranchers to lose their hard-earned enterprise and animal husbandry efforts for the year and, perhaps permanently. But it hurts even more when our neighbors regard us as perpetrators of the water problem and not a key component of California’s food supply and natural resources – affecting their own daily lives. Karen Sweet is a cattle rancher in Livermore, CA. Published: 03/14/14 |