#like a pelican during an oil spill

[omgeddon]

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[goneahead]

Winter Solstice, Camelot Station

~~John M. Ford

Camelot is served By a sixteen-track stub terminal done in High Gothick Style, The tracks covered by a single great barrel-vaulted glass roof framed upon iron, At once looking back to the Romans and ahead to the Brunels. Beneath its rotunda, just to the left of the ticket windows, Is a mosaic floor depicting the Round Table (Where all knights, regardless of their station of origin Or class of accommodation, are equal), And around it murals of knightly deeds in action (Slaying dragons, righting wrongs, rescuing maidens tied to the tracks). It is the only terminal, other than Gare d'Avalon in Paris, To be hung with original tapestries, And its lavatories rival those at the Great Gate of Kiev Central. During a peak season such as this, some eighty trains a day pass through, Five times the frequency at the old Londinium Terminus, Ten times the number the Druid towermen knew. (The Official Court Christmas Card this year displays A crisp black-and-white Charles Clegg photograph from the King's own collection. Showing a woad-blued hogger at the throttle of "Old XCVII," The Fast Mail overnight to Eboracum. Those were the days.) The first of a line of wagons have arrived, Spilling footmen and pages in Court livery, And old thick Kay, stepping down from his Range Rover, Tricked out in a bush coat from Swaine, Adeney, Brigg, Leaning on his shooting stick as he marshalls his company, Instructing the youngest how to behave in the station, To help mature women that they may encounter, Report pickpockets, gather up litter, And of course no true Knight of the Table Round (even in training) Would do a station porter out of Christmas tips. He checks his list of arrival times, then his watch (A moon-phase Breguet, gift from Merlin): The seneschal is a practical man, who knows trains do run late, And a stolid one, who sees no reason to be glad about it. He dispatches pages to posts at the tracks, Doling out pennies for platform tickets, Then walks past the station buffet with a dyspeptic snort, Goes into the bar, checks the time again, orders a pint. The patrons half turn--it's the fella from Camelot, innit? And Kay chuckles soft to himself, and the Court buys a round. He's barely halfway when a page tumbles in, Seems the knights are arriving, on time after all, So he tips the glass back (people stare as he guzzles), Then plonks it down hard with five quid for the barman, And strides for the doorway (half Falstaff, half Hotspur) To summon his liveried army of lads.

* * *

Bors arrives behind steam, riding the cab of a heavy Mikado. He shakes the driver's hand, swings down from the footplate, And is like a locomotive himself, his breath clouding white, Dark oil sheen on his black iron mail, Sword on his hip swinging like siderods at speed. He stamps back to the baggage car, slams mailed fist on steel door With a clang like jousters colliding. The handler opens up and goes to rouse another knight. Old Pellinore has been dozing with his back against a crate, A cubical, chain-bound thing with FRAGILE tags and air holes, BEAST says the label, QUESTING, 1 the bill of lading. The porters look doubtful but ease the thing down. It grumbles. It shifts. Someone shouts, and they drop it. It cracks like an egg. There is nothing within. Elayne embraces Bors on the platform, a pelican on a rock, Silently they watch as Pelly shifts the splinters, Supposing aloud that Gutman and Cairo have swindled him.

A high-drivered engine in Northern Lines green Draws in with a string of side-corridor coaches, All honey-toned wood with stained glass on their windows. Gareth steps down from a compartment, then Gaheris and Aggravaine, All warmly tucked up in Orkney sweaters; Gawaine comes after in Shetland tweed. Their Gladstones and steamers are neatly arranged, With never a worry--their Mum does the packing. A redcap brings forth a curious bundle, a rude shape in red paper-- The boys did that one themselves, you see, and how does one wrap a unicorn's head? They bustle down the platform, past a chap all in green. He hasn't the look of a trainman, but only Gawaine turns to look at his eyes, And sees written there Sir, I shall speak with you later.

Over on the first track, surrounded by reporters, All glossy dark iron and brass-bound mystery, The Direct-Orient Express, ferried in from Calais and Points East. Palomides appears. Smelling of patchouli and Russian leather, Dripping Soubranie ash on his astrakhan collar, Worry darkening his dark face, though his damascene armor shows no tarnish, He pushes past the press like a broad-hulled icebreaker. Flashbulbs pop. Heads turn. There's a woman in Chanel black, A glint of diamonds, liquid movements, liquid eyes. The newshawks converge, but suddenly there appears A sharp young man in a crisp blue suit From the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, That elegant, comfortable, decorous, close-mouthed firm; He's good at his job, and they get not so much as a snapshot. Tomorrow's editions will ask who she was, and whom with...

Now here's a silver train, stainless steel, Vista-Domed, White-lighted grails on the engine (running no extra sections) The Logres Limited, extra fare, extra fine, (Stops on signal at Carbonek to receive passengers only). She glides to a Timkin-borne halt (even her grease is clean), Galahad already on the steps, flashing that winning smile, Breeze mussing his golden hair, but not his Armani tailoring, Just the sort of man you'd want finding your chalice. He signs an autograph, he strikes a pose. Someone says, loudly, "Gal! Who serves the Grail?" He looks--no one he knows--and there's a silence, A space in which he shifts like sun on water; Look quick and you may see a different knight, A knight who knows that meanings can be lies, That things are done not knowing why they're done, That bearings fail, and stainless steel corrodes. A whistle blows. Snow shifts on the glass shed roof. That knight is gone. This one remaining tosses his briefcase to one of Kay's pages, And, golden, silken, careless, exits left.

Behind the carsheds, on the business-car track, alongside the private varnish Of dukes and smallholders, Persian potentates and Cathay princes (James J. Hill is here, invited to bid on a tunnel through the Pennines), Waits a sleek car in royal blue, ex-B&O, its trucks and fittings chromed, A black-gloved hand gripping its silver platform rail; Mordred and his car are both upholstered in blue velvet and black leather. He prefers to fly, but the weather was against it. His DC-9, with its video system and Quotron and waterbed, sits grounded at Gatwick. The premature lines in his face are a map of a hostile country, The redness in his eyes a reminder that hollyberries are poison. He goes inside to put on a look acceptable for Christmas Court; As he slams the door it rattles like strafing jets.

Outside the Station proper, in the snow, On a through track that's used for milk and mail, A wheezing saddle-tanker stops for breath; A way-freight mixed, eight freight cars and caboose, Two great ugly men on the back platform, talking with a third on the ballast. One, the conductor, parcels out the last of the coffee; They drink. A joke about grails. They laugh. When it's gone, the trainman pretends to kick the big hobo off, But the farewell hug spoils the act. Now two men stand on the dirty snow, The conductor waves a lantern and the train grinds on. The ugly men start walking, the new arrival behind, Singing "Wenceslas" off-key till the other says stop. There are two horses waiting for them. Rather plain horses, Considering. The men mount up. By the roundhouse they pause, And look at the locos, the water, the sand, and the coal, The look for a long time at the turntable, Until the one who is King says "It all seemed so simple, once," And the best knight in the world says "It is. We make it hard." They ride on, toward Camelot by the service road.

The sun is winter-low. Kay's caravan is rolling. He may not run a railroad, but he runs a tight ship; By the time they unload in the Camelot courtyard, The wassail will be hot and the goose will be crackling, Banners snapping from their towers, fir logs on the fire, drawbridge down, And all that sackbut and psaltery stuff. Blanchefleur is taking the children caroling tonight, Percivale will lose to Merlin at chess, The young knights will dally and the damsels dally back, The old knights will play poker at a smaller Table Round. And at the great glass station, motion goes on, The extras, the milk trains, the varnish, the limiteds, The Pindar of Wakefield, the Lady of the Lake, The Broceliande Local, the Fast Flying Briton, The nerves of the kingdom, the lines of exchange, Running to a schedule as the world ought, Ticking like a hot-fired hand-stoked heart, The metal expression of the breaking of boundaries, The boilers that turn raw fire into power, The driving rods that put the power to use, The turning wheels that make all places equal, The knowledge that the train may stop but the line goes on; The train may stop But the line goes on.

[ridenwithbiden]

Rebecca Solnit  · “Even maps that don't want to lie can't tell the whole truth, because a map shows some aspects of a place, not all. Nearly every map of the Gulf near New Orleans shows the land as though it were solid, not a fraying tissue of wetlands and bayou, the fastest eroding coastline on earth, and shows the Gulf itself as though it were just water, rather than an industrial wasteland criss-crossed by oil pipelines, studded with oil platforms, and contaminated with spilled oil. This has stripped away the coastal protection New Orleans once enjoyed, making it more vulnerable to storms and surges and the oil itself kills both plants and animals. 

Antonia Juhasz, a dear friend who just evacuated New Orleans, fleeing Hurricane Ida, wrote an essay to accompany the map Oil and Water, shown here, for our 2013 atlas of that metropolis, Unfathomable City. She wrote: To carry this oil to shore, a vast network of pipes stretch out like millions of tentacles from thousands of offshore platforms. 

Materials are shipped to the rigs and brought back through a series of canals and channels. All of these require digging throughout coastal wetlands, allowing saltwater to intrude inland. The saline water causes the dieback—the gradual dying of plant shoots, starting at the tips—of freshwater vegetation, which leads to wetland erosion. At the same time, the spoil banks—piles of waste—created during construction impede natural freshwater flow, leading to increased periods of flooding and drying. 

It is widely estimated that oil and gas operations are responsible for some 60 percent of wetland loss and coastal erosion in the Gulf.  The Great Gulf Oil Monster is literally devouring the coast. As Louisiana’s coastline disappears, oil and gas infrastructure become exposed, increasing the potential for damage, including dangerous spills. 

Less than two weeks before the BP oil disaster, on April 6th, 2010, an anchor for an ExxonMobil barge punctured an exposed Chevron-operated oil pipeline, spilling 18,000 gallons of oil into Louisiana’s Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Heavy oiling kills off grasses whose roots hold the marsh sediment together. 

The BP oil spill is estimated to have killed off so many salt marsh plants that it resulted in a more-than-doubled rate of erosion along the marsh edge and subsequent permanent marsh habitat loss. BP’s oil also killed much of the vegetation, prompting erosion, on a key nesting ground for pelicans and other migrating waterfowl at Cat Island. The island rookery shelters seagulls, spoonbills, and egrets, but is primarily populated by brown pelicans. It is estimated that the island has shrunk from four acres to one since the spill. 

Photographer Julie Dermansky went to Cat Island in July 2012 and photographed newly hatched baby birds. A week later, she returned, finding that high waters had destroyed the nests, leaving just one living baby pelican. 

Map by Jakob Rozenzweig, artwork by Jaqueline Bishop. With Rebecca Snedeker, Lia Tjandra, and Niels Hooper.

[ibtk]

Book Review: THE SEVENTH MANSION by Maryse Meijer

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review though Edelweiss. Trigger warning for sexual assault, homophobia, violence against animals, and disturbing sexual content.)

-- 4.5 stars --

There is this person I love. And he’s not even a person.

After Xie's parents split and an environmental disaster sends his already precarious mental health spiraling, Xie and his father Erik relocate from California to an unnamed town in the rural south, in search of the proverbial fresh start.

At first, Xie is your garden-variety teenage outcast: melancholy. goth. vegan. an outsider. friendless. forgettable. Yet he's quickly "adopted" by the only other vegans in the school - girlfriends Jo and Leni, who together make up the entirety of FKK.

The group's animal rights activism slowly evolves from leafleting to direct action: the trio breaks into a local mink farm, freeing as many of its captives as they can. Xie is nabbed during the getaway, and suddenly he goes from "nobody" to "that freak who vandalized the Moore farm". Instead of silence and indifference, Xie is met by hostile sneers, gossip, and relentless bullying. He takes a leave of absence from high school, instead getting one-on-one tutoring at the local library. His parents are forced to pay restitution, and Xie's placed on probation.

Xie's only respite is nature: his burgeoning vegetable garden; the small but pristine forest behind his house; and, eventually, the mysterious light, nestled among the branches, that leads him to a tiny church - and his beloved. St. Pancratius, who was martyred in 304 A.D. and whose remains are on covert display in a one-room church in the middle of nowhere.

He traces the image with his finger. The story the same in every version: A boy on a road, refusing to lift his sword against the lamb, losing his head every time the story is told, again and again and again.

Still, all of this comes with a cost: loving nature, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, means saying goodbye to it one day. Relationships can be messy, even when they're with clean bones. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own shit that we're oblivious to what our loved ones are going through. Maybe your tutor shows up to work one day piss drunk and tells you about her abortion. Or your friends drag you to a backwoods meeting of environmental activists, where one of them sexually assaults you. Or you show up to a mass protest that is even more massive than you anticipated, and find you're unable to protect yourself, let alone the 55 billion+ land animals slaughtered for food every year in the US alone (animalclock.org).

The problem is too big, even when it's one of the smaller ones. The problem is impossible.

While disturbing, Xie's theft of a skeleton is not the worst crime he'll commit in his teen years. As FKK becomes involved with a local animal rights group, and Xie's sanctuary is threatened, he careens toward an inevitable (????) collision with the outside world, which neither understands him - nor cares to. (Fuck capitalism.)

THE SEVENTH MANSION is one weird-ass book; I mean, the main character has sex with a skeleton (!). This is certainly the wildest aspect of the story, but it's not alone. For example, take the narrative structure, which has a kind of stream-of-(Xie's)-consciousness vibe. Many of the sentences are fractured, even forced, as though we're pulling them from the depth's of Xie's tortured soul. His thoughts. Are broken. Up. Like this. Conversely, there are no chapters, and so many of the paragraphs are just huge, unbroken blocks of text - almost as though Meijer is framing Xie in opposition to the larger world around him.*

I suspect that THE SEVENTH MANSION is one of those love it or hate it dealios. Personally, I loved it, even as some parts proved excruciatingly unbearable to read.

I don't know whether Meijer is vegan, but she gets so much right; sometimes it felt like she was rooting around inside my head. I went vegetarian my freshman year of college (1996, not to date myself) and vegan about 9 years later. Reading Xie was like having a mirror held up to my own depressive, anxious, vegan psyche. One thing carnists probably don't realize about walking around this world as a vegan is: it takes a ton of mental work, of suppression and dissociation, just to get through the day.

Animal suffering is omnipresent, and largely accepted. From Carl's Jr. commercials to classroom trips to the zoo; leather car seats to team lunches at non-vegan restaurants, where you'll be forced to watch your coworkers and friends devour the corpse of a once-living creature - someone's mother, brother, or child - we are constantly forced to bear witness to the oppression of animals. Worse, to pretend as though it's of no consequence: just to get along, or because doing otherwise would quickly devour your time, your prospects, your relationships. To say that it's depressing is an understatement.

Whether Xie is living through the oil spill that finally made his world "snap," or gazing into the eyes of caged mink, I was right there with him, trying not to cry. Not to break. There's so much suffering in the world; if you try to take it all in, to truly understand its scope, it will swallow you whole.

Speaking of the oil spill, which was the impetus for Xie to go vegan - Meijer's description of this moment in Xie's life brought back so many memories. When I decided to stop eating meat, I was working at a local grocery store. Every now and again, they had an employee appreciation dinner (in lieu of a raise, natch), which basically consisted of all you can eat burgers and hot dogs in the break room. Everyone would stuff their faces, taking in as many free calories as possible. Not because they were hungry, but to get as much of a leg up on our cheap ass employer as possible. The sheer gluttony and waste of it all is what finally did it for me. No one needed to eat seven hamburgers in one night; we did because we could, because not doing so would be to lose out. The working class eating the chattel, and no one eating the rich.

Point being, that's a singular moment in my life that I'll never forget. It stands out in stark relief, right alongside the deaths of my husband and furkids (six dogs and one cat down and counting). If I close my eyes, I can almost transport myself back there, white starched shirt, demo table, 7PM Friday fatigue, and all.

The last time he ate meat he was twelve years old, after the spill: Xie was Alex then. Even miles from the beach, they could smell something off; at first they thought it was the sandwiches, ham pressed hot in the pockets of Erik’s windbreaker, but the closer they got to the beach the stronger the smell became, noxious, chemical. They parked at their usual spot, yellow tape blocking access to the beach beyond. A black ribbon flat against the horizon; that was the water. No trace of blue. On the rocks below the lot a half dozen pelicans huddled together. Coated from beak to foot in oil. Don’t touch them, his father said. Someone will come wash it off. But there was no one. The black sea lapping the sand. Those bewildered eyes. He watched as one of the birds collapsed, its head twisted sideways against its folded neck. His father pulled him away. The fire on the water burned for two weeks; the beach remained black for a year. Sea turtles, dolphins, whales, gulls, crabs, otters, fish, birds rolled up by the waves in the tens of thousands. Oil on meat on sand. No stopping it. Xie got headaches, bloody noses; he was always tired, couldn’t sleep. His mother standing in the doorway, Stop playing games, you’re fine. But his father was never angry. Scared of what he saw. Xie in the dark. Unable to make it from one room to another. The people who used to go to the beach just went somewhere else. Life as usual. Slumped in the backseat as his father fed gas into the truck he suddenly couldn’t stand it. Stopped standing it. He opened the back door, started walking. Alex, his father called, but he was not Alex anymore. He poured out all the milk in the house and fed the meat to the dogs next door and rode his bike everywhere.

So yeah, our circumstances may be different, but Xie's conversion sure hit me in the feels.

Meijer also does an excellent job capturing the heartbreak and urgency of Millennials and Gen Z. As tormented as I might have been in high school, at least I had the luxury of not thinking too much about climate change - at least until Al Gore came along. Xie and his peers, on the other hand, will bear the brunt of their predecessors' unchecked greed. Nowhere is this divide more eloquently laid bare than in Jo's post-march argument with Erik (who is likely around my age):

Didn’t you see how he just folded up out there? He can’t protect himself, he won’t. You don’t know what he was like, before we came here, okay, you didn’t watch him, lying in bed day after day, ready to cut his goddamn throat because of all this shit, this constant litany of doomsday statistics, he just takes it in and he can’t—he doesn’t know what to do with it, and you want to keep shoving it in his face, when it’s—it’s enough! Staring at Jo, who stares back. Look, whatever you’re afraid of, whatever he’s afraid of, it’s already happening, okay? And he knows it, he’s living it, and he wants to do something about it. If there was some other option, some fantasyland where everything is going to be fine as long as we bury our heads in the sand, then believe me, I’d take it. But there’s not. Not for me and not for Leni and not for Xie and if you think you can protect him by denying that then you’re just—wrong. I’m sorry. She holds Erik’s gaze; he nods, the first to look away.

My gods, that scene just cuts me to the bone. As bleak as things are now, I cannot imagine going through all this - climate change, COVID-19, a Trump presidency, Democratic ineptitude/complicity, *gesturing wildly* - as an adolescent. Their elders cut them down before they even started crawling.  

On a lighter note, Xie's scenes with his clueless mom and her equally clueless new husband (Jerry!) brought a(n admittedly wry) smile to my face. If I had a penny for every times this scene has played out in my life, I'd have enough cash monies to start my own animal sanctuary.

Don’t you want some vegetables, Xie? Jerry asks. I don’t eat animal products, Xie murmurs, and Jerry, confused, staring at the green beans, How is this— Butter, Xie interrupts. Butter is from milk, which is from cows, which are animals. Jerry blinks. Gosh, I didn’t even think of that. Sorry. Xie shrugs.

There's so much to obsess about here: I love Jo and Leni together, and their opposing circumstances just make the relationship so much more complex - and potentially fraught. Erik and tutor Karen (I wonder if the name choice was intentional?) are interesting supporting characters, and their relationships with Xie are so beautiful and nuanced; they both support him the best they know how.

Xie's interactions with his phantom lover are a little more confusing and difficult for me to comprehend. Perhaps P. represents Xie's inability to connect with the human world around him, or at least not as well as the more abstract, ephemeral natural world. Possibly P. is Xie's ideal human: one who would rather die than raise a finger against an animal (or one who cannot disappoint you by voicing their own opinions). Or maybe it's simpler than that, and Xie's hallucinations are just that: hallucinations. In any case, it made an already odd book absolutely bizarre, but in a good way, so I can't complain.

* This could just be because I was reading an early copy in need of further editing - but, seeing as how some formatting was already present, I think it was intentional. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3672191091

[turningtimeinthetardis]

britta perry and frankie dart for the character ask!

Sorry it’s taken me forever to answer this! Britta Perry

Why I like her

She’s unflinching in her beliefs (even if they’re sometimes misguided), she’s the heart of the group, she’s HILARIOUS when given the chance to crack jokes, she’s unconventionally smarter than she’s given credit for, she calls Jeff out on his shit early on when he’s still little more than a manipulative ass to the group. I could go on. She’s a gem.

Why I don’t

She’s not always the most understanding toward Abed in S1, but other than that...can’t really think of anything.

Favorite episode(s)

Modern Warfare, Origins of Vampire Mythology, Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations

Favorite season

Seasons 2 and 6 in particular are pretty good for her.

Favorite line

“Shouldn't have worn that petard if you didn't want to be hoisted by it...I guess I just assumed that in the old days a petard was a special outfit like a leotard, with a lot of fancy buckles and loops on it, and that rich people would wear them when they were feeling especially smug, but then poor people would tie a rope through one of the loops, and hoist them up a pole and then let them dangle there as punishment for being cocky.”

Favorite outfit

S1 Valentine’s Day outfit was awesome and made me go, “Okay, yeah, Britta’s bi.” 

And her standard jeans/boots/leather jacket combo slays.

OTP

I’m split more or less 50/50 on the idea that her ideal romantic ending comes with Jeff or Annie.

Reasons for Jeff: The chemistry. The banter. Wearing jaded cynicism to hide inner turmoil. They always fall back to each other.

Reasons for Annie: This is more of an AU, but there’s def. a timeline out there where Annie’s comment about “I only kissed Jeff because I wanted to be sexy and cool like you” sticks in Britta’s mind for longer than it should. In said timeline, the two of them actually bond as good friends after the whole S2 save the pelicans/oil spill incident. Annie slowly realizes she’s gay and they get together late in the show’s run (probably S5 or S6).

Brotp

Troy for sure! They shouldn’t have dated, but their friendship is really important and they relate well to each other.

Headcanon

I feel like it’s not really a headcanon with how many people have broadcasted it over the years, but Britta’s definitely bi. Also, she makes personalized mixtapes for everyone in the study group as Christmas presents with music she knows they like, as well as tracks she thinks they’ll enjoy based on their listening habits during the year.

Unpopular opinion

I prefer late-season Britta’s personality to S1. It’s not her fault she got Flanderized by the writers.

A wish

Delete the episode with her parents or have her friends react accordingly when they’ve literally all gone through some level of familial trauma. Especially Jeff considering Britta LITERALLY helped him deal with facing his dad at Thanksgiving.

An oh-god-please-don’t-ever-happen

If the movie ever somehow gets made...no using “Britta” as a put-down verb.

Nickname

I mean, I don’t have a nickname for her, but I pretty much always write that Jeff or Annie (depending who I pair her with in fics) affectionally call her “Britts” from time to time.

Frankie Dart

Why I like her

She's willing to adapt to the group and to Greendale’s general insanity and works her ass off to make the school better. Also, she has the patience to deal with Dean Pelton’s antics. Mad respect.

Why I don’t

She sometimes takes the whole “I’m in charge” thing a little far early on, but, like, I get it.

Favorite episode(s)

Basic Crisis Room Decorum, Grifting 101, and Wedding Videography.

Favorite season

Season 6 lol

Favorite line

“Hope points!” or “Annie, the world will still need you after you finish your cake...we have the same dragon. Eventually you will slay it, train it, or dissolve in its stomach. Its name is helping others.”

Favorite outfit

Her day 1 “I’m here to fix your school” outfit worked pretty well.

OTP

Honestly, I don’t really ship her with anyone from the group and I think she’s completely fine on her own. Maybe Britta for the “chaotic dumbass/organized list-checker in love” vibes? 

Brotp

Annie is the only right answer for the type A, get shit done solidarity, and for how Frankie becomes her mentor, of sorts.

Headcanon

The group arranges for a birthday party or some such occasion to be held at a laser tag arena and Frankie learns she likes shooting people when there are rules and regulations to it, rather than the utter insanity of paintball.

Unpopular opinion

I don’t think I have one...maybe that she wouldn’t necessarily do well if she had to take over as the Dean? Idk.

A wish

I wish she could’ve had a few more opportunities to show off her fun side (such that it is, as a person who copped to being boring/mundane) like she did at the end of Grifting 101.

An oh-god-please-don’t-ever-happen

I wouldn’t wanna see her get written as a buzzkill in the movie if it ever happens.

Sorry again that this took so long, kind anon!

[ttto-misc]

camelot, john m ford

Camelot is served By a sixteen-track stub terminal done in High Gothick Style, The tracks covered by a single great barrel-vaulted glass roof framed upon iron, At once looking back to the Romans and ahead to the Brunels. Beneath its rotunda, just to the left of the ticket windows, Is a mosaic floor depicting the Round Table (Where all knights, regardless of their station of origin Or class of accommodation, are equal), And around it murals of knightly deeds in action (Slaying dragons, righting wrongs, rescuing maidens tied to the tracks). It is the only terminal, other than Gare d’Avalon in Paris, To be hung with original tapestries, And its lavatories rival those at the Great Gate of Kiev Central. During a peak season such as this, some eighty trains a day pass through, Five times the frequency at the old Londinium Terminus, Ten times the number the Druid towermen knew. (The Official Court Christmas Card this year displays A crisp black-and-white Charles Clegg photograph from the King’s own collection. Showing a woad-blued hogger at the throttle of “Old XCVII,” The Fast Mail overnight to Eboracum. Those were the days.) The first of a line of wagons have arrived, Spilling footmen and pages in Court livery, And old thick Kay, stepping down from his Range Rover, Tricked out in a bush coat from Swaine, Adeney, Brigg, Leaning on his shooting stick as he marshalls his company, Instructing the youngest how to behave in the station, To help mature women that they may encounter, Report pickpockets, gather up litter, And of course no true Knight of the Table Round (even in training) Would do a station porter out of Christmas tips. He checks his list of arrival times, then his watch (A moon-phase Breguet, gift from Merlin): The seneschal is a practical man, who knows trains do run late, And a stolid one, who sees no reason to be glad about it. He dispatches pages to posts at the tracks, Doling out pennies for platform tickets, Then walks past the station buffet with a dyspeptic snort, Goes into the bar, checks the time again, orders a pint. The patrons half turn–it’s the fella from Camelot, innit? And Kay chuckles soft to himself, and the Court buys a round. He’s barely halfway when a page tumbles in, Seems the knights are arriving, on time after all, So he tips the glass back (people stare as he guzzles), Then plonks it down hard with five quid for the barman, And strides for the doorway (half Falstaff, half Hotspur) To summon his liveried army of lads.

* * *

Bors arrives behind steam, riding the cab of a heavy Mikado. He shakes the driver’s hand, swings down from the footplate, And is like a locomotive himself, his breath clouding white, Dark oil sheen on his black iron mail, Sword on his hip swinging like siderods at speed. He stamps back to the baggage car, slams mailed fist on steel door With a clang like jousters colliding. The handler opens up and goes to rouse another knight. Old Pellinore has been dozing with his back against a crate, A cubical, chain-bound thing with FRAGILE tags and air holes, BEAST says the label, QUESTING, 1 the bill of lading. The porters look doubtful but ease the thing down. It grumbles. It shifts. Someone shouts, and they drop it. It cracks like an egg. There is nothing within. Elayne embraces Bors on the platform, a pelican on a rock, Silently they watch as Pelly shifts the splinters, Supposing aloud that Gutman and Cairo have swindled him.

A high-drivered engine in Northern Lines green Draws in with a string of side-corridor coaches, All honey-toned wood with stained glass on their windows. Gareth steps down from a compartment, then Gaheris and Aggravaine, All warmly tucked up in Orkney sweaters; Gawaine comes after in Shetland tweed. Their Gladstones and steamers are neatly arranged, With never a worry–their Mum does the packing. A redcap brings forth a curious bundle, a rude shape in red paper– The boys did that one themselves, you see, and how does one wrap a unicorn’s head? They bustle down the platform, past a chap all in green. He hasn’t the look of a trainman, but only Gawaine turns to look at his eyes, And sees written there Sir, I shall speak with you later.

Over on the first track, surrounded by reporters, All glossy dark iron and brass-bound mystery, The Direct-Orient Express, ferried in from Calais and Points East. Palomides appears. Smelling of patchouli and Russian leather, Dripping Soubranie ash on his astrakhan collar, Worry darkening his dark face, though his damascene armor shows no tarnish, He pushes past the press like a broad-hulled icebreaker. Flashbulbs pop. Heads turn. There’s a woman in Chanel black, A glint of diamonds, liquid movements, liquid eyes. The newshawks converge, but suddenly there appears A sharp young man in a crisp blue suit From the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, That elegant, comfortable, decorous, close-mouthed firm; He’s good at his job, and they get not so much as a snapshot. Tomorrow’s editions will ask who she was, and whom with…

Now here’s a silver train, stainless steel, Vista-Domed, White-lighted grails on the engine (running no extra sections) The Logres Limited, extra fare, extra fine, (Stops on signal at Carbonek to receive passengers only). She glides to a Timkin-borne halt (even her grease is clean), Galahad already on the steps, flashing that winning smile, Breeze mussing his golden hair, but not his Armani tailoring, Just the sort of man you’d want finding your chalice. He signs an autograph, he strikes a pose. Someone says, loudly, “Gal! Who serves the Grail?” He looks–no one he knows–and there’s a silence, A space in which he shifts like sun on water; Look quick and you may see a different knight, A knight who knows that meanings can be lies, That things are done not knowing why they’re done, That bearings fail, and stainless steel corrodes. A whistle blows. Snow shifts on the glass shed roof. That knight is gone. This one remaining tosses his briefcase to one of Kay’s pages, And, golden, silken, careless, exits left.

Behind the carsheds, on the business-car track, alongside the private varnish Of dukes and smallholders, Persian potentates and Cathay princes (James J. Hill is here, invited to bid on a tunnel through the Pennines), Waits a sleek car in royal blue, ex-B&O, its trucks and fittings chromed, A black-gloved hand gripping its silver platform rail; Mordred and his car are both upholstered in blue velvet and black leather. He prefers to fly, but the weather was against it. His DC-9, with its video system and Quotron and waterbed, sits grounded at Gatwick. The premature lines in his face are a map of a hostile country, The redness in his eyes a reminder that hollyberries are poison. He goes inside to put on a look acceptable for Christmas Court; As he slams the door it rattles like strafing jets.

Outside the Station proper, in the snow, On a through track that’s used for milk and mail, A wheezing saddle-tanker stops for breath; A way-freight mixed, eight freight cars and caboose, Two great ugly men on the back platform, talking with a third on the ballast. One, the conductor, parcels out the last of the coffee; They drink. A joke about grails. They laugh. When it’s gone, the trainman pretends to kick the big hobo off, But the farewell hug spoils the act. Now two men stand on the dirty snow, The conductor waves a lantern and the train grinds on. The ugly men start walking, the new arrival behind, Singing “Wenceslas” off-key till the other says stop. There are two horses waiting for them. Rather plain horses, Considering. The men mount up. By the roundhouse they pause, And look at the locos, the water, the sand, and the coal, The look for a long time at the turntable, Until the one who is King says “It all seemed so simple, once,” And the best knight in the world says “It is. We make it hard.” They ride on, toward Camelot by the service road.

The sun is winter-low. Kay’s caravan is rolling. He may not run a railroad, but he runs a tight ship; By the time they unload in the Camelot courtyard, The wassail will be hot and the goose will be crackling, Banners snapping from their towers, fir logs on the fire, drawbridge down, And all that sackbut and psaltery stuff. Blanchefleur is taking the children caroling tonight, Percivale will lose to Merlin at chess, The young knights will dally and the damsels dally back, The old knights will play poker at a smaller Table Round. And at the great glass station, motion goes on, The extras, the milk trains, the varnish, the limiteds, The Pindar of Wakefield, the Lady of the Lake, The Broceliande Local, the Fast Flying Briton, The nerves of the kingdom, the lines of exchange, Running to a schedule as the world ought, Ticking like a hot-fired hand-stoked heart, The metal expression of the breaking of boundaries, The boilers that turn raw fire into power, The driving rods that put the power to use, The turning wheels that make all places equal, The knowledge that the train may stop but the line goes on; The train may stop But the line goes on.

[xtruss]

The BP oil spill resulted in the loss of 10 percent of the U.S. population of Brown Pelicans.

The Gulf of Mexico is important to birds throughout the hemisphere, and the eastern portion near Florida has been protected from oil and gas drilling for decades. Urge Congress to uphold long-standing protections and ban drilling in the eastern Gulf—voting is expected this week so take action now.

The Gulf of Mexico is like Grand Central Station for the hemisphere's migratory birds, and the eastern portion near Florida's coast has been protected from oil and gas drilling for decades. Unfortunately, the current moratorium is scheduled to end on June 30, 2022, and without renewal, this long-protected area could be open to drilling. The House and Senate are considering legislation that could include an extension to the moratorium, and votes are expected the week of June 30. Please take two minutes to email your Members of Congress and tell them to extend the moratorium or permanently ban drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Photo: Linda Conroy/Audubon Photography Awards

Coastal Stimulus Bill Will Provide a Much-needed Boost for Fishermen and Birds Alike

Audubon supports the Shovel-Ready Restoration Grants for Coastlines and Fisheries Act of 2020, a new bipartisan bill that provides $3 billion to restore coastal bird habitat, create jobs, and reduce climate risks for vulnerable coastal communities.

— By National Audubon Society | June 30, 2020

Brown Pelican. Photo: Gina Bonanno/Audubon Photography Awards

WASHINGTON (June 29, 2020) – Today, Audubon endorses the bipartisan Shovel-Ready Restoration Grants for Coastlines and Fisheries Act of 2020, introduced by Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) and Don Young (R-AK), which will provide $3 billion in funding to support vital projects to protect and restore coastal ecosystems.

“This legislation is a win-win-win for our coasts,” said Karen Hyun, vice president for coastal conservation at the National Audubon Society. “These investments will not only create habitat for birds and other wildlife, they will also create jobs in fisheries- and tourism-dependent communities that have been devastated by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will protect coastal communities from sea-level rise and stronger, more frequent storms.”

Coastal birds are in steep decline due to climate change, development, overfishing, and pollution. Globally, seabird populations have decreased by 70 percent since 1950 and in North American alone, shorebird populations have decreased by 70 percent since 1973. Audubon’s climate report, Survival By Degrees, found that two-thirds of North American birds are threatened with extinction by climate change if warming continues at its current pace.

Investments in coastal restoration are critical to provide spaces for coastal birds to nest, forage, and raise their young, as well as to mitigate against the effects of climate change. Coastal ecosystems like wetlands and beaches provide natural flood protections for communities and reduce property damage and loss of life during extreme weather events, by absorbing floodwaters and breaking down the wind and waves of hurricanes and tropical storms.

Audubon also supports the bill’s focus on investments in vulnerable frontline communities, including low-income communities, communities of color, Tribal, and rural communities. Black, Indigenous, and other people of color are disproportionately impacted by extreme weather, due to racist housing policies, inadequate infrastructure, and a loss of subsistence fisheries and other culturally important coastal areas.

“Climate change is a threat multiplier that will exacerbate these underlying racial and social inequities. By prioritizing natural infrastructure investments in underserved communities, this program will help reduce climate risks in the areas that need it most.”

Additionally, some coastal ecosystems – like salt marshes, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests – provide important carbon sequestration benefits, removing up to four times more carbon from the atmosphere per acre than land-based habitats.

Coastal restoration also contributes to our economy. Nationwide, the restoration economy generated almost $25 billion in economic output and, in 2014 alone, supported more than 221,000 high-paying jobs, with average incomes of $75,000 per job.

[sandovalenst1000]

What should be considered when we think of the future?

While the future of our earth seems largely uncertain, one thing is for sure: we need to help save our planet now. If we do not take action soon, any and all damage to our earth that we have caused can become irreversible, which will only harm our future as a human race. In Simon Lewis and Mark Maslin’s The Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocene, they focus on the human race’s role in the current time period, the anthropocene, which is “the epoch where the human component of the Earth system is large enough to affect how it functions” (Lewis & Maslin, p. 399). Lewis and Maslin look to the future and lay out the possibilities, including business as normal, a societal collapse akin to the Mayan and Roman Empires, or a transition to a completely new society with a different living style compared to present day society. In order for business to continue as normal and for society to maintain its current outputs and consumption habits, consumerism must tackle the most pressing issue of the environment and the harm that humans have caused to avoid societal collapse or switching to a different way of living, which is possible considering new governmental reforms, increased health and lifespans, improved nutrition, and more.

If collapse was to occur, it requires a drastic decline in societal complexity, which is unlikely, but will most likely “take the form of private property and a free labor based capitalist mode of living” (Lewis & Maslin, p. 370) in the event of its occurrence. However, the authors estimate that it is more likely that, as humans, we will have to address the harm we have caused to the environment and transition to a different way of life that will highlight sustainability and efficiency. The authors particularly contribute to the future switch to a more efficient and sustainable society to the current process of a positive feedback look in our capitalist society, which tends to move towards new standards for stability. As capitalism currently develops, it utilizes the scientific method to improve current technologies and depends on the constant cycle of investing profits into products. Our current society will eventually transform society into something more elevated than what we have now if we address our earth’s environmental issues. In order to preserve our earth, we must recognize its issues, adapt, and collaborate as human beings with an interconnected web of ideas. Currently, we utilize our developing technology to manufacture and advance renewable energy as an attempt to minimize carbon emissions and our fossil fuel usage. Minimizing fossil fuel usage allows the human race to begin its journey towards more sustainable living.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill by BP in the Gulf of Mexico in 2011 (Broder, 2011)

However, minimizing fossil fuel usage is more complicated than we would think. Lewis and Maslin identify geopolitics as a barrier to fully eliminative fossil fuel usage, which is subsidized at about $5 trillion USD per year and most of the oil and gas companies worldwide are “partly or fully nationalized” (Lewis & Maslin, p. 383). Usage of fossil fuels not only has carbon emissions, but also causes land degradation, water pollution from leaks or spills, and wastewater from fracking. A widely recommended idea on minimizing fossil fuel usage that is more attainable than fully eliminating it is to invest in renewable energy and/or to create a carbon tax, which is backed by energy economists like MIT Sloan School of Management’s Christopher Knittel (Dizikes, 2016). Despite all the negatives on fossil fuel usage, we are making progress, with prices of renewable energy technology decreasing over the past decade and making it more accessible. Lewis and Maslin additionally highlight the negative feedback cycles on earth, which affect human supplies like crops. Negative feedback cycles work to stabilize climates, but overcorrect and leave weather patterns to become more unpredictable. Negative feedback cycles also increase the frequency of large climate events like drought, increase extreme weather events like tsunamis, which can disrupt the global food supply, cause rise in food prices, and result in civil unrest and refugee flows between countries to avoid conflict (Lewis & Maslin, p. 385).

To benefit our earth, Lewis and Maslin identify the issue: the Anthropocene conundrum. The Anthropocene conundrum is how to equalize resource consumption across the world within sustainable environmental limits, which the authors believe the solution is primarily with globally coordinated action towards equality between more developed and less developed nations; specifically, more developed nations (high-carbon emitting countries) should be doing more than others to reduce emissions and providing support to less developed nations to transition to renewable energy.

While Lewis and Maslin identify various possibilities surrounding our earth’s and society’s future, they do not propose a definite plan but just suggestions with its possible positive and negative results. E.O Wilson, a biologist and professor emeritus at Harvard University, proposes to devote half of the earth’s surface to nature to avoid mass extinction of species; specifically, Wilson proposes that we devote biological hotspots to protect those species of animals and elaborates on his Half Earth idea in his book, Half Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life. Lewis and Maslin discuss E.O. Wilson’s Half Earth proposal, but determined that it is too large of a step for society and, while it would be effective, it would be more complicated to integrate than how Wilson proposes it.

Andrew Yang in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park during a presidential campaign rally in 2019. (Stevens & Grullon Paz, 2020)

Lastly, Lewis and Maslin discuss implementing a universal basic income to decrease interdependence in society, which would decrease the likelihood of massive societal collapse. Most recently, universal basic income has become a hot topic with former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang making it a central point for his campaign. Yang’s focal point was a universal basic income of $1,000 per month, but Yang pressed for this because he argued that soon there would be increased automation in lieu of jobs and Americans would find themselves out of work. While in the current situation people are not losing their jobs for automation, but they are losing their jobs due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. With the CARES Act passed in March 2020, there has been an increased push for a universal basic income into legislation with unemployment being projected up to 16% later in 2020 (Solender, 2020). The benefits of a universal basic income include bringing many out of extreme poverty and providing a better alternative than the United States’ current unemployment program. I am not personally an Andrew Yang supporter, but he raises an interesting idea that should be considered. Despite not knowing what the future holds for our earth, we can reduce our own created inequality by implementing a universal basic income and allowing some individuals the luxury to begin to worry about something else other than where they will get their next meal from. We can heal our earth, but only by healing the divides between one another first.

Word Count: 1171/1100

Question: How can we begin to implement a universal basic income in the United States with people being so hesitant to embrace Andrew Yang’s platform when initiating the push for a UBI?

Bibliography

Broder, John M. “BP Shortcuts Led to Gulf Oil Spill, Report Says.” The New York Times. The New York Times, September 14, 2011. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/science/earth/15spill.html.

Denchak, Melissa. “Fossil Fuels: The Dirty Facts.” NRDC, July 16, 2019. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fossil-fuels-dirty-facts.

Dizikes, Peter. “Will We Ever Stop Using Fossil Fuels?” MIT News. MIT News Office, February 24, 2016. http://news.mit.edu/2016/carbon-tax-stop-using-fossil-fuels-0224.

“Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life.” EO Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. Accessed April 27, 2020. https://eowilsonfoundation.org/half-earth-our-planet-s-fight-for-life/.

Lewis, Simon, and Mark Maslin. The Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocene: a Pelican Book. Pelican, 2018.

Solender, Andrew. “Pushing Universal Basic Income, Andrew Yang Supporters Get #CongressPassUBI Trending.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, April 24, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/04/24/pushing-universal-basic-income-andrew-yang-supporters-get-congresspassubi-trending/#a6984925d30c.

Stevens, Matt, and Isabella Grullón Paz. “Andrew Yang's $1,000-a-Month Idea May Have Seemed Absurd Before. Not Now.” The New York Times. The New York Times, March 18, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/politics/universal-basic-income-andrew-yang.html.

[juniperpublishers-civileng]

Storm Surge and its Effect- A Review on Disaster Management in Coastal Areas- Juniper Publishers

Abstract

Globally, about 1.2 billion people reside in coastal areas presently, and this population scale is predicted to increase with time. With increase in coastal population the chances of exposure to storm surge is also increasing. Storm surge expose coastal areas and its residents to risk of loss of life, fatal injuries, property damage etc. Even though we cannot completely avoid the effect of this hazard, we can reduce the effect of hazard by proper study on the area under exposure and implementing a disaster management plan with adequate preparedness and mitigation strategies. Thus coastal hazard management has become an important aspect of coastal planning so as to develop the resilience of society towards coastal hazards. Hard engineering structures, soft protection measures, and managed retreat from the coastline are some of the possible management options.

In this paper the study focus on the storm surge phenomenon, its effects and risk on people, environment, engineering structures and other infrastructure. It also covers the pre-disaster phases of disaster management cycle that is the common preparedness and mitigation strategies described along with incidents during past storm surge disaster. All these aspects can improve the knowledge level of people to take necessary actions at right time, thus enhancing the capacity of the society to fight the hazard.

Keywords: Storm surge; Coastal hazard management; Disaster management cycle; Pre-disaster phases

Introduction

Coastal hazards like storm surge expose a coastal area to risk of property damage, loss of life and environmental degradation. The unexpected rise of the sea level most commonly associated with a cyclone can cause significant flooding and cost people their lives; the severity is affected by the shallowness and orientation of the water body relative to storm path, as well as the timing of tides. Storm surge is the main reason behind most of the casualties during tropical cyclones.

While comparing itself with many other disasters, storm surge occurs frequently due to strong storms in coastal regions. Compared to past, occurrence rate of storm surge has increased drastically and the trend is expected to continue in future as a consequence of climatic changes, increase in world-wide sea levels, increase in temperature etc. In most cases a hazard becomes a disaster due to human intervention; in the form of residing practices, construction methods, and other activities like encroachment, fishing industry etc. Since early civilisation, human population finds coastal areas as the most suitable and attractive settling grounds, as they provided abundant marine resources, possibilities for livelihood in the form of trade and transport etc. This view of population has eventually led to high population densities and high level development in many coastal areas. At present, about 1.2 billion people live in coastal areas globally, and this number is predicted to increase to 1.8-5.2 billion by the 2080’s due to a combination of population growth and coastal migration [1].

Increase in coastal population, increases the chances of exposure. If coastal are not well protected and not timely informed about the evacuation needs and steps it can result to a huge disaster. As per records the deadliest storm surge recorded was the 1970 Bhola cyclone, which killed up to 500,000 people in the area of the Bay of Bengal [2].

We cannot completely avoid any hazard, but proper study of the area under exposure and an adequate disaster management plan. Thus coastal hazard management has become an important aspect of coastal planning so as to develop the resilience of society towards coastal hazards. Hard engineering structures, soft protection measures, and managed retreat from the coastline are some of the possible management options. This review paper focuses on the risks of storm surge phenomenon and its effects; paper also covers the pre-disaster phases of disaster management cycle that is the effectiveness of common mitigation and preparedness strategies.

Impact of Storm Surge

A storm surge can lead to extreme flooding in coastal areas, causing property damage, loss of human life, coastal erosion, change in ecosystem etc. The two most vulnerable areas during storm surge are the estuaries and coastal areas. The severity of a surge is impacted by the wind intensity, forward speed and the angle of the approaching storm, the width and slope of the continental shelf. Table 1 shows the level of damage of storm surge followed by different categories of hurricanes and Table 2 shows impact of some of the past events [3]. The deadliest storm surge on record was the 1970 Bhola cyclone, which killed up to 500,000 people in the area of the Bay of Bengal. Table 2 shows list of death followed by various scenarios of storm surge [3].

Briefly, storm surge can cause damage to building foundation, framing, finishing collapsing the entire stability of the structure. Non-structural damage, like failure of MEP systems (depends on the location), affecting the usability of the building are also common during storm surge [4] (Figure 1).

In most cases transportation facilities like roads, railways, bridges, ports, communication systems etc. (Figure 2) get damaged delaying the response and recovery thereby making disaster worse. Table 2 shows cost of property damage of certain past storm surge events [3].

In some way or other environment is also vulnerable to such natural hazard. Loss of soil fertility due to saltwater intrusion not only affect the agricultural land but also makes changes in the wetland ecosystems, turning them inhabitable for some organisms. As Per the US Geological Survey after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, about 560km2 of land was transformed to water destroying the breeding grounds for marine mammals, brown pelicans, turtles, and fish, and migratory species such as redhead ducks [5]. The floodwater often carries toxic substances such as heavy metals, ammonia, pesticides, untreated sewage and phosphate. These substances cause problems like degradation of water quality and decrease in dissolved oxygen, resulting in dead organisms and can also often lead to epidemic disaster. Hurricane Katrina caused oil spills from 44 facilities throughout south eastern Louisiana, which resulted in over 26,000m3 of oil being leaked. Most were contained on-site, though some oil entered the ecosystem and residential areas [5]. After Murphy Oil refinery spill, 1,800 homes were oiled in the towns of Chalmette and Meraux. The flood waters that covered New Orleans were pumped into Lake Pontchartrain, which took 43 days to complete [5].

Erosion of Beaches is another impact of storm surge. In Case of Dauphin Island, Alabama (Figure 3), repeated attacks by hurricane waves and surge have taken a toll on Island, carving a breach in the narrow island, toppling beachfront homes, and eroding large stretches of coast. The yellow arrow in each image points to the same feature Error! Reference source not found.

Effectiveness of different types of Mitigation Measures

Hard engineering techniques

Hard coastal defensive structures are the most effective option for surge mitigation and stabilizing shoreline at a fixed position. Groins, Sea walls, Revetments, Breakwaters, Fixed dams, Retaining walls are some protection structures used commonly in developing countries due to its low instalment and maintenance cost compared to higher technology option like storm surge barriers which is effectively implemented in developed countries. Some examples include, the Thames movable barrier located in central London, prevents London from being flooded by storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It needs to be raised only during high tide and at ebb tide it can be lowered to release the water that backs up behind it. Movable barriers also require simultaneous investment in flood warning systems to inform when to close the barrier. Number of examples of effectively performed fixed structures like Sea walls, Groins, Breakwaters is visible throughout different countries.

Apart from its merits, hard structures also have some price to pay. It adversely influences the recreational use and ecological matters within the coastal zone. For example, when seawalls are constructed erosion of the beach in front of the seawall continues to become very narrow to completely disappear later. In case of groins, when it traps sediment on the up drift side, there is corresponding shoreline erosion on the down drift side because of the interruption in longshore transport.

Soft engineering techniques

Soft coast measures make use of environmental friendly techniques to achieve the same objective of hard defence structures. Soft techniques aims in achieving a balance between the need for protection against erosion while maintaining and enhancing shoreline functions. It includes developing a natural shoreline, mangrove forest, bioengineered seawalls, Geotubes, Beach replenishment etc. Even though in most cases they are considered to be temporary defence structure with a fair amount of success, the long term goal of the planners is to develop soft coast so that we can completely abandon the hard structures [6].

As per UNEP during Tsunami 2004, it was natural defence structures who performed well compared to engineered structures. After storm surge in Orissa state (India) October 2009, a study in Kendrapada District [409 villages], indicated that 1.72 additional deaths per village within 10km of the coast were avoided due to the existence of Mangrove forest from 30,766 ha to 17,900 hectare .Similarly for same event the loss of US$33.31 was observed in Bankual village which was protected by Mangrove Ecosystem Wildlife Sanctuary (145km2) compared to Bandhamal village protected by embankments with a loss of US$153.7 [7].

Building Practices

Foundation type and first floor elevation are the main determinants of a residential building’s vulnerability. Buildings with an elevated first floor are found to be less vulnerable to damage compared to buildings with the first floor on street level; however buildings with an elevated first floor could still sustain significant damage, depending on the foundation type [4] (Figure 4).

Main two types of foundations are the closed and open foundation:Closed foundation walls create large obstructions to hydrodynamic loads associated with moving water, thus closed foundations are also more vulnerable to scour than open foundations. Figure 5 shows a successful pile foundation following Hurricane Katrina (Dauphin Island, Alabama).

Managed retreat and controlled construction practices

Congested construction practices near coastal area is a major threat during storm surge as it will increase the exposure and slow down the evacuation process. Case of Bay of Bengal where thousands of people killed in the overpopulated coastal regions during series of cyclones events is the best example for uncontrolled coastal construction disaster. Managed retreat is a non-structural measures were a certain area is cleared for surge flooding is a good choice of mitigation measure. Managed Retreat of Pacifica State Beach in 2005 become a success with reduction of flood hazards, increase in functioning wetland habitat, and expanded recreation opportunities [8].

Challenges in Implementation of Mitigation Measures

The high cost and the requirement for specialist knowledge in the design and implementation phases may prove a barrier to implementation of hard engineering structures like Storm surge barriers. For structures like Seawall, Break water etc. availability of suitable material, space transportation of this building material to location etc. is a major challenge. All type of engineered structure face challenge of periodic maintenance. Case of villages of Kerala in Ernakulam district affected during event of Ockhi cyclone (December, 2017) is an example for lack of periodic maintenance of existing Seawall.

In case of Soft engineering structures, extreme events with very high water levels and wind speeds may severely damage or destroy mangrove areas, vegetation etc. making them less effective and time taken for its natural recovery act as another challenge.

Since construction of elevated structure is more costly compared to non- elevated, Residents are unwilling for such practice making them in danger.

Attitude of coastal community to settle in storm surge prone area neglecting danger due to congestion and exposure is a major challenge for managed retreat project.

Community Preparations for Storm Surge Event

Preparedness is one of the most important pre-disaster phase of disaster management cycle which aims not only in increasing the community resilience (capacity to face a disaster), but also focus on the sustainable development of the community. In case of most of the disaster events more than 90 percentage of fund is used for post-disaster phase, if more care is provided in pre-disaster phase it will eventually reduce the expense for recovery.

Early forecasting and warning system

Early warning is a major element of disaster risk reduction. Early action often prevent a hazard turning into a human disaster, warning provides people enough time to implement the action plan. One of the main reason behind the pathetic condition in Kerala during Ockhi Cyclone (December, 2017) was the absence of an early warning. People were unaware of the occurrence cyclone or the surge followed by it.

Educating people at risk

Coastal residents can be empowered by giving proper education regarding the storm surge impacts, actions to be taken, 72 hour disaster kit etc. It also helps in keeping themselves alive until rescue arrives. In case of Myanmar (Cyclone Nargis, 2008) it was found that damages (138,000 fatalities) became worse not only due to improper evacuation plan but also due to lack of perception of threat of storm surge and residents fewer experiences of storm surge, because of which people didn’t get any image of the possible disasters when the storm surge came. This is a clear example for lack of proper education among coastal people [9].

Evacuation Plan in case of emergency

An evacuation plan lays out how to escape safely from the vicinity of disaster prone area to rescue shelters during an emergency. It involves activities like provision of transportation and communication facilities, opening shelters, rescue & relief etc. The entire action plan developed will be executed response phase. During Storm Surge by Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh (2007) absence of evacuation information along with lengthy evacuation distance to shelters made the situation worse since people were washed away before reaching the shelter and some of them were trapped inside the houses as they couldn’t open the doors and windows due to flooding. There are some other cases like Storm surge (2012) due to hurricane Sandy in New York which caused widespread devastation to infrastructure like electricity and subway system. But unlike other failure cases, for a highly urbanized area of New York ,since subway system was stopped before storm and residents in highly flood prone area was evacuated immediately before flooding further personal loss was prevented [10-15].

Conclusion

Compared to other natural disasters storm surge is a hazard which occurs frequently due to strong storms in coastal areas. In most cases storm surge becomes a disaster when they occur unexpectedly without proper preparations and any preventive measures Storm surge not only has inverse impact on human life but also the environment, animals, infrastructural facilities, structures etc. All of them are in one way or another vulnerable to the hazard [16].

History of past events shows us that the money spend for post disaster management phases of response and recovery is higher ,the reason behind such a situation is due to the lack of importance given to the pre-disaster management phases that is the preparation and mitigation phases. Since prevention is said to be always better than cure, if proper care and importance is given for the strategies before any hazard ,then we can not only reduce the effect but can also prevent the expenditure during the post disaster periods [17-19].

Common structural and non-structural preventive measures that can be opted for storm surge event include engineered structures like sea walls, storm surge barrios, closure dams, natural defence structures like mangrove forest, proper building practices etc. Even though in most cases hard engineering structures are found to be more effective than soft engineered and non-structural measures, it is always better to go for environmental friendly techniques and all present studies are looking forward to Soft coast rather than a Hard coast. The importance of effectiveness of Preparation techniques like provision of early warning system, 72 hour disaster kit, evacuation plan etc. is another important factor, which is clear from the examples already discussed in this paper. All these management techniques seek the assistance from government for establishment, but some of the preparation techniques can be achieved without outside assistance such as use of sand bags, coastal vegetation, proper construction materials and practices, provision of drainage, periodic maintenance of individual buildings etc. These kind of study helps to increase the resilience of community to fight the hazard in all possible, so as to ensure the safety and sustainability of the people.

For More Open Access Journals Please Click on: Juniper Publishers

Fore More Articles Please Visit: Civil Engineering Research Journal

[fundforteachers]

International Coastal Clean Up Day the FFT Way

Saturday, September 16, is International Coastal Clean Up Day, the world’s biggest volunteer effort to protect our oceans. Fund for Teachers Fellow Gina Anderson (Concord Elementary - Bessemer, AL) got a jump on us this summer when she researched the relationship between the Gulf Oil Spill and the economic and environmental effects in the region to establish a STEM unit to design, test and revise solutions for cleaning a polluted environment...

April 2016 marked six years since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded sending billions of barrels of crude oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico off of the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. My 5th grade students and I watched live coverage of oil gushing out of the well into the ocean. We saw video of birds, dolphins,fish, sea turtles and other wildlife coated in oil because of the spill. I was on the beach when the first tar ball washed ashore. The experience was very sobering, but gave me a first-hand account of what was about to happen. In the days and months following, the size and number of tar balls that were washed ashore multiplied exponentially. I am able to share my personal experience with students and describe what the tar-balls looked like, felt like and smelled like and bring into my classroom different oils and lubricants to recreate the smell of the air that I experienced, even over a mile inland.

This year I taught a fifth grade Project Based Learning class in all subject areas, and we conducted research to determine the economic and ecological impacts still being felt in the coastal region after six years. During the research, students began to realize that even though this was the largest oil spill into the ocean in history, they could not find answers to a lot of their questions. As they continued searching for answers, they learned that scientists who conducted the research on the ecological effects were not allowed to publish their findings because of continued litigation which made our research difficult. The students still wanted to know:

if the estuaries have rebounded and are now suitable for young;

if the trees that were lost have had an effect on the number of nesting birds such as pelicans and cranes; and,

if the numbers of nesting sea turtles has started to increase in the Mobile Bay and Fort Morgan area.

With my Fund for Teachers grant, I researched these environmental effects as I explored the areas of Bon Secour, Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay and Gulf Shores. I biked the Hugh Branyon Back Country trails, where countless rabbits and alligators could be seen daily prior to the spill. An interview with the owner of Bon Secour Fisheries shed light on the economic and ecological impact of the oyster industry in Alabama and Louisiana. A meeting with Bon Secour National Wildlife Early Restoration Project equipped me with ideas that will help guide students when working on a disaster recovery and restoration project of their own.

The biggest area of professional growth for me resulting from my fellowship is classroom innovation. I discovered that learning is most effective when it is authentic. I was interested in this project because I was there seven years ago when the oil came ashore.This made me take ownership of my learning and, consequently, I did not have to rely on what others thought I should learn. I knew what questions needed asking in order to see the big picture.This removed a ceiling to my learning!

Similarly, I am now going to give students opportunities to complete projects based on their personal interests, also not bound to traditional research avenues such as books or online searches. They will have access to professionals and experts invited into the classroom or via live-stream conferences and interviews in order to make the learning authentic and make those important real-world connections. Three years ago, I began an annual Math and Science night at our school. This is a school-wide event in which we invite stakeholders from the community to set up interactive science and engineering booths where they engage with the students and adults. Each grade level also creates a booth for the students and parents to work on a hands-on activity together. This year, I will have my students oil spill projects on display and they will be able to conduct mock oil spills with their adults.

Around our school community, we have to pay to have trash pickup and pay if we want to use the county landfill. This has resulted in a large problem of illegal dumping of trash on the side of the road. Currently, there have been two volunteer clean-up days. Because of the lack of volunteers attending the events, my students and I will help to promote as well as participate in the event this year, another great opportunity make environmental connections to their oil spill projects.

This fellowship has helped me become more reflective when planning projects. I didn't realize that while I was giving the students an opportunity to conduct research and learn collaboratively I was also putting a cap on their learning by providing too much guidance as far as questioning. I now see the tremendous value of allowing students more autonomy and independence in their research and project designs. My new motto is to let them go where they want to go without restrictions!

Gina is a National Board Certified fifth-grade teacher and was recognized as Teacher of the Year at her previous school. On only seven years of teaching, she is a two-time recipient of the local ABC affiliate’s “Once Class at a Time” grant, as well as a Jefferson County Foundation grant recipient. Gina enjoys being a life-long learner and works diligently to instill this into her students through Project Based Learning.

[aromatickindling-blog]

Hmm, I’ll sort this out into the Stardew Valley Farmer as villager prompt with visuals and less words one day...

Green

Appearance:

    Green's an average sized young woman with minty hair tied up into a messy ponytail, part of her side swept bangs awning her sharp aquamarine eyes. If you're observant, you can see slight bags under eyes, covered with foundation powder to avoid questions from people. Her wardrobe's quite functional, filled with different boots for all occasions, thick working gloves, shade hats, winter fur caps, and cargo pants in different neutral colors, working well with her cotton button jackets. Her favorite happens to be the dark green formal jacket with a popped collar. The equipment she carries on her hip belt is well-taken care of, polished to the nines before being covered in all sorts of filth. She does have a strong liking for long scarves, goggles, and small, subtle hair pins, though.

    For some reason, her freckles tend to appear in curves and triangles; she has one that looks similar to Orion's Belt that she brings up as a conversation piece if she has to do small talk. Of course, she does take pains to cover up the scars she's gotten from her spelunking adventures in the mines and the Skull Dungeon. A Serpent pack left a particularly nasty one stretching down her left calf to her ankle. She prays to Yoba no one notices.

Summary:

    An ambivert erring on the side of introverted behavior, Green's the one of the twin grandchildren of Stardew Valley's previous farmer, come to take over Smaug farm. Thanks to years of neglect and her grandfather's 'brilliant' idea of staking land in a wilderness full of monsters, she's got her work cut out for her. Worse yet, with the Gotoran-Ferngill Republic conflict in full swing, she's especially reluctant to open up to anyone in the Valley. However, with the Adventurer's Guild and the Museum in town, she'll be able to settle in. Yet if anyone bothers getting to know her well enough, they might detect a hint of loneliness in her eyes.

At her Grandfather's grave, Green has planted an orange tree and told him:

    "If I can't see myself becoming part of the community here, Grandpa, I'll at least keep my part of the deal. I'll make sure the farm is up and running smoothly by the end of the second year. If the war continues...if Sage isn't back home here at that time, and I'm still unable to find someone I can trust here...I'll come after him. I'm sorry Grandpa, but I hope you can understand me on this. Mayor Lewis can take over the farm; it'll be a great source of revenue for Pelican Town...they'll need it more than I do. But thank you...for giving me an out from my former job. It was suffocating."

...For some reason, every Friday and Sunday Green never fails to greet the traveling cart merchant. Apparently, the two exchange letters; strangely, the writing doesn't match the merchant's personal chicken-scratch. After the bus has been repaired, you might even catch a glimpse of her with a strange bodyguard speaking about a "Mr. Qi." Who is this Mr. Qi, anyway?

Love: coffee, hazelnuts, goat cheese, poppy, fairy rose, dinosaur egg, all fossils and bone artifacts, duck feather, thunder egg, all soups, bone flute, mead

Likes: all flowers, all fruit, dried starfish, ornamental fan, ancient sword, fiddlehead fern, all dwarf scrolls, iron bar, copper bar, maple bar, lava eel, void salmon, honey, garlic, hot pepper, cloth, arrowhead, wine

 Dislikes: truffles, truffle oil (don't ask), super cucumber (once again, don't ask), beer, pale ale, morel mushroom (she's reminded of that one frog with all the holes in its back. And bot flies, the spawn of the underworld)

Hated: wicked statue, skull brazier, elvish jewelry, prehistoric hand axe, golden mask, Robin's axe

Personality:

    Green's the quiet observer of the twins, almost akin to a shade behind her brother's bombastic front. She's not the type to normally initiate conversation either, so only when she is required to, when she wants to give advice, or when she needs information will she, reluctantly, start one with a person. She's very polite about it too. But, you may have found her committing a social faux pas during the first year when she climbed on everyone's houses for a bird feather or little critter. Mayor Lewis chewed her out harshly for it. From then on out, it was only natural cliffs, rock faces, and trees she would climb onto, if not her own farm buildings.

    She is often found doing work on the farm, at the museum with Gunther, or training with Marlon at the Adventurer's Guild during the day, almost always with a cup of coffee and the occasional maple bar. Once Smaug farm is up and running, she does build a small training arena in front of the greenhouse. Don't ask why. When evening arrives, she disappears into the mountains and doesn't return home until 1:00 am in the morning. Some days may involve her leaving for Calico Desert early in the morning until 1:00 am. Shane often swears he would see blood leaking out of her when she was returning home at night. No one believes him thanks to how well Green dresses her wounds. This can only last so long with how she's burning the candle on both ends. On the weekends, no one is capable of tracking her down while she's out on her foraging hikes, much to her relief. Even better is during those evenings when everyone is at Gus's Saloon, when she can sneak into the Community Center to repair it with the Junimos before going home to refine sketches, put away gathered inventory, and generally wind down for the night with a tune from her harp, a nice hot soak, and a quick gaming session. Only on Sundays does she dare oversleep to offset the lack of it during the weekdays.

      Once more comfortable with people, she becomes more straightforward with her answers, although any questions regarding her family or her spelunking episodes are deflected or redirected to another topic. Outgoing villagers are more likely to get to this point. Snarky jokes will be made about the topic at hand, light teasing may occur if she is addressed directly, and, if it pops into her head, a few puns. Don't ask about her hikes or finds, she will become quite detailed with the scientific basis for everything she came across.

    Yoba help her if any of the single townsfolk become interested in her. Poor Green won't know what to do with herself, all her secrets might be spilled into the public square with that kind of relationship. What should she do now, how much of her activities should she cut back to spend time with them, what will they think of her once they find out what she's been trying to hide from the villagers, will their relatives approve of her, how long before they find out about her hiding her wounds from plain sight, do they like mint breath or coffee breath, are they allergic to poppies and fairy roses, will they mind her fossil collection, should she pick up cooking again, video game nights or movie nights, are they up for hiking, are they not okay with PDA, do they like cuddling, will they not mind her wrapping her arms around them as a greeting, do they like nuzzles, nape kisses, why her, and why are they even interested at all?! THESE ARE ALL IMPORTANT QUESTIONS...at least in her mind, they are. This is why she comes off as aloof, not only as a deterrent for anyone interested, but also as a result of her trying to strangle any feelings of affection that might develop for anyone else. Also, Yoba help the poor sap that does start to develop a crush on her; her lack of self-care and time during the weekdays is sure to wear on them.

    But, she is more than willing to make adjustments for them should they accept her, all of her. Green's probably going to ask them to come out to the beach at night near the solitary rock to spill her heritage as a half-Gotoran, half-Fergillan to them, mental escape routes calculating in her head but another part of her pleading this will be okay and she's just paranoid. From there, if accepted, she will tell about her brother and her parents, how Sage left for the army after a nasty spat with her regarding the Gotoran conflict, how her Gotoran Father died for helping the Ferngillan side, and how her Ferngillan Mother's MIA, probably in an underground resistance movement against the Gotoran government. She's only had her brother as a social crutch before he left, and it's the main reason why she bottled herself up. Why bother with people if all they're going to do is break your heart once you're close with them? But, she'll admit she was wrong, and then apologize for unloading all of this onto to them, and for not trusting them as much before. From there, she'll become more and more honest to them about her activities.

    The letters she was swapping with the merchant happened to be correspondences with her brother, usually curt and to the point. She makes it a priority to leave out any bitterness from his leaving her since he's in danger and needs all the help he can get. As for Mr. Qi...money is great and so is spelunking. That's all I'm going to say, other than it's a dangerous profession that has left her with a number of gashes...all of which she's refused to go to Harvey's for, much to her partner's dismay. As for the music drifting near the railroad tracks at night, it was her playing a couple tunes her father taught her on her mini-harp. She might even offer to serenade them from time to time.

    Despite her insecurities about herself, Green's quite the affectionate lover, offering sweet words in their ear, leaving small gifts for them after she visits their house, engaging in conversations more often with them, and giving out subtle public displays of affection, whether it be the joining of their hands, brushing their shoulders clean, a lingering look, or a soft caress on the back of their hand if they're slightly agitated. It's still quite confusing to her what to do and she'll hesitate early on about it, but she'll slowly ease into it...and wonder how the hell did this happen??? Then not care and nestle in close to them at night after pressing a kiss to their neck. Grandpa works wonders in keeping his grandchild in Stardew Valley. What a magnificent bastard he is.

Inventory:

·         Mini-harp

(You can hear the notes of a melody off near the mountaintops during the night, drifting down onto the railroad tracks...)

·         Obsidian knife

(A memento of her brother, before he left for Gotoro. Held closely to the hip, sometimes the chest whenever she thinks of him. It's as though the essence of the sea has imprinted onto this knife.)

·         Lava katana

(Can't go wrong with cauterizing deliberate wounds on monsters. Makes it less messy! Smells horrific...)

·         Herb satchel

(Most remedies have plant-based compounds to thank for their use. After trips to the mines or the Skull Dungeon, its strangely lighter. Smells strongly of mint.)

·         Pack

(Contains most essentials, from food to water to tools and, of course, a loaded first-aid kit. Got to be prepared for all sorts of insanity the spirits bring about when they're angry. For some reason, the pack smells of pine needles.)

·         Sketchbook

(Contains all sorts of colored sketches of landscapes, plants, monsters, rocks, animals, and even pressed flowers...wait...some of the villagers are sketched in here too? Has a light floral scent.)

[saffrongamer]

Tadpole Treble Review

Script for my upcoming review video on Tadpole Treble for Wii U and Steam

     I have almost 700 games on steam and it shouldn’t surprise you to know that most of them would be indie games. I’ve slowly obtained these games through steam sales and humble bundles. Therefore, I didn’t really get a lot of them through the desire to play them. While most indie games disappoint me and don’t really offer something for me to be interested, a small team lead by two brothers really interested me in their rhythm game so much that I had to sink my teeth into it.

     Tadpole treble, released by Bit-finity games in 2016 for Steam and Wii U. I only knew about this game through the man, the myth, the legend; Matthew Taranto. He’s well known for creating the popular webcomic BrawlintheFamily. Which I read since I was in high school every update up until its conclusion in 2014. During that time he would experiment with his game and publish demos to his website. After the end of his comic he, his brother, and Dane Caro launched their very own Kickstarter with a fair amount of success. I mean 34k out of 30k is plenty impressive. 

     Tadpole Treble, a game I absolutely had to purchase during launch, is a simple rhythm game where you’re a small tadpole named Baton. Get used to the puns folks, the whole game is full of them. You, as a tadpole, emerge from your egg dodging notes, collecting bubbles, and smacking bamboo sticks to some catchy tunes only to be caught by a hungry pelican. Out of sheer determination and willpower you somehow ram your way out of the pelican’s mouth and to freedom below. Unfortunately you’ve been dropped onto the top of a mountain. Now you need to go through levels dodging colorful trout, hungry turtles, pixelated ducks, pesky mosquitoes, frightening barracudas, rolling boulders, chilling ice water, obese piranhas, sharp-shooting crawfish, and deadly saltwater.

     Throughout your story you’ll meet some extremely loveable characters. Outside your parents there is Etude the bullfrog, the dusty Beatle and his snail Amigos, your Pelican..., and Sonata the Tadpole. I need to talk about Sonata the tadpole. His level, Midnight Bayou, is a level where he sings a love song to you. Not to mention, he’s voiced by none other than Matthew Taranto. I GET TO BE SERENADED TO BY MATTHEW TARANTO IN TADPOLE FORM. How could that be any better?! You should also listen to Thunder Creek. The tune is incredibly catchy and fun to sing along to. 

     When Baton returns home she sees that some kind of oil has begun to pollute her home. We learn that a plane has crashed into the bay causing an oil spill damaging the wildlife. Baton decides to take charge and do what she can to save her family’s home. The final level is a boss-fight that I honestly cannot agree with. The final fight is with a robot named ELE-94. This fight wants you to first strike each chord enough times to break it. I’ll give this phase a pass even though I wasn’t able to realize what you needed to do at first. The next phase wanted you to hit symbols to bounce up and hit a random hanging egg. Why is the egg there? I don’t know. Why does it hurt ELE? I couldn’t tell you. If it was explained in the story somewhere, I must have missed it. The last phase is obnoxious, but really easy when you know what you’re supposed to do. Its called “Another Refrain” for a reason. ELE will try to burn you with a lighter while she sings on loop. If it's not super obvious to you, you need to smack the lighter back at her. However that does nothing. You need to wait until you see her spark the lighter and then you can hurt damage her. Only after doing so you can save your home for your family.

     Lets jump into the gameplay. You’re a baby tadpole swimming along a music scale in the water dodging music notes, enemies, and hazards. While collecting points for your score, food, and bubbles. Bubbles are your main currency in this game. You collect them to bring to Etude the bullfrog for extra goodies and features. Like a music player and a creature catalog. Etude also mentions that he wishes for you to bring him challenge flies. In order to acquire these rare and endangered flies to feed to an obese frog you must beat each level with a level specific challenge. Such as hit all of the golden objects in barracuda caverns, never leave the deadly water in saltwater cape, or smack every single freakin’ bamboo stick in chip-tune lagoon. I absolutely loath Piranha Jungle. You’re required to not take a single piece of damage to get this fly. I wouldn’t even bother with this level if not for the reward for the flies.

     Once you feed the famished over-sized bullfrog you’re treated with some news. Etude tells you of an area where some animals have gone missing. Being the courageous young tadpole, you leap into action to investigate. Upon your arrival you’re treated to a very large Kraken with a trident who seems to be having a very bad day and wants to make sure you also have a very bad day. And believe you me, he’s going to make sure you have a bad day. That endurance in Piranha Jungle was just training you for this level. You see these steam tags? THEY’RE LIES! This game is a bullet hell. Rhythm game, my ass. You need to dodge music notes, with absolutely zero health pick ups. They’ve brought back the lightning from Thunder Creek. Here’s a small hint to help with the cymbal timing. The ring around the cymbal the distance you have left, so use that to help you hit it. Watch out for the big ol’ tentacles. The hitbox can feel somewhat odd. This level didn’t flow nearly as smoothly as the other levels. I think I would have had more fun doing the Sans fight from Undertale again. But I don’t think Matthew intended this to be a scored level so he left that out. Which I believe would be a fair decision. After all, it seems as if this fight was a bonus Kickstarter goal made by one amazing person who pledged $2,000. Thanks man. Thanks a lot for this hell.

     The last thing I need to discuss is the composition mode; the big feature of the game. It is what was advertised the most. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the old Mario paint style music creator. Well this one is much more detailed, has more instruments, and can make music more properly. I honestly wasn’t interested at the time to make my own songs. I was pretty worn out from the kraken fight. So I went online to try and find some music. While I’m currently playing the Wii U version, and using composition mode is better on the Wii U, I have to say that sharing music is pretty crummy on both versions. The Wii U version wants you either load them from a file source or scan a QR code. Now that's all well and good, but I simply cannot find any quality QR codes online. Through some searching, I managed to find a few on the old Bit-finity forums. Which has since been downed in Russian spam-bots and fitness  advertisements. The steam version isn’t any better. They use the same method only with a webcam to function like the Wii U’s camera. This would work way better if they had steam workshop support. A dev post did say that they would be looking into it last September, but at this rate I highly doubt that will come to be. It's a real shame this mode might be wasted. I’ll try to compose some music and post it here in the coming weeks if I have the time. If you want an example of the the composition mode can do, I’ll leave some links to some YouTube videos posted on the Bit-finity YouTube page.

     So that’s Tadpole Treble. An overall enjoyable game that is so incredibly relaxing (bar the bonus stage) that I had to purchase it on both platforms. It’s very disappointing that the composition mode might go underutilized, but hopefully the Taranto brothers port this game to the switch and give it another chance. Hell, I’d buy a physical release. Regardless, thank you for listening to my Tadpole Treble review, I really love writing these. And Matthew, if you ever need a duet partner. I’m your guy.

[justsimplylovely]

The Deepwater Horizon devastated the ecology and economy from Texas to Florida but BP-funded recovery programs are ongoing and the sector is a big employerWhen the explosion ripped through the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, Leo Linder was standing in his living quarters in his underwear. He suddenly found himself facing a fellow rig worker in what had been a separate room because the force of the explosion had blown the walls away.Linder wasn’t to know it at the time but the blast was to trigger the worst environment disaster in US history, with the BP operation spewing more than 4.9m barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, fouling hundreds of miles of shoreline from Texas to Florida, decimating wildlife and crippling local fishing and tourism industries.The spill also had a human cost, with 11 workers dying in the disaster. One of them, Gordon Jones, had relieved Linder around an hour before the explosion. “He said, ‘What the hell are you doing, go home,’” Linder said. “In many ways he saved my life. The guilt from surviving, as well as the damage done, still gnaws at me. It kills me.”The 10th anniversary of the disaster, which began on 20 April 2010, marks a period of devastation and partial recovery, with billions of dollars extracted from BP to aid a clean-up that is still under way. Projects to replenish damaged oyster-catching areas and restore degraded marshland are ongoing. An enduring image of the spill was a brown pelican, the state bird of Louisiana, struggling in oily gunk. But a project to restore Queen Bess island, a crucial rookery for thousands of the birds, is only now nearing completion.The recovery has been patchy, with some businesses unable to recover and some people forced to move away.“It was a bit like a bad dream,” said Albertine Kimble, a retiree who has spent the past two decades in Carlisle, a small town south of New Orleans. “It was impending doom, it affected the fisheries and the birds. It was even more depressing than Hurricane Katrina and that flooded my house.”Kimble has had to raise her house twice on stilts due to the threat of flooding in an area prone to storms and coastal erosion accelerated by the climate crisis. The process has also been worsened by the oil and gas industry’s practice of forging canals through wetlands, which has introduced corrosive salt water. The nearby town of Pointe à la Hache was turned into a “ghost town” as fishing opportunities vanished, Kimble said.“It was a bit like the coronavirus, just dead,” she said. “I don’t think it’s recovered, to tell you the truth.”The fishing industry is a major constituent of life in southern Louisiana and shutting down the ability to catch fish, oysters and shrimp was a major blow to communities. Many of the fishermen and women used their boats to help the clean-up effort by deploying booms and spreading oil dispersant.Even after the Gulf was declared safe to fish in again, crews initially reported pulling in smaller catches of oddly deformed fish with oozing sores. Dolphins started dying in record numbers, tuna and amberjack developed deformities to their heart and other organs. Scientists have also found lingering problems within the web of marine life.Recent research by the University of Florida found the richness of species in the Gulf has declined by more than a third due to direct and indirect impacts of the spill. A separate study of 2,500 individual fish from 91 species by the University of South Florida found oil exposure in all of them.Many of the species are popular types of seafood. The extent of the exposure has startled researchers.“We were quite surprised that among the most contaminated species was the fast-swimming yellowfin tuna as they are not found at the bottom of the ocean where most oil pollution in the Gulf occurs,” said lead author Erin Pulster, a researcher at the university’s college of marine science.The seafood industry lost nearly $1bn, while house prices in the region declined by as much as 8% for at least five years, according to a report by the conservation group Oceana.“It was an entire Gulf of Mexico-wide event,” said Tracey Sutton, a marine scientist at Nova Southeastern University. told Oceana. “Nobody was ready for this scale of pollution. As far as we know, the actual impact of the spill is not over yet.”Deepwater Horizon exploded 40 miles off the coast and shot out oil that proved devilishly difficult to clean from the nooks and crannies of Louisiana’s marshland. An initial attempt to cap the spill was unsuccessful, necessitating the drilling of a secondary relief well to stem the flow. It took four months to completely stop the gushing oil.In all, BP paid out about $65n in compensation, legal fees and clean-up costs, which includes billions for affected states. A judge ruled the petrochemical giant was “grossly negligent” in the lead-up to the disaster. Subcontractors Transocean and Halliburton were “negligent”, the judge said.The payment of the compensation money adds to the complex relationship states like Louisiana, which bore the brunt of the spill, have with the oil industry. The industry caused an environmental and societal catastrophe along the coast and is contributing towards the climate crisis that threatens more and more of the state with inundation each year.But the compensation paid has helped fund various coastal conservation projects and oil and gas remain major, and largely popular, employers in the region. Linder was only on Deepwater Horizon because the pay was four times the $28,000 a year he was earning as an English teacher.“I don’t think anyone realized right off the bat we’d have this unprecedented natural disaster,” said Chip Kline, an assistant to Governor John Bel Edwards and chairman of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA).“During the spill there were some intense moments with BP but in Louisiana we have an economy largely driven by oil and gas; it employs a lot of Louisiana residents. We try to strike a balance.”A decade on, with an incomplete recovery, coastal Gulf communities face a Trump administration that is attempting to reverse many of the safety-based regulations imposed after the oil spill. Residents are hoping this won’t lead to a repeat.“It made me sick to the stomach thinking about all the oil out there in the beautiful Gulf of Mexico,” said Kimble. “I hope and pray to God it never happens again.”

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2VgzPsO

[jasonjdking]

Species at Risk for January 31, 2018 is the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Status: Threatened

What it looks like The American White Pelican is a very large bird weighing about 6-7 kg, with white feathers and black wing tips.

It has a large orange-yellow bill and pouch, a short, stout tail, webbed feet and a wingspan of up to three metres.

Juvenile birds have greyish feathers during their first summer and autumn. This bird usually does not stray far from the water.

Where it lives American White Pelicans nest in groups on remote islands that are barren or sparsely treed located in lakes, reservoirs, or on large rivers.

Remote islands offer eggs and chicks some protection from predators.

Pelicans nest in slight depressions in the ground with sticks and vegetation piled up around them. Their diet is mainly fish.

Where it’s been found in Ontario American White Pelicans are found across the north-central and western United States. In Canada, they are found from the interior of British Columbia, east to northwestern Ontario.

These birds migrate south to the Gulf Coast states and Mexico. Ontario has about 10 per cent of the world’s population of American White Pelicans.

What threatens it Changes in water levels can have a major impact on breeding American White Pelicans.

High water levels can flood nests whereas low water levels can make nesting colonies susceptible to more predators, such as coyotes, through land-bridges.

Disease (e.g., avian botulism and West Nile) and human disturbance are also threats.

American White Pelicans are also susceptible to shooting, oil spills and water contamination on their southern wintering grounds.

Source: https://www.ontario.ca/page/american-white-pelican

[theharvestersbook]

01: Meredith

Meredith had no idea where she was, and she didn't really care because there was warmth, and a sense that nothing could go wrong. 

She felt safe.   From a distance, she could hear laughter, like a melody just out of reach.  It was a gentle static that contained the lyrical sound of her mother’s voice.  Meredith couldn't make out any words, just muffled laughter and music.  It was lovely, and she wanted to stay there forever. But slivers of a shadow crept in, and began to divide and dim the warmth.  The laughter and music fell away and Meredith found her luxurious confidence being replaced by nervous anticipation.   Suddenly, there was a horrible tearing sound.  Meredith heard voices screaming, as a wave cold darkness rushed over her.  

#

Meredith sat up with a gasp, sweating in the dark. The dreams were getting stronger and more real.  She couldn't even call them dreams anymore because it felt as if she was actually there, in that chamber of warmth and safety.  And she could feel it all being ripped away. Meredith lay back and tried to control her breathing.  They definitely weren't dreams anymore.  They had become something else, but she didn't know what.  She knew she would have to tell Maya about this.  But, she didn't want her mama to worry.  Mama worried about everything already. Meredith placed her hand on her chest and breathed slowly and deeply.  She closed her eyes and tried to think happy, peaceful thoughts.  She tried to find her way back to the safety of that warm chamber.  Instead, she wrestled with dread and anxiety for a long time. She finally fell into a fitful sleep and dreamt real dreams about large balloons rolling around and over her.  Every time one of them rolled over her, it felt heavy, like thick, gooey rubber, and she couldn't breathe.  It was an awful feeling, nearly suffocating.  Then the balloon would roll on past and she could breathe again.  The dream went on all night.  Suffocating.  Breathing.  Suffocating.  Breathing.

#

The next morning, Meredith dragged herself out of bed and staggered to the bathroom mirror and pondered the stranger looking back.  Crazy nap-head.  Dark circles.  Pale complexion. "Sheesh." She worked her worn wetsuit on over her hips and let the top half hang off her waist.  It was cool again outside and the water would be sharp.   She pulled on a hoodie, zipped it halfway and grabbed her ragged gear bag and cap on her way out of her bedroom. Spaz was in the kitchen, waiting to be fed.  Meredith dropped her bag on the floor and bent down to scratch her cat on the head.  He purred loudly. "Good morning, slacker.  Do any good last night?" Spaz turned and glared at Meredith with angry green eyes. "Alright," she smiled as she stood up, "Not judging.  Just asking." Meredith poured food into a dish on the floor for Spaz, and grabbed a quick bite for herself.  She checked the time.  Five fifty-five. Four minutes later, Meredith stepped aboard the Queen Caretta.  The breeze felt cool, but that wouldn't last.  The colors in the sky and the water announced the coming of the sun, and the robe of heat she would drag across the gulf.  But while it lasted, Meredith loved the chill of early morning.   "Mornin', Mama,” Meredith sang out,  “Papa Gill." "Mornin', Mer," they replied in unison without looking up.  Maya was making notes in her log.  Papa Gill was checking the harvest equipment. "How'd you sleep?" Maya asked casually as she wrote her notes. "Ugh," Meredith sighed, "stupid dreams." Maya looked up from her log and narrowed her eyes at Meredith, who was stowing her gear.  Then, Maya looked over at at Papa Gill, but didn't catch his eye.  So, she went back to her logbook. "Mmmhmm," murmured Papa Gill without looking up. "Dreams can be stupid as stones, and just as heavy."   Meredith finished stowing her gear, and then sat on the gunwale, facing Maya.  She looked at her mama, wearing shorts and a white t-shirt under a zipped hoodie, with her thick, brown hair pulled back under a suncap.  So clean.  So strong.  Her mother's eyes flashed with the color of the shallow gulf water on a clear day as she scanned the sky for weather signs. They were both of the water, Maya and Meredith, both tan and both fit.  Sometimes, people mistook them for sisters, which secretly tickled them both.  Meredith, because she wanted to finally be a grown woman, and Maya, because she didn't.  But unlike her mama, Meredith had blonde hair and brown eyes.  Meredith thought about this difference as she sat and ate her breakfast, waiting for the other harvesters to arrive. Her eyes found their way out over the flat gulf water.  On the horizon, she saw the silhouette of a commerce tanker hovering over the water as it left port.  Probably taking a load of artifish to one of the other Quads.   An angry buzz from overhead announced the passing of a patrol drone, headed out to look for food smugglers, no doubt.  Meredith took a slow bite of her breakfast and was grateful that Mama and Papa Gill knew how to hunt and harvest.  GM food, like artifish, funnel-corn and vita-green made her gag, and she could not imagine how the Corporates and Creatives ate it.   "PG Wales, Powering Forever", Maya muttered angrily. Papa Gill nodded and kept working.  “Let it go, Hun.” Even though it was illegal, Papa Gill managed to stow a real fish or two on the boat after a day's harvest.  The local corporate food inspectors looked the other way because the harvest crew of the Queen Caretta made quota, and Papa Gill shared the real fish he speared with the inspectors.  The patrol drone would be searching for real smugglers, the ones who sold fresh fish illegally.  Not Harvesters, who were just spearing their dinner. It made Meredith glad to be a Harvester, even if the Corporates and Creatives dressed in Superbia clothes, and got private drones and long holidays.  She wasn't sure what she would do with any of that fancy stuff, anyway.  She tried synthahol once, at a Harvester party, and it was just as gross as artifish.  She was happy to have real food, crappy clothes, and spend every day in the ocean. The drone buzzed off into the distance, so Meredith turned her gaze back to the tanker, moving slowly across the horizon. "Mama, ‘member the Spill?" "Of course I do, Meredith", replied Maya, sounding a bit irritated. "Do you think my daddy would have helped?" Maya put down her log book and looked up at Meredith. "I do, Mer," she said a bit more softly, "I do." This made Meredith feel good about her daddy.  She never had a chance to know him very well; there were only a few, blurry images of him during the First Northern Oil Conflict between SonTech and Moon Energy.   Most of the images she had of her daddy were with his mates in the 32nd Cyborg Drilling Platoon.  But there was one of just him without his mates or his exo-suit.  It was her favorite because she could tell where she got her hair and eyes, and her smile. Her daddy’s Platoon was ambushed in the Arctic oil fields and he fell through the ice and drowned, Mama said.  Pulled down to the bottom of the Arctic by the weight of his exo-suit.  The PG Wales Corporation sent a posthumous award to Mama that said something about "successfully defending a hostile takeover", but Mama just threw it in the trash.   "Your daddy was a good man, Mer," Maya reassured.  "He would have helped us clean up after the Spill." Meredith thought back to the Great Gulf Oil Spill, when that giant drilling platform exploded and just puked all this oil into the Gulf.  Some oil Harvesters were killed, and so many sea creatures, she couldn't even count. That lady from PG Wales, Sue something or other, got on GlobaVision and promised everyone how PG Wales would make everything right.  Meredith heard they even interrupted the Murderball Championship to send out Sue Whatshername’s message. But nobody believed Sue. Mama said she didn't have time for "That Fool" from PG Wales, and that was the last time they looked at the Globavision.  Instead, Mama just volunteered, she and Meredith and Papa Gill, to help clean up.  It was almost the hardest thing Meredith ever had to do. Almost. She thought back to the cleanup.  There were lots and lots of volunteers, and they did save some animals.  Which was good.   But it seemed like tons more animals died.  They died choking on thick, black oil.  It still made Meredith's stomach move to remember all the goo-covered animals she pulled from the gulf.  Pelicans, gulls, skimmers, terns; so many birds, dead or dying, blinded and flopping around in the black, gooey mess.   And there were fish everywhere, too.  Thousands, maybe millions of fish had washed up on shore.  Papa Gill said they looked like they had been battered for a fish fry in hell, which Meredith always wondered about, because she never heard of a place called hell.  But, she didn't ask Papa Gill at the time, because it was a very grim day. It was the big animals that really made Meredith sad.  Some were fast enough to get away from the oil.  But most weren't. They got trapped between the oil and the shore.  Mostly, it was manatees and turtles.  Some dolphins.  Mostly turtles.  Lots of turtles.  They said it all but wiped out the last loggerheads. Some were kinda saved.  They got picked up and taken to places where they were cleaned up and put back in a less polluted ocean, far away.  Some couldn't survive in the wild anymore, and were given to amusement parks or zoos, like Globa-World. Meredith knew that the animals they put back in the wild all died anyway.  She looked at her Mama and Papa Gill and wondered how she would survive without them. No one ever thought about how smart animals would do without their families.  Everyone was completely clueless when porpoises and dolphins beached themselves everywhere after the spill.   Meredith knew what it was; they were all going crazy with grief.   She looked at Maya and thought, that's why Mama works so hard at everything; to keep from going crazy. "Yo, Bitch!" called a raspy voice that yanked Meredith away from her thoughts. Meredith turned to see a big girl with brown dreadlocks walking toward the boat.  She wore a dive bag on her shoulder and a mean grin on her face. Meredith smiled and waved.  "Hurry up, Sam.  Or we'll leave your sorry butt behind." "Yeah, leave this behind," Sam responded, as she grabbed her crotch and thrust her hips at Meredith.  Then she saw Maya and Papa Gill and quickly softened.  "Oh, sorry, Maya.  Sorry, Papa Gill," she said guiltily. "Mornin', Sam," said Maya sweetly. "Howdy, Samson," teased Papa Gill. Sam frowned and tossed her bag under one of the benches on the boat.  "Papa Gill, that doesn't even make sense," she said.  She turned to Meredith and shook her head.  "Old man jokes." "C'mon," laughed Meredith as she slapped Sam on the back, "Papa Gill, we're going to get the rest of the gear loaded." Papa Gill stood up and looked at the girls.  He grinned again and added, "’Bout time you two did something around here." Sam bobbed her head sideways and pursed her lips as she grabbed the cart on the dock and pushed it toward the storage shed.  She and Meredith were halfway across the compound when they heard a shout and looked up. Walking toward them and waving were two boys.  Kaikane, dark and lean, with tribal tattoos that curled like vines from his shoulders to his wrists, and good-natured Hamish, lumbering along with his shock of white hair and perpetual grin. With them came Neha, a slight girl with her perfect, black hair, perfect skin and perfect smile. "Hurry up, slackers!" Sam yelled over her shoulder.  The boys shifted into a trot.  Neha smiled and waved, but did not change her pace toward the boat. "Fucking princess," muttered Sam. "Sam, be nice," scolded Meredith. "Yeah, I'll be nice when Neha starts pulling her weight around here.  Just because she's rich doesn't give her an excuse." Meredith frowned at Sam as she opened the door to the gear shed.      As she stepped inside, the irony of calling the huge building a "shed" struck her.  It was actually a very big building.  Inside was a large, saltwater pool that Papa Gill and Mama used for training Harvesters. Two doors to the side led to locker rooms with showers where trainees could change before and after training.  Papa Gill had told Meredith that in olden times, it had been called a "natatorium". At the far end was Papa Gill's shop, or laboratory, if you wanted to call it that.  He was always building weird contraptions and doing secret experiments in that room.  No one but Maya was allowed in, and she usually left smiling and shaking her head.  Whatever went on in there, Papa Gill kept it locked tight. On the near side of the saltwater pool was Maya's workshop.  She  had her own special setup, but hers was aimed at helping sick sea creatures.  There was an operating table, several saltwater tanks for smaller creatures, and even a lift for hoisting big animals, like dolphins and manatees in and out of the pool. Meredith was amazed at how much her mama knew about sea animals, and couldn't even count how many sick animals she had nursed back to health. But everything that Meredith and Sam were looking for was neatly shelved in steel cabinets just to the right of the door as they walked in.  They had just started loading the harvest gear onto the cart, when Hamish and Kaikane trotted breathlessly up. "Don't hurt your wee selves, girls", Hamish teased, "the men are here to save you." "Shut up, Hamish," Sam snapped.   Hamish stopped, and looked with raised eyebrows at Kaikane and Meredith.  Kaikane just shrugged and grabbed an empty charger.  Hamish started to say something to Sam, but Meredith interrupted him. "Where's Neha?" Meredith asked. "Doing something for Maya," Kaikane gestured back to the boat. "Figures," Sam sneered. "What is wrong with you, today?" asked Meredith. "You've been bitchy ever since you got here." "Yeah, well," shrugged Sam, "couldn’t sleep last night.  Fuckin’ dreams will not stop.  But, whatever.  Let's just get this stuff on the boat, okay?"  Sam kept working without looking up.  Clearly, she did not want to talk about it. Meredith watched Sam for a moment.  Sam was having dreams, too.  Were they the same, like Meredith's?  Were they as real?  As intense?  She opened her mouth, but decided not to ask.  Not here.  Not in front of the guys.  Instead, she started loading gear and looked at Hamish.   "How's your Gran doing?" "Great!  She was off in her skiff with Max before I even got up,” he yawned.  “Left me lunch and a note.  All it said was, 'Hamish, off to find more samples.  Safe Harvest!  Love, Gran.'" "More samples?" "That's what she's calling it these days.  She's convinced Corporates are watching her, and doesn't want to leave any 'evidence'.”  He emphasized with his fingers.  “So, she leaves cryptic notes instead." "Funny," Meredith chuckled, shaking her head, "she's a funny lady."   "Yeah," Hamish shrugged, "I guess." Meredith admired both Hamish and his Gran. Him, for how physically protective he was of his tiny Gran; it was sweet that he believed he could protect her with his physical presence.  Her, for how she refused to be protected. Meredith turned to Kaikane.  The minute she did, she felt her heart hiccup a little.  Kaikane was quiet and smiled in a kind and relaxed way that made Meredith drowsy.  She took a slow breath to calm her heart and said, "Hey Kai, you know Papa Gill is gonna want to know what's going on with your application." "Yeah, I kinda figured he would," Kaikane answered.  He stood up and caught her staring.  She looked away.  "Why is he so worried about whether I go to the Academy or not?" "Cause he cares about you, Kai," Meredith said, trying to pretend to count how many regulators she had in her hands.  "He knows you don't really want to go to the Academy.  Everyone knows you don't want to go." "Everyone but my father," Kaikane mumbled.  He looked back down to check the charges on the batteries he had grabbed.   Meredith carefully looked back up at Kaikane, secretly grateful that he was not looking her way.  She noticed the way his dark hair fell in thick locks across his face.  "So, what are you going to do?" she heard herself ask. Kaikane looked up and answered with a surprisingly sharp tone, "Well, I guess I'm gonna go, aren't I?"  Seeing that he had stung Meredith, he relented and added in a softer tone, "Sorry.  But, it's not like I have much choice."   "Geez, Kai," Sam said from across the room, "You don't have to get crappy about it.  She's just asking a question.  Hope you don't go off on PG when he asks, cause he is going to ask." "I know he's gonna ask," Kaikane said.  "Can we just talk about something else?"  He paused and raised a sarcastic finger at Sam.  "I know, let's talk about your dad, Sam.  How's rehab?" "Fuck you," Sam replied without looking up. "Don't start shit you can't finish, brah" Kaikane said.  He gave Sam a slight smile and went back to loading batteries. "Fuck.  You." Sam emphasized by standing up and glaring at Kaikane. "C'mon mates," Hamish interjected, "It's all bollocks.  No way to start a dive.  Lets just get this stuff loaded."  Meredith looked at Sam and Kaikane and thought, what just happened?  She looked at Hamish for an answer, but he only shook his head and kept loading gear. Just as he loaded the last piece of equipment, Neha appeared. "Hey everyone," Neha announced as she entered the shed, "how can I help?"   She stood smiling flawlessly in the doorway. Sam looked up and said, "Oh, great.  Perfect timing." Neha's smile faded.  "What?"  she asked, "did I miss something?" "Just all the work," Sam said, more than a little sarcastically.  She pushed past Neha, giving her a small shoulder bump as she passed. "Sam!" Neha objected.  But Sam did not look back.  She just pushed the equipment cart down the dock. "Maya asked me to...," Neha started to argue, but was interrupted by Hamish. "Don't even try," he advised, "she's in a regular mood today.  Better off letting her stew.  Probably that time of the month." Neha and Meredith looked at each other, and punched Hamish in both of his arms. "Ow!" Hamished objected. "What was that for?" "Your lucky it wasn't somewhere else," Neha threatened while Meredith nodded in agreement.  Hamish just watched stupidly as the girls turned and jogged off after Sam. "Brah," Kaikane said, sliding up behind Hamish, and placing a hand on his massive shoulder, "Don't try to understand it.  Just take it like a man and move on."  He looked up at his friend and offered a casual nod. "Time to dive, brah," Kaikane said.  He slapped Hamish on the shoulder and headed toward the boat.   Hamish frowned and rubbed his arms.  "I don't like getting punched all the time," he mumbled as he closed and locked the door to the shed.  The deck bounced as he trudged after the rest of the harvesters.

#

Maya started the silent engines of the Queen Caretta and pushed the sturdy boat down the canal and toward the open gulf. Once they were up on plane, Meredith enjoyed the cool breeze and the gentle motion of the Queen gliding across the flat gulf water toward the artifish fields. She sat and watched the brightening sky.  She loved this time of day, when the blue, grayness of the water and the sky met on the horizon in a way that she could not tell where one ended and the other began.  It reminded her that she really lived at the bottom of one ocean and the surface of another.  Two oceans?  Or one, layered ocean? The Queen Caretta swayed on the incoming tide and the only sound was the rhythmic splashing of the her wake.  Meredith studied each of her friends, captured by the hypnotic morning dance of the Queen, and lost in their own thoughts about anything and everything. Sam was surely thinking about her father's struggles with his demons.  She had been the only force that had kept him from completely giving in to the siren song of sniffies.  But it was a struggle, and a lot of pressure on Sam.  Soon, she'd have to make a choice whether to move on and live her own life, leaving him to his self-destruction, or stay and keep fighting the losing battle to save him.  Either way, Sam would lose. Kaikane had different problems with his father.  His family had been relocated here by PG Wales after their island home was finally covered by the oceans.  Kaikane's father, having lost everything to the rising tides and to PG Wales, who turned what was left of their flooded island home into a water park for Corporates, became obsessed with the idea of wealth and influence.  He was determined that his son would follow the secure path and enter the Corporate Academy.  Kaikane had other ideas about what he wanted, but he struggled to find the courage to live his own life. Fatherless Hamish was worrying about his Gran, out somewhere on her skiff with only Max, gathering her "samples".  Hamish's father died with Meredith's daddy, although Hamish never spoke of it.  He just fretted over his Gran, who was as fiery and wild as anything you could find in the ocean or the swamps.  Gran had been a Harvester forever, and looked both old and young at the same time.  Hamish thought he could protect Gran, maybe because he couldn't protect his father.  But gran didn't need protecting. Meredith suspected that Gran was the strongest and smartest of anyone. Meredith's eyes settled finally on Neha.  Neha smiled blankly at the horizon as the wind tossed her perfect hair.  She looked like a fashion model on Globavision.  What did Neha worry about?  Did she worry about the parents she never knew?  Did her wealthy aunt have any secret problems that Neha quietly wrestled with?  Even though her natural beauty and grace made her an easy target when Sam or Kaikane were venting their frustrations, Neha never reacted badly, never returned anger or spite.  Neha was always steady and calm, and it made Meredith curious, and sometimes, furious. "Hey Kaikane," Papa Gill broke the early-morning trance, "Have you heard back from the Academy?" Everyone looked at Kaikane with an awakened curiosity.  Kaikane took a slow breath, nodded and, without looking at anyone else, said, "I got my acceptance last night."   "Your father must be very pleased," Papa Gill observed. "Congratulations," he added sincerely.  Papa Gill sat beside Maya and watched Kaikane with steady, cool eyes that always sparkled with a secret smile.  Kaikane looked relieved, and grateful for Papa Gill's support. "So, are you actually going to go?" Neha asked innocently.  She leaned toward Kaikane with sincere interest.  "I mean, just because you've been accepted doesn't mean you have to go, does it?" "Well, I don't really have a choice," Kaikane shrugged.  "My father says it's my ticket off the artifish fields."  He stopped and looked at Maya and Papa Gill.  "I mean, no offense..." "None taken," Papa Gill assured with a smile. Up to this point, Maya had been quietly listening from the wheel of the Queen.  "You have to do what's right for you, Kaikane," she called back, "There's no shame in that.” "Well, I mean, it's what my dad wants; what he says," Kaikane explained. "Not so much how I feel about it.  I like it out here, on the water.  It feels free." "So, why are you so worried about what your father wants?" Sam challenged.  "It's your life.  Worry about what you want.  If you want to stay on the water and on the fields, then stay." Meredith put her hand on Sam's arm.  "Sam," she said softly, "don't start."   Sam pulled her arm away from Meredith and looked at Kaikane.  "So, seriously, Kai.  What do you want?"  She stood up and took a step toward Kaikane.  "What do you want?" she repeated with emphasis.

"It's not that easy, Sam", Kaikane defended.  "My father served in the Corporation.  He shut down the last tuna processing plant in Samoa after tuna went extinct.  He was part of the artifish development program.  He's been a Corp most of his life.  So, it's a family thing.”   He shrugged and looked out at the water, “It’s just different for me, is all."

"Different than what?" Sam suddenly snapped.  "You think it's easy for me to say 'No' to my father just because he's not a Corp?  You think it's easy to do what I want because I'm adopted?  Because I have a shitty home life?"  

Neha stood up and faced Sam.  "Whoa, Sam," she held her hand up like a shield between Sam and Kaikane.  "Where did that come from?  Kaikane's just saying that there's an expectation, him being a Corporate legacy and all.  This isn't about your situation at home.  And, oh.  By the way?  Let's not forget that you're not the only orphan on the boat, okay?  So maybe stow the attitude?"  She emphasized her statement with wide eyes and crossed arms.

Meredith looked at Hamish, who just sat, watching everything play out.  She expected him to say something about being an orphan, about having a difficult home life, but he just sat and watched the drama unfold.

"Shut up, you fucking princess!" Sam jabbed a finger at Neha.  "Your aunt is so rich, you have no idea what anyone else here has to go through.  Why are you even here?  You sure don't need the money."

Meredith looked away, out at the water, and stopped listening. "I'm going to watch for the field buoys," she announced, as she stood up and walked to the bow of the boat.

Sam leaned in on Neha and pointed at Kaikane, "All I'm saying is either do what you want to do, or don't whine about it when you decide not to.  It's your choice."  She let out a heavy sigh and added, "God, this is so stupid."  Shaking her dreadlocks, she stalked up to the bow of the boat.

Neha watched Sam as she went.  Then, she turned back to everyone else, she asked, "What is her problem today?"

"Who knows?" shrugged Hamish.  "She's been like that all morning.  She said something about bad dreams.  But last time I had an opinion about it, I got punched."  Hamish smiled at Neha, who just rolled her eyes.

"Her father's back in detox," Papa Gill revealed.  "It only just happened last night.  So, ya'll might want to think about cutting her a little credit.  Like my Paw always said, 'You go poking' a cross varmint with a stick, and yer likely to get bit.'” He looked around at everyone, then added,  “I'll have a small word with her later.  But in the meantime,... well, I'd let her be."

Papa Gill nodded once for emphasis, and then walked over to Maya.  He rubbed her on the back and whispered something into her ear.  Maya nodded in response, and Papa Gill went below.

#

Sam sat by Meredith's side.  From the bow of the boat they watched the horizon for the buoys.  The Queen sliced through the grey-green morning water as the sun began to rise behind them.  

They sat in silence.  Sam stared at the water and wrestled with herself.  Meredith looked at her hands and thought about her daddy, drowned in icy, black water.  She didn't have the problem of deciding whether or not to listen to his advice.  There wasn't any.  

She opened her right hand and looked at the birthmark on her palm.  Four concentric rings, broken by intersecting lines.  If she didn't know better, she would have thought it was a tattoo, the lines were so clean.  But it wasn't a tattoo.

When she was little, she hated it, and tried to scrub it off.  Mama joked that she had the cleanest hands in the harvest village.  But as she grew older, Meredith came to love the strange mark.  She never could decide on a meaning for it, and never could think of a clever story to explain it.  So in the end, it simply belonged to her, and only her.

Like not having a father, having the birthmark defined her.  

[kakoliberlin]

Five Issues to Watch for Wildlife as Congress Returns

Congress has returned from August recess and we are prepping for what could be a decisive time for our cherished wildlife and wild places. 

Congress is back in session and while its immediate focus will be on relief funding for Gulf states in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, anti-wildlife Members of Congress are sure to reignite their continued attacks on our wildlife and wild places. Defenders will be fending off attempts to undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA), attacks on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as well as assaults on the National Wildlife Refuge System and other public lands that provide important wildlife habitat.

Here are the top five issues we are keeping an eye on in the coming weeks and months, and how they could affect wildlife and their habitats.

Funding the Government

One of Congress’s highest priorities now that they’re back is to pass legislation to keep the federal government running. Current funding for the federal government is set to run out on September 30. We expect initial supplemental funding for Hurricane Harvey relief, which could possibly be attached to a clean debt ceiling increase, to pass as soon as this week. We will likely also see a clean temporary bill to fund the federal government while Congress works on the final full year funding bill. A quick note about “clean” bills: when Congress refers to passing a clean bill that means a bill free of riders or amendments that are often used to delay the decision-making process or pass legislation that would otherwise not get through on their own.

As part of their efforts to move forward on a final full-year bill to fund the government, the House of Representatives is expected to consider legislation this week to fund the Department of the Interior. This legislation already contains a number of anti-wildlife provisions, including: language that would delist wolves in the Great Lakes region and reaffirm a court decision that delisted wolves in Wyoming, a rider that would defund wolf conservation for all wolves in the continental United States, including the endangered Mexican gray wolf, and a provision that would prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) from listing the greater sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA for at least a year. Additional anti-wildlife provisions have been offered on the bill and we are waiting to find out which ones will receive votes on the House floor. Later this month we may also see the Senate Appropriations Committee advance its version of the Interior funding bill which is likely to include anti-wildlife provisions.

We are also keeping close watch on and opposing efforts to fund a $1.6 billion border wall through the appropriations process. The proposed wall would not only cut through human communities, it would also bisect wildlife habitat like the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and cut off crucial wildlife corridors, which would impede the recovery of species like the ferruginous pygmy-owl, Mexican gray wolf, ocelot, and jaguar.

So-Called HELP for Wildlife Act

Don’t be fooled by the name of this bill from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

The so-called “HELP for Wildlife Act” would delist wolves in the Great Lakes region and reaffirm a court decision that delisted wolves in Wyoming. The American public overwhelmingly agrees that decisions about our threatened and endangered wildlife should be left up to scientists, not politicians. Adding insult to injury, the bill also contains language that would prohibit judicial review of these decisions. That means that even if Defenders and the public fight tooth and nail for wolves, we would not be able to file lawsuits to challenge these delisting decisions.

This bill would undermine the ESA, the rule of law, and the necessary role of science in protecting imperiled species. On top of it all, a bill like this – in the current political climate – could become a vehicle for even more attacks on wildlife.

Weakening the Endangered Species Act

Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, is expected to introduce a damaging bill that would weaken the ESA sometime this fall. During several committee hearings on the ESA earlier this year, Senator Barrasso said that he wants to “modernize” the statute. However, this is not some altruistic attempt to strengthen protections for imperiled species. In fact, this is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to weaken the ESA and undermine its effectiveness. If Senator Barrasso and other lawmakers really wanted to do more for our imperiled species, they would fully fund the ESA and urge the FWS to implement it more effectively.

The ESA has proven its value and efficacy time and time again – all while facing severe funding constraints. It is one of our nation’s most successful environmental laws, having helped prevent 99 percent of listed species from going extinct. The ESA has recovered beloved American species to our skies, lands and waters including the bald eagle, brown pelican, American alligator and humpback whale. These iconic species, as well as many others, rely on the protections afforded by the ESA. Any legislation to rewrite this effective and popular conservation act would have devastating impacts on our ability to protect and restore at-risk species. Defenders will continue to fight off all attempts to erode this landmark law.

Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The contentious battle to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development is expected to pick up again in the latter part of the fall, when Congress is expected to take up a budget resolution. The resolution is essentially a blueprint of targets for what the government should spend as well as what revenue it should try to raise in the upcoming fiscal year. These targets can be sent to congressional committees who then propose legislation that can affect spending or revenue. Recently, the House Budget Committee passed a budget resolution instructing the House Natural Resources Committee to raise revenues. This move should concern any friend of wildlife and public lands, because the House Natural Resources Committee could use this directive to push forward a provision that would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and exploration. This situation is especially concerning given that the Trump administration has been vocal about its desire to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

Drilling in the Arctic Refuge would put countless wildlife species as well as their habitat in grave danger. The Arctic Refuge is one of the largest intact ecosystems in America. At the biological heart of the refuge lies the 1.5-million-acre Coastal Plain, which provides vital habitat for grizzly bears, artic foxes, muskoxen, wolves and hundreds of species of birds that migrate from all 50 states and six continents. Known as “America’s Serengeti,” the Coastal Plain is the principal calving ground of one of North America’s last great caribou herds, and it is our most important onshore denning habitat for polar bears. Opening the refuge to drilling would subject wildlife to harmful seismic testing, increased infrastructure disturbances and vessel traffic, potential spills, and an increased human presence – all of which would disrupt this vulnerable ecosystem and could cause irreparable harm to wildlife and the environment.

We will continue to monitor the budget resolution and fight the inclusion of any provisions that harm the Arctic Refuge.

Amendments

We will also be closely tracking other bills that either already include anti-wildlife measures, or which could be loaded up with anti-wildlife amendments, including the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2810/S.1519), the Energy Bill (S. 1460), the Sportsmen’s Bill (H.R. 3668), and the Resilient Federal Forests Act (H.R. 2936).

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The post Five Issues to Watch for Wildlife as Congress Returns appeared first on Defenders of Wildlife Blog.

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