WORST. IDEA. EVER: Trading farmland for sprawl (American farmland decreasing fast)

http://prorevnews.blogspot.com/2014/05/american-farmland-decrasing-at-rapid.html

American farmland decreasing at rapid rate

Rural Blog - The amount of U.S. farmland is decreasing at a rapid rate, "with the country losing three acres of farmland every minute," at a time when experts say more land will be needed to grow enough food to feed the world, reports Agri-Pulse, a Washington newsletter. The recently released Census of Agriculture reports that American farmland dropped from 987 million acres in 1982 to 914.5 million acres in 2012, and "The U.S. is losing farmland at a fairly rapid pace to strip malls, parking lots, highways and other forms of development."

Some say those numbers don't tell the whole story. Andrew McElwaine, president and CEO of American Farmland Trust, said the Census of Agriculture "doesn't track the changes in land use such as losses to development or highlight the crops most likely to be lost," saying that more than 90 percent of fruits and nearly 80 percent of vegetables "are grown on farmland under pressure from development." McElwaine told Agri-Pulse, "Since 1982, we've converted 24.1 million acres—an area the size of Indiana and Rhode Island combined."

Every state saw rural land developed from 2007 to 2010, regardless of statewide increases or decreases in farmland, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Agri-Pulse reports, "All 19 states with land-in-farms increases in the 2012 census also developed 'significant acres of rural land,' according to the AFT."Russ Shay, director of public policy at the Land Trust Alliance, told Agri-Pulse, "This is a crisis, but it's a quiet crisis. We lose farmland one farm at a time. We lose primarily smaller farms. People don't see it."

MORE FARM NEWS

Salem, another waterfront city, has bigger problems than how to promote sprawl

One of the best parts of hearing the lapdog UnStatesmanlike Journal's tinny barking of "losers" at people who recognize the Salem River Crossing as a gigantic boondoggle is that the uSJ couldn't help themselves and so they wound up making clear that none of the reasons given as the official cover story for the thing actually have anything to do with it.  

Instead, as the uSJ makes clear, it's just about maintaining the fantasy that suburban pattern, auto-centric growth will continue and that, after a century of autosprawl, it's suddenly urgent to provide other counties with another auto connection to I-5 (one that bypasses Salem).

In other words, it's about land speculation and development, aka money. Members of the Chamber of the 1% smell money, and lots of it, if they can persuade Salem folks to tax and toll themselves to make land to the west more valuable. It has nothing to do with benefitting the people of Salem, that's for sure.

What do you expect from a corporate chain paper that's not even printed in the city that's on the masthead?  The Gannett chain is to journalism what Velveeta on Wonder Bread is to fine dining - a prefab corporate homogenized substitute that seeks only profit by selling a debased product at the same price as the real thing.

That's why you can have the once-unimaginable sight of an in-name-only Salem paper calling for Salem residents to help destroy the town to cater to the Sprawl Lobby.  

The corporate execs that Gannett whizzes through the outposts of its empire have no ties to the towns where they reside briefly while overseeing the process of getting the daily satellite download of "news" from the Gannett wire and putting a tiny few local stories -- many press release rewrites -- into the thing. They care nothing for Salem or for the people who will remain here while they resume their climb up the corporate ladder in the next burg. 

We should care though. Like Norfolk, we face serious challenges, and had best start preparing for them, not keeping our heads in the sand the way the Chamber and its tame pet paper do, as they promote grand real estate schemes and ignore the real challenges of adapting to a world where greed like theirs is fueling climate chaos.
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In Norfolk, evidence of climate change is in the streets at high tide - The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-norfolk-evidence-of-climate-change-is-in-the-streets-at-high-tide/2014/05/31/fe3ae860-e71f-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage
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Come to the NO 3rd Bridge Rally on Wednesday, June 11th from 4-5 PM

The UnStatesmanlike-Journal Editorial Board, peering out from the vest pockets of the Chamber of the 1%, calls Salem citizens who are standing up for fiscal and environmental sanity "Losers."  

Consider that the next time you see one of the soporific SJ droning-ons about the importance of citizen involvement. Apparently the SJ's rule is that, since they get their opinions from above, and accept them with no critical inquiry and give the subjects no meaningful scrutiny once they have been told what their views are to be, citizens in Salem are supposed to do likewise.

YOU'RE INVITED TO THE

NO 3RD BRIDGE RALLY!

To coincide with the Salem River Crossing Open House that is announced below, NO 3rd Bridge is holding a rally on the sidewalk in front of the Senator Hearing Room at Courthouse Square from 4 pm to 5 pm on Wednesday, June 11th. We will begin gathering at 4 pm. Speeches will begin at 4:30 pm. At approximately 5 pm we will attend the Open House en masse to show our united opposition to the 3rd Bridge.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this event. It is imperative that everyone opposed to the 3rd Bridge turn out to show that there is strong opposition to  building a bridge that would destroy neighborhoods, raise taxes, and is the wrong way to solve our peak hour congestion problems.

Bring your friends and family. Forward this message to others. We'll look forward to seeing you there!

The passive voice was used

Note how the sender (CH2M Hill*) uses the passive voice:

The City of Salem and the Oregon 
Department of Transportation (ODOT) 
are pleased to announce that a 
Preferred Alternative has been recommended 

When they run their scams, con-men and other swindlers instinctively use the passive voice, known as "the language of non-responsibility," because they scurry away from accountability for their actions the way cockroaches scurry away from the light, and for much the same reason.

*CH2M-Hill is a giant corporation, and only entity who will ever benefit from the millions Salem has wasted -- and appears determined to continue to waste -- on this giant boondoggle.

From: "SalemRiverCrossing@CH2M.com" <SalemRiverCrossing@CH2M.com>
Date: May 30, 2014 at 16:12:25 PDT
Subject: Come to the Salem River Crossing Project open house on June 11, 4:00-6:30 pm
Reply-To: "SalemRiverCrossing@CH2M.com" <SalemRiverCrossing@CH2M.com>

-->

Oh. My. God. Ironist takes over city website, publishes brilliant satire of autoslave city

Kudos to the Swiftian genius who infiltrated the City of Salem website and posted this razor-sharp satirical attack on the city that lavishes money and attention on people in cars, giving the back of the hand and worse to people who want or must walk, bike, or depend on transit. 

This is the city that put the Kroc Center behind an impenetrable moat of high speed asphalt, and that offers no transit to help kids reach anything, anywhere, on weekends, the same city where no sane adult uses many of the roads for bicycling, much less a kid.

But, hey, great satire on Salem's "playfulness."

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City of Salem Designated 2014 Playful City USA
// City of Salem

KaBOOM! and Humana Foundation Unveil 2014 Playful City USA Communities
Recognized for Prioritizing Play

Salem, Oregon/Washington, D.C. - On May 13, 2014, KaBOOM!, in partnership with the Humana Foundation, announced 212 cities and towns across the United States as 2014 Playful City USA honorees. These communities are leaders in playability - the extent to which a city makes it easy for kids to get balanced and active play - and are making play part of the solution that can move the needle on countless urban challenges.

The City of Salem was honored with a 2014 Playful City USA designation for the first time. The City of Salem has established programs centered on improving park playgrounds by offering matching grants to neighborhood associations wishing to make park improvements at local parks. The City also partners with the Salem Parks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to promote, develop, facilitate, and sustain stewardship dedicated to the enhancement of parks if the city of Salem. Additionally, the City has many volunteer groups who participate in maintaining parks, building playgrounds, and helping to ensure our parks are safe. All of these combined efforts along with the support of the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, has resulted in the Playful City USA designation.

"The City of Salem will strive to provide a balance of active play, especially outdoor play in our city parks. We acknowledge that play provides an unlimited opportunity for growth, learning, and healthy lives. I'd like to affirm our commitment, at City of Salem, to provide every child in our community a healthy, safe, and playful childhood."
Mayor Anna Peterson

The KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, sponsored by the Humana Foundation, honors cities, towns, and communities across America that are taking bold steps to ensure all children, especially the 16 million American kids living in poverty, have easy access to balanced and active play in their communities. Cities being recognized span every region of the country, and include Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Nashville; Austin; Providence; San Francisco; New York City; and 205 others.

To advance the national dialogue on playability, KaBOOM! and City of Salem invites interest, expertise, and voices from members of the Salem community to get involved (and get playful!) in thinking about how play can create more family-friendly cities. Join the Twitter conversation and encourage action:

* Participate on Twitter (@kaboom) and provide your point of view and forward-looking insights on playability in cities using the hashtags #playability and #playmatters.

"With the tremendous support of our friends at Humana Foundation, we are thrilled to recognize all of these communities that are working to ensure all kids, particularly the 16 million that live in poverty, get the play they need to thrive," says KaBOOM! CEO and Founder Darell Hammond.

Humana President and CEO Bruce Broussard added, "We're excited about our journey with KaBOOM! and we appreciate the shared values that Humana, the Humana Foundation, and the KaBOOM! organization can rally around. Making it easy for families to play, be healthy and thrive together is a part of Humana's dream, and it's a commitment that all of us at Humana enjoy sharing with KaBOOM!."

The Playful City USA honorees range in size from eight-time honorees such as San Francisco and Shirley, Mass., to first time recipients Washington, D.C. and Plantersville, Miss. (population: 1,174). These Playful City USA communities are making a commitment to transform their communities to become more playable by developing unique local action plans to increase the quantity and quality of play in their community. Other city initiatives include:

* Increasing City Playability for All Kids: Chicago, IL has made a goal for every child living in the city to be within a seven-minute walk of a new park or playground.

* Encouraging Play Everywhere: San Antonio, TX partnered with SA Sports in the SPARK Park program, which turns elementary and middle school properties into playspaces outside school hours, reinforcing that kids want and need play everywhere.

* Creating a Competitive Advantage through Play: Bloomington, IN sees playability as the third piece to complement walkability and bikeability and boost the city's competitive advantage. The city plans to increase accessibility and availability of safe sidewalks, parks and play infrastructure.

* Promoting a Balance of All Types of Play: Orlando, FL is developing The Vision for Play in the City of Orlando initiative that will guide actions and investments over the next 20 years to provide a healthy urban play environment that promotes all types of play for all kids, which is critical to cognitive, creative, social, emotional, and physical development.

* Inspiring Family-Centric Play: Missoula, MT is installing fun, creative programs so children can play in a safe, fun and nurturing family and community-centric environment. To encourage more play opportunities for families and communities to enjoy, the city has designated an annual Play Day, a KidsFest celebration in the fall, as well as youth summer camps to keep kids engaged in active play.

* Using Play to Help Address Toxic Stress: Washington, D.C. recognizes its underserved youth are faced with physical, social, and mental health challenges that directly impact their quality of life and their ability to cope with adversity. Kids growing up in the face of significant adversity are at risk of toxic stress, which hinders healthy brain development. Through the Play DC and Parks and Recreation Master Plan initiatives, the city is redefining playgrounds as community spaces where youth can find release from everyday stress and build resilience.

* Fostering 21st Century Skills through Play: Pittsburgh, PA realizes play is critical to developing kids into healthy and successful adults, including preparing kids to be innovators, collaborators, and problem-solvers. The city plans to consider play in every educational and community decision that is made to ensure all Pittsburgh kids are prepared to succeed.

To see the full list of the 212 communities named 2014 Playful City USA honorees, or for more information on the Playful City USA program, visit www.playfulcityusa.org.

# # #


KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to the bold goal of ensuring that all children, particularly the 16 million American children living in poverty, get the active play they need to become healthy and successful adults. KaBOOM! has been a powerful champion for play since its founding in 1996, working with partners to build, improve, and open more than 15,000 playgrounds, engage more than 1,000,000 volunteers and serve more than 6,600,00 children nationwide. KaBOOM! creates and promotes great places to play; inspires, empowers and leads play advocates; and elevates the societal conversation about the importance of play in children's lives. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org/act or follow the conversation on why #playmatters at www.twitter.com/kaboom or www.facebook.com/kaboom.

About the Humana Foundation
The Humana Foundation was established in 1981 as the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc., one of the nation's leading health care companies. Located in Louisville, Ky., the site of Humana's corporate headquarters, the Foundation promotes healthy behaviors and healthy relationships. The Foundation's key funding priorities are childhood health, intergenerational health, and active lifestyles. For more information, visit www.humanafoundation.org.

Humana and the Humana Foundation are dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility. Our goal is to ensure that every business decision we make reflects our commitment to improving the health and well-being of our members, our associates, the communities we serve, and our planet.
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Converging Energy Crises – And How our Current Situation Differs from the Past | Our Finite World

What Salem needs to be preparing for, rather than how to bankrupt its people with sprawlchitechture and commit the grave sin of converting productive land into tract carburban degeneracy (need a word for it other than "development," since development implies progress, attainment of a more developed state, rather than a more depleted, vulnerable state).

http://ourfiniteworld.com/2014/05/29/converging-energy-crises-and-how-our-current-situation-differs-from-the-past/#more-39009

Justice demands that Salem fund a fully-functional transit system

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/27/us-usa-commute-costs-idUSKBN0E721M20140527?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email

And realize that once you starve the transit system enough to kill service on weekends, you force people to live in the used car economy where they are easy prey for the sleazy used car dealers who are so abundant in Salem; and once people have to fork out for a used car and insurance, and pay the outrageous used car interest rates, their cheapest choice day to day is to drive.

In fact the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which surveyed Americans about daily commutes and their effects, discovered a virtual horror show. They found the longer the commute, the higher the levels of one's obesity, cholesterol, pain, fatigue and anxiety.

What's more, the costs of commuting disproportionately hit those with modest incomes. For the working poor, commuting gobbles up roughly 6 percent of income - double the percentage of those bringing home higher salaries, says Robert Puentes, a senior fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program for the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution.

For the working poor who drive alone - instead of in carpools, for instance - that percentage rises to 8 percent to 9 percent of income.

Stand up and be counted: Oregon Climate Declaration

Dear Friends,

I just signed the campaign: Oregon Climate Declaration

It would mean the world to me if you could also add your name to this important issue. Every name that is added builds momentum around the campaign and makes it more likely for us to get the change we want to see.

Will you join me by taking action on this campaign?

http://campaigns.350.org/petitions/oregon-climate-declaration-3

After you've signed the petition please also take a moment to share it with others. It's super easy – all you need to do is forward this email.

Thank you!

The crushing blunder: the lead/crime-rate connections [feedly]

Steps For Salem:

1. Crash program to identify and replace any remaining lead-painted windows in Salem (where there are still far too many).

2. Ban the sale of leaded gasoline at the McNary Field and assess a stiff penalty to any plane burning it that lands in Salem.

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More useful discussion of the (under-discussed) lead-crime-rate connections
// Sentencing Law and Policy

...

For centuries it has been clear that lead is a potent poison. At extreme concentrations, lead poisoning causes anemia, blindness, renal failure, convulsions, abdominal spasms, insomnia, hallucinations, chronic fatigue and, ultimately, death. But only in the past four decades have researchers learned that lead exposure can severely damage the cognitive development of children, even at modest levels that produce no physical symptoms. And only through modern scanning technology have we learned that the lead molecule is perfectly designed to cripple young minds in ways that not only lower IQ, but also damage the very parts of the brain that oversee aggression, self-regulation, attention and impulse control.

As Kim Cecil, director of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, recently explained to the Chemical & Engineering News, "These are the parts of the brain that say, 'Ooh, I've learned from before that I shouldn't steal that, or if I do this, then the consequences are that.'" Even moderate levels of lead in the bloodstream of an infant or toddler significantly increase the odds that he will suffer behavioral disorders in childhood, and will engage in delinquency and criminal behavior later on. (Lead seems to affect boys more than girls.) A study published in 2008 tracked 250 children born in low-income Cincinnati neighborhoods between 1979 and 2004. It found that children with elevated levels of lead exposure (either in utero, or in early childhood) were significantly more likely to be arrested for both violent and nonviolent crimes than children with lower lead exposure. Earlier studies in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh also found a significant correlation between early childhood lead exposure and later conduct problems....

[T]he strength and consistency of the findings linking lead exposure and crime trends, plus the wealth of corroborating evidence from other disciplines (such as brain imaging studies and longitudinal studies of small population samples in selected cities) creates what Kevin Drum, a widely-cited blogger and journalist who has written extensively on the lead-crime connection, calls "an astonishing body of evidence."...

"We now have studies at the international level, the national level, the state level, the city level, and even the individual level," writes Drum. "Groups of children have been followed from the womb to adulthood, and higher childhood blood lead levels are consistently associated with higher adult arrest rates for violent crimes. All of these studies tell the same story: Gasoline lead is responsible for a good share of the rise and fall of violent crime over the past half century." . . . 

Great post on the messy reality hidden by smooth statistics (Pacific Standard)

How Well Do Teen Test Scores Predict Adult Income?
// Miller-McCune Online

. . .

If someone told you that the test scores people get in their late teens were highly correlated with their incomes later in life, you probably wouldn't be surprised. If I said the correlation was -.35, on a scale of 0 to 1, that would seem like a strong relationship. And it is. That's what I got using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. I compared the Armed Forces Qualifying Test scores, taken in 1999, when the respondents were aged 15-19 with their household income in 2011, when they were 27-31.

Here is the linear fit between between these two measures, with the 95 percent confidence interval shaded, showing just how confident we can be in this incredibly strong relationship:

That's definitely enough for a screaming headline, "How Your Kids' Test Scores Tell You Whether They Will Be Rich or Poor." And it is a very strong relationship—that correlation of 0.35 means AFQT explains 12 percent of the variation in household income.

But take heart, ye parents in the age of uncertainty: 12 percent of the variation leaves a lot left over. This variable can't account for how creative your children are, how sociable, how attractive, how driven, how entitled, how connected, or how white they may be. To get a sense of all the other things that matter, here is the same data, with the same regression line, but now with all 5,248 individual points plotted as well (which means we have to rescale the y-axis):

Each dot is a person's life—or two aspects of it, anyway—with the virtually infinite sources of variability that make up the wonder of social existence. All of a sudden that strong relationship doesn't feel like something you can bank on with any given individual. Yes, there are very few people from the bottom of the test-score distribution who are now in the richest households (those clipped by the survey's topcode and pegged at three on my scale), and hardly anyone from the top of the test-score distribution who is now completely broke. . . 

This post originally appeared on Sociological Images, a Pacific Standard partner site, as "How Well Do Teen Test Scores Predict Adult Income?"

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How Well Do Teen Test Scores Predict Adult Income? was first posted on May 20, 2014 at 2:00 pm.