Thursday, November 27, 2014

IKE DIKE VS RICE DIKE PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT PLEASE WRITE IN SUPPORT OF TAMU IKE DIKE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Re: Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District Hosts Public Information Session on October 9, 2014 at 2:00 p.m., Harris County Commissioners Court

 

CONTACT: Robert Eckels President, Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District, Inc. Email: Info@gccprd.com

 

HOUSTON (October 10, 2014) – The Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District (GCCPRD) held a public information session on Thursday, October 9, 2014 hosted by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and GCCPRD President Robert Eckels. The session provided details about the GCCPRD Storm Surge Suppression Study.

 

Following three major hurricanes, the last of which (Hurricane Ike) was the most expensive in Texas’ history, Governor Perry issued an Executive Order creating the Governor’s Commission for Disaster Recovery and Renewal. One of the Commission’s recommendations was to conduct a study to determine how coastal communities can reduce the damage of future storms. In conjunction with that recommendation, Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, and Orange Counties formed the GCCPRD as a local government corporation. The GCCPRD is leading the Storm Surge Suppression Study, a technical, scientific-based study funded to investigate opportunities to alleviate the vulnerability of the upper Texas coast to storm surge and flooding from events like Hurricane Ike. The study is funded by the Texas General Land Office through a $3.9 million federal Housing and Urban Development, Community Development Block Grant that was awarded in September 2013. Since then, the GCCPRD has been collecting data as well as analyzing existing studies and reports. This study is an opportunity for the GCCPRD to assume a leadership role and work collaboratively with federal, state, local, and public and private institutions to develop a comprehensive coastal protection plan that meets the needs of the region and the nation.

 

The Storm Surge Suppression Study will yield a variety of storm surge suppression alternatives that may consist of natural, structural, and nonstructural methods. Using these findings, the GCCPRD will recommend a cost-effective and efficient system of flood damage reduction and storm surge suppression measures to help protect the six-county region. It is anticipated that this study will conclude in fall 2016. Public feedback and participation is encouraged throughout the life of the study. Public scoping meetings will be held in winter 2014 and at key milestones in the study. Future large-scale public scoping meetings will be noticed in advance in local newspapers. For more information or to join the mailing list visit: http://www.gccprd.com/

 

About the Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District (GCCPRD): The GCCPRD is a local government corporation governed by a Board of Directors comprised of the County Judge of each participating county and three additional appointed members serving three-year terms. Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels was appointed by the Board to serve as President of the District. # # #

 

CONTACT:

 

Robert Eckels

President, Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District, Inc.


 


 

IKE DIKE VS RICE DIKE INPUT SOUGHT FROM PUBLIC

 

Gulf Coast residents asked for ideas on surge suppression

 

December 3, 2014 chron.com

 

By Robert Stanton

 

The Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District will host a series of public meetings in December to gain public feedback on protection from hurricanes as part of the state's Storm Surge Suppression Study, created by Gov. Rick Perry.

 

The first public meeting will take place from 6-8 p.m, Dec. 4 at League City Civic Center, 400 W. Walker St. in League City.

 

Others meetings will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Dec. 9 at J.D. Walker Community Center,

 

7613 Wade Road in Baytown;

 

and from 6-8 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1001 Pearl St. in Beaumont.

 

Comments will be accepted at the public meetings and throughout the duration of the study.

 

Written comments may be mailed to the Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District in care of Col. Christopher Salles at 3100 West Alabama St., Houston, Texas 77098 or emailed to info@gccprd.com.

 

"There are a number of different studies that are under way or in progress, and, they all offer part of the solution, but the efforts have not been coordinated and there are still gaps between the Work of the various studies," said district president Robert Eckels.

 

Two major ideas have emerged to prepare and protect the Houston-Galveston region from severe storms and hurricanes in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

 

No funding has been secured as of yet

 

Storms from page 1

 

Rice University's Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center has proposed a Centennial Gate to provide storm-surge protection to the Houston Ship Channel.

 

The Centennial Gate near the Fred Hartman Bridge would protect industries along the Houston Ship Channel.

 

The Ike Dike proposed by Texas A&M University involves a coastal spine concept that would combine barriers and gates to keep storm surge out of internal waters.

 

Seabrook Mayor Glenn Royal said he supports the coastal storm surge suppression system plan, also known as the coastal spine - a 15- to 17- foot barrier that would stretch from High Island on Bolivar Peninsula to the San Luis Pass on Galveston's West End.

 

"We have to be ready and have a plan in place when we go ask for funding, which is estimated to be about $6 billion," Royal said. "We have to show that we're together, in unison, and have public buy-in." To date, no funding for post-Ike hurricane protection plans has been secured, which is why the upcoming public meetings are so important, Eckels said. Questions: 713-868-1043

 

chron.com

 


 

 

Greetings Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District in care of Col. Christopher Salles, the Honorable Col. Salles Sir, Honorable GCCPRD President Judge Robert Eckels, Family, Friends, and Neighbors of the surrounding Galveston Bay complex.

 

I wish to kindly submit the following to Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District in care of Col. Christopher Salles, the Honorable Col. Salles Sir, Honorable GCCPRD President Judge Robert Eckels, about said Hurricane protection proposals.

 

>>> Two major ideas have emerged to prepare and protect the Houston-Galveston region from severe storms and hurricanes in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008. <<<

 

THE BIG DIFFERENCE between the two proposals, the RICE SPPEED dike will NOT protect a great portion of Galveston County, and by the RICE SPPEED dike proposal own words ;

 

“Furthermore, this proposal leaves waterfront properties and communities east of SH- 146 vulnerable; however, it maintains the possibility of waterfront recreation and other environmental and natural coastal features.”

 

ALL the Rice SPPEED dike will do, is protect Houston and the Houston Ship channel and all it’s petro-chemical complex, by damming up the North end of Galveston bay and adding a 25 foot seawall down the west side of SH 146 from Baytown to Texas City, making a wasteland and next a recreational park for the rich to come play in, at the expense to tax payers. my biggest concern is the petro-chemical giants getting their way, with the rice SSPEED dike, at the tax payers expense, and that will be signing a death sentence for all of us when the next big one comes up the ship channel. you can’t dam us out, east of SH 146, and just draw a pretty picture replacing us, as the rice dike proposes, and what we all know would happen if you dam up the North end of Galveston bay, and building a 25 feet wall west of SH 146 on the old train tracks. it will be doom for La Porte, Seabrook, Kemah, Bayview, Bacliff, San Leon, up to Texas City, Texas. the Rice Dike is absolutely the wrong way to go. Vote for the Ike Dike T.A.M.U. ! if the petro chemical giants want a wall only to protect them, let them build it by themselves, not on the tax payers backs, and again, at the same time knowing what your signing is your own death certificate. you may as well write your Social Security number on your arms now if the Rice SSPEED Dike goes through. it could be grounds for litigations in courts for decades to come, deliberate loss of property and life, with intent. they knew would it would do from day one, because they drew a damn map drawing all of us out, and replacing us with ‘’waterfront recreation and other environmental and natural coastal features’’.

 

I am asking for the people of the surrounding Galveston Bay areas to please support the TAMU IKE DIKE, so we can all be protected, not just Houston, and the petro-chemical complex up the Houston Ship Channel.

 

please see my reference materials and evidence against the Rice SPPEED dike proposal as reference materials below...

 

REFERENCE MATERIALS

 

RICE SPPEED DIKE ALREADY HAS BIG PLANS FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY EAST OF SH 146 FROM BAYTOWN TO TEXAS CITY, TEXAS.

 

vote for the IKE dike, if we even will get a vote, and make sure to make the petro-chemical companies pay for their fair share of the protection from the _Ike_ dike proposal by TAMU.

 

if the Rice SSPEED dike is approved, the federal government should be forced to buy us all out, at top dollar. ...

 

see 25 foot damn along SH 146 ;


 
 
 
see how high the tide still was, two days after IKE, looking right into our garage and garage apartment, look how high the tide still is, WITHOUT THE RICE SPPEED DAM...dike.
 
 
can you imagine what that would look like with the north end of galveston bay dammed up, and a 25 ft. damn from La Porte to Texas City Texas ?
 
here was the tide the day before Ike from our pier, and please notice what the water level was then, compared to 2 days after Ike. (takes a minute to load, and 28 seconds into video, see water level)
 
 
 
see officials from surrounding Galveston Bayshore communities I have spoken with, and how they feel about the Rice SSPEED dike, VS the IKE dike by TAMU ;
 
 
Kemah Mayor

 

From: Bob Cummins Sent:

 

Monday, November 18, 2013 1:51 PM

 

To: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Cc: Rick Beverlin

 

Subject: RE: Is your community just collateral damage? RICE DIKE VS IKE DIKE

 

Mr. Singeltary, The City has Dr. Merrill speak on several occasions to help educate our citizens. We have sent letters to the state and federal bodies to show our support for the much needed Ike Dike. Dr. Merrell has spoken to every group in the Bay area and has done a great job to help all of us. If you know of anyway we can be of greater support of this cause please let me know. Respectfully, Mayor Bob Cummins City of Kemah

 

========================

 

Seabrook Mayor

 

From: Glenn Royal

 

Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 4:56 PM

 

To: 'Terry S. Singeltary Sr.'

 

Subject: RE: Is your community just collateral damage? RICE DIKE VS IKE DIKE

 

Dear Terry,

 

Rice University has not bothered to ask the opinion of Seabrook about the Centennial Gate. Had they asked, our reaction is similar to LaPorte. Prior to receiving your email, council has discussed our own resolution in opposition to this plan.

 

Recent discussions that I have had with area groups about the Centennial Gate give me hope that it is not going to be implemented given its relative cost versus storm surge protection. The Ike Dike gives us the greatest cost/benefit value.

 

Thank you for reaching out and sharing these articles with me. Please continue you to do so.

 

Best regards,

 

Glenn Royal

 

Mayor

 

City of Seabrook

 

========================

 

La Porte City Council At Large “A” councilman

 

From: John Zemanek

 

Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 1:58 PM

 

To: 'Terry S. Singeltary Sr.'

 

Subject: RE: Is your community just collateral damage? RICE DIKE VS IKE DIKE

 

Terry,

 

City passed resolution opposing the Rice Dike. If you hear anything down the road, please let us know. We are keeping our eyes & ears open as well. FYI, I am the At Large “A” councilman.

 

Regards,

 

John Zemanek

 

Zemanek Marine Services, Inc.

 

From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [mailto:flounder9@verizon.net]

 

Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 12:28 PM

 


 

Cc: atlargea@laportetx.gov; atlargeb@laportetx.gov; district1@laportetx.gov; cengelken@att.net; district3@laportetx.gov; district4@laportetx.gov; district5@laportetx.gov; district6@laportetx.gov

 

Subject: Is your community just collateral damage? RICE DIKE VS IKE DIKE

 

Say there Honorable Mayor Louis Rigby, and Council Members et al in the great city of LaPorte, Texas.

 

snip...end...tss

 

==============================

 

RICE UNIVERSITY IKE DIKE hwy-146-levee proposal, THAT WOULD WASH AWAY SEABROOK, KEMAH, BAYVIEW, BACLIFF, AND SAN LEON

 

NOVEMBER 2011

 

Preliminary research results indicate that the most feasible structure will be a levee along SH-146 accompanied by pocket levees, built by private landowners. The levee would connect natural 25 foot elevations near the Houston Ship Channel and the Texas City Dike effectively protecting the properties and critical facilities and infrastructure west of SH-146. However, moveable barriers would need to be placed at Clear Lake and highway underpasses.

 

*** Furthermore, this proposal leaves waterfront properties and communities east of SH- 146 vulnerable; however, it maintains the possibility of waterfront recreation and other environmental and natural coastal features.

 


 

HERE is a IKE DIKE proposal that would help SAVE AND PROTECT SHOREACRES, SEABROOK, KEMAH, BAYVIEW, BACLIFF, AND SAN LEON.

 

THIS Ike Dike proposal by TAMU does NOT abandon all of us that have lived here all our lives, and this proposal does not sell out to developers ;

 


 

=====================

 

From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

 

Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 5:30 PM

 

To: William Merrell

 

Cc: Cherie Coffman

 

Subject: Re: Ike Dike question ? fantastic! thank you for your kind reply Sir, and explanation for the layperson such as me. many thanks, I like your proposal much, much, better Sir, considering my backyard is Galveston Bay here in Bacliff, 77518 shoreline. with that rice university plan, the shorelines from Kemah to San Leon and property values there from would tank and the next big one, we would all be marsh land. course, it would not matter much anyway, because that big toxic dredge island I have to look at everyday now, you know the one they propose to double in size now, well all that would be in our houses. ...what were they thinking. ...thanks again. with kindest regards, terry

 

=====================

 

From: William Merrell

 

Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 5:08 PM

 

To: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

 

Cc: Cherie Coffman

 

Subject: RE: Ike Dike question ?

 

Again - the Dike you describe is proposed by Rice University. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the Ike Dike. The Ike Dike protects everyone in the Bay because it is along the coast. You can verify this and learn the details of the Ike Dike by going to our website

 


 

=====================

 

From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [mailto:flounder9@verizon.net]

 

Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 5:00 PM

 

To: William Merrell

 

Cc: Cherie Coffman

 

Subject: Re: Ike Dike question ?

 

Greetings again Dr. Merrell,

 

Sir, I had a question.

 

I did not have any ideas, other than the fact, I am concerned and confused on one of rumored proposals of Ike Dike, and we wanted to know the truth, and I was told, you were the person to go to, and my question was as follows ;

 

i heard that one of the potential designs for the ike dike, would have everyone living south of the Kemah bridge on hwy 146, and everyone east of hwy 146 there from, i.e. Kemah, Bayview, Bacliff, and San Leon, all these fishing communities would be EAST OF SAID IKE DIKE, as the said IKE DIKE would be built west of hwy 146, thus leaving everyone east of 146 to be left for marsh land, as any hurricane after said IKE DIKE built would leave these fishing communities as marsh lands due to any IKE DIKE built west of hwy 146, is any of this true?

 

is there any proposal on the table to eliminate the Kemah, Bayview, Bacliff, and San Leon shore lines from the Ike Dike?

 

is the scenario of said rumor, I proposed above, is this one of the proposals?

 

as home owners, property owners, and business owners, we are concerned, and we have a right to know if this is a proposal or not?

 

a simple yes or no answer will do. ...

 

thank you,

 

kind regards,

 

terry

 

=====================

 

From: William Merrell

 

Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 4:38 PM To: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

 

Cc: Cherie Coffman

 

Subject: RE: Ike Dike question ?

 

The 146 dike is proposed by the SSPEED Center at Rice. I agree with your ideas on it. The Ike Dike is a coastal spine which would protect everyone. Details on website http://www.tamug.edu/ikedike/

 

Best regards, Bill

 

William Merrell George P Mitchell Chair Texas A&M University at Galveston Po Box 1675 Galveston, Texas 77553-1675 409-740-4732 work 409-740-4787 fax 409-771-2225 cell

 

=====================

 

From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [mailto:flounder9@verizon.net]

 

Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:50 PM

 

To: William Merrell

 

Subject: Ike Dike question ?

 

Greetings Dr. Merrell,

 

I am a bit concerned and confused, and hoping you might be able to help straighten out any confusion on the IKE DIKE.

 

i heard that one of the potential designs for the ike dike, would have everyone living south of the Kemah bridge on hwy 146, and everyone east of hwy 146 there from, i.e. Kemah, Bayview, Bacliff, and San Leon, all these fishing communities would be EAST OF SAID IKE DIKE, as the said IKE DIKE would be built west of hwy 146, thus leaving everyone east of 146 to be left for marsh land, as any hurricane after said IKE DIKE built would leave these fishing communities as marsh lands due to any IKE DIKE built west of hwy 146.

 

is any of this true ?

 

can you please show me where all the said potential designs and drawings might be for the public to view on any said IKE DIKE ?

 

thank you,

 

kindest regards, terry

 

===================

 

END...TSS

 

Dr. Merrell, a marine scientist from Texas A&M, will be talking about his proposal December 11, 2012 at 7 P.M. to explain his proposal, at a Town Hall Meeting in San Leon, Texas, at the San Leon Fire Station. ...

 

=====================================

 
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
 
Ike Dike Scientist Professor William Merrell sees NO chance of compromise !
 
BRAVO!!! Legislators want quick action on Ike Dike
 
 
 
Friday, December 6, 2013
 
IKE DIKE TAMU VS Rice SSPEED Dike Centennial gate from Hell
 
 
 
Sunday, December 9, 2012
 
 
*** RICE DIKE PROPOSAL COULD DESTROY GALVESTON BAY BAYSHORE COMMUNITIES
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Thank You...

 

Respectfully,

 

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

P.O. Box 42

Bacliff, Texas USA 77518

Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Living Planet Report 2014 World’s Wildlife Population Dropped By More Than Half In 40 Years, WWF Report Says

World’s Wildlife Population Dropped By More Than Half In 40 Years, WWF Report Says

 

By Kukil Bora@KukilBora on September 30 2014 6:20 AM

 

Wildlife

 

During the period of in 40 years, populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish around the world dropped 52 percent. Reuters

 

Wildlife population across the planet halved between 1970 and 2010, raising concerns over the global loss of species, according to a new report from the World Wildlife Fund, or WWF. In addition to the steep decline in wildlife populations, the report also highlighted various warning signs about the overall health of the planet.

 

Over a period of 40 years, populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish around the world dropped 52 percent, while the amount of carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere rose to levels not seen in more than a million years, according to the WWF report. And while these developments have altered the planet's climate and destabilized ecosystems, more than 60 percent of the essential “services” provided by nature are also seen to be in decline.

 

“We're gradually destroying our planet’s ability to support our way of life,” Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF, said in a statement. “But we already have the knowledge and tools to avoid the worst predictions. We all live on a finite planet and its time we started acting within those limits.”

 

According to WWF, the report is based on trends in three major areas, including populations of more than 10,000 vertebrate species; human activities such as consumption of goods and greenhouse gas emissions; and existing biocapacity, which denotes the amount of natural resources available to produce food and freshwater, and sequester carbon -- the process of capturing and storing of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

 

“There is a lot of data in this report and it can seem very overwhelming and complex,” Jon Hoekstra, chief scientist at WWF, said in the statement. “What’s not complicated are the clear trends we’re seeing -- 39 percent of terrestrial wildlife gone, 39 percent of marine wildlife gone, 76 percent of freshwater wildlife gone – all in the past 40 years.”

 

The report revealed that while high-income countries showed a 10 percent increase in biodiversity, middle-income and low-income countries suffered a decline of 18 percent and 58 percent, respectively. Among all the world's regions, Latin American countries showed the biggest decline in biodiversity, with species populations falling by 83 percent.

 

The report also put forth recommendations to help save the planet. WWF suggests people should focus more on smarter food and energy production, while being responsible about consuming resources “at the personal, corporate and government levels.”

 

“We need leadership for change. Sitting on the bench waiting for someone else to make the first move doesn’t work,” Marco Lambertini, director general at WWF International, said in a statement. “Heads of state need to start thinking globally; businesses and consumers need to stop behaving as if we live in a limitless world.”

 


 

Living Planet Report 2014 . .

 

The Living Planet Report is the world's leading, science-based analysis on the health of our planet and the impact of human activity. Knowing we only have one planet, WWF believes that humanity can make better choices that translate into clear benefits for ecology, society and the economy today and in the long term.

 

This latest edition of the Living Planet Report is not for the faint-hearted. One key point that jumps out is that the Living Planet Index (LPI), which measures more than 10,000 representative populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, has declined by 52 per cent since 1970.

 

 Put another way, in less than two human generations, population sizes of vertebrate species have dropped by half. These are the living forms that constitute the fabric of the ecosystems which sustain life on Earth – and the barometer of what we are doing to our own planet, our only home. We ignore their decline at our peril.

 

 We are using nature’s gifts as if we had more than just one Earth at our disposal. By taking more from our ecosystems and natural processes than can be replenished, we are jeopardizing our very future. Nature conservation and sustainable development go hand-in-hand. They are not only about preserving biodiversity and wild places, but just as much about safeguarding the future of humanity – our well-being, economy, food security and social stability – indeed, our very survival.

 

 In a world where so many people live in poverty, it may appear as though protecting nature is a luxury. But it is quite the opposite. For many of the world’s poorest people, it is a lifeline. Importantly though, we are all in this together. We all need nutritious food, fresh water and clean air – wherever in the world we live.

 

 Things look so worrying that it may seem difficult to feel positive about the future. Difficult, certainly, but not impossible – because it is in ourselves, who have caused the problem, that we can find the solution. Now we must work to ensure that the upcoming generation can seize the opportunity that we have so far failed to grasp, to close this destructive chapter in our history, and build a future where people can live and prosper in harmony with nature.

 

 We are all connected – and collectively, we have the potential to create the solutions that will safeguard the future of this, our one and only planet.

 

 / ©: WWF / ESA

 

 © WWF / ESA

 

 Too busy to read the full report ?

 

Download the booklet summary

 

Read the highlights

 

Living planet Index

 

Ecological Footprint

 

One planet solutions

 

Food, water and energy

 

/ ©: NASA

 

© NASA

 

 We need leadership for change. Sitting on the bench waiting for someone else to make the first move doesn’t work. Heads of state need to start thinking globally; businesses and consumers need to stop behaving as if we live in a limitless world.

 

Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International . .

 

 Living planet report partners

 

Zoological Society of London Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific, conservation, and educational organization. Its mission is to achieve and promote the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats.

 

Global Footprint Network (GFN) The GFN promotes a sustainable economy by advancing the Ecological Footprint, a tool that makes sustainability measurable. Together with its partners, the Network coordinates research, develops methodological standards, and provides decision makers with robust resource accounts to help the human economy operate within the Earth’s ecological limits.

 

Water Footprint Network (WFN) The Water Footprint Network is a dynamic a platform connecting diverse communities interested in sustainability, equitability and efficiency of water use.

 


 

SEE VIDEO;

 


 

Half of Global Wildlife Lost, says new WWF Report

 

World Wildlife Fund issues 10th edition of “The Living Planet Report”, a science-based assessment of the planet’s health

 

Date September 30, 2014

 

Media Contact

 

Brendan Rohr

 

202-495-4621

 

brendan.rohr@wwfus.org

 

In This Press Release

 

Carter Roberts

 

 Keya Chatterjee

 

 Jon Hoekstra

 

Between 1970 and 2010 populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish around the globe dropped 52 percent, says the 2014 Living Planet Report released today by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This biodiversity loss occurs disproportionately in low-income countries—and correlates with the increasing resource use of high-income countries.

 

In addition to the precipitous decline in wildlife populations the report’s data point to other warning signs about the overall health of the planet. The amount of carbon in our atmosphere has risen to levels not seen in more than a million years, triggering climate change that is already destabilizing ecosystems. High concentrations of reactive nitrogen are degrading lands, rivers and oceans. Stress on already scarce water supplies is increasing. And more than 60 percent of the essential “services” provided by nature, from our forests to our seas, are in decline.

 

"We're gradually destroying our planet’s ability to support our way of life,” said Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF. “But we already have the knowledge and tools to avoid the worst predictions. We all live on a finite planet and its time we started acting within those limits.”

 

The Living Planet Report, WWF’s biennial flagship publication, measures trends in three major areas:

 

• populations of more than ten thousand vertebrate species;

 

• human ecological footprint, a measure of consumption of goods, greenhouse gas emissions; and

 

• existing biocapacity, the amount of natural resources for producing food, freshwater, and sequestering carbon.

 

“There is a lot of data in this report and it can seem very overwhelming and complex,” said Jon Hoekstra, chief scientist at WWF. “What’s not complicated are the clear trends we’re seeing -- 39 percent of terrestrial wildlife gone, 39 percent of marine wildlife gone, 76 percent of freshwater wildlife gone – all in the past 40 years.”

 

The report says that the majority of high-income countries are increasingly consuming more per person than the planet can accommodate; maintaining per capita ecological footprints greater than the amount of biocapacity available per person. People in middle- and low-income countries have seen little increase in their per capita footprints over the same time period.

 

While high-income countries show a 10 percent increase in biodiversity, the rest of the world is seeing dramatic declines. Middle-income countries show 18 percent declines, and low-income countries show 58 percent declines. Latin America shows the biggest decline in biodiversity, with species populations falling by 83 percent.

 

“High-income countries use five times the ecological resources of low-income countries, but low income countries are suffering the greatest ecosystem losses,” said Keya Chatterjee, WWF’s senior director of footprint. “In effect, wealthy nations are outsourcing resource depletion.”

 

The report underscores that the declining trends are not inevitable. To achieve globally sustainable development, each country’s per capita ecological footprint must be less than the per capita biocapacity available on the planet, while maintaining a decent standard of living.

 

At the conclusion of the report, WWF recommends the following actions:

 

1. Accelerate shift to smarter food and energy production

 

2. Reduce ecological footprint through responsible consumption at the personal, corporate and government levels

 

3. Value natural capital as a cornerstone of policy and development decisions

 


 

WWF In The News World’s Wildlife Population Dropped By More Than Half In 40 Years, WWF Report SaysSeptember 30, 2014 – International Business Times WWF: The Earth Has Lost Half Its Wildlife Since 1970September 30, 2014 – VOX Half the World's Wildlife Gone Over Last 40 Years September 30, 2014 – CBS News Too busy to read the full report ? Download the booklet summary Read the highlights Living planet Index Ecological Footprint One planet solutions Food, water and energy

 


 

CYANIDE POISONING, ELEPHANTS - ZIMBABWE (02): (HWANGE NATIONAL PARK)

 

********************************************************************

 

A ProMED-mail post <http://www.promedmail.org> ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

 

Date: Sun 29 Sep 2013 Source: IOL (Independent Online, South Africa) [edited] <http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/zim-elephant-deaths-soar-1.1584080#.Uk2IP4ZLOrh>

 

While African heads of state made measured long-range commitments to intensify anti-wildlife poaching measures at a UN summit in New York this week [23-29 Sep 2013], conservation authorities in Zimbabwe were continuing to count the cost of what could be the single worst poaching incident on the continent in living memory.

 

By yesterday [28 Sep 2013], 91 elephant carcasses had been found in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, victims of cyanide added to salt licks at watering holes inside the reserve.

 

Meanwhile, reports have indicated the poison has led to widespread devastation of the ecosystems in the area, with large, though at this stage untallied, numbers of other wildlife including lions, zebras, wildebeest, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, and several species of birds also included in the list of victims. Especially vulnerable have been vultures feeding from elephant carcasses.

 

"This is the worst ecological disaster we have seen, and the fallout is going to be massive," said Johnny Rodrigues, Chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

 

"Watering holes and the ground are contaminated, and the entire wildlife food chain is threatened."

 

"Already predators and vultures and other birdlife species are dying from the chain reaction or secondary poisoning, and a lot more animals are going to suffer and die."

 

Conservationists believe the final tally -- which has steadily risen after the discovery of some 40 carcasses in August [2013] -- could climb to 3 figures before the poisons introduced into the watering holes lose their toxicity.

 

Hwange covers an area of 14 650 sq km [5656 sq mi] and is Africa's 3rd largest wildlife sanctuary. The Zimbabwe Wildlife Authority employs just 50 rangers to protect the park where earlier this year [2013] it was reported the last southern white rhino at Hwange had been poached.

 

Hwange received no mention at this week's [23-29 Sep 2013] UN-hosted deliberations in New York, where Gabon's President Ali Bongo called for the appointment of a UN rapporteur on wildlife crime, a call supported by the UK and Germany among others.

 

Somewhat more proactive were the Zimbabwean prosecutorial authorities, arresting 8 suspected poachers since August [2013] in connection with the cyanide outrage, and securing confessions from at least 2 suspects that elephants had been targeted for their ivory in poisoning the watering holes.

 

This week [23-29 Sep 2013], 3 of the suspects were convicted in the Hwange Regional Court. 2 were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, and an order for the restitution of USD 600 000 (R 5.9 million) to the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe. The 3rd was handed down a 16-year sentence with labour, and an order for restitution in the value of USD 200 000 [about R 2 million].

 

Zimbabwe's political responses have been less pertinent, however, with Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF blaming Western sanctions for the poaching crisis. Claiming it had conducted a week-long investigation into the cyanide poisoning, government mouthpiece the Zimbabwe Herald said last week it attributed the elephant killing to "the West's illegal economic sanctions that affected Zimbabwe's once-vibrant wildlife management system."

 

Conservation authorities have pointed out that cyanide is a highly controlled substance, and virtually unobtainable. The single exception lies in the mining sector. In recent years, several gold mining concessions in the Hwange region have been handed out -- nearly all of them to Chinese interests.

 

While investigators of the Hwange atrocity have not connected the provision of the cyanide to mining operators in the area, circumstantial corroboration is lent to the suspicion by organic chemist and toxicologist Gerhard Verdoorn. According to Verdoorn, the Chinese "colonisation of parts of Africa" has led to a situation where a "very large quantity of unregistered and uncontrolled Chinese pesticides and other toxins enter Africa without any control."

 

Verdoorn says the use of poisons in poaching goes back some years, and that in the past 2 years [2011-2012] he has received several reports of mass poisonings of wildlife in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia, but has been under pressure from investigative authorities to "keep a lid on the information" in the light of ongoing investigations.

 

Ivory trafficking has become one of the world's most lucrative criminal industries, with an estimated value of USD 7-10 billion a year, nonprofit advocacy groups say.

 

Since 1980, the estimated population of African elephants has fallen from 1.2 million to less than 420 000. In 2012 alone, 35 000 elephants were slaughtered, data show.

 

Ivory seizures data indicates that most ivory smuggled from Africa goes to China, according to Tom Milliken, an expert from world wildlife monitoring network Traffic. Bulawayo's Milliken, who runs the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), has tracked the illegal flow of ivory from Africa for the past 22 years.

 

"In every analysis that we've done since 2004, illegal trade in ivory has been escalating. The last time we did a major assessment, in 2009, it was escalating at a rate faster and greater than we had seen previously. Looking at large-scale ivory seizures in 2011, it's going off the charts. There were just 13 seizures that generated over 23 tons of ivory," he said.

 

On Thursday [26 Sep 2013] in New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a new global effort to protect Africa's wild elephants from poaching, part of a personal crusade. "Unless the killing stops, African forest elephants are expected to be extinct within 10 years," Clinton said. "I can't even grasp what a great disaster this is ecologically, but also for anyone who shares this planet to lose a magnificent creature like the African forest elephant seems like such a rebuke to our own values," she said.

 

[Byline: Simon Bloch]

 

-- Communicated by: ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts

 

[Cyanide poisoning occurs when an animal is exposed to a compound that produces cyanide ions when dissolved in water. The cyanide ion halts cellular respiration by inhibiting an enzyme in the mitochondria called cytochrome c oxidase.

 

Gold cyanidation (also known as the cyanide process or the MacArthur-Forrest process) is a metallurgical technique for extracting gold from low-grade ore by converting the gold to a water soluble coordination complex. It is the most commonly used process for gold extraction. [A coordination complex or metal complex, consists of an atom or ion (usually metallic), and a surrounding array of bound molecules or anions, that are in turn known as ligands or complexing agents. (Wikipedia). - Mod.JW]

 

In South Africa, poachers have also used a toxic compound, aldicarb, to kill large mammals see <http://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Pet-Health/News/Temik-killer-on-the-loose-20120721>.

 

A HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Zimbabwe can be seen at <http://healthmap.org/r/8Fl->. Hwange National Park can be located on the map at <http://chandrashekharasandprints.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/hwangenationalpark.jpg>- Mod.PMB

 

Joseph Dudley comments: Aldicarb, a carbamate insecticide that is extremely toxic to mammals, has been widely used by wildlife poachers in South Africa for many years for poisonng rhinos and other wildlife species. It is also used in South Africa by burglars to poison sentry dogs, and to poison rats and stray dogs. Although banned in South Africa, it is still readily available in Zimbabwe & Mozambique, and large quantities are smuggled into South Africa for illegal sale there. http://www.rhinoconservation.org/2012/03/27/south-africa-poison-seized-from-game-farmer-suspected-of-rhino-crimes/ http://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Pet-Health/News/Temik-killer-on-the-loose-20120721

 


 

Criminals in South Africa wishing to gain access to a property where dogs are present typically insert aldicarb granules into cheap meat baits, such as sausages or polony, to kill the resident dog(s). Pieces of bait are clandestinely thrown over property fences for the dogs to consume, with criminals gaining access to the property once the dogs have been eliminated. The use of a ldicarb to poison animals is, however, not only restricted to South Africa, with reports indicating large-scale intentional malicious poisoning of dogs and other species from the USA and Spain. It has also been reported that aldicarb is illegally used as a household rodenticide in Brazil and the Caribbean Islands and that humans are sometimes poisoned.

 


 

[see also: Cyanide poisoning, elephants - Zimbabwe 20130908.1930015] .................................................sb/pmb/mj/jw

 

*##########################################################*

END...TSS

************************************************************

 

HUGE OIL SPILL GALVESTON BAY UPDATES

 


 

Seafood Consumption Advisories

 

While Galveston Bay is an outstanding place to fish, you need to be aware of seafood consumption advisories!

 


 

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

 

Report challenges state pollutant de-listing effort in Texas City

 

Premature To Remove Texas City From The Air Pollution Watch List

 

By Elena Craft, PhD | Bio | Published: May 13, 2013

 


 

Monday, March 25, 2013

 

TCEQ Proposes Removal of Two Pollutants from the Texas City APWL Area--Benzene and Hydrogen Sulfide

 


 

Thursday, September 18, 2014

 

*** Risk behaviors in a rural community with a known point-source exposure to chronic wasting disease

 


 

Saturday, September 20, 2014

 

*** North Carolina Captive cervid licenses and permits Senate Bill 744 Singeltary Submission

 

Description The proposed changes to 15A NACA 10H .0301 would allow the Commission to issue new captivity licenses and permits for the purpose of holding cervids in captivity and allow certified herd owners to sell or transfer cervids to any licensed facility. Also, mandatory testing for CWD will be raised from all cervids that die at age 6 months or older to all cervids that die at age 12 months or older.

 

Rule Text Click here

 


 

North Carolina Captive cervid licenses and permits Senate Bill 744 Singeltary Submission

 

*** p.s. please add this to my submission, very important information...

 

Saturday, February 04, 2012

 

*** Wisconsin 16 age limit on testing dead deer Game Farm CWD Testing Protocol Needs To Be Revised

 

Approximately 4,200 fawns, defined as deer under 1 year of age, were sampled from the eradication zone over the last year. The majority of fawns sampled were between the ages of 5 to 9 months, though some were as young as 1 month.

 

*** Two of the six fawns with CWD detected were 5 to 6 months old.

 

All six of the positive fawns were taken from the core area of the CWD eradication zone where the highest numbers of positive deer have been identified.

 

Saturday, February 04, 2012

 

*** Wisconsin 16 age limit on testing dead deer Game Farm CWD Testing Protocol Needs To Be Revised

 


 

*** Conclusion. CWD prions (as inferred by prion seeding activity by RT-QuIC) are shed in urine of infected deer as early as 6 months post inoculation and throughout the subsequent disease course. Further studies are in progress refining the real-time urinary prion assay sensitivity and we are examining more closely the excretion time frame, magnitude, and sample variables in relationship to inoculation route and prionemia in naturally and experimentally CWD-infected cervids.

 


 

SNIP...SEE FULL TEXT ;

 

Saturday, September 20, 2014

 

*** North Carolina Captive cervid licenses and permits Senate Bill 744 Singeltary Submission

 


 

Thursday, July 03, 2014

 

*** How Chronic Wasting Disease is affecting deer population and what’s the risk to humans and pets?

 


 

=============================================================================

 

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

 

*** CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION DISEASE, GAME FARMS, AND POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS THERE FROM ***

 


 

=============================================================================

 

North America Game Farms

 

slaughtering cattle, or killing deer ?

 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, vs. RUSSELL G. BELLAR, Defendant.

 

___________________________

 

Cause No.: 3:04cr00068-AS South Bend, Indiana January 4, 2005 9:30 a.m.

 

TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT OF JURY TRIAL (TESTIMONY OF: RONNIE DUNN AND RUSTY CAMP) BEFORE THE HONORABLE ALLEN SHARP

 

snip...

 

Ronnie Dunn Cross Examination

 

Q. Mr. Dunn, at one point I believe you told the federal agents that Mr. Bellar told you that this was a private deer farm and shooting deer on that farm was like slaughtering cattle; is that correct?

 

A. I don't know if I used the word "slaughter," but it was, yeah, like that.

 

Q. You don't know if that was your word, "slaughtering cattle"?

 

A. I don't know that.

 

Q. Well, did he give you the idea of killing cattle?

 

A. Yes, it was the same principle.

 

snip...

 

see full text ;

 


 


 


 

BUCK FEVER

 


 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease North America 2014

 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease have now been discovered in a wide verity of species across North America. typical C-BSE, atypical L-type BASE BSE, atypical H-type BSE, atypical H-G BSE, of the bovine, typical and atypical Scrapie strains, in sheep and goats, with atypical Nor-98 Scrapie spreading coast to coast in about 5 years. Chronic Wasting Disease CWD in cervid is slowly spreading without any stopping it in Canada and the USA and now has mutated into many different strains. Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy TME outbreaks. These Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease have been silently mutating and spreading in different species in North America for decades.

 

The USDA, FDA, et al have assured us of a robust Triple BSE TSE prion Firewall, of which we now know without a doubt, that it was nothing but ink on paper. Since the 1997 mad cow feed ban in the USA, literally tons and tons of banned mad cow feed has been put out into commerce, never to return, as late as December of 2013, serious, serious breaches in the FDA mad cow feed ban have been documented. The 2004 enhanced BSE surveillance program was so flawed, that one of the top TSE prion Scientist for the CDC, Dr. Paul Brown stated ; Brown, who is preparing a scientific paper based on the latest two mad cow cases to estimate the maximum number of infected cows that occurred in the United States, said he has "absolutely no confidence in USDA tests before one year ago" because of the agency's reluctance to retest the Texas cow that initially tested positive.

 

see ;

 


 

The BSE surveillance and testing have also been proven to be flawed, and the GAO and OIG have both raised serious question as to just how flawed it has been (see GAO and OIG reports). North America has more documented TSE prion disease, in different documented species (excluding the Zoo BSE animals in the EU), then any other place on the Globe. This does not include the very likelihood that TSE prion disease in the domestic feline and canine have been exposed to high doses of the TSE prion disease vid pet food. To date, it’s still legal to include deer from cwd zone into pet food or deer food. Specified Risk Material i.e. SRM bans still being breach, as recently as just last month.

 

nvCJD or what they now call vCJD, another case documented in Texas last month, with very little information being released to the public on about this case? with still the same line of thought from federal officials, ‘it can’t happen here’, so another vCJD blamed on travel of a foreign animal disease from another country, while ignoring all the BSE TSE Prion risk factors we have here in the USA and Canada, and the time that this victim and others, do spend in the USA, and exposed to these risk factors, apparently do not count in any way with regard to risk factor. a flawed process of risk assessment.

 

sporadic CJD, along with new TSE prion disease in humans, of which the young are dying, of which long duration of illness from onset of symptoms to death have been documented, only to have a new name added to the pot of prion disease i.e. sporadic GSS, sporadic FFI, and or VPSPR. I only ponder how a familial type disease could be sporadic with no genetic link to any family member? when the USA is the only documented Country in the world to have documented two different cases of atypical H-type BSE, with one case being called atypical H-G BSE with the G meaning Genetic, with new science now showing that indeed atypical H-type BSE is very possible transmitted to cattle via oral transmission (Prion2014). sporadic CJD and VPSPR have been rising in Canada, USA, and the UK, with the same old excuse, better surveillance. You can only use that excuse for so many years, for so many decades, until one must conclude that CJD TSE prion cases are rising. a 48% incease in CJD in Canada is not just a blip or a reason of better surveillance, it is a mathematical rise in numbers. More and more we are seeing more humans exposed in various circumstance in the Hospital, Medical, Surgical arenas to the TSE Prion disease, and at the same time in North America, more and more humans are becoming exposed to the TSE prion disease via consumption of the TSE prion via deer and elk, cattle, sheep and goats, and for those that are exposed via or consumption, go on to further expose many others via the iatrogenic modes of transmission of the TSE prion disease i.e. friendly fire. I pondered this mode of transmission via the victims of sporadic FFI, sporadic GSS, could this be a iatrogenic event from someone sub-clinical with sFFI or sGSS ? what if?

 

Two decades have passed since Dr. Ironside first confirmed his first ten nvCJD victims in 1995. Ten years later, 2005, we had Dr. Gambetti and his first ten i.e. VPSPR in younger victims. now we know that indeed VPSPR is transmissible. yet all these TSE prion disease and victims in the USA and Canada are being pawned off as a spontaneous event, yet science has shown, the spontaneous theory has never been proven in any natural case of TSE prion disease, and scientist have warned, that they have now linked some sporadic CJD cases to atypical BSE, to atypical Scrapie, and to CWD, yet we don’t here about this in the public domain. We must make all human and animal TSE prion disease reportable in every age group, in ever state and internationally, we must have a serious re-evaluation and testing of the USA cattle herds, and we must ban interstate movement of all cervids. Any voluntary effort to do any of this will fail. Folks, we have let the industry run science far too long with regards to the TSE prion disease. While the industry and their lobbyist continues to funnel junk science to our decision policy makers, Rome burns. ...end

 

REFERENCES

 

Sunday, June 29, 2014

 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease North America 2014

 


 

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

 

MAD COW USDA TSE PRION COVER UP or JUST IGNORANCE, for the record AUGUST 2014

 


 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

 

Former Rancho Employees Charged With 11 Felonies processed meat from 101 condemned cattle, including 79 with “cancer eye''

 


 

Saturday, June 14, 2014

 

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) Calls for Briefing on Beef Recalled for Mad Cow Potential Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

 


 

*** Because typical clinical signs of BSE cannot always be observed in nonambulatory disabled cattle, and because evidence has indicated these cattle are more likely to have BSE than apparently healthy cattle, FDA is designating material from nonambulatory disabled cattle as prohibited cattle materials.

 


 


 


 


 

Friday, March 21, 2014

 

Rancho Dead Stock Cancer Downers Recall Explained FSIS March 20 2014 ?

 

“As of March 20, 2014, FSIS has completed all checks (effectiveness checks and disposition verification checks) for recalls 002-2014 and 013-2014 regarding Rancho Feeding Corporation. FSIS has determined that based on the number of successful checks (see Directive 8080.1, Attachment 1, Table 3) where businesses were notified of the recall and removed affected products from commerce that the recall activities were effective.”

 


 

Thursday, March 20, 2014

 

JACK IN THE BOX NOW CAUGHT UP IN MASSIVE RANCHO DEAD STOCK DOWNER CANCER COW RECALL

 


 

Thursday, March 6, 2014

 

TEXAS RECALL LIST MASSIVE FROM DEAD STOCK DOWNER CANCER COWS OFFAL from Class I Recall 002-2014 and 013-2014 Health Risk: High Jan 13, 2014 and Feb 8, 2014 shipped to Texas, Florida, and Illinois UPDATE FEBRUARY 14, 2014

 


 

Thursday, February 27, 2014

 

BEEF, CANCER, PRIONS, AND OTHER DANGEROUS AND DEADLY PATHOGENS, APPARENTLY, IT'S WHAT'S FOR DINNER

 


 

Thursday, November 28, 2013

 

Department of Justice Former Suppliers of Beef to National School Lunch Program Settle Allegations of Improper Practices and Mistreating Cows

 


 

seems USDA NSLP et al thought that it would be alright, to feed our children all across the USA, via the NSLP, DEAD STOCK DOWNER COWS, the most high risk cattle for mad cow type disease, and other dangerous pathogens, and they did this for 4 years, that was documented, then hid what they did by having a recall, one of the largest recalls ever, and they made this recall and masked the reason for the recall due to animal abuse (I do not condone animal abuse), not for the reason of the potential for these animals to have mad cow BSE type disease (or other dangerous and deadly pathogens). these TSE prion disease can lay dormant for 5, 10, 20 years, or longer, WHO WILL WATCH OUR CHILDREN FOR THE NEXT 5 DECADES FOR CJD ???

 

Saturday, September 21, 2013

 

Westland/Hallmark: 2008 Beef Recall A Case Study by The Food Industry Center January 2010 THE FLIM-FLAM REPORT

 


 

DID YOUR CHILD CONSUME SOME OF THESE DEAD STOCK DOWNER COWS, THE MOST HIGH RISK FOR MAD COW DISEASE ??? this recall was not for the welfare of the animals. ...tss

 

you can check and see here ; (link now dead, does not work...tss)

 


 

try this link ;

 


 


 

Sunday, September 21, 2014

 

Is your pizza topped with horrific animal cruelty?

 


 

vCJD can have an incubation period of over 30 years. ..TSS

 

USA 4TH CASE VCJD (aka nvCJD) HUMAN MAD COW, THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING BSE, CWD, AND SCRAPIE TSE PRION DISEASE

 

Greetings DSHS, Dr. Fishcer, et al,

 

I know that most in the USA could care less about the CJD TSE prion disease aka mad cow type disease. but there are some of us here that will never forget.

 

you can cover up what ever you want. we all know. I have seen it happen too many times here in Texas with BSE TSE prion, either the typical or the atypical strains, or with the feed, or, with cwd, or scrapie as that goes, but we are still here, and we will never forget...

 

kind regards, terry

 

Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (CJD) Emerging & Acute Infectious Disease Branch Michael Fischer

 

Marilyn Felkner

 

512-776-7676

 

512-776-7676

 

Chronic Wasting Disease Zoonosis Control Branch Eric Fonken

 

512-776-2155

 

Lab tests have confirmed a diagnosis of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in a patient who recently died in Texas. Variant CJD is a rare, fatal brain disorder, first described in 1996 in the United Kingdom and associated with beef consumption overseas.

 

This is the fourth case ever reported in the United States. In each of the three previous cases, infection likely occurred outside the United States, including the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. The history of this fourth patient includes extensive travel to Europe and the Middle East, and infection likely occurred outside the United States. The CDC and DSHS continue to investigate the case.

 

There are no Texas public health concerns or threats associated with this case.

 

CDC Confirmation Information:
 

 

CDC Fact Sheet:
 

 

Texas CJD Information:
 

 

Last updated June 02, 2014

 


 

CONFIRMED HUMAN BSE AKA MAD COW DISEASE vCJD TEXAS USA

 

CONFIRMED HUMAN BSE AKA MAD COW DISEASE vCJD TEXAS USA

 

Monday, June 02, 2014
 
*** Confirmed Variant CJD Case in Texas ***


 

SO, 4 months after the fact and still no word on this case. no information what so ever.
 
the silence is deafening $$$

 

CONFIRMED HUMAN BSE AKA MAD COW DISEASE vCJD TEXAS USA

 

Monday, June 02, 2014
 
Confirmed Variant CJD Case in Texas



Monday, February 24, 2014

Sporadic Fatal Insomnia in an Adolescent ???
http://sporadicffi.blogspot.com/2014/02/sporadic-fatal-insomnia-in-adolescent.html
 

it’s all Man, and his lust for the almighty dollar, nothing else matters $$$, over fishing, factory farming, pollution, clear cutting, build, build, build, pour more concrete, we will pay for our own demise. ...TSS

 

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

 


 
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Ike Dike Scientist Professor William Merrell sees NO chance of compromise !

Ike Dike Scientist Professor William Merrell sees NO chance of compromise !

BRAVO!!!

Legislators want quick action on Ike Dike

Texas A&M's Ike Dike plan favored by local governments who spurn Rice center's Centennial Gate idea

By Harvey Rice
 
August 4, 2014 | Updated: August 4, 2014 8:43pm

  • Melissa Phillip, Staff

Bill Merrell, TAMU-Galveston oceanographer, proposes to build an Ike Dike from one end of Galveston Island across Bolivar Peninsula Tuesday, April 7, 2009, in Houston. Shown at the statue along the Seawall commemorates the storm that devastated the island city of Galveston in 1900. (Melissa Phillip / Chronicle ) for Eric Berger story
By Harvey Rice
 
August 4, 2014 | Updated: August 4, 2014 8:43pm
 
GALVESTON - Lawmakers on Monday told representatives of two of Texas' most distinguished universities to stop feuding and come together on a plan for protecting the Houston region from a storm surge similar to the one spawned by Hurricane Ike six years ago.

At a hearing at Texas A&M University Galveston, members of the Joint Committee on a Coastal Barrier System expressed frustration that the universities who took the initiative to devise a storm protection plan - Texas A&M Galveston and a Rice University-based center - were still arguing over the best approach.

"The fact is that Hurricane Ike was six years ago and we are still talking about how to come to a consensus," said Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood and the co-chairman of the joint committee. "We've got to move forward."
Legislators said they wanted a proposal they could turn into legislation soon. "You have to come up with a plan that can be passed," said committee Co-Chairman Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont.

If the two sides fail to come together by the time the committee reconvenes in September, legislators said, they will take steps to bring about an agreement. "We'll do something to encourage them," Taylor said, adding that it could include picking a person or a committee to work out a deal.

The comments from Democrats and Republicans on the 23-member panel in support of speedy action are significant, given that the Legislature historically has taken little interest in coastal issues.
"Just having that meeting today was a win for Texas because that's the first time the Texas Legislature has stepped forward," said Chris Sallese, a former head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston Division. Sallese is now program manager for Dannenbaum Engineering, which has been hired to do a storm protection study for the six-county Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District.

Still, it may not be easy to get an agreement between the sources of the competing ideas: Texas A&M Galveston and the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center, or SSPEED Center, at Rice University.

Dike vs. gate

Texas A&M is backing a storm protection barrier proposal known as the Ike Dike, which would stretch from San Luis Pass at the western end of Galveston Island to High Island on the eastern end of the Bolivar Peninsula. Skeptics have said the idea is too costly.

Texas A&M marine scientist William Merrell proposed the concept soon after Ike caused an estimated $25 billion in damage to the Houston area, making it the costliest storm in Texas history.
The SSPEED Center, which draws on ideas from all over Texas, originated the proposal for the Centennial Gate at the head of the Houston Ship Channel. That plan calls for a ring barrier around the populated portion of Galveston Island, and a storm levee along Texas 146 to protect the western edge of Galveston Bay.

After the hearing, Jim Blackburn, a professor at the SSPEED Center, said he was confident that an agreement could be reached. But when Merrell was asked if there was a chance of a compromise, he responded, "No."

"We've got a concept, we think it's a good one and we are going to keep doing it," Merrell said. "The Centennial Gate never did hunt."

Merrell said he would welcome the backing of the SSPEED Center.


Although the Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District was created specifically to study the problem addressed by the hearing, it was not listed on Monday's agenda.

Robert Eckels, the district's president, told committee members that he and the chairman of the nine-member board, Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, had planned to address the panel, but that previous commitments prevented them from doing so. Eckels handed the committee a prepared statement.

Taylor noted that although the Houston area is years away from breaking ground on any storm protection project, the Corps of Engineers was given $16 billion after Hurricane Katrina and within three years had completed a storm barrier to protect New Orleans. In contrast, the Corps lacks the $10 million it needs to even begin a study of protections needed for Galveston Bay.

With the Corps of Engineers lacking money and the Gulf Coast District study just gearing up, all of the studies so far have been done with private money backing concepts at the two competing universities.

The SSPEED Center was formed in 2010, when the economy was still struggling and obtaining state or federal funds for storm protection seemed remote. Center officials devised proposals that could be built quickly and funded locally. Doing so meant smaller projects to protect key areas. One SSPEED Center idea, the creation of the Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area, found widespread support. Even Merrell supported the idea.

But the SSPEED Center was forced to abandon its other projects, with the exception of the Centennial Gate, for lack of public support, Blackburn told the committee.

Legislators showed little support for projects paid for only with local money. State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, asked Blackburn to include the possibility of federal funding in SSPEED studies.

Merrell favored

Testimony overwhelmingly favored Merrell's coastal spine proposals. The mayors of Galveston, Seabrook and Morgan's Point testified, all three among 26 local governments that have signed pledges of support for the Ike Dike concept, estimated to cost between $4 billion and $6 billion.

Although several speakers supported the concept, *** no one other than Blackburn voiced support for the SSPEED Center project. Blackburn was questioned more intensely than Merrell and his testimony was interrupted by shouts and mutterings from the back of the auditorium. One man yelled, "It's time we talk about Merrell."

Blackburn nevertheless said SSPEED was willing to share its information. "We are extremely vulnerable," he said about the storm-surge threat. "That's one reason we are willing to bend over backwards to move toward consensus."
 
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/article/Legislators-want-quick-action-on-Ike-Dike-5668080.php
 
 
 
*** no one other than Blackburn voiced support for the SSPEED Center project.
 

Legislators want fast action on Ike Dike

By Harvey Rice | August 4, 2014

GALVESTON - Texas legislators on Monday lamented a disagreement over how to protect the Houston region from a storm surge like the one spawned by Hurricane Ike and urged that a plan be brought to the Legislature as soon as possible.

"The fact is that Hurricane Ike was six years ago and we are still talking about how to come to a consensus," said Larry Taylor, R. Friendswood and co-chairman of the Joint Committee on a Coastal Barrier System, which conducted a hearing at Texas A&M University in Galveston. "We've got to move forward."

It may not be easy to forge an agreement between the sources of the competing ideas: Texas A&M Galveston and the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center at Rice University.

Texas A&M is backing the coastal spine proposal, popularly known as the Ike Dike, which would run the length of Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. The concept came from Texas A&M marine scientist William Merrell. The SSPEED Center, which draws on ideas from all over Texas, originated the proposal for the Centennial Gate at the head of the Houston Ship Channel, a ring barrier around the populated portion of Galveston Island, and a storm levee along Texas 146 to protect the western edge of Galveston Bay.

If the two sides fail to agree by the time legislators reconvene the joint committee in September, legislators will take steps to make an agreement happen, said state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Coastal Barrier System.

 
flounder Guest

 
the Rice *** will do nothing to protect everyone around Galveston Bay.

the Rice *** will ONLY protect the big chemical and petro plants north of Fred Hartman Bridge, while creating a damn that would backwash large tsunami like waves that would destroy everything south of Fred Hartman bridge around Galveston Bay, if another Hurricane Ike came up ship channel.

solution ;

JUST SAY YES TO THE TAMU IKE ***, and NO to any part of the Rice *** that builds anything north of Galveston island.

the same chemical and petro company's should foot half the bill with the Ike ***...
 
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Legislators-want-fast-action-on-Ike-Dike-5667627.php
 
WITH regards to the TAMU Ike Dike vs SSPEED Rice Dike Centennial Gate, I want to thank Professor William Merrell continued support of the Ike Dike vs the SSPEED Rice Dike, his steadfast stand against Jim Blackburn et al (Ike Dike scientist sees NO chance of comprimise), about Mr. Jim Blackburns continued support of the SSPEED Rice Dike vs Ike Dike, and what it would do to everyone around Galveston Bay (except the petro and chemical plants North of Fred Hartman Bridge), especially Professor Merrell’s statement about the Rice Dike Centennial Gate ;
 
‘’The Centennial Gate never did hunt’’ 
 
and the SSPEED Rice Dike never should hunt with anyone living on or around Galveston Bay.
why should any of us pay to protect only the petro and chemical plants, with something that could completely wash us away ???
 
personally, if there cannot be a Rice Dike that protects all of us, then I would rather have no Dike at al, if the only other alternative was the SSPEED Rice Dike Centennial Gate at Fred Harman Bridge...
 
Friday, December 6, 2013
 
IKE DIKE TAMU VS Rice SSPEED Dike Centennial gate from Hell
 
 
 
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Bacliff, Texas 77518
 
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