the mighty mississippi

Something else I was thinking about when reading this article, how long before we are in such a crisis that it begins to effect the Ruling Class?  I predict that when that happens, they will not open their purses to us.  They will open their troops guns on us. 

What is the tried and true way of ridding ourselves of pests?  Pesticide.  We sure don't want to share our food with the local vermin. 

The Ruling Class feels the same about us. 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

----- Original Message -----

From: joe harcz Comcast

To: blind democracy List

Sent: Monday, December 24, 2012 5:07 AM

Subject: the mighty mississippi

Cargo Continues Moving on the Mississippi River, but Perhaps Not for Long. By JOHN SCHWARTZ. The Mississippi River is still open for business -- for now.

January is another story. A Midwestern drought has brought the river, one of the world's largest navigable inland waterways, to water levels so low that

they threaten to shut down shipping. The Mississippi, which handles some $7 billion in trade in a typical December and January, is expected to be closed

to navigation between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., when water levels dip toward the nine feet of depth that is necessary for most tugboats to clear the river

bottom.. Those who ship goods up and down the river have asked the federal government to do two things: destroy rock formations known as pinnacles in Southern

Illinois that hinder navigation when the water is shallow, and release more water from reservoirs along the upper Missouri River. The Army Corps of Engineers

has begun meeting the first request, using excavating equipment to break down the formations. Officials said the work should take 30 to 45 days. Getting

the corps to release the water has been more difficult. The corps has rejected requests for large-scale water releases from the upper Missouri, saying

it does not have the authority to use that water to aid navigation on the Mississippi. Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, applauded that decision

and called it 'unlawful' to release water that states like South Dakota need and use. He said that his region, too, has suffered 'significant negative

impact' because of the drought. The Waterways Council, a group that lobbies on behalf of inland carriers, operators and ports, had initially warned that

traffic would come to a halt by Monday. But so far, the water levels have dropped more slowly than expected, in part because of small water releases by

the corps. A coalition of businesses involved in trade along the Mississippi and sympathetic lawmakers have asked President Obama to order the water released.

It would cripple our national economy to shut down the Mississippi River,' said R. D. James, a Missouri farmer and a member of the Mississippi River Commission,

which manages uses of the river with the corps. But without action from the president, Congress or the courts, the water will stay behind the reservoirs

of the upper Missouri. When they get a little water in those reservoirs,' Mr. James said, 'they don't want to give it up. It could soon be too late to

prevent a partial closing. Water takes two weeks to make its way from the upper Missouri River reservoirs, and predictions released by the corps over the

weekend suggest that without substantial rainfall, the water levels could dip below nine feet by Jan. 11. With the threat of a shutdown ahead, farmers

might decide to hold their grain instead of shipping it in a more expensive manner, said Gregory L. Guenther, a farmer and corporate consultant. Since

farmers tend to pay for the coming year's supplies like fertilizer with those sales, they will have to borrow instead, and 'that means paying interest

on it. Transporting goods by rail is a less attractive option, Mr. Guenther said, because shipping and storage facilities that use the river are not necessarily

near rail lines, and rail capacity is limited. Altogether, shifting transportation modes would drive up prices, he said, adding, 'Rail is not the answer.

Rick Calhoun, the president of Cargo Carriers, a part of Cargill, noted that carriers were already loading barges to a lighter weight to deal with the

water depth, which also ends up raising costs. We put less product in the barge, it takes longer to get there, and we use more fuel per barge,' Mr. Calhoun

said, adding, 'We're going to be running into very difficult issues. Col. Christopher G. Hall, the commander of the St. Louis district of the corps, said,

'We're doing everything that we possibly can to keep that channel at the authorized depth so that they can continue to operate. Intense dredging, tweaks

and luck have helped push the crisis 'to the right' on the calendar, Colonel Hall said, but it is unclear how long that will last. The low water conditions

could persist into the spring, when it generally rains more. Steven L. Stockton, the director of civil works for the corps, said, 'The only long-term solution

is more rain. PHOTO: Chunks of limestone being removed from the Mississippi River last week in Southern Illinois. (PHOTOGRAPH BY U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS,

VIA REUTERS).

 

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