Nov. 11, 2024

Nov 11, 2024

In this edition: Post-election decompression, garlic planting time, watching the Drought Monitor, the Drought Resilience Incentive Program, and an upcoming Pipeline Safety conference.

Mother Nature Doesn’t Care Who Won Our Elections

As I looked out my window on the morning after, I could see that the deer and the squirrels, the birds and the trees, the ground and the grass, the sun and the sky, were all acting…as if…nothing…had happened!

So with the overlong and overspent election season now done, we can resume our wary watch of the worrisome trends in nature, especially the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. We will be facing these events together, with our neighbors, no matter who they voted for.

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/

Like the constant drain of our national wealth into the racket of perpetual wars, the cumulative impacts of these disasters are disrupting and destroying our critical infrastructure, our agricultural and industrial production, and supply chains, and creating a new class of internally displaced people: America’s own climate refugees.

Local policy and funding decisions will matter more and more, as the over-burdened federal government struggles to cope. For the national perspective on climate science, policy, politics, and action, I recommend Brad Johnson’s Hill Heat newsletter:

https://hillheat.news/

Go See Good Public Policy in Action

As I’ve written here before, one of my favorite spots in Brown County is the Recycling Center on FM 45 just south of town. It has a great view of Brownwood and the countryside beyond, and you can also see good public policy in action.

It was a busy morning when I drove out there last week to pick up a load of compost to top off my raised beds where I grow garlic at home. A big loader was grabbing giant buckets of brush (yard waste), dumping them into the grinder, and a fast-moving conveyor belt was sending the newly ground mulch flying onto the peak of a new pile. Downhill at the compost yard, another big loader was filling a city truck with compost. It only cost me $10 for two scoops of compost that filled the back of my little old Nissan pickup. The hard part was offloading it back home. See the May 27 edition of BGN in the archive for more info on purchasing mulch and compost at the Recycling Center.

After weeding, and repairing the wood frame of the raised bed, I’m just about ready to start planting my fall garlic garden. See the Sept. 2 edition of BGN in the Substack archive for more info and links for growing garlic.

Mesquite trees: Love ‘em? Or hate ‘em?

Mesquite is a plant that symbolizes the rapid and wide-ranging changes to the Texas landscape since European settlement. It’s a relatively recent arrival here, but looks and acts like it owns the place. As a transplant myself, moving to Texas from the west coast 26 years ago, I immediately noticed the range of emotions my Texas neighbors felt about mesquite.

As a beekeeper, I value mesquite as one of the main nectar flows my honey crop relies on. As a landowner, I’ve learned to respect the thorny branches, and noticed how quickly it spreads and grows, and gets in the way of other landscape plans and uses. Learn more about mesquite ecology and management here:

https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/mesquite-ecology-and-management/01t4x000004OUeRAAW

As a matter of public policy, federal, state, and regional agencies have decided to offer cash incentives in targeted areas to limit the spread of mesquite and other invasive species like prickly pear and Ashe juniper, and to replant with native perennials, chiefly grasses such as indiangrass, sideoats grama, sand dropseed, little bluestem, and others, depending on site-specific conditions.

The goal of this policy in our area is “to increase the streamflow and water availability of Pecan Bayou and Jim Ned Creek into Lake Brownwood.” The rationale for this policy is laid out in a 2002 Lake Brownwood Watershed Brush Control Assessment and Feasibility Study published by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). I can send you that study on request, as a PDF attachment. See below for details on the brush control and reseeding incentive program.

Drought Resilience Incentive Program (DRIP) Applications Available

This program is for “producers” (farmers and ranchers) within the Lake Brownwood watershed, and is being administered by the Pecan Bayou Soil and Water Conservation District (PBSWCD). The application period is through November only. Find more details here:

https://www.brownwoodnews.com/2024/11/01/pecan-bayou-swcd-partners-introduce-drought-resilience-incentive-program/

See the BGN Sept. 30 edition for a detailed profile of the PBSWCD.

Help Wanted: Citizen-Scientist Weather Watchers

On Nov. 5, Election Day, a news headline caught my eye: “Record number of states facing drought conditions.” You can read the article here:

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4972466-record-number-of-states-facing-drought-conditions/

The story was based on a weekly report from the US Drought Monitor (USDM). According to their website, the USDM “is a map released every Thursday, showing where drought is and how bad it is across the U.S. and its territories. The U.S. Drought Monitor has been a team effort since its inception in 1999, produced jointly by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”

If you watch local TV weather reports, you may see them incorporating the Drought Monitor from time to time.

See National Current Conditions Here:

https://www.drought.gov/current-conditions

Learn more about the USDM, and how you can contribute your own observations to the USDM process here:

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About/WhatistheUSDM.aspx

https://www.usda.gov/media/radio/weekly-features/2022-09-06/public-input-drought-monitor-reporting-process

Brownwood Green News Heading to Pipeline Safety Conference

On the afternoon of June 10, 1999, the 16 inch diameter Olympic Pipeline ruptured in Bellingham, Washington, spilling an estimated 277,000 gallons of gasoline into Hanna and Whatcom Creeks, both running through Whatcom Falls Park. As a result of the spill, and the explosion that happened after the gasoline ignited, two boys and a young man died. Read a detailed account of the incident here:

https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/olympic-pipeline-explosion/

Years of grief, recovery, environmental restoration, litigation and legislation followed. One of the many consequential outcomes was the creation of the National Pipeline Safety Trust (NPST), with an endowment of 4 million dollars from criminal fines imposed after the tragedy. According to their website, “the Pipeline Safety Trust is a nonprofit public charity promoting pipeline safety through education and advocacy by increasing access to information, and by building partnerships with residents, safety advocates, government, and industry, that result in safer communities and a healthier environment.”

Thanks to its coverage of the new DeLa Express pipeline, Brownwood Green News has been invited to attend the 2024 NPST Conference in New Orleans, Nov. 19-22. Learn more about the NPST and the conference here:

https://pstrust.org/2024-conference/

Upgrade to a Paid Subscription Now for Complete Conference Coverage

There will be two conferences happening back-to-back: A meeting of community members affected by the DeLa Express Pipeline, planned to be built through Brown County, on Nov. 19-20, followed by the NPST conference Nov. 21-22.

Free subscribers will still receive coverage of the DeLa Express portion of the conference. Paid subscribers will get additional coverage of the NPST conference.

For previous coverage of the DeLa Express pipeline in this newsletter, see the following editions in the BGN/Substack archive: June 24, July 8, Sept. 16, and Sept. 30.

Clarification on Local Reporting of Bahia Pipeline

In the last edition of this newsletter, I referenced a report on the Bahia Pipeline that appeared in the Brownwood Bulletin. I noted that I did not see or hear any other local media reports on our county commissioners’ action regarding that pipeline.

After publication, I got an email from local BrownwoodNews.com reporter Mike Blagg, who told me that he had also covered this story. You can read his coverage here:

https://www.brownwoodnews.com/2024/09/24/commissioners-approve-new-tax-rate-and-budget/

Mike is one of a handful of local reporters who consistently attend and cover some of the public meetings listed in the BGN Civic Calendar. I appreciate and recommend his work to all readers of this newsletter. Thanks Mike!

Support Your Green News

Your feedback is always welcomed, especially updates and corrections to keep the Civic Calendar current.

If you like this newsletter, forward it on to someone else, and ask them to subscribe. Send correspondence to beemonster@verizon.net.

Send story leads anytime, or drop by to see me at the Brownwood Art Center, 215 Fisk, weekdays, 2-6 pm. I’ll be the Gallery Guy greeting you at the front desk.

Civic Calendar: Your shortcut to citizenship and political participation

Brownwood City Council 501 Center Ave City Hall

9 am every 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday

https://brownwoodtexas.gov/150/City-Council

City of Brownwood Agenda Center posts agendas for Boards and Commissions including:

City Council, Airport Board, B’wd Municipal Development District Board, Building and Standards Commission, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, Planning and Zoning Commission and more….

https://www.brownwoodtexas.gov/AgendaCenter

Early City Council 960 Early Blvd. City Hall

6 pm every 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday

https://www.earlytx.net/96/City-Council

Blanket City council 718 Main St. Blanket Lions Club

5:30 pm Third Monday

https://www.facebook.com/cityofblanket/photos

Bangs City Council 109 S. First St. City Hall

6 pm 2^nd and 4^th Monday

https://cityofbangs.org/government/city-council/

Brown County Commissioners 200 S. Broadway County Courthouse

9 am most Mondays confirm on county calendar