Say Goodbye to the Buffalo National River

               Arkansas

                              By

                 Richard Mason

              Say Goodbye to the Buffalo National River

                                 (It’s going to be turned into a hog farm sewer.)

Yes, I know that sounds a little grim, but I believe I have the credentials to make that statement. If the Factory Hog Farm, located on the Buffalo National River’s watershed, is not moved to a more suitable location, it is almost a certainty that the river will suffer irreparable damage. I have the education as a geologist with an advanced degree to evaluate the landform on which the Factory Hog Farm is located, and I have the experience, from serving as president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, and as a former Commissioner and Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Department of Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, to judge environmental problems.

In my opinion, the permit to operate the Factory Hog Farm and to dispose of its waste on fields in the river’s watershed will sooner or later pollute the River, and if a Texas size rainstorm (such as the recent one that nearly washed Houston away.) hits north Arkansas and breaches the holding lagoon levees, thousands of gallons of hog manure will flood into Big Creek, which will flow into the Buffalo National River. It will make our National River a sewer.

I'm a geologist, and I did my surface mapping master's thesis on a 36 square mile northwest Arkansas quadrangle. A great deal of my mapping was on the weathered surface of the Boone Limestone. I had a thousand first-hand looks at the weathered Swiss cheese outcrops of the Boone, and I saw a lot of the formation underground. I was a member of the Ozark Hikers and our hiking was mostly cave exploring. Almost all of the northwest Arkansas's caves are weathered solution caves in the Boone Limestone. There are many caves where good size underground streams flow freely out of the limestone. This is the same formation on which the hog farm is located, and I can say, as a professional geologist, who is extremely familiar with the Boone Limestone that it is almost a certainty that someday, and probably in the very near future, hog waste seepage will flow into the underlying porous limestone and will work its way into streams that feed the Buffalo.

The waste from the holding lagoons will be scattered over application fields, and eleven of those are adjacent to Big Creek, a major tributary to the Buffalo River. The Boone Limestone landform is called a Karst topography: From a freshman geology book: Karst topography is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves.

Multiply sinkholes and caves by a million times a million and you will have an understanding of how Big Creek and the Buffalo National River receives their water. So what are the odds the lagoons will leak and the manure spread on the fields in that area will penetrate into the ground water? Let look at some examples.

 *In 1995 Missouri had 9 hog factory spills within just five months. That killed as estimated 250,000 fish and 25 miles of stream habitat was impacted. In North Carolina a study of 11 lagoons that were 7 years or older found that half leaked moderately too severely. In Minnesota their Pollution Control Agency estimates the average rate of leakage in their lagoons that are leaking is 500 gallons per lagoon acre per day. In the first nine months of 1995 four states reported a total of 16 spills. (*Taken from The Environment and Factory Farms in Rural America/ In Motion Magazine.)

The Factory Farm has been permitted to have 6500 animals on site. Those pigs will produce (each year) the equivalent waste of a town of 20,000. Just consider this: How would you feel if a town of that size decided to follow the example of the Factory Hog Farm, put their sewage in a holding ponds, and then spread it out on a field nearby after it settled? Yes, that is unthinkable, but that is exactly what the Factory Farm proposes to do. In my opinion, there is a near certainty that the Factory Farm sited on the Buffalo National River watershed, will sooner or later, pollute the River, unless we can convince the Department of Environmental Quality to revoke the permit. If you treasure the Buffalo, please contact the Department or a Commissioner and ask them to save our National River.

Making Your Town Grow Again

                    ARKANSAS

                            BY

                          RICHARD MASON

    

Making Your Town Grow Again

According to Seattle, Washington Destination Expert, Roger Brooks, there are some 60,000 small to medium size towns in the United States that are currently slowly losing population, or have become stagnant as far as growth in population is concerned. The root cause of no growth or a steady loss in population is, according to Mr. Brooks, because these towns don’t have the amenities that larger towns and cities have. The upward-mobile, educated workers who are so critical to population growth are voting with their feet to live in cities and towns that offer the quality of life amenities they want. It’s actually a very simple proposition to consider, and if we look at towns and cities around the country, you can easily prove the point.  The growing towns boast good restaurants, entertainment, and a variety of other amenities that add to their resident’s quality of life. In other words, they are a destination. These towns are growing simply because they are where people want to live.  

The reasons for stagnant growth in most town are very simple; the young, mobile job seekers and job creators want more than workers, an industrial park, and low wages. So where do they find what they want? Of course, they move to metropolitan areas like northwest Arkansas or large cities that offer good restaurants, entertainment, and other quality of life items.

About five years ago, Mr. Brooks spoke to a group of business leaders in El Dorado about the lack of population growth in El Dorado, and after this visit he was asked to return and make detailed recommendations as to how El Dorado could turn around its loss of population. He studied El Dorado for almost a year before he made his recommendations.

When Mr. Brooks returned to town he had a stated goal, which was to make El Dorado a destination. In other words: What can we do to make  El Dorado a place where people will visit, spend money, where businesses will boom, restaurants will open, and folks will start moving to El Dorado. The crux of Mr. Brook’s presentation is that El Dorado should become an entertainment destination to create amenities that will attract thousands of visitors a year, small business owners who will open businesses, and El Dorado grow again. His stated goal is to make El Dorado, The Festival City of the South, by doing the projects noted below:

Phase One---now under construction. This initial piece of the of the Murphy Arts District will include an 8000 capacity amphitheater, a 2200 seat indoor theater call the Griffin Auditorium, a fine dining restaurant, cabaret, bar, a farmers-public market, and a state of the art milti-purpose children’s playground complete with a water park. Phase One is 75% completed and it is expected to be finished by this fall. ZZ Top and Smokey Robinson with the South Arkansas Symphony will perform for the late September’s grand opening.

Phase Two will encompass the historic Rialto Theater, which will be restored to its original 1929 interior, and become a Broadway Play venue. In addition, the McWilliams Furniture building, across the street from the Griffin Auditorium, will be totally transformed into a three floor art museum called the McWilliams Gallery.  A possible connection to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville is being discussed. In addition to the above projects, a black box studio for smaller entertainment attractions will be part of the Phase Two construction, and a block north, around the courthouse square, several other entertainment venues are being planned. The overall budget of this ambitious entertainment project is approaching $100,000,000.

The Festival City of the South plan developed by Mr. Brooks is based on the success of Ashland, Oregon’s entertainment district, which features multi-stage venues very similar to what El Dorado’s Entertainment District will have. Downtown Ashland draws over 175,000 visitors a year and the multi-venue stages have resulted in the creation of over 500 jobs. The adjoining business district in Ashland is a major beneficiary because of the huge number of visitors, and downtown Ashland is booming! Mr. Brooks commented about El Dorado noting that our demographics were better than Ashland’s, our award-winning downtown is much superior, and the Rialto is, without question, a jewel that greatly helps the concept.

When the Murphy Arts District is finished, several hundred entertainment presentations a year will be offered in the various venues.

Naturally, every small to medium size town can’t duplicate the Entertainment District Concept, but the concept of becoming a destination by offering amenities that enhance the quality of life for its residents can revitalize many towns across the country.    

thenorphletpaperboy: It's Time to Make a Little Easy Money!

thenorphletpaperboy: It's Time to Make a Little Easy Money!: ARKANSAS By Richard Mason It’s Time to Make a Little Easy Money             What if you could add thousands of d...

It's Time to Make a Little Easy Money!

ARKANSAS

By

Richard Mason

It’s Time to Make a Little Easy Money

            What if you could add thousands of dollars in value to your property, reduce your summer cooling cost by 20% and, if you own a retail store, increase your sales by 25%, all by just spending a few dollars?

           

            Of course, there’s not a one of us that wouldn’t jump at the chance to do that. After all, there’s something built in us as Americans that makes us want to make money, save money, and make our property more valuable.

            Well, the answer is so simple you won’t believe it; plant trees. Yep, that’s it, and there are dozens of studies to prove that the simple act of planting a tree will do exactly that.  Consider the following studies:

(1)   First and most obvious, a big shade tree next to your house will cut your electrical bills during the summer by at least 20%. Satellite infrared shots of blank downtowns are noticeably hotter than an area with abundant trees, and the difference in cooling shade trees in a downtown brings in more customers to a tree lined street than to a street with a hot sidewalk.

(2)   A beautiful residential lot with shade trees surrounding a house will add thousands of dollars to the appraisal. In some Dallas subdivisions it is common-place to see home owners bring in large trees costing $15,000 to $20,000 after they finish building their house. They know that not only are these trees visually pleasing to the eye, but they are adding value to their property.

(3)   A recent government survey concluded that potential customers were more likely to shop in stores that had trees or other landscaping around them than stores that didn’t.  In fact, the study also concluded that customers believed the goods offered in these stores were of better quality and they were willing to pay more for them. Sales in the stores with trees and landscaping were sometimes more that 25% higher that stores with no landscaping around them. Just think of the blank parking lots around our state, and consider that if the property owner would just spend a few dollars on planting trees, the surrounding stores would see a strong increase in retail sales.

(4)   A yard of beautiful shade trees will not only cut your utility bills, but will add thousands of dollars to the appraised value of your property. The IRS agrees with trees having a real property value, and if lighting or a high wind destroys a significant tree in your yard you can take a casualty loss on your income tax.

(5)   If you are going to plant a street tree or a tree in your yard, I have two recommendations: the autumn red maple and the crepe myrtle tree. This variety of maple has been developed for the south, and of course the crepe myrtle is a great all round tree, but please don’t chop off the top of your crepe myrtle each spring. A crepe myrtle is a tree not a bush.

It seems we find it hard to lose the “slash and burn” attitude of our grandfathers who cleared hundreds of millions of acres of virgin forest in our country, and the idea that trees add value is sometimes hard to understand. However, citywide tree planting is becoming an important part of many downtowns. I was just in Houston, and in preparation for the Super Bowl, Houston planted thousands of trees. Several years back the City of Chicago started a tree planting program to plant a million trees within the city limits. They have exceeded the initial million goal, and today, if you want a tree in your front yard, call the city and they will come plant a tree for you at no charge.

It’s easy to sum up the numerous advantages trees offer home owners or business owners. For the dollars spent, trees will add more value to your property than anything you can do. So this year while the planting season is still with us, head to your local nursery and buy a tree. It will pay dividends for years to come. Of course, here in Arkansas, most of us can easily find small trees that landowners will gladly give away; so plant a tree and make a little money!!

thenorphletpaperboy: The Coming Apocalypse---Climate Change

thenorphletpaperboy: The Coming Apocalypse---Climate Change: ARKANSAS BY Richard Mason The Coming Apocalypse---Climate Change Hurricanes with 200 MPH winds so large they cover half the ...

thenorphletpaperboy: The Coming Apocalypse---Climate Change

thenorphletpaperboy: The Coming Apocalypse---Climate Change: ARKANSAS BY Richard Mason The Coming Apocalypse---Climate Change Hurricanes with 200 MPH winds so large they cover half the ...

The Coming Apocalypse---Climate Change

ARKANSAS

BY

Richard Mason

The Coming Apocalypse---Climate Change

Hurricanes with 200 MPH winds so large they cover half the Gulf of Mexico, 10 to 15 foot rise in sea level makes hundreds of coastal cities un-inhabitable, millions of acres of farm lands lost to cultivation, several billion of the earth’s people starving, heat waves that render millions of acres of crop land a desert, and sectional wars to secure food supplies.

Yes, that’s what is facing the world today, and scientists tell us that another three degrees of warming will set off an irreversible tipping point where there will be no recovery. Is this really our future? Has Climate Change, caused by human activity, become a fact instead of a theory, and we are domed if we don’t reverse the problem?

Over the past five years the numbers of scientists who have said “Climate Change is real,” has skyrocketed to where the actual numbers of documented scientists who have signed on as believers are almost 100%. As numbers reach these heights “theory” becomes fact, and if we look at the past, we can see “Flat Earth, Evolution, and now Climate Change,” have all become fact instead of theory. Of course, it’s easy to see why Climate Change is real. The Earth’s temperature is setting records each year, and this last year’s average temperature is the hottest year on record.  And as the ice melts in the Arctic and Antarctic and five hundred years floods become common, many scientists believe we will soon reach the desperation stage of a crisis.

Just looks at last year’s weather; the Texas coastal area around Houston received unbelievable amounts of rain this past year, and in north Louisiana a 23 inches of rain was dumped on the area during one storm. That was a five hundred year rain---one that may become commonplace in the years ahead. The tornado season now extends into areas of the country were they have never been recorded. For the past several years world record average temperatures have been set each year. This has caused many scientists to call the situation a Climate Emergency.

We are already seeing the results of a 1.6 degree temperature rise on earth as melting polar ice has caused a rise in sea level that has already put 5 Solomon Islands underwater. As we look at our recent ultra-severe weather we can expect an increase in wildfires, an ever increasing intensity of hurricanes, the continued extinction of wildlife, and an increase melt of polar ice, which of course, will give a rise in sea levels.

India recorded its highest ever temperature ever on May 19^th, 2016 when the heat in the town of Phalodi, in the western state of Rajasthan, shot up to a burning 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit). 

But let’s look a little closer to home. As we look back at our August 2016 rainfall here in Arkansas, we marvel at the all-time record that was set, but look farther south to Louisiana. The increased warming of the Gulf and the change in wind patterns that has occurred makes South Louisiana tropical. That right and that August rainfall we had was a taste of being in the tropics. Tornadoes up north, floods down south, wild fires in the west are all the result of Climate Change. In five year it will reach the crisis level and the night of a 100 tornadoes or a 25 inch rain will occur every year. We must react to this impending disaster!

In the United States, the most powerful nation in the world, the apathy about Climate Change must be encountered with facts until even the rigid of the doubters’ cave in. We must hurry the demise of coal fired plants that produce electricity no matter what the cost, and new automobile and truck standards of emissions must be strengthened. And our country must take the lead, and not be dragged into the situation kicking and screaming. We must use our economic clout to demand countries like China and India, which heavily trade with the United States, will have enhanced controls on emitting carbon dioxide, or there won’t be any trade.

We can’t allow the nay-sayers to prevail in this fight. Our grandchildren and their children will never forgive us if we hand off to them a world that has been damaged so severely the life on the planet is tenuous for millions.

I guess you might wonder why I seem so concerned about the effects of Climate Change? Well, twenty-years from now when my great grandchildren are feeling the effects of ignoring Climate Change, and they ask me, “Jocko (that’s what my grandchildren call me), why didn’t you do something before it was too late?” At least I can say, “I tried.”