Agricultural pollution – Page 2 – Rural Tompkins County

“The World According to Doctrine” — Feet of manure

The foundation of modern animal agriculture is a lot of manure: in both the literal and metaphorical sense.

Industrial farming practices have same relation to traditional manure spreading as the BP oil spill to a grease spot.

Modern farming is a destructive and greedy giant: leaving a toxic print on the rural landscape – a bully trying to sell the image of a much abused victim while getting more perks and privileges than any other interest group.

Take a good look at the feet that our agricultural “progress” is standing on — a shitload of money.

“The World According to Doctrine” — You won’t save the Titanic by bailing

A few years ago: it would have made me cry – but now, I just shake my head and laugh: electric cars. Electric cars will make no meaningful difference. Electric cars are what you do along with meaningful changes — not instead of.

Did you know that the Agricultural Sector in New York State and elsewhere is allowed any amount of open burning, and the unlimited use of smudge pots? And not only is Agriculture a significant user of fossil fuels – in states like New York: they are Fuel Tax Exempt – undercutting any regulatory attempts to curb their fossil fuel usage.

Methane emissions are driving Climate Change – and the Agricultural Sector is the largest producer of methane in the US – and the only sector where emissions are still increasing. And the farming methods being promoted by the USDA and Land Grant Colleges are the largest emitters of methane of all farming methods.

All the biggest producers are transitioning – from claiming Climate Change doesn’t exist: to claiming they’re doing something about it.

Climate Change is here to stay – and it’s already too big to get out the door. Drive happy!

“The World According to Doctrine” — U.S. Agriculture: Paid to pollute

It’s not surprising that most Americans don’t know what’s going on in the Agricultural Sector – they’re not supposed to.

You may know that methane emissions have the greatest short term effect on Climate Change: greater than the CO₂ gasses produced by cars, trucks, and industry. What you may not know; is that Agriculture is the greatest contributor to methane emissions – and that the Agricultural Sector is the only sector where methane emissions are continuing to increase. And that the farming methods being promoted by the USDA and Agricultural Colleges are the biggest producers of methane of all farming methods. Or that our government is only using voluntary programs and incentives [paying them our tax money] to fight this pollution.

To cut straight to the punch line: When all their activities that contribute to Climate Change affect their crops —government subsidies and funding pay out our tax money to ensure that our country’s corporate agribusinesses get every penny of profit they’re destroying our climate for.

Are they fools for what they’re doing? Or are we fools for letting them do it?

“The World According to Doctrine” — New Normal Corruption – “Herbicide Spraying”

This hits home – because I was sprayed with a cloud of Roundup from an agricultural boom sprayer while mowing my lawn – and ended up dazed and vomiting all over myself and the bathroom in the early morning hours.

The investigation of my complaint by the NYSDEC [documented in “Tompkins County and Tammany Hall”] did nothing to help their reputation for corruption in the rural community.

Most rural families are too poor to move and powerless to use politicians; and when the mega-million dollar factory farms took over rural Lansing, NY – they owned us and everything in it.

The only thing worse than the environmental racism of the rural blacks – is the environmental erasism of the rural whites — we have no help, no hope — and no worth.

“The World According to Doctrine” — “Advanced Dummies and Drag-ons” Screenshot

When government has no contact with the people – the noise of critical legislation is just the spinning of tires. Government’s “tell a pleasing story” messaging does nothing to change our course of inevitable death and disaster.

Government will need to step in to manage things like water distribution, economics, food, health, and housing. This means that the big players will get their cut — and the little people will get managed.

“The World According to Doctrine” — “The foundation of government policy making” Bumper sticker

“What constitutes Fraud”: A material false statement, Victim reliance, and Damages.

In November, 2021; The White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy released the U.S Methane Emission Reduction report – “Critical and commonsense steps to cut pollution. It describes Methane as “a particularly destructive greenhouse gas” and that “one ton of methane in the atmosphere has about 80 times the warming impact of a ton of CO2.”

“A material false statement” – Agriculture is largest contributor to methane emissions at 38% of the total; but it’s not listed by name in the Emissions by Source “pie chart” and it’s pushed down to the bottom of the list [after oil and gas, landfills, and abandoned coal mines], and while Gas, Oil, and Landfills include their percentage of the total; Agriculture is just called “a major source.” Even though every other sector has reduced methane emissions – and only Agriculture continues to increase methane emissions –the Biden-Harris Administration is relying on “voluntary partnership efforts” and refusing to regulate agricultural pollution. This same report still claims that the Administration is using “all available tools” including “commonsense regulations” and “transparency and disclosure of actionable data.”

“Victim reliance” – We have nowhere else to turn.

“Damages” – We’re just warming up.

“New Book” – “Voluntary Guidelines” Bumper sticker

Like the receding rumble of a thunderstorm before the bolt that strikes your house; or the coffee that spills all over you because you tried to stop it from spilling — bumper stickers are back!

Although the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy [November 2021] report states; “one ton of methane in the atmosphere has about 80 times the warming impact of a ton of CO₂” it removes Agriculture [the biggest contributor of methane] from its pie chart of “2019 U.S. Methane Emissions, By Source” – and breaks its contribution down into non-attributed pie sections — naming all the other sources; and leaving “Natural Gas and Petroleum Systems” as the largest and graphically enhanced culprit.

Agriculture is moved down to Section D, after Coal Mining; even though it releases 5 ½ times the methane – and while stating: “methane is a super-pollutant that disproportionately impacts climate change in the near term” – agricultural regulations are replaced with a request for “Voluntary Partnership” and with “Incentive-based” government funding that is on the same level as stopping your automobile pollution by buying you a new electric car.

Biden’s Global Warming remediation is business as usual with a smokescreen of race and ethnicity: When statistics and corruption come together — it’s a match made in Hell.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Farm Harm” Gameboard

“Farm Harm” is a game where you are constantly moving forward, and moving backward; but never getting anywhere — like the mothers in “Ikiru”: passing from one section to another and ending up back where you started. That’s if you use the Bureaucrat’s Rules – if you change the rules; you can change the outcome.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Rise of the Evil Ones” – Sanitizing Global Warming

Institutionalizing disaster. We don’t learn from our mistakes; we incorporate them. The New Normal is all about normalizing the results of disastrous choices – the cost of doing business as usual. You could call it “Sanitizing Satan”: the righteous evil of our times.

And it’s not just the usual suspects: the corporations, the special interests, the “rich” – our government plays political “patty cake” with wrongdoers; while sanitizing the issue and their own refusal to protect the people and the environment. Here’s how NOAA cleverly sanitizes the unabated and unchecked Agricultural pollution that feeds and maintains the ”Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico:

“It begins innocently enough. Farmers use fertilizers to increase the output of their crops so that we can have more food on our tables and more food to sell to the rest of the world.”

Even if it began “innocently enough” – it’s been continued and increased knowingly for decades. “Farmers use fertilizers” “so that we can have more food on the table” – It’s our fault; they did it for us – “food to sell to the rest of the world” they’re helping the Economy, and feeding the world. A great job of sanitizing in 35 words.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “NYSDEC Water Quality Management” Bumper sticker

“Muddying the waters – with no intention of cleaning them.” My upcoming book: “Tompkins County and Tammany Hall” will document and expose the actions of the NYSDEC at some length – so I will speak to a recent development in New York State: the passing of an Environmental Rights Amendment that declares: “Each person shall have the right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” Agricultural groups, the biggest polluters of the state’s lakes and waterways, [and political overlords of the state’s poor rural communities] strongly opposed this Amendment.

The New York State Farm Bureau President made the kind of statement to voters that could only be made when there is no one to challenge it. Hot buttons like “vague Green Amendment,” and “protect family farms from nuisance lawsuits” were freely used – but there’s a world of rural pain and suffering behind the “Berlin Wall” agricultural media: when the toxic fumes of farming practices cause brain damage in one neighboring child, and required the removal of eyelids of an elderly man: “right-to-farm” laws protected the farmer from this “nuisance lawsuit.” That’s just one glimpse behind the wall — a wall the Environmental Rights Amendment threatens to tear down.