PBS NewsHour reports 'Saltwater from rising sea levels threatens future of farming along Chesapeake Bay'

I came across another video worth sharing while composing The Wall Street Journal explains 'Why America’s Groundwater Is Disappearing', PBS NewsHour's Saltwater from rising sea levels threatens future of farming along Chesapeake Bay.

Near the Chesapeake Bay, farms have flourished for hundreds of years on the rich, fertile soil of coastal Maryland. But as sea levels rise, driven in part by climate change, encroaching saltwater is disrupting the livelihoods of many farmers. It's a preview of what other areas near saltwater may soon confront. William Brangham reports for our series on climate change and water, Tipping Point.

As I wrote on my DreamWidth account, "I shared and linked to videos I show my students in The Wall Street Journal explains 'Why America’s Groundwater Is Disappearing'. I don't have one about groundwater contamination, so I might show this one, too." The slide about saltwater contamination of groundwater focuses on overdrafting bringing saltwater closer to the surface and contaminating wells for drinking water, but adding the effects of climate change, rising sea levels, and agriculture contribute new dimensions and connections to the issue, ones I hadn't thought of before. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

PBS Terra asks 'When Will We Stop Moving to the Riskiest Regions?'

The Cascadia Megaquake and Tsunami isn't the only topic PBS Terra likes to re-examine periodically. Another is THE RISKIEST Places to Live in the US as Our Climate Changes'. Watch as PBS Terra asks When Will We Stop Moving to the Riskiest Regions?

For the last 50 years, Americans have flocked to the warm, sunny South. But, as climate change makes extreme heat, hurricanes, wildfire and flooding worse, will that trend ever STOP? Well, some regions might just be showing signs of a reversal, and they hold lessons for what other areas might expect as the world continues to warm.

I wrote "I just wish that the economics were such that people would move here instead of into harm's way. That would make a great subject for another post" two years ago in PBS Terra asks 'What is the RISKIEST Region in the US as the Climate Changes?' In the case of Louisiana, which 'Weathered: Earth's Extremes' asks 'What Happens When the Land Runs Out?' covered, the answer is a combination of low income and high cost. As long as people are making money, they will continue moving into and living in high-risk states like Florida and Texas, although Miami-Dade County is starting to lose population. That looks like a good story for another day. Instead, I'm shifting to the other coast for Maiya May explaining The Real Reason California Is Burning.

The Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, and Kenneth fires in the greater Los Angeles area have already caused catastrophic damage and loss of life. They also figure to be the most expensive in terms of property damage in California, and even US history.

What caused these fires? Why are they happening during what's typically the wettest time of year in Southern California? Is climate change to blame? And how will this affect the insurance industry moving forward? Weathered's Maiya May explains.

The disaster in my former home state connects back to two more entries, PBS Terra asks 'Is This Type of Fire IMPOSSIBLE to Stop?' and PBS Terra asks 'Will Climate Change Pop the Housing Bubble?' I'm recycling what I wrote about fire in the first entry.

Fires with high winds were always the most dangerous. They've become even more so since I moved to Michigan 35 years ago, as I wrote in California's Camp and Woolsey fires air pollution seen from space and felt on ground.

I found out last week that the home where I grew up was in a mandatory evacuation zone. In the 25 years I lived there, that never happened. In addition, I don't recall my family ever telling me that had happened during the three decades I've lived in Michigan until this past week.*
...
*I[n] case anyone is wondering, the house is O.K. It was more than a mile from the edge of the fire at its greatest extent.

My old house was under mandatory evacuation orders during these fires as well, but survived again. Whew!

PBS Terra retitled the video in the second post "The Insurance Industry Can't Weather Another Wildfire Season Like This UNLESS..." which I think is more accurate. As the second video points out, the fires have caused between $135 billion and $150 billion in damages so far. Yikes!

That's about as topical as I care to get today. Stay tuned for more evergreen and holiday entries until the end of the month.

The Wall Street Journal explains 'Why America’s Groundwater Is Disappearing'

I left a note to myself at the end of 'Weathered' on PBS Terra asks 'Has Earth Already Crossed MAJOR Tipping Points?' that I repeated in 'Weathered: Earth's Extremes' asks 'What Happens When the Land Runs Out?'

The description mentioned groundwater, but the video itself didn't include anything about the subject. Just the same, reading it reminded me that I show a Wall Street Journal video about groundwater depletion to my students and I should embed it here.

Without any further ado, I'm sharing Why America’s Groundwater Is Disappearing.

Unchecked groundwater use is draining aquifers across the U.S., threatening drinking water supplies and the nation’s status as a food superpower. For example, the Ogallala Aquifer beneath the Great Plains supports about 30% of all U.S. crop and animal production, but in 2022, parts of the water table reached their lowest levels since NASA started measuring two decades ago.

WSJ explains why this crisis is posing an “existential threat” to many communities and looks at how the critical natural resources could be saved.

That gets the point across about groundwater depletion, especially in the Ogallala Aquifer, and sets the stage for the next slide, which is about subsidence and sinkholes. I've been showing those videos to my students for a decade already. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

I don't show the next video, PBS NewsHour's Depletion of major groundwater source threatens Great Plains farming, but if anything happens to The Wall Street Journal's video or I decide not to support the paper (it is a NewsCorp property, after all), it's available as a backup.

In the heart of the country, Great Plains farmers and ranchers produce a quarter of all U.S. crops and 40 percent of its beef. But they rely on a resource that has been slowly drying up, water. Stephanie Sy reports from Kansas for our series on the impact of climate change, Tipping Point.

It's the same basic story with all new characters except for Brownie Wilson, who appears in both videos. PBS also emphasizes the effects of climate change more and makes even clearer two of Commoner's Laws: "Everything Is Connected to Everything Else" — the economy and society of western Kansas is connected to agriculture, and local agriculture is dependent on groundwater — and "There Is No Free Lunch — over-reliance and overuse of groundwater is already incurring costs. Brant Peterson switching from corn to sorghum could also serve as an example of a third law, "Nature Knows Best," although corn, originally from Mexico and cultivated by Native Americans, comes closer to a native plant than sorghum, which is originally from Africa.

The Wall Street Journal video also mentioned cracks forming in Arizona because of groundwater depletion. PBS Terra's Maiya May addresses this phenomenon in Why Are These Huge Cracks Appearing in the Desert?

In Arizona, fissures are becoming an increasingly common phenomenon due to lack of rain and groundwater depletion. Weathered's Maiya May explains.

Yikes! That might scare my students should I care to replace one of my subsidence videos with it.

Stay tuned as I track down more of my promises for future posts and share them as evergreen entries through the end of the month.

The Daily Show asks 'How Do New Yorkers Really Feel About Congestion Pricing?'

I have a tradition of alternating serious and silly takes on an issue, so after CityNerd explains 'Why Traffic Is Worse Than Ever (and can NYC fix it?)', it's time to embed The Daily Show asking How Do New Yorkers Really Feel About Congestion Pricing? Josh Johnson Investigates.

Desi Lydic tackles New York's controversial new congestion pricing toll, while Josh Johnson hits the street to hear from real New Yorkers.

Despite all the complaining and attempted evasion, it looks like congestion pricing is working so far, at least in terms of traffic entering the city. It's also reducing traffic within the city, as Eyewitness News ABC7NY reported in MTA preiminary data shows decrease in traffic since congestion pricing start.

Lindsay Tuchman has the latest on congestion pricing and its impact on traffic.

Two of Commoner's Laws are "Everything Is Connected to Everything Else" — changes in one part of the transportation system affect the rest of the transportation system — and "Everything Must Go Somewhere" — all those personal vehicle trips have to go somewhere — where are those commuters not driving going? Eyewitness News ABC7NY has a partial answer in Subway ridership continues to tick up amid congestion pricing toll.

Anthony Carlo reports from Herald Square.

Seems to be working as intended. Good.

Vox asks 'Should fluoride be in our water?'

I'm resuming my evergreen posts with Vox asking Should fluoride be in our water?

The science isn’t so straightforward.
...
RFK, Jr. has put the decades-old debate over water fluoridation back on the table. As Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, he might be the most powerful public health figure in the US who believes we should take fluoride out of our water.

The US has been fluoridating public water systems since 1945, when the children of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and three other cities became the first to experience how fluoridated water can fight tooth decay. Ever since, other municipalities have followed suit. Today, 63 percent of Americans drink fluoridated water from their taps. The US is one of 11 countries worldwide where more than half the population has fluoridated water. Some countries opt for fluoridating salt or milk instead.

Fluoride is essential for our oral health. But there is a growing debate about whether water fluoridation is still necessary now that most toothpaste has fluoride in it. Right now, epidemiologists are looking into whether US water fluoridation doses are safe for developing brains — and how some levels of fluoride in the water may affect child IQ.

Producer and host Laura Bult added the following in the video's pinned comment.

Hello! Something I didn't get into in the video is that part of the difficulty of the science on fluoride is that when it comes to studying its risks, there has never been a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study — the gold standard in science for proving causation. All of the studies we mention in the video are observational. Observational studies are typical in epidemiology when researching something that could be harmful in some doses. But surprisingly, there’s never been this kind of trial on the benefits of water fluoridation, either. The Undark podcast alerted me to the first study of this kind — studying water fluoridation’s benefits — currently underway at the University of North Carolina.

Vox isn't alone in reporting concern about fluoridation. ABC News uploaded Study on fluoride and kids’ IQ levels raises concerns overseas about the study that was published just as Vox was producing its video.

Medical experts warn that the study’s results shouldn’t be a major concern for parents in the U.S.

As both Vox and ABC News pointed out, the levels of fluoride in the study were double that in U.S. drinking water, so the findings don't necessarily apply to Americans. Arizona's Family (3TV/CBS 5) provided more opportunity for dentists to push back in Arizona experts call latest study on fluoride misleading.

A recent study reportedly found a link between high doses of fluoride and lower IQ scores among children, but experts say that's not the whole story.

Concern about fluoridation has historically been the province of cranks and conspiracy theorists, and RFK Jr. is no exception. That written, a stuck clock is still right twice a day, and RFK Jr. is a stuck clock. Those of us who accept science might have to be prepared that this is one of those times, as unlikely as it is. We also have to be prepared that this will encourage him and his anti-science supporters about vaccines, where science and history have repeatedly shown him to be wrong. I don't want this fight, but I'm willing to wage it against RFK Jr. and his supporters, including and especially the ones I needled in I ask The Archdruid and his readers 'Can you show us on the doll exactly where the educated professionals hurt you?' A Festivus airing of grievances. Yes, them, too.

Speaking of science and history, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has compared RFK Jr. to Soviet agronomist Trofim Lysenko, which The Bulwark has picked up. I think that's an apt comparison and one I plan on using in the future. Stay tuned.

HBO declines to renew contract with 'Sesame Street'

It's Sunday, so it's time for an entertainment feature. I know I wrote that I would stay away from topical posts for the rest of January, but seeing "Defund PBS" trend on X reminded me that HBO has decided not to renew its deal with Sesame Workshop, formerly Children's Television Workshop, to fund new episodes of Sesame Street and show them first on HBO and now Max before moving to PBS. Take it away CNBC!



HBO ends deal with Sesame Street: Here's why
I embedded that because it's CNBC and has an informative preview image, but it didn't have an informative description. For that, I'm turning to USA Today reporting HBO says goodbye to 'Sesame Street'.

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit behind "Sesame Street," is looking for a new distributor after HBO decided against renewing the series.

CNBC's video wasn't as informative, as it was mostly anchor banter that devolved into Joe Kernan sniping at Becky Quick's husband, making me wonder if he is a bit jealous/envious of him. I don't have to wonder if he's a bit of a jerk; he is. Add this to his views having annoyed me twice before and that's three strikes against him.

However, this isn't the immediate end of Sesame Street. Collider reported that "Max's license for episodes continues through 2027, and this month you can still see new episodes from Season 55 on Max." There is still hope beyond then, as Collider also reported "it is expected that major streamers like Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV+ will all want it." I'll do my best to follow through on the eventual distributor.

On the other hand, it does portend the end of the relationship I first described in CNN defends Big Bird after Ted Cruz calls one of the character's tweets 'Propaganda,' a pandemic update: "It's not just news value that's driving it." I expect CNN will no longer be defending Sesame Street after 2027. That will be up to us, along with its new distributor.

CityNerd explains 'Why Traffic Is Worse Than Ever (and can NYC fix it?)'

I promised "evergreen and holiday entries until the end of the month" yesterday and I'm following through with an idea I proposed in last June's Colbert, Klepper, and Kimmel come to comedic terms with Hunter Biden's conviction.

Klepper and Kosta are covering Governor Hochul's stopping congestion pricing. That's a subject that deserves another post. Maybe if or when CityNerd uploads a video about it.

Ray "CityNerd" Delahanty uploaded that video this week, Why Traffic Is Worse Than Ever (and can NYC fix it?).

I was told traffic is worse than it's ever been, especially in New York City. So I went on a research expeditions to find out if it's actually true, and if so — given how many people are working from home and how much vacant office space there is these days — WHY?

This entire video is an exercise in three of Commoner's Laws: "Everything Is Connected to Everything Else" — changes in one part of the transportation system, in this case people moving from transit for commuting to private vehicles for non-work trips, affect the rest of the transportation system, which leads to "Everything Must Go Somewhere" and "There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch" — all those personal vehicle trips have to go somewhere, causing more traffic congestion, and working from home has unforeseen costs, like more non-work trips and longer trips to work when people do commute because of moving away from work. Where's "Nature Knows Best?" Sorry, walking doesn't seem to enter into the equation, although horse-drawn carriages merit a mention for historical comparisons and bicycling barely makes a mark on the pie charts.

The pandemic also appears in the story, serving as another instance of "Everything Is Connected to Everything Else" and "There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch." Fear of infection seems to be a big driver, pun intended, of shifting people in general and New Yorkers in particular from transit ridership to work from home, with personal car use for non-commuting trips. This connects back to "perceived safety" near the beginning of the video; people working from home don't seem to be factoring in the risks of driving. As I wrote in CityNerd explains 'All the Ways Car Dependency Is Wrecking Us', 46,980 Americans died in traffic accidents during 2021 and one million died worldwide.

Seeing that CityNerd has joined the Ground News sponsorship bandwagon reminds me of what I wrote in Randy Rainbow sings 'I Think I'm Gonna Hate It Here'.

Randy's plug of Ground News reminds me of what I wrote in Future Proof examines 'The RISE and FALL of Malls in America,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse, "the paid promotion by Ground News reminds me that I promised a comparison and contrast between AllSides and the Media Bias Chart three years ago." I still haven't done that, but it really is time. Maybe when I make my monthly page view goal and write evergreen entries near the end of the month.

That would make a good post to share next month. Stay tuned to see if I actually write it.

I have a work project due by the end of this month. Maybe after I get that done. Otherwise, I have in penciled in for the last week of February, when I'm off from work. In the meantime, stay tuned for more evergreen entries worth sharing next month through the end of January.

A meme and a song for Trump's sentencing

I wrote, "Unfortunately, Hoover Cleveland is more likely to receive an unconditional release. Sigh." That happened. Watch MSNBC's report BREAKING: Judge sentences Trump to an unconditional discharge in hush money case.

Judge Juan Merchan sentences President-elect Trump to an unconditional discharge in the New York hush money case. Trump remains a convicted felon but faces no other punishment. Former Manhattan prosecutor Jeremy Saland, civil rights attorney Kristen Gibbons Feden and former New York Assistant Attorney General Adam Pollock join Ana Cabrera and José Díaz-Balart to discuss. Also, NBC News' Vaughn Hillyard reports from outside the courthouse.

While my prediction that he would not be sentenced to prison for these crimes came true, I can keep calling him a convicted criminal, now convicted felon, and I feel a bit better after watching the MSNBC report, that's cold comfort. This entire exercise demonstrates the truth of this meme.


It worked. Like Donald Trump's whitewashing and inversion of the attack on the Capitol, the new Big Lie, enough people bought it that Trump got re-elected and he avoided any actual punishment. That jammed "the wheels of justice," dashing my hope that I repeated most recently in Colbert and Kimmel examine Jack Smith's filing: "'The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in this case, but I expect they will indeed grind exceedingly fine.' May they also grind exceedingly fine for Trump and his seditious supporters, if not as slowly." Trump escaped before the wheels finished their work. Sigh.

This is enough for me to conclude by recycling the song I used in The law is an ass with music by Leonard Cohen, By request, 'Everybody Knows', and I saw the impeachment verdict coming, but I still don't like it, so here's a cover of 'Everybody Knows', Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows (Live in London), the song I embed when I'm most disappointed by the legal system (or its political equivalent, impeachment).


It was time to give the original artist his say.

This blog passed its monthly page view goals today, so I'm going to switch from topical posts to evergreen and holiday entries until the end of the month. Stay tuned.

Company Man asks 'The Decline of Big Lots...What Happened? ' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse

I've been expecting a video from Company Man Mike on Big Lots! filing for bankruptcy and he finally uploaded one yesterday, The Decline of Big Lots...What Happened?

One of the country's biggest closeout retailers has filed for bankruptcy and nearly shut down entirely. This video tries to identify the biggest reasons behind the struggles of Big Lots.

Here is Company Man Mike's four reasons for the failure of Big Lots!


What struck me most about this list is how much Big Lots! thrived during the pandemic because of the chain's shift to selling more furniture. As I wrote in 2020, "If one has to shelter in place, then one might [as well] find a better place to find shelter." That, or make one's existing shelter a better place through new furniture. Unfortunately, furniture is a durable good, so once the demand was met, sales collapsed once the public health emergency ended, leaving Big Lots! holding the bag. It makes me wonder how well Zoom is doing. Better than Big Lots! I'm sure.

The chain's boom and bust contributed to stock buybacks being Company Man Mike's final item. I've only seen that as a cause for a company's failure three times, GNC, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Ruby Tuesday. It's much more common to see private equity being a cause, as I documented most recently in Company Man asks 'The Decline of Party City...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse. In this case, private equity looks like it will save the company, at least for now.

No bankrupt company's story seems to be complete without videos from both Company Man and Bright Sun Films. I'm awaiting Jake Williams' contribution to this tale. In the meantime, he just uploaded a documentary about Payless Shoesource, which would be a good subject for a Wayback Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, or Flashback Friday. Stay tuned.

Meyers, The Daily Show, and Kimmel take closer looks at Trump's designs on Greenland and Canada

Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Jimmy Kimmel all returned Monday night and Seth Meyers returned last night, so I'm kicking off today's post with Trump's Insane Press Conference About Greenland, Jack Smith, Gulf of Mexico: A Closer Look, the first of the new year.

Seth takes a closer look at President-elect Trump starting off the new year by threatening to take over a bunch of foreign countries right before getting sentenced for a felony conviction and holding an insane press conference to complain about it.

Yes, Hoover Cleveland is still a convicted criminal, but I doubt Trump will receive any of what I expected last year.

I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling what I wrote fourteen months ago when Colbert's studio audience gave a standing ovation when told about Trump's indictment; Kimmel's was just as loud.

"[J]ail to the chief" is a great line, but it's going to be a while. I expect he'll be sentenced to house arrest in Trump Tower with the Secret Service as his guards, at least for this set of crimes.

I stand by that prediction with the possible addition of $170,000 in fines, $5,000 for each conviction, although Jimmy K's desire for community service to be part of the sentence would work for me, too.

Maybe Judge Merchan will sentence Hoover Cleveland to community service and consider his serving as President to be community service. That would be creative. Unfortunately, Hoover Cleveland is more likely to receive an unconditional release. Sigh.

As for Trump's obsession with Greenland, I turn to The Daily Show, which had more to say about Trump's expansionist ambitions in Trump Ratchets Up Call to Annex Canada & Greenland as Trudeau Says He'll Resign.

Desi Lydic discusses Trump's imperialist push ahead of his inauguration, including making Canada the 51st state, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and possibly invading Greenland. Plus, Jordan Klepper is hyped about colonialism's apparent comeback.

At least he no longer seems interested in trading Puerto Rico for Greenland. I described that idea as a stupid move unworthy of a board game four years ago.

On paper, admitting Puerto Rico as a counterweight to Washington, D.C. looks like it might work. The problem is that the Republican Party has become Trump's party and the former guy dislikes Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans enough that he reportedly wanted to swap the island commonwealth for Greenland.* As long as he's the party leader, his prejudices and those of his followers will stand in the way of statehood.
...
*This reminds me of a stunt I pulled in a games of Pax Britannica 30-35 years ago when I played the United Kingdom/Great Britain. I called it "Aristotle is not a Belgian." When Belgium, a minor power that runs by automatic rules, made a move that resulted in a Casus Belli, I would call for a Congress of Europe and propose a deal that would give Belgium the U.K's possessions in Newfoundland and Guiana (if I could convince the French player, France's possession in Guiana as well) along with a codominion in whichever territory Belgium had established a protectorate or possession, usually the Congo. That would get get rid of two low-value colonies for the U.K. and one for France, freeing those counters to be deployed in more high-value territories, and use up all of Belgium's counters for protectorates and possessions, eliminating it as a obstacle to the players who had plans for Africa.

What TFG is alleged to have proposed would not have been possible in Pax Brittanica and would have been a stupid deal even if it were. First, Denmark was not one of the minor powers in the game (Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal were) and Greenland was not one of the available territories, so there would be nothing to swap for. Even if it had, I expect Greenland would have had an economic value of 1 or 2, while Puerto Rico, which is in the game, has a value of 5. This would have been a bad economic deal. Then again, if he actually did want to do this, it would have been for irrational reasons. That doesn't surprise me.

And now he's adding Canada to his expansionary "concepts of plans" as the 51st state. I'd only be in favor of that if each Canadian province were admitted as the 53rd through 62nd states after Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. That's only slightly more likely than "a new constitution that replaces the republic with a constitutional monarchy and invite[s] Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor to be Queen." Monkeys will fly out of my butt first.

I conclude with Jimmy Kimmel, who asked Trump Wants to Buy Greenland!?, Bromance with Elon on the Rocks & Zuckerberg Kisses the Ring.

It is very windy and smoky here in Los Angeles, Jimmy got an on the scene weather report from Guillermo this morning, Cher is here on the show with us tonight, Trump gave a double-doozy of a press conference today from Mar-a-Lago where he covered all the big issues from rebranding the ocean to windmills to water pressure, he suggested that he might buy Greenland and sent his son Don Jr to check it out, Lara Trump is busy ruining Tom Petty songs, Hunter Biden and Flavor Flav hung out at a White House gathering for digital creators, the bromance between Trump and Elon Musk appears to be precarious, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a suspiciously Trump-friendly announcement today, Pornhub is no longer available in Florida, and we shine a light on all the craziness with 2025’s first edition of “This Week in Florida.”

Yikes! If he's sending Don Jr. there, then he's serious about Greenland. As I wrote yesterday, "Here's to the comedians keeping us sane in the new year. We need it!"