Saturday, May 22, 2010

New Job!




Been trained on a lot of things at work, but mostly will be checking people in at registration, then at the end of my shift touring the loops looking for messes and any problems, driving out to the Peter Iredale (P.I. in the lingo) and Lot D to lock the restrooms, lock the gates at Coffenbury and Battery Russell, et cetera. Rode my bike to work a couple of times, saw big herd of elk. One night locking up the P.I. saw the biggest cow elk! Like a moose.

People I work with are great. Ft Stevens largest campground west of the Mississippi. All sites have power and water, half have water, power, and sewer. Only one loop for tent campers, and one loop for bicycle campers (can use the regular sites anyway). We are booked every weekend through the summer starting next weekend, and many weeks through the middle of the summer are fully booked.

[Took a break for dinner and to get back in uniform so Margo could take a picture.]

Deceased Minke whale beached on Clatsop Spit, was buried before I could see it. Cause of death: alleged ingested plastic bags. Big wind storm this week, very low pressure system, but no problems this time.


Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Liquified Natural Gas Port and Pipeline



Bradford Landing LNG port and pipeline deal is "suspended". I believe the business term is "sunk costs".

NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc. said Tuesday that it is suspending efforts to develop a liquefied natural gas import terminal on the Columbia River, 25 miles east of Astoria. The announcement ends a six-year effort that consumed as much as $100 million of investors' capital and countless hours of regulatory work while sparking a firestorm of public opposition from property owners and environmentalists. The Houston-based energy development company sent out a one-page news release Tuesday afternoon quoting NorthernStar President Paul Soanes saying extended delays in state and federal permitting and the difficult investment environment "have forced us to suspend development." The company characterized its move as a "suspension" of the project, not a termination. It did not return follow-up calls on Tuesday.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Evolve!

Ten resistant species of weeds in at least 22 states are infesting millions of acres.








But farmers sprayed so much Roundup that weeds quickly evolved to survive it. Read the whole thing here.


Saturday, May 1, 2010

Oil Spill


Watched the News Hour, BBC, and DW T.V. last night before bed. All three led with the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. When I worked in the oilfields I was amazed at how degrading the process was to the environment - even when everything went smoothly. One of my better memories is when our service crew arrived at the well just as the driller lost a tool down the hole. Took 'em a day to fish that baby out. Every truck running to keep warm (Wyoming winter). Beautiful sunrise, then horses running on the prairie. I was pointed to Infrastructurist by C&L.
A picture tells the story.