Regarding nitrates

Here's one for you farmers:

A study of the Mississippi River watershed shows that nitrate levels overall have not declined from 1980.

The study was done by the U.S. Geological Survey. It has to do with the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico and how agricultural practices might be affecting it. In the long run, it could mean state or federal regulations on fertilizing farmland.

It's one of those things where all you can say is, "We'll have to see."

Three more news items

Another coal-fired power plant unit along the Ohio River is expected to shut down in a few years. This one is operated by Duke Power.

I expect a few more of these announcements as the EPA clamps down on coal.

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The headline reads, "Boaters need to chart safer course, Army Corps warns". After the number of boaters that have run into or over dams in the Pittsburgh area in the past few weeks, you have to ask, "Do you think?" Yes, we all do stupid things sometimes, but you would think that if you're taking a boat out on a river, you would think to ask first about where the dams are.

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So maybe the old Ohio River bridge near Wheeling really is coming down, perhaps in November. I'll have to find a way to attend, but at that time of year, weather can be a pain in large-scale demolitions using explosives.

Another egret post

As I said earlier, I don't have one of those supersize lenses that cost more than my house, so when I get a decent photo of a vulture, a heron or an egret, it's usually more luck than skill. This is the best I have of an egret -- such as it is.

Maybe next time I can get closer than a bridge on Route 7 afraid a car is going to come down the road at 70 mph and crash into me. If I get a good one sometime, I'll post it.