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InkaUtexas

Burnt Ends
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Posts posted by InkaUtexas

  1. Speaking of water use and conservation. Not sure I like this.

    https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2024-04-19/san-marcos-changes-its-water-restriction-policy-for-the-first-time-in-nearly-10-years

    The San Marcos City Council voted this week to change the city’s water restrictions during times of drought. The last time these rules were updated was in 2015. Since then, the region has experienced rapid population growth and increased water demand.

    What’s changed?

    Spoiler

    The old restrictions reflected how much water was available locally. The new restrictions will reflect water levels across all the city’s water sources. This includes local sources like the Edwards Aquifer and some that stretch farther out like the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer.

    “It doesn't necessarily mean we're using less Edwards water,” Tyler Hjorth, director of utilities for San Marcos, said Tuesday in a presentation to City Council members. He said water from the Edwards Aquifer is also two to five times cheaper than other sources.

    Virginia Parker, executive director of the San Marcos River Foundation, said she’s afraid looking at the total water available may mislead residents about the seriousness of the region's drought conditions.

    She said things may look better than they actually are as local water sources struggle to keep up with demand.

    “The most representative drought measure would be what's going on underneath our feet,” she said.

    Parker said she commends the city for exploring other water options, but the new drought measurement could also pose a problem for those who have private wells and rely solely on the local aquifer for their water.

    “This has happened all over Texas: Municipalities go somewhere else in the state for their drinking water,” she said. “And then local wells around that resource end up going dry because that source is being pumped at a rate that it's not used to.”

    The new ordinance also reduces the number of water restriction stages from five to three. Hjorth said that allows greater differences between the stages.

    “[The previous stage system] really didn’t make sense for our citizens, and it was hard for them to track,” he said.

     

     

  2. 1 minute ago, Biff Tannen said:

    Was this like the monk or just like lit his sleeve on fire and he’s fine now?  Not going to watch a video. 

    I would not either, but they showed it live.

  3. 9 minutes ago, Catpfish said:

    At the same time, unbelievable amounts of water are being just flat wasted by lack of system maintenance.  It's estimated that the City of Austin lost 6.9 BILLION gallons (roughly 21,175 acre feet) of potable water to leaks in 2022.  I'm sure that number is increasing year over year as the system ages.  Found a source from the LCRA that City of Austin and Austin Energy water pumped from the Colorado River plus other water rights was 185,548 acre feet in 2022.  If those numbers are close, you are looking at over 10% loss.  I freely admit that I really don't know shit about fuck except I know Austin loses a lot to leaks.

    I'm sure it's the same for cities everywhere and I understand that you'll never be leak-free, but at some point, this issue has to be addressed.  I think very few people know/care about the extent of waste from this area alone.

    Very true. And not just Austin. The book When the Rivers Run Dry (great read) discusses this. It is a bit dated, but worth it.

  4. They are unless neighbors gave over flight. The other option is over Syria and Iraq, but the target ain't in that area, so Iran should have known they were coming.

     

  5. 1 minute ago, Anastasis said:

    First, the things that we actually have direct control over. Stop just free dumping military arms and money into the region.  

    Israel makes a lot of their own shit. I agree about the heavy crap. But they make the small arms being used in the West Bank. They make a lot of their own drones, tanks, naval ships, missiles. Other than fighters, helicopters, and ammo, they are pretty self sufficient. Can you answer my points?

  6. 9 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

    This situation obviously sucks for the Palestinians. We all should have the freedom to exist and be able to do so without a threat of lead falling from the sky that could kill us at any moment. 
     

    I do not believe that any of us will live long enough to see a two state solution implemented nor will the bickering that leads to outright violence ever stop. If I was the president of a country of people who embraced different cultures and didn’t have 40 percent or so of it that hates brown people I would offer every single Palestinian full citizenship that would want to take it. They are entitled to have the ability to live life without the fear of death hanging over them. We get one life and so much of theirs is wasted by their neighbor being a schoolyard bully while the teachers and administration (Us and the rest of Israel’s enablers) lets this continue on.  

    I think we will. And I agree about citizenship for those who want it. I think most will.

    The issue are these.

    1- How do you ever fix the animosity on both sides?

    2- What do you do with those who do not want this solution? The hardline on both sides.

    3- How to integrate?

    4- How do you stop the expansion of settlements?

    The existence of Arab Israelis, many who serve in the IDF, shows it can work.

    • Like 1
  7. 14 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

    Because he would have helped Russia. Hell, we would probably have participated in the invasion. 

    He never would deploy the "Losers" in the military. Yeah, I won't forget when he said that about the POW's. No one should.

    • Hook 'Em 4
    • Like 2
  8. I think it is a no win for the US. This would make the Two State system law. I agree with the two state solution.

    At the same time, there are a lot of groups, sure, not as controlled as Palestinians, who would push for this. Do you recognize them all? Curious, who were the 15?

    Also, unlike a lot of groups they do have a voice, just not a vote.

    Palestine is a non-member observer State of the UN, the same status as held by the Holy See. Any application for UN membership is considered by the Security Council, which then forwards it on to the 193-member General Assembly to adopt a resolution for the admission of a Member State.

    A bit more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_and_the_United_Nations

    Spoiler

    2015-2020 and Recognition

    By September 2012, with their application for full membership stalled due to the inability of Security Council members to 'make a unanimous recommendation', the Palestine Authority had decided to pursue an upgrade in status from "observer entity" to "non-member observer state". On November 27 it was announced that the appeal had been officially made, and would be put to a vote in the General Assembly on 29 November, where their status upgrade was expected to be supported by a majority of states. In addition to granting Palestine "non-member observer state status", the draft resolution "expresses the hope that the Security Council will consider favorably the application submitted on 23 September 2011 by the State of Palestine for admission to full membership in the United Nations, endorses the two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders, and stresses the need for an immediate resumption of negotiations between the two parties."

    On Thursday, 29 November 2012, In a 138–9 vote (with 41 abstaining) General Assembly resolution 67/19 adopted, upgrading Palestine to "non-member observer state" status in the United Nations.[39][40] The new status equates Palestine's with that of the Holy See. The change in status was described by The Independent as "de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine".[41]

    The vote was an important move for the State of Palestine, whilst it was a diplomatic setback for Israel and the United States. Status as an observer state in the UN will allow the State of Palestine to join treaties and specialized UN agencies, such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation,[42] the Law of the Seas Treaty and the International Criminal Court. It shall permit Palestine to claim legal rights over its territorial waters and air space as a sovereign state recognized by the UN. It shall also provide Palestine with the right to sue for control of disputed territory in the International Court of Justice and bring war-crimes charges, mainly those relating to Israel's occupation of the State of Palestine, against Israel in the International Criminal Court.[43]

    The UN has permitted Palestine to title its representative office to the UN as 'The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations',[44] and Palestine has started to re-title its name accordingly on postal stamps, official documents and passports,[40][45] whilst it has instructed its diplomats to officially represent 'The State of Palestine', as opposed to the 'Palestine National Authority'.[40] Additionally, on 17 December 2012, UN Chief of Protocol Yeocheol Yoon decided that "the designation of 'State of Palestine' shall be used by the Secretariat in all official United Nations documents",[1] thus recognising the PLO-proclaimed State of Palestine as being sovereign over the territories of Palestine and its citizens under international law.

    As of 4 April 2024, 140 (72.5%) of the 193 member states of the United Nations, in addition to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, have recognised the State of Palestine as sovereign over both West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Many of the countries that do not recognize the State of Palestine nevertheless recognize the PLO as the 'representative of the Palestinian people'.[46]

     

     

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