Category Archives: Idaho

Idaho, Technology

Idaho Wildfire Update, 11 September 2012: More Canadian aircraft arrive at Pocatello; BAe 146. U.S. capitalist aviation companies can’t handle the competition?

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11 September 2012, a large and new firefighting aircraft has been seen flying in and out of Pocatello airport (Pocatello Tanker Base) the past few days.  It’s a British Aerospace (BAe) 146 flown by Neptune Aviation of Montana (leased from Tronos in Canada).

Click pics (by AAron B. Hutchins) to make bigger:

The use of the BAe 146 has been delayed in the United States, due to complaints filed by U.S. aviation companies that do not want the competition from the 146.  The disputes are being reviewed by the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO).

The latest update is that Neptune Aviation’s tanker 41 has been given a contract to help fight the fires, from 01 September to 09 November 2012.

IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 10 SEPTEMBER 2012:

….and tanker 40. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

CANADA JOINS THE FIGHT AT POCATELLO TANKER BASE!

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Global Food Crisis & What Economic Recovery? Despite record Ag exports, many East Idaho farmers being done in by drought more than a decade on! New version of Tale of Two Cities

10 September 2012, officially Idaho’s drought began in the Gregorian/Western/Christian calender year of 2000. It’s still on 12 years later!

According to the latest drought data, the Eastern Highlands of Idaho are in “severe drought”, while the Upper Snake River plain is suffering “extreme drought”.  The rest of Idaho is in moderately dry to moderately wet.

Across the United States, the worst drought in at least 50 years is helping to keep commodity speculators bidding high for the food we eat.

Click on pics to make bigger.

Recently a joint report by National Public Radio (NPR) and Idaho media sources, explained how the drought in Idaho is becoming a Tale of Two Cities.

In Idaho you have what’s called dry farming and irrigated farming. Dry farmers don’t have access to year round irrigation, they have to rely on rain.

Despite the 12 year drought, there’s still enough water in rivers and aquifers for the irrigated farms. Keep fingers crossed for more snow this winter!

The dry farmers are losing crops and money, the irrigated farms are growin’ big crops and makin’ big money.

Because of the panicking commodity speculators, crop prices are way up, and even though dry farms are losing out, overall crop production is up in Idaho: “We dumped 325 trucks yesterday which is roughly 175,000 bushels. That’s a lot of wheat.”-John Peake, superintendent General Mills grain elevators in American Falls, Idaho

Peake said the lack of crops from dry farms will have no impact on Idaho crop production, but it sucks to be a dry farmer: “I mean, being a dry land farmer in southeast Idaho is a tough deal. It was a windy year, it was hot early.  It was just a tough year to be a dry land farmer.”

So the moral of this tale is that while overall crop production might be down for the whole of the U.S., having plenty of farms with enough water to weather a drought means that the Idaho agricultural industry, overall, will benefit from the higher commodity prices.  No food shortage in Idaho, so far.

Idaho, Technology

Idaho Wildfire Update, 10 September 2012: Canada joins the fight at Pocatello Tanker Base!

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10 September 2012, the smoke just won’t go away, ’cause fires just keep poppin’ up!  So far, the year to date fire retardant used by fire fighting aircraft out of Pocatello airport (aka Pocatello Tanker Base) is 261,797 gallons (991,009.4 liters).

Little “seeders” 802 Air Tractors are the backbone of airborne firefighting operations out of Pocatello airport, but Neptunes, MAFFS C-130s and now Convair CV580 operated by CONAIR of Canada, are making appearances at the tanker base.

Click pics (by AAron B. Hutchins) to make bigger:

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are new fires in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Wyoming.  There are currently 34 large wildfires burning through the United States.

Idaho has seven large fires, with 640,881 acres (259,355.3 hectares) burned! California has nine fires, but with fewer burned acres, at 151,988 (61,507.36 hectares).

The most recent fires here in eastern Idaho were the Flint Canyon Fire south of American Falls, West Menan Fire and the Pickering Fire near Rexburg.

Regarding the now notorious Mustang Complex Fire, recently officials said the fire was so hard to get to that it would probably burn until the first heavy snowfall of winter!

The Mustang Complex Fire, burning along the Idaho/Montana border, increased by 20,000 acres (8,093.7 hectares) on 09 September 2012.  Mandatory evacuations were ordered.  The fire is now the single largest in the United States, at 281,000+ acres (113,716.6 hectares)!

EAST IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 29 AUGUST 2012: BURN AREAS BECOME DUST FARMS. 

Idaho, U.S.

East Idaho Wildfire update, 29 August 2012: Burn areas become dust farms. New Smokey the Bear?

More fires have popped up in eastern Idaho.

On 27 August, four smoke jumpers put out a small fire near Pocatello, called the Bell Marsh Fire.  Also on 27 August, the Lava Tube Fire, near Craters of the Moon National Monument, south of Arco, started and is still active, having burned 800 acres (323.7 hectares) so far.

On 25 August, the Radar Hill Fire burned 1,800 acres (728.4 hectares) in Clark County, north east of Dubois.

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The National Interagency Fire Center reports that Idaho and Montana are tied for number of active wildfires, at eight each.

California leads the country with number of acres burned; 495,544 (200,539.5 hectares).  Idaho is second with 410,783 acres (166,237.9 hectares).

Idaho media reporting that a new Smokey the Bear has been found. A bear cub was rescued from the Mustang Complex Fire west of Salmon, Idaho.  It’s been named Boo Boo.  Click here to see pics.

IDAHO WILDFIRES 16 AUGUST 2012: MAFFS C-130S RETURN TO POCATELLO AIRPORT, IDAHO NATIONAL GUARD JOINS BATTLE!

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, U.S.

Economic Recovery? No food crisis in Idaho, farmers see 15% increase in exports! Thank Canada and Mexico!

“With 96% of the world’s population and 80% of the world’s wealth being outside of the United States, the international market opportunities for agricultural products are great.”-Idaho Department of Agriculture

According to the Idaho Department of Agriculture, farm exports are up 15% compared to 2011, and 2011 was a record setting year!

“Canada and Mexico are Idaho’s largest agricultural export markets, with Japan and China following closely behind.”-Idaho Department of Agriculture

South Korea has also become a top importer of Idaho ag products, seeing a 98% increase since 2011!

Dairy has become Idaho’s number one ag product, making up 35% of Idaho’s exports! Compared to other U.S. states, Idaho’s exports rank 3rd for vegetables and 4th for dairy products (2011 stats).

For the first six months of 2012, total ag exports hit $2.7 billion USD for Idaho!  State officials thank currency exchange rates, strong commodity markets, trade agreements and growing international consumer demand.

It also doesn’t hurt that Idaho’s agricultural industry produces far more than what the state’s population of 1.5 million people can eat.

Unfortunately most of the employees of the Idaho ag industry are migrants.  Idaho employment laws allows farm workers to be paid less than minimum wage.

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Hoku continues downward spiral. Pocatello plant mothballed! Micron dead! Emmett fails! Idaho State government conspiracy?

Famous last words: “Sustainable, renewable energy is going to play a big role in Idaho’s future.”-Butch Otter, current Governor of Idaho, 2011 statement

Reality check: “New projects are non-existent. There’s no support for renewables in this state.”-Peter Richardson, Boise attorney

As of 21 August 2012, Hoku Corporation stock was worth only 9 cents per share!

According to a recent Associated Press (AP) report, all of the promises of support for renewable energy related companies in Idaho, were false.

Pocatello’s Hoku Materials polysilicon factory for solar power panels is now officially mothballed. Boise’s Micron Technology’s energy venture is dead, and Emmett’s biomass power project failed.

Large scale wind power in Idaho is also being targeted.

The AP says the reasons range from federal tax breaks ending for the alternative energy industry, to economic war between China and the United States, to the fact that electricity rates in Idaho are already the second lowest in the country.

But what happened to all those promises of support from the State?  The bottom line is that the government of Idaho does not want to throw money at new alternative energy companies, state officials are all talk, no walk (but they love to take the credit for companies moving to Idaho, Butch Otter did with Hoku in his 2007 State of the State speech).  After all, Idaho’s main source of electricity already comes from decades old renewable and reliable hydroelectric dams (maybe that’s what Governor Otter was referring to in his 2011 statement).

Another thing, state lawmakers have not required local utility companies to buy into these new energy companies, as have the states of Oregon and Washington.  In fact many of these new companies were required to buy their electricity from Idaho Power, Rocky Mountain Power and Avista!

“LIQUIDATE HOKU MATERIALS”

Business/Economics, Idaho, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Hewlett Packard to report record loss, gives half a million dollars worth of stuff to Idaho university!

“…HP carries so much weight in the area, when they do something, when HP sneezes, you know, there is a ripple effect.”-Matt Rissell, Idaho Technology Council’s Software Alliance, interview with Boise State Public Radio

22 August 2012, Hewlett Packard (HP) is expected to report a record quarterly loss of almost $9 billion USD.  It’s the largest loss for HP ever!

HP is already in the process of laying off 27,000 employees.  People in Idaho are worried because HP has a huge campus in Boise, and any layoffs there will definitely hit other Boise area businesses: “For every hundred workers you lose, you’re going to lose at least another fifty.”-Don Holley, economics professor Boise State University

But despite all this doom and gloom, HP is actually benefiting Boise State University, in fact it’s benefiting another chip/computer maker, Idaho’s own Micron.

On 21 August 2012, it was announced that Hewlett Packard donated half a million U.S. dollars worth of equipment to the new Micron Business and Economics Building, located on the Boise State campus.

“We are working with Boise State to provide key technology that will enhance the student experience and help build future business and community leaders.”-Von Hansen, HP Boise

Notice Hansen didn’t say anything about employment, the focus is on “business and community leaders”.  Most leaders actually have a poor history of new job creation.

 

 

Idaho, Opinion, U.S.

Government Incompetence: U.S. Army suicide rate doubles in July! Suicide now kills more troops than combat!!!

16 August 2012, the United States Army says the suicide rate for active duty, reserve and National Guard troops has now surpassed the 2011 high. July 2012 suffered 38 suicides, double from the month of June 2012!  That’s more than one soldier per day!!!

The monthly average is now at 29 suicides.  2011 ended with an average of 23 suicides per month.

The majority of suicides are those troops with combat experience. July was also a record high for active duty troop suicides.

In June dumb ass Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said: “That is an epidemic, something’s wrong.”

No shit Sherlock!  It’s called unjustified War on Terror, police stateism, economy down the toilet!

Things are so bad that earlier in the year the Idaho National Guard demanded that the state re-open a closed suicide hot line (the patriotic Republican state leaders closed it down claiming a lack of funding)!

General Lloyd J. Austin III gave the same bull shit comment I’ve always heard about preventing suicide: “To combat it effectively will require sophisticated solutions aimed at helping individuals to build resiliency and strengthen their life coping skills.”

I’ve heard that rhetoric since the 1980s!  What they really want are troops that are like the compliant monkeys of Japan: Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

But the more our leaders (Republicans, Democrats, religious & unAmerican Corporate America) betray our Constitution, screw over the families of troops by destroying the economy, ship jobs overseas, use prison labor instead of law abiding workers, religious hypocrisy, etc, the more those who join the military to supposedly fight for the American Dream are going to become disillusioned and turn to suicide, or something else (remember Bronze Star awardee Timothy McVeigh?)!