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Winslow Homer, (born February 24, 1836, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.—died September 29, 1910, Prouts Neck, Maine), American painter whose works, particularly those on marine subjects, are among the most powerful and expressive of late 19th-century American art. His mastery of sketching and watercolour lends to his oil paintings the invigorating spontaneity of direct observation from nature (e.g., in The Gulf Stream, 1899). His subjects, often deceptively simple on the surface, dealt in their most-serious moments with the theme of human struggle within an indifferent universe.
Early life and work
Homer was born into an old New England family. When he was six, the family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, then a rural village, where he enjoyed a happy country childhood. His artistic inclinations were encouraged by his mother, an amateur painter. When he was 19, he was apprenticed to the lithographic firm of John Bufford in Boston. At first most of his work involved copying the designs of other artists, but within a few years he was submitting his own drawings for publication in such periodicals as Ballou's Pictorial and Harper's Weekly. In 1859 Homer moved from Boston to New York City to begin a career as a freelance illustrator. The following year he exhibited his first paintings at the National Academy of Design.
With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Homer made drawings at the front for Harper's, but, unlike most artist-correspondents, he dealt more often with views of everyday camp life than with scenes of battle. As the war dragged on, he concentrated increasingly on painting. In 1865 he was elected to the National Academy of Design. Admirably capturing the dominant national mood of reconciliation, his Prisoners from the Front (1866) was warmly received when exhibited at the academy shortly after the war ended.
Although Homer's studio was in New York City, the city was rarely his theme. During the warm months he traveled to Pennsylvania, the Hudson River valley, and New England, camping, hunting, fishing, and sketching. In 1866 he went to France for about a year. Although influenced by French naturalism, Japanese prints, and contemporary fashion illustration, his work after his return to America did not change markedly, except that his palette was generally somewhat brighter. Such early pictures as Long Branch, New Jersey (1869) and Snap the Whip (1872) depict happy scenes, the former of fashionable ladies promenading along the seashore and the latter of children frolicking in a meadow after school. In a few early pictures a disquieting note of human isolation is struck, premonitory of Homer's later, more-powerful work.
Adoption of watercolour and artistic development
In 1873 Homer began to work in watercolour, which allowed him to make rapid, fresh observations of nature. In that demanding medium, he explored and resolved new artistic problems, and his paintings of the next few years, such as Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) (1873–76), reflect the invigorating effect of watercolour.
Homer matured slowly as an artist, but his development was constant. With the passage of years his oil paintings became larger, his figures more solitary, his concern for naturalistic detail greater. He painted many women, increasingly as single figures, intimate, withdrawn, feminine. From the late 1870s Homer began to devote his summers exclusively to direct painting from nature in watercolour. Greater concern for atmospheric effects and reflected light added complexity to the images but at the same time enabled him to achieve greater pictorial unity.
Although Homer received some recognition during his early years, he had not had any real success by mid-career. By 1880 he began to show signs of increasingly antisocial behaviour, deliberately shunning the company of other people. In 1881 he unexpectedly went to England, where he spent about two years sketching and painting in Cullercoats, a remote fishing port on the North Sea. There, at age 45, his period of greatest artistic growth began. He was intrigued by the life of the hardy fisherfolk of Cullercoats, who struggled against the sea to earn their livelihood, but he did not paint that struggle directly. He depicted instead the robust and courageous women of the town, who mended the nets, kept house, and waited for their men to return from the sea. The English coastal atmosphere posed a new and difficult artistic challenge, but Homer mastered the diffused light, limited in colour but infinitely varied in tone, in a series of subtle watercolours.
The move to Prouts Neck
After Homer's return to America in 1883, the sea became the dominant theme in his work. He moved to Prouts Neck, a fishing village on the bleak, desolate coast of Maine. He traveled extensively but always returned to his Prouts Neck studio to convert his sketches into major paintings. Solitude became for Homer not simply a preference but an absolute necessity, as he turned his mind and his art to subjects dealing with human fate in confronting the elemental forces of nature.
In the summer of 1883 Homer saw a demonstration in Atlantic City of the use of a breeches buoy for rescue from the sea. The following year he painted his large, impressive, and immediately popular painting The Life Line (1884), one of several he did at that time on the rescue theme, depicting the dramatic transfer of an unconscious woman from a wrecked ship to shore.
During the next few years, Homer's interest shifted from the edge of the sea to the sea itself. Perhaps inspired by a putative trip to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Canada, with a fishing fleet, he painted heroic men pitting their strength, intelligence, and experience against the mighty sea. In the most impressive of those works, Fog Warning (1885), night is falling, fog is rolling in, and a lone fisherman in a dory calculates the distance and the time remaining for him to get back to his home ship in safety. Although the monumental narrative paintings Homer produced in his studio in the mid-1880s lack the freshness of his earlier works, Homer simultaneously painted innumerable brilliantly coloured watercolours during his travels north to Canada and south to the Caribbean.
While Homer's fishermen and their women are heroic in their confrontations with the physical world, the artist occasionally took a more-jaundiced view of his fellow humans. In Huntsman and Dogs of 1891, set in a cheerless autumnal landscape, a sullen-faced young hunter, pausing on a hillside leveled by timbering and blackened by fire, epitomizes human despoilment of nature, in the killing for sport rather than for food.
Final years and legacy
Homer abandoned the human subject entirely in The Fox Hunt of 1893. A fox ventures forth to forage for berries on the snow-covered land, and a sinister line of starved black crows converges to attack him. The ensuing life-and-death struggle will be over quickly, but the pulse of nature that drives the winter ocean against the cliffs in the distance will go on forever. Northeaster (1895) distills that theme, and only the viewer witnesses the endless struggle between the irresistible sea and the immovable rocky shore. In Northeaster Homer successfully wedded the freshness of his watercolours to the power of his oils to achieve an impressive pictorial effect that, as in many of his later works, transcends the subject matter.
The Gulf Stream (1899) stands at the apex of Homer's career. A black man lies inert on the deck of a small sailboat. A hurricane has shredded the sails, snapped off the mast, and snatched away the rudder. Unlike the boys in Breezing Up or the fisherman in Fog Warning, this man is powerless to control his vessel. He is at the mercy of the elements. Sharks circle the boat, a waterspout hovers in the distance, and a boat on the distant horizon passes by unseeing and unseen. As in Stephen Crane's comparable short story, "The Open Boat" (1898), nature is seen as not caring whether a man lives or dies.
Homer, ever more crusty and isolated in his old age, continued to paint vigorously and adventurously through the first decade of the 20th century. Similar in subject matter to his earlier work, although with more emphasis on pure seascape, his late paintings, in their unconventional composition and brilliant colour, reflect increasing concern with the abstract and expressive possibilities of art. Homer died in his Prouts Neck studio in 1910. Although by the 1890s he had become generally recognized as a leading American painter, and his work brought top prices, his passing was but briefly noted, and appreciation of his artistic achievement came only in the years following his death.Jules David Prown The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the early 21st century the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine, purchased Homer's studio in nearby Prouts Neck and restored it. The property was opened to the public in 2012.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Thomas Eakins: Mature period…demand comparison with that of Winslow Homer, the contemporary he most admired and his principal rival claimant to the title of the greatest American artist of the 19th century. Homer, also an objective realist, was similarly interested in outdoor sports and such sporting subjects as hunting, canoeing, and fishing. He…
ScarboroughAfter 1883 the painter Winslow Homer made his home at Prouts Neck, a peninsula at the river mouth, and many of his canvases were inspired by the wild rockbound Atlantic coast; his studio is a national landmark. Farming, tourism, and Scarborough Downs Race Track are important to the economy.…
Sketch, traditionally a rough drawing or painting in which an artist notes down his preliminary ideas for a work that will eventually be realized with greater precision and detail. The term also applies to brief creative pieces that per se may have artistic merit.…
Watercolour, pigment ground in gum, usually gum arabic, and applied with brush and water to a painting surface, usually paper; the term also denotes a work of art executed in this medium. The pigment is ordinarily transparent but can be made opaque by mixing with a whiting…
oil painting
Oil painting, painting in oil colours, a medium consisting of pigments suspended in drying oils. The outstanding facility with which fusion of tones or colour is achieved makes it unique among fluid painting mediums; at the same time, satisfactory linear treatment and crisp effects are easily obtained. Opaque, transparent, and…
More About Winslow Homer2 references found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
- comparison with Eakins
- residence in Scarborough
- In Scarborough


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Masters in Health Administration students awarded fellowships
Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) students at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health are encouraged to compete for Administrative Fellowships as part of their post-graduate experience. Students begin preparing for their fellowships during the second semester of their first year and continue through their final year. This fellowship opportunity allows students to work within an organization and experience real-world application of the skills they learned during their coursework. Here are the stories of three M.H.A. students who will be beginning their fellowships in the summer of 2013.
Tyler Colton will complete his fellowship with Vidant Medical Center (VMC) in Greenville, North Carolina. VMC is one of four medical centers in North Carolina and is the flagship hospital for Vidant Health, which is comprised of 10 hospitals spread throughout eastern North Carolina. It is a state-of-the-art 909-bed regional referral facility servicing 1.4 million people in 29 counties and is serviced by over 500 physicians and nearly 8,000 employees.
During Tyler's one-year fellowship, he will work with and observe senior leadership as they navigate a complex medical center. Tyler will also have the opportunity to contribute to the organization and gain valuable experience through a wide array of projects while working alongside two other fellows.
Mai Hoang will complete her fellowship at The University of Texas Medical Branch Health System (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas. UTMB is home to four schools, three institutes, the 320-bed John Sealy Hospital, and the 108-bed Texas Department of Criminal Justice Hospital.
The health system operates 80 community-based clinics located in 51 locations on and off the island and became a member of the Texas Medical Center in 2010. The UTMB Health Administrative Fellowship Program will provide Mai with an opportunity to apply lessons from the classroom to real-life situations and allow her to explore operations through departmental rotations and projects.
David Perez will complete his fellowship at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (MEDVAMC). The MEDVAMC is a state-of-the-art facility with 357 acute care beds, a 40-bed Spinal Cord Injury Center, and a 141-bed Community Living Center. MEDVAMC serves as the primary health care provider for almost 130,000 veterans in southeast Texas, which also includes outpatient clinics in Beaumont, Conroe, Galveston, Houston, Lufkin, Richmond, and Texas City.
During David's fellowship he will work on projects that will provide a better understanding of the diverse facets of healthcare operations and management while rotating through multiple departments. David will be considered part of the leadership team and under the direction of the fellowship preceptor, which is the Medical Center Director.
Interested in this topic? Contact us for more information.

subset: commoncrawl


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The 30th annual Holland golf outing at Hope College, the "Bob DeYoung Hope Classic," will be held on Monday, June 25, at the Holland Country Club.
The long-running event was renamed in 2000 for Bob DeYoung, who retired in June of that year as vice president for college advancement after working at Hope since 1965 in admissions, student development and advancement. DeYoung had been instrumental in establishing the outing.
The golf outing's format is 18-hole scramble with foursome play. Sponsored by the Hope Alumni Association, the event is open to all friends of the college.
Players may sign up as singles, in pairs or as part of a foursome. Singles and pairs will be combined into foursomes by the college's Office of Alumni and Parent Relations.
To accommodate players, there will be two shotgun starts, at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. All foursomes will be placed in one of four divisions based on the team members' average 18-hole scores.
In addition to golfing, participants may register for an 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. cookout lunch and a 6 p.m. pig roast.
Corporate sponsors include National City/NatCity Investments, Elzinga & Volkers, Hilliard Lyons, Macatawa Bank, Lakewood Construction, S.A. Morman & Co., Creative Dining Services, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Freedom Village, The Printery, Warner Norcross & Judd, the Holland Country Club, Pepsi, Watkins Ross, Cunningham Dalman, Crown Motors, Lighthouse Title, Berends Hendricks Stuit Insurance and Hub International. The net proceeds from the sponsorships will be applied to the Bob and Marcia DeYoung Scholarship fund at Hope.
The entry fee for golfing only is $55, for the cookout lunch is $15 and for the dinner is $25.
Reservations must be made by Monday, June 18. Those interested in additional information or making reservations should call the college's Office of Alumni and Parent Relations at (616) 395-7250.


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Michelle Van Der Water
Teeth and BloodHD
IMDb: 4.4
96 min
A diva actress is murdered on a set film. Meanwhile, the city's blood supply is mysteriously being depleted. Dets. Mike Hung and Sasha Colfax go ...
Country: USA
Actor: Glenn Plummer, Michelle Van Der Water, Sean Hutchinson, Danielle Vega, King Kedar, Frantz Turner, Marshal Hilton, Steffinnie Phrommany, Greg Eagles, Jacqui Holland, Marisha Shine, Keith Everett, Clint Jung, Matthew Fling, Stuart G. Bennett


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At least one positive thing emerged from the Tazreen Fashions tragedy in Bangladesh. After a devastating fire claimed the lives of at least 112 garment workers in November, Walmart is tightening its grip on its supply chain. In a 10-page letter sent Tuesday to suppliers of Walmart and Sam's Club stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the world's No. 1 retailer says it will adopt a "zero tolerance" policy on subcontracting without authorization, effective March 1. The stricter regulation will replace Walmart's previous "three strikes" rule.
PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: Walmart Fires Supplier That Contracted Bangladesh Garment Factory
The big-box store also says it plans to make public a list of factories that haven't been given the green light to manufacture goods for Walmart. Another change? Starting June 1, suppliers must station an employee in countries where they subcontract, rather than rely on third-party agents to ensure compliance.
Walmart says it plans to publish a list of factories that haven't been authorized to manufacture goods for the retailer.
Walmart says it plans to publish a list of factories that haven't been authorized to manufacture goods for the retailer.
"We want the right accountability and ownership to be in the hands of the suppliers," Rajan Kamalanathan, Walmart's vice president of ethical sourcing, told the Associated Press. "We are placing our orders in good faith."
Kamalanathan added that Walmart executives are considering a fund or line of credit for factories who want to improve factory safety, although nothing has been decided yet.
Not everyone is buying the retailer's mea-culpa tour, however. Scott Nova, executive director at Workers' Rights Consortium, told reporters that the company needs to pay its suppliers more so they can cover the costs of repairs and improvements. Walmart's moves show a "great deal of pressure in the wake of public scrutiny," he said. "[But] the upfront commitment from brands and retailers is essential if we are going to see real change." Walmart also needs to disclose a list of all its suppliers, as well as the results of its factory inspections, so they can be monitored by independent groups, he added.
Walmart says it has no plans to sign a first-of-its-kind contract governing fire-safety inspections at thousands of Bangladeshi factories.
Walmart says it has no plans to sign a first-of-its-kind contract governing fire-safety inspections at thousands of Bangladeshi factories.
Nova's group is among a consortium of labor organizations trying to get retailers and brands to sign a legally binding, first-of-its-kind contract governing fire-safety inspections at thousands of Bangladeshi factories. Signatories would agree to publicly report fire hazards at factories, pay factory owners more so they can afford repairs, and provide a minimum of $500,000 over two years for safety improvements. They would also be liable when there's a factory fire. So far, only PVH Corp., which owns the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, and Tchibo, a German coffee retailer that also sells clothes, have signed on, but only on the condition that other brands sign on, as well.
Walmart says it has no plans to sign the contract, even though it's second only to H&M in the number of clothing orders it places in the South Asian nation. (H&M isn't budging, either.)
But fire-safety is a paramount concern for a country with infamously poor oversight. Building fires have led to the deaths of more than 600 garment workers in Bangladesh since 2005, according to research by the International Labor Rights Forum. Of the fires that took place, 80 percent was the result of faulty wiring.
[Via Associated Press]


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Also indexed as:Fino Sherry, Oloroso Sherry, Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Manzanilla Sherry, Amontillado Sherry, Palo Cortado Sherry
A fortified wine, true sherry comes only from a small region in southern Spain and is produced in a range of styles from very light and bone dry to intense, dark, and sweet.
Flavor Descriptors
Flavors will depend on style produced but most offer a range of dried fruit flavors, a bracing tanginess, and a gentle alcohol bite. See the Style section for more details.
Food Pairings
Spanish tapas, grilled shrimp, bacon-wrapped dates, ham.
Strong cheeses, nuts, dried fruits.
Pedro Ximenez
Pour it over vanilla ice cream.
Copyright © 2019 Healthnotes, Inc. All rights reserved. www.healthnotes.com
Drink Responsibly. Drive Responsibly.
Learn more about Healthnotes, the company.
The information presented here is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires December 2019.


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Home All News Topics More International News
International Water News
Gaza's water shortage worsening, no easy solutions seen
Archived Stories
Read WaterWebster Special Reports:
World Water Week in Stockholm and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Also visit WaterWebster's special sections:
Myanmar cyclone Nargis news updates
Freshwater Reserves Beneath the Oceans?
Researchers in Australia claim there's a massive supply of freshwater that's hiding underneath the seafloor. The team from Australia's National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training conducted an extensive analysis of previously documented sources of offshore groundwater. They estimate that about half a million cubic kilometers lie underneath the continental shelves of Australia, China, North America, and South Africa, and elsewhere. By comparison, the volume of Lake Superior is just over 12,000 cubic kilometers. Christian Science Monitor_ 12/9/13
Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant Reports High Radioactive Isotope Levels in Groundwater
Groundwater at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant contain high levels of the toxic radioactive isotope Strontium-90, according to the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The company said the levels were 30 times the legal rate. The 2011 earthquake and tsunami severely damaged the plant and it recently has experienced power failures and water leaks. BBC June 19, 2013
UN: Water supplies cut to Haiti capital
Key areas of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince have been heavily damaged by a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake, United Nations officials said Wednesday, adding that water supplies were cut. 'All municipal water supplies are reportedly shut off,' said Elizabeth Byrs with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, quoting Haitian ministry officials. Nearly 3.5 million people are estimated to be in areas affected by 'strong quakes,' OCHA estimated. In an earthquake, 'what people need urgently, more than food, is water,' said Veronique Taveau with the UN's Children Fund (UNICEF). UN officials said concerns over the water supply were growing along with fears of disease spreads. Deutsche Presse-Agentur/monsters and critics.com_ 1/13/10
China's Weihe River diesel spill may affect drinking water supply
The diesel fuel leak into a tributary of the Yellow River has spread downstream into Shanxi and Henan provinces, contaminating and potentially affecting the drinking water supply of many local residents. The fuel leaking into the Weihe River has reached the Sanmenxia reservoir on the Yellow River in Henan province despite earlier efforts to prevent it from spreading into the main river. China National Petroleum Corp is the owner of the broken oil pipeline. The broken diesel pipeline, which runs from Lanzhou in Gansu province to Changsha in Hunan province, was found leaking in the wee hours of Dec. 30 at a point close to the Chishui River, a tributary of the Weihe River. Su Maolin, deputy director of the Yellow River Water Resources Commission, yesterday refuted the claim by CNPC that the broken pipeline was caused by a third-party construction project, and called for a further probe into the accident after the spill has been tackled. China Daily/XinHua_ 1/5/10
Oil 'polluting South Sudan water'
The German aid agency Sign of Hope has accused the White Nile Petroleum Operating Co., an oil consortium in southern Sudan, of contaminating water supplies, affecting at least 300,000 people in Unity State. It said it had passed the findings to the government and the consortium. The White Nile Petroleum Operating Company says protecting water quality is a priority and it has built a water treatment plant for the community. But it could not be reached to comment directly on the allegations. Sign of Hope's vice-chairman, Klaus Stieglitz, said "the chemical composition of water samples we have taken from oil well drilling pits is nearly the same as we found in the contaminated water boreholes the people are using for drinking water supply." If the local community cannot find alternatives, Mr Stieglitz said the effects on their health could be devastating. BBC News_ 11/16/09
Macau may have to ration water as supplies drop, newspaper reports
Macau may have to ration water, with only 10 days worth of drinking water in its reservoirs, the Hong Kong Standard reported today, without saying where it got the information. A drought affecting Southern China has raised salinity levels in the Pearl River, causing problems in pumping systems, the English-language newspaper said today. Neighboring Zuhai, whose reservoir levels are at 10-year lows, is a supplier of water to Macau and has urged the city to cut back on its use, the Standard said. Bloomberg_ 11/9/09
Across Yemen, the underground water sources that sustain 24 million people are running out, and some areas could be depleted in just a few years. It is a crisis that threatens the very survival of this arid, overpopulated country, and one that could prove deadlier than the better known resurgence of Al Qaeda here. Water scarcity afflicts much of the Middle East, but Yemen's poverty and lawlessness make the problem more serious and harder to address, experts say. The government now supplies water once every 45 days in some urban areas, and in much of the country there is no public water supply at all. Meanwhile, the market price of water has quadrupled in the past four years, pushing more and more people to drill illegally into rapidly receding aquifers. New York Times_ 10/31/09
Burundi begins polio vaccinations for 1.5 million children
Doctors in Burundi started vaccinating Monday 1.5 million children against type-1 wild polio after the first cases for ten years were confirmed in the north west, a medical source told AFP. Polio is transmitted through the consumption of contaminated food and water. The virus is highly infectious and can easily overwhelm the immune system of those who have not been vaccinated. Polio remains endemic in just four countries in the world, the hotbed being Nigeria, followed by India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. AFP_ 10/26/09
Amnesty International says Israeli restrictions curb water to Palestinians
Human rights group Amnesty International said in a report Tuesday that Israeli restrictions prevented Palestinians from receiving enough water in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Amnesty's statement that Israel was depriving the Palestinians of water as "preposterous." Israel says it has met its obligations under the 1993 Oslo agreement while Palestinians have failed to meet their own requirements to recycle water and were not distributing water efficiently. Reuters_ 10/27/09
Rescuing the Aral Sea from an ecological Soviet-era ruin
The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth-largest body of fresh water, covering an area the size of Ireland. But then the nations around it became part of the Soviet Union. With their passion for planned economics and giant, nature-reversing projects, the communists diverted the rivers that fed the inland sea and used them to irrigate vast cotton fields. The result: The Aral shrank by 90 percent to a string of isolated stretches of water. The catastrophe "is unprecedented in modern times," says Philip Micklin, a geography professor at Western Michigan University who has studied the Aral Sea for years. And even now, nearly two decades after the Soviet Union broke up, the damage is far from reversed. Satellite images taken earlier this year show that one section of the sea has shrunk by 80 percent in the last three years alone. Uzbekistan, which controls three-quarters of the Aral Sea, has given up trying. But a rescue has happened on Kazakhstan's portion, and it is striking. AP_ 10/25/09
Africa is already home to one-third of the 42 million people worldwide uprooted by ethnic slaughter, despots and war. But experts say climate change is quietly driving Africa's displacement crisis to new heights. An estimated 10 million people worldwide have been driven out of their homes by rising seas, failing rain, desertification or other climate-driven factors. Norman Myers, an Oxford University professor and one of the first scholars to draw attention to the unfolding problem, estimated that by 2050 there will be more than 25 million refugees attributable to climate change, which will replace war and persecution as the leading cause of global displacement. Africa would be heaviest hit because so many people's livelihoods are dependent on farming and livestock. Many Africans use less water in a day than the average American uses to flush the toilet, so any further declines that might occur because of climate change could be life-threatening. Los Angeles Times_ 10/25/09
China moves 330,000 in water plan
UK faces European court for allowing raw sewage to enter Thames
Cyanide leak leads to ban on firm pumping waste into Trent
Ecuador Indian group protests water, mining laws
Hundreds of Indians blocked Ecuador's Pan American highway in several provinces Monday with rocks, tree trunks and burning tires to protest new water, mining and oil laws. The Indians contend the proposed the laws threaten their lands and will privatize water resources. Leftist President Rafael Correa disputes that view, and the ruling party-controlled legislature has been expected to approve the laws. AP_9 /28/09
In England, more seek help with water bills, but many eligible may not know about program
The number of vulnerable people seeking help to pay their water bills in England has risen 20% in the past year, figures from the regulator Ofwat show. Every water company in England must offer the tariff to those households on certain benefits and with children, or those housing people who are ill. Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn said promotion of the scheme was an issue. "Unfortunately there are still many people out there who could benefit from the tariff who do not know about it," she said. BBC News_9/28/09
China's 'cancer villages' bear witness to economic boom
Comprehensive water management plan urged for the Philippines
An Israeli scientist urged the public and private sectors in the Philippines to embark on a comprehensive water management program as recent studies show that population explosion and climate change are straining the world's water supply. "There would be an intense competition for water resources as population grows," Avner Adin, professor at the Department of Soil and Water Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said at a water forum in Makati City. Twenty-four United Nations agencies earlier reported that the surging population growth, climate change, reckless irrigation and chronic waste are threatening the world's water supplies. Adin, who chairs the Israel Drinking Water Standard Committee, said water conservation is the leading and cheapest measure to address water scarcity. The Philippine Star_ 9/17/09
Water clean-up inquiry launched in Guernsey
Guernsey's scrutiny committee is to investigate the way a clean-up operation was carried out after the island's water supply was polluted. Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) entered the water supply after an accident at the airport in 2002. BBC_ 9/16/09
North Korea may use water as a weapon
South Korea learned a bitter lesson from its northern neighbor's release of 40 million tons of water from a dam without prior notice last weekend. Water can be used as a weapon. The unannounced flooding into the downstream of the Imjin River caused the death of six South Koreans camping near the border area when water levels in the river suddenly rose two meters. The Korea Times_9/10/09
South Korea protests North's deadly water surge
South Korea protested to North Korea on Monday about a sudden release of water into a river flowing across their border that swept away six people in the South in a flash flood a day earlier. The incident could cast a chill over ties that have warmed between the rivals in the past month with North Korea reaching out to the South to restore business and tourism ventures severed for about a year due to political bickering. North Korea moved quickly to ease tension by responding within hours to the South's call for information by saying that it released the water because of a build-up along one of its dams, the South's Unification Ministry said. "North Korea will notify the South when we release a mass of water to prevent damage downstream of the Imjin River," the North's statement said, according to the ministry. South Korea for years has worried about dams the North has built along rivers that flow across the border fearing its communist neighbor could use flood waters as a weapon to attack. Reuters_ 9/7/09
Well water in Kenya available via 'smart card'
On the heels of complaints about corrupt distributors and conflicts over the fair allocation of water, a community in Musingini, Kenya, is working with Safaricom and Grundfos Lifelink, a division of the Danish pump maker Grundfos Group, to implement a solar-powered, pay-for-use water vending system. The solar-powered well is activated using a smart card, which permits water to flow until either the card is removed or the user's account runs out of credit. Mobile phones have revolutionized trade across Africa, and in the space of just a decade or so, the continent has leapfrogged from minimal landline networks to pioneering mobile phone technology that often is not available in many western countries. New York Times_ 9/4/09
Turkey to boost water to region
Turkey said yesterday it would strive to increase the amount of water it releases to Syria and Iraq through the historic Tigris and Euphrates Rivers but warned that it, too, was suffering from a severe drought. Hours earlier, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz had said his country was already too overstretched with its own water needs. But in a quick change of heart the environment minister, Veysel Eroglu, said Turkey would release more water than its legal obligation of 500 cubic meters per second. He did not specify how much more. Philadelphia Inquirer_ 9/4/09
Turkey, Iraq and Syria in water crisis summit
400 in Taiwan ill after Typhoon Morakot; Water official suspects leptospirosis
The residents of Wannei, a village of 2,000 in Pingtung county, had developed high fever, vomiting and diarrhoea in the last five days, the village chief, Lin Wang-hung, told AFP. 'We suspect it could be leptospirosis which has flu-like symptoms such as fever and diarrhoea," Chang Hsin-che, director of Pingtung's Wandan Township health bureau, told reporters. Leptospirosis is a common infectious disease after flooding, according to Taiwan's Centre for Disease Control. The typhoon lashed the island earlier this month, bringing a record three metres (118 inches) of rain, submerging houses and streets and destroying bridges. So far, the typhoon claimed at least 376 lives while 254 were missing, the National Fire Agency said. AFP_ 8/25/09
Mexico's water commission warns of 'critical' shortage at start of 2010
Farming and some water supplies across the country have already been hard hit by this year's drought. Supplies for both public and private use could be affected next year, the statement said, pointing to record low levels at the Cutzamala reservoir which supplies Mexico City's urban sprawl. The main problem in and around the city of some 20 million people, which once sat on lakes, was the over-exploitation of aquifers, the statement said. Mexico City authorities have this year been carrying out water cuts under an emergency plan to help save water and work on much-needed repairs. AFP_ 8/24/09
Millions at risk in China drought
More than 4.5 million people are short of water in northern China as a severe drought continues, state media say. Xinhua said the drought was spreading and crops and livestock in the south were also under threat. Officials have called for greater efforts to combat the drought, which stretches from northeast Jilin province to the Inner Mongolia region. China faces droughts and floods annually, but it has also seen a recent increase in extreme weather conditions. Xinhua quoted officials as saying a total of 4.61 million people were facing difficulty in accessing drinking water on Friday, up from 3.9 million last week. Hunan and Hubei provinces in central China are also facing shortages because of high temperatures and low rainfall. BBC News_ 8/23/09
Syria, Iraq and Turkey 'to discuss water shortage'
The Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish ministers responsible for water supplies will meet in Ankara on September 3 to discuss the drought afflicting the region, Syrian Irrigation Minister Nader Bunni said on Thursday. The talks come in the wake of a claim by Iraqi Water Minister Latif Rashid last month that Turkey had broken a promise to increase water flows down the Euphrates River. Last month, Iraq called for an urgent meeting with Syria and Turkey after the flow of water in the Tigris River sank by half. AFP_ 8/20/09
NASA study: India's water use 'unsustainable
Parts of India are on track for severe water shortages, according to results from NASA's gravity satellites. The Grace mission discovered that in the country's north-west - including Delhi - the water table is falling by about 4cm (1.6 inches) per year. Writing in the journal Nature, they say rainfall has not changed, and weather conditions are not to blame, but rather water use is too high, mainly for farming. BBC News_8/13/09
Mumbai, India disrupted by water shortages
Millions of Mumbai residents have water only once a day for a few hours. The city needs four billion litres of drinking water every day to service the needs of all its residents. However, the main civic body responsible for the city's water supply, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), reports that it can only supply 3.3 billion litres a day. This year's less-than-average monsoon rains have amplified the water shortages and highlighted the city's ageing infrastructure system that is in need of heavy investment. Faced with diminishing resources, the city had to cut its water supplies by 30%. BBC_ 8/2/09
Philippine city of Baguio and nearby group told to fix water control feud
The Baguio city government sued a group of residents in Tuba, Benguet, after they diverted the channel of water powering its hydroelectric plant, but the judge hearing the case asked them on Friday to instead settle the dispute out of court. Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. sued the Tadiangan-Nangalisan Hydro Ancestral Landowners Association (TNHALA) in June for grave coercion and for diverting the flow of the river that powers three Baguio-owned hydroelectric plants. Roger Sinot, a TNHALA member, said the group has been asserting provisions of the 1997 Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, which requires developers to secure their permission and to grant them royalties. Philippine Daily Inquirer_ 8/2/09
China cities raise water prices in bid to conserve
Cities across China are raising the price of water, in moves that try to balance the need to conserve an increasingly scarce resource with the effects on a public used to low fees. The city government of Luoyang, in central Henan province, prepared to hold a public meeting Friday to argue for a proposed water-price increase of 40% to 48%. Water prices in the dry region haven't risen since 2003, which the government says is exhausting meager supplies and keeping the local water utility in the red. At least half a dozen other major cities have raised water prices in the past few months. The changes reflect a growing official consensus that low prices are part of China's water-shortage problem, since they give companies and households little incentive to use water carefully. Wall Street Journal_7/31/09
Tainted tap water sickens more than 1,000 in China
More than 1,000 residents in Chifeng city of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region have fallen ill from drinking water tainted by a polluted lake, local health authorities said Tuesday. Investigations showed the tainted tap water caused the residents to fall ill following heavy rainfall last week, the local health department said at a press conference. The heavy rain raised the water in a nearby lake, which in turn flowed into and contaminated aquifers where drinking water is stored, the Xinhua News Agency reported. China Daily_ 7/29/09
Rich nations vulnerable to water disasters
The growing shortage of water - a perennial problem in the world's poorer nations - is expected to eventually reach the rich nations in the Western world. The United States, Spain, Australia and the Netherlands are likely to face the consequences of climate change resulting in water-related disasters, including droughts, floods, hurricanes and sea-level rise. "Even the world's richest nations are not immune," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Tuesday. Citing official U.S. figures, he said the state of California, the world's fifth largest economy, "could see prime farmland reduced to a dustbowl, and major cities running out of water by the end of the century." IPS/World Business Council for Sustainable Development_ 7/28/09
Israeli minister proposes pilot program for Dead-Red Sea canal
Periphery Development Minister Silvan Shalom proposed Monday that the government support a pilot program to check the feasibility of a Dead Sea-Red Sea Canal which would provide desalinated water for Israel and Jordan. The pilot project would cost $1.25 billion. "There is an agreement on this project with the Jordanians, with the Palestinian Authority, and with the World Bank," Shalom said. "The Jordanians want to act anyway, so we should take the opportunity to act together with them." IsraelNationalNews.com_ 7/27/09
Egypt says historic Nile River water rights not negotiable
Egypt is working alongside other Nile Basin countries to reach a framework on use of river water for all states but will not compromise its historic rights, the country's water minister said on Monday. Water Minister Mohamed Nasreddin Allam said it did not matter if other Nile Basin countries were not convinced of the rights given to Egypt, the most populous Arab country, in previous agreements. "It doesn't matter if they are convinced. It matters that we are convinced," Allam told reporters on the sidelines of the 17th meeting of water ministers of the Nile Basin Initiative. The 1929 agreement was signed between Egypt and Great Britain, which at the time was acting on behalf of its east African colonies. The 1959 Egypt, Sudan agreement acts as a supplement to the previous accord and gives Egypt the right to 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water a year. Reuters_ 7/27/09
Nile basin nations meet in Egypt to work on water sharing
Ministers of water resources and irrigation from the nine Nile Basin countries will review water-sharing agreements in the region during a meeting in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.The meeting today comes amid deep disagreement among Nile Basin countries over the division of water between Egypt and Sudan. Earlier, when the countries met in May, Egypt refused to sign a long-negotiated water-sharing agreement which raised concerns about new dam projects upstream, especially in Ethiopia, which would limit the water flow. Upstream countries like Uganda and Ethiopia complain that previous treaties -- signed while they were ruled by colonial powers -- failed to secure their legitimate rights. An official report in Egypt has forecast the country's increased reliance on the Nile in the coming years because of its growing population. On the other hand, upstream countries need the water to help its power and agricultural sectors - which are also under pressure because of increasing populations. ZEENEWS_ 7/27/09
Water crisis uproots Syrian farmers
Only a few decades ago, fish were plentiful in the Orontes river which for thousands of years has provided water to the lush Syrian plains, at the crossroads of the ancient world. These days the Orontes's 12th century norias, enormous water wheels famous for their distinctive creak, barely turn in the weak tides. Algae covers the river's surface and the desert has been closing in. Syria's worst drought in decades has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and raised calls for a coordinated water policy for the Middle East as the region faces a dryer climate and water supplies depleted by damming and water well drilling. Yet whether a coordinated water policy is even possible is in doubt in a region riven by tensions and rivalry and where water politics is often seen as a zero-sum game. Reuters_ 7/27/09
New Zealand's tikanga can help solve water issues: Minister
Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples has called for continuing dialogue on the role of iwi in the management and allocation of fresh water. In a speech this morning to the Indigenous Legal Water Forum in Wellington, Dr Sharples said local hapü and iwi need to be full participants in decisions on water management in their areas, and water ownership issues need to be allowed to come onto the national agenda. "Throughout time immemorial, indigenous peoples have expressed water as being significant in sacred terms," said Dr Sharples. "We talk about respecting the significance of the tapu and the wairua – the spiritual force of the water. We refer to the mauri – the life force. News Release_ 7/27/09
Turkmenistan to create desert sea
Jordan funds water pipeline to Capital Amman
GAMA Energy AS, a joint venture between Turkey-based GAMA Holding AS and General Electric Co. unit GE Energy Financial Services, said Wednesday it reached a funding milestone for the construction of a water-pipeline project in Jordan. The $1 billion Disi Water Conveyance project is expected to address water-scarcity issues by supplying Amman, the country's capital, and surrounding areas with more than 100 million cubic meters of water per year, the company said. Jordan's water resources per capita are among the world's lowest and water is delivered only once a week to Amman's residents, according to a statement by GAMA Energy. The 325-kilometer (200 miles) pipeline will pump water from the Disi aquifer in Mudawarra to Amman. About 2.5 million people live in Amman, according to the U.S. Department of State's Web site. Forbes_7/9/09
Mumbai, India faces acute water shortage
The authorities in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) have reduced water supplies by 30% as it faces one of the worst water shortages in its history. The cuts will affect supplies to hundreds of thousands of households as well as hospitals and hotels in the city of 20 million inhabitants. Most lakes that supply water to Indian cities are heavily dependent on monsoon rainfall which this year has been intermittent, officials say. Mumbai is India's most populated city. BBC_ 7/7/09
USAID $8.5 million grant to help bring clean drinking water to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
The $8.5 million will be used to expand a project to bring clean drinking water and improved sanitation to homes in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The five-year award to the clean water program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill comes from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The program is called Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Enterprise Development – or WaterSHED. It is a joint effort between UNC's Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Kenan Institute-Asia. UNC says in a statement that its researchers will search for ways to increase the use of water filters in homes that lack clean drinking water in order to help reduce diarrhea and related diseases that kill nearly 2 million children a year. They will also investigate ways to achieve financially sustainable, scaled-up access to safe water sources. These include harvested rainwater, improved sanitation and greater practice of personal hygiene. Triangle Business Journal_ 6/29/09
Angry residents in New Delhi, India, protest power, water shortages
Delhi's power and water woes continue without an end in sight, with citizens taking to the streets yet again on Saturday to protest the crippling shortages brought on by a heat wave. People blocked traffic, vandalized offices of power distribution companies and demonstrated outside the home of state Power Minister A.K. Walia. Varun Sethia, a resident of Kirti Nagar in west Delhi, said,"It is a normal routine now for the electricity to go off for 2-3 hours. None of the complaints are addressed. As far as water is concerned, it should come for 2 hours daily but now most of the times, it comes just once a day and sometimes doesn't come at all." The heat wave is expected to continue for the next couple of days across north India. The Economic Times_ 6/27/09
Major new water source discovered in Yemen
Analysis shows arsenic is high in water at Kiradalli Tanda in central India
The chemical analysis of samples from three of the four drinking water sources used by people of Kiradalli Tanda in Surpur taluk of Gulbarga district has revealed that the arsenic level in them is much more than the permissible level prescribed in Indian Standard Drinking Water Specification IS 10500. The sources in the Mines and Geology department told The Hindu that water in the tanda was not fit for drinking, cooking and other domestic purposes. People of the tanda should be given safe potable water immediately. "We are not surprised by the findings since people drink contaminated water unsuspectingly. The impact of contaminated water will be known only after five years," they said. The sources said gold was associated with arsenic content and Kiradalli region's proximity to Hatti Gold Mines and availability of uranium, a radioactive material, close to the tanda, could also be one of the reasons for the high arsenic level in drinking water there. A team of experts from the Mines and Geology Department was likely to visit Kiradalli and surrounding villages to conduct a study. The Hindu_ 6/14/09
New South Africa Blue Drop drinking water quality rating system aims to 'name and shame' municipalities that fall short
More than 50 municipalities responsible for supplying safe drinking water to millions of homes and businesses across the country are under investigation. This week South Africa's water chiefs said they could not give any public assurances on the quality of drinking water from any of the 54 red-flagged municipalities. The government's new Blue Drop system, the first of its kind in the world, will be unveiled at a World Health Organisation meeting in Singapore next month. It awards prestigious Blue Drops for an overall 95% or higher score in process control, monitoring, sample analysis, water quality and safety compliance. Municipalities scoring less than 95% are denied Blue Drops until the certification level is reached, with unassessed municipalities being zero rated. Those supplying unsafe drinking water are issued with Red Drop status. In an initial report, only 22 of 402 municipalities and bulk water providers achieved Blue Drop status. South Africa Times_ 5/30/09
Israel accuses World Bank of "propoganda" in water access report
Turkey lets more water out of dams into Iraq
Turkey has boosted the flow of the Euphrates river passing through its dams upstream of Iraq to help farmers cope with a drought after Iraqi complaints, but it is still not enough, a top Iraqi lawmaker said on Saturday. Iraq is mostly desert and its inhabitable areas are slaked by the Tigris, which comes down from Turkey, the Euphrates, also from Turkey but passing through Syria, and a network of smaller rivers from Iran, some of which feed the Tigris. Iraq accuses Turkey, and to a lesser extent Syria, of choking the Euphrates by placing hydroelectric dams on it that have restricted water flow, damaging an Iraqi agricultural sector already hit by decades of war, sanctions and neglect. Reuters_ 5/23/09
British charity Oxfam doubles aid to Pakistan as more than 2 million flee homes
The movement, caused by people fleeing fighting with the Taliban, is the biggest internal population displacement in the country's history. Oxfam said it had initially planned to provide £2.2 million (2.5 million euros, US $3.4 million) of aid to reach 175,000 people. But as the number of people requiring urgent assistance mounted, it had raised its funding to £5.3 million in a bid to supply 360,000 people with clean water, sanitation and food. "This is now a massive humanitarian crisis," said Neva Khan, Oxfam country director in Pakistan. Pakistan Daily Times_ 5/21/09
Water wars come to the Andes of Peru: Glaciers decline, droughts increase
Rising demand for irrigation and drinking water is draining the aquifer faster than it can recharge, and a scheme to channel more water from the Andean highlands, which receive seasonal rainfall, is pitting big agribusinesses on the coast against Quechua-speaking llama herders in the mountains. Experts say the conflict is just one sign of rising tensions over water use as supplies of the vital resource dwindle and shift with changes in climate. Scientific American_ 5/19/09
Acidification makes Australia's Murray River water unfit for drinking
Acidic water in sections of the lower River Murray has been declared unfit for human consumption for the first time. The Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation also warned landholders to provide alternative sources of water for livestock and restrict stock access to the water. River Murray Minister Karlene Maywald yesterday said acid - formed when acid sulphate soils were exposed to air by low water levels - had flushed from sections of the Finniss River and Currency Creek. She warned people to avoid contact with water in the area. The warnings came as Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett approved emergency action to prevent further acidification of the Goolwa Channel. The Advertiser/Adelaide Now_ 5/12/09
In Bholakpur, India, 7 die, 200 in hospital after drinking from city water line; angry residents attack water officials
The contamination happened due to seepage of sewage water into the drinking water pipeline. Tragedy struck after several complaints to Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) in the last few months went unheeded. Furious residents broke a pipeline and attacked water board officials. Those attacked by angry residents included Water Board manager David Raj who fled the scene. Windshield of Secunderabad Lok Sabha MP Anjan Kumar Yadav's car was broken by the irate public. Musheerabad MLA T Manemma, who landed in her constituency, had to beat a hasty retreat after police advised her not to visit the area. Times of India_ 5/6/09
Urbanisation, population increases put pressure on United Arab Emirate water resources
In an address read on his behalf by Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla, Assistant Undersecretary for Water and Soil, Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water outlined the UAE's sincere efforts to tap unconventional water resources like desalination of sea water with total capacity of such desalination plants in the country reaching more than 1 billion cubic metres, taking the world' second largest producer of desalinated water. According to him, sewerage treated water secures about 400 million cubic metres per year for irrigation purposes. He said underground water was also given due attention. "The UAE has 114 recharge dams with total stoarge capacity of 150 million cubic metres a year,"he added. Khaleej Times_ 5/2/09
Qatar Red Crescent digs more than 150 wells in Darfur
The wells will provide water to more than 40,000 people. The QRC said there was an urgent need for water in refugee camps. Gulf Times_ 5/2/09
Israel denies World Bank claims that it takes too much water from aquifer it shares with Palestinians
The Israeli foreign ministry said that Palestinians have access to twice as much water as the 23.6 million cubic metres (833 million cubic feet) they are allocated annually under an agreement with Israel. In a report on April 20, the World Bank said because of Israeli restrictions and bad Palestinian management, the Palestinians face dire water shortages. AFP/Yahoo_ 4/28/09
No swine flu threat from disinfected tap water: American Water Works Association
AWWA notes the disease must be transmitted through person-to-person contact or contact with a contaminated surface. Water that has been treated through conventional disinfection processes does not pose a risk, even if the source water has previously come into contact with infected people or animals. This means that utilities practicing disinfection can assure their customers that treated water coming from the taps in homes and businesses is safe to drink.
AWWA has developed information aimed at water consumers at Drinktap.org, with links to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) information on this topic. The CDC has created multiple sites with information on symptoms, traveling and other topics regarding H1N1 (swine flu):
* CDC Key Facts About Swine Influenza
In central Thailand, low water levels raise concerns
The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry is concerned about severe water shortages for farmers in the central region as levels at major dams and reservoirs are far below the target capacity. Arkanay Boonlert, director of the rain-making centre for central provinces, said drought had caused them to dispatch planes based in Nakhon Sawan to make 12 artificial rain flights a day. Bangkok Post_ 4/19/09
Mexico City turns off taps for two million water users
Some two million residents of Mexico City on Thursday began 36 hours without water under an emergency plan over Easter vacation to respond to a record drop in water supply and to work on repairs. The cuts, in the giant city of some 20 million that once sat on lakes, are part of a five-month emergency rationing plan announced in January, and include repairs to stop massive leaks in the distribution network of one of the main water supply systems. The Cutzamala supply system is at 47 percent capacity, its lowest ever level, due to low rainfall in 2008 and serious leaks, according to national water commission Conagua. AFP_ 4/9/09
What will global warming look like? Scientists point to Australia
Climate scientists say Australia -- beset by prolonged drought and deadly bush fires in the south, monsoon flooding and mosquito-borne fevers in the north, widespread wildlife decline, economic collapse in agriculture and killer heat waves -- epitomizes the "accelerated climate crisis" that global warming models have forecast. With few skeptics among them, Australians appear to be coming to an awakening: Adapt to a rapidly shifting climate, and soon. Scientists here warn that the experience of this island continent is an early cautionary tale for the rest of the world. Los Angeles Times_ 4/9/09
Study maps Canada's hidden water to stave off shortages
Canadian scientists are partway through a project to map underground water supplies across the country. The goal is to help policy makers prevent water shortages as industrial and urban development, along with climate change, put pressure on groundwater supplies. Alfonso Rivera, chief hydrogeologist with the Geological Survey of Canada, said so far the study has found there are close to 100,000 cubic kilometres of water hidden in aquifers across the country — a large, rich supply. But most of that is "fossil water" that was trapped underground long ago and isn't rechargeable, Rivera said. Those aquifers that can recharge do so more slowly than previously believed, and most of them aren't very deep. The overall mapping study, which started in 2003, aims to collect information about 30 major aquifers across the country. CBC News_ 4/6/09
Calgary latest Canadian community to look at safety of fluoride in water
The City of Calgary is the latest community to wade into the decades-old debate on whether adding fluoride to municipal water is a cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay or an outdated practice that could be toxic. Ald. Druh Farrell said she initiated a motion to stop adding fluoride after getting a number of letters and reports from people in the medical profession. The topic has been hotly debated across the country - and around the world - for years. Brantford, Ont., became the first community in Canada to fluoridate its water in 1945. According to Health Canada, about 40 per cent of Canadians now drink fluoridated water. The Canadian Press_ 4/5/09
Australian drought blamed for delay in Melbourne water projects
Most of Melbourne's major water projects have been postponed or delayed despite the continued water supply crisis, an assessment by the Essential Services Commission has found. The State Government has blamed the drought for its failure to deliver the bulk of water projects. The commission recently assessed the Government's progress on 37 major water projects and found 28 had been delayed. These include new pipes, sewerage upgrades, odour abatement and water recycling. The Age_ 3/29/09
Death toll from Indonesia dam burst rises to 77
The death toll from a burst dam which unleashed a wall of water on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta rose to 77 and authorities were searching for than 100 people still missing, officials said on Saturday. The Dutch colonial-era Situ Gintung dam collapsed early on Friday. While landslides and floods are fairly common during the rainy season in Indonesia, the latest disaster was probably caused by a combination of torrential rain and poor maintenance, officials said, reflecting years of under-investment in much of the country's crucial infrastructure. Reuters_ 3/28/09
Indian health crusader wins Stockholm water prize
Canada's 'First Nations' to benefit from federal water spending
Reuters' key facts on the world's water supply
Reuters News Service offers a brief overview of key drinking water facts, called Factbox. Water scarcity is likely to change the way of life of millions of people in the U.S. West, one of the richest and most technologically advanced regions in the world. Other parts of the planet may take cues from the West on how to deal with a global water crisis that is expected to worsen with climate change. Reuters_3/12/09
Synchronized polio campaign kicks off across eight countries in West Africa
Fifty-three million children under five are expected to be reached across eight West African countries in a coordinated polio immunization campaign that launched today. The synchronized cross-border initiative will take place simultaneously in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Togo, and Nigeria. The key to stopping polio in its tracks is comprehensive and coordinated vaccination campaigns and cross-border planning. Undertaking the campaign simultaneously in eight countries reduces the risk of missing children, particularly in a context where there are likely to be large movements of populations. This campaign is part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership spearheaded by WHO, Rotary International, the US Center for Diseases Control and Prevention and UNICEF. The polio eradication coalition includes governments of countries affected by polio; private sector foundations (United Nations Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation); development banks (World Bank); bilateral donor governments; the European Commission; the International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and nongovernmental organizations as well as corporate partners (Sanofi Pasteur, De Beers and Wyeth). Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects children under five. The virus attacks the nervous system and is transmitted through contaminated food, water and feces. Medical News Today_ 3/2/09
February, 2009
China's giant water scheme opens torrent of discontent
WHO: Bacteria contaminating water in suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe
Experts from the World Health Organization said water sources in Harare's Budiriro suburb, an early epicenter of the cholera epidemic still wracking the country, are heavily contaminated with bacteria, requiring urgent intervention, Zimbabwean state media reported Monday. The state-run Herald newspaper reported that WHO tests showed local water, including from boreholes, was heavily contaminated by fecal bacteria. Cholera has claimed more than 3,600 lives in Zimbabwe since the epidemic took hold about seven months ago in Budiriro and Chitungwiza, a Harare satellite town. VOA_ 2/16/09
Fires endanger water catchments in Melbourne, Australia
Work continues on containing the southern edge of the Murrindindi/Kilmore fire, which is threatening the Thomson and Upper Yarra catchments, but Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) chief officer Ewan Waller said there was a long hard slog ahead for firefighters. "It will be a slow hard job working in very difficult country and it will be weeks before we can actually say that Melbourne's water catchments are secure,'' Mr Waller said. Mr Waller said it was unlikely any water had been contaminated at this stage. Melbourne Water said water from under threatened reservoirs, particularly Maroondah and O'Shannassey, was being pumped into those that are safe. AAP/The Age_ 2/15/09
China vows to squeeze 60 percent more out of its water
China, faced with widespread water shortages exacerbated by its worst drought in decades, aims to cut the amount of water it uses to produce each dollar of national income by 60 percent by 2020, state media said. The target, unveiled by Water Resources Minister Chen Lei, underlines Beijing's growing concern over chronic water shortages that it fears could undermine its ability to feed itself and crimp economic growth in the long run. The water efficiency target follows similar ones announced earlier for cutting pollution and increasing energy efficiency, as Beijing seeks to get away from what it concedes is an unsustainably resource-intensive growth model, marked by an overreliance on heavy industry. Reuters_ 2/15/09
In Vietnam, 8.8 million urban residents have no access to clean water
Vietnam is likely to face a serious shortage of water in the near future, according to a national project to assess the water supply industry in the country. Presently, up to 8.5 million citizens in urban areas are not supplied with clean water and 21 million people in rural areas find the concept of 'hygienic water' quite alien. Although 41 million Vietnamese people have access to running water, the water does not meet Ministry of Health standards. VietNamNet Bridge_ 2/9/09
Drought in northern China severe
Severe drought in northern China has left 3.7 million people and 1.85 million livestock with no access to drinking water, according to sources in the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. The drought also has affected about 9.67 million hectares of crops, 2.7 million hectares more than the same period last winter. The agency has sent four relief teams to eight of the worst-hit crop-producing provinces, including Hebei, Shaanxi, Anhui and Jiangsu, to instruct farmers and local administrators on relief work. Henan Daily reported yesterday that the drought, which began in November, is the most severe since 1951. Weather forecasts predict that rainfall will remain low this month. China Daily_ 2/3/09
January, 2009
Mexico City braces for water rationing
Tehran's drinking water has highest nitrate level in Iran
Tehran water supply has the highest level of nitrate in the country, director of Tehran's Department of Environment (DOE) said here on Thursday. "Nitrate level in the capital's water supply has exceeded the drinking water quality standards," Mohammad-Baqer Saduq said, stressing that now is the time to put fears about nitrate levels in water into true perspective. High levels of nitrate in household water supplies are of grave concern, Saduq said, referring to some of health problems caused by nitrate, including methaemoglobinaemia -- commonly referred to as "blue baby" disease, marked by a reduction in the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood -- digestive problems, and stomach cancer. Mehr News Agency_ 1/24/09
In Uganda, National Water and Sewerage Corporation and brewery top polluters of Lake Victoria
The National Water and Sewerage Corporation and leading beer and spirits maker Uganda Breweries Ltd are still the major polluters of Lake Victoria, says the National Environmental Management Authority. Uganda Breweries case is even shocking as the firm still discharges vast amounts of untreated waste into Lake Victoria despite investing in a multi-million wastewater treatment plant a few years ago. "Not all UBL wastewater goes through the plant. All backwash water is discharged raw into the environment," said Onesmus Muhwezi, head of environment monitoring at Nema. The beer maker paid Belgian firm Waterleau Ush7 billion ($3.55 million) for a wastewater treatment plant that became operational in 2005. Another Nema audit done in October 2008 — a copy of which The EastAfrican has obtained — reveals that the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Ngege Fish Factory and a number of factories are guilty too. East African_ 1/23/09
France to provde clean water for Gaza
A French aid team will head to Egypt's border with Gaza on Monday to help provide emergency clean water to the stricken Palestinian territory, the interior ministry said. Aid groups have said three-quarters of Gaza households have been without water in their homes since Israel launched its Gaza offensive on December 27. AFP/Yahoo_ 1/18/09
Gaza, one of the world's most impoverished strips of land, has been plunged deeper into the abyss by Israel's three-week war which has reduced vast swathes of the territory to rubble. According to the Palestinian central bureau of statistics, the damage to infrastructure alone is 476 million dollars -- the bill for which is expected to be largely picked up by Western donors. Water supplies have been reduced to a trickle after damage to the main treatment plant while hits on power lines and numerous sub-stations have left most households without electricity at the height of winter. AFP_ 1/17/09
Peruvian farmers block roads to protest water laws
Johannesburg, South Africa residents target of hoax emails claiming tap water unsafe
Tap water in Johannesburg is still safe to drink, contrary to hoax emails warning people to the contrary, the city's water utility said on Tuesday. "The quality of Johannesburg's tap water continues to be rated as among the best in the world. Our scientists routinely monitor over 500 drinking water samples per month," said Johannesburg water spokesperson Tebatso Baldwin Matsimela. He urged Johannesburg residents to ignore circulating emails warning them to stay clear of tap water because it was contaminated. "This is the work of individuals or parties trying to cause panic amongst our customers and stakeholders," he said. IOL_ 1/13/09
China delays part of massive water project
China is delaying part of its plan to divert water from its major rivers across hundreds of (miles) kilometers to the booming cities in its arid north because it needs more time to resettle the more than 300,000 people who will be displaced by the project. Zhang Jiyao, the minister in charge of the venture, told the Associated Press Monday that the central route of the plan will not be finished until 2014 instead of 2010. When completed, the project's three routes will move billions of tons (metric tons) of water from China's central, southern and western regions through pipes and man-made canals to Beijing and other fast-growing cities in the country's north. The estimated $62 billion project will pass by 44 cities, and could be nearly three times as expensive as the Three Gorges Dam, China's last mega-project. AP/CNBC_ 1/12/09
World fears grow over Gaza 'humanitarian crisis'
World leaders expressed mounting concern about the impact on civilians of the fighting in the Gaza Strip Monday, as Israel rejected diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the conflict. Aid groups have said Israel's offensive has aggravated a humanitarian crisis for Gaza's population, who have no electricity, no water and now face dire food shortages. AFP_ 1/5/09
December, 2008
Dead Sea to receive water from Red Sea to save it from drying up
The Dead Sea could be saved from drying up under a groundbreaking plan to flood millions of gallons of seawater in from the Red Sea more than 110 miles away. Funding has been secured for a feasibility study into the ambitious and controversial scheme to reverse falling water levels. The scheme involves a 110-mile long canal, dubbed 'Red To Dead', that would channel roughly five million tonnes of seawater each day into the Dead Sea. The new water is needed to avoid the complete disappearance of the Dead Sea, an event the World Bank warns would represent "an environmental calamity". Overuse by farmers of water from the Jordan River, the only major influx into the Dead Sea, and climate change mean the level of the Dead Sea plunges by about three feet every year. One key aspect of the study is how the arrival of seawater will impact on the unique ecosystem of the Dead Sea. The Telegraph_ 12/25/08
China helps 109 million in rural areas get safe drinking water: Minister
China said on Wednesday that it has spent nearly 24 billion yuan (about U.S. $3.5 billion) in the past two years to give more than 8 percent of its 1.3 billion people safe drinking water. Environmental Protection Minister Zhou Shengxian said in a report to a plenary session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee that more than 109 million rural people benefited from the water investment since 2006. Overall water quality last year was almost the same as in 2006, he said, adding that greater efforts were made to curb pollution in major streams. Xinhua_ 12/24/08
Procter & Gamble and Population Services International respond to cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe with water purification for 10,000 families
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and global health organization Population Services International (PSI) will provide 10 million liters of safe drinking water to help prevent cholera in Zimbabwe. More than one-thousand people have died from the current cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe. Developed by P&G, PURTM Purifier of Water is a powdered water clarification and disinfectant technology that comes in small, easy-to-use packets. Using some of the same ingredients as municipal water systems, the PUR water purification packets remove pollutants and cysts, as well as kill viruses and bacteria, including the bacteria that cause cholera. PSI has the staff, infrastructure and resources to distribute the PUR packets provided by partner non-governmental organization, AmeriCares. The packets will be distributed for free to those living in areas with high cholera outbreaks in and around Harare, Beitbridge and Mudzi, Zimbabwe. Approximately 10,000 families with 40,000 to 60,000 people will be reached with the free distribution of the PUR packets to meet their water treatment needs for three months. News Release/PRNewswire-First Call/CSRwire_ 12/23/08
Ontario says Detroit, Michigan has been taking water from Canada without an OK
Detroit may has been stealing Canadian water for 44 years. It seems the Motor City's drinking-water intake pipe extends about 100 yards across the international boundary in the Detroit River, and it's been siphoning as much as 32 billion gallons a year since 1964 without a water-taking permit. Alerted to the water grab when Detroit conducted a screening under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act for maintenance work on its southwest water treatment plant in 2006, the ministry now plans to exempt the city from provincial regulations. AP/Chicago Tribune_ 12/22/08
Ice melting across globe at accelerating rate, NASA says
Between 1.5 trillion and 2 trillion tons of ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted at an accelerating rate since 2003, according to NASA scientists, in the latest signs of what they say is global warming. Using new satellite technology that measures changes in mass in mountain glaciers and ice sheets, NASA geophysicist Scott Luthcke concluded that the losses amounted to enough water to fill the Chesapeake Bay 21 times. Luthcke will present his findings this week at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco, California. NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE, mission uses two orbiting satellites to measure the "mass balance" of a glacier, or the net annual difference between ice accumulation and ice loss. CNN_ 12/16/08
World's experts brainstorm on drinking water
Water and sanitation experts from the Group of Eight countries gathered Tuesday in Hokkaido to discuss ways to ensure safe drinking water in African and other developing countries. At the onset of the event, Masato Watanabe, deputy director general of the Foreign Ministry's International Cooperation Bureau and chairman of the meeting, said he will seek to reach an agreement so the participants can present future strategies to the next summit next year in Italy. Japan Times_ 12/17/08
Trying to stop pollution of the Citarum River, the main source of household water for Jakarta, Indonesia
The Citarum River, which winds its way through West Java past terraced rice paddies and teeming cities, is an assault on the senses. Visitors can smell the river before they see it. The Citarum River basin covers 5,000 square miles. The river, considered by many environmentalists to be among the world's most polluted, is woven tightly into the lives of the West Javanese. It provides 80 percent of household water for Jakarta's 14 million people, irrigates farms that supply 5 percent of Indonesia's rice and is a source of water for more than 2,000 factories, which are responsible for a fifth of the country's industrial output, according to the Asian Development Bank. Environmentalists blame rapid, and unregulated, industrialization and urbanization over the past 20 years for the degradation of the 5,000-square-mile river basin. New York Times_ 12/13/08
Zimbabwe: Britain, U.S. caused cholera, says government
A Zimbabwean cabinet minister has accused Britain, helped by the United States, of masterminding the country's cholera outbreak in a "biological chemical war, a genocidal onslaught" against the country. The accusation was published in the government-controlled Herald newspaper by Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, the information minister in President Robert Mugabe's government. AllAfrca.com_ 12/13/08
Mugabe claims no more cholera in Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe claimed Thursday the end of Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic, but aid agencies argued otherwise, as South Africa declared a disaster on its border due to the disease. "I am happy to say our doctors have been assisted by others, and WHO (the World Health Organization) and they have now arrested cholera," he said in a nationally broadcast speech. He also denounced calls by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President George W. Bush for him to step down, accusing them of plotting an invasion. AFP_ 12/11/08
Cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe spreads rapidly
The United Nations said Wednesday 15,572 cases and 746 cholera deaths were reported n Zimbabwe. A deteriorating health care system and water infrastructure are the reasons why the water-borne disease is rampaging through the impoverished African nation, which last week declared a health emergency, the Associated Press reported. There are also concerns that cholera could be carried into neighboring countries. A large number of Zimbabweans with cholera have sought help in South Africa, which has reported 500 cases of the disease, including nine deaths, the AP reported. AP/USNews and World Report_ 12/10/08
Drought forces Australian state to purchase water
Zimbabwe declares national health emergency; Lack of water treatment drives cholera epidemic
Zimbabwe has declared a national emergency over its cholera epidemic and the collapse of its health system due the country's economic crisis. "Our central hospitals are literally not functioning," Minister of Health David Parirenyatwa was quoted as saying by the state-run Herald newspaper on Thursday. The United Nations puts deaths from the cholera epidemic at more than 500. The outbreak is blamed on lack of water treatment and broken sewage pipes in a country that once had a sophisticated infrastructure. AP_12/4/08
Cholera-hit Zimbabwe cuts water supplies to capital
Zimbabwe has cut water supplies to the capital Harare, state media said Monday, as the health minister urged the public to stop shaking hands in a desperate bid to curb a deadly cholera epidemic. The city-wide cut appeared aimed at stopping the flow of untreated water around Harare, which is at the epicentre of the cholera epidemic that has claimed 425 lives since late August -- most in just the last month. The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) stopped pumping because it had failed to obtain chemicals to treat the water supply, the government mouthpiece Herald newspaper said. AFP/AfricaAsia.com_ 12/1/08
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Energy Sites to Visit on the Internet
Effective January 25, 2010, the California Energy Commission will no longer maintain an online list of links to energy companies and related energy topics.
The Energy Commission created this list of online links back in 1994, when the Internet was in its infancy. With the advent of Google and other search engines, we've found that our online list is superfluous. Additionally, maintaining the list is a difficult and unwieldily task.
We will continue to maintain links to other state and federal agencies on this page.
The Web Team, California Energy Commission
Main State of California Internet Sites
- State of California's Homepage
- California State Assembly
- California State Senate
- Legislative Counsel of California -- Official Legislative Information
California State Agencies Involved in Energy
- California Air Resources Board
- California Biodiversity Council
- California Conservation Corps
- California Environmental Protection Agency
- California Independent System Operator (California ISO)
- California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)
- California Natural Resources Agency
- California Public Utilities Commission
- CERES - California Environmental Resources Evaluation System
- Department of Conservation - Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal
- Department of Fish and Game
- Department of Water Resources
- Office of Traffic Safety
- State and Consumer Services Agency - Department of Consumer Affairs
- Water Resources Control Board
Energy-Related Federal Agencies
- Bonneville Power Administration
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index
- Department of Commerce
- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
- Energy Information Administration
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Federal Energy Management Program
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Library of Congress
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
- National Science Foundation
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Office of Scientific and Technical Information
- THOMAS - Legislative Information on the Internet
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Department of Energy Homepage
- U.S. Department of Interior
- U.S. Geological Survey
- USDA Rural Electric Utilities Service
- Western Area Power Administration
National Laboratories
- Advanced Computing Laboratory - (ACL)
- Ames Laboratory
- Argonne National Laboratory
- Bonneville Power Administration
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Center for Computational Sciences
- Environmental Measurements Laboratory - (EML)
- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory - (Fermilab)
- Grand Junction Office - (GJPO)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - Environmental Energy Technologies Division
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- National Energy Research Supercomputer Center
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory - A laboratory which researches in renewable energy solutions
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Office of Scientific and Technical Information - (DOE)
- Pantex
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory - (only US DOE lab dedicated to fusion energy science)
- Radiological and Environment Sciences Laboratory
- Sandia National Laboratory
- Savannah River Site - (Westinghouse)
- Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
- University of California - (Lab Management Home Page)
- Waste Isolation Pilot Plant - (WIPP)
- Western Area Power Administration - WAPA


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Catch or Pass
after Martin Gardner
Do you want to see if your friend can catch the
postcard when you let it go? Just take a postcard in your hand and let
your friend hold his/her fingers on each side of the postcard as shown
in the illustration, but his/her fingers aren't touching the
Let the postcard go. Your friend will not catch it. You can repeat it
many times. The result will be the same - the postcard will easily
"flow away" between your friend's fingers.
Step Through:


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Michelle Pritchett, the Alabama football fan who attacked Oklahoma fans at the Orange Bowl, issued an apology this weekend for her actions.
Pritchett, who was attending the game Wednesday with her husband, son and family friends, is shown on the video above confronting the fans, who she says were goading her son into a fight. It all started as good-natured trash talking, if you can believe that, and escalated into what you can see in the video above.
"It had nothing to do about the ballgame," Pritchett told AL.com. "It had nothing to do with us losing. It started when he started taunting my son."
Here is her apology:
"I'm embarrassed. I love the Tide and I apologize to all the players and to Coach Saban and to the entire fan base. I'm sorry. Coach Saban's going to say, 'Those crazy fans don't know how to act.' And I wasn't intoxicated either. I want people to know that. I'd had a couple of drinks, but I was not intoxicated."
Michael Connolly, an Oklahoma student who Pritchett targeted in her attack, had a different version of the story, saying the two sides were taunting each other throughout the game and it was Pritchett's son who told them to come over if they wanted to fight.
Connolly tweeted this weekend that he had received "a sincere apology" from Pritchett.
Unfortunately, Pritchett admitted that she would do it again in similar circumstances.
"I hate to say it, but I'd do it again if I had to," she said. "I'm not going to let anyone go after my son."


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The Pony Express RV Park & Campgrounds is located just south of Maysville, MO in NW Missouri.
Call 816-449-2039 for reservations
Our 13th season at The Pony Express RV Park & Campground!
Offering our best in relaxed outdoor hospitality
Select the links above to learn more!Info: About us, location and price listTour: See everything from RV sites to zoo animalsNews: Updates about the park, the animals, and special deals throughout the seasonMaps: A bird's eye view of the ground, along with driving mapsPictures: See for yourself how wonderful it is!Links: Other locations of interest in the area


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Apologies if I missed a thread that touched on this subject.
I could really use some advice from da meks on how to build a proper looking kombi-skorcha for a nobz squad. I have the basic idea of attaching flamers to shootas down, but making them look cohesive (and orky!) is another matter entirely. So far I've put together one with a slugga grip, Deff Dread big shoota, Dreadnought CCW arm flamer, and some warped shoulder pads to hold the guns together, but I'm sure plenty of people here have better and easier builds.


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T. Wilson, Rae; Fritz, Nagy; Chor der Oper Frankfurt, Frankfurter Oper- und Museumsorchester, Weigle. Text, no translation. OEHMS Classics OC 940
On the evidence of Die Feen, Richard Wagner at twenty was already a dramatist. His score is startling in its freedom from convention. The standard view of Wagner's development is that he moved from early conformity — adherence to the formulaic aria structure and tunefulness of Romantic-era opera — to a more fluid, open, unpredictable style more dependent on text. But this precocious 1833 work finds him already breaking traditional molds and — while skillful in details such as orchestration — not especially adept at, or interested in, sustained melody such as we find in the early 1840s in Holländer or even Rienzi.
He was also juggling multiple influences in Die Feen — Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven, Weber and, not least, Heinrich August Marschner (1795–1861), a composer who affected both Wagner's choice of fantastical subject matter and his irregular, through-composed musical structure. While we recognize a cavatina here and a cabaletta there, as models or points of departure, their realization is intermittent, sometimes camouflaged and distorted. Weber-style climaxes with multiple scalar passages are broken by sustained, anarchic high notes that unsettle the harmony and the period style. Often the promise of song gives way to dramatic events and reactions; the goal seems always to be excitement. The prevailing vocal mode is accompanied recitative, restless in tonality and especially tempo, interrupted rather than supported by instrumental gestures, and somewhat overheated in manner even for this lurid libretto of repeated moral tests (anticipating Lohengrin) and revolving-door metamorphoses. The composer wrote his own text, based on plays by Carlo Gozzi.
But all is not sturm und drang. Another arresting innovation is the mostly skillful arioso style, blending recitative and melody. (There's even comic relief in the Act II reunion of two lovers long separated by war, a Papageno–Papagena style exercise.) Young Wagner also maintains interest with his instrumentation, often with flute coloring, which is sometimes said to derive from Marschner as well. The chorus gets opportunities for rousing finales (though never very extensive) and brief interaction, sometimes cross-cut by recitative. One fascinating moment comes in the elaborate a cappella passage in Act III for five principals and chorus, a fine example of vocal counterpoint that extends without accompaniment for thirty-six measures. Arindal's Act III music includes two winning solos, a brief scene of delusion ("Hallo! Lasst alle Hunde los") and then, following the sudden recovery of his senses, a lyrical appeal to the gods, with harp accompaniment, to spare Ada, the heroine, who has been (temporarily) turned to stone.
One mark of continuity with the mature Wagner is the taxing vocal writing, which requires the services of a dramatic tenor and two stalwart sopranos of considerable range. (An often brilliant performance recorded under Wolfgang Sawallisch in 1983 had John Alexander, June Anderson and Cheryl Studer in the cast.) In this set's concert performance from Frankfurt, Burkhard Fritz as Arindal, barring some strain in his plea for Ada's life, is confident and flexible, while two American sopranos — Tamara Wilson and Brenda Rae — shine in the roles of the fairy queen Ada and the hero's sister Lora, both of whom are nearly always in crisis. Rae, as Lora, displays an especially distinctive tone and an assured delivery that proves riveting even in the most complex passages.
Conductor Sebastian Weigle leads an assertive, high-spirited performance, never slighting details such as the colorful instrumentation, with its interesting woodwind touches, and consistently allowing singers to make vivid dramatic points without losing momentum.
Send feedback to OPERA NEWS.


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A visit to China Garden may take a while
The only difficult thing about visiting the popular China Garden, located in Beaumont's Gateway Plaza, is choosing what you will eat first and how long you will stay. More than 200 items await you on the largest buffet in the area, beginning with a healthy salad area, a new hibachi grill where you see your food choices cooked, all of the Texas Gulf Coast seafood you can imagine, vegetables, specialty dishes, and tantalizing desserts. There's also plenty of sushi featuring salmon, tuna, eel and all types of rolls.
"Everyone has their favorite," said the personable hostess Reyna Garcia, who has worked for the company for more than a dozen years. "We have our regulars, some who come in to eat every day, some every other day and some both days of the weekends. I know them well and know where they prefer sitting and likely what they will choose first from the food bars." Garcia says crab, cooked in many different ways, is the No. 1 crowd favorite, a waiter on this visit said, "No, it is the shrimp. Some people come here just for the shrimp." Garcia also said that the new hibachi grill is also proving very popular with customers.
A family group was celebrating a big birthday at the very clean and cheery restaurant. Layheshia Carraway was choosing a favorite chicken dish from the food bar while there. She introduced her mom and other relatives who were celebrating. "We all like to come here to eat because every person in the group can find something he or she likes. And, yes, we stay for a while and enjoy our time together as well as the food," she said. "Everyone here is very nice and helpful and we like that, too."Garcia points out that this is a large-scale organization and it takes everyone on the team to keep the food prepared to taste, served hot, perform constant clean up and restocking, and care for the customers. "We have eight or nine working in the back," Garcia said, "and another seven or eight on the floor at all times, plus several stocking the buffet lines and the workers who clear the tables almost immediately when the customer leaves."
China Garden also hosts various parties, particularly around the holidays. Garcia said she remembers one large party of more than 170 guests from the Waffle House corporation. "They had a good time and seemed to enjoy eating someone else's cooking. I know they laughed and stayed a while during a holiday meal. I think they had fun," Garcia said.
After an honest taste test by our group, one chose the shrimp as her favorite, another chicken one of the chicken dishes, and my personal favorite was the bacon wrapped crab. In fact, it took a while for me to make that deduction and I had to try several different choices just to be sure.
China Garden is at 3811 Stagg Drive near Interstate 10 in Beaumont. The prices for the wide selection of food are very reasonable with lunches costing only $7.67 and $9.70 for dinner. Dinner prices apply all day on Saturday and Sunday. Plan to stay a while when you visit. You'll be glad you did.
Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788or at brendacannonhenley [at] yahoo [dot] com.


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Vadavagni is a form of Agni (fire) that is mentioned in the Hindu scriptures. It is believed that it is the escape of this fire from under the ocean which will finally consume the current cycle of creation and prepare the universe for the next cycle of creation.
Hindu Puranas states that Vadavagni was born in the lineage of Sage Bhrigu. The sons of Kartavirya Arjuna in order to finish off the lineage of the Sage Bhrigu started killing descendents of Bhrigu including children. A wise woman of the lineage, who was pregnant, in order to save her child moved the unborn child from her womb to her thighs. When the child was born it was called Aurva.
Later when the sons of Kartavirya came to know about the child they came to kill it. When they held it up they became blind due to the rays that emitted from the child's body. The child's anger did not subside and it gave rise to a flame which had the power to eat up the whole world. Sages then put the flame under the ocean. This is the story of Vadavagni.
Vadavagni is located beneath the ocean and has the face of a horse. Hindu Scriptures suggest that mists and clouds are formed due to the activity of the Vadavagni under the sea. It also prevents the sea from consuming the land.
Just before Pralaya, Vadavagni will burst forth as volcanoes from under the sea and escape. Subsequently the seas will consume the land.


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From MeritBadgeDotOrg
(Difference between revisions)
m (Protected "Portal:Main/Calendar/July" [edit=sysop:move=sysop])
Revision as of 16:16, April 20, 2008
July 4th – Independence Day
July 4, 1911 – The Boy Scouts of America receives the design patent for the First Class badge that symbolizes Scouting in the USA.
July 29, 1907 – Sir Robert Baden-Powell founds the Boy Scouts with the first Scout camp at Brownsea Island. The encampment ran from August 1-9, 1907.
July 30, 1920 – First World Scout Jamboree begins in Olympia, London, England.


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Our Purpose
The Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce is accredited with a 5-Star rating from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for our efforts to improve the local business environment through membership services, political advocacy, and educational initiatives. Our number one goal is to help area businesses of all sizes to grow and prosper.
We offer our 700 members exposure in the community, a strong networking base and opportunities for professional development. Please browse our website to learn more about recent and upcoming programs and to find out how the Chamber can serve your personal and professional needs.