Free Republic

Felt cute this morning hit the modeling software, ESRI, and thought why not solve Corpus Christi and Austin water supply issues forever for under $7 billion and a Capex return of 24 months in it's base config. The Japanese built past tense ABWR reactors in 39 months from ground breaking till first critical. Here is my summary report to the Texas Water Dev Board. Should I present it next time I am standing in their office in Austin. ## EXECUTIVE BRIEFING & PROJECT PROPOSAL To: The Board of Directors, Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Project Title: The Texas Multi-Energy Hydronic...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed a second case of a flesh-eating screwworm parasite in Texas on Friday, as it races to contain and eradicate the outbreak before it severely impacts the cattle population. A New World screwworm was detected in a one-month-old calf in Zavala County after testing a “number of suspected cases,” according to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). It was found less than six miles away from the ranch where the pest was reported in another young calf earlier this week. ( Snip ) The New World screwworm is a species of parasitic...

Consumers are being encouraged to check their freezers for a product that might contain harmful or potentially deadly bacteria. In the latest recall linked to salmonella risks associated with powdered milk, a popular frozen food sold by Costco and Walmart has been pulled from shelves. The Hill provided these details: The most recent recall was shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday. Select batches of Motor City Pizza Co. 5 Cheese Bread were recalled because the dry milk powder was used in the five-cheese sauce blend. Other recalls linked to the powder impact frozen pizzas, pork rinds,...

Glyphosate-based formulations (GBFs), such as Roundup, are the most heavily used herbicides in the world. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that glyphosate and GBFs are probably carcinogenic to humans, mainly for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)... In 2021, the French Institute of Health and Medical Research... also found that many studies demonstrated genotoxic damage (DNA breaks or structural changes) consistent with the induction of oxidative stress by glyphosate/GBFs, sometimes at exposure levels experienced by human populations... In a recent study of Thai farmers, a high frequency (97.6%) of those spraying GBFs with backpack sprayers had high...

Businessman Zach Lahn’s win in Iowa’s Republican gubernatorial primary over President Donald Trump’s pick, Rep. Randy Feenstra, delivered a rare electoral setback for Trump in a primary season that had handed him back-to-back victories... Members of the MAHA movement...cheered the win as a sign their political message was resonating with voters. “This election is a signal that pro-pesticide does not mean pro-farmer,” said Tony Lyons, president of Kennedy-aligned MAHA PAC, which endorsed Lahn. “Zach Lahn made transitioning away from toxic chemicals the cornerstone of his campaign and won this election decisively with strong farmer support.” “Iowa has the fastest growing...

A new analysis links high use of the weed killer glyphosate to elevated rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), particularly in the Midwest, reinforcing years of research linking cancer to the weed killer made popular by Monsanto.. A map of the hotspots shows clusters of NHL rates particularly high in many parts of Iowa, the nation’s top corn-growing state... Iowa has the second-highest rate of cancer in the nation and is only one of three states where cancer is rising, according to the National Institutes of Health.

In A Nutshell A major review found no link between naturally occurring dairy trans fats and higher risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes. Unlike artificial trans fats in processed foods, dairy trans fats appear to behave differently in the body. Some studies found that people with higher blood levels of a dairy-specific trans fat were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, though the evidence is not conclusive. Several of the study’s authors have ties to the dairy industry, a conflict of interest the researchers disclosed and that independent replication would help address. ============================================================================ For decades, “trans fat”...

The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

In A Nutshell Researchers found bacteria with probiotic potential in three British artisan cheeses. The hay-aged cheese had the biggest increase in bacterial diversity as it matured. Lactose was largely gone by maturity, which may matter for lactose-sensitive readers. The study is promising, but it does not prove these cheeses improve gut health in people. ========================================================================== For most people, cheese is a guilty pleasure: something delicious but probably not great for you. That assumption may be worth revisiting. A recent study took a close look at three traditional British artisan cheeses and tracked how their bacterial communities and chemical profiles...

Organs from genetically modified pigs are being used in trials in China and the US. A 53-year-old clinically dead man has become the first person to receive two kidneys and a whole liver from a genetically modified pig. The man’s organ function was sustained for almost five days with consent from his family, and there were no signs that the organs were being rejected in the first 24 hours, according to a study published in Med today1. Most procedures in which a pig organ is transplanted into a person — known as xenotransplantation — involve only a single organ. A...

This week, Lee Zeldin’s EPA announced “approving nationwide E15,” pitching it as “fortifying the domestic fuel supply.” What that means exactly is that the federal government will allow more stations to cut gasoline with ethanol, which, yes, makes it cheaper, but it also yields less power and worse fuel economy in your engine.

The stereotype here is so on the nose that The Babylon Bee couldn't have written it better 😂 VIDEO AT LINK............... As they say in Dearborn, Alhamdulillah! People had thoughts on a local news account: This week is the Islamic slaughter day of Eid al-Adha, where a goat is killed to cover their sins. They connect this to the biblical story in Genesis 22 where Abraham is asked by God to offer his son as a sacrifice. Muslims, however, believe God offered up a ram to replace Ishmael, ignoring the fact that God's provision and promises were made through Isaac....

Napa Valley stands as a crown jewel of American agriculture, its sun-drenched hills and meticulously tended vines producing some of the world’s most celebrated wines. Yet beneath this prestige lies a growing crisis: the region is pumping groundwater at unsustainable levels, even as regulators pile on costs that make viability increasingly difficult. Experts warn that without meaningful change, Napa’s wine industry risks a slow wither, not from some abstract climate apocalypse, but from a toxic mix of poor resource management and self-defeating government intervention. This overpumping is no temporary hiccup. For years, Napa County has missed its own groundwater sustainability...

As food prices spiral and farms shut down across Iran, even establishment figures are openly questioning how a country capable of producing precision missiles cannot manufacture affordable cars or keep chicken within reach of ordinary families. Former Industry Minister Mostafa Hashemitaba says the crisis is rooted not only in consumer markets but across the country’s collapsing production chain, from fertilizers to poultry farming. Writing in Sharq on May 20, Hashemitaba said the price of a 50-kg bag of triple-phosphate fertilizer had jumped within months from three million rials to 70 million rials, a nearly 24-fold increase. Other fertilizers, he added,...

Mexican Coke tastes different than American Coke; after all, it’s sweetened using cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. That, at least, was the conventional wisdom until 2011, when a paper published in the journal Obesity found that Mexican Coke contained no cane sugar. Instead, the authors found plenty of glucose and fructose, which are the main ingredients in high-fructose corn syrup.

A live frog was discovered in a lettuce bag purchased from a grocery store in Australia. Farmer Rhys Smoker found the frog hopping inside an unopened lettuce bag bought from Woolworths in Esperance, Australia, on Saturday, May 16, while preparing a steak and salad dinner for his housemates, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Associated Press reported.

The flavanols (a type of polyphenol) in this type of cacao are shown in studies to improve heart health, lower blood pressure, boost blood flow throughout the body, improve blood sugar, and even improve your gut health by diversifying your microbiome. (Earth Echo Foods ) ============================================================== There’s an indigenous group of people called the Kuna in Panama that are a fascinating story in longevity as well as stellar cardiovascular health, and lack of metabolic diseases like diabetes, etc. The Kuna people drink an average of 5 cups of a type of cocoa every day, and they have 9x lower rates...

Peppermint oil is a concentrated extract made from the leaves of the peppermint plant (Mentha × piperita), a hybrid of watermint and spearmint. Rich in natural compounds such as menthol and flavonoids, it is widely used in foods, medicines, and aromatherapy for its cooling sensation and potential health benefits. Credit: Shutterstock Peppermint oil lowered blood pressure in adults with mild hypertension during a 20-day study, offering a potentially inexpensive and effective treatment option. New research suggests that daily peppermint oil supplements may help reduce mildly elevated blood pressure. Researchers at the University of Lancashire found that taking 100 microliters (about...

After decades of stigma, researchers are studying cannabis and its compounds like never before. As regulations and restrictions ease in many parts of the world, including the US, this controversial plant and its ancient health claims are finally being put to the test. For many years now, scientists have noticed that some cannabis users tend to have lower body weight and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who don't use cannabis. That is somewhat unexpected, as cannabis is known to trigger the 'munchies', or an appetite for food, in those who use the drug. Now,...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is going viral for all the wrong reasons after delivering a crazy, race-baiting speech in Alabama over the weekend. As Al.com reported, AOC joined several of her left-wing comrades in Montgomery on Saturday to whine about redistricting changes in the South that would eliminate heavily gerrymandered Democratic districts. Most of these are Black-majority seats. These bold moves could give Republicans an outside shot at keeping the House of Representatives this Fall, despite President Trump's low approval ratings. Naturally, desperate Democrats are pulling out the race card and stoking fires. AOC was no exception as she delivered...