The Drudge Report has a few interesting items posted this week that folks back here in the Rocky Mountain West may find interesting. First, a new study finds that medical marijuana farms are draining some streams dry in California. And, another report shows how some of the climate catastrophe claims in a report paid for by the Pentagon never came to pass. This, as the Bakken-fueled energy renaissance is helping to drive manufacturing, and the US sets a new record for exports.
AP: Study finds medical pot farms draining streams dry
Some drought-stricken rivers and streams in Northern California’s coastal forests are being polluted and sucked dry by water-guzzling medical marijuana farms, wildlife officials say – an issue that has spurred at least one county to try to outlaw personal grows.
State fish and wildlife officials say much of the marijuana being grown in northern counties under the state’s medical pot law is not being used for legal, personal use, but for sale both in California and states where pot is still illegal.His study estimates that about 30,000 pot plants were being grown in each river system – and he estimates that each plant uses about six gallons per day over marijuana’s 150-day growing season. Some growers and others argue the six-gallon estimate is high, and that pot plants can use far less water, depending on size.
Washington Times: Pentagon wrestles with bogus climate warnings as funds shifted to green agenda
Ten years ago, the Pentagon paid for a climate study that put forth many scary scenarios.
Consultants told the military that, by now, California would be flooded by inland seas, The Hague would be unlivable, polar ice would be mostly gone in summer, and global temperatures would rise at an accelerated rate as high as 0.5 degrees a year.
None of that has happened.
Big Sky Business Journal: Export Record
The United States has set another annual record for the fourth consecutive year by exporting $2.3 trillion in goods and services in 2013. The data also reveals that U.S. exports supported nearly 10 million American jobs. Among the major export markets, the largest annualized increases (compared to 2009) were in Panama (25.9%), Russia (20.3%), Peru (19%), Hong Kong (19.2%), United Arab Emirates (19.1%), Colombia (18.5%), Chile (17.1%), Ecuador (16.8%), Argentina (16.3%), and Indonesia (15.5%).