Your account does not include highlighter on images.
Searches Highlighted on Image
National Sponsors
| May 21, 2009 Golden Valley News |  |
|
©
Golden Valley News. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 3 (3 of 16 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
May 21, 2009 |
|
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader 
|
May 21, 2009 Page 3
Climate change and renewable
fuels are leading topics of discus-
sion in local coffee shops, at
Capitol Hill hearings, and at inter-
national conferences. We can be
grateful that North Dakota agricul-
ture is well positioned to play an
instrumental role in securing solu-
tions to today's pressing challenges.
Right now. climate change is a
dominant policy issue in
Washington. DC. Recently, the
Environmental Protection
Association announced greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions are a threat to
public health. The U.S. Supreme
Court gave EPA a directive to regu-
late GHG emissions. At the same
time. Congress is considering a bill
that would more clearly define the
nation's climate change policies,
including which federal depart-
ments will have responsibility to
implement programs.
Our nation's climate change pol-
icy will affect everyone. Because of
this, it is critical that federal policy
be designed to work for the overall
good of America. I have asked
North Dakota's Congressional dele-
gation to ensure agricultural offsets
are included in any climate change
legislation moving through
Congress. Certain farming practices
have scientifically been proven to
"offset" or capture carbon dioxide
in the soil - in effect removing a
greenhouse gas from the atmos-
phere.
If EPA alone is responsible for
addressing GHGs. the agency may
well create a regulatory scheme that
would not factor in the agricultural
carbon credit benefits available
(and already in use), and instead
employ policies that would only
increase production costs. EPA by
its historic nature is geared toward
penalties and fines to obtain com-
pliance
North Dakota Farmers Union
members have long been concerned
with the effects of climate change
to agriculture and recognize the
need to act While multiple options
exist for reducing GHG emissions,
the flexibility of a cap and trade
program holds the most promise in
making actual reductions in GHG
emissions while minimizing, to the
extent possible, overall energy cost
increases. A cap and trade program
with an appropriately designed
agricultural offset program would
provide farmers and ranchers a
rrIeans to contribute to overall GHG
emission reductions through carbon
sequestration and reduction of
emissions from livestock opera-
tions, while at the same time pro-
viding income to producers. That
income turns over in local commu-
nities.
Since launching the Farmers
Union Carbon Credit Program in
2006. Farmers Union has become
the largest aggregator of carbon
credits on the Chicago Climate
Exchange. To date. almost $9.5
million has been earned for the
nearly 4.000 Farmers Union mem-
bers nationwide who have voluntar-
ily committed to a legally-binding
contract to perfornl certain rules-
based projects that are scientifically
and independently verified. By
using specific agricultural practices
and prescribed land management.
farmers and ranchers are being rec-
ognized for their achievements in
capturing GHGs in the soil.
Our organization has learned
valuable lessons on how to proper-
ly construct an offset program and
hope Congress will utilize this hard
work rather than try to recreate the
wheel. Carbon sequestration proj-
ects on agricultural lands are the
cheapest, easiest and most readily
available means of reducing green-
house gas emissions on a meaning-
ful scale.
With an aggressive timetable to
move climate change legislation
through Congress, all of us need to
urge lawmakers to support tile fol-
lowing to ensure agriculture is
allowed to play a significant role in
helping reduce GHG enfissions:
• award the U.S. Department of
Agriculture authority to determine
the parameters, promulgate regula-
tions, and serve as the administrator
of an agricultural and forestry offset
program;
• recognize the early programs to
sequester carbon dioxide and allow
those programs to be eligible under
a mandated cap and trade system:
• avoid placing artificial limits
on the use of domestic agricullural
offsets:
• and. base carbon sequestration
rates upon science.
Some industries and individuals
have raised objections to climate
change policies, citing reasons from
higher energy costs to questioning
whether climate change is real. The
reality is, climate change policies
have already been adopted by other
nations and the U.S. is certain to
follow. Far fewer people today
question whether global warming is
real. The physical evidence has
been mounting for years, and now
that visual evidence has found an
audience - think of the dramatic
photos of receding glaciers - people
are more ready to ask "what should
we do?" I can appreciate the con-
cern over costs. As I have demon-
strated, agriculture can actually
reduce emissions of GHGs while
also pumping money. .hack into
rural communities. As to energy~ we
all understand aging power plants
will need to be replaced and new
plants are needed to meet the
nation's growing demand for elec-
tricity. We have an opportunity to
design plants that are more environ-
mentally friendly. Consumers know
"er
creating a ,reener future takes a
unified commitment. Indeed. voters
across the U.S. are asking for a'
future that delivers more energy
from wind turbines and renewables
fuels. There are common sense
ways of incorporating greener tech-
nology with our existing utility
infrastructure.
The one cost that so far has
been avoided by those debating
climate change could be the most
expensive in the long run: the cost
of doing nothing. There is no
doubt that from the industrial rev-
olution on. human activity has
affected the planet. We have come
a long way since the days of acid
rain. polluted rivers, toxic land-
fills, and leaded gasoline. Our
economy survived just fine and we
have enjoyed a healthier environ-
ment. The time is now to enact an
effective and intelligent climate
change policy. Agriculture needs
to be an integral component of the
policy solutions we already have at
hand.
rRobert Carlson is president of
North Dakota Farmers Union.
whose 42,000 family members
make it the largest general .farm
organization in North Dakota.)
Ggr
In the last days of the 2009 ses-
sion. the Legislature ended its revolt
and decided to honor the decision of
the voters to use tobacco lawsuit
money to fight tobacco addiction.
The Legislature justified its tempo-
rary rebellion with the argument that
the voters didn't know What they
were doing when they voted on the
measure.
The irony of its assessment of the
electorate's wisdom is that the
Legislature turned right around and
proposed for the November 2010 bal-
lot a complex constitutional amend-
ment that would put 30 per cent of the
state's oil money into a trust fund.
with interest unspent until 2017 and
the principal untouched except by a
two-thirds vote of the Legislature.
To vote intelligently on this meas-
ure, citizens will be required to esti-
mate the state's fiscal condition for
the next eight years, to understand
how difficult it is to get a two-thirds
vote on any money question, and to
consider the wisdom of this sort of
long-term investment. That is asking
more from the voters than was asked
on the tobacco measure.
That being said, the Legislature is
right when it comes to some meas-
ures. Voters do lack the information
necessary to vote intelligently. The
constitutional amendment proposed
for 2010 will be an excellent case in
Other Views
By Lloyd Omdahl
Maybe the public-
ity pamphlet
should be brought
back. It may cost
some money but
that becomes the
price of informed
point.
The dramatic increase in absentee
voting over the past 10 years has been
helpful. When absentee voters are
presented with a ballot issue they
don't understand, they can put the
ballot aside and do some research:
however, that is not the case with vot-
ers who show up at election sites.
Many of them end up voting on the
basis of the ballot titles and ballot
titles do not explain the implications
of their decisions.
The problem of voters making
uninformed decisions could be
solved by abolishing the initiative
and referendum and changing the
method used for amending the state
constitution. But these cures would
be regarded as worse than the disease
in a participatory skate like North
Dakota. So rather than wringing our
hands, steps should be considered to
provide citizens with the information
they need on ballot measures.
At one time, the state published
and mailed to every taxpayer a "'pub-
licity pamphlet" that presented the
measures on the ballot. Interested
parties were permitted to buy pages
in the publication to present their
arguments for and against the propos-
als. It was worth the money but the
publication was eliminated in the
1960s to cut costs. That was a mis-
take.
Maybe the publicity pamphlet
should be brought back. It may cost
some money but that becomes the
price of informed voting. Some
cheapskates will offer to substitute
the pamphlet with cheaper e-mail
without appreciating the fact that we
still have a considerable number of
the people who do not have e-mail.
Voters need the printed word.
If the Legislature really believes
that the state needs a more enlight-
ened citizenry voting on measures.
then it ought to resurrect the publici-
ty pamphlet - or devise some other
communication effort - to get basic
information to the voters.
The alternative is to do nothing
and complain.
Law requires accountability for tobacco committee
As this will be my final legisla-
tive report for this session, let me
first thank all the editors for allow-
ing me to report on the activity from
the floor of the House of
Representatives. A big thank you
to all those who wrote, e-mailed.
called and testified during the ses-
sion.
District 39 can be proud of its
elected officials in the professional
testimony and involvement in the
committee hearings and in the halls
of the Legislature. They made a dif-
ference and it's reflected in the
results that were approved. It has
been my privilege to represent you
and 1 am honored to say I represent
the people of District 39.
The session has concluded and it
was historic in many ways. It is the
longest in history at 79 days, the
first session to last into May, spent
the most dollars, was challenged by
a severe winter, flooding in the
spring and had to spend close to
$700 million in onetime spending
from the federal government. We
passed the largest human service
budget. $2.3 billion, and largest
highway funding budget at $1.35
billion.
Capitol Notebook
By Dave Drovdal
Two of the last bills that we
approved were health insurance for
children and the tobacco settlement
dollars. The state currently covers
children of families that earn less
than 150 percent of poverty. Unlike
other states we measure earnings on
net income, which can make up to a
$20.000 difference. The legislature.
last session, raised it to 150 percent
and found that most families at that
income level were covered by
employer insurance plans so very
few signed up for the plan. Raising
the level could result in two things
happening, first msurance compa-
nies could drop family plans so the
state would pick up coverage or sec-
ond, parents who can afford health
insurance would drop theirs and let
the state pick up the coverage.
The Legislature did raise the
level to 160 percent, which tran's-
lates into the possibility a familypf
four could make up to $60.000
gross and the state would still cover
the children's insurance. I feel that
if you have children then you also
have some responsibility to provide
tbr them.
The voters approved measure #3
last November, stating they wanted
$12 to 18 million spent to stop
smoking. I have a sign in my office
that states rule number one is the
voters are always right, rule number
2. if the voters are wrong see rule
number 1. On that same ballot the
voters also selected people to repre-
sent their interest to make sure their
dollars weren't wasted or duplicat-
ed. It was my feeling that many vot-
ers didn't understand the effect the
measure will have on the water trust
fund which is the back bone of our
efforts to provide clean water to cit-
izens across the state.
If you recall I also questioned the
accountability of the committee that
was formed by the measure. The
Legislature insisted that the water
trust fund be protected and that the
committee would be under the state
law that requires an annual audit by
the state each year. Both were part
of the final bill passed in the final
minutes of the session.
If you have any questions con-
cerning the session, please feel free
to contact me at ddmvdal@nd.gov.
To the editor:
With this past historic legislative
session, l felt compelled to inform
everyone how the Democratic
minority in the North Dakota leg-
islative session was very instrumen-
tal in providing an increase in fund-
ing to counties, cities and town-
ships. The Democratic House
Caucus was tireless in measures to
ensure there was sufficient funding
in the Department of Transportation
budget bill.
Standing together we all .found it
necessary to assist with the snow
removal, rebuilding our roads and
bridges and infrastructure and to
fund the matching fund dollars, We
worked hard to convey our message
and concerns to the Republican
majority. In the end we passed a
good bill,
I applaud the work of the
Democratic NPL legislators for
standing tall for the people of North
Dakota. It was the right thing to do!
Rep. Merle Boucher, D-Rollette
N.D. House minority leader
Letters to the editor
The Golden Valley News and Billings
County Pionner welcomes letters to the edi-
tor. The letters must include the author's sig-
nature, "address and phone number for verifi-
cation of authorship. Mail them to:
Golden Valley News/
Billings County PIonoer
PO Box 156 • Beach, ND 58621
We reserve the right to shorten let(ers.
edit out factual errors and reject those
deemed libelous, in poor taste or of a pe:rson-
al nature. We will not run letters from the
same author two weeks in a row. All opinions
expressed are those of the author and do not
represent the opinions of The GVN or BCP
Golden Valley News
P~O. Box 156, Beach, ND 58621
(U.S.P.S. Pub.
No. 221-280)
Staff: Richard Volesky,
editor/reporter/advertising
manager and Jane Cook,
office assitant.
The Golden Valley News is
published each Thursday, 22
Central Ave., Suite 1, Beach,
ND 58621 by Nordmark
Publishing, Rolla, ND.
Periodicals postage paid at
Beach, ND and additional mail-
ing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to: Golden
Valley News, P.O. Box 156,
Beach, ND 58621.
Please allow two to three
weeks for new subscriptions,
renewal of expired subscrip-
tions and for address changes.
Contact Information
• Phone: 701-872-3755
• Fax: 701-872-3756
Email: gvnews@midstate.net
Subscriptions
• 1 year: $31 Golden Valley
and Wibaux counties
• 1 year: $34 elsewhere in
North Dakota II
• 1 year: $37 out-of-state
• 9 months: $19 In-state
college rate
The Golden Valley News is a proud
member of the North Dakota
Newspaper Association.
i i
T~
I
I
HellHo.
Well. I did it again. I'm in the
doghouse. That woman can be so
hard to keep happy. I knew when
women won the right, to vote. there
were going to be problems. I'd bet-
ter start at the beginning.
You all know Shirley has spent
the winter in the Legislature. I've
been home minding the home front.
Oh, occasionally I would get out to
Happy Hour, but not every
Well. Ok then. I got out a lot.
And when Shirley came home
from Bismarck and found me gone.
Well. I'll rephrase that. When
Shirley returned from Bismarck
and didn't find me. there were
problems. She said I didn't tell her.
I say I did. She says I didn't. 1 say I
did.
I swear on a Bible. a Koran. and
a Gurney seed catalog that I told
her. You see. she says 1 only told
her I was going golfing. I did not
tell her it was for five days in
Vegas. Why do women have to be
so nit picky?
She was just getting over it when
! brought home the puppy. That
should be THE PUPPY. It was a
giveaway deal at the cow sale. I
suppose you are wondering what
kind of puppy I would bring home.
He's a canhardly. You can hardly
tell what kind he is. The kid giving
the pups away said they were
German Shepard/Red Heeler cross-
es. And the parents were good cat-
tle dogs. Which is the thing you
would say if giving pups away at
the cattle sale. That kid was no
dumby.
I looked at those pups and 1
By Dean Meyer
You see, she says I only told her I was
going golfing. I did not tell her it was for
five days in Vegas. Why do women have to
be so nit picky?
thought of "King". My great
Gernmn Shepard. And "Tyke", one
of the best Red Heelers to walk the
face of the planet. What if this little
pup could turn out like those two
great dogs of years ago? You can
see why 1 brought home a pup.
The kid assured me the dog was
house trained. He was. He was
trained to go to the bathroom every
time he came in the house. And he
could sneak in the house every time
someone cracked the door. I guess
he would be getting tired of holding
it.
Anyway, as my pup grows, he is
bearing a lot of resemblance to a
Saint. Saint Bernard that is. All I
need is one of those little beer kegs
to tie on his neck. And he has no
interest in cattle at all. I think that
kid was a liar.
Back to why 1 am in the dog-
house. Shirley is away on legisla-
tive business. I am farming and
fencing. When I came home the
other night at dark. "Hotshot" was
nowhere to be found. I looked all
over. Went over to the neighbors. I
finally decided a terrorist had kid-
napped him and 1 would be receiv-
ing a ransom note.
Then i went in the house. Hotshot
was glad to see me! Someone had
evidently been to the house and he
had snuck in. It was like the dog
party from Dr. Seuss! The shoes
from the entryway were in the living
room. The blankets from the bed
were in the bathroom. Shirley's
pajamas were in the kitchen. He had
torn up several newspapers for con-
fetti. The Christmas tree was tipped
over. I know, I know, it's time to take
it down anyway, but I've been busy.
The phones were off the hook. I
think he had been trying to call his
girl friend. The garbage had been
thoroughly investigated. And he had
deposited a weeks worth the .... Yon
know. on Shirley's side of the bed!
What a dog! I hope that stuff fos-
silizes by the time she gets home!
I'm going out and try to make
the door to Hotshots doghouse a lit-
tle bigger. It would be awful chilly
sleeping outside at night.
Later, Dean