“ClimateGate” shows how polarized we are on global warming

The recent unauthorized release of emails from the Climate Research Unit shows how polarized we are on global warming.

“It’s becoming strikingly clear that one’s view of the (ClimateGate) issue is deeply colored by his or her incoming bias,” as Stephen Dubner writes in his “Freakonomics” blog in The New York Times.

Letting extremists on both sides shape the debate will get us nowhere. It never does.

It’s time for people who are in the middle — the open minded ones — to speak up and demand more of our elected officials and the media, not to mention the scientists.

To me, global warming has always been more about politics than science — arguing against global warming, so you could stifle government regulations, for example. It’s a debate buried in partisan politics. Do these people really care about the science?

Dubner’s reporting is here.

Young new board president at KVMR, replacing Jordan

Not sure why the local media hasn’t mentioned this yet, but Michael Young has replaced Joey Jordan as the board president of KVMR as part of an expected transition, as the board meeting minutes confirm.

Michael is a retired journalist, while Joey is a political campaign consultant.

According to the minutes, “Joey suggested the creation of an informal committee to be called the ‘KVMR Advisory Board’ with stewardship as its mission; a number of former KVMR Board members (including Joey!) have expressed interest in participating; members will be sponsoring social events, help to raise money, and undertake general ambassadorship on behalf of KVMR.” Motion by L. Osborne, second by D. Wall that such committee be formed; motion passed by unanimous approval.

KVMR’s minutes are here.

Can we lure families who long for “green acres”?

The recession is inspiring more young families and singles to head back to the country, The Wall Street Journal is reporting.

“Motivations can vary, but typically there are three groups: young people buying land as an asset or investment, with vague hopes to live on it someday; exurban commuters who have jobs in big towns or cities but want to escape the sprawl; and back-to-the-land types who want to dabble in hobby farming,” according to the report.

“While the 76 million-strong baby boomers eyeing retirement represent the largest ruralpolitan segment, they’re being joined by a growing contingent of 20-to-early-40-somethings freshly imprinted by this recession’s pain.”

What are we doing to capture some of the families who long for “green acres”?

We certainly provide the lifestyle. But some of the tangible problems here, such as a lack of a diversified economy, illegal drug use and too few jobs, coupled with the cultural ones, such as intolerance, a “good ol’ boy” network and political extremists, would put us at a disadvantage.

Some folks here like to make fun of “hobby farming.” They long for an era that has passed us by. The “sustainability” movement going on in Nevada City is what will appeal to more of the “green acres” families, even if doesn’t appeal to the some of the more conservative residents.

I’m hoping for more leadership from elected, civic and business leaders to help capitalize on the “green acres” trend. What worked when gated communities such as Lake Wildwood and Lake of the Pines were built decades ago won’t work now.

Google’s “shut up grumbling news folks” editorial

For years, newspaper publishers have blamed Google for much of their woes — “aggregating” their online news content without receiving much, if any, money for it.

Of course, the papers don’t mind receiving all the traffic that Google generates for them. Despite the saber rattling, they also haven’t asked Google to remove their content from its search index or Google news — as they are free to do.

Google chief executive Eric Schmidt addressed the issue in an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

Kara Swisher of All Things Digital helped translate the column into English for us:

“Shut your overstuffed pie holes, you grumbling antiques. You were dying by the cell long before our superior technology arrived to save the day and help you out of your sorry mess.”

Schmidt’s column is here.

Swisher’s translation is here.

Howard the meter reader now on Del Oro mural

Well lookie here: Now you can see Howard Levine, president of the Grass Valley Downtown Association, posing as a meter reader as the landmark Del Oro mural nears completion.

As I wrote before, Howard posed for the artist to help give the mural “scale.” Now the sketch has become a reality.

Some business people objected to the idea, however, noting that a change to the mural requires council approval. To his credit, Howard has helped revitalize the downtown.

The background is here and here.

Putting small-town politics aside, here’s what I wonder about: Will a meter reader become passé on the new mural in the not too distant future?

Truth is, meter readers are becoming endangered species. PG&E, among other utilities, is spending billions of dollars to install gas and electric meters with radio communications capabilities starting in 2011.

“PG&E will start out by reading the meters remotely, eliminating the need to send workers out in trucks to read them,” as one article observes.
Oh no. Will the meter reader be as outdated as a gold miner?

Reader: Is The Union pushing an “anti-green” agenda?

I was surprised to see the lead article on the front page of The Union on Wednesday: “Recyclers shutting down — ‘green’ jobs drying up.”

First, it was not local. In this case, it was borrowed from the L.A. Times.

Worse, the headline badly over-stated the situation by reading “Green jobs drying up.” Only the jobs tied to some recycling centers in California are drying up — not “green jobs” in general.

I checked the L.A. Times, and its headline was more accurate: “Recycling centers close, eliminating ‘green’ jobs.” (It was about the same word count.)

Readers wasted no time reacting in comments at the bottom of the article:

“Looks like The Union’s plan to ‘borrow’ a good article from another publication and use it to beat the anti-’green’ drum, when it’s really not about green at all.”

“This has nothing to do with solar panels, wind farms or any other real green job,” said another.

Meanwhile, The Union’s monthly columnist Russ Steele (AKA global warming is a “hoax”) is touting his upcoming Saturday column on his blog: “The risk of investing in green business, given the increased risk that human caused global warming is a fraud.”

Where’s the balance? Not too long ago The Union was pushing a “sustainability” newsletter, but that effort has subsided.

As I’ve written before, we need to diversify our economy beyond real estate and tourism. Green jobs help fit the bill. Let’s be open minded.

When a lifetime of belongings go to auction

The legal notices in the newspaper are a good barometer of the economic climate here, and it’s still grim.

Home foreclosures are well documented. But legal notices also have been appearing to auction off a lifetime of belongings that have been abandoned by their owners in mini-storage units. Today there are two of them.

In one sale the items listed are household goods, children’s bikes, golf clubs, saddles, skis, stereo, tools and a scooter. You figure some people must have left them there after they lost their home.

There are probably some bargains, but the stories behind what led to the auctions are undoubtedly dreary.

Yoo hoo! Emgold signs another gold-mine deal

Though its project in Grass Valley is on standby, Emgold Mining Corp. has signed a lease with an option to buy deal for a gold and silver property in western Nevada.

The property, located about 40 miles southwest of Fallon, formerly was operated by Kennecott Mineral Co., a big mining producer. It is reported to have produced 1.47 million ounces of gold and 11.7 million ounces of silver between 1988 and 2005.

Modern exploration of the property began in 1982.

This is a decidedly more rural location than in Grass Valley. The U.S. government tested a nuclear bomb 28 miles southeast of Fallon in October 1963.

Emgold’s announcement is here.

Emgold’s stock is trading at a nickel per share.

What do county leaders earn? Plus $164K for staff “shrink”

The Union hasn’t published the pay ranges of county officials in eons, but that didn’t stop a reader from linking to the “authorized personnel salary range for fiscal year 2009-2010″ in the reader comments on Tuesday.

Most county leaders are well into the six-figure range — but definitely not librarians.

Though management of the county libraries are on the block for being “outsourced,” the lowest-paying job on the entire list (except for one) is none other than a “library assistant 1″ at $2,078 per month. An “agriculture technician” makes $1,702 per month.

Likewise, the highest-paying librarian job — listed at up to $5,416 per month — is well below nearly every other department.

The airport manager, for example, makes up to $6,546 per month. The animal control manager: up to $5,443.

Dozens and dozens of job classifications are listed, ranging from accountant ($4,481) to welfare fraud investigator (at up to $4,902).

Among the higher-paying jobs:

•Staff psychiatrist: $11,218 to $13,695
•Assistant county executive officer, chief information officer and health and human services director: $9,760 to $11,915
(The county executive officer is listed “per contract). He’s the highest paid county official.
•Undersheriff: $10,151
•Director of sanitation, diector of human resources, director of planning, director of social services: $8,155 to $9,956
•District Attorney: $12,840
•Sheriff: $12,215
•Assessor: $10,255 per month
•Treasurer: $9,956
•Auditor-Controller: $9,956
•Clerk-Recorder: $9,956

The document is here.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

My scoop on Monday: Horne may run against Owens for county assessor . . .

. . . is now posted online at The Union on Tuesday as “breaking news.” (The daily print cycle has passed, so print subscribers will have to wait a day).

In the old days, news organizations — small and big — used to credit whomever got the story first. It was newsroom policy. This scoop did not come from a press release. It came from enterprise reporting and good sourcing.