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Drought Goes On, Climatologists Say
originally published April 30, 2008
North Georgia did receive some hydrologic “recharge” in winter and early spring, experts say, but not nearly enough to preclude severe drought conditions in the coming summer. Since Oct. 1, North Georgia has received only 70 to 80 percent of normal rainfall, according to an Apr. 23 press release from State Climatologist David Stooksbury, and “most North Georgia streams are at or near record low flows for late April.” That’s been true on an almost-daily basis in the Athens area, where both the North Oconee and Middle Oconee rivers - Athens’ water sources - were at record low flows (for this time of year) last week, as they have been throughout the winter and early spring.
Streamflows remain low largely because groundwater, or deep soil moisture, is lacking, says Assistant State Climatologist Pam Knox. “The surface soil moisture’s okay, but the deeper levels - if you dig down a little bit - it’s just so dry,” she says. And it’s typical for official drought-level declarations - which are based on several drought indicators - to be lessened in wintertime, as they were this year, Knox says, but “in a way, it’s a little misleading, because underlying it all it’s so dry.”
Near the surface, meanwhile, the arrival of spring means that both evaporation and water uptake by plants are taking a heavier toll on shallow soil moisture levels. Or, in the words of Stooksbury’s press release: “Late April through October, moisture loss from soils is usually greater than rainfall. If Georgia has normal weather this summer, we can expect the soils to continue to dry out and groundwater levels, stream flows and reservoir levels to drop across the entire state.” And rainfall of roughly an inch a week might be “about normal” lately, Knox says, but even if it were coming, it wouldn’t make up for the current deficit.
As Knox says, “It’ll be a really interesting spring.” It’s conceivable, she says, that a strong “La Niña” effect could bring an active tropical-storm season to the Southeast, but (a.) there’s no way for climatologists to know if that will happen, and (b.) it won’t come until June or July if it does, and there’s not much outlook for relief before then. “You need a big [rain] event to break the drought,” Knox says. “We just don’t see any signs of that happening.”
A sustained drought, Knox says, has repercussions far beyond the expected, when it comes to human activities. “Actually, people’s estimates have changed when they’re doing construction schedules for the number of rainy days, and things like that,” Knox says; in the past, people have “gotten burned” that way. “I think when we get back to normal, people aren’t going to know what hit ’em.” She adds, “People have a short memory for that kind of thing.”
Legislators Counter the Spin About a Do-Nothing Session
originally published April 30, 2008
With no eggs and few issues, a large crowd of well-turned-out Athens Chamber of Commerce members met over coffee the morning of Apr. 24 with the local legislative delegation for a report on what happened at the recently concluded session of the Georgia General Assembly - or didn’t. The coffee was an occasion, as Chamber Chairman Sean Hogan said in his welcome, for the legislators to tell the Chamber about all the accomplishments that the press didn’t think fit into the story of nothing happening.
All of the delegation was there: State Representatives Keith Heard, Bob Smith and Doug McKillip, along with State Senators Ralph Hudgens and Bill Cowsert.
Rep. Heard was first up, and it fell his lot to enumerate the legislative accomplishments. After the impressive list of allocations to the University of Georgia (the legislature put the university “on a pedestal,” Rep. Smith said later) - 2.5 percent raises for faculty and staff, $10 million for the medical college satellite campus (at the present Navy School, where this event took place), $2.5 million for the pharmacy school, $1.5 million for the library’s special collections, as well as $800,000 for the Griffin extension campus - Heard listed tax cuts for industrial equipment, incentives for the tourist industry, tax incentives for the movie industry and solar energy and, of course, the new statewide water plan, which everybody agreed is “not perfect.” Before he could stop himself, Heard slid into enumerating some of the things that did not happen: tax reform, trauma care; but then, mercifully, his five minutes had lapsed.
Sen. Hudgens admitted that the personal political agendas of the Speaker and the Lieutenant Governor got in the way of the ambitious hopes that started the session, and then launched into a recitation of the legislation he would like to see passed: a one-cent sales tax for transportation, long-term funding for trauma care, and more.
Sen. Cowsert, in his remarks, praised Rep. Smith and said Smith had fought “in the trenches” in the House Appropriations Committee against powerful legislators from Augusta to protect the funding for the medical college campus in Athens. Cowsert admitted that he was frustrated by the legislature’s failure to act on key measures such as property-tax relief and trauma care. Cowsert counted the two top accomplishments of the session as dealing with the water crisis in a responsible manner and funding the planning for the medical college campus in Athens.
Rep. McKillip, batting cleanup, said he wouldn’t rant about the failures of the legislature and acknowledged the raises for teachers, the water plan (“far from perfect, a good framework, a good start”), some protection for Jekyll Island and at least the beginnings of a debate on tax reform.
In closing remarks, Navy Lt. Commander Paul Wilson, standing in for Captain Bryan Shepherd, told the group that the projected date to turn over the Navy School property is in March 2011, though the Center for Service Support will leave in May 2009 and the Marine detachment will leave in late 2009 or early 2010.
Chambliss’ Challengers Stake Their Claims with Local Students
originally published April 30, 2008
They may be “also-rans” in the U.S. Senate race against Saxby Chambliss, but three Democratic candidates didn’t lack edge or ideas at a forum Apr. 23 held by UGA’s Young Democrats. And although collegial with one another, they didn’t mince words in criticizing Republican Chambliss or the other two Democrats in the race, none of whom attended.
Former Atlanta TV reporter Dale Cardwell saw Washington as “paralyzed” by special-interest campaign money. “We cannot fix healthcare,” he said. “We cannot fuel our growing economy. We will not even begin to end our dependence on foreign oil. And we will not fix immigration - because the special interests own and control Washington.” And those interests own Saxby Chambliss, he said: “He’s owned by the oil companies, and he’s owned by the Bush people that control him.” Cardwell encouraged individual citizens to support candidates with their donations.
For his part, Josh Lanier said he’s made it “very difficult for people to give money” to his own campaign by limiting donations to $100. Such a donation limit “is what every member of Congress - senator or whoever it is - wants to do, but does not dare,” Lanier said. “I spent 35 years working in that system. I’ve been a staff member in the Senate, a staff member in the House. I’ve been a lobbyist, I’ve run a PAC. I’ve bundled hundreds of thousands of dollars for friends of mine running for the Senate. I know the script. I’m not going to be a part of it.”
Campaign finance reform has been talked about “since Teddy Roosevelt was president,” Lanier said. “My objective in this campaign is to force this issue.”
But “money’s not everything in this game here in Georgia,” countered Rand Knight, an Atlanta candidate for Senate with a background in ecology. “We just saw several years back - Roy Barnes had $29 million, folks, and lost to Sonny Perdue with $3 million… How do you do that, if money means everything?” Georgia needs a committed senator like Sam Nunn or Richard Russell, he said. “We need a quarterback who’s going to go up there and fight for us,“ Knight said. ”If… you don’t really have the fire in the belly to go up there and stand up for Georgia, then - all this money - who cares?” he asked. “Are we electing the best folks to go up there and fight for us? What kind of person is going to go up there and fight for working families?”
“Saxby’s polling lower than any standing senator in the United States right now,” Knight said. “That means he’s vulnerable.” And in February’s presidential primary, 53 percent of Georgia’s ballots were cast were for Democrats, he added. “We haven’t done that in almost 40 years… It’s a clear and present danger to our national security and our economy and the very health of our people to leave Saxby Chambliss in office.” Nor were the candidates complimentary to DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, who along with Jim Martin is running against Chambliss as a Democrat. Even if Jones becomes the nominee, “I will not support Vernon Jones - because he’s not a Democrat,” Cardwell said. In the past, he said, Jones publicly denounced the Democratic Party and supported George Bush. “He’s running to spoil, to keep a good honest Democrat from winning the race.” Cardwell said “insiders” of the Democratic Party have decided to support candidates who are not much different from Chambliss and to depend on support from national Democrats, instead of offering voters a real choice. “That’s the only thing they know,” he said.
But determined young people can change things, said Lanier. “Your generation has the possibility of being the next great generation… If you step up and ask, it’ll happen,” he said. “Go find a way to do something for your country. Break the mold in America where… we view ourselves [as] a big pot of money and everybody wants to know, ‘What’s in it for me?’“ He went on, ”You can so change this country if you will simply revive the idea of that purest of patriotism that says, ‘This is what I want to do for my country’ and then go show up and do it.”
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