by Duane Nichols on March 13, 2024

An actual warm spring could mean bad news for NY fruit crops

Apples orchards have becoming popular in upstate New York


From an Article from WRVO by Abigail Connolly ~
This apple shows signs of a 2023 late spring frost with its discoloration.

Some warmer spring temperatures have already hit much of New York – and that could be bad for fruit crops.

With some 70 degree days already hitting much of the upstate region, an early spring may not be a good thing, according to Jason Londo, an associate professor of fruit crop physiology at Cornell University. He said with warmer weather, fruit crops may start dropping their defenses.

“We typically get plenty of cold weather in the month of March and even into April,” Londo said. “So the more heat we have now, the less defended our crops are to those types of freeze events that could happen,”

As temperatures increase, many fruit crops lose their resiliency to the cold, making them more susceptible to frost or cold damage. A late freeze last May caused damage to some apple and grape crops across the state. This year, Londo is remaining optimistic.

“I’m nervous, but it just depends, if it calms down and it just kind of goes through the rest of spring very cool, we’re fine,” Londo said. “It’s really if we have more spikes of heat and any oscillations.”

But if a late freeze does come, there is little New York growers can do. New York lacks the infrastructure some southern climate growers have and technology hasn’t moved fast enough to develop a viable solution. Despite a limited number of options to help protect crops, Londo said New York growers are strong.

“We have a resilient industry,” Londo said. “We have to keep that investment going, we have to keep positive, optimistic thoughts about how to mitigate this and work together.”

Londo said this is something the industry may have to get used to. “This sort of weather is going to continue to be unpredictable and it can be scary but I also have a lot of faith in the agriculture industry of this state,” Londo said.

Londo said fruit crops will be stronger if cooler temperatures remain through April.

Abigail Connolly ~ Abigail is a temporary WRVO News Reporter/Producer working on regional and digital news stories. She graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2022 where she studied English and Public Relations. Abigail enjoys reading, writing, exploring CNY and spending time with family and friends. Abigail first joined the WRVO team as a student reporter in June 2022.

{ 0 comments }

Please note that David McMahon is also concerned about old gas wells!

From David McMahon: WV looking to rip off surface rights owners (Opinion), February 24, 2024

The West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization, of which I am a cofounder, stands up for surface owners when the oil and gas drillers show up with bulldozers.

The common law says that if I own the surface, but someone else owns the minerals and leases them to a driller, I get no share of the value of the oil and gas that my surface land is used to produce. Only in the 1980s did surface owners finally even get limited compensation for the damage done to their land — the amount of the existing use such as growing hay was worth to the surface owners, not what use of their land is worth to the driller and mineral owner.

The Legislature has never regulated the deeds severing ownership of the minerals (usually to out-of-state owners) from the ownership of the surface in a way that might have given the surface owners more say over where well pads, pipelines etc. can be built — let alone what share the surface owner might get from the profits of drilling and producing using their land.
The Legislature has also never enacted regulations to protect mineral owners when signing leases to drillers (usually to out-of-state companies).

Almost every lease that I have seen drafted by the driller for the mineral owner to sign contains a “general warranty” clause. That means if the driller’s title work was wrong, the mineral owner has to pay for the driller’s lawyers when the driller gets sued by someone else who thinks the minerals were theirs and did not belong to the person the driller got to sign the lease.

So, if the driller is sued for the money the driller wrongfully paid to the person who the driller asked to signed the lease, then the person who signed the lease has to pay the driller’s attorney fees. I am not making this up. And many of the leases had provisions allowing free use of the surface for pipelines for wells that were not on the leased tract. And many of the leases had provisions that let the lease be held for decades by use for gas storage fields by paying the mineral owners only $1 an acre a year — again not a share of the money the driller made by using the storage field.

The Legislature never stepped in to regulate leasing, it only enacted forced pooling when mineral owners would not sign the drillers’ leases.

Now, finally, surface owners who got no share of the value of their land being used for oil and gas production have the opportunity to get paid for entering into carbon credit agreements that require scientific management of timber cutting. And now the Legislature is considering enacting regulation of transactions with landowners (Senate Bills 618 and 822).

Now, when the surface owner can get paid some money by persons or entities (usually out of state) who want to offset their carbon generation by paying us to manage our timberland in a carbon friendly way, now when we can finally get paid some money for scientifically managing our timber — now the Legislature is considering two bills that will at least inhibit and more likely eliminate West Virginia surface owners from getting this money.

Not everyone agrees that the buying and selling of carbon credits is a good idea.

But the Legislature cannot stop other states from authorizing it or stop private entities from purchasing the credits to enhance their image. All the Legislature can do is pass bills chasing the money out of West Virginia to surrounding states that do not interfere. The Legislature should prove its bona fides as advocating for a free market and less government and private property rights. Prove that West Virginia is not just a big company town. Don’t pass these bills.

David McMahon is a lawyer in Charleston. He is dedicated to the public interest.

NOTE ~ Please join the WV Surface Owners Rights Organization ASAP, that we definitely help!

See the Web Site ~ WVSORO.org. Julie Archer is the Executive Director, and needs your help!

URL: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/op_ed_commentaries/david-mcmahon-wv-looking-to-rip-off-surface-rights-owners-opinion/article_fdaeff14-8b0a-5b6b-8c77-41006ad17757.html

{ 0 comments }

OHIO Law Makers HAVE OPENED THAT STATE TO MORE FRACKING

February 18, 2024

Landowner Rights Beging Ignored in OHIO. STATE PARKS AT RISK! From Randi Pokladnik, Tappan Lake, OHIO, 44683, February 14, 2024 Have you ever noticed that every oil and gas drilling rig has an American flag anchored to the top? For most Americans, that flag represents a symbol of freedom. So, it’s ironic that Ohio’s pro [...]

Read the full article →

Wildlife Populations are an Important Part of Life on EARTH

February 13, 2024

Remote cameras capture insights into NY’s wildlife populations | Cornell Chronicle By Blaine Friedlander, Cornell Chronicle, February 13, 2024 Bobcats, like this one photographed in Otego, New York on Jan. 30, 2024, remain critically low in population, according to Cornell biologists. With thousands of strategically placed cameras covering more than 27,000 square miles in central [...]

Read the full article →

JOIN CLIMATE Guardians in a Political Action Committee (PAC)

February 11, 2024

NOW Join the Grace and Frankie Galentine’s Day Virtual Cast Reunion! Join us on February 13 at 6PM PT for our Grace and Frankie Virtual Cast Reunion (Galentine’s Edition!) featuring a live table read from some of your favorite Grace and Frankie cast members: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston, and more! Get [...]

Read the full article →

LEARNING ABOUT OUT EARTH In 2023!

February 2, 2024

10 dramatic discoveries about Earth from 2023 Hottest summer on record. Devastating Maui wildfire. Return of El Niño. Possible shutdown of key ocean current system. Record-low sea ice extent in Antarctica. Smoke from Canadian wildfires. Changes to the tilt of Earth’s axis. A brand-new island. Source ~ https://www.space.com/planet-earth-from-space-in-2023

Read the full article →

TIME FOR ACTION ~ Joe Biden needs to stand up to Big Oil and Gas!

January 25, 2024

Breaking News: Is Biden standing up to Big Oil and gas? From the Appeal of Catharine Collentine, The Sierra Club, January 24, 2024 Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the Biden administration is poised to announce a pause on what would be the largest gas export terminal in the nation, CP2, to evaluate its [...]

Read the full article →

OMG! With 90 Seconds to Midnight, We Have Multiple Crises on Hand

January 23, 2024

The DOOMSDAY CLOCK is maintained by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists From an Article by Jessica Corbett for Common Dreams on January 23, 2024 “Ominous trends continue to point the world toward global catastrophe,” The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists warned Tuesday, explaining why the Doomsday Clock remains at 90 seconds to midnight. Since its [...]

Read the full article →

TRANSCRIPT ~ Fossil Fuel Deception ~ Part 1 …

January 20, 2024

Transcript from Living on Earth of January 12, 2024. DOERING: It’s Living on Earth, I’m Jenni Doering BELTRAN: And I’m Paloma Beltran. The burning of fossil fuels is the primary source of climate-warming greenhouse gases worldwide. And the science tells us that if we don’t drastically reduce those emissions as soon as possible, we’re headed [...]

Read the full article →

ABUSE OF LAND IN APPALACHIA ~ “Top Story of 2023”

December 31, 2023

Brutal Abuse of Eminent Domain to Complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline From the Article by Michael M. Barrick, The Appalachian Chronicle, December 31, 2023 BIG ISSAC, W.Va. – Our top story from 2023 is the brutal abuse of eminent domain to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). This power grab of private property along a [...]

Read the full article →