Olde Posts Addenda (3)

     More "Breaking News" to add to the older news items already provided in Mulcahy's Miscellany. 

New Dead Fish
  Back in June 2023, I offered you many "Dead Fish Headlines" (too many) which I suggested were, "More Signs of the Times." I will offer only one more now, but it is a big one:
"Iowa Fertilizer Spill Kills Nearly All Fish Across 60-Mile Stretch of Rivers: Officials in Iowa and Missouri estimated that nearly 800,000 fish had died in waters that flow into the Missouri River," By Mitch Smith and Catrin Einhorn, NYT, March 29, 2024.
   “I refer to this one as ‘the big one,’” said the official, Matt Combes, an ecological health unit science supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation. He added: “Calling something a near-total fish kill for 60 miles of a river is astounding and disheartening.” The latest die-off started, Iowa officials said, when a valve was left open over a weekend on a storage tank at NEW Cooperative, an agricultural business in Red Oak, in southwestern Iowa. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which learned of the spill on March 11, said this week that 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer spilled into a drainage ditch and into the East Nishnabotna River, which flows into the Nishnabotna River and then the Missouri River."

What Were the Odds?
   That a lot of people would lose a lot of money when gambling was legalized, wagering made easy over the Internet and actively promoted on your TV. People here in Ontario seem more worried about the selling of six-packs in the 7-Eleven which bothers me not at all. I think, however, that rather than betting you start investing in gambling treatment centres.
  In MM, this subject was discussed in "On Betting" and raised again under the heading "Don't Bet On It" in "Beyond the Palewall (8). Now, in support of my suspicion that things are not going to go well see: "Sport's Betting is Bad for America's Financial Health: New Data Shows It",(sic), By the Editorial Board, The Washington Post, Sept. 14, 2024. Here is the first paragraph:

"The new National Football League season will see plenty of records set on the field — and it’s expected to hit new heights off the field, too: specifically, the American Gaming Association projects that legal wagers on games will reach $35 billion, a 30 percent increase over last season. Most of that betting will involve online betting apps. In part, the growth reflects the fact that three new states — Maine, North Carolina and Vermont — have legalized legal sports betting, raising the total to 38 states and the District. And partly the projected growth reflects new incentives sportsbooks are offering gamblers: in-app live-streaming of games, platform upgrades to allow faster in-play betting, digital wallets and the ability to make multiple bets simultaneously. X is awash with sites offering tips and techniques for increasing the odds."
Here's more:
"In short, legal sports gambling is creating a pathway to financial distress for vulnerable individuals. States that legalized sports betting were often instructed by their legislatures to set aside some funding from the tax receipts to deal with problem gambling and addiction. But reporting and research show a huge disparity between how much states tax the betting industry....
Legal sports gamblers have had their fun for half a decade now — and some have paid a high price. Congress should draw on that experience, and the new data, to design guardrails."

Censorship On Campuses 70 Years Ago
   I gather that if I was to wander up to the campus close by, that I would have to be careful about what I might say, unless it sounded very much like what everybody else is saying. In a post about "Academic Freedom & Free Speech" I indicated I was in favour of both.
   On another occasion, I wrote about an episode at the University of Western Ontario way back in 1953 when the students heckled and interrupted a speech by (are you ready), the Very Reverend, Dr. Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury. Back then the students didn't like the "progressive" views of the "Red Dean." (See, "Free Speech & Ontario Universities.")
    I thought of this because I just read about a Republican defending free speech during that same year in the United States. Things have changed. Now, both the conservatives and the progressives want to restrict the expression of ideas with which they do not agree.

"In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower — a Republican — told graduating students at Dartmouth College, “Don’t join the book burners.” 

Referring to Americans drawn to communism, Eisenhower added, “Even if they think ideas that are contrary to ours, their right to say them, their right to record them, and their right to have them at places where they are accessible to others is unquestioned, or it isn’t America.”

   The above was written in relation to "Banned Books Week" in the United States which is about the promotion of banned books rather than the burning of them. It was found here: 

"Banned Books Week Begins on Sunday,  With draconian laws jackbooting across the country to suppress books, intimidate librarians and muzzle teachers, this annual commemoration of our freedom to read has never felt more vital. (A Florida school district banned a book about banned books.)"
From: "The Book Club Newsletter," Ron Charles, The Washington Post, Sept. 20, 2024.
For more olde posts that are related to free speech:

"Cowards in Coventry"
"S.W.I.N.E."  "Students Wildly Indignant About Nearly Everything"

"Dawkins Not Talking"

Dead Fish Headlines

 

More Signs of the Times

  You may have noticed many recent news stories with headlines such as the ones provided below. They all relate to dead fish in the Gulf of Mexico, the ones pictured above.

“Dead Fish Wash Ashore on Texas Gulf Coast: A Biblical Plague”
“Tens of Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Ashore on Gulf Coast Texas”
“Why Hundreds of Dead Fish Washed Ashore in Texas”
“Hundreds of Thousands of Dead Fish Are Washing Ashore”

  There are many others and I decided to troll and find more. A simple search yielded many from all around the globe. I will just provide the headlines because I am too lazy to type or paste the full source. Trust me, unfortunately they are all real and recent and there are many more than I have presented.

From elsewhere in North America:

“Dead Fish Washing Up on Shores of Lake Washington” (Washington state)
“Dead Fish and Other Aquatic Animals More Common in Summer Heat” (Michigan)
“Why Dead Fish are Washing Up on Michigan Shores" 
“Biologist Explains Uptick in Dead Fish Floating Along Riverfront” Paducah (Ohio River)
“Annual Spring Die-off of Lake Erie Fish Causing Concern”
“Dead Fish Spotted at Canyon Lake” South Dakota"
"Dead Fish Surface at Sunset Park Pond” Nevada
“Dead Fish in Grenadier Pond Being Investigated” (Toronto)
“Locals Still Concerned Over Dead Fish in RIver (Tenn.)
“Hundreds of Dead Fish Die From Spawning Stress in Iowa Lakes”

From the UK:

“Dead Fish Found Floating in Earlswood Lakes” 
“Ballinderry River: Fish Kill Investigated in County Tyrone”

From the Middle East and Africa:

“Authorities Probe Suspected Poisoning of Dead Fish in Sea of Galilee”
“Fish Deaths Near Rio Tinto Mine in Madagascar Dredge Up Community Differences”

From the Far East:

“Dead Fish Raise a Stink in Sursager Lake Once Again” (India)
“Thousands of Fish Dead in Dal Lake” Authorities See Thermal Stratification as Reason” (India)
“Almost 400 kg of Fish Found Floating Dead on Nam Ngao River” (Laos)
“35 Tons of Dead Fish Wash Up in China Lake”

Last, But Not Least - Australia:

“Dead Fish Found in the Darling River at Menindee”
“NSW Chief Scientist to Lead Inquiry Into Menindee Fish Kill”
“Millions of Dead Fish Wash Up Amid Heat Wave in Australia”
"Thousands of Fish Flushed Out of the RIver Murray"
“Tonnes of Dead Fish Pulled From Darling in River Cleanup”
“Thousands of Dead Fish Surface on Gold Coast”

I did not include magazines in my search, but here is one example that relates to the picture above" "Millions of Dead Fish Are Rotting in an Australian River," Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, March 21, 2023. I also excluded stories about the fish killed in Ukraine - "“Footage Shows Dead Fish in Kakhovka Reservoir After Dam Flooding."

  The fish are disappearing fast along with farms in Ontario. At least we have our cricket factory. 

For more about our cricket factory see: "Entomophagy" and "Crickets and Conspiracies." 

For more about fish dying from industrial causes rather than unnatural ones see: "Holy Mackeral." 

For headlines that are less depressing see: "Headlines.

Holy Mackerel

 

   It is the last day of March and one measure of my lack of productivity is found in the number "4",  which is the total of my posts for this month -- so far. At least I have been consistent, in that I was also unproductive during those thirty days in areas other than blogging. In order to increase my output and decrease the anger of an audience left with nothing to read, I will look about and see what I can come up with.

   Let's start with fish and begin with mackerel, which will be followed by squid. Never a particularly popular fish, the mackerel were at least plentiful. In the North Atlantic, however, their numbers have plummeted. Last year the Department of Fisheries and Oceans closed the mackerel fishery, and next week the DFO will announce if it will remain closed.

   That the mackerel stock has now reached the "critical zone", is partially caused by one of the factors that led to the collapse of the cod fishery - overfishing. U.S. fishermen, by the way, continue to fish for mackerel, which increases the Maritimers dissatisfaction with the way the DFO handles things. 

  Environmental factors and climate change also affect the migratory paths of fish, who like humans, seek water with the proper temperature. A historical example of this is found in 1816 which is known as the "year without a summer." The eruption of Indonesia's Tambora volcano in 1815 resulted in a global drop in temperature and the bad weather led to food shortages. 1816 is also referred to as the "Mackerel Year" since the fishermen in the Gulf of Maine focussed on them when other species declined, perhaps an aquatic example of the "butterfly effect." 

About Those Squid
   
   I learned about the situation in the North Atlantic from a recent article in the G&M. That reminded me of the squid in the South Atlantic. They are rapidly disappearing and the main problem is industrial fishing. Such overfishing is illustrated in the satellite mage above. You have probably seen such pictures which show the parts of planet earth at night when it is supposed to be dark. Major urban areas show up as illuminated strips where expected, such as along the North Atlantic coastline. It is surprising, however, when bright spots appear in what I imagine as one of the darker places, the South Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Argentina. The lighted cities consist of hundreds of boats, many from Asian countries, using very bright lights to attract squid. Perhaps we need to cut back a bit on the calamari. 

The Bonus:

 

   The title of this post was deliberately chosen for marketing purposes since I knew that you were unlikely to be lured by "fish", for example. If you look up the history of "Holy Mackerel" you will learn a great deal and much of it will be more interesting than this post. It appears that in the old days, like the ones now, euphemisms were needed to soften the expressions used. It is better to say, "Holy Mackerel" than "Holy Mary" or "Holy Madonna". Actually, given the current explosion of euphemisms, students may be required to major in Euphemisms rather than English. 

   But, my "Holy Mackerel" comes from a different place, since I am not very religious. I associate it with a radio show from the 1950s and the catchphrase "Holy Mackerel There Andy!" It is a show now vilified, partially because of the appropriation accusation and you can learn more about it by reading the Wikipedia entry for "Amos 'n' Andy" or read the book by Bart Andrews pictured below.

Sources: 

  My wife insists that she sometimes reads this drivel, but she did admit that she never reads "The Bonus" (where I often place the best stuff) or "The Sources", so I will only put a few: 

   "Atlantic Mackerel Numbers Have Collapsed - Can A Moratorium Bring Them Back," Daniel Boyce and Jenn Thornhill Verma, The Globe and Mail, March 26, 2023.

   About the Mount Tabora and mackerel see: "What Can Mackerel and A Volcano Say About Climate Change" Patrick Whittle, AP in the G&M, Jan. 23, 2017

   "Squid in the Spotlight: Unregulated Squid Fisheries Are Headed for Disaster," Greenpeace, March 2022. "Argentine Denounces "Depredation" by Foreign Fishing Fleets," Javier Castro Bugarin, Online News, March 21, 2023.

  For "Holy Mackerel" see: "Why Do People Say "Holy Mackerel?", By Stacy Conradt, Mental Floss, Jan 5, 2012.

A Bridge Over Troubled Water

The Victoria Bridge (On Ridout Street)

   We live between two important streets that serve as passages for those going north or south by car here in London. A bottleneck on one of them (Wharncliffe Road) is going to be improved soon, but the improvements have been postponed for a bit while a new bridge is being constructed on the other (Ridout Street.) In early spring, construction began around the bridge on Ridout and the project seemed to proceed rapidly. Then one day, there was silence and the workers disappeared. 

   Although I have lamented the loss of local newspapers, I confess to not subscribing to the one in London since it is no longer a ‘local’ publication. If there was news reported about the stalled project, I missed it.  The rumour was that the city officials had failed to get some sort of permit and it likely spread quickly because of the irony involved, if it was true.

The temporary pedestrian bridge on pause

   The work has been stopped because the Department of Fisheries and Oceans fears that the habitat of two at-risk species (a minnow and a mussel) may be damaged. It is not clear if this problem should have been anticipated and by whom. It is clear that the Thames River is not in good shape, so it is best that the concerns are addressed. The bridge was supposed to be erected by May 2023, but it is unlikely that it will be. Here are some sources to go along with the rumours you may have heard.

Sources:

   This one explains what happened: “Tiny, Rare Fish and Mollusks Halt $23-million City Bridge Project: Federal Fisheries Officials Want the City to Come Up With a Better Way Forward”,  Colin Butler · CBC News · Posted: Jun 22, 2022.

“The presence of rare species of fish and mollusks living in the Thames River near the heart of the city has temporarily halted a $23-million bridge project. 

Construction on Victoria Bridge, more commonly known as the Ridout Street bridge, was supposed to start in the spring, but work has been temporarily halted over concerns heavy construction could disrupt the habitat of at-risk species of fish and mussels living in the water.” 

The presence of rare species of fish and mollusks living in the Thames River near the heart of the city has temporarily halted a $23-million bridge project. 

   Here is what was supposed to happen: “Here's What London's New Victoria Bridge Will Look Like: Work Will Close Ridout Street South of Horton to Vehicles for More Than a Year,” Andrew Lupton · CBC News · Posted: Feb 04, 2022 

“After almost 100 years spent carrying Ridout Street traffic over the Thames River south of Horton Street, the Victoria bridge replacement is set to begin this spring. 

The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority provides a lot of good information about the Thames. See for example these booklets on "Thames Topics." The Thames is a Canadian Heritage River.

Post Script:  
   There was some collateral damage. The tennis courts in nearby Thames Park are serving as the staging area (they are to be improved after the construction of the bridge, but are unusable for this summer.) Also, the Thames pool will remain closed because of an unrelated problem. The homeless people residing along the river will no longer be able brag that they have both a pool and tennis courts in their backyard.

The Bonus:
   Those of you who think a silver minnow should not swim in the way of your commute,  might benefit from reading this. Once our rivers actually contained fish, mussels and clams and even supplied pearls for a robust button industry. See: Mussels and Other Molluscs.