Queen's 60 Years. ‘Global Sustainability’. Jeep Gr Cherokee Recall. Stop Monsanto. June is Outdoors Month. 350# Loggerhead. TS Allison. NFL and AFL.

 

For “Summary Saturday”:

Four generations of monarchy gather to celebrate 60 years since the Queen's coronation

“We may love those enduring images of June 1953 – of imperial pageantry, the Queen, rain-drenched crowds, ration-free street parties and open-jawed subjects crammed around brand-new TVs.

But they are not what Coronation Day was about. As the new Archbishop of Canterbury reminded us in his sombre address, the central point of the Coronation was, essentially, an ‘ordination’ of a servant of God.

Hence the Queen’s elegant but understated choice yesterday. In 1953, her Hartnell gown and train stretched more than 20 feet. This time, she wore an oyster silk-satin dress made by her own dresser, Angela Kelly, and an aquamarine brooch given to her by the President of Brazil.

Back in 1953, of course, she had worn or held the finest jewels and regalia in the world, including the Orb, the Sceptre and St Edward’s Crown, the one used for the actual crowning moment.

The latter had returned to the Tower of London in 1953 and had stayed there ever since – until yesterday. It sat on the altar throughout the service, untouched but a dazzling reminder that the Crown Jewels are sacred regalia, not royal bling.

The Abbey organisers had kept officialdom to a minimum. Most of the 2,000 congregation consisted of veterans from 1953 plus worthy individuals nominated by the Queen’s own network of 98 county representatives, her Lord-Lieutenants.

Queen Elizabeth arrives with her husband Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the 60th anniversary of her coronation, which took place there on June 2 1953

The Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and Kate's Bump: Four generations of monarchy depart the Abbey after the service.

In 1953, only their eldest son, Prince Charles, (the Prince of Wales), had been there. Yesterday, a single historic image captured four generations – the Queen, 87, the Prince of Wales, 64, the Duke of Cambridge, 30, and the Duchess of Cambridge with the unborn heir who, regardless of sex, will become third in line to the Throne.”

More and many pictures, with a video of the coronation at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2335617/Queen-Elizabeth-II-Prince-Philip-celebrate-HRMs-60th-coronation-anniversary-Westminster-Abbey.html

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HRH Prince Charles writes for Huffington Post on ‘Introducing Global Sustainability’”

“I have long been deeply concerned about the effect our modern, highly industrialised approach is having on nature's capacity to sustain life on Earth. There is a growing set of alarming problems which, if not addressed with real urgency, will severely affect nature's capacity to keep her life support systems running and thus guarantee the well-being of billions of people around the world.

It is worth bearing in mind that bodies like the UN have produced countless reports showing the damage we have so far been responsible for. In the last half century alone, not only have we depleted over a third of the world's farmable soil, we have so intensified the way we produce food we are now using far more water than we did, even though there is less fresh water available.

In that same 50 years we have also burned down over a third of the world's tropical rainforests and are still doing so - despite the fact that they are actually the lungs of the world. An area the size of a football pitch goes up in smoke every four seconds - that's over 26,000 football pitches a day! As a result, we have destroyed more than 80,000 species on which, did we but know it, we depend for our long term health and welfare. Everything is interconnected.”   In his latest article, the Prince says also, “If we are to guarantee the well-being of our grandchildren and their grandchildren, then genuine sustainability has to become embedded in the DNA of business and government.””    More at:  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/hrh-the-prince-of-wales/prince-charles-global-sustainability_b_3371842.html

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CHRYSLER REFUSES TO RECALL JEEP CHEROKEES- MAN DIES AS ONE EXPLODES

“The national Traffic Safety Administration request for a recall of 2.7 million SUV’s is refused by Chrysler Corporation.

The government agency says the gas tank design used in 1993 to 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2002 to 2007 Jeep Libertys is unsafe.

It is the first time since 1996 that an automaker has challenged a recall demand from the safety agency. That case, also involving Chrysler, was over the seat belt system on 91,000 cars. Chrysler — which was an independent U.S. company at the time — won a federal court decision on that dispute two years later.

Chrysler — now controlled by the Italian carmaker Fiat after the 2009 U.S. government-sponsored bailout — said it has been working with the agency over concerns over the vehicles in the current dispute since 2010.”  More at: http://main.montgomerycountypolicereporter.com/?p=68293&cpage=1

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The March to Stop Monsanto: Taking Back Our Food, Our Farms, Our Democracy and Our Planet

“The march to stop Monsanto is one of the most pressing issues of our time. As a single company, Monsanto is the tip of the iceberg representing the threat that unchecked corporate power has in corrupting our democratic institutions, driving family farmers off the land, threatening human health and contaminating our environment.

The problem with Monsanto is not just their corrosive lobbying practices, but the fact that the products they produce, genetically engineered foods and chemical weed killers, are in more than 70% of the processed foods that we eat and feed our families everyday.

In terms of corruption and consumption, Monsanto’s reach is global. Monsanto’s toxic impact reaches far and wide, from farmers’ fields to our nation’s capital to leading universities, media editorial boards and even the White House, with their patented genetically engineered pollen contaminating organic farmers’ fields, their poisonous chemicals infiltrating our waterways and our food and their lobbying tactics undermining our basic rights.

After more than 100 years in business, Monsanto’s name has become synonymous with greed, arrogance, corruption and poison. In a stunning display of calculated callousness of the impact that their products have on the human health and the planet, Monsanto is responsible for some of the most lethal chemicals known to history, including Agent Orange, PCBs, and DDT.

In the 1980s, Monsanto made a strategic decision to combine their chemical company with the emerging science of biotechnology. Today, the same company that poisoned America’s veterans in Vietnam is responsible for producing the food that appears on our plates every day.

If you think the same company that lied about the health impacts of Agent Orange to the U.S. government and our veterans is telling you the truth about the science behind genetic engineering and the food they are feeding us, you are either a fool, delusional or a member of Congress.” 

More at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-murphy/monsanto-gmo-food_b_3337043.html

 

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Get Outside and Enjoy a World of Green

“Some people can’t get enough time outdoors, surrounded by nature’s gifts and being refreshed by a world of green. Others need a little more nudging to get outside, and if there was ever a time to be encouraged to open up that door, it’s the month of June.

That nudging starts at the very top with President Obama proclaiming June as Great Outdoors Month, along with almost every state governor. The Presidential Proclamation urges all Americans to spend time in the great outdoors and to uphold our nation’s legacy of conserving our lands for future generations.” 

• June 4-12 – National Fishing and Boating Week – Coordinated by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and coincides with most states’ free fishing days.
• June 11-17 – Great Outdoors Week – everyone is encouraged to enjoy the outdoors, even if briefly, every day this week
• June 11 – National Get Outdoors Day – healthy, active outdoor fun available at sites across the nation
• June 11 – Fee Waiver Day in National Forests – Sponsored by the US Forest Service which operates 17,000 recreation sites and manages 193 million acres of public land.
• June 11 – National Marina Day – The Association of Marina Industries  - showcases the fun and benefits of boating and the marina lifestyle
• June 21 – Fee-Free Day in National Parks – Fee-free days at more than 100 national parks that usually charge entrance fees. Many national park concessioners are welcoming visitors with their own special offers.

Join the Great American Backyard Campout

The best way to cap off your Great Outdoors Month is by participating in National Wildlife Federation’s 7th annual Great American Backyard Campout on June 25, where you can trade screen time for green time and spend a night of outdoor family fun under the stars.”   

More at:  http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/media-center/news-by-topic/get-outside/2011/06-03-11-great-outdoors-month.aspx 

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A Loggerhead estimated to be 350 pounds made it to shore on Galveston Island yesterday... June 3rd. 2013.

“The loggerhead sea turtle is found in shallow
tropical and sub-tropical waters. Adults weigh up to
350 lbs. They are carnivorous, feeding on benthic
shellfish such as crabs, oysters, mussels and shrimp.
Loggerheads have a life span of 50-100 years and
reach sexual maturity at age 20-30 years.”

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On This Day:

Tropical Storm Allison wreaks havoc, Jun 8, 2001:

“On this day in 2001, Tropical Storm Allison hits Houston, Texas, for the second time in three days. Although Allison never even approached hurricane status, by the time it dissipated in New England a week later, it had killed about 50 people and caused $5 billion in damages.

For the next week, Allison moved slowly up the Atlantic coast, continuing to dump rain in prodigious amounts. Florida attributed nine deaths to the storm as did North Carolina–all as a result of traffic accidents. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, a tree fell on a woman and killed her. Pennsylvania received up to 10 inches of rain and had serious flooding problems. The flood conditions caused a natural gas explosion in an apartment complex in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, killing six people.

Tropical Storm Allison proved that storms need not be particularly strong or fast-moving to be deadly and destructive.”

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NFL and AFL announce merger, Jun 8, 1966:

“On this day in 1966, the rival National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) announce that they will merge. The first "Super Bowl" between the two leagues took place at the end of the 1966 season, though it took until the 1970 season for the leagues to unite their operations and integrate their regular season schedules.”

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Yesterday:

Misty and I went to get Jay, and had our walk down there.

The storm that we had the night before, had soaked everything on the screen porch again. So Ray and Jay got up on the roof of the house to put the weather membrane and flashing between the two roofs. I was on the ground, passing up tools, parts or whatever, in our bucket on a rope. 

We couldn’t finish it, as we didn’t have the right width of flashing, so I’ll have to buy some more.

This video of the storm is from our local reporter, http://main.montgomerycountypolicereporter.com/?p=68483

Published on Jun 6, 2013.  “Early Thursday afternoon Severe Thunderstorm Watches were issued in Montgomery County. Then before 5 p.m. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued. As the clock hit 5p.m. and the rush hour began it was slowed as heavy rains, winds, lightning and hail moved in from the north.   Accidents started happening as fire departments were getting calls for fire alarms and motor vehicle incidents.

On League Line Road, in video, the skies went into instant darkness with some very ominous looking cloud formations which many thought were funnel clouds.”

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Then I had to wait for the cable company to come as several TVs quit working after the power came back on.  Either the cable modems went bad or a splitter in my attic.  When the cable man looked at them he got three of them working, including the one in my living room.  The other two must have died in the storm.

It was sunny and bright, not too hot, and everything dried out quickly yesterday.