“The rate of earthquakes in Oklahoma has increased remarkably since October 2013 – by about 50 percent – significantly increasing the chance for a damaging magnitude 5.5 or greater quake in central Oklahoma.
A new U.S. Geological Survey and Oklahoma Geological Survey analysis found that 145 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater occurred in Oklahoma from January 2014 (through May 2; see accompanying graphic). The previous annual record, set in 2013, was 109 earthquakes, while the long-term average earthquake rate, from 1978 to 2008, was just two magnitude 3.0 or larger earthquakes per year. Important to people living in central and north-central Oklahoma is that the likelihood of future, damaging earthquakes has increased as a result of the increased number of small and moderate shocks.
Oklahoma’s heightened earthquake activity since 2009 includes 20 magnitude 4.0 to 4.8 quakes, plus the largest earthquake in Oklahoma’s history – a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that occurred near Prague on Nov. 5, 2011. The 2011 Prague earthquake damaged a number of homes and the historic Benedictine Hall at St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee. Prior to the 2011 Prague earthquake, the largest earthquake of Oklahoma’s history was a magnitude 5.5 earthquake that occurred in 1952 near El Reno and damaged state buildings in Oklahoma City.
“While it’s been known for decades that Oklahoma is ‘earthquake country’, we hope that this new advisory of increased hazard will become a crucial consideration in earthquake preparedness for residents, schools and businesses in the area,” said Dr. Bill Leith, Senior Science Advisor for Earthquakes and Geologic Hazards at USGS. “Building owners and government officials should have a special concern for older, unreinforced brick structures, which are vulnerable to serious damage during sufficient shaking.”
USGS statistically analyzed the recent earthquake rate changes and found that they do not seem to be due to typical, random fluctuations in natural seismicity rates. Significant changes in both the background rate of events and earthquake triggers needed to have occurred in order to explain the increases in seismicity, which is not typically observed when modeling natural earthquakes.
The analysis suggests that a likely contributing factor to the increase in earthquakes is triggering by wastewater injected into deep geologic formations. This phenomenon is known as injection-induced seismicity, which has been documented for nearly half a century, with new cases identified recently in Arkansas, Ohio, Texas and Colorado. A recent publication by the USGS suggests that a magnitude 5.0 foreshock to the 2011 Prague, Okla., earthquake was human-induced by fluid injection; that earthquake may have then triggered the mainshock and its aftershocks. OGS studies also indicate that some of the earthquakes in Oklahoma are due to fluid injection. The OGS and USGS continue to study the Prague earthquake sequence in relation to nearby injection activities.
Collaborative USGS and OGS research to understand earthquake rate increase in the central Oklahoma area includes quantifying the changes in earthquake rate, assessing the implications of the increased small and moderate earthquake activity for large earthquake hazards, and evaluating possible links between these earthquakes and wastewater disposal from oil and gas production activities. The OGS is also focused on seismicity in north-central Oklahoma.
To more accurately determine the locations and magnitudes of earthquakes in Oklahoma, the OGS has increased the number of monitoring stations and now operates a seismograph network of 15 permanent stations and 17 temporary stations, many of which are on loan from the USGS. There are also three permanent seismic stations operated by the USGS and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. Data from this network are shared in real-time with the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, which provides 24×7 reporting on earthquakes worldwide.”
Updated on May 10, 2014: The person who sent this report to me, emailed me again to let me know its not his site, but a famous site in Turkey, maybe related to Dr Greer Sirius sites. The person gave them the report and they posted it there in Turkey. SCW
This email report came in today and he is from Turkey and was recording a military helicopter and F5 jet chasing a UFO. It would be cool if we had some video of it, but the photos on his site attest to them being real. The photos are 4.5MB in size…straight out of the camera. I told him to change it so his site loads faster, but this is some proof of them being real. SCW
Eyewitness states: Event date April 22, 2014 Tuesday 13:30 waters of Seferihisar Doğanbey in realized .. That day, in Seferihisar Doğanbey in the treasures of the land identified and photographed the UFO, then it emerges very fast and suddenly manoeuvres. The F-5 fighter aircraft and a military helicopter UFO are in the same frame of 7-8 individual photos to view… In addition, this very important event taken during these extraordinary photographs, the metallic object a UFO chased by a F-5 fighter aircraft and military helicopters chased in a clear format that as seen…
This UFO glides past the ISS and flashes as if trying to signal them. Streetcap1 of Youtube caught it on May 9th. Its very strange that the UFO is so bright like the moon and then grows in brightness only to disappear. The color of the UFO matches that of the space station due to the suns odd angle and reflection from its surface, which causes the orange hue. SCW
This is a day of ups and downs as emotions are close to the surface and you are feeling somewhat out of control. There are things that will be popping in and out of your range of vision. Some of these you can easily dismiss as illusory while others can make you question what you saw just saw. No, you are not going crazy. There is a kind of intersection between a number of dimensions going on today and they are leaking through one to the other. Along with that will come hunches and intuitions from your deepest self. That is the voice of the point of deepest connection of your essential being. Pay attention. There can be some interesting messages, some of which just might lead you to make some changes in the way you are doing things, the path you are taking, perhaps even some life choices.
May 4-15: The theme of these days is Unchartered Waters. Things have shifted so that everything is new. There are no maps, so proceed based upon your inner knowing and the wisdom of the heart’s connection to the Universe.
Overall Color for these Days: Fibrous White
This is a time for knowing the difference between Have-to-Do and Want-to-Do. You are in a place now where certain decision are waiting to be made and they turn upon your knowing the difference between these two things One is the old way; the other is the new way. Which will you choose? There is neither right nor wrong here. There will be times in your future to work again with this concept, however it might be a bit more difficult. Ask yourself whether there is there a melding of the two. Perhaps, however you must reconcile these within yore own soul. The melding is part of the morphing, the changing from then to NOW. Things take time within this dimension, and we are aware of that. There is no strict timeline here. These things are hinted at to point to what is available to you and let you know that should you wish, they are there for you Now. These days will bring many issues up before you. You will be seeing things in a new light, and you will actually feel your perspective shifting. You can go from one choice to another even within minutes. As this happens, it is good to be with the one choice then the other to see them for how they fit WHO you are. There is much to be known right now about your self. Be gentle with yourself these days. Take time. Do not rush. Leave worry behind. When it arises just accept the fact that it is there for you to get embroiled in should you choose, but if you choose not to, then breathe, breathe in light, know you are light, and know that everything will work out. These are difficult times, but you have the power, the strength, and the knowing to move forward. And know that there is always guidance for you should you ask. If you are confused by the signals that come your way, then go within and feel what is right. Feel what harmonizes with WHO you are, and you will know.
On the larger scale, expect to see and hear more reports of sightings of ET crafts. There is a great deal of worry within the communities of the Universe as to where the Blue Planet is going right now. They are cooperating with Gaia and will continue to monitor the conditions here. They will not take any direct action unless they are asked by the Planet herself to do so. Politics will be confused and confusing as politicians say one thing and contradict themselves in the same sentence. There is much uproar going on right now within the political world in all countries. New alliances are forming, some of them under the surface. People are becoming more vocal and are seeing through the sham that has been presented to them as freedom and fact. Truly, as The Many has said, this is a time for the Individual. People are recognizing kindred spirits, some in individuals that formerly they would have nothing to do with. Communities of spirits and like-minded are arising. Then there are those you will see in these days who are turning away from it all, with their fingers in their ears, refusing to accept that change is happening, and not the kind the politicians were speaking of. This is a change that is fueled by the true desires of the people that is based upon real knowing and compassion. Things are getting rocky, and will get rockier, but it is all part of creating something new. There will be more Earth movements and shifts. The current in the Earth that has been reworking and rechanneling itself will begin to be seen as tornadoes, volcanoes, and quakes shake things up. There are winds that will come out of nowhere, whirling at hurricane force in places that are not used to such things. There will be a lull in the high areas of the world, but then things will quickly progress to weather patterns that are out of season. More landslides can occur as the earth shifts and moves. There is a momentum within the events of man that is being stirred up through the Gaia connection. You will be seeing more of this during these days.
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ~E.E. Cummings
At twenty-five I was happily married and had a great career, many friends, and lots of money. During that time, I also became deeply depressed, was put on medication for anxiety, and entered what would be a very long relationship with psychotherapy.
It was a real struggle for me to understand why I wasn’t happy when I had everything that I thought was important in life. Was I selfish? Were my expectations too high? I honestly couldn’t understand what was missing and how to fill this huge void that gnawed at me every day.
When I look back at my life, twenty years later, I realize that I really had no idea who I truly was or what made me happy. I kept expecting something or someone to answer this question for me.
The journey to find out who I was and what really mattered to me eventually involved divorce, the loss of my career and most of my possessions, and overcoming a serious illness.
It pretty much took the loss of everything I thought defined me and made me happy to admit to myself that I honestly didn’t know myself very well at all.
Who am I? What do I believe in? What is my purpose? What fills me with joy and wonder? These are questions that I am just beginning to understand after forty-five years of living my life, and I have to admit that getting there has been extremely difficult.
The hardest part for me was just knowing where to begin. After much therapy, meditation, self-reflection, and reading, I asked myself five big questions that served as a launch pad to begin my journey of self-discovery.
If you are ready to begin the process of truly understanding who you are meant to be, start here:
1. What or who would you be if you knew you couldn’t fail?
The risk of failure terrifies most people. How many times have you wanted to change jobs or careers, move to a new city, promote a cause that is important you, or become an expert in a certain area? Think about it. No risk of failure.
If you were 100% certain that you could be or do anything you wanted and not fail, do you know the answer?
2. What is your Ninety-Second Personal Elevator Speech?
Probably the most important and poorly answered question in most job interviews, this is similar in nature. You can certainly include your career or career accomplishments in your personal speech, but think of this from the perspective of how you might answer this if you were making a new friend or going on a first date with someone.
How would you describe yourself so that the person asking the question would truly understand who you are and what is important to you?
3. What are your core personal values?
Personal values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live. They give you a reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, desirable, and constructive. Once you are able to determine exactly what values are most important to you, you can better determine your priorities.
In fact, having this information about yourself is the key to making sure your daily life is aligned with those values.
4. What makes you genuinely happy?
This one is closely related to your core personal values. However, ask yourself this question once you’ve really nailed down what those values are.
For example, if family is one of your core personal values, will taking a job that involves tons of travel make you happy? Take it a step further and really consider dreams you had when you were younger or currently have about what will make you truly happy.
5. If money were no object, how would you live your life differently?
Many people equate happiness and success directly to the amount of money they have. How many times have you heard someone say, “If I hit the lottery, I’d…”
But remember, this question isn’t really about money at all. It’s more about thinking outside the limits we tend to put on our aspirations and actions because things seem out of our reach financially.
You may not be able to do those exact things, but once you know what those true desires are, you expand your thinking and begin to develop a plan to work towards goals you may have never imagined possible.
These are tough questions and the answers may not come easily or quickly. In fact, I found myself having to think and re-think my answers several times. This work is hard but necessary in order to really understanding yourself on a deeper level.
While I can’t say that I now know everything about myself, answering these questions completely changed the negative internal dialogue that was limiting my ability to see myself as I exist today and the me that I can become in the future.
But the biggest change came from revisiting dreams and aspirations that I had long ago put on the back burner while I was stuck in the process of “getting things done.”
My dreams of writing about things that are truly meaningful to me, finding a fulfilling and passionate relationship, being more present with my children, and discovering a higher power are all coming true now that I am focusing my energy in the right direction—and that direction was to look within.
So, find a quiet place and allow yourself plenty of time to go through and really think about each question and then just go for it. Go ahead. Begin your journey. Change direction. Create new dreams or rediscover dreams you left behind. Now that I have started, I haven’t looked back since.
Source: “5 Questions to Discover Who You Are and What Will Make You Happy,” from tinybuddha.com, by Dona Middleton
Last summer, 6-year-old Nathan Woessner was walking across the sands of Mount Baldy in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore when he suddenly disappeared into a deep hole.
It took a team of rescuers about three hours to pull Woessner to safety from beneath 11 feet (3.4 meters) of sand and sediment, according to the Chicago Tribune.
More holes have appeared in Mount Baldy, forcing officials with the National Park Service (NPS) to close part of the park, located 55 miles southeast of Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan. But why are these dangerous holes suddenly appearing in the sand dunes?
We don’t know exactly what’s going on out there,” Ken Mehne, law enforcement specialist for the park, told the Tribune. “We can’t let folks out onto the area until we know it’s safe.”
Deep holes appear and disappear
The incident deeply affected geologist Erin Argyilan, a professor of geosciences at Indiana University Northwest. She was doing research at the base of Mount Baldy when she heard the screams of Woessner’s parents.
“I cried for three days,” Argyilan, who was pregnant at the time and was unable to assist in the boy’s rescue, told the Tribune. “I couldn’t help in the moment. So now I have to do what I can to learn why this is happening.”
Other experts are also interested in the strange holes in Mount Baldy, several of which have appeared since last year, only to collapse and be filled in with sand a day later. Some of the holes were so deep they could not be measured with the researchers’ measuring tapes.
Is it quicksand?
According to scientists, quicksand — that old trope of jungle-adventure movies — actually does exist, though it’s not as deadly as it appears in Tarzan films.
Quicksand is a sloshy mix of sand and water that looks solid when viewed from above, but will collapse into a more liquid form if a heavy object, like a human or animal, disturbs it. After liquefying, the mix tends to solidify, trapping the legs of an animal in wet, heavy sand.
There are also dry forms of quicksand, according to researchers. Experiments under controlled laboratory conditions have shown that manmade sand can suck an object under its surface, but this type of deep, dry quicksand has never been observed in nature, and it’s not been established that Mount Baldy is an example of dry quicksand.
Using ground-penetrating radar
NPS crews have teamed with the Environmental Protection Agency researchers to get to the bottom of the mysterious holes in Mount Baldy. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been used to get a better understanding of the large sand dune.
The GPR surveys revealed a layer of soil buried beneath the shifting sands that now cover Mount Baldy. That layer of soil was exposed to the surface during part of the 20th century, according to an NPS statement.
“This particular dune has a complicated history,” Argyilan said, referring to Mount Baldy. The site was once mined for sand used in the manufacture of glass Mason jars. There are also manmade structures like an old wooden staircase buried beneath the surface of the dune.
Old photos reveal what’s buried
Argyilan has examined historical photographs of the area to determine what has changed since the 1930s. Trees and grass that once covered Mount Baldy are now also buried.
These discoveries have led researchers to what they consider their leading hypothesis: Some items buried beneath the sandy surface — trees, brush or manmade structures or debris — “were buried by the rapid landward movement of the dune during the late 1900s,” according to an NPS statement.
“The age of the materials and the wet conditions during the spring of 2013 may have forced these materials to become unstable, collapsing and creating openings to the surface,” according to the statement.
The National Park Service is continuing to use GPR and core samples to determine what lies beneath Mount Baldy, and how that may contribute to the appearance of deep holes in the dune. For the time being, the area remains off-limits to park visitors.
Update 15:37 UTC : A 4.7 aftershock has been reported a little while ago – This will go on for several weeks although the Magnitude will radually decrease BUT some big ones cannot be excluded ! This came in now : Chiang Rai Earthquake felt 20min ago. Desk was shaking & my drinks swapped forwards & backwards in the glass #Thailand #bangkok #earthquake
Update 14:57 UTC : @NickOlsen reports : 28 hours after the quake in Chiang Rai, the aftershocks are still going strong
Update 09:55 UTC : The Bangkok Post wrote a little earlier : Seven districts of Chiang Rai have been declared disaster-stricken areas to facilitate quick assistance for people affected by the earthquake that rocked the northern province on Monday evening. The declaration in the wake of the quake of the 6.3 magnitude quake covers Phan, Mae Lao, Mae Suai, Wiang Chai, Muang Chiang Rai, Pa Daet and Phaya Mengrai districts. More than 3,500 houses, 10 temples, three schools, three hospitals, a hotel and a road were damaged there.
Update 09:40 UTC : CHIANGRAI, 6 May 2914 (NNT) – Chiang Rai province is urging all sectors to assist victims from the earthquake especially in Mae Lao district and Phan district. So far it’s known that four houses totally collapsed in Mae Lao district. Reports to date say no one was wounded nor died (this is in conflict with reports we have seen in the Thai press).
Ajarn Chalermchai Kositpipat who built Wat Rong Khun has surveyed the damage that resulted from the earthquake and this morning’s aftershocks. Wat Rong Khun cannot be opened for visitors. The top of the Stupa at Wat Rong Khun fell off. Wall paintings were torn away and roof tiles fell off. Ajarn Chalermchai said there won’t be any reconstruction of this temple since he is far too old.
Meanwhile, the Chiang Rai Governor asks all sectors to assist as a matter of urgency and give aid to the victims. Moreover, Phan district has been declared a disaster area since it is situated at the quake’s epicenter.
Update 07:00 UTC : The map below shows the distribution of the strongest aftershocks. The last M5 was at an equal distance from the epicenter than Chiang Rai, but in the opposite direction. Our warning from yesterday is becoming reality. A shallow M5 can further damage houses and infrastructure!
– The number of wounded has in the meantime increased to 32
Important Update May 6, 04:30 UTC : Officials confirmed the death of at least one woman (83) from Mae Lao district, which was hit by a collapsing wall. At least 30 other people were injured.
Update 21:44 UTC : Below a recent aftershock measuring M4.4 at a depth of 13 km which sparked a readers peak. The colors are the shaking intensities. Red square is the 4.4 aftershock. The biggest blue square the mainshock and the smallest blue another 4.4 aftershock Warning for Chiang Rai and for Mae Lao : The image below is also very good to see the distribution of the epicenters. Aftershocks can hit in a 0 to 50 km radius or even more. Both cities are within this radius and in case of a strong to very strong one, people should at all times be prepared.
Update 21:20 UTC : A new aftershock has just been reported from the epicenter area
Update 20:41 UTC : A security video from a Buddhist temple shows a) the serenity of the young monks and b) what happens when the shaking starts
Update 18:35 UTC : This evening, many families in Chiang Rai are sleeping outdoors due to many aftershocks
A reader wrote : Heard loud noises like construction piling and thunder which got louder, followed by severe to violent shaking of the building, glass doors and curtains, lasting over 60 secs. Several aftershocks felt for the next 5 hours.
Update 17:10 UTC : Hard to believe that nobody got hurt during this earthquake when we look at the dame – Only 1 stone on somebody’s head can be fatal. May we be a little unsure about this NO injuries ! We will continue to look around the following hours to see whether we can keep the No injuries / No fatalities situation which we have now.
Update 16:49 UTC : We are happy that we have still no reports about injured people. Damage is hard to accept but can be repaired. Injured people or loss of live on the other hand is much harder to deal with. We had to delete the video because it restarted automatically after the refresh of the page. Click here to view it.
Update 15:01 UTC : The Thai Press is talking about the biggest Earthquake with an epicenter in Thailand since 100 years. We think they are wrong. Except for a very cruel one in 460 we could not find any other in the NOAA catalog since then, this makes the M6.0 to be the BIGGEST EARTHQUAKE SINCE 1554 YEARS ! (see also NOAA table with historic earthquakes below. Neighboring Myanmar had some bigger ones, but these epicenters were all across the border. Especially the Tashileik earthquake (Yellow encircled on the map) who occurred in 2011 was just across the border and maybe part of the same fault lines (has to be confirmed by scientists). That 2011 earthquake had sadly enough 75 fatalities. Many houses collapsed in Myanmar and more than 10,000 houses were damaged! Update = After writing this update we found the following in the local press which we were not aware off as this quake wasn’t listed in the international NOAA catalog : Penneung (Asian Institute of Technology seismological expert Dr Penneung Wanitchai) said the quake, which damaged several properties, was the largest in Thailand since 1935, when a 6.5-magnitude quake hit Nan province and an area near the Lao border.
Update 15:01 UTC : The 2 YouTube videos below are telling us a lot about what happened.
* The supermarket video shows total chaos to get out of the building while the shaking was going on. With 0.5 Magnitude more you won’t be able to run away (to be compared with Beaufort 7 on a ship = running impossible) – This running away may lead to even more chaos + a lot of injuries.
* The parking lot video shows us in essence that the shaking lasted only a very short time and this is the main reason what we call until now a “lucky escape (no injuries or fatalities yet)” – Long strong shaking (30 seconds or more) makes many more houses and buildings to collapse !
Update 14:35 UTC : The earthquake occurred close to the border of Myanmar and we have some preliminary reports that damage was also recorded in Myanmar. Tashileik is a city closest to the epicenter in Myanmar. Doi Pha Hom Pok and Haui Nam Dang National Park are National Parks in Thaland to the west of the epicenter but still within what we see as a potential damaging area. The tallest peak is Doi Pha Hom Pok at 2,285 meters the third highest in Thailand. This indicates at the same time that the risk for damaging/injuring landslides in the area is a reality. The Park has some thermal spring confirming the activity in the underground.
Update 14:25 UTC : Thai sources are reporting that this earthquake was the strongest they had during the last 100 years!
Update 14:08 UTC : The Airport of Chiang Rai is functioning again like nothing happened. What with an eventual strong aftershock while a plane is lifting or landing? Has anyone looked into this risk ? This was a major earthquake at very close distance from an important airport! A very strong aftershock is a real possibility as the ground layers have to find a new balance !
Update 13:52 UTC : It is currently 20:52 in Thailand. The evening and night will be an additional backlash for SAR (Search and Rescue) teams and Civil Defense personnel.
Update 13:47 UTC : It was in the north part though .. in Chiang Rai, Thailand .. but lots of roads damaged and houses/buildings fallen – This does not look comforting at all – we are still looking for news of eventual injuries. When we get it (hope we dont find it) we will write it in an update
Update 13:30 UTC : A reader of wiangpapao just wrote : 2 hours later still have some aftershocks
Update 13:19 UTC : We have found out that the Chiang Rai hospital has been damaged also (mainly cracks in walls). Useless to say that there where widespread blackouts
Update 12:53 UTC : People in the epicenter area are reporting a lot of aftershocks
Update 12:45 UTC : Reports which we received from our own readers and from close to the epicenter. Mixed reports which are due to the house or office they are living in and also the underground of their houses. We truly thank our readers for sharing their experiences with our readers.
Update 12:45 UTC : reports of fallen ceilings in Chiang Rai Airport and in residential houses
Update 12:26 UTC : So far only images and reports of a lot of damage (will run into the millions of $). No word of any injuries or even worse fatalities so far.
Update 12:19 UTC : On some places the ground has been ruptured totally as can be seen here on the Facebook photo from https://www.facebook.com/stephendarby77?fref=photo (the way to his house !)
Important Update 12:08 UTC : Based on the USGS data, Max Wyss who is specialized in the theoretical calculation of possible fatalities / injured, he reports that ESTIMATE OF HUMAN LOSSES = Injured Exp. min/max: 300/2000 and Fatalities Exp. min/max: 100/600.
Update 12:04 UTC : The picture below (courtesy Twitter account @Mtjunerr) shows what we mentioned a little earlier. It will certainly be the first one in a series of many.
Update 12:02 UTC : Some experience reports are being send in from Myanmar, but we believe (100% sure) that it will have been felt also in neighboring China (Yunnan) and Laos.
Update 11:57 UTC : The historic earthquake list for Thailand is giving us hope.
Update 11:45 UTC : What we expected has been confirmed. This earthquake is a dangerous strike/slip earthquake where the main movement of the ground is horizontal. Houses who are not build with an earthquake resistance have a hard time to survive in the epicenter area. The movement can either be from the North-West to the South-East or or from the South-West to the North-East (white plane to the orange planes)
Update 11:38 UTC : At ER we think that the shaking values in the (theoretical) USGS tables below are a little exaggerated based on the testimonies we receive from Chiang Rai (about 1 point)
Update 11:34 UTC : Earthquake-report.com reader messages are giving us hope that the damage will not be widespread as a number of people living in Chiang Rai are telling us that they had NO damage + the MMI values they are telling us are confirming this hope : Max. strong shaking
Update 11:29 UTC : Earthquake-report.com does expect certainly a lot of damage and even injuries based on the current seismological data.
Update 11:28 UTC : Good News AND Very bad news : The preliminary Magnitude has been decreased by USGS to M6.0 BUT the depth has now been set at only 7 km. That is exstremely shallow and makes this earthquake much more dangerous !
Update 11:20 UTC : Following EMSC is the epicenter at only 11 km from Chiang Rai !
356 km NW of Vientiane, Laos / pop: 196,731 / local time: 18:08:47.0 2014-05-05
11 km S of Chiang Rai, Thailand / pop: 78,756 / local time: 18:08:47.0 2014-05-05
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 6
Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2014-05-05 18:08:47
Action and stillness are part of what is going on right now. You confined yourself motivated, ready, on the go, and then within the same instant losing all your momentum, becoming confused, and letting go. Today’s energy is very scattered, so there are a lot of different swirls and eddies within it. It is easy to get caught up in one, but then something else grabs your attention. This is a day for listening. Listen to what others say. Listen to the wind. Listen to the birds. Listen to the Earth. There is a story being told on each level. You may or may not understand, but today is not about understanding, it is about observing. See well.
Many Michigan residents will lose their right to keep livestock on their own property due to a new ruling from the state’s Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The Commission ruled April 28 that local governments have the right to ban livestock from any area zoned residential in the state.
The action will “effectively remove Right to Farm Act protection for many urban and suburban backyard farmers raising small numbers of animals,” Gail Philbin of the Michigan Sierra Club told Michigan Live. The Right to Farm Act is a state law designed to protect farmers from nuisance lawsuits and zoning regulations. The Commission ruled that the Right to Farm (RTF) Act does not apply to homeowners who keep small numbers of livestock.
“It’s all ‘Big Farm,” and it’s ‘Big Farm” deciding against the little farm,” Kim White, who raises chickens and rabbits, said of the Commission’s vote. “They don’t want us little guys feeding ourselves. They want us to go all to the big farms. They want to do away with small farms and I believe that is what’s motivating it.”
“The Commission is essentially taking sides in the marketplace,” Philbin said.
Bees, Chickens and Goats Now Illegal?
Governments could ban goats, chickens and even bee hives on properties where there are 13 homes within an eighth of a mile of a livestock property or another home within 250 feet of the property, under the Commission’s ruling, Michigan Public Radio reported.
“I believe we have over 100 communities in Michigan who have ordinances on the books against chickens and bees and other things, and they will be able to continue to move forward with those,” Jamie Clover Adams, the director of Michigan’s Department and Rural Development, told Michigan Radio.
The rationale for the Commission’s action is that officials are afraid there would be political pressure to repeal the Right to Farm to Act in order to stop backyard farming, Michigan Radio reported.
Opponents of the rule change have not laid out a course of action yet, although some backyard farmers are considering a legal challenge. Other possible courses of action include legislation in the state legislature and a ballot initiative.
Regulatory Limbo
Some homesteaders in Michigan could find themselves in a complete regulatory limbo because of the Commission’s action. Blogger, writer and organic farmer Michelle Regalado Deatrick does not know if she’ll be able to keep her livestock, because about half of her 80-acre farm may not be zoned for farm animals.
“We’re building up a mixed production farm, planning to farm during retirement, and we have a permit in hand for a livestock facility,” Deatrick said, “but have waited with building until we were sure of what the GAAMP changes would be. Now we’re having to reconsider our business plans and may sell the farm and buy a farm in a more rural area with definite [Right To Farm] protection, or move to another state that’s more welcoming and protective of small farm rights.”
GAAMP refers to the Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices, a set of guidelines put out by the state of Michigan. The current GAAMP designates many small farms as Category 3 lands where livestock might not be allowed.
“Category 3 sites may be zoned for agriculture, but are generally not suitable for livestock production facilities,” the GAAMP states. “They may be suitable for livestock facilities with less than 50 animal units.”
Another problem is that local governments in Michigan are under no obligation to follow the GAAMP. It is simply a set of guidelines.
Michigan is one of several areas where property owners have had to fight for the right to raise food on their own land. Off the Grid News has reported that property owners in Florida and Quebec have been barred from planting vegetable gardens.
