Thursday Roundup: Grebes Crash in Walmart Parking Lot
Hey, it's not every day you hear a song about center pivot irrigation systems. But Agriculture.com pointed us to this ditty (above) by New Jersey indie singer Sarah Donner — The Center Pivot Irrigation Song.
It comes with illustration. What we can't figure out is why Sarah is wearing her seat belt.
• The Pennsylvania legislature is considering laws that "would in their current form sharply limit a community’s right to control where gas companies can operate on private property," reports Sabrina Tavernise in the New York Times .
Tavernise reports on widespread conflicts between local governments and gas and oil drillers. She describes the problem:
Local governments argue that drilling is an industrial activity, just like that of a gas station or a cement factory, that should be subject to zoning. Dozens of towns, cities and counties across the country have enacted rules on drilling noise, lighting and the distance from homes and, in some cases, outright bans. In New York State alone, there have been at least 70 such actions.