What We Learned This Week - Dog Day Afternoon

My dogs, Amy and Kooper, sad at the
prospect of staying home on Thursday

Farmers disagree over exactly what the proposed definition of “Waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act means for farmers (the National Farmers Union and American Farm Bureau, for example). The Mississippi River basin's dams block some kinds of sediment from going downriver, but not all kinds, and that may be good for the Louisiana delta. There was some minor flooding in the Middle Mississippi River valley; here, here and here, for example.   The 2014 navigation season officially began in the Upper Mississippi River. Midwest farmers are willing to provide ecosystem services, especially if they are paid.  El Niño is on its way in the Pacific Ocean, with implications for the U.S. later in the year.  Asian carp are making their way into the headwaters of the Ohio River watershed, with possible implications for the Great Lakes.   The historic Louisiana coastal damages lawsuit against major oil companies will soon be history, but with coastal Louisiana parishes losing residents because of coastal erosion, they'll soon be no one left to care. EPA can retroactively lower cellulosic biofuel mandates for past years when they find that those mandates weren't met. And Secretary of State John Kerry brought his dog Ben to "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work" day, at the U.S. Department of State on Thursday, but my dogs stayed home.