Hello boys and girls.  The new year is upon us and we are optimistic about 2013.  The longest recession in the history of the US may be, and I repeat, may be, at its wain.  Certainly most signs seem to point to recovery from a dismal past, yet feelings of pain still linger.  With whom are we to place our trust? Equities, that appear so attractive, yet harbor serious questions about p/e ratios and beta indices? Bonds that beg for refinance at the next dip in interest rates?  Gold, Oil, Real Estate, Natural Gas, Commodities, Llama farms, Chinchilla pelts? Nowhere can be found an adequate place to park money that needs 1) liquidity and 2) reasonable ROR. Do not hold your breath for that to change this year.  The Fed has decided that low interest rates are the only thing that is keeping this economy propped up, like a rag doll in the window.

What has happened since 2008 is that companies have grown used to living with a skeleton crew and have convinced themselves that all is well.  All is not well, however.  We, the public, end up with crappy service and crappy products that beg for the extra set of eyes or ears that may have caught the defective item/person but due to cuts have fallen by the wayside.  Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that incompetence did not exist in 2007, on the contrary, it was just as rampant.  We seem to lack to ability to focus on customer satisfaction in good times and bad.

Education is an example of the convoluted logic that exists, at least in CA, regardless of the economic conditions.  Someone, somewhere, decided that we should spend more money on prisons and welfare than on educating our kids.  Did it ever occur to anyone that if we spent more on education, we inherently would spend less on prisons and welfare?  I don't care what language you speak, if you are given the opportunity to learn and be a productive member of society, you have a better chance of not having/wanting to get free stuff from the government or languishing in our prison system.  Prisoners do not pay taxes.  We need more tax payers, not less.  Educated people pay taxes, at least they are supposed to.  We need less people getting free stuff from the government, not more.  Educated people rarely get free stuff, they almost always pay retail.  Groupon deals rock their world.  I have to buy glue sticks for my kid's Kindergarten class, yet the person in front of me at the grocery store can get 24 cans of soda, a big bag of Cheetos, some beef jerky, and some licorice for free?  I know and realize families do need assistance at times, and I sympathize with them.   My beef is with the people who abuse the system, and with those that created it.

Telling is the fact that in CA's best year of education funding on a per student basis in the last 20 years (2007),  we still ranked 50th out of 51(DC included).  We are now so far in last place we can't even see 2nd to last.  Yet, our budget for prisons and welfare exceeds that of every other state.  Really?  That is what we are going to hang our hat on?  How are we to explain this to our children? Better yet, who is accountable?  As someone once said, sanity is a hard thing to detect in an insane asylum.

So Big Tuesday comes and goes and the results are what they are.  Some feel elated, others feel demoralized.  Nationally, at the state level, district, township, and municipalities all have had their opportunity to cask their votes; to voice their opinions about how things are going and how things should be.  That's really the most important point isn't it?  That we have that opportunity?

Sure, there will always be second-guessing and I told you so's, but, no doubt, the biggest reminder of what it is to live in a free society is election day.  Listening to Jim Rome today tell about all the poll workers who give their time every two/four years, driving up in their Oldsmobiles, with their oxygen tanks, referencing the Millard Fillmore administration, cracked me up.

It does cause one also to pause and think, however, about the people who have given their lives, who are sacrificing or at least putting on hold their family life; on foreign soil, in harsh conditions, for reasons they rarely/barely understand.  We are blessed to be able to elect our government officials, and we are able to because of them.  So regardless of which side of the fence you are on, let us come together and salute those that protect the fence.

As for invasive mussels,  they have not and will not pause in their pursuit of total domination, regardless of who is elected.  I think of how far they have managed to get in such a little time, and I am reminded of the movie "The Thing".  The movie has been made and remade several times, but in the great John Carpenter's version with Kurt Russell they had a computer projection that showed what would happen if the creature could get out of the isolation of the Arctic science camp and into a populated civilization.  Within months, the projection predicted, humans would be wiped out.

Thankfully, Zebra and Quagga mussels do not morph into exact replicas of those they come in contact with.  They do, however, continue to spread across the globe, reeking havoc in every fresh water system they encounter.  Billions of dollars are being spent to try to stem the tide, yet they just keep coming.  Perhaps our science and technology will some day develop and patent a method to, if not kill, then repel the little buggers.  Then the hard part will be helping the government understand what we have - regardless of who is in office.

So here's the deal.  The invasive mussels have won.  There is no practical way to remove them from our fresh water system.  I am referring to the fresh water that we all rely on.  To live.  As in life.  300,000,000 million of us in the U.S. and counting.  Let that sink in a little bit.......wait for it......let me start again......There is no practical way to remove them from any fresh water system.  They are almost everywhere and aggressively  taking over any place they are not.  

Humans, supposedly the highest intellect we know of, have been bested by two mollusks known scientifically as Dreissena Polymorpha, or Zebra mussels, and Dreissena Rostriformis Bugensis, or Quagga mussels.  Kicking our ass.  Not even a contest.  If we were in an octagon we would have tapped out long ago.

So what do we do? We can complain to our government - which could turn out well, in an ideal world.  I, currently, am not living in that world.  We could just do nothing, and let the next generation deal with it, similar to the current administrations policies.  Sorry for the political rhetoric. 

What we do is everything, right?  One would think we would focus our impressive scientific and intellectual prowess, intensively and immediately, on the problem.  Instead, we meet in committees, build educational programs, spend money on nothingness.  No effective program in place.  None.  

They come from ballast water used by big ships that bring stuff from other countries.  Believe it or not, there is no restriction on ballast water dumping.  OK, so what do we do about it?  

QuZea LLC has developed a new product that repels the mussels and keeps them away for months.  Think of it as "krytonite" for Zebra and Quagga mussels.  You put this disc in the water, and the mussels hate it.  They remove themselves from the premises and do not return.  It works in all conditions, is safe for all other species, non-toxic, inexpensive, and easy to use.  

So the deal is that there is hope in the fight against these invasive mussels.  Becoming commercially available is the next step.  

TX Senator get in on the fight

By Anthony Tosie, atosie@starlocalnews.com

Published: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 10:01 PM CDT

North Texas has found an ally in the U.S. Senate to help it fight zebra mussels. Sen. John Cornyn met with officials from the North Texas Municipal Water District on Friday to discuss the invasive species and consider solutions for the havoc they've wrecked on the area's water supply.

The North Texas Municipal Water District provides water to more than 1.6 million customers in 13 member cities, one of which is Allen.

At the meeting, held at Plano City Hall, the senator was briefed about the extent of the spread of zebra mussels and the cost they've caused the area.

When zebra mussels were found in Lake Texoma on April 3, 2009, it meant the water district would have to stop pumping water from the lake because of the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act is a federal law that states invasive species cannot be transferred across state lines; Lake Texoma's pump station resides partly in Oklahoma, according to the federal government.

Jim Parks, executive director of the North Texas Municipal Water District, stressed to Cornyn that because Lake Texoma's pump station has been offline for three years, the water district is having difficulty meeting the demands of its customers in an efficient manner.

"Texoma is a vital and critical part of our water supply to our customers," Parks said. "We [also] take water from Lavon, Chatman, Tawakoni and our wetland project, but Texoma amounts to about 25 percent of our water supply - so it's an integral part of our ability to serve our population base."

Parks went on to say the water district is considering multiple routes to alleviate its issue with Lake Texoma offline, although many of the potential fixes are less than ideal for the water district.

One such fix, for instance, would require the water district to go to the U.S. Attorney's Office every five years to renew a non-prosecution agreement to keep it from violating the Lacey Act. The agreement would have to be renewed after each five-year period for as long as Lake Texoma is impacted by zebra mussels.

The best potential fix, Parks said, would be the passage of legislation that would exempt the water district from the Lacey Act.

Legislation to do just that has already been introduced in the House of Representatives via a bill sponsored by Rep. Ralph Hall. That bill, H.R. 6007 (North Texas Zebra Mussel Barrier Act of 2012), does not currently have a counterpart in the Senate, which is where Cornyn would come in.

If those bills pass, the water district's new $300 million pipeline extension would be able to begin transferring water from Lake Texoma directly to a water treatment plant by Lake Lavon. The pipeline would be in service by the end of next year following its completion, Parks said.

Following the briefing, Cornyn had a recommendation on how he could help fight zebra mussels from the U.S. Senate.

"I'm certainly glad to help you in the Senate," Cornyn said. "What we could try to do is something called a 'hotline' bill, [which is where] a noncontroversial bill passes by unanimous consent unless someone objects to it without having to schedule floor time or finding a vehicle for it."

Cornyn added that he'd have to discuss the matter with fellow senators, but that the bill appeared to be noncontroversial enough to him. "You have my commitment we'll do whatever is necessary to help in that regard," he told the water district and city of Plano officials.

In addition to the obvious impact on residents, Cornyn also saw another potential impact the zebra mussel has had on local businesses.

"The fact of the matter is this little mussel threatens the water supply in Plano and this entire region," Cornyn said. "In Texas, we understand that water is absolutely critical to our economy and jobs, and this is a key factor that job creators look to when they try to create new businesses and opportunities."

Mussel Laws take hold

Arizona, Utah Lead Nation in Mussel Control Laws

Seventeen states attorneys general, their staffs, biologists and aquatic invasive species coordinators from throughout the west met recently in Phoenix to examine laws and regulations to help stop the spread of invasive mussels into the waterways.

National Park Service Aquatic Ecologist Mark Anderson from Lake Powell attended the meeting and said there is a big mix of laws throughout the states and one key element in stopping the spread of mussels is having the authority to hold a contaminated boat. He said that is a big reason Lake Powell has been so successful in preventing an infestation: "I'm pleased to say that Utah and Arizona are as good as it gets for the states.

The proper authorities are in place and that's what allows us to take the steps we've taken.

It really makes sense. It goes back to the outreach we've got. As we're working with these states to develop their laws, they're well aware of the programs we have here and the challenges we're facing and it's clear what authorities are needed to make this strong. I would say Arizona and Utah have the best laws across the West." Anderson said one thing was clear at the meeting was that the attorneys general were not aware of the issue and were learning about it for the first time.

Hope that there is hope

Paul Coxe anxiously awaits what he hopes is the final sample of pre-production.  After several iterations, this should be the pouch that he has been waiting for.   

Mr. Coxe is CEO and Founder of a newly-formed environmental innovation company called QuZea, LLC.  The company was formed around the nemesis that is plaguing water ways around the planet - Zebra and Quagga mussels.  Originally found native to the Ukraine and Russian waters, they, like many invasive species, are transported by ship ballast to other countries, where the cargo ships simply dump the ballast water into what ever water they happen to be at port in.  The first appearance of Zebra mussels was in the late 80’s in the Great Lakes, and since then they have reeked havoc upon every fresh water system they have encountered.  Quagga mussels are a close cousin of the Zebra, and are found mostly in Western states.  They spread so easily from lake to lake, from river to river because they are small and attach to virtually anything that enters to water.  Their larvae, or veligers, are microscopic, therefore really hard to clean off a boat or water craft.  Despite the millions of dollars spent on education about these pests, they have managed to infect 45 of the 50 states in the U.S.....so far.  No doubt the other 5 are soon to join the club.  The mussels are winning, and it is not even close.  

Mr. Coxe and his associates have developed a substance that Co-Founder and Director of Marketing James Gregath says “can be considered invasive mussel “kryptonite”.  “What we have here is a product that repels the mussels, drives them away from the area surrounding the pouch, and keeps them away.”  By pouch, he means the current production phase QuZea is going through in Ohio.  The company has decided to first build a product designed to help the marina and dock owners create a mussel-free zone where they park their boats and PWC’s.  

Think of the pouch as the size of a dinner plate, consisting of a foam outer covering with a foam inner core that contains the proprietary blend of non-toxic, environmentally-friendly elements that has proven to be effective against the mussels.  QuZea, LLC is in the process of patenting the pouch.  

In the mean time, they are reaching out to any and all potential customers to use the foam in trial situations to help them improve their knowledge of the effectiveness of the compound in a variety of conditions.  In addition, they have contracted world-renowned third party scientific verification to help them understand the limits of the product. 

“At this point, all is good.  We know what we have works.  We hope to be able to confirm to the world that we have an effective and relatively inexpensive invasive mussel control tool that they can easily apply to their given problem”, Mr. Coxe says, as he studies the first sample off the new cycle.  

We and all the industries that are affected by the onslaught of the Zebra and Quagga mussels hope so too.