Farmers in the Netherlands and Virginia

choi

(1) John Tagliabue, Dutch Seek Space for a Growing Appetite for Pork. New York Times, Dec 1, 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/0 ... 20farmer&st=cse

Quote:

"The Netherlands, a country of almost 17 million people, is home to a pig population of 14 million. * * * the Netherlands has long been Europe’s leading exporter of pork and pork products

"Farmers have no choice but to expand, he [a Dutch hog farmer Wyno Zwanenburg] says, noting that since 1990, the number of Dutch pig farmers has steadily declined from about 28,000 and is expected to reach about 2,000 in the next few years.

Note:
(a) Creil is a village (population 1,596 in 2005) in the Dutch province of Flevoland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flevoland
(Flevoland was named after Lacus Flevo [leterally "Flevo Lake"] in Roman Times, a smaller precursor of Zuiderzee)
(b) Zuiderzee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuiderzee
(was a shallow bay of the North Sea; Its name means "southern sea" in Dutch)

Quote: "In the 20th century the majority of the Zuiderzee was closed off from the North Sea * * * and the salt water inlet changed into a fresh water lake called the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake) after the river that drains into it. The river IJssel is an estuary branch of the river Rhine

(c) The male given name Thor is after the god of thunder in Scandinavian mythology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor
(d) Dutch male given name Klaas is Dutch form of Claus/Klaus (the former as in Santa Claus), shortened from Niclaus/Niklaus, the German form of Nicholas.
(e) waterworks (n): "the system of reservoirs, channels, mains, and pumping and purifying equipment by which a water supply is obtained and distributed (as to a city)"
www.m-w.com
(f) North-Brabant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-Brabant
(Dutch: Noord-Brabant; a province; section 1 History: there was Duchy of Brabant until the 17th century)


(2) John W Miller, Uranium's Price Rise Spurs Bid to Repeal a Mining Ban. Wall Street Journal, Dec 1, 2011.

The first several paragraphs:

"For generations, the Coles family grew tobacco on land obtained in 1792 through a land grant signed by Thomas Jefferson, the parchment of which hangs in Walter Coles's living room.

"Now Mr Coles wants to tap the riches below: an estimated $7 billion of uranium.

"Mr Coles is leading efforts to repeal a state ban on mining uranium, saying the time is right for himself and other landowners. Prices of the element6 have climbed to more than $50 a pound, from $19 a decade ago. making mining more viable. * * * 71-yea-old Mr Coles['s] family manages Virginia Virginia Uranium, Inc and its Toronto Stock Exchange-listed parent company.

Note:
(a) The report is filed from Chatham, virginia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatham,_Virginia
(b) A graphic with four panels to this report is headlined "From Tobacco and Texitiles to * * * Uranium?"
(c) There is no need to read the rest.