More than 100 villagers protest against wind turbines (From Evesham Journal)

VILLAGERS from the Lenches staged a peaceful protest outside a farming conference on the theme of renewables at Pershore last night (29).

Upwards of 100 of them stood for over an hour in the bitter cold carrying “No Wind Turbines” placards as delegates arrived at Pershore College for the annual event organised by Pershore and Upton-on-Severn branch of the NFU.

Cattle Sales Rising | KXNet.com North Dakota News

Typically late fall and beginning of a year - livestock sale rings are buzzing with activity but by now the rush of cattle sales tends to slow down. But not during a winter like this.

A short hay crop last year, and heavy snow and bitter cold is causing long lines at Northern Livestock Auction in Minot.

Livestock producers are selling off cattle at record rates. Some who would normally hold their animals for 2 to 3 years are selling out now.

The deep snow means difficulty in getting to livestock, and food is hard to get to, while corrals are filling up with snow. The price of cattle is also having an impact on sales.

After freezing death of 93-year-old, Michigan city suspends electricity shutoffs

Amidst widening public outrage over the freezing death of 93-year-old Marvin Schur. which took place some time between January 13 and 17, municipal authorities in Bay City, Michigan have announced plans to temporarily suspend electricity shutoffs and the use of “limiters,” devices that restrict and potentially block energy to households delinquent on electricity bills.

Schur died after the city put a limiter on his house as punishment for accruing just under $1,100 in outstanding bills to the municipally owned electric company.
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It is now clear that city officials in Bay City had hoped to cover up Schur’s death. An initial obituary, published on Sunday, January 25, approximately 10 days after Schur’s death, referred to the man dying “unexpectedly …at his residence.” Angry neighbors called the Bay City Times, which confirmed the manner in which Schur died with Dr. Kanu Virani, the coroner who performed the autopsy on Schur’s body on January 19. Then on January 26 the Bay City Times ran an article revealing the use of the limiter and its connection to Schur’s death, which was quickly picked up by national and international news media.
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Schur’s freezing death is also an indictment of how US society treats its elderly. Since January 17, four people over the age of 80 have been found frozen in Michigan. Doubtless there are many other such incidents across the country that never come to light. Many of these elderly people fall down near their homes, their bodies only discovered hours, or even days later.
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In recent days, the bitter cold has taken more lives in Michigan.

On Tuesday, the body 67-year-old Daniel Hayes was found in his truck—where he lived because he had no heat, electricity or running water in his house. Hayes lived in a semi-rural area of Wayne County, not far from Detroit.