TECHNIQUES OF BASKETBALL SUBSTITUTION
We are all familiar with typical substitution protocols for fouls, injuries, height and weight matchups, and various other as-need-basis practices. Although there is merit in individual substitution, there are many occasions when the instant-shock factor of unit-substitution will provide the quickest and most stabilizing effect of “righting-the-ship” when facing an unexpected onslaught from an opponent. The preparation of 5-man units who have been prepared to meet various attack-and-response challenges and who are able to mount successful skirmishes appropriate to the occasion can effectively respond to the various offensive and defensive strategies of opponents. Instead of relying on individuals with appropriate tactical-response skills, the use of entire units prepared for immediate response to specific offense and defense tactics will offer a more complete and effective alternative than any single player can provide. Coaching staffs skilled in the recognition of various offensive and defensive strategies combined with three sets of 5-man, alert and prepared tactical units intent on their mission of disrupting any strategy their opponent throws at them will revolutionize the game of basketball as we know it. The element of surprise combined with prepared and fresh units in lock-and-load position can respond and wreak havoc on any line of attack and prevent any meaningful attempts at recovery by staying a step ahead of the opponent. Readiness is the key to a program of this kind, so full-on scrimmages should replace warm-up drills and shoot-around routines as a better method of pregame preparation. Timing rotations effectively will ensure that all units are able to stay in contest-ready condition throughout the game. Dividing game-time minutes equitably among units will allow full-scale warm-up routines without fear of fatigue and pre-game slump. Coaching staff skilled in the identification of unusual offensive and defensive strategies must have the ability to instantly inform units of their detection and appropriate responses. The element of surprise is critical in overcoming the opposition, both in readiness to fully-engage in full-court defensive and offensive strategies from the opening tipoff and in the advantage gained through unannounced rotations of units, timed to keep the opposition off-balance and unable to appropriately respond before the rotation is completed again, assuring that the opposition is unable to recover their equilibrium.
Mark Overt Skilbred
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
BASKETBALL---WHEN SUBSTITUTES BECOME THE MAIN ATTRACTION
BASKETBALL---WHEN SUBSTITUTES BECOME THE MAIN ATTRACTION
Basketball team excellence has always depended on bench strength and depth. It has long been understood that organizations wishing to develop their franchises most effectively must recruit the strongest and most talented offensive and defensive players which are available at the high school and college level. Once this has been accomplished, the long process begins of improving their chances to play through scrimmaging each other and with the “regulars” in practice and throughout the season, by being substituted for those with injuries or foul trouble, to gain height or weight advantage, or to take advantage of certain offensive and defensive skills which become necessary as conditions demand. This often becomes a long development process, with occasional exceptions for those with superstar talents, or for those with the necessary skill-sets who are fortunate enough to be acquired at just the right time.
This can be a delicate balancing act for owners and management, who are pressured to attract and keep the most talented veterans and at the same time offer recruits opportunity for advancement within their organizations. Often talented players run out of the patience needed to endure delays caused perhaps by management, but also by various other factors including the inability to fit neatly into the rotation pattern which has been established. It may be that coaching staffs intend to eventually make use of certain individuals, but that day just doesn’t arrive quickly enough to satisfy everyone. Injuries may cause a coaching staff to temporarily substitute players whose talents are then given proper recognition.
At the high school level, B-teams allow players to develop their talents within a game setting, serving to enhance the skills of younger players, increase their endurance, and assist in the development of coaching staffs. When B-team players are allowed to play on a regular and consistent basis, their skill levels increase rapidly through exposure brought about by the regular number of minutes played, the opportunity to fit into a regular rotational flow with players whose skills match their own, and through experiencing the level of intensity which only an actual game provides. Although scrimmaging is the next-best thing to playing, it is no substitute for regular seasonal play, and especially playoff experience, where pressure is greatly increased.
How can owners, management and coaching staffs optimize the use of their teams so that everyone benefits through the development of skilled players, increased fan-support, and the resulting financial advantages which result from a more competitive environment? The rotation of 5-man units which are used to strategically impact the game through the pony-express ability to increase speed and endurance and reduce fatigue and injury will not only add the element of surprise, but will increase player-skills, scores, fan-interest, coaching options, and ultimately player and team health and attitude. When all players equitably share minutes, mental and physical abilities are enhanced. Realizing that on a systematic and strategic basis, their full attention and participation is required will have the effect of greater involvement. The endurance which is currently demanded of players on an individual basis can be shared as 5-man units more efficiently, resulting in higher scores, more productive rotations, greater fan interest and increased revenues.
Options which now depend on endurance factors, such as full-court press, run-and-gun, fast-break, various isolation and interception techniques, as well as every offensive and defensive weapon in the coaching arsenal will be improved when 5-man rotation units share available minutes and strategies on a more equitable basis and when player-usage is maximized rather than minimized. Consider which team will prevail season-by-season—one which is optimized through the use of all of its players, or one which makes ruthless demands on 7 or 8 players, to the virtual exclusion and ultimately the lack of consistent development of the balance of the team. Teams which consistently depend on the same few players unwittingly are developing themselves into desperate, needy and dependent organizations lacking the necessary options for the long haul. I know which team I would rather be a part of, and I think I know which team will win more championships.
Initial objections to a more balanced 5-man-unit rotational approach may include those who feel that individual scoring results will suffer as a result of balancing efforts, but the increase in stamina, reduction in injuries, and the increase in overall team performance and fan support will eventually overcome these objections. Careers may actually be extended by making more reasonable seasonal demands on players. Concerns that win-loss percentages and their divisional standings may suffer while these changes are being implemented can be offset ultimately by overall team improvement in skills and attitude.
Consider the following scenario: Superstar X on Team A is carrying the team because they have no other current option available to them, through lack of development. Superstar X sustains a season-altering injury or condition, forcing the substitution of a player who has limited game-exposure and rotational experience. Now begins the long process of development which may or may not lead to limited, but ineffective results for the team. Contrast this with Team B, which has consistently developed 5-man rotational units: A fresh rotational unit is immediately exchanged for the disabled unit and the game continues with minimal impact. Efforts to immediately replace or retrain a substitute have been greatly reduced. Which team option seems better for owner, management, coaching staff, players and fans? Consider well your options and plan appropriately.
Mark Overt Skilbred
Basketball team excellence has always depended on bench strength and depth. It has long been understood that organizations wishing to develop their franchises most effectively must recruit the strongest and most talented offensive and defensive players which are available at the high school and college level. Once this has been accomplished, the long process begins of improving their chances to play through scrimmaging each other and with the “regulars” in practice and throughout the season, by being substituted for those with injuries or foul trouble, to gain height or weight advantage, or to take advantage of certain offensive and defensive skills which become necessary as conditions demand. This often becomes a long development process, with occasional exceptions for those with superstar talents, or for those with the necessary skill-sets who are fortunate enough to be acquired at just the right time.
This can be a delicate balancing act for owners and management, who are pressured to attract and keep the most talented veterans and at the same time offer recruits opportunity for advancement within their organizations. Often talented players run out of the patience needed to endure delays caused perhaps by management, but also by various other factors including the inability to fit neatly into the rotation pattern which has been established. It may be that coaching staffs intend to eventually make use of certain individuals, but that day just doesn’t arrive quickly enough to satisfy everyone. Injuries may cause a coaching staff to temporarily substitute players whose talents are then given proper recognition.
At the high school level, B-teams allow players to develop their talents within a game setting, serving to enhance the skills of younger players, increase their endurance, and assist in the development of coaching staffs. When B-team players are allowed to play on a regular and consistent basis, their skill levels increase rapidly through exposure brought about by the regular number of minutes played, the opportunity to fit into a regular rotational flow with players whose skills match their own, and through experiencing the level of intensity which only an actual game provides. Although scrimmaging is the next-best thing to playing, it is no substitute for regular seasonal play, and especially playoff experience, where pressure is greatly increased.
How can owners, management and coaching staffs optimize the use of their teams so that everyone benefits through the development of skilled players, increased fan-support, and the resulting financial advantages which result from a more competitive environment? The rotation of 5-man units which are used to strategically impact the game through the pony-express ability to increase speed and endurance and reduce fatigue and injury will not only add the element of surprise, but will increase player-skills, scores, fan-interest, coaching options, and ultimately player and team health and attitude. When all players equitably share minutes, mental and physical abilities are enhanced. Realizing that on a systematic and strategic basis, their full attention and participation is required will have the effect of greater involvement. The endurance which is currently demanded of players on an individual basis can be shared as 5-man units more efficiently, resulting in higher scores, more productive rotations, greater fan interest and increased revenues.
Options which now depend on endurance factors, such as full-court press, run-and-gun, fast-break, various isolation and interception techniques, as well as every offensive and defensive weapon in the coaching arsenal will be improved when 5-man rotation units share available minutes and strategies on a more equitable basis and when player-usage is maximized rather than minimized. Consider which team will prevail season-by-season—one which is optimized through the use of all of its players, or one which makes ruthless demands on 7 or 8 players, to the virtual exclusion and ultimately the lack of consistent development of the balance of the team. Teams which consistently depend on the same few players unwittingly are developing themselves into desperate, needy and dependent organizations lacking the necessary options for the long haul. I know which team I would rather be a part of, and I think I know which team will win more championships.
Initial objections to a more balanced 5-man-unit rotational approach may include those who feel that individual scoring results will suffer as a result of balancing efforts, but the increase in stamina, reduction in injuries, and the increase in overall team performance and fan support will eventually overcome these objections. Careers may actually be extended by making more reasonable seasonal demands on players. Concerns that win-loss percentages and their divisional standings may suffer while these changes are being implemented can be offset ultimately by overall team improvement in skills and attitude.
Consider the following scenario: Superstar X on Team A is carrying the team because they have no other current option available to them, through lack of development. Superstar X sustains a season-altering injury or condition, forcing the substitution of a player who has limited game-exposure and rotational experience. Now begins the long process of development which may or may not lead to limited, but ineffective results for the team. Contrast this with Team B, which has consistently developed 5-man rotational units: A fresh rotational unit is immediately exchanged for the disabled unit and the game continues with minimal impact. Efforts to immediately replace or retrain a substitute have been greatly reduced. Which team option seems better for owner, management, coaching staff, players and fans? Consider well your options and plan appropriately.
Mark Overt Skilbred
Sunday, November 1, 2009
SOME BASKETBALL SUGGESTIONS REGARDING 5-MAN ROTATIONS
SOME BASKETBALL SUGGESTIONS REGARDING 5-MAN ROTATIONS
1. Three 5-man units per 15-member team.
2. 16 minutes average per player per game.
3. Full-court press for 48 minutes.
4. Ideal rules for the NBA, WNBA, NCAA, NAIA, HS, YMCA, YWCA, Junior High, Grade School & Intramural Basketball, both nationally and internationally, etc.
5. Everyone has the same number of minutes to improve their game averages, players can play harder and faster, knowing that they will only play 1/3 as much as usual. Playing for fewer minutes will also reduce chances for injuries caused by fatigue. Chances are that fewer fouls will be committed per player, reducing necessary substitutions and lowering stress levels for players and coaching staffs. Players can play for more years, realizing less stress per year. As the three 5-man teams interchange within their rotation, their performance statistics will aid coaches in evaluating which of the three performance units per team maintains the strongest offensive and defensive presence, and can adjust rotations accordingly.
6. Rotating 5-man units simultaneously will save time and improve player readiness to hit-the-floor running.
7. Teams which effectively manage their 5-man rotations to optimize their attack and response times will eventually lead their conferences and ultimately prevail in the playoffs.
As you know, the ideal leagues strive for team-equality regarding talent-level, which leads to loyal fan-base support at the box office and concession windows as well as on television, video-gaming and various other fan-support mechanisms and products. This technique has the potential to increase fan interest by offering a faster-paced game with fewer potential hazards and game-delays, by increasing the profiles and game-time averages of typical bench-warmers and offering fans a wider base of player-recognition, rather than the usual level of player-familiarity established by longer play-time practices. By promoting a more equitable usage of minutes-per-player, the long-term effect is to increase overall team-performance, energy level, speed and accuracy, fan-interest and support. Rather than relying on 7 or 8 key players per team, by using all 15 players, everyone profits—management, coaches, players and fans. Ideally, we should strive to have every team in each conference win 50% of their games and have every playoff series go 7 games. The closer we get to achieving this goal, the more interest we will generate and the more profits will be realized for everyone. Have a great season!
Mark Overt Skilbred
1. Three 5-man units per 15-member team.
2. 16 minutes average per player per game.
3. Full-court press for 48 minutes.
4. Ideal rules for the NBA, WNBA, NCAA, NAIA, HS, YMCA, YWCA, Junior High, Grade School & Intramural Basketball, both nationally and internationally, etc.
5. Everyone has the same number of minutes to improve their game averages, players can play harder and faster, knowing that they will only play 1/3 as much as usual. Playing for fewer minutes will also reduce chances for injuries caused by fatigue. Chances are that fewer fouls will be committed per player, reducing necessary substitutions and lowering stress levels for players and coaching staffs. Players can play for more years, realizing less stress per year. As the three 5-man teams interchange within their rotation, their performance statistics will aid coaches in evaluating which of the three performance units per team maintains the strongest offensive and defensive presence, and can adjust rotations accordingly.
6. Rotating 5-man units simultaneously will save time and improve player readiness to hit-the-floor running.
7. Teams which effectively manage their 5-man rotations to optimize their attack and response times will eventually lead their conferences and ultimately prevail in the playoffs.
As you know, the ideal leagues strive for team-equality regarding talent-level, which leads to loyal fan-base support at the box office and concession windows as well as on television, video-gaming and various other fan-support mechanisms and products. This technique has the potential to increase fan interest by offering a faster-paced game with fewer potential hazards and game-delays, by increasing the profiles and game-time averages of typical bench-warmers and offering fans a wider base of player-recognition, rather than the usual level of player-familiarity established by longer play-time practices. By promoting a more equitable usage of minutes-per-player, the long-term effect is to increase overall team-performance, energy level, speed and accuracy, fan-interest and support. Rather than relying on 7 or 8 key players per team, by using all 15 players, everyone profits—management, coaches, players and fans. Ideally, we should strive to have every team in each conference win 50% of their games and have every playoff series go 7 games. The closer we get to achieving this goal, the more interest we will generate and the more profits will be realized for everyone. Have a great season!
Mark Overt Skilbred
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
IT'S TIME TO LEAVE AFGHANISTAN
ACCORDING TO MATTHEW HOH, IT IS TIME TO LEAVE AFGHANISTAN
According to a riveting Washington Post article published Tuesday, October 27, 2009, by Karen DeYoung, Matthew Hoh just became the first U.S. official to resign his post in protest over the Afghan war. A 36-year-old foreign service officer in Afghanistan and former Marine captain who served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hoh received citations for uncommon bravery and respectful words of praise from his fellow foreign service officers, even as he tendered his resignation. In his own words, Matthew Hoh said, "but the truth is that the majority" [of insurgents] are residents with "loyalties to their families, villages, valleys and to their financial supporters.” Hoh's doubts increased with Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential election, marked by low turnout and widespread fraud. He concluded, he said in his resignation letter, that the war "has violently and savagely pitted the urban, secular, educated and modern of Afghanistan against the rural, religious, illiterate and traditional. It is this latter group that composes and supports the Pashtun insurgency." With "multiple, seemingly infinite, local groups," he wrote, the insurgency "is fed by what is perceived by the Pashtun people as a continued and sustained assault, going back centuries, on Pashtun land, culture, traditions and religion by internal and external enemies. The U.S. and NATO presence in Pashtun valleys and villages, as well as Afghan army and police units that are led and composed of non-Pashtun soldiers and police, provide an occupation force against which the insurgency is justified." American families, he said at the end of the letter, "must be reassured their dead have sacrificed for a purpose worthy of futures lost, love vanished, and promised dreams unkept. I have lost confidence such assurances can be made any more." You can now add my name to the list of Americans who have profound respect and admiration for the courage and dedication shown by Matthew Hoh in calling attention to the intractable issues involved in sustaining an armed conflict in Afghanistan. If it is patriotism that you want, look no further than this man who unselfishly proclaims that "I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan." Hear, Hear, Matthew! May you live long and prosper! Thank you for saying what needed to be said with a credible, precise and wise voice.
Mark Overt Skilbred
According to a riveting Washington Post article published Tuesday, October 27, 2009, by Karen DeYoung, Matthew Hoh just became the first U.S. official to resign his post in protest over the Afghan war. A 36-year-old foreign service officer in Afghanistan and former Marine captain who served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hoh received citations for uncommon bravery and respectful words of praise from his fellow foreign service officers, even as he tendered his resignation. In his own words, Matthew Hoh said, "but the truth is that the majority" [of insurgents] are residents with "loyalties to their families, villages, valleys and to their financial supporters.” Hoh's doubts increased with Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential election, marked by low turnout and widespread fraud. He concluded, he said in his resignation letter, that the war "has violently and savagely pitted the urban, secular, educated and modern of Afghanistan against the rural, religious, illiterate and traditional. It is this latter group that composes and supports the Pashtun insurgency." With "multiple, seemingly infinite, local groups," he wrote, the insurgency "is fed by what is perceived by the Pashtun people as a continued and sustained assault, going back centuries, on Pashtun land, culture, traditions and religion by internal and external enemies. The U.S. and NATO presence in Pashtun valleys and villages, as well as Afghan army and police units that are led and composed of non-Pashtun soldiers and police, provide an occupation force against which the insurgency is justified." American families, he said at the end of the letter, "must be reassured their dead have sacrificed for a purpose worthy of futures lost, love vanished, and promised dreams unkept. I have lost confidence such assurances can be made any more." You can now add my name to the list of Americans who have profound respect and admiration for the courage and dedication shown by Matthew Hoh in calling attention to the intractable issues involved in sustaining an armed conflict in Afghanistan. If it is patriotism that you want, look no further than this man who unselfishly proclaims that "I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan." Hear, Hear, Matthew! May you live long and prosper! Thank you for saying what needed to be said with a credible, precise and wise voice.
Mark Overt Skilbred
Friday, October 23, 2009
THE V.A.--AN AMERICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM THAT WORKS
THE V.A.--AN AMERICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM THAT WORKS
I just finished watching the video “Health, Money and Fear” that was made by members of the U.S. healthcare system who are presenting some viable alternatives to the notion that the solution to our healthcare crisis is to simply throw more money at the system we already have in place. They quite rightly point out that this would only reward a failing system and ensure that conditions will go from bad to worse. I was especially intrigued with the high praise that is given to the Veterans Administration, as presenting a viable alternative to the current healthcare system. As the video points out, the VA gets much higher marks than our current healthcare system in several areas—quality of primary care, medical-record-keeping, affordability, accessibility, patient satisfaction, and other areas. This flies in the face of those who assure us that only our current system can provide the level of care demanded by our citizens, and offers credible evidence that existing government-administered VA care is far better and more affordable than what currently passes for healthcare among the civilian population. Those who claim that government cannot properly administer or provide a high quality healthcare alternative to our current healthcare system should carefully study the VA model and acquaint themselves with the reality of VA healthcare across this country. Certainly, if Medicare were to require all of its recipients to seek care in VA-provided healthcare facilities, it would strain that system beyond its current abilities. However, a government healthcare option which patterned itself after the VA system and made use of VA administrative models and parameters would certainly present a better and more viable alternative than our current system provides. Let’s encourage our government to pursue efforts to model our healthcare system after a system which has proven its ability to provide better and higher-quality care at a more reasonable cost than its counterparts in the civilian-administered and profit-driven healthcare system. Any who doubt that government is capable of providing high-quality healthcare should ask friends in the military which system they prefer—the VA, or ours—and listen carefully to their responses. You will be amazed by their answers and better-able to dialogue with government-detractors. Give government-administered healthcare a chance—it deserves a chance, based on its record with the VA system, as so many of our veterans will gladly testify.
Mark Overt Skilbred
I just finished watching the video “Health, Money and Fear” that was made by members of the U.S. healthcare system who are presenting some viable alternatives to the notion that the solution to our healthcare crisis is to simply throw more money at the system we already have in place. They quite rightly point out that this would only reward a failing system and ensure that conditions will go from bad to worse. I was especially intrigued with the high praise that is given to the Veterans Administration, as presenting a viable alternative to the current healthcare system. As the video points out, the VA gets much higher marks than our current healthcare system in several areas—quality of primary care, medical-record-keeping, affordability, accessibility, patient satisfaction, and other areas. This flies in the face of those who assure us that only our current system can provide the level of care demanded by our citizens, and offers credible evidence that existing government-administered VA care is far better and more affordable than what currently passes for healthcare among the civilian population. Those who claim that government cannot properly administer or provide a high quality healthcare alternative to our current healthcare system should carefully study the VA model and acquaint themselves with the reality of VA healthcare across this country. Certainly, if Medicare were to require all of its recipients to seek care in VA-provided healthcare facilities, it would strain that system beyond its current abilities. However, a government healthcare option which patterned itself after the VA system and made use of VA administrative models and parameters would certainly present a better and more viable alternative than our current system provides. Let’s encourage our government to pursue efforts to model our healthcare system after a system which has proven its ability to provide better and higher-quality care at a more reasonable cost than its counterparts in the civilian-administered and profit-driven healthcare system. Any who doubt that government is capable of providing high-quality healthcare should ask friends in the military which system they prefer—the VA, or ours—and listen carefully to their responses. You will be amazed by their answers and better-able to dialogue with government-detractors. Give government-administered healthcare a chance—it deserves a chance, based on its record with the VA system, as so many of our veterans will gladly testify.
Mark Overt Skilbred
Sunday, September 27, 2009
GOD AND MORALITY
GOD AND MORALITY
We all desire a moral code because ultimately we want others to treat us fairly and not take advantage of us. Those who tend to favor anarchy usually change their mind when they become the victim of someone else’s freedom. There are various ways of expressing this desire for moral order—laws, justice, karma, etc. Those who faithfully adhere to moral codes become good examples for others who may have doubted the values of morality or had basic misunderstandings about freedom. Maturity brings wisdom and reconciliation to chaotic, dissipative and retributive patterns of life. Repentance and forgiveness lead to acceptance of responsibility and changes which reform our thoughts and actions and conform us to morality. It has been said that if there were no God, that it would be necessary to invent Him, because of our more-or-less intense desires for leadership, accountability, order and progressive existence. When we believe in God, we accept His moral order, follow His Leadership, and look forward to being His servants in the perfect Kingdom which He is creating for us. There are many who are already participating in this Kingdom and have realized it, and there are others who are becoming aware of its existence and being drawn towards it. God is always planting Godly seeds which will ultimately result in a bountiful harvest. God’s servants will share in the labor and fruit of the harvest when they diligently perform God’s work. Let us seek to know God’s Will for our lives and conform our wills and efforts toward the development of God’s Kingdom.
Mark Overt Skilbred
We all desire a moral code because ultimately we want others to treat us fairly and not take advantage of us. Those who tend to favor anarchy usually change their mind when they become the victim of someone else’s freedom. There are various ways of expressing this desire for moral order—laws, justice, karma, etc. Those who faithfully adhere to moral codes become good examples for others who may have doubted the values of morality or had basic misunderstandings about freedom. Maturity brings wisdom and reconciliation to chaotic, dissipative and retributive patterns of life. Repentance and forgiveness lead to acceptance of responsibility and changes which reform our thoughts and actions and conform us to morality. It has been said that if there were no God, that it would be necessary to invent Him, because of our more-or-less intense desires for leadership, accountability, order and progressive existence. When we believe in God, we accept His moral order, follow His Leadership, and look forward to being His servants in the perfect Kingdom which He is creating for us. There are many who are already participating in this Kingdom and have realized it, and there are others who are becoming aware of its existence and being drawn towards it. God is always planting Godly seeds which will ultimately result in a bountiful harvest. God’s servants will share in the labor and fruit of the harvest when they diligently perform God’s work. Let us seek to know God’s Will for our lives and conform our wills and efforts toward the development of God’s Kingdom.
Mark Overt Skilbred
Monday, August 31, 2009
SOLUTIONS FOR CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
SOLUTIONS FOR CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
California needs to solicit companies and individuals willing to terrace and place under agricultural development those areas which form the perimeter around the metro areas in California. In exchange for providing this service to California, those willing to assume the cultivation and care of these perimeter areas should be granted 99-year renewable and performance-based leases, access to all perimeter areas, land for the development of rain and runoff catch-basins and irrigation, cooperation from all governmental entities to include expertise, planning, permitting and conflict-resolution.
These greenbelt areas will help to relocate wildfire concentrations to remoter locations where aerial and ground-based efforts of containment will be more effectively managed without the expenditure of such high percentages of manpower and resources within and adjacent to our population centers.
Even in Southern California, where rainfall is the lowest, we allow millions of gallons of precious water to drain into the ocean with minimal attempts to catch and store it for our immediate and future use. Combinations of wind and solar power used in conjunction with terracing, catch-basins, reservoirs, irrigation and drip-irrigation technologies can turn acres of highly combustible chaparral into safe, productive and manageable orchards and cropland.
Even in the heart of the recession, green expenditures on our agricultural infrastructure in California are justified, particularly when opportunities exist for both agri-business and private individuals to develop local cropland acreage in the heart of some of the nation’s largest population centers.
Let’s encourage our government to take the necessary steps to ensure the development of our metro perimeters. This will reduce risks from wildfires, develop valuable agricultural resources and help us to beautify our California landscapes.
Mark Overt Skilbred
California needs to solicit companies and individuals willing to terrace and place under agricultural development those areas which form the perimeter around the metro areas in California. In exchange for providing this service to California, those willing to assume the cultivation and care of these perimeter areas should be granted 99-year renewable and performance-based leases, access to all perimeter areas, land for the development of rain and runoff catch-basins and irrigation, cooperation from all governmental entities to include expertise, planning, permitting and conflict-resolution.
These greenbelt areas will help to relocate wildfire concentrations to remoter locations where aerial and ground-based efforts of containment will be more effectively managed without the expenditure of such high percentages of manpower and resources within and adjacent to our population centers.
Even in Southern California, where rainfall is the lowest, we allow millions of gallons of precious water to drain into the ocean with minimal attempts to catch and store it for our immediate and future use. Combinations of wind and solar power used in conjunction with terracing, catch-basins, reservoirs, irrigation and drip-irrigation technologies can turn acres of highly combustible chaparral into safe, productive and manageable orchards and cropland.
Even in the heart of the recession, green expenditures on our agricultural infrastructure in California are justified, particularly when opportunities exist for both agri-business and private individuals to develop local cropland acreage in the heart of some of the nation’s largest population centers.
Let’s encourage our government to take the necessary steps to ensure the development of our metro perimeters. This will reduce risks from wildfires, develop valuable agricultural resources and help us to beautify our California landscapes.
Mark Overt Skilbred
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