This is the 546th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) usually appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the February 3 Green Spotlight. More than 28,428 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
Tevye writes—Wildlife Photograph Of The Year Award Has Been Chosen. Two Survivors Of Horror Find Connection: “Appolinaire Ndohoudou was from Chad. During their civil war, most of his family and friends were killed. With little possessions, he escaped to Cameroon. He wanted to ease the suffering of other living beings. To help other displaced creatures find peace. Pikin is a 6-year old lowland gorilla whose mother, family and friends were also killed, by poachers. For bushmeat. It was what was in store as well for Pikin until she and other gorillas were rescued by Ape Action Africa, an organization dedicated to the conservation of endangered gorillas and chimpanzees, where Appolinaire works as a rescuer and rearer. After their parents are slaughtered for meat, baby apes and chimps are then sold as pets or end up dying in the wild. Pikin was being transferred to a new sanctuary in Cameroon in the lap of Appolinaire when the mild sedatives wore off. As she woke up, she recognized her rescuer, one of the men who freed her from the poachers. They looked at each other. Appolinaire smiled at her and talked gently and quietly to her. Pikin put both both arms around him, the man who will be her caretaker, and relaxed for the hour long trip. It is here that the photograph was taken.”
webranding writes—How To Get Folks Using Public Transportation: “I can get on a bus less than two blocks from my house. I live in a small rural town of under 10,000 folks. Rail line both 3 and 8 miles from my house. But nobody uses it. $2.50 for two hour rail service. Ride wherever you want. $7 for the day. Any rail service gives you a free bus transfer. Parking at the rail lines is free. Super clean. Safe. Senior citizens ride for free. [...] School bus stop a little over a block from my house. On a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky, 75°, parents drive to pick up their kids in a car to drive them a block or two. How do I explain to them public transportation is a good idea? I had one person say to me that only ‘poor people’ public transportation. In kind of a weak moment on my part I said I could ‘buy you.’ I am not poor. We just have a wonderful service right in front of us and you won't use it’.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--Our Feathered Protectors: “I was walking out in the rare February snow in the Pacific Northwest, watching the neighborhood pond overflow from the snowmelt. Steelhead salmon used to migrate up this far but no more. [...] This bald eagle couple has nested west of Portland Oregon for a decade or so, and has raised chicks on occasion, once after an aerial mating. It’s garbage-can sized nest (not pictured) is nestled in a fork of a huge hardwood tree, high about the braided course of Rock Creek and its surrounding bogs. They nest about a quarter-mile upstream from where they are perched in these pictures. The lake below them is stocked with trout, and features many ducks, geese, coots, and nutria, along with careless neighborhood pets. Deer and coyotes also roam this area where the suburbs and rural countryside meet, divided by the Creek’s drainage.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: why trees do it naked: “Trees near me are bursting into bloom on naked branches. Native (redbud, willow) and exotic (apple, almond, quince) flower buds open while their leaves remain tight in buds. Evergreen woody plants like ceanothus, viburnum, and camellia are blooming wildly yet no new spring leaves grow. This isn’t just a temperate zone phenomenon, in the tropics some trees drop leaves at the beginning of wet season and flower at the end of the rainy period before new leaves have expanded. These tree flowers remind us of winter’s end, but nature isn’t rewarding us for making it through another annual stint of cold short days. The trees just do it for themselves and our pleasure is a fringe benefit. [...] Trees have their reasons for flowering before leafing out. The botanical term for this type of flowering is hysteranthous. Hyster is from the same root Latin and Greek words that mean womb or ovary and result in the word hysteria. Anthos means having flowers and is from the Greek word antho meaning flower. The benefit to trees is two-fold. Wind pollination is favored when flowers bloom before leaves expand. For others, large floral display are more attractive to pollinators.”
OceanDiver writes—Dawn Chorus: World of Wings: “The inspiration for this Dawn Chorus came from kishik in an earlier D.C. who showed some pictures she took of her local Sharpie working on a dove carcass. The image of that little raptor spreading its wings, both to mantle its prey and to take flight, was so lovely I thought it would be fun to highlight that unique aspect of birds.Wings are what makes birds most different from us. Both of us can walk, swim, hop, skip and jump, but birds can take to the sky too, while we are trapped below, trudging along the ground, perceiving the world mostly as Flatland. Birds have a freedom we can only dream of, and they use it — not just getting around, but for finding food, escaping predators, migrating across the world, courtship displays, even playing. In addition to the the light cloak of feathers, flying has required evolution to craft a very different configuration of the basic bones all vertebrates have in their arms. As we can see in this comparative diagram, in birds have evolved very large (compared to their body size) but few-fingered hands, long forearms, and short upper arms.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - ducks in catspaws: “The wind shifted around overnight and the day was blowing a cold nor’easter Sunday. Really blowing! — 30 and then 40 knots steady, gusts to 50 knots. It was a brilliantly sunny day, typical of our nor’easters, temp around freezing. That kind of weather makes me a little nervous about walking in the woods, with branches cracking and falling, but my usual beach was getting wind-blasted, not a place to hang out long. Can literally get knocked over in the gusts. [...] Did see some cool wind effects in the sand though. [...] So, too windy on that beach! Where to go walking on a day like this? Somewhere in the lee of the wind. The nearby southeast facing bay was just the ticket. The ducks evidently thought so too. There were flocks of Buffies, Redbreasted Mergansers and Surf Scoters in the bay, foraging, grooming and snoozing. The different shades of blue water are a clue to who’s in a catspaw.”
Lenny Flank writes—Photo Diary: Some Florida Birdies at Lake Eolas: “Since my birthday was this past weekend (I turned 19 for the 38th time) I decided to have a nice relaxing day. So I spent the day at Lake Eola Park in Orlando FL, which is a nice place to walk around and always has lots of birdies and turtles hanging around. Took a baggie of Cheerios with me and made lots of feathery friends. Then took myself out for a nice steak dinner at the T Rex restaurant in Disney Springs.”
Dan Bacher writes—Commission Suspends License of Charter Boat Operator for Poaching: “The California Fish and Game Commission on February 7 ordered a five-year suspension of the license of Pacific Star Sportfishing, Inc., a recreational sportfishing vessel operator, for fishing in a ‘marine protected area’ created under the privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. They made the decision following oral arguments heard at the Commission meeting on in Sacramento. In an undercover operation and subsequent boarding by officers in 2013, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) wildlife officers observed 18 violations including poaching within California’s marine protected area (MPA) network, exceeding the possession limits of several fish species, using illegal methods to take fish and failing to report accurate counts on logbooks. Based on these violations, CDFW filed an accusation with the Commission against Pacific Star requesting that the Commission suspend this commercial passenger fishing vessel license, according to Jordan Traverso of the CDFW in a news release.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Pakalolo writes—Sea ice fell to its lowest level since human civilization began more than 12,000 years ago: “The world’s sea ice hits a record low for January as the annual melting period expanded according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The 5.04 million square miles of sea ice in the Arctic was 524,000 sq miles less than the average 1981-2010 cover. It is the lowest recorded since satellite records began. Eric Holthause, writing for Grist, has a good read on yet another miserable milestone falling. Holthause notes that the loss of sea ice is bad news for the biosphere. But the rate of change is even more worrying. He writes; ‘Global temperatures are rising at a rate far in excess of anything seen in recent Earth history. That means, in all likelihood, these latest records were made to be broken’: [...] So far, the new year has been remarkably warm on both poles. The past 30 days have averaged more than 21 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal in Svalbard, Norway — the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world. Last month, a tanker ship completed the first wintertime crossing of the Arctic Ocean without the assistance of an icebreaker. Down south in the Antarctic, sea ice is all but gone for the third straight year as summer winds to a close.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Study Supports Canadian Ruling That Denier Tim Ball Not Credible Enough to Libel: “Deniers have scored a victory in Canada—well, sort of. Last week, a judge dismissed a libel suit brought against longtime climate denier Tim Ball for an article attacking climate scientist (since turned Green Party politician) Dr. Andrew Weaver. Though deniers were quick to celebrate the dismissal, the ruling wasn’t particularly great news for them, as a pair of new posts at DeSmog explain. The judge ruled that Ball’s article (since retracted by the Canadian Free Press) didn’t damage Dr. Weaver’s reputation because the article is ‘poorly written and does not advance credible arguments.’ He noted in his ruling that the ‘vague references to missing or falsified data and political manipulation, unsubstantiated and erroneous references’ made by Ball weren’t enough to actually cause anyone to question Weaver’s credibility, and that Ball’s piece was ‘rife with errors and inaccuracies’.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Deniers Rage at Mann’s AAAS Award for Public Engagement: “Last week, climate scientist Dr. Michael E Mann was honored with the AAAS award for Public Engagement in Science. Mann hardly needs an introduction here. Ever since the publication of his hockey stick study twenty years ago, Mann has been a central target of the denial machine. Deniers have attacked him with everything they’ve got: weaponized FOIAs, constant trolling, you name it. In 2010, as the FBI finished the investigation into anthrax-laced letters that killed five people in the early 2000s, someone sent Mann white powder in an envelope. In his book on the Climate Wars, Mann describes how the denial apparatus singles out outspoken scientists and targets them for campaigns of harassment. Mann calls this the ‘Serengeti Strategy,’ named for how pack hunters single out prey for an easy meal. But instead of gradually wearing down the subject until they give up, Mann has only gotten more attention from the press and more praise from his peers, all while continuing to publish regularly in the peer reviewed literature. Instead of scaring Mann out of the public eye, deniers have only managed to elevate his profile.”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Angmar writes—Warm spell in Winter-Record heat: Up to 70°F in February and higher, in parts of the U.S.: “Nov 29, 2017 - Winter is the fastest warming season in most of the country generally from the Front Range of the Rockies to the East Coast. The greatest warming along the northern states emphasizes a general rule of climate change — cold areas and seasons warm faster than areas and seasons that are already warm. www.climatecentral.org/… [...] It’s official, a 127-year-old record has been smashed in Pittsburgh. In fact, Pittsburgh has now set a record for the warmest February day ever recorded. pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/... [...] From Boston to Washington, the warmth is carving records. Boston’s overnight low of 50 degrees looks to be the warmest overnight low in the month of February — any February. On Wednesday, the D.C. area could hit 80 degrees, which would be the earliest 80-degree high on record for the capital. ”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Walter Einenkel writes—Bottled water is now about 2,000 times more expensive than tap water due to declining infrastructure: “The privatization of our natural resources has been the greatest driver of economic and social economic inequality since arguably the beginning of civilization. Food and Water Watch has released their report on the bottled water industry over the past many years and it is a pristine example of how money and private interests trump our collective good. Called ‘Take Back the Tap: The Big Business Hustle of Bottled Water,’ here are some of the report’s highlights: 1. A gallon’s worth of single-serve bottled water costs almost $9.50 — nearly 2,000 times the price of tap water, three times the national average price for a gallon of milk and four times the national average price for a gallon of regular grade gasoline. 2. From 2011 to 2016, the bottled water market grew 39 percent by volume, from 9.2 to 12.8 billion gallons, while the soft drink market shrank 8 percent in volume. [...] “
Dan Bacher writes—Big Court Victory: 10-Year California Water Transfer Program Failed Analysis and Disclosure: “On February 15, Federal District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill in Fresno issued a strong order supporting many of the claims made by AquAlliance and their co-plaintiff partners in a landmark lawsuit challenging water transfers from rice farmers in the Sacramento Valley to growers in the San Joaquin Valley. AquAlliance filed the litigation in May 2015 against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority (SLDMWA) over “their inadequate disclosure, avoidance of impacts, and mitigation of major water transfers” from the Sacramento Valleythrough the Delta to the San Joaquin Valley. The court order is available here.”
Dan Bacher writes—Reclamation announces initial water supply allocation for the Central Valley Project: “The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation just announced the initial 2018 water supply allocation for the Central Valley Project (CVP) that gives agricultural water contractors south of the Delta 20 percent of their contract total. ‘This allocation is based on a conservative estimate of the amount of water that will be available for delivery to CVP water users and reflects current reservoir storages, precipitation and snowpack in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada,’ according to Erin Curtis, Reclamation spokesperson. The 2017 water year was the wettest on record for most of northern California and CVP reservoirs were essentially full for the first time in five years; however, precipitation so far this year has been far below average, according to Reclamation.”
ENERGY
Wagatwe writes—The administration is trying to eliminate heating assistance for the poor—again: “The Trump administration is trying to eliminate a heating assistance program that helps the poor stay warm during the winter months, according to the Associated Press. Their second attempt.The administration is using the same arguments from a year ago when it tried to abolish the program, saying it’s rife with fraud and that no one would be left freezing if the program goes away. ‘These arguments are very misleading and wrong,’ said Mark Wolfe, director of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association in Washington, D.C. The program, known as LIHEAP — Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program — helps families pay their heating bills primarily in the form of a grant that’s sent directly to utility companies or heating fuel vendors. Last time Trump tried to get rid of LIHEAP, Congress wasn’t having it.”
Coal, Oil, Natural Gas
Meteor Blades writes—Two USGS appointees resigned because Interior chief wanted to see new oil and gas data in advance: “At Mother Jones, Adam Federman gives us the skinny on Murray Hitzman, the guy who resigned from his job as head of the energy and minerals program at the U.S. Geological Survey in December because he felt the Trump regime was trying to circumvent the agency’s longstanding Fundamental Science Practices. Among other things, these bar the release of sensitive oil and gas data to government officials before such information is released to the public. The rationale behind this isn’t the slightest bit arcane. Unscrupulous officials could use advance knowledge of what’s in the data to enrich themselves and their pals.”
Emissions Controls & Carbon Pricing
Walter Einenkel writes—A few hundred mayors send letter telling the EPA to stop Pruitt's repeal of the Clean Power Plan: “In October, the EPA headed by Oklahoma earthquake lover Scott Pruitt announced its intentions to repeal the Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources. A group of 236 mayors in 47 states sent a letter to the EPA on Tuesday, outlining why Pruitt should reconsider this position. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to protect our citizens against the worst impacts of climate change. A peer reviewed study conducted by EPA projected stark differences between a world in the year 2100 where global warming averages 2 degrees Celsius—a goal for which the Clean Power Plan is critical—and one in which global warming averages 4 degrees Celsius: 57,000 fewer domestic deaths per year due to poor air quality; 12,000 fewer domestic deaths per year from extreme heat and cold in 49 U.S. cities; up to $6.4 billion in avoided annual adaptation costs from severe precipitation in 50 U.S. cities; $3.1 billion in avoided annual damages and adaptation costs from sea level rise and storm surge on the coasts; and up to $2.5 billion in avoided damages from inland flooding. [...] It is very clear that one of EPA chief Scott Pruitt’s “jobs” at the EPA is to declaw any and all environmental protections, and he’s been incredibly hands-on with repealing the Clean Power Plan.”