This is the 588th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the February 6 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
OceanDiver writes—Dawn Chorus: Winter days on the Skagit Flats, 2018-19: “This edition of Dawn Chorus is a series of visits I’ve had this winter on the delta of the Skagit River in Washington state. The Skagit delta is flat and agricultural, the core being Fir Island, a triangle between the north and south forks of the river. It’s been diked and drained for fields, great for crops with the deep fertile sediment washed down from the Cascade mountains nearby. This area could very easily get built up with residential and commercial development being so close to urban centers. I am thankful the many folks associated with Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland (www.skagitonians.org) and state agencies like WDFW have managed to stave that off, and even more are the wildlife who benefit from open land and waterways. In winter the fields are mostly inactive, with swans and geese traveling around gleaning residue, raptors feasting on rodents and small birds, and waterbirds in the bay and canals. Dikes protect Fir Island from the river and Skagit Bay; otherwise it would be regularly flooded when the river or storm surges run high. The Bay beyond is very shallow and protected (in fact getting shallower every year as sediment washes directly there rather than onto the delta) and popular for waterfowl and shorebirds. A few spots on Fir Island have been restored to estuary habitat by WDFW. I live nearby, but not near enough to visit often, and in fact my intermittent trips through there are side trips on my way down to the city or to appointments in the area.”
NoFortunateSon writes—It's Here! Green New Deal Calls for National High Speed Rail! (More Photos): “This is a diary about HSR. Why do we care about the power industry? Well, the generation of electrical power is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. And something amazing has happened in recent years. It’s not just that humanity knows what to do about solving the problem of greenhouse gasses resulting from power generation (i.e., wind plus solar). We are already doing it. The United States has the third largest installed nameplate generating capacity of wind power in the World, behind China and the European Union. But this metric is largely meaningless, since the largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the World, China, just isn’t as windy as the United States, and therefore doesn’t generate as much power despite having more wind turbines. It’s clever marketing by China, but reality is from 2008 to 2016(1), the United States generates the more electricity from wind than any other Country, and that’s what really counts(2). [...] Look at the timeline for wind and solar growth [...] What happened in 2007? Democrats took control of the House of Representatives and the United States, dramatically changing spending priorities. And what happened in 2009, when even bigger changes started happening, especially in solar? The much reviled (even on the left) stimulus.”
GREEN NEW DEAL
Meteor Blades writes—What do Green New Deal naysayers propose for dealing with the climate crisis? Thoughts and prayers? “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, and Sen. Ed Markey, 72, rolled out the much-awaited Green New Deal Thursday. Steeped in environmental justice, the goal-filled resolution calls for a vigorous mobilization to address the climate crisis, one that leaves nobody behind, that recognizes just what a perilous predicament we humans have created for ourselves and so many other species on this planet, and that offers a reason for optimism after decades of pretending that there’s plenty of time to deal with the situation, assuming, as some people do not, that big trouble is truly coming. Now comes the hard part: Turning this aspirational outline into legislation that a Democratic president, a Democratic House, and a Democratic Senate—together with whatever Republican allies are willing to come aboard—can adopt around this time in 2021. David Roberts at Vox is a climate owl. He has followed the energy and climate debate in detail for years and had a lot to say about the Green New Deal Thursday. Like most of his analyses, it’s a long, thoughtful read that everyone who has something to say about the Green New Deal ought to familiarize themselves with first. His paragraphs on the GND’s emphasis on environmental justice and investment are essential reading. The bottom line on Roberts’ take? ‘Overall, this is about as strong an opening bid as anyone could have asked for.’ I’ll come back to his analysis momentarily.”
Meteor Blades writes—McConnell plans to attack Dems' 2020 candidates over Green New Deal support. His alternative? Coal!! “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans are hoping they can box Democratic presidential candidates in by forcing an early vote in the Senate on the Green New Deal resolution. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Julián Castro, and Kirsten Gillibrand, all of who have declared their presidential candidacies, have pledged their support for the GND concept. McConnell clearly thinks a Republican attack will play well with the voters and make these candidates vulnerable to defeat in the election two years from now. It would certainly play well with the 60 percent of Republicans in the Senate and House who are climate science deniers. McConnell, of course, is one of them: ‘For everybody who thinks it's warming, I can find somebody who thinks it isn't,’ he has said. Actual meaning: ‘For every climate scientist who thinks it’s warming, I can find a pundit or blogger who thinks otherwise.’ What’s his energy plan? Killer coal. In this vein, he’s supported demolishing greenhouse gas emissions. And last week, he urged the federal Tennessee Valley Authority not to shut down one of its aged coal power plants—Paradise #3— because it has become uneconomic.”
Meteor Blades writes—Open thread for night owls: Reactionaries call Green New Deal 'radical,' as if that were a bad thing: “John Nichols at The Nation writes—Reactionaries Call the Green New Deal ‘Radical,’ Like That’s a Bad Thing: Thanks to all the reactionary Republicans and docile Democrats who are doing their best to portray the Green New Deal as “radical.” Please, please keep it up. Climate change represents a stark threat to the planet and the people who inhabit it. When [Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Mark] Pocan says “we can’t afford to wait any longer and need to take action on climate change,” he’s right. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that dramatic action will be required over the next 12 years to avert environmental and economic disaster. ‘The climate crisis is a problem of epic proportions that requires a level of ambition just as big,” explains League of Conservation Voters president Gene Karpinski. ‘This is an all hands-on-deck moment, and now is the time to challenge ourselves as never before’.”
Mark Sumner writes—What's actually in the Green New Deal? “Any serious approach to climate change is an energy plan. Any serious approach to climate change is an infrastructure plan. Any serious approach to climate change is a labor plan. Any serious approach to climate change is an economic plan. And any plan that is not all those things is not a serious approach to climate change. On Feb. 7, Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez submitted non-binding resolutions in both the Senate and the House calling for a ‘Green New Deal.’ They’re not the first to use such a term: It’s a label that’s been applied by various politicians and organizations going back decades. In fact, a quick Google search is likely to land on the Green Party’s website, which uses the name of the plan but presents it in a way that’s nearly unrecognizable. Adding to the confusion, Republicans, climate-change deniers, and just plain critics almost immediately began issuing statements about what was in the Green New Deal. Many of those statements are simply wrong. Or, even more simply, lies. To address some of the confusion, here’s a short-form review of the Green New Deal, explaining what it contains, how it should work, and pointing out a few things that it very much does not contain.”
Mark Sumner writes—'Green New Deal' to be introduced Thursday by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey: “The best thing that can be said about Donald Trump’s State of the Union address is that it was completely lacking in ideas, with no vision at all for the nation’s future. The same definitely can’t be said of the Green New Deal. The scope of the proposal is vast, and the scale of the effort is daunting. It’s also exactly what is needed. While Trump mentioned both the Apollo program and the D-Day invasion in his speech, he provided nothing in the way of proposals that would even come close to matching those historic events. The Green New Deal has exactly that sort of goal: historic. The plan will be introduced as non-binding resolutions submitted for consideration in both the House and the Senate. The resolutions call on Congress to begin creating the agencies and programs necessary to bring the deal into existence, but would not directly create those programs overnight. In something this big, there are a wealth of details to be worked out—and even loftier goals to be woven in. That the name already seems so familiar is a sign of just how terrific a job those involved have done in promoting the ideas behind the plan. It’s also a sign of how receptive the country is to ideas that don’t seem to be mired in the defeatist mud—everything is too big, too costly, too difficult—that Republicans have been peddling for decades. There’s potential here for not just a tremor, but an earthquake.”
Mokurai writes—The Green New Deal Bill is Not the Answer: “It just asks the right questions. Quora.com: House Democrats unveiled their "Green New Deal" Thursday that seeks to shift the U.S. completely to renewable energy in 10 years. What’s your opinion on this? Green New Deal bill as introduced. House Democrats unveiled their "Green New Deal" Thursday that seeks to shift the U.S. completely to renewable energy in 10 years. What’s your opinion on this? I think it is excellent. They should try it. In outline: The bill as introduced (link above) states the threats posed by Anthropogenic Global Warming and ocean acidification; the areas in which progress is being made, and in which much greater effort and investment are needed; and processes for determining how to proceed. Many other bills on particular measures will be needed, and all of this will have to be folded into the regular Congressional budget appropriations process.”
mlarson59 writes—Sen. Chris Murphy to Doubters: Green New Deal 'Absolutely Realistic': “Addressing head-on those claiming that the Green New Deal plan unveiled last week by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is impractical, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) declared on Sunday that the proposal is ‘absolutely realistic’ and represents the kind of ambitious thinking that will be necessary to avoid climate catastrophe. […] ‘I frankly think we need to set our sights high,’ said the Connecticut senator, who co-sponsored the Green New Deal resolution along with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and dozens of congressional Democrats. ‘I think there were a lot of people who said it wasn't realistic for the United States to get a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, when President Kennedy initially outlined that goal. But we did it.’ ‘I have a 10-year-old and a seven-year-old,’ he continued. ‘Global warming is an existential threat to the planet, so if we don't command this country to think big about saving our nation and our world from destruction, then I don't think we're gonna get close to meeting the mark’.”
mlarson59 writes—Green New Deal: the fights it avoids (and why that's good): “Most important commentary (IMO): thoughts in re to “avoiding a few needless fights and leaving room for plenty of debate over priorities and policy tools.” 1) Paying for it … There are centrist Democrats who still believe in the old PAYGO rules, keeping a “balanced budget” within a 10-year window. There are Democrats who think deficit fears have been exaggerated and there’s nothing wrong with running a deficit to drive an economic transition. And there are Democrats who have gone full Modern Monetary Theory, which is way too complicated to explain here …That discussion is just getting underway, and the better part of valor is to do what the GND resolution does: say nothing about it. Leave it for later.”
RandW writes—Green New Deal: Charge! “By embodying climate, justice and livelihood, the GND is the answer to America’s slide toward inequity, corporatism, plutocracy and their attendant destruction of our environment. It’s the Blue-Green Answer. Just as the New Deal reversed those trends following the Great Depression, so the GND is intended. As such, IMHO we must push the Democratic Party HARD. The DNC’s history of centralism, incrementalism, and fear of progressiveness must be overcome. Pelosi’s offhand comment ‘green dream or whatever...’ deeply offends me, but I shouldn’t be surprised. IMHO She is not onboard with the viability of this or she wouldn’t have made that calculated statement to take wind out of the GND sails. IMHO Every grassroots group needs to be relentless in pushing the Dems hard on GND, and should have squawked loudly when the House Climate Committee didn’t get the robust launch it should have — a missed opportunity. An additional half-cent on approach: Let us not demonize who we need to convince, including the GOP. Focus on the behaviors and policies, not the people.”
Galtisalie writes—Anti-Capitalist Meetup: Progressive use of socialism as part of a Green New Deal: “In the face of such abuse to our minds and hearts, we must stay focused and steadfast. The serious challenge of global climate change requires democratic consideration of serious measures up to the task. Yet we do and will continue to live under predominantly capitalist conditions for the foreseeable future. What’s a poor green socialist to do other than compost, walk, and cheer on the notion of a GND from a distance? The political-economic question is whether we simply adjust to these conditions, with a regulation here, a social democratic program there, or attempt to change these conditions at their essence by democratically proposing for implementation elements of socialism when they might do some good even under capitalist conditions. Just because we cannot usher in utopia and break the power of profit everywhere does not mean that we cannot and should not break the power of profit in some places. The question then becomes, what then are these places where the power of profit should be broken under a GND that also relies on needed regulations and social democratic elements?”
Aldous J Pennyfarthing writes—Sen. Tom Cotton: Green New Deal will lead to 'the Gestapo': “First Ben Carson, who every day makes me believe I could have become a brain surgeon and had time left over to train for six Olympic sports, said Obamacare was the worst thing to happen to this country since slavery. And now this. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Bizarrkansas) is subtly warning that Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, et al.’s Green New Deal will lead to the birth of Nazism in the U.S.:
Does it now? First of all, by many conservatives’ fuzzy definition of socialism, we already live in a socialist country, and so does every citizen of every industrialized nation on the planet. Because every country uses its taxing authority to fund public projects. Some do it more, some do it less. What Western democracies — even the Scandinavian social democracies — don’t do is control the means of production. Ergo, they’re not socialist. So Tom Cotton, like every other Republican, doesn’t know what ‘socialism’ means.”
Sher Watts Spooner writes—Green New Deal rollout renews battle in Congress over climate change: “The nonbinding joint resolution is still more of an outline. The complete details of the proposal can be found online. These details are from the summary portion of the Green New Deal:
- Five goals in 10 years, including net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
- National mobilization of the U.S. economy through 14 infrastructure and industrial projects, including upgrading and/or replacing every building in the U.S. for state-of-the-art energy efficiency.
- Social and economic justice through 15 requirements, including job guarantees and “massive” federal investments to groups and businesses participating in the project.
Currently, the plan has backing from as many as 60 House members and nine senators, including several 2020 Democratic hopefuls.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—AOC Has A Dream. Critics See It As Unrealistic Socialist Armageddon: “The eagerly anticipated Green New Deal resolution dropped last week. Suffice to say the policy platform aiming to transition the country to renewables in little over a decade, along with a suite of other intersectional policies, made heads explode across the political spectrum… but most especially on the right. We’ll start at the center left. The Daily Caller and others were quick to pick up on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s comment calling the new plan a ‘Green Dream.’ But when Green New Deal figurehead, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was asked if she was offended by that description--clearly meant to be a shot at the plan’s vagueness—she seemed to shrug it off. AOC pointed out that ‘all great American programs, everything from the Great Society to the New Deal, started with a vision for our future, and I don’t consider [Pelosi’s comment] to be a dismissive term. I think it’s a great term.’ It’s hardly surprising that the unflappable freshman representative was unphased by the comparison. After all, one of the most monumental political speeches in history invoked the rhetorical power of having a dream.”
maroge04 writes—Green New Deal likely a liability for Democrats: “Excuse the rant, but Republicans are making a lot of hay over Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal and it does appear that the whole thing is incredibly impractical and the roll out was an utter disaster. McConnell is going to put this up for a vote as a trap, and major Dem candidates (Warren, Harris, Gillibrand, Booker) have already endorsed the GND wholeheartedly. Now they will have to vote for it — or flip-flop. I believe Klobuchar is the only major Dem who has not endorsed it. [...] Democrats need to stick with bread and butter issues.”
lyleoross writes—Mitch and the Very Bad, No Good, Green New Deal: “So, Mitch has decided to play poker by bringing the Green New Deal to the floor of the Senate. And the pundits are going wild. How could the Democrats do this? How could they hand him this win? Wait a minute. This is only a win for Mitch if the Democrats blow it and let it become a win. In poker, if you have all your cards laid out, face up, on the table and you bluff, you’re not going far. Everyone knows what Mitch is doing, including his fans. There’s only one way to beat the bluff, call it. Schumer needs to whip his caucus and tell them they are voting yes. [...] Mitch has no intention of letting this bill pass, period. If he lets it come to the floor and it passes, he’s done, and he knows it. If Schumer can whip his votes, then if it comes to the floor, and Mitch has to whip his vote to make it fail, he’s done.”
NoFortunateSon writes—CA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) Moves Quickly to Help Kill Green New Deal 😠The rollout of the Green New Deal was just February 7, so it’s extremely frustrating that five days later, during the State of the California Address, California Governor Gavin Newsom moved to kill it. Obviously, Newsom can’t kill the entire Green New Deal, but in the case of worst timing on my part ever, I wrote at length just yesterday morning about how the Green New Deal, despite all its vagueness and other problems, calls funding to build National High Speed Rail. Without a National High Speed Rail network, part of the larger Steel Interstate Initiative, there is no way to achieve transportation emissions to meet the IPCC goal. Air travel will still exist, and while there are electric cars, buses, trucks, and trains, there’s no electric passenger aircraft.”
paradox writes—No, AOC Didn’t Gaslight Us Over the Green New Deal: “A particularly nasty and putridly untrue version was published this morning by Megan McArdle in The Washington Post, its glaring offensiveness meriting rebuttal here. Gaslighting is a form of abuse where plain reality and truth is just flatly denied—no, I didn’t get publicly abusive at that party last night, you’re imaging it, it never happened. A recent example was the maddening assertion by acting chief of staff Mulvaney that Pelosi didn’t put Trump through the bassomatic over the shutdown, Trump still had leverage to call an emergency or even shut down the government again. AOC is summoning all the energy and will she can to get the freaking United States government acting on real solutions to ameliorate climate change, finally, so far all the Democratic Party has been able to muster the bravery to assert that it in fact exists. She’s introduced a resolution for a Green New Deal and in a classic freshman error with a new staff different versions of the workup appeared before the final version. AOC’s staff didn’t handle it well, AOC finally stating to ignore the workup versions and use the final language in the resolution. McArdle then uses that statement as a form of gaslighting. AOC did not gaslight anyone, she simply said to ignore incorrect versions of markup and use the final version, it was messy but there was her marker and path for truth. For McArdle to compare this to the rank , searing lying that routinely comes forth from Mulvaney, Conway and Huckabee is beyond outrageous, a terrible distortion of the truth and reality that matches the gaslighting she says liberals are so obsessed with.”
Alan Singer writes—Green New Deal (HOUSE RESOLUTION 109): “In January 1944, in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s State of the Union Address, he called on Congress to support an Economic Bill of Rights with legislation to ensure all Americans a ‘useful and remunerative job’ with earnings that would “provide adequate food and clothing and recreation’; ‘a decent home,’ ‘adequate medical care,” and a ‘good education’; and ‘The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment.’ This promise has never been delivered. In 1978, the United States passed into law the Humphrey–Hawkins Full Employment Act, another promise that has never been delivered. Social Studies and English teachers, the Green New Deal is a restatement of these fundamental democratic principles, human rights, and government responsibilities in a primary source document for your students to close read, annotate, analyze, question, discuss, potentially endorse, and act on. President Donald Trump has already denounced principles embedded in the Green New Deal as dangerous ‘socialist policies’ that will never be adopted in the United States. Let your students analyze and respond!”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
skralyx writes—Insects are on pace to be completely gone in 100 years, says new study (and thus, so are we): “Insect population collapses have recently been reported in Germany and Puerto Rico, but the review strongly indicates the crisis is global. The researchers set out their conclusions in unusually forceful terms for a peer-reviewed scientific paper: ‘The [insect] trends confirm that the sixth major extinction event is profoundly impacting [on] life forms on our planet. Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades,’ they write. ‘The repercussions this will have for the planet’s ecosystems are catastrophic to say the least’. [...] The main causes, directly from the paper: The main drivers of species declines appear to be in order of importance: i) habitat loss and conversion to intensive agriculture and urbanisation; ii) pollution, mainly that by synthetic pesticides and fertilisers; iii) biological factors, including pathogens and introduced species; and iv) climate change.”
vape standish writes—Earth's Biodiversity Web Depends on Insects, Headed for Extinction in 100 Years. If They go, We Go: “Biodiversity is not an optional extra. It is the web that holds all life, including human life. The most recent study concluded that insect biomass is decreasing around the world at a rate of 2.5% a year. At that rate, half the insects in the world will be gone in 50 years’ time, and all of them in a century – although no one will be keeping track of centuries then. The planet is at the start of a sixth mass extinction in its history. In a major WWF report 59 scientists worldwide estmate Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the world’s foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilization. Insects are by far the most varied and abundant animals, outweighing humanity by 17 times. They are ‘essential’ for the proper functioning of all ecosystems, as food for other creatures, pollinators and recyclers of nutrients.”
Lincoln green writes—Polar bears invade Novaya Zemlya; state of emergency declared: “In what sounds like an episode from Philip Pullman’s fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, a mass invasion of polar bears caused Russian authorities to declare a state of emergency yesterday in parts of Novaya Zemlya, a large group of islands in the Arctic Ocean north of the Russian mainland. Global warming has greatly reduced the amount of Arctic sea ice, forcing polar bears to spend more time on land hunting for food, with starvation threatening many of them. Several dozen bears are roaming near Novaya Zemlya’s main settlement Belushya Guba (human population 1,900) due to edible wastes in its trash. [...] Polar bears are protected in Novaya Zemlya and the Russian environmental agency has not issued special permits to shoot the bears, which do not seem to fear flares, sirens, or police dogs. Extra fences have been installed near kindergartens, and special vehicles are being used to deliver employees and the military to their workplaces.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Federal judge dismisses butterfly sanctuary's restraining order—Trump's bulldozers roll on: “The North American Butterfly Association’s (NABA) lawsuit against the Trump administration, to stop the encroachment and building of a border wall that would destroy a large swath of the National Butterfly Center sanctuary, has been dismissed by a federal judge. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon ruled against NABA’s lawsuit, originally filed in 2017, “for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.” The ruling effectively ends the center’s temporary restraining order, filed earlier this week. This came after center workers found bulldozers and federal agents on their private land, changing locks and pushing them off of their habitat. This is a blow, though not a surprise, to the conservationists at the center, as Trump and his DHS—and the Republican Party, have been very dogged in using big government to squash private citizens rights.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Butterfly sanctuary won't go down without a fight, flies into federal court: “The Texas Observer is reporting that lawyers for the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, have asked a federal judge to press pause on a section of Trump’s border wall that would cut through the sanctuary’s privately owned land. Since December, the center has been threatened by Trump’s planned wall. After conservationists were dismissed by the Supreme Court in their attempts to slow the process down, bulldozers began arriving on the privately owned land at the beginning of February. Local indigenous tribes—who have long opposed Trump’s dumb wall— have organized and joined protestors at the sanctuary. [...] According to the Observer, Monday night’s motion is part of an already existing lawsuit filed by the National Butterfly Center, a possible last-ditch effort at stalling the government’s plans to break ground as early as next week. The motion specifically points out that federal agents have been walking around and treating the sanctuary’s land as if it is their own already.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Democrats saved butterfly sanctuary from Trump’s wall, but Trump might come for it anyway: “On Feb. 14 it was reported that a federal judge had dismissed the North American Butterfly Association’s lawsuit against the Trump administration, also also nullifying a temporary restraining order filed earlier this week. However, elected officials have been paying attention, and while the House and Senate negotiated their border security funding package, one Democrat decided to add some important language about the issue to the bill. According to the Texas Tribune, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar says he was able to add language to the bill that would prohibit ‘fencing at five major landmarks in the Rio Grande Valley.’ Those landmarks are the 100-acre National Butterfly Center preserve; the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and birdwatching site; the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge (already technically protected in last year’s budget); the La Lomita historic Catholic chapel, which had been fighting the border wall and losing; and a section of land that has been earmarked to become the SpaceX transportation company’s ‘commercial spaceport.’ The excitement over this revelation was short-lived, as the Trump administration is now arguing that, with Trump’s national emergency declaration, all bets are off, telling the Wall Street Journal that the ‘restrictions only to apply to the $1.375 billion appropriated in that spending package, and that the other $6.625 billion could be used without those restrictions’.”
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--Will a small Buddha sit on the Lotus leaf? “On the Winter Solstice eight weeks ago, I planted five 15-year-old lotus seeds. They rapidly germinated and sprouted, filling a small aquarium. Now they are producing lovely circular leaves. In a couple of months I’ll move them outside.”
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket—Flooded!! “This week of dire weather forecasts for the Pacific Northwest saw a year’s worth of snow fall on Seattle in a few remarkable days. Yet the lower elevations of Washington County, west of Portland, Oregon remained chilly, but stubbornly snow-free. Gaia took notice, and dumped hours of hard rain on NW Oregon over the last few days. The creeks are rising, including a three foot wide muddy torrent that barreled down the hill through my neighbors’ hard pan barren backyards, and slithered under my fence at several locations. The runoff around the neighborhood seems stronger than what I expected, with muddy runoff eddying down the streets. Rock Creek breached its banks and flooded the golf course, and the bridge we take to walk at Bethany Lake. I visit the neighbors’ yards, they are flooded also. In an aside, the neighbors confide they love the peeper frogs; I sign them up as future Frog Court witnesses.”
Dan Bacher writes—Bernhardt, former Westlands lawyer, working to strip Delta Smelt protection as fish nears extinction: “As the Delta smelt moves closer to the abyss of extinction, Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, President Trump’s nominee for Interior Secretary, has been working on rolling back Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the Delta Smelt. This is a policy change that directly favors his former client, the Westlands Water District, the largest agricultural water district in the United States, according to a breaking New York Times story. According to a story I broke here in January, a fish survey that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) conducts every autumn turned up zero Delta smelt — the very same fish that Bernhardt is trying to strip protections for — throughout the monitoring sites in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in September, October, November and December 2018.”
Dan Bacher writes—Lone Alameda Creek Steelhead Spawns with Native Trout: “Fremont, CA –Alameda Creek Alliance volunteers last week helped fish biologists from the East Bay Regional Park District capture and radio tag a single adult steelhead trout in lower Alameda Creek below the BART weir, an impassable concrete barrier that blocks fish spawning migration. On February 5, Park District biologists attached a radio transmitter to a 25’ female steelhead and moved her upstream into lower Niles Canyon. This steelhead migrated into the Stonybrook Creek tributary, where she was observed last week spawning with native rainbow trout. The female steelhead has been nicknamed ‘Anna,’ a reference to the anadromous, or migratory, life cycle of steelhead. ‘Anadromous’ derives from Greek words meaning ‘up running.’ Steelhead trout and rainbow trout are different forms of the same species.”
sandbear75 writes—The Daily Bucket- Here Comes Spring! “February in Arizona means the wildflowers are not that far off. I’m excited this year. The Sonoran Desert needs rainfall in late January and early February for the annuals to really put on a show. This has not happened in a couple years. But this year we are dealing with mild El Nino conditions. That means a storm once a week that has blessed us with the wet stuff. Every year we have a beautiful show of our perennials without fail. Some are better than others. But it takes well timed rain to set off the shower of annuals that can literally cover the desert floor. Two years ago when these photos were taken, Brittlebush was the only thing going wild with blooms. The plants grow up to 5 feet tall, so they have a large enough root system to retain what rainfall comes in December and January to use for reproduction.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: I prepared for rain and grey sky not Seattle Snowmaggedon 2019: “I’m not a stranger to snow. I was a kid in Ohio back when lake effect snow really meant something and chose to travel upslope to ski when I lived in the Sierra. Nor am I a stranger to the damp moldy chilly grey of a PNW winter (spring, summer, fall). As I considered moving to Seattle, I didn’t think Ohio or Tahoe, I thought PNW. When January was one of the warmest on record with bright sun most days, I murmured ‘yay, a nice precision global warming! [...] By midweek the NWS was issuing stronger snow warnings for Friday — four to six inches of NEW snow. On Thursday, I got serious and stocked up at Trader Joe’s: veggie masala burgers, enchiladas, fruit, bread, and more yoghurt granola etc. The snow began as predicted just after 12 noon. By midnight we had 4-6 inches of new snow. I went out for a walk in the pristine quiet of midnight snow and took the first image of snowy tree branches (above). Saturday morning I woke up to this view out my bedroom window.
Assaf writes—The Daily Bucket: Winter Wonderland(?) in Maple Leaf: “So… is this rolling snow event Seattle’s Worst Ever? Another diarist asked the the Elders of Kitsap Peninsula, and they cannot recall anything like it. But you know, unlike old female elephants, old humans are not particularly known for precise memory. And perhaps there are also local variations, since Kitsap is across the Puget Sound from Seattle. But I recall the December 2008 event as roughly equal to this one. [...] It’s been a similar pattern this time around: snow on Sunday-Monday of last week, a few dry but very cold days, and then a larger second round, with a wet-snow grand finale on Sunday-Monday and even more disruption, including us losing power for nearly all of Monday night. Seattle Public Schools won’t start this school week before Thursday, on the heels of starting last week only late on Wednesday.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - snow in the PNW: “It’s currently snowing up here in the islands. Temp 34° with cold ground so it’s sticking this time, unlike last weekend. The forecast is for a few inches. Falling snow is very picturesque, and with all the apocalyptic warnings over the past few days I expect everyone in western Washington is prepared with foodstuffs and other emergency resources. Most folks have plans to get home before the roads are too bad this afternoon — or should, if they can. It’s pretty rare for us to get much snow up here in the islands so I’m not too worried about it. More significant is the forecast of wind tonight and tomorrow, another outbreak through the Fraser River gap. Those gales can knock down power lines, which creates problems for folks in subfreezing temps. We shall see how all this develops. There are terrific resources to access for forecasting — I like the UW modeling (atmos.uw.edu/...), and wundermap is great for current conditions (www.wunderground.com/...).”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - snow at the beach: “February 2019. Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest. To round out our collective Pacific Northwest report on the big snowstorm this month, today I’ll add beach observations to what we’ve seen so far of snow in Buckets and comments about the city and woodsy areas recently. This multiday wintry event started up here in the islands on Sunday the 3rd with a cold Nor’easter that froze the ground and blew trees over (The Daily Bucket - cold snap ). On Tuesday the 5th we had a dusting of snow and it stayed cold, below freezing for the next few days. While the mainland got a big snow dump during that week, we didn’t really get enough to cover the ground opaquely until Friday the 8th. That day it snowed 1.5”. Last Friday:”
reglogge writes—Huge win for "Save the Bees" biodiversity referendum in Germany's largest state: “Germany, like every other developed country has seen a massive decline in insect populations over the past decades. Industrialized agriculture with its heavy reliance on pesticides has led to a near collapse and mass extinction of insect species on an unprecedented scale — with consequences too dire to contemplate. More info here. And here. And governments, as usual, are doing nothing to stop this. Enter: The people … Bavaria is the largest and traditionally very conservative state in Germany but with a state constitution that provides the opportunity for enacting legislation through referenda. The requirements for a successful referendum are quite high — in a first step, 10% of eligible voters need to sign the measure in person within a two week period. The referendum then has to be taken up by the legislature and either passed into law unmodified or, if the legislature refuses, be put to another referendum where a simple majority of all votes cast decides the matter. Yesterday saw the end of the initial signup period and from initial reports it looks like whopping 17% of eligible voters braved the atrocious February weather and easily put the referendum over its first hurdle.”
Angmar writes—The Daily Bucket: The Chinook (föhn) wind, and Winter thaws(& El Nino update): “January thawing progresses later in the month as one travels eastward across Canada - eg, January 16-23 in Edmonton, 18-24 in Winnipeg, 19-27 in Montréal, 21-28 in Charlottetown and 25-28 in St John's. This eastward progression of warming during the third and fourth weeks is consistent with similar events in the US.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Nova Land writes—$27 Quotes: "When it comes to taking on the imminent threat of climate change we cannot think small": “Welcome once again to a $27-group / The Political Revolution open thread — a weekly place where you can sit back, relax, enjoy some inspiring quotes and good music, and (most importantly) spend time gazing at a picture or two of foresterbob’s cat Noble Fur. A Green New Deal is ambitious. It's bold. And I’m cosponsoring this resolution with representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and senator Ed Markey because it’s exactly the kind of action it will take to conquer the biggest threat of our lifetime.~ Kirsten Gillibrand. The U.S. is the most powerful economy on earth and we must lead the world in the fight against climate change. We can do that by passing the Green New Deal to save the planet and create millions of new jobs.~ Bernie Sanders.”
Pakalolo writes—Methane is being released in the thawing Arctic, but the scariest scenario, Methane Bomb, unlikely: “’If we mitigate, or reduce, human emissions, [it] looks like you can avoid 70 to 80 percent of the permafrost climate feedback,’ Ben Abbott of Brigham Young University. Which buys us some time, no? But not to dither that time away by wringing our hands and pooh-poohing current action plans like the Green New Deal, instead, throw everything we have at it. I read with great interest Meteor Blades brilliant diary from yesterday, What do Green New Deal naysayers propose for dealing with the climate crisis? Thoughts and Prayers?Sure enough, there were some naysayers in the comments (an interesting discussion commenced among progressives). Climate scientists find that the most terrifying scenario of the crisis, the Methane Time Bomb, is unlikely. That comes with a disconcerting qualifier.”
Pakalolo writes—A new rift in Greenland’s longest floating glacier portends rapid acceleration of land ice to the sea: “From the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. When this crack calves a new iceberg, it may take fifty percent of the floating existing glacial tongue with it. The ramifications for the biosphere could be immense. Cracks in the floating ice tongue of Petermann Glacier in the far northwest reaches of Greenland indicate the pending loss of another large iceberg. As glaciologists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) report in a new study, the glacier's flow rate has increased by an average of 10 percent since the calving event in 2012, during which time new cracks have also formed—a quite natural process. However, the experts' model simulations also show that, if these ice masses truly break off, Petermann Glacier's flow rate will likely accelerate further and transport more ice out to sea, with corresponding effects on the global sea level. The study was recently released in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface and is freely available.”
Pakalolo writes—Dhaka is collapsing: “The poorest of the poor in Bangladesh are on the move due to the climate crisis. I will state the obvious, Bangladeshis are not white caucasians. Therefore, not many here in the West give a rats ass that they are. They are vulnerable, desperately poor, lack education and are brown skinned. These migrants will never be able to immigrate to London, Sydney, Tokyo or Vancouver. They are on their own, and they want to live as much as the next person. But they are forced to abandon their homes and move to areas that have their own climate issues - because of the emissions from fossil fuels that the west and other industrial economies have been spewing into the atmosphere for centuries. An exploding population and changing rainfall patterns promise complete and utter chaos. Their plight offers the industrialized nations a glimpse on how to prepare for our own looming migrant impacts on the horizon (and no that does not include a wall). We would be wise to start taking notes.”
Pakalolo writes—American cities will be transitioning to 'sweltering hellholes' by the end of the century: “Brian Kahn writes on a new study that finds how much warmer American cities will become in the coming decades as temperatures continue to increase. Our fossil fuel use emits greenhouse gases that heat surface air temperatures with smothering humidity. It will not be pleasant.When your grandchildren plan a trip to Denver later this century, they’ll need to leave the winter hat at home and instead plan like they’re going to the Texas Panhandle. That’s according to a new study published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, which looked at the future climate of 540 cities in North America and drew comparisons with cities of today. The results show that cities’ climates will, at the end of the century, look more like cities 528 miles south do today if emissions continue rising in line with current trends.”
Pakalolo writes—Antarctica's great ice platforms bend under the weight of meltwater lakes: “I keep vigil. Climate Change is the real ‘national emergency’ not an imaginary wall along the Mexican border. An Antarctic ‘time bomb’ waiting to go off could wash away cities, scientists warn. Earth’ s sea levels should be 29 feet higher than they are now, according to historical data. It’s time to panic “because global temperatures today are the same as they were 115,000 years ago, a time when modern humans were only just beginning to leave Africa”. The bulk of that missing 29 feet of water will be in it’s frozen form. Meltwater lakes on the ice shelves of Antarctica can cause them to buckle under the weight of the ponding water, possibly creating hydro-fractures resulting in ice shelf break up. CIRES research scientists that studied an ice shelf near McMurdo Station have proven that these meltwater lakes are indeed capable of collapsing ice shelves similar to the break-up at Larsen B ice shelf.”
AmericaAdapts writes—To Sue or Not to Sue: Legal Liability and Climate Adaptation with the Conservation Law Foundation: “In episode 83 of America Adapts, host Doug Parsons interviews planner Deanna Moranand environmental lawyer, Elena Mihaly, from the Conservation Law Foundation. Deanna and Elena come on to talk about their new report, Climate Adaptation and Legal Liability. Other topics include: current court cases relevant to adaptation and climate change; using legal liability as a tool to affect policy decisions; the need to update building codes to reflect climate threats; what industries and sectors are most vulnerable to adaptation litigation and how will the legal system evolve with adaptation court cases. These topics and much, much more!”
Angmar writes—Daily Bucket Earth:Report "Himalayas-even radical climate change action won’t save melting glaciers": “At least a third of the huge ice fields in Asia’s towering mountain chain are doomed to melt due to climate change, according to a landmark report, with serious consequences for almost 2 billion people. Even if carbon emissions are dramatically and rapidly cut and succeed in limiting global warming to 1.5C, 36% of the glaciers along in the Hindu Kush and Himalaya range will have gone by 2100. If emissions are not cut, the loss soars to two-thirds, the report found. The glaciers are a critical water store for the 250 million people who live in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region, and 1.65 billion people rely on the great rivers that flow from the peaks into India, Pakistan, China and other nations.”
jtg writes—Windy Climate Change in Salinas: “Lately, climate change has been happening in my hometown of Salinas California, located just inland of the Pacific Ocean on the California Central Coast. I’ve lived here my whole life, and the weather and the climate have changed in recent years, and yes I know the difference between weather and climate. There have always been droughts here during most of my life. My father told me before he died that in the 1940s and 1950s, we rarely had droughts here and every year there was a lot of rain. This is not been the case in decades, and we see several years of drought followed by a year or two of rain, during which all the local politicians proclaim he end of the drought and there will never again be another minimal-rain year and OK lots of new building permits ignoring where the water to support them will ultimately come from. It used to be that about every third year or so we’d get snows on some of the local peaks, short hills that barely get to 3000 feet. The snow might come in late December to mid-January, and be gone in two or three days. This year there has been snow several times, even currently in mid-February, and it lasts for several days rather than there and gone almost before one knows it ‘s there.”
ForeignPolicy writes—Believe it or not! The number of people who believe climate change is real has jumped: “For the past few years, I was fatalistic about public opinions on climate change. But actually slowly the situation has improved. Of course, we can look forward to centuries before climate catastrophe will fade into the background. As the article from Grist and the Guardian by Kate Yoder points out, changing your mind is not easy. Most people do anything to avoid it! ‘All kinds of people are changing their minds’ and accepting the science, regardless of age, education level, or political affiliation, said Jennifer Marlon, a research scientist at Yale and an author of the new analysis. ‘I was surprised to see how consistent it is’.”
ForeignPolicy writes—Are we on the eve of destruction? “For example, the World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum both listed climate change and its effects as one of their top risks for 2019. Recent UN talks heard climate change was already ‘a matter of life and death’ for many regions. While many, including Sir David Attenborough, believe it could lead to the collapse of civilisations and the extinction of ‘much of the natural world.’ I should point out that when the western Roman empire collapsed, most Romans believed they were still part of the Roman empire. There were no daily newspapers to announce the end of civilization then. It requires hindsight to see clearly that a civilization has collapsed.”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Pakalolo writes—Queensland floods decimate wildlife - now a muddy plume may smother the Great Barrier Reef: “The Great Barrier Reef has been called the most biodiverse of all World Heritage sites by the United Nations. The largest reef on Earth is located off the coast of Queensland in the Coral Sea. Already suffering from bleaching events caused by rising ocean temperatures from climate change, the reef may now be smothered by a mix of mud and fertilizer as a result of record-breaking rainfall, which followed record deadly heatwaves and drought in Queensland, Australia. Massive plumes of polluted floodwater spanning the entire coast of north-east Queensland are encroaching on the outer reaches of the Great Barrier Reef, sparking a fresh threat to the beleaguered natural wonder. Scientists are surveying the marine fallout from the state's latest natural disaster, with the spectacle of muddy waters fanning out from swollen rivers of the Whitsundays to Cape Tribulation captured in satellite images that have been shared around the world.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Commission votes to protect Klamath-Trinity Spring Chinook salmon under CESA: “The tastiest fish I’ve ever eaten was spring Chinook salmon from the Klamath River that I ate at a traditional tribal fish bake at Ocean Beach in San Francisco during the Salmon Aid Festival, the brainchild of commercial fisherman Mike Hudson, back in the summer of 2008. The dark orange, fat saturated meat dripped with delicious juice from the river-maturing fish. This was during one of two years that recreational and commercial salmon fishing was closed in the ocean and sport fishing was closed in the ocean, due to the collapse of Central Valley fall-run Chinook salmon spurred by a combination of Delta water exports, poor ocean conditions and other factors. Merkie Oliver, a respected Yurok tribal elder and fisherman who passed away in 2015, oversaw a crew of Karuk and Yurok tribal members cooking the salmon on sticks on the beach. There was plenty of salmon for everyone that came to the event, including anglers and environmentalists, that year. The fish we ate were undoubtedly mostly salmon from the Trinity River Fish Hatchery in Lewiston. However, the wild spring Chinook salmon on the Klamath and Trinity rivers and their tributaries have been in decline for many years, due to the impact of upstream dams, agricultural diversions and deadly fish disease outbreaks on the main stem of the Klamath.”
Dan Bacher writes—Governor Newsom appoints new chair and new member of State Water Resources Control Board: “Governor Gavin Newsom just announced two key water appointments today when he appointed Joaquin Esquivel as Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board and Laurel Firestone as a new member of the Board. Under pressure from San Joaquin Valley agribusiness interests, Newsom failed to reappoint the current chair of the board, Felicia Marcus, who supported increasing flows from the San Joaquin River into the estuary to preserve Delta fish species and Delta farmland. [...] Janet McCleery, Past President of the Save the California Delta Alliance, was very disappointed with the failure of Newsom to reappoint Felicia Marcus to the water board. ‘We are greatly concerned that Felicia Marcus was not reappointed to the State Water Resources Control Board,’ said McCleery. ‘Political expediency must not drive the determination of the flows that the Delta needs. The new appointees lack Marcus' understanding of the Delta, the flow needs, and have not been involved in the past three years of testimonies concerning the WaterFix project’.”
Dan Bacher writes—Breaking: Governor Newsom calls for end to twin tunnels, but supports one tunnel: “In his first State of the State Address today at the State Capitol today, Governor Gavin Newsom called for an end to Jerry Brown’s Twin Tunnels, but said he supports one tunnel: ‘I do not support the Water Fix as currently configured. Meaning, I do not support the twin tunnels. But we can build on the important work that’s already been done. That’s why I do support a single tunnel. The status quo is not an option. We need to protect our water supply from earthquakes and rising sea levels, preserve delta fisheries, and meet the needs of cities and farms. Newsom also stated that he has appointed a new chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, Joaquin Esquivel, to replace Felicia Marcus.”
Dan Bacher writes—Salmon fishermen urge Newsom to say NO to Trump administration water grab: “Late on Monday, the Trump administration released a controversial new federal rules proposal that fishing and conservation groups say would increase water diversions from the San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem at the expense of salmon and the tens of thousands of fishing industry jobs that depend on them. Called the ‘Biological Assessment for the re-initiation of consultation on the coordinated long-term operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project,’ the Bureau of Reclamation claims that the proposal is the result of an ‘improved understanding’ of the Central Valley and Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. [...] However, fishing and conservation groups called the assessment a ‘water grab’ and said the proposal is a step towards abandoning federal rules adopted in 2008 and 2009 that govern the impacts of the massive state and federal water pumping facilities in the South Delta. They contested Reclamation’s claim that the assessment incorporates the ‘best available science’ — and urged Governor Gavin Newsom to take action to stop the weakening of regulations protecting salmon and other fish species.”
CANDIDATES, ECO-LEGISLATION, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Karen Feridun writes—Green New Deal, I've Got One Word for You... Plastics: “’If your bathtub : was overflowing, you wouldn’t immediately reach for a mop — you’d first turn off the tap. That’s what we need to do with single-use plastics,’ wrote Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace USA and Martin Bourque, executive director of the Ecology Center, Berkeley in a recent LA Times op-ed. Last month, more than 600 organizations submitted a letter to House members that laid out a vision of what a true Green New Deal should include. ‘Halt all fossil fuel leasing, phase out all fossil fuel extraction, and end fossil fuel and other dirty energy subsidies’ topped the list. In other words, the metaphorical tub of fossil fuels is overflowing. Turn off the tap. The version of the Green New Deal introduced today in a joint resolution by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (D-NY), and Sen. Ed Markey, (D-MA) makes no mention of a phasing out of fossil fuels. For all of the good things GND does, going after the problem at its source is not one of them. The Green New Deal is just the latest policy proposal to put all of the emphasis on demand rather than supply, or on consumption rather than production.”
billofrights writes—A Reply to Gov. Hogan's Climate Leadership Claims for Maryland...the RGGI and the Paris Accords...: “Dear Citizens and Elected Officials:[...] I spoke recently at one of the many national meet-ups for the Sunrise Movement on the Green New Deal, and someone asked me for more details on my numbers and frames of reference on combating what I think we ought to call ‘Climate Disruption.’ My reply is really a refutation, or serious ‘qualification,’ if you prefer, in part, of Governor Hogan’s State of the State address’s claims on Climate Change...so here it is: Yes, I'd be happy to, because it was going to be a part of a direct critique of Governor Hogan's State of the State address delivered on Wed. January 30th in Annapolis. I've started that but as events are moving so fast nationally, I don't know if I will complete it but the research trail I covered to address this part of it is still pretty fresh and useful for many other policy discussions.”
ENERGY
Fossil Fuels
A Siegel writes—#Coal’s Trouble in #Paradise (@RealDonaldTrump Pay to Play in action): “John Prine likely gave Paradise, Kentucky, its greatest fame. And daddy won’t you take me back to Muhlenberg County/ Down by the Green River where Paradise lay/ Well, I’m sorry my son, but you’re too late in asking/ Mister Peabody’s coal train has hauled it away. Now Paradise has another claim to fame as @RealDonaldTrump weighed in challenging the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) comprehensive research, analysis, and planning that have made clear that shutting ‘Unit #3’ (a coal-fired power plant) is in ratepayer interest. Unit 3, which went online in 1970, has deteriorated with age and has had a relatively high rate of unplanned shutdowns. Keeping it running would require expensive mechanical and environmental upgrades As Michael Bloomberg accurately put it replying to Trump, ‘As any business leader knows, the top consideration at @TVAnews is cost. Phasing out that coal plant will save Kentuckians money (not to mention their air & water)’.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—State Climate Action Has Fossil Fuel Industry Buying Local: “Last month, we pointed out how the fossil fuel industry is proud of its success in buying democracy, as evidenced by all the deniers in Congress whose denial better serves the industry than their constituents. While there’s no shortage of issues with fossil fuel spending influencing the federal government, that’s only part of the story. Evlondo Cooper at Media Matters dove into the industry front groups Monday that are spending heavily against climate action in Vermont and Oregon. Building on the industry’s $31 million success in bending Washington’s ballots to their will in 2018, shady dark money organizations have begun assailing a Clean Energy Jobs bill in Oregon. It’s a type of cap and trade policy that, after a couple years of failure, has a real chance of passing in Oregon now that Democrats hold the House, Senate, and Governorship. That’s why Priority Oregon, a 501c4 group which includes members associated with Koch groups, along with the Cascade Policy Institute, the Oregon Farm Bureau and other industry fronts, have spent the past few years making the usual baseless accusations about climate action raising energy prices and destroying jobs.”
Dan Bacher writes—Appeals Court Rejects Big Oil's Retaliatory Lawsuit Against L.A. Youth Groups: “In a victory for environmental justice, a California appeals court on February 15 dismissed an oil-industry lawsuit against youth groups from South Los Angeles and Wilmington, the Center for Biological Diversity and the city of Los Angeles. The oil industry is the the most powerful corporate lobby in Sacramento, so this big win by the Center and youth groups is very significant. The California Independent Petroleum Association, an organization representing Exxon, Chevron and hundreds of crude-oil and natural-gas producers and related entities statewide, filed the suit after the groups won protections against neighborhood oil drilling from the city, according to a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the South Central Youth Leadership Coalition and Youth for Environmental Justice. ‘Using lawsuits to shut people up has long been a part of the oil industry’s playbook, but the tides are changing,’ said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. ‘This decision affirms that communities have the right to demand protection from pollution without fear of retaliation from polluters’.”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Keystone Spills As Government Resists Order To Do Better on Keystone Enviro Impact Statement: “Amid this month’s noise made by the Green New Deniers, it’s almost easy to forget what was, just a few short years ago, the Great Big Policy Debate: Keystone XL. You know, the one where radical liberal communists were trying to destroy the economy and send energy prices skyrocketing by preventing a single oil pipeline from being built? Of course you remember. Last November, a federal judge in Montana ruled that the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act with regards to the pipeline—again—by completely ignoring the evidence-based decision the Obama administration made by rejecting the KXL project. The judge ruled that the Trump crew failed to provide a “reasoned” explanation for overturning the Obama administration's finding, and “simply disregarded prior factual findings related to climate change to support its course reversal.’ Then, last week, PoliticoPRO reported that the Trump administration appealed the ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The administration don’t want to have to redo the environmental impact statement, as the Montana judge ruled. While the Politico piece doesn’t explain why, it does note that pipeline developer TransCanada complained back in August that if construction doesn’t begin soon, they’d miss the 2019 season all together.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Pro-Pipeline Front Group’s Propaganda Push is GAINing Steam: “Although pipelines have been facing a number of setbacks recently, pro-pipeline groups aren’t giving up. One of those is Grow America’s Infrastructure Now (GAIN), which came to our attention because it’s recently begun sponsoring the Washington Examiner’s daily energy newsletter. GAIN’s website simply describes the group as supporting strengthening infrastructure development and only mentions pipelines as one aspect of its focus, which also includes bridges, roads, etc. But the group’s blog, Twitter, and coverage in the media are pretty exclusively dedicated to pro-pipeline messaging. Hmmm, almost like it isn’t an all-around infrastructure group, and perhaps may have some ulterior motive… Which, of course, it does. GAIN was formerly known as the Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now (MAIN), which Steve Horn at DeSmog reported was acting as a front group for DCI. You may remember DCI as the PR firm tied to the GOP: it’s got experience in creating front groups on behalf of Big Tobacco, it’s known for its role spearheading the modern Tea Party movement, and it’s also worked to discredit Dakota Access Pipeline protesters.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
Dawn R Wolfe writes—Michigan Republicans fight to keep ‘polluter panels’ in charge of the state’s environment: “On Feb. 6, Michigan’s Republican-led state House of Representatives voted to do something the state legislature hasn’t done since 1977: overturn an executive order given by a sitting governor. During the coming week, the state Senate, which is also in Republican hands, will hold hearings and possibly a vote to join them. At issue is Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2019 -03, which, among other things, abolishes ‘polluter panels’ of industry representatives who have been given veto authority over the state’s environmental regulators. In other words, the question is about who should have the ultimate power to set the state’s environmental regulations: experts appointed by a governor who has been elected by the state’s voters, or corporate interests who are beholden only to their shareholders? The panels were created by the Republican legislature and signed into law by former Gov. Rick Snyder in 2018 over the objection of his own top environmental regulator, C. Heidi Grether, a former BP executive. On Feb. 6, Grether issued a letter supporting Whitmer’s move to abolish the panels. Under the new law, one of the panels, called the Environmental Rules Review Committee, is to have a voting membership made up almost entirely of industry representatives, including proxies from the solid waste, oil and gas, and public utility industries. State regulators, on the other hand, don’t get a single vote on the panel, which has the authority to overrule any and all new environmental regulations proposed by the state.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Deniers Relax Endangerment Attacks, But Only Until Wheeler’s Confirmed... Perhaps: “In December, we wrote on how the EPA may be trying to erode the strength of the 2009 determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, aka the endangerment finding, by opening a comment period asking for input on the accuracy of its interpretation. Then, a few weeks ago, well-known denier John Christy was named to the EPA’s Science Advisory Board. ‘I think the endangerment finding is one that doesn’t stand on the best science that we have out there,’ he told E&E. How did someone who thinks burning fossil fuels is good for the planet get on the advisory board? Well the EPA political appointees invited him! And unfortunately, a judge ruled this week that the EPA’s policy of banning scientists who receive public funding is legal. The timing suggests that with Christy installed as an advisor, the staunchest of denial organizations are breathing a little easier--while the rest of us choke on that much more pollution.”
ECO-ACTION & ECO JUSTICE
gmoke writes—A Just Transition to Zero on Climate Change: “Here are my notes on two of the best talks on energy that I’ve listened to in some time. They both get the scale and the tactical outline correct, according to everything else I’ve seen and my own gut instinct. [...] Getting to Zero on Climate Change. 2/7/19. Harvard. Hal Harvey @hal_harvey, author of Designing Climate Solutions, founder of Energy Foundation, Energy Innovation Policy & Technology LLC. By changing the averages moderately we've changed the extremes a lot. Electric grid, transportation, buildings, and industry - four sectors [he did not talk about agriculture but it’s in the book]. 75% of all ghgs come from 20 countries [about 100 companies responsible for 71% of ghgs by one count - Pareto rules!!
$5 trillion per year on energy and $6 trillion on infrastructure that establishes consumption patterns [...]”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
estreya writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging, Vol. 15.07: Crossword Puzzle Edition: “Winter finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest, cracking her icy whip to remind us of her power. Since it's far more comfortable on the warm side of the window glass, i thought it might be fun to try something a little different this week. Allow me to introduce our first ever Saturday Morning Garden Blog Crossword Puzzle! As you might expect, all the answers in the puzzle are somehow garden related. [...] In the meantime, as i type these words, meteorologists in my neck of the woods are forecasting a sloppy mix of rain and snow for the entire week (so far, it's been more rain than snow, but we'll see). Was this year's winter in like a lamb/out like a lion? Time will tell. But the snow sure is pretty while it lasts ...”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
terrypinder writes—Infrastructure Kos: CA HSR into LA, SF postponed, and I need more details on Green New Deal: “Governor Gavin Newsom basically has canceled the Merced-San Francisco and Bakersfield — Los Angeles segments of California’s High Speed Rail in his State of the State address. I thought the project was, conceptually, a great one. The Central Valley segment that will be completed will likely be very good for the Central Valley, so it’s not a complete failure. That said, the time probably just wasn’t right. California is the perfect size for a high-speed bullet train network---actually many states are whether they realize it or not, but this should have been built in 1968. Sometimes the stars align for megaprojects—like it did for the interstate highway network in the US, or the Chunnel that links Europe to the UK, but often times they do not. The HSR Authority made several mistakes too and I’ll note here that this is my opinion, but not my opinion alone.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Barrasso Bill Boosts Big Oil In Cutting Off Electric Vehicle Support: “In the latest round of fossil-fuel backed attempts to kill cleaner-running cars, Fox ran an op-ed on Tuesday by Wyoming Senator John Barrasso introducing his legislation to repeal the federal electric vehicle tax credit. The bill, ironically called the ‘Fairness for Every Driver Act,’ would repeal the incentive and instead slap a fee on electric cars. Barrasso cites a report by the Manhattan Institute — a group that’s received funding from the likes of Exxon and the Koch network — that claims eliminating the program could save taxpayers $20 billion. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the next day the American Petroleum Institute issued a press release in support of the legislation. Last year, API, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers and Americans for Prosperity urged state regulators in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas to halt work on EVs. The oil industry is also coming after national fuel efficiency standards, which have saved American drivers over $2 trillion dollars since they were enacted prior to 2008.”
JeffW writes—WYFP: The Failed Promise of Self-Driving Cars: “I've heard about self-driving automobiles for years, General Motors being one manufacturer that pushed the idea as far back as the 1939 World's Fair. This little musical number dates from 1956, and jumps ahead 20 years to find our travelling family heading through the desert southwest to Chicago, via GM's Arizona test track in their spiffy Firebird II sedan. The setting is a limited access road, with a special inner roadway for auto-drive, and the method for getting into it seems an awful lot like distracted driving. I was 1-year- old when this was produced. Sixty-two years later, I don't feel that we are any closer to this, let alone a fully autonomous car. I've encountered clusters of potholes that would screw up any cables and/or magnets for guidance, and piles of dirty slush that would obscure the best thermoplastic pavement markings from fancy optical sensors. Lots of manual override conditions, though you might get some use out of that lidar setup to maintain a safe interval. It just ain't ready for prime time in this retired traffic engineer's opinion, and that's my FP.”
MISCELLANY
Socialjusticeamerican writes—Republicans are anti-science: “Once upon a time, America was a world leader in science. America was the first nation to break the sound barrier. America was the first nation to put a man on the moon. And we could STILL be the world leader in science, however a war is currently being waged against science and scientists in America. This war has been going on for years, and it has crippled America’s standing in the world, and allowed other nations to surpass us. Sadly, the group that is waging a war against America’s scientists is one of America’s two major political parties, it’s the Republicans who are waging a war against science. For more than a decade, Republican Senator James Inhofe has raged against the scientific consensus that humans are fueling climate change, calling it ‘the greatest hoax’ ever perpetrated on Americans. The Oklahoma Republican has blasted the Environmental Protection Agency as an ‘activist organization’ that has unfairly burdened everyone from farmers to fossil-fuel companies. In 2012, Inhofe even wrote a book attacking the science around global warming, which MOST of the world has accepted as a serious and urgent threat.”
wilbur writes—Do you believe the planet is in crisis and what are you going to do about it? “So Eddie Glaude Jr. was on Morning Joe this morning and in a couple of sentences he completely changed the conversation. Changed it in a way that every Democrat should mimic over and over and over again. Joe Scar starts a segment on the Green New Deal by saying it goes too far and they should be instead talking about the Paris Climate Accords and Carbon taxing. They then refer to Frank Bruni’s (George W. Bush’s biggest fanboy) execrable column on how by accepting the new deal 2020 candidates are groveling to their base. I am thankful they went to Eddie Glaude for comment first, probably trying to get the ‘other side’ opinion out of the way. What Glaude said was so simple but so successful. Paraphrasing (don’t have transcript) He starts out, ‘I believe our planet is in crisis,’ but instead of just letting it slide he turns it into one of the most profound questions our species has ever faced. ‘Do you believe our planet is in crisis?’ There is no answer. The camera goes to glib Willy whose lips are trembling but says nothing. He asks again, “’you believe our planet is in crisis,’ and then when he obviously was not going to get an answer, and this follow up is critical, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ Silence from the panel.”