Meteor Blades has sought to foster and recognize Daily Kos discussions related to environmental issues with Eco-Diary Rescue (the Green version of Diary Rescue?). To do these, which he has done often in a spectacular manner, takes an extraordinary amount of time and significant commitment. We all owe a thank to MB. The effort to keep this up seems to have faltered, as the last Eco-Diary Rescue came on 31 May.
I have recently spent a period with limited internet access and, with the help of Daily Kos Environmentalists efforts and Diary Rescue have been making my way through environmental and energy discussions since Netroots Nation. Join me, after the fold, for links and brief introductions to 10s of items in this 'user's Eco-Diary Rescue'.
Jerome a Paris returned to Paris inspired by Van Jones' Wonderful and crucial NN keynote. I'm back in Paris, and trying belatedly to organise my thoughts after the last 5 days in Austin. Beyond the obvious pleasure for me to see friends I can meet only once a year, I've been trying to get an general impression of what happened at Netroots Nation. I was much impressed by Hunter's wistful and rather pessimistic musings on Thursday, but came reassured by what transpired throughout, and which, in my view, was eloquently summarised by Van Jones in his keynote speech on Sunday morning (it can be viewed here). I remember 3 core points from what was a truly inspirational moment: 1. they had their chance, they messed up, "it's our turn (to clean up)" 2. consequently, the netroots need to move from a (successful) force of opposition to a force of proposition 3. energy and climate policy is at the heart of the clean up'.
Faithfull is faithfully fighting against the monstrocity of mountain top removal (MTR) and gave us Mountain Monday: 10 Years of Coal in mid-July with links to many valuable discussions across the blogosphere. "Welcome to Mountain Monday, spreading the word about mountaintop removal, and celebrating the best Appalachia has to offer. Take a look at the region carrying the heaviest load for American coal production, and you’ll see that we are definitively beyond "peak coal" in Appalachia. The US Geological Survey, and other crazy assorted "experts" on "science" have been telling Appalachia that our coal has what-we-call a "finite" production span. In fact, the USGS has estimated that we have around roughly 10 years of high-quality thick coal seams left." On 28 July, Mountain Monday: Gauley Mountain, WV, introducing us to the America's newest "Most Endangered Mountain". And, on 4 August, an examination of the skyrocketing price of coal in Mountain Monday: Is Coal the New Oil?
Also from Jerome a Paris, BigOil to get $33bn in tax breaks over the next 5 years which begins "Some charts say it all ..." Staying with the energy theme (Jerome?), there was ExxonMobil is our faithful servant "Lost in the debate about drilling is a simple truth: blaming oil companies and/or politicians that cater for them (including by supporting more drilling) is, at best, an exercize in finding scapegoats for our own unsustainable behavior. Oil companies, and drilling politicians are providing exactly what we ask of them: cheap, plentiful oil now, no questions asked. Even kossacks are unwilling to drop either "cheap", "plentiful", or "oil", as demonstrated many times in the diaries where I proposed to increase gas taxes. So it's no surprise that drilling resonates so much: it seems to provide an easy way to continue with cheap plentiful oil. And even people who know it's an illusion seem to cling to the outside hope that it might actually work."
Countdown to $200 oil (10) - oil at $120!! which placed recent lowering of prices within a longer period examination of price fluctuations.
gooners looked at rail with McCain vs Amtrak "As the era of cheap gasoline ends, Americans have begun searching for a different way to travel. But years of concentrating federal subsidies on automobile and air travel at the expense of more efficient bus and rail travel have left people with few options. The assult on mass transit has come from the same free-market devotees who have been recklessly taking apart our social system since Nixon was elected. And the whole time, John McCain has been supporting every move."
spiraltn weighed in on the cost of meat, in Global Warming (and such) terms with Al Gore: "I heart animals! They taste good." "Ok, it's paraphrased. Actually, I saw that bumper sticker 10 years ago while walking into a steakhouse in Nashville, TN. (You know the place, peanut-shell strewn floors & wait staff jossling each other to hand demo-tapes to the biz pigs in the corner booth.) So it's no wonder that my fav enviro-savior Al Gore cops to being a part of the problem when it comes to eating meat unrepentantly. Here's how Al responded to a question from Orange Cloud at Netroots Nation last weekend (1st round of questions, 3/4 the way thru the Cspan video). "It is true it would be healthier for us individually & the planet if we consumed less meat. ...I myself am a meat eater and maybe that has had an impact on my definition of the problem." Yes, he knows the sizzle in that steak bears a heavy carbon-load."
And, on this subject, the ever-provocative OrangeClouds115 let us know that she Lost [her] Virginity to Al Gore at Netroots Nation. "In this case, it was my first time talking to a VP, first time stumping a politician AND getting an honest answer, and the first time making national news. Wow! Below you'll find an open letter I wrote to Al Gore." This open letter focuses on eco-agriculture, in addition to the implications of meat for global warming.
How Gore Should Have Answered the Meat Question comes from Michele Simon, who begins: "At the Netroots Nation convention in Austin on Saturday, Al Gore paid a surprise visit. While I appreciate his passion for educating the public about global warming, given the indisputable evidence that meat production is a major contributor to global warming I’ve been disappointed that he chooses to ignore this inconvenient truth."
Sticking with Gore, JonnyRook provided a very important piece with Gore Ignored: The Dead-Tree Media's Dereliction of Duty, showing the near absence of serious discussion in the traditional media of Al Gore's concept for 100% renewable electricity within a decade.
Caldreaming questioned Did Al Gore move the Overton Window? "I have been thinking about Al Gore’s renewable energy challenge recently. On July 17, he challenged this country to commit to producing 100% of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon free sources within 10 years. I have asked myself what the purpose of the speech was. Now, maybe it is exactly what he said, maybe he was laying out a vision for an achievable goal."
Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse contributed multiple valuable discussions which included leading the way in a fundraiser for an environmentalist blogger running for Congress as seen with Possum's More Than Enough Good. (My contribution to this effort: Energy Smart Possum. PDNC also contributed EPA Says Global Warming Is Now Endangering Americans "Today it was revealed that EPA administrator Stephen Johnson told Bush last December that there is "compelling and robust" evidence that our recent temperature increases are caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions which endanger the American people. Bush did not open the email with this dire warning contained in a 38-page document because the US Supreme Court ruled that if the EPA finds that greenhouse gases endanger the public, then the government must regulate them. Undaunted by Bush's cover-up, last week, the EPA issued a refreshingly honest, detailed 283-page report which details how global warming endangers Americans. Two days ago, the EPA Inspector General issued another report that Bush's voluntary programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industries is a flop." The Bush/Cheney Global Warming Cover-Up about Senator Boxer's efforts to investigate the WH's role in covering up Global Warming evidence.
In response to PDNC, the (seriously) provocative Cassiodorus wrote Through the Looking Glass on Abrupt Climate Change "I can't for the life of me see much of a cover-up here -- maybe an obstruction of facts within official government documents in order to keep the EPA from "doing its job." There's a hiding of documents, to be sure, but little "hiding the facts from the public" is going on -- the facts are all out there in plain daylight, and what they show is that we are truly beyond the looking glass when it comes to the problem of abrupt climate change. We are in the mirror world, where words mean nothing and who is to be master is all that counts. For now."
Energy: Offshore Drilling For some reason, hmmm, offshore drilling generated much discussion and many diaries. Here are a selected few ...
lowkell contributed Compromise on Offshore Drilling Smart Policy OR Politics? " was reading commentary on Ted Stevens intertubes the blogs about Barack Obama's "shift" on offshore oil drilling, and it got me to wondering: would a compromise on this issue, as part of a real, comprehensive energy plan (including "Apollo project" for kicking our oil addiction once and for all) be smart policy? And is talking about in this way, at this time, smart politics for Barack Obama?"
There was also Obama and Offshore Drilling: Media Gets It Completely Wrongfrom
ShadowSD.
My Offshore Drilling: We Can Choose Simple Confusion or Outright Lies comparing the Democratic and Republican Party's approaches to the issue. "Every day it seems gas prices are edging higher. For almost a year, oil prices have increased by one percent per week. A year ago, $100 barrel seemed a nightmare fantasy to many. Today, oil at that price is viewed almost nostalgically — as the good old days. In the face of growing price pressures during an election year, the Democratic and Republican parties have radically different answers, radically different approaches to the challenge. At the end of the day, neither is dealing with the fundamental challenges facing humanity with full honesty. One party seems caught in confusion and disarray, the other is providing direct answers to the challenge based on fundamental dishonesty — answers that will aggravate, rather than solve, our problems."
sharkmeister provided an ever-so honest title to the diary: Drilling: A wonderful Republican solution because it solves nothing "The party that is fully committed to lies and corruption is rallying around drilling as a solution to the high cost of fuels. Please reflect: of all the possibilities this was chosen as their solution because it appears to do something and will solve nothing."
The ever-thoughtful smokeymonkey laid a case to consider: Why Not to Drill for Oil... At All "The arguments for drilling are thickly numerous this weekend. I have heard supply must be increased to decrease the price of gasoline. I have heard it's all Clinton's fault for not drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge last decade. I have heard that the millions of acres of nationally owned land leased to oil companies making record profits aren't being drilled because there isn't any there; otherwise, why would they not be drilling? .... What I haven't heard is the arguments for never drilling, for eliminating any exploitation of our resources that results in severe, irreversible environmental damage."
Drilling "Surge" a GOP short term winner. So lets play. came from manumit argues for lettign the leasing go ahead as leverage to get meaningful renewable energy action. "In 10 years when the the GOP have no excuse left on oil and oil prices, they will be forced to changed. So stay to them "lol you can have your off-shore drilling, but it won't change anything and in the meantime we are really going to do something about energy". Defuse the argument, change the world, let their econonmics work against them."
False Framing on Drilling came from thetrucker "It is already known by all the intelligent people that, while additional oil supplies might minimally help in the future, this near term argument is nothing less than stupidity on steroids. The Republicans do not wish to address the intelligent people. They want to address enough of the stupid people to win an election. And if the Democrats can't figure out a way to make an argument that will encompass the less intelligent then they will get their butts kicked exactly as they are doing." TheTrucker also argued that we should Wait Till January For [the] Drilling Decision.
Drilling in ANWR—Riding a Dead Horse was Milos Janus Outlook's contribution. "Who is not hurting from the high gas prices? Forgive me for wondering if our President and Vice President are bothered at all. Well, they may be bothered just a tad by the anger directed toward them because they have looked after the interests of Big Oil for the past seven years with narry a nod to consumers."
Dr Observer provide some Simple Oil Math for understanding drilling's implications. "Over the next 20 years, our daily consumption of oil in the US under "business as usual" projections, will be about 20 million barrels per day. So the 2-4 billion barrels in ANWR? That's 2-4 billion reserves divided by 0.02 billion barrels used per day = 100-300 days, which is 3-8 months of supply for the United States only. Or you could call it 0.4 - 0.8 years. ... So here's a simple conversion. When you are given a headline with X billion barrels of oil, do the following: Number of years it will take for the US to consume that oil = X / 5. Number of years it will take for the world to consume that oil = X / 30."
In an important discussion for political purposes,
The Poll Truth: Clean Energy Solutions Topple Drilling came from the ever-valuable SolveClimate. "Why does the latest poll by the Pew Research Center report that drilling for domestic oil has jumped to the top of Americans' energy priorities? Maybe because Pew didn’t ask respondents if they want the nation to invest in clean energy and efficient cars, instead."
Oil Spills sparked attention, such as scorpiorising's Environmental Disaster in Louisiana: "The fuel spill in the Mississippi River now stretches 100 miles, almost to the Gulf of Mexico, and a sickly oil smell hangs over the city. According to a WWL TV news report, an SPCA group from Houston has set up a wildlife recovery effort. I don't want to pass judgement yet, but it is somewhat shocking to me, given the size of the spill and its potential impact on fragile wetlands, that there isn't more help coming to help wildlife, and to help with cleanup." And, Barge "Burps"; Fuel Spilled (again); River F----ed. "The sunken and broken barge that sits in the Mississippi River, just below the Crescent City Connection(CCC) that links New Orleans with its westbank, "burped" 60 barrels of fuel oil early this morning, oil that has once again, polluted the river, drinking water, and threatened wildlife." Louisian 1976 questioned Louisiana Environmental Disaster: Where Are the MSM? "Back in 1988 when the Exxon Valdez ran aground, I can recall at least a few weeks of steady coverage by both the three major networks and cable news (just CNN at the time) of the disaster, its environmental impact, and efforts to clean it up. But the fuel oil spill that happened in Louisiana earlier this week proves to be a much larger disaster with farther-reaching consequences--yet for some news briefs I've seen on NBC Nightly News and a couple of cable channels, there hasn't been the major coverage it should be getting. Why aren't the MSM taking it seriously?"
Global Warming
blkynarch examined a rarely discussed issue, highlighting yet another way of the complexities of Global Warming, in Wetland Destruction - Another AGW Puzzle Piece: "Wetlands, understood to be an essential ecosystem in promoting biodiversity and flood control, is also another key element in slowing climate change - as wetland destruction potentially accelerates global warming."
ClimateLurker, to be looked toward for cogent discussions of complex issues, provided Global Warming: A Picture Worth A Thousand Words which provided a graphic to show how, even if 100% of carbon emissions stopped immediately, the problems would get worse before they begin to improve. And, Global Warming: Why Climate Projections Have Error Bars explains some of the key words and framings of the IPCC in reporting on climate change.
Boxer7 provided Confirmed - Arctic Ice Melt Due to Carbon Emissions "For 14 million years - even at the top of the world in summer - where it is the land of the midnight sun - the earth has sported an ice cap. This is changing. It is changing precipitously, at an accelerating rate and perhaps catastrophically. In a study scheduled to be published in October climate scientist Ola Johannsen of Norway demonstrates a "clear connection between rising global carbon pollution and the retreat of sea ice."
California's Bag Tax It is time to end the tyranny of plastic bags, the oil they consume, the damae that they do. And, this is being attempted in California with, as well, those fighting to keep the dream of bags flitting along the highway alive. Chico David RN explored this in So what about this "bag tax"? as did an outraged bollucks with This is what YOU ARE SUPPORTING by visiting this site.
And ...
The good news is the bad news ... there are 10s (if not 100+) relevant diaries in the past several weeks that are of relevance to those (like myself) interested in energy and environmental issues.
MB's efforts, with multiple Eco-Diary Rescue diaries, were tremendous. But, this burden is too much for one individual ... there are too many good and interesting items being written within this community.
The Daily Kos Environmentalists provides a valued tool for learning about relevant discussions (who, after all, can look at 100% of the diaries at Daily Kos?). This also provides a way to go back and find valued discussions. But Daily Kos Environmentalists is only as good as the efforts of the community to maintain it. So, join Daily Kos Environmentalists and contribute to its success. Over the past several weeks, there were 10s of highly relevant (and interesting) diaries that did not make it into Daily Kos Environmentalists ... this is a community that is only as strong as its members make it.
But, moving beyond (or building on this), what about Eco-Diary Rescue? This "users' version" is a faltering effort, not a shadow of the wonderful MB pieces. Is it time, MB and community, for the Enviro-Rescue Rangers, with a weekly review of valued discussions?
In any event, thanks to all those who wrote energy and environmental diaries in the past several weeks. Apologies for not capturing even a shadow of what might merit inclusion. Please (PLEASE) use the comments section to let us know of valued Eco-Diary Rescue diary material from the last month.
And, sound off: is it time for Eco-Diary Rescue Rangers?