A murder of crows gathers at dusk. See OceanDiver's post.
Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The most recent Spotlight can be seen here. More than 23,755 environmentally oriented diaries have been rescued for inclusion in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a diary in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
Exxon Scandal Spurs Remarkable Show of Environmental Justice Unity: People are Pissed! written by
Bill McKibben: "About ten minutes ago a letter went out from the heads of almost all the country's environmental groups and many of its civil rights, indigenous, and other progressive campaigns. It called--as Bernie Sanders and now Hillary Clinton have also called--for a DOJ probe of the remarkable revelations about Exxon's long knowledge, and its long, paralyzing public denial, of climate change. The list of signers is remarkable. It includes the leaders of what we usually think of as the most corporate-friendly enviro groups, like EDF, and it includes Greenpeace. The leaders of the Hip Hop Caucus and the Audubon Society. The leaders of the Freddy Gray project and of the Sierra Club. It reflects the remarkable leadership indigenous North Americans have offered in recent years, and it has leaders from the fast-emerging environmental faith communities. Maybe most moving for me is the name Dr. Robert Bullard, a progenitor of what we now call the environmental justice movement. I was very worried a few weeks ago that the remarkable revelations of journalists from
Inside Climate News and the
LA Times might fade away into the noisy digital clutter. I'm less worried about that all the time. This unity around #exxonknew reminds me of the spirit that marked the early days of the Keystone campaign, and that indeed has sustained it throughout."
LA Times and Big Oil team up on propaganda website written by
Dan Bacher: "The Los Angeles Times and the California Resource Corporation, an Occidental Petroleum spinoff, have teamed up to create 'Powering California,' a Big Oil propaganda campaign website, as exposed by Clean Energy California. The environmental group broke the story on their twitter page this week when they published a tweet from Western States Petroleum President Catherine Reheis-Boyd touting the new site. 'California oil and natural gas mean growth,' according to the website,
http://poweringcalifornia.com. 'They mean jobs. And, Californians need ample, affordable and reliable energy to thrive—to power our homes, farms, businesses and schools, fuel our cars, and produce products that we need and use every day.' Media Matters and the
LA Weekly have written good articles on this controversy, although both fall short of telling the bigger story—the capture of the regulatory apparatus and the corporate media in California by the Western States Petroleum Association and oil industry for many years, something I have written article after article about."
Stunning Images as Greenland Melts written by xaxnar: " The New York Times has an article on the dangerous but vital research being carried out on the Greenland ice sheet by scientists as they try to measure the dynamics of melting water flow, the better to improve their models. The conditions are harsh, the ice sheet is challenging—and people are putting their lives at stake to get the data we need. The interactive article by Coral Davenport, Josh Haner, Larry Buchanan, and Derek Watkins has some beautiful imagery showing what happens as melt water collects, forms into rivers carving into the ice, disappearing down Moulins (sinkholes) to do ... well they'd really like to know. Melting of the Greenland Ice Cap could raise sea level 20 feet on average around the world. 'We scientists love to sit at our computers and use climate models to make those predictions,' said Laurence C. Smith, head of the geography department at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the leader of the team that worked in Greenland this summer. 'But to really know what’s happening, that kind of understanding can only come about through empirical measurements in the field.'"
As Indonesia Burns... written by DarkScholar82: "Over the past few weeks, a major environmental crisis has been unfolding in the Pacific nation of Indonesia with little notice from the rest of the world. Peat fires have been burning across the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, putting massive amounts of smoke and haze into the air. This haze is plaguing nearby countries such as Singapore, which has accused Indonesia of not doing enough to control the fires, while Malaysia is evacuating its citizens from Indonesia. The crisis is yet another outgrowth of the growing problem of climate change, as an exacerbated El Niño weather pattern has dried the rains that usually staunch peat fires. However, the fires are also the result of the Western taste for candy. My Gut Reaction: Great, another thing to feel guilty about when I eat M&Ms."
Below the orange spill you'll find more excerpts and links to green posts.
Climate Chaos
Humans Would be Steamed to Death in the Persian Gulf States if Global Warming Continues written by FishOutofWater: "In the summer months, hot air from the Asian monsoons sinking over the Persian Gulf causes a layer of steamy air to form above the hot gulf water. The sinking monsoon air is so hot that the slightly cooler air below does not mix into it. Instead of mixing, enormous amounts of water evaporate off of the hot Gulf water trapping the earth's steamiest air in the marine air layer above the Gulf. This marine layer takes up enormous amounts of solar heat to the point that it is almost deadly to any form of warm blooded life that isn't inside a dwelling or living under a rock. This summer the heat index or 'feels like temperatures,' which are a measure of the combined effects of heat and humidity, reached 160°F in several cities on the Persian Gulf. A sea breeze off the Gulf, instead of bringing cool marine air inland, as it does in the United States, brought in a layer of insufferable steam to Iranian towns. Residents fled to air conditioning or cooled off under hoses of water. It was literally too hot to do any work outside. A study just published shows that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise the absolute humidity, measured as the dew point or wet bulb temperature will rise to 95°F (35 Celsius) or higher, which is above the threshold of human survival. Sea breezes that blow off of the Gulf may bring in air that is so hot and humid that the human body will not be able to cool itself. In simple terms, humans would be steamed to death if they remained outside for 6 hours."
Global Warming - NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center written by rebel ga: "July 2015 was warmest month ever recorded for the globe. [...] El Niño is defined by prolonged warming in the Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures when compared with the average value. The US NOAA definition is a 3-month average warming of at least 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) in a specific area of the east-central tropical Pacific Ocean; other organizations define the term slightly differently. Typically, this anomaly happens at irregular intervals of two to seven years, and lasts nine months to two years. When this warming occurs for seven to nine months, it is classified as El Niño "conditions"; when its duration is longer, it is classified as an El Niño 'episode'."
Democratic Vegans Can Be Deniers, GOP Can Be Green written by
ClimateDenierRoundup: "A couple weeks ago, there was a story making the rounds about a vegan environmentalist Democrat named David Siegel who studied up on climate change and came to the conclusion that 'the science is not settled.' With a giant article on Medium, he was the 'it thing; in the deniersphere for a few days, offering an example of a reformed alarmist who hit the books and saw the light. Except he really seems to have just hit the blogs and bought in to the conspiratorial denier mindset. Given that his screed was giant (over 9,000 words, he says) it took a little while for some actual experts to unpack and debunk it, but fortunately they have. In a rebuttal posted on Medium, a group of climate bloggers have taken on the herculean task of debunking Siegel's gish gallop. But more than that, they also explain the conspiratorial thinking and denial tendencies that Siegel employs in his article. Demonstrating that conservatives don't have a monopoly on unscientific thinking, the piece is valuable for its thorough breakdown of not just how Siegel got so many points so very wrong, but also for its help explaining why someone might fall into denier traps."
Climate Change Is Real And Important: A written by gregladen: "Have you ever been poking around on the Intertoobs, when somebody comes along and says, 'Hey, I never really thought about global warming/vaccination/evolution before, but suddenly and unexplainably I am now. And as I think about global warming/vaccination/evolution these innocent and valid questions arise and imma ask you about them.' Then the conversation proceeds to go down hill. The individual was really an anti-vaxer, a creationist, or a climate change denier all along, but was just pretending to be a thoughtful person who never thought about this issue before and just has some innocent question. But every single one of these questions is framed in terms of the anti or denial perspective, every 'fact' noted and eventually adhered to is a discredited anti or denial meme, and even more amusingly, every statement made by this 'innocent, curious' individual is the same exact statement made the last time a similar individual came along."
Global warming viewed from the Kos pond (with Poll) written by Alligator Ed: "Dear readers, some of you may have noticed the dearth of news from the Kos pond. Well, it wasn't just the election heating things up, but a far more insidious threat to reptilian life. Yes, I admit it; I strayed from the Kos Pond to partake in the pleasures of other swamps. The goings on of other waters enticed me into unwariness. So, now I have completed Rehabilitation. It was a tough go. You see, I got, well, over-heated, not a thing for cold-blooded reptiles to relish. This is how it went."
Can we please not end the world? written by CorpFlunky: "Testament is a 1983 movie about the end of life on earth after a nuclear holocaust. It's sad. Time magazine just had a story about how climate change is projected to wipe out 1/4 of the economy in the coming years. There's a link about how to buy a house that will be resilient to climate change. The New York Times has a story about how humans will not be able to survive outside during the day in the Persian Gulf in the near future. Can we not end the world please? We have avoided nuclear holocaust so far. Do we really need to experience the worst of climate change to decide we're going to do what it takes to avoid destroying life on earth? What's wrong with us? Are we over medicated? Are we that stupid? Are we no better than locusts?"
Government requires infrastructure to function written by rktect: "The New York Times is reporting that Greenland is Melting Away. You may wonder where all the water is going. Scientists know that the melting of Greenland is accelerating. As the temperature rises, large lakes form on the surface of the ice, which in turn create a network of rivers. 'The rivers melt down faster than the surrounding ice, like a knife through butter,' Dr. Smith said.The rivers then flow down into giant holes in the ice, called moulins, which drain through tunnels in the ice sheet and out into the ocean. It's been going on since 2013 at least. 'The ice sheet is porous, like Swiss cheese,' Dr. Smith said. We didn’t know that until this year.'"
Deniersphere
mAlice in Denierland written by climatedenierroundup: "Stephen Lewandowsky has a new climate denial explainer that is both entertaining and illuminating. The title of the explainer references Alice (in Wonderland)'s trip Through the Looking Glass, and the piece uses Australian denier Ian Plimer as an example into the minds of deniers. Specifically, Lewandowsky investigates how deniers' conspiracy theory-thinking leads them into the trap of making mutually exclusive statements as they attempt to say whatever sounds best in rejecting climate science. The piece opens with two quotes from Plimer's book. The first says, 'CO2 keeps our planet warm,' and the other says, 'Temperature and CO2 are not connected.' These are followed by the classic Looking Glass quote that 'sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.' But how, exactly, can both of Plimer's contradictory statements be true? Clearly Plimer, like other deniers, fails to present an intellectually coherent argument, because there IS no intellectually coherent argument for climate denial."
Paris, COP21
It's Time to Face Climate Change Challenges written by progressivetroll: "In the run-up to United Nations Climate Change Conference that opens in Paris on November 30, yearly worldwide release of Carbon dioxide (CO2) will be around 32 billion metric tons. At the rate we're going, the world's air is set to rise 4 degrees Celsius before the century's over, twofold what researchers say is a "acceptable" level of warming. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gives preservationist benchmarks concerning what is required to balance out the normal worldwide temperature at its present level of around 60.3 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius) over the pre-modern normal of 56.7 degrees. As indicated by the IPCC, worldwide CO2 outflows need to fall by around 40 percent underneath current levels inside of 20 years, to around 20 billion tons, and 80 percent by 2050, to seven billion tons. So, what to do now? Implement low-carbon energy base that promotes conservation, conversion into renewal energy sources and fusion technology, providing a fair transition from fossil fuels and a 'global treaty' to block the export of fossil fuels. How to do what?"
Open thread for night owls: Koch-fueled hoaxer Inhofe threatens to crash climate talks ... again written by Meteor Blades: "The Hill reports that Sen. James Inhofe—noted climate change denier and author of such works of art as The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future—has threatened to crash the U.N. climate talks in Paris this December, along with Kentucky Republican Ed Whitfield. “We may send a group over to Paris, just to let them know that there’s another branch of government, in addition to the executive branch, on these issues,” said Whitfield. The Paris climate talks—a meeting of over 190 countries seeking to create a global emissions pact and address the effects of climate change—won’t be the first time Inhofe has tried to derail efforts to lower carbon emissions. He also crashed the 2009 climate talks in Copenhagen."
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Stronger than normal trade winds since
1998 have increased the through flow of tropical
Pacific heat into the Indian ocean.
155 mph Cyclone Chapala, 2nd strongest ever in Arabian sea, Unprecedented Threat to Yemen written by
FishOutofWater: "Tropical cyclone Chapala intensified explosively to 155mph, the strongest cyclone on record in the monsoon retreat season in the Arabian sea, fueled by the warmest waters on record for the season. Tropical cyclones were extremely rare in the Arabian sea but have become a threat since the turn of the millennium when the heat content of the north Indian ocean began to increase rapidly. The heat content in the monsoon retreat months used to be very low because strong southwest monsoon winds along the Somalian coast used to well up so much cool water that there wasn't enough heat stored in that sea to support tropical cyclone development. The Bay of Bengal, which is normally hot this time of year, has been the part of the north Indian ocean threatened by cyclones. This year, however, the oceanic heat content is unusually high in the Arabian sea. Almost 2 decades of intensified flow of Pacific ocean heat into the Indian ocean, combined with weakened cool water upwelling off of Somalia and intense atmospheric subsidence of hot dry air over Indonesia caused by the monster El Niño have led to the extraordinarily high ocean heat content."
How Climate Change Almost Gave us Super Hurricane Patricia written by DerekJack30: "Sometimes, dumb fucking luck happens, and an example of that was Patricia being downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical depression. Other times, like in October 2012 with Hurricane Sandy, that famous Daft Punk song that was covered by Soviet-like solders at Sochi 2014 isn't applicable. But what's with these superstorms, stronger than ones of previous recorded eras, per scientific measurement anyway? The original justification for cutting off the scale at 5 is that no human-built structure could withstand winds above its 155 mph threshold. So essentially there was no point in differentiating between storms once the winds were above 155. Right now, Patricia’s core winds are estimated to be 200 mph—with gusts to 250 mph—as strong as the tornado that destroyed Joplin, Missouri, in 2011, but at least 15 times larger in area. As I wrote earlier today, Patricia, at its current strength, is close to the theoretical maximum strength for a tropical cyclone on planet Earth. In fact, at one point on Friday morning, Patricia actually went above its maximum potential intensity. How did Patricia get to be so strong? The answer, quite simply, involves human-caused climate change."
Critters & the Great Outdoors
The Daily Bucket - Mt. Adams and the Changing Season written by foresterbob: "Located in south-central Washington, Mount Adams reaches 12,280 feet into the sky. Unlike Oregon's Mount Hood and Washington's Mount Rainier, which are easily visible from populated areas, Adams is elusive. The Cascade Mountains hide it from the view of most folks in western Washington and Oregon, allowing only a distant view of the top of the peak. Even from the east side of the Cascades, hills and ridges often block the view. For a spectacular, up-close view, a trip off the beaten path is necessary. For the past two weeks, I have been working near the small towns of Trout Lake and Glenwood. When the weather cooperates, Mt. Adams dominates the northern skyline. As a bonus, some hilltop vantage points include views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens. At the same time that I'm getting paid to walk in the woods, I get to see verdant valleys, showy autumn leaves, and snowy mountains. Life is good, even if I have to endure a few days of rain."
Mount Adams
The Daily Bucket - crows at dusk written by
OceanDiver: "
October 29, 2015. Salish Sea, PNW. Daylight is fading fast these days, with the sun setting before 6 pm somewhere out there behind our deep cloud cover. Lately it's been near sunset when we beach our kayaks to go home. Tonight a raucous wheeling murder of crows circled over a small island in the bay as we paddled toward shore, at least 40 of them. [...]
For crows, roosts are primarily a fall and winter thing. Numbers peak in winter and then decrease near the beginning of the breeding season (usually in March). It appears that all crows will join winter roosts, even territorial breeding crows....Before heading to roost, crows will congregate in some area away from the final roosting site, usually an hour or two before complete darkness. Here the crows spend a lot of time calling, chasing, and fighting. Right at dark the main body of the group will move toward the final roosting spot. Sometimes this final movement is relatively quiet, but usually it is still quite noisy. I have seen crows coming together from several separate congregation areas, heading to one final staging area where they all coalesce, then everyone heads to the final roost. The final roost can be a cohesive group in a single woodlot, or it can be rather diffusely spread out over quite a wide area of suitable trees.
The Daily Bucket: Wild Florida--The Florida Red Belly Turtle written by
Lenny Flank: "The Florida Red Belly Turtle is a large basking river turtle that is found throughout the state. It is a Florida specialty, found almost entirely within our borders, and in most areas it is our most common turtle. [...] The southeastern United States is the center of chelonian diversity, with several dozen species of aquatic turtles which can often be seen basking on rocks or logs along rivers or ponds, dropping into the water when disturbed. These are known as "cooters,' probably derived from an African word for 'turtle.' They are also sometimes referred to as 'sliders,' from their habit of slipping off into the water. One of the largest of the cooters, with a shell length of 15 inches, is the Florida Red Belly,
Pseudemys nelsoni. The Pseudemys genus ranges across the southeastern US, but the Florida Red Belly is concentrated almost entirely within Florida (with a small additional population in southern Georgia), where it replaces the Northern Red Belly,
Pseudemys rubiventris."
Ghost flower written by
OldJackPine: "It doesn’t happen every summer but when it does, it happens late – after most flowers have died and just as the vegetation is turning rank and decadent. A humid low pressure system will stall out over the Great Lakes leaving the whole region stuck indefinitely in a twilight of longing for the next cleansing rain, the next fresh breeze out of the north, and an end to fitful sleeping on sweat-sticky sheets. The woods slip into a fever dream and the ghost flowers appear. Prolonged low pressure draws on the landscape's sources of moisture to infuse the woods with a dismal damp. Mornings begin as a yellow fog before grading into hazy pale afternoons where the sun hides herself save for a gauzy light in an otherwise hot gray sky. I was working up north and the weather had me in a foul mood. Sticky and sweaty and irritable, I would lie sleepless listening to a night-time stillness so complete that it played havoc with my aural depth perception. There! A twig snaps. A thud. An acorn dropping or a pine cone? A squirrel on the roof or a raccoon coming to raid the garbage … or a footfall of something larger? Then nothing. Nothing again."
Saturday Morning Garden Blogging V. 11:36 - Yard Art written by Merry Light: "I am getting ready for the (supposedly) big snow year we are predicted to have because of El Niño this winter. I'm hoping it will be a big snow year, and maybe I'm jinxing it by getting my garden beds ready for mucho snow. Part of the preparation for winter is empyting and cleaning the ceramic and plastic pots that hold the summer annuals. I compost the plants and put the used soil in a big trash barrel with a lid that I bought at Lowe's. It's a good way to recycle and re-use the soil. In the spring as I use it for new annuals, I'll recharge the soil with a compost mix from Fox Farms, which has microbes and guano and other good stuff. I also take inventory of the yard art, and put most of it away for the season in the shed with the pots. I wanted to share some of the yard art we've collected over the years, and see what you all have collected."
Lion hunter killed by a lion during an illegal hunt written by Jen Hayden: "A group of lion hunters in South Africa were apparently stalking the wrong lion: Authorities reported a group of five men hunting without licences was attacked by the big cat at a private game farm near the Kruger. Matome Mahlale, 24, was killed along with two dogs, who were accompanying the group. Local police spokesman Colonel Ronel Otto said: 'Three men managed to climb into a tree and another managed to escape, but the deceased and two dogs were mauled to death.' A local said: 'There won't be many people feeling sorry for him. This is seen as poetic justice for the death of Cecil.' Indeed."
Hovenweep Adventures, Animal Sightings and Lunar Eclipse-photo heavy written by COMTNGRL: "The Southwest area of the US is a plethora of amazing sights. Of course, you've all heard of Mesa Verde, Arches, Bryce Canyon and Zion. These are all amazing in their own respect. There are several smaller, yet just as magnificent national parks and monuments in the same area. One of the lesser known National Monuments is Canyon of the Ancients that includes Hovenweep National Monument(which straddles Colorado and Utah). In recent years, access and trail development in the Canyon of the Ancients area has been expanded. The Canyon of the Ancients is a network of ruin sites spread over 170,000 acres. Some of the sites have developed hiking trails, other sites are just a short walk to the ruins. Visitors are usually referred to the Anasazi Heritage Center near Dolores, Colorado as a starting point and for directions. The museum is quite nice and they have a nice ruin on site. If you have a couple of days, you could base camp in Mesa Verde(only about a 30-45 minute drive away from Dolores, CO) and then do a day trip to the Anasazi Heritage Center and then venture to a few of the other sites."
The Daily Bucket - Assorted California Environmental News written by
enhydra lutris: "
Two pufferfish may have been spotted on a Monterey Bay beach, far north of their usual range of habitat, according to the Santa Cruz-based conservation group Save Our Shores. The fish were spotted roughly 4 miles south of Marina State Beach in Santa Cruz County.
'I believe that the two puffers I saw were porcupine fish, which are more commonly found in Baja California, but I'd want to get a second opinion,' Kippen said. El Niño and the "Blob" of warm water off of the coast may have brought them north."
The Daily Bucket - Buckets of Birdfood written by
Milly Watt: "At least it seems like I'm going through bird food by the bucketful. [...] In a few weeks, the FeederWatch season begins. I'm signed up for my 6th winter. It is a citizen science project that seems perfect for fellow Bucketeers. Follow me below the peanut for more. As described on the website:
Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. FeederWatchers periodically count the birds they see at their feeders from November through early April and send their counts to Project FeederWatch. FeederWatch data help scientists track broadscale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. The season runs from Nov. 14 - April 8 this year. [...] I'm really excited about the new season since I have several new species that I've attracted to my feeders. I'm going to provide some photos from my feeders as inspiration that will hopefully encourage you to check out FeederWatch. I offer feeders with 2 flavors of suet, seed feeders with oil sunflowers and a blend designed for this area, a heated birdbath, a tray feeder that gets seeds and peanuts (a new addition intended to lure Jays) dumped into it, and 3 hummingbird feeders kept full and thawed all winter. But you can get started by simply scattering seed on the ground (but beware, it's likely your interest will escalate)."
The Pesticide Tax and Rebuilding our Bee Population written by Eternal Hope: "The newest threat to our survival as a species comes from the alarming losses to our bee population. Bees are necessary to pollinate much of our ecosystem. However, since 2006-2007, an alarming disorder known as Colony Collapse Disorder, in which entire colonies of worker bees mysteriously disappear, has devastated the beekeeping industry. We cannot pinpoint the cause of CCD to pesticides; it is normally caused by a complexity of factors. For instance: In 2008, Germany revoked the registration of the neonicotinoid clothianidin for use on seed corn after an incident that resulted in the die-off of hundreds of nearby honey bees colonies. Investigation into the incident revealed that the die-off was caused by a combination of factors, including the failure to use a polymer seed coating known as a 'sticker': weather conditions that resulted in late planting of corn while nearby canola crops were in bloom, attracting honey bees; use of a particular type of air-driven equipment used to sow the seeds, which blew clothianidin-laden dust off the seeds and into the air as the seeds were ejected from the machine into the ground; dry and windy conditions at the time of planting, which blew the dust into the nearby canola fields where honey bees were foraging; and a higher application rate than had been authorized was used to treat for a severe root worm infestation."
The Daily Bucket--Where Nutrients Hide written by
6412093: "Some plants can't buy a break. Take the rudely named Fuligo Septica, AKA "Dog Vomit." Is it really that ugly? I can set my calendar by Fuligo's appearance. I Bucketed about it showing up almost exactly one year ago, on October 21, 2014. It's a slime mold, active in hot humid weather, that consumes the bacteria, yeasts, and fungi from dead wood or mulch, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. My Fuligo defies the Missouri DOC, however, by growing on top of the polymer sand between paving stones rather than on mulch, and not showing up until October. Wiki claims that Fuligo can tolerate high concentrations of toxic metals by producing a pigment that converts (chelates) metals into inactive forms. Fuligo extracts can weaken cancer cells. Scandavian folklore claims it is the vomit of troll kitties."
Dawn Chorus: Halloween (Almost) Open Thread written by Kestrel: "Good morning and Happy Halloween to all. Next Sunday morning, we'll all be recovering from a sugar hangover from Halloween the night before, so I thought we could let this morning's edition of Dawn Chorus get us in the mood. [...] Fall has fallen. I made a brief trip tooday to one of our National Wildlife Refuges to check out the water levels for migrating birds. Though water wasn't anywhere near plentiful, it was enough to give sanctuary to thousands of Greater White-fronted Geese and a small number of wintering ducks who will be arriving in greater numbers in the weeks ahead. I also saw many Northern Pintails and Northern Shovelers, a couple of Eurasian Wigeons, and a whole bunch of Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and White-faced Ibis all working the stubbled, wet fields together, with one Sandhill Crane in the mix for good measure. As I was about to leave the auto tour area, my eye caught movement to my left and I was barely able to register three scuttling female Ring-necked Pheasants trying to disappear into the abundant grasses, too fast for me to raise my camera, but their gentleman friend waasn't nearly as skittish and I got a couple of shots of him before he joined the ladies in the brush."
Ring-Necked Pheasant
Energy
Coal, Oil, Gas & Nuclear
Open thread for night owls. Oil Change International: Tar sands running out of room to grow written by Meteor Blades: "From Oil Change International: In a new report that we released today along with our friends at Bold Nebraska, Environmental Defence Canada, Equiterre, IEEFA, NRDC, Sierra Club U.S., and 350.org, we take a data-driven look at the role this incredible and diverse movement is having keeping some of the world’s dirtiest oil—the Alberta tar sands—in the ground. The report, Lockdown: The end of growth in the tar sands, is all about the numbers. We built a model (the first of its kind in the public sphere) that looks at the entire North American tar sands pipeline system. Using this model (INAP—the Integrated North American Pipeline model), we were able to determine bottlenecks, hurdles, and pressure points for the industry. One story the model tells is a simple one: without major new pipelines, the tar sands have run out of room to grow."
Open thread for night owls. Oil Change International: Tar sands running out of room to grow written by Meteor Blades: "From Oil Change International:
In a new report that we released today along with our friends at Bold Nebraska, Environmental Defence Canada, Equiterre, IEEFA, NRDC, Sierra Club U.S., and 350.org, we take a data-driven look at the role this incredible and diverse movement is having keeping some of the world’s dirtiest oil—the Alberta tar sands—in the ground. The report, Lockdown: The end of growth in the tar sands, is all about the numbers. We built a model (the first of its kind in the public sphere) that looks at the entire North American tar sands pipeline system. Using this model (INAP—the Integrated North American Pipeline model), we were able to determine bottlenecks, hurdles, and pressure points for the industry. One story the model tells is a simple one: without major new pipelines, the tar sands have run out of room to grow."
we stored 8 million more barrels of oil; what the strong dollar means for global oil production written by rjsigmund: "This week's reports from the EIA, covering the week ending October 16th, again showed a large buildup in crude oil being put into storage domestically, a result of oversupply and lower demand; in fact, the addition of more than 8 million barrels this week topped last week's 6 month high, and we'd have to go back to early spring, when traders were buying boatloads of oil to store in hopes of higher prices, to find a week that saw that much oil added to US inventories....the increasing glut, combined with virtually no change in production or oilfield activity, finally turned the oil markets, which had been higher since the end of September, and the contract price for domestic WTI oil ended Friday at $44.60 a barrel, down 5.6% from $47.26 a barrel a week earlier [...] Qlso putting pressure on oil prices globally was the announcement by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), OPEC's second largest liquids producer, that they planned to expand oil production 30% by 2020, as well as reports that Ayatollah Khamenei had approved the nuclear deal between Iran and the West, and that Iran would boost its oil production within a week after sanctions were lifted, with the Iranian oil minister saying "We don’t need permission from anyone to export our oil," in reference to OPEC."
Residents Living South of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Have Minimal Internal Radiation Exposure written by MarineChemist: "The purpose of this diary is to relate findings published (open access) in the peer-reviewed journal PLOSOne by Akiyama and colleagues who investigated internal radiocesium contamination in residents living south of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). This diary is the most recent in a series dedicated to sharing the results of scientific research into the impact of the nuclear power plant disaster on ecosystem and public health. The Akiyama study builds on recent work by this group using a whole body counter (WBC) to look for internal contamination of residents living near (north and west) the reactors at the time of the meltdowns. Measurements were made on 9,206 affected individuals, including 6,446 school children (4-15 years) living south of the reactors or evacuated to Iwaki city following the bulk of radionuclide releases. Measurements began one year after the accident and continued for two years. The authors conclude that, despite lack of data for the first year following the disaster, internal doses experienced by residents to the south of the FDNPP were minimal. This suggests that efforts to mitigate foodborne exposure have been largely successful and that nearly all the annual effective doses for this segment of the population more than one year after the disaster are likely due to external exposure."
Is There Scientific Evidence Showing Higher Incidence of Thyroid Cancer in Post-Fukushima Japan? written by MarineChemist: "The purpose of this short diary it to bring to the attention of readers a well researched and referenced YouTube video by Ian Goddard. A recently published study by Tsuda and colleagues in the peer-reviewed journal Epidemiology reported that thyroid cancer cases had skyrocketed in areas affected by Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant derived radioisotope contamination. Despite problems with the study it was widely reported on by the media leaving the public with the impression that the results were valid. The following video summarizes the problems with the Tsuda paper and points out the need for continued monitoring to determine the actual health impacts for those exposed to potentially harmful levels of radionuclides in Japan. The short answer to the question posed in the title of this diary is no and that continued screening, with a scientifically sound design is required to obtain an accurate answer. Thanks to Ian for a very well researched response to a study with questionable conclusions given the available information."
IAEA produces final Fukushima report written by tapu dali: "The International Atomic Energy Agency has finally produced its final report on the accident at Fukushima. For me, the most interesting part is this technical volume, 4/5 on the radiological consequences of the accident, which have been determined to be minimal."
Volatile times loom for NM’s oil patch written by bluewill: "New Mexico’s oil and gas industry is bracing for another round of volatile ups and downs in crude prices that could push the market—and ultimately production in the southeastern part of the state—to its lowest point in more than a decade. The industry has already been battered by steep price declines over the past year that cut the price of crude from more than a $100 a barrel in mid-2014 to about $44 now. That’s led to thousands of layoffs in New Mexico’s oil patch in the southeastern part of the state and, to a lesser extent, in the northwestern San Juan Basin. But things may get a lot worse thanks to Iran, which is expected to aggressively ramp up its oil production next year as international sanctions are lifted following last summer’s deal designed to limit Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon."
China spends $1.3 billion to buy Texas oil fields written by Walter Einenkel: "The Lone Star State, known for its shining stars and deep heart and the Alamo, is making some cold hard cash these days. Remember the Alamo? A Chinese investment firm is shelling out $1.3 billion in former American presidents to buy up some more Texas oil production. Yantai Xinchao will acquire oil assets in the western Texas Permian Basin that are currently owned by Tall City Exploration and Plymouth Petroleum. The deal is part of a larger transaction between Yantai Xinchao and a second Chinese firm, according to a stock exchange filing on Saturday. The purchase, which includes oil fields in the state's Howard and Borden counties, has already been approved by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment, the filing said."
China Buying Texas Oil Fields: AP written by doorguy: "A Chinese investment holding company said it has signed a letter of intent to purchase oil fields in Texas for 8.3 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) through a limited liability partnership."
Emissions Control
General Paxton Files Suit Against Federal Government to Halt "Illegal" EPA Power Plan written by ca cokz: "It was the following article that came to my attention not making the faintest approach of regarding the effort as [seems] sensible: Texas Insider Report: [...] Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that Texas and West Virginia are leading a 24-state coalition that filed a lawsuit challenging the Obama Administration’s Section 111(d) Rule, an unlawful plan to radically restructure the way electricity is produced and consumed throughout the country. The Rule, as promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), would result in dramatically higher electricity bills and significantly less reliable service for families, businesses, hospitals and schools across America."
Half the states and 20 businesses sue over Obama's Clean Power Plan; Congress is messing with it too written by Meteor Blades: "Before the ink was dry on the final rule of the Clean Power Plan posted in Friday's Federal Register, the expected deluge of litigation got underway. By Monday, 25 states and some 20 businesses and industry groups had already filed lawsuits against the plan, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency under its authority to regulate pollution under the Clean Air Act. Previous lawsuits, dating back to 2014 when the proposed rule was made public, had been dismissed on the grounds they were premature since the final rule had not yet been approved."
Renewables & Conservation
Tilting at Windmills written by andrewmawson: "Part 1 of a multipart series investigating an unlikely coalition dedicated to the demise of wind power in the United States. American Legislative Exchange Commision (ALEC) member and current Republican Wisconsin State Senator, Frank Lasee, along with a handful of his Brown County constituents have been working hard to have the eight wind turbines at Shirley Park, a little south of Green Bay, removed. The constituents, who formed the curiously titled Brown County Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy (BCCRWE) are upset by the presence of the turbines in their figurative back-yard. Their strategy, which has failed several times in Australia and Europe over the years, has been to claim that wind energy is inherently bad for your health. Lasee published a press release, chiding the local Public Services Commissioners for their intransigence in investigating his constituents claims of Wind Turbine Syndrome (WTS)..."
Tilting at Windmills (Part 2) written by andrewmawson: "In 2012 The Guardian published a document written by Rich Porter, a member of the anti- wind energy organization, Wind Watch. Porter had submitted the document for discussion at a summit of a coalition of anti-wind power organizations in Washington DC in February of 2011. Porter's paper laid out a proposal for a public relations offensive specifically designed to 'subvert' the efforts of wind power proponents through collusion with right-wing organizations such as ALEC, Americans for Prosperity, The Heartland Institute and The Cato and Brookings Institutes. The enemy of my enemy is, indeed, my friend it seems; between neighborhood NIMBY organizations, Big Oil & Gas, right-wing think tanks and special interests of every stripe, clean wind energy has a fight on its hands; and ground zero is the state of Wisconsin."
Fracking
Illegal Dumping of Fracking Wastewater Is Project Censored #2 Story! written by Dan Bacher: From an article written by Dan Gougherty of elkgrovenews.net: "If being censored by corporate mainstream media were a badge of honor, Elk Grove News contributor and Fish Sniffer managing editor Dan Bacher would be highly decorated. According to ProjectCensored.org, Bacher's 2014 story on the oil industry's illegal dumping of waste water into Central California's aquifers was the second most significant story not covered by mainstream media outlets. In their summary Project Censored noted: 'In May 2015, the Los Angeles Times ran a front-page feature on Central Valley crops irrigated with treated oil field water; however, the Los Angeles Times report made no mention of the Center for Biological Diversity’s findings regarding fracking wastewater contamination.'"
Candidates, DC, State & Local Eco-Politics
Leave so-called climate hawk Kelly Ayotte alone? Um, no. written by RLMiller: "You'd think it was big news: Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) became the first Republican Senator to support President Obama's Clean Power Plan, per a local news story. She's been called the Senate's most surprising environmentalist for a couple of votes last January. On Thursday she and three fellow Republican senators set up an Energy and Environment Working Group - all of its members profess concern that President Obama's policies hurt jobs. For this, the cautious Environmental Defense Fund is rewarding her with a five-figure ad buy. But is she really being bold? A US Senator told me that Ayotte has been afraid to say anything on climate for two years - too afraid of the fossil fuel industry/tea party to speak out in favor of climate action and too afraid of public ridicule to speak out against climate science. Back in 2010, she went not-a-scientist: 'I don't think the evidence (of human impact on climate) is conclusive.' On the Climate Hawks Vote scorecard measuring leadership on climate change, she's scored -6 in the 112th Congress, -4 in the 113th Congress, and +1 in the 114th Congress (scores from -100 to +100)."
Christie talks climate change at debate, but he gets it wrong, wrong, wrong written by Meteor Blades: "If you watched the junior varsity Republican debate Wednesday night, you got to see two candidates talk (oh-so-briefly) about climate change who aren't in the deniers' corner: former New York Gov. George Pataki and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. But while admitting that human-caused climate change is real, both have adopted a fossil fuel-friendly "all of the above" energy approach and support other policies that will worsen greenhouse gas emissions rather than reduce them. Then, too, neither guy has a chance of getting the nomination. Almost without a doubt, that's also true for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who got unsolicited advice Thursday from The New York Times editorial board to drop out of the contest. But since he was the only Varsity Republican to be asked a climate change question by CNBC moderators in Boulder, it's worth looking at what he had to say (and comparing it with what he has done) on the subject. And Ben Adler at Grist executed a fine vivisection."
Hillary Supports Investigation of Exxon about Climate Change written by TomP: "Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has joined the ranks of politicians and environmentalists calling for a federal investigation of ExxonMobil. At a town hall event in New Hampshire on Thursday, local community organizer Jordan Cichon asked Clinton whether she would call on the Department of Justice to investigate the fossil fuel giant of engaging in a cover-up to mislead the public about the risks of human-caused climate change. “Yes, yes, they should,” Clinton responded. “There’s a lot of evidence that they misled.” [...] I'm glad she is doing this. I support Bernie, but also like Hillary."
Bernie Sanders is the Best Candidate on Climate Change written by One Pissed Off Liberal: "And climate change is the biggest problem there is. There are many other important problems to be sure, but this is the one that could kill us all. And while Exxon/Mobil and the right wing establishment have lied their asses off about it for decades, the scientists and the smart and honest people in our society have been, very appropriately, sounding the alarm. [...] The Democratic presidential primary race got its second major candidate recently, and its first true climate hawk: Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, self-described democratic socialist. Sanders has one of the strongest climate change records in the Senate. In fact, according to rankings released by Climate Hawks Vote, a new super PAC, Sanders was the No. 1 climate leader in the Senate for the 113th Congress that ended in January. Climate Hawks Vote measures leadership, not just voting records, tabulating actions like bills introduced, speeches given, and so forth. In the 112th Congress, Sanders ranked third behind Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). In the last Congress, he edged out Whitehouse by one point."
Jeb! softens his stance on climate change? written by SninkyPoo: "Even if the Bush donors are uneasy after his recent crash-and-burn on the debate stage, Jeb! is a member of one of the most powerful political families on the planet, and has a huge amount of money stashed away in his Super PAC. I wouldn’t count the guy out just yet. That said, if you care about climate change in the least, you can cross Jeb! off the list of 'not as horrendous as the other Republicans on climate change' GOP hopefuls, despite recent reports that he has softened his denier stance. In July, The Hill noted that Jeb! had recently said that human activity is contributing to climate change, and that: I think it’s appropriate to recognize this and invest in the proper research to find solutions over the long haul but not be alarmists about it … Sounds promising, no? He’s opened the door—he’s talking about research—he thinks we humans do have a hand in the warming climate, right? Alas, not so much."
Jeb! wants the Department of Interior sent to the interior, therefore... written by annieli: "Jeb! the decentralizer wants to move everything closer to where the Cliven Bundys can more easily get people off their lawns or ranches. Make it a closer drive for lobbyists wanting the Grand Canyon mined as well as perhaps moving the Department of Commerce closer to the world headquarters of Walmart, and since you'll probably have a 'Florida White House' in the tradition of Nixon's San Clemente 'Western White House,' Reagan's Santa Barbara Neverland, and Bush 43's "Land-o-Reagan-loved-clearing-brush" in Crawford, Texas, The Jeb!-House should be in Orlando within sight of Fantasyland. We should applaud this bit of decentralization, as though phones and overnight air freight had yet to be invented, and how so much more efficient would it be to put the Bureau of Prisons at Gitmo, and BATFE closer to wherever George Zimmerman happens to be in Florida."
Elizabeth Warren's Latest Target: ExxonMobil written by Liberty Equality Fraternity and Trees: "Last month, investigative journalists uncovered documents showing that ExxonMobil knew about the link between carbon pollution and climate change as far back as the 1970, with its scientists making fairly accurate predictions about the future severity of global warming. Despite this internal knowledge, ExxonMobil spent decades funneling money into climate change denial groups in order to beat back efforts to take appropriate action. About a decade ago, ExxonMobil claimed to stop funding climate denial groups. This happened around the same time as the rise of anonymous donors for many right-wing groups, including those engaged in climate denial. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter yesterday to the CEO of ExxonMobil to get some answers."
Intent on discrediting climate scientists, witch-hunting House committee chairman subpoenas NOAA written by Meteor Blades: "Early this year, House Republicans decided to give some of its committee chairpersons the same kind of unilateral subpoena power once wielded by Rep. Darrell Issa of the House Oversight Committee on Government Reform. In practice that means these committee chairs can issue subpoenas without consulting with the top Democrats on their panels, which had long been the previous practice. This opens the door to ridiculous fishing expeditions. One chairperson with this new power is Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who heads the Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Smith is one of the more than half of House Republicans who reject climate science. David Roberts at Vox points out in a scathing assessment that the committee is engaged in 'open-ended, Orwellian attempts to intimidate some of the nation's leading scientists and scientific institutions.'"
Lamar Smith Goes Fishing In Pause-Busting Scientists' Emails written by ClimateDenierRoundup: "[Rep.] Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, has frequently used the talking point that "global warming has paused." Now, soon after a group of NOAA scientists led by Thomas Karl released yet another study debunking the pause, Rep. Smith has launched an investigation, subpoenaing all emails and communications from the scientists. Smith (R-TX) received more money from the oil and gas industry than any other industry in 2014. He has been a stalwart denier, responsible for various anti-science efforts that have led to headlines saying that Smith is turning the Science Committee "into a national embarrassment" and using his position to further the two-decade old, Koch-funded conservative mission of 'waging a war on science.' For those who need further evidence that Smith's subpoena is not a legitimate request, see this .pdf of a letter from Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) to Rep. Smith. Johnson makes a number of good points, both in terms of process—like when Johnson calls out Smith's overly-broad request for all their global temperature data and all documents and communications regarding the study's data—and substance, like when Johnson calls out the fact that Smith already requested and received this information in briefings and prior letters. There's also the fact that the data and methodology Smith's asking for are already publicly available, and he and no one on his staff has the scientific literacy to reanalyze it."
Pushing Back Against Frivolous FOIA Fishing Trips written by ClimateDenierRoundup: "NOAA told Nature it has no plans to hand over the documents that Rep. Lamar Smith demanded in connection to the pause-busting Karl et al. paper (discussed in the CDR earlier this week). NOAA's spokeswoman, Ciaran Clayton, made it clear that the organization has 'provided all of the information the [House Committee on Science, Space and Technology] needs to understand the issue.' Andrew Rosenberg of the Union of Concerned Scientists says even more plainly that, 'there's absolutely no implication that there is malfeasance of any kind' and adjustments like the ones that spurred Smith's inquisition happen all the time. Smith, according to Rosenberg, is 'picking the [analyses] where [he] really [doesn't] like the answer.' On a similar front, the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund has submitted a legal brief on behalf of two Arizona researchers who are being targeted for FOIA harassment by the Energy & Environment Legal Institute (EELI). Coal-funded Chris Horner, a legal fellow at EELI, is orchestrating the affair."
Eco-Action & Eco Justice
Protesters Block Matt "King Coal" Ridley's Mine written by ClimateDenierRoundup: "On Monday, a group calling itself "Matt Ridley's Conscience" protested on Ridley's family estate, home to the largest open-cast coal mine in England. The group managed to shut down operations at the mine for a day by chaining themselves to excavators and blockading the entrance, which led to the arrest of nine protesters. The protest's goal was to increase public awareness of the fact that Ridley—who frequently writes anti-science pieces about climate and who recently wrote that increased carbon dioxide would benefit humanity—profits financially from the continued extraction and sale of coal. With coverage in BBC, The Times, Guardian, Independent, more local press and online outlets, and an op-ed in the New Statesmen by one of the protesters, the protest seems to have been successful in achieving its aim."
Divesting My Degree Follow-up written by steve kaagan: "Great support from many in the wake of my returning my honorary degree to Williams College to protest their vacuous position on climate change: * Tweets from Bill McKibben and Tim DeChristoher to thousands of followers. * Lead story on Americanwhotwllthetruth.org - over 2000 views. * Interview with WAMC, regional NPR station. * Lead story in the Oct 28 Williams Record, read by the Trustees."
Battle for the Planet of the Humans (tm) written by bogmanoc: "Bill McKibben recently gave a thoughtful, comprehensive overview of his career trying to stop climate change -- which as it turns out is a comprehensive overview of the entire battle that has been waged thus far: Great guy—but even Bill now feels we won't get out of this unscathed no matter what changes we make today. But we have to stop the worst outcomes. I didn't really understand what we were up against until the UN report in 1999. Then I knew it was serious—or at least it got my attention. As Bill says in the interview, he thought climate change was a debate for many years when he finally came to the realization it's a fight against money and power."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
MA Food Plan written by gmoke: "Massachusetts has released its food plan, only the third in the last 40 years. [...] Public comment is invited, email wpitcoff@mapc.org by November 6, 2015. When Massachusetts first went In Search of a Food Plan, the title of the first attempt, a 1974 report, there were less than 20 farmers' markets in the Commonwealth. Massachusetts now has 253 three‐season and 46 winter markets farmers' markets, a permanent Public Market in Boston, 566 farm stands, 266 pick‐your‐own operations, and nearly 200 Community Supported Agriculture systems operated by 465 farmers and fishermen. According to some of the facts and figures I've been able to compile from the MA Food Plan, Massachusetts spends close to $32 billion on food each year, half of it to eat at home and half on eating out. The food system provides a tenth of the jobs in the Commonwealth, 426,000, and is 4.5% of state gross domestic product, $19.3 billion in 2012. The fishery makes up a quarter of those jobs and about half of the Commonwealth GDP from food. Massachusetts is the third largest fish producer in the USA."
Pepsi agrees to change bottled water labels to clarify water source—tap water written by Jen Hayden: "Bottled water company Aquafina, which is owned by PepsiCo, is finally changing their labels after a long push from activists: The label on Aquafina water bottles will soon be changed to spell out that the drink comes from the same source as tap water, the brand's owner PepsiCo said Friday. A group called Corporate Accountability International has been pressuring bottled water sellers to curb what it calls misleading marketing practices. Aquafina is the single biggest bottled water brand, and its bottles are now labeled 'P.W.S.' The new labels will spell out 'public water source.' Corporate Accountability International is also going after Coca-Cola's Dasani bottled water to make it clear to consumer that it also comes from public water sources—i.e. tap water. Perhaps clarifying the water source on labels will get consumers to think twice before buying seriously over-priced bottled water."
Daily Bucket: Herbaria Ode and Obituary written by Besame: "Visiting the herbarium at California Academy of Sciences was magical. I always arrived before the museum opened, entered a staff door, and immediately walked into the huge silent halls of dimly-lit natural history museum exhibits - skeletons and stuffed animals arranged in different biomes. I had to pass through the museum en route to the elevator to the upper floors holding the herbarium collection. Low lighting and masses of dead critters (26 million!), some in recreated habitats, made an eerie horror movie setting. I also felt privileged to share my life with all the scientists who had collected, curated, displayed and studied these exact organisms for 150 years, especially with the women who actually were sought for scientific (non-clerical) positions in the museum from its beginning in the late 1800's. Cal Academy's two million plant specimen herbarium is the largest collection of vascular plants in the western U.S. I never forgot, however, that these plants were known and grew here long before European colonists slapped Latin names on them and collected their bodies."
Vegan Halloween Candy List written by Nature Maven : "Thanks to the good folks at PETA, we have a list of 25 delectable candies you can give out next week and know you haven't contributed to the suffering of any animal or added to the pollution of factory farming. And this could give you an opening to explain your decision to embrace a plant based way of eating. I'm not saying they're good for you, but enjoy in moderation!"
Transportation & Infrastructure
U.S. Bike Route 21 will be one of the first of its kind in America written by Walter Einenkel: "There might be a U.S. Bike Route coming to your town or city or suburb in the future. From the Georgia Department of Transportation: In the Peach State, U.S. Bicycle Route 21 (USBR 21) is Georgia’s first U.S. Bicycle Route designation and connects Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It will eventually connect Atlanta to Cleveland, Ohio, when it’s complete. USBR 21 (160.8 miles) is Georgia’s first U.S. Bicycle Route designation and connects Atlanta to Chattanooga on the Tennessee border. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has been coordinating with Tennessee to designate USBR 21, which will eventually connect Atlanta to Cleveland when it’s complete. Time to get your bicycle gang together."
Revolutionary? Bernie Sanders' Marijuana policy could end Fossil Fuel written by wade norris: "The Washington Post reports that Bernie Sanders has stated that he will remove Marijuana from the Federal List of most dangerous drugs, and there is something profoundly revolutionary about this: As I have seen here in Colorado, legalizing Marijuana also legalizes Hemp and Hemp related businesses. So this change in Federal Policy would not just end the War on Drugs or help sick people, which would also happen, but would also provide a way for Marijuana's non-intoxicating cousin Hemp to be a legal product for its various uses, from Paper, to clothes, food, and most importantly - Biofuel. A 2009 study from the University of Connecticut's Biofuel Consortium found that hemp seed oil made a "viable and even attractive" feedstock for producing biodiesel. Hemp biodiesel proved to be high efficiency (97 percent of the hemp oil was converted to biodiesel) and could even be used at lower temperatures than other biodiesels."
Bernie Sanders' stance on Marijuana can pave the way for pollution free Transportation written by wade norris: "The Washington Post reports that Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders proposes to remove Marijuana from the Schedule 1 Federal list of dangerous drugs: Sanders’s plan would not automatically make marijuana legal nationwide, but states would be allowed to regulate the drug in the same way that state and local laws now govern sales of alcohol and tobacco. And people who use marijuana in states that legalize it would no longer be at risk of federal prosecution. I am sure a lot of people are talking about this because of several reasons, Marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco, lots of people especially minorities are doing time in prison for non-violent offenses related to Marijuana use, and as evidenced by the multiple thousands of people who have moved to my state of Colorado to seek Medical and now Recreational Marijuana, its a big deal. However as you might see in the comments brought up in the other diary, there is something profoundly revolutionary about this - providing a way for Marijuana's non-intoxicating cousin Hemp to be a legal product for its various uses, from Paper, to clothes, biofuel, food, and especially reducing our carbon by CO2 absorption."
Reaganoia and high speed rail written by Joseph wyatt: "A recent AP article began, 'Businesses that might bid to build a high-speed rail network across California are questioning whether there will be enough government funding to complete the complex and ambitious project.' Could high speed rail happen here? Yes, with government-industry cooperation. [...] If Americans are to enjoy high speed rail perhaps the most difficult hurdle to be overcome is our Reaganoia. We will have to move beyond Reagan's 'government is the problem' mantra, the self-contradictory mentality that the government is comprised of a bunch of artless duds who nevertheless are clever enough to plan and carry out complex plots to take our guns and condemn conservatives to re-education camps. In time, the anti-government illness that infects those who survive on Social Security and Medicare will fade from the national landscape. Wiser heads will prevail. They always do."
Sustainability, Extinction & Population
China to end "one child policy" for "two child policy" written by Inland: "China's One-Child Policy has been in effect since about 1979, using fines to coerce families to restrict the number of children. 'One Child' is something of a simplification, due to the exemptions for families farming the land (allowed 3), ethnic (non-Han) minorities (allowed three), and marriages of two people who are both only children themselves (allowed 2). So now, it's said that the limit will be two children, and I don't see any word on loosening restrictions on farmers, ethnics and only-children. The penalty can be steep: Wiki says, 'in Guangdong, the fee is between 3 and 6 annual incomes for incomes below the per capita income of the district, plus 1 to 2 times the annual income exceeding the average. Both members of the couple need to pay the fine.'"
Oceans, Water & Drought
A Real Halloween Horror Show: Jerry Brown's Delta Death Tunnels written by Dan Bacher: "The real life horror show of Governor Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels Plan keeps revealing its deadly surprises as the public comment period for the California Water Fix draws to a close on Friday, October 30. Like an evil vampire that you just can't seem to kill, the Delta-destroying tunnels plan keeps coming back. The voters overwhelmingly defeated the water-sucking and fish-exterminating vampire project, originally known as the Peripheral Canal, in November 1982. However, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger resurrected the undead project from its electoral tomb starting in 2007 under new, less scary-sounding names - the Delta Vision Plan and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan—and did everything he could push the plan through without allowing the voters to vote, including pressuring the Legislation to pass a water policy/water bond package in November 2009 that cleared the path to the construction of the peripheral canal. Jerry Brown embraced the water-guzzling vampire project of Schwarzenegger's as his own 'legacy' when he entered his third term as Governor in January 2015—and in fact fast-tracked the project as the peripheral canal became the twin tunnels."
Coalition Submits 30,000 Comments Opposing Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels written by Dan Bacher: "As the public comment period for the California Water Fix came a close on Halloween Eve, Governor Jerry Brown issued a three-sentence statement praising the plan to build the massive Delta Tunnels, referring to them as 'the Delta pipeline.' 'The Delta pipeline is essential to completing the California Water Project and protecting fish and water quality. Without this fix, San Joaquin farms, Silicon Valley and other vital centers of the California economy will suffer devastating losses in their water supply,' Brown claimed. He then slammed opponents of the controversial tunnels plan by stating, 'Claims to the contrary are false, shameful and do a profound disservice to California’s future.'"
Coalition to deliver closing arguments against Delta Tunnels written by Dan Bacher: "On the final day of public comments for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on Governor Jerry Brown's proposed Delta Tunnels, a coalition of fishermen, environmentalists, residents, and elected officials will reveal why the Delta Tunnels (BDCP/WaterFix) would be an 'ecological and economic disaster for California.' The press conference will take place on the North Side, of the State Capitol in Sacramento on Friday, October 30, 2015 at 11:00am."
Trash, Pollution & Hazardous/Radioactive Waste
Nuclear Waste Fire Explodes from the Ground in Nevada written by joieau: "On Sunday of last week [October 18, 2015] a long closed radioactive waste dump ~100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada burned and exploded from "heavily corroded" 55-gallon drums of supposedly 'low level' radioactive waste. This waste is purportedly a step below the "medium-level" bomb and fuel slurry wastes that more recently has gone for long-term sequestration in the 'troubled' (as in "exploding") and still closed deep salt mine WIPP facility near Carlsbad, New Mexico."
Forests, Wilderness & Public Lands
Glacier Park: Lake McDonald Area (Photo Diary) written by Ojibwa: "One of the many natural jewels of Montana’s Glacier National Park is Lake McDonald located on the Park’s west side. Shown below are some photographs taken on October 7, 2015, an overcast day that was trying to rain."
The Oxbow
Miscellany
UPDATE: Legal Action Against Koch Brothers, Rick Scott & Jeb Bush Goes To U.S. Supreme Court written by Leslie Salzillo: "And so it continues. The unethical, and allegedly illegal, Florida indenture involving four very well-known political figures, including a 2016 presidential candidate, continues. Here is some background on the story followed by the latest legal action, which is now on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In February 2015, Florida Attorney Steve Medina asked me to help him break an exclusive story on Daily Kos about a scandal involving Charles Koch, David Koch, Florida Governor Rick Scott, and presidential candidate Jeb Bush. They are part of a deal made that allows Koch Industries' highly profitable paper and pulp company, Georgia-Pacific, to dump millions of gallons of toxic waste per day into the St. Johns River in Florida. The original story (well worth the long read) has been picked up by multiple news groups, and also shared, posted, tweeted and emailed with a social media reach estimated to be in the millions. The first update reveals more about the legal claim. Americans are not only aware of the massive Koch corruption; through an online petition they are stepping up and taking action to stop it."
How dumb are we and how great is our need for change? written by One Pissed Off Liberal: "I believe that our need for change has become quite desperate, existentially so, truly a matter of life and death. Very few of us seem to understand that in the way it deserves to be understood. I attribute this to the success of the American obfuscation machine, otherwise known as the mass media. The six media conglomerates that control virtually all the information in our society have deliberately dumbed-down, misinformed and confused the masses. Exxon knew of the catastrophe we call global warming almost 40 years ago but kept it their little secret, and not only that but spent millions to make us all believe their Big Lie that it wasn't really the threat they knew it to be, which is consistent with the behavior of other corporate giants. These monstrosities do not have our best interests at heart. They care only about profits – profits at any cost—at any cost at all—even the survival of the human race."
Perspective written by
sninky poo: "It struck me recently that, in order to properly understand global warming, you must be able to think of the Earth and its climate in two diametrically opposed ways at the same time. First, it's necessary to get your head around the concept of how immense the climate is in relation to you and your little life—to grasp how small and fragile the human body is and how relatively feeble in relation to the climatic systems that surround us. You need to realize in your gut how devastating nature can be: how implacable—how ferocious—how uncaring—how devastating. At the same time you have to be able to step back—far far back—and see the Earth as that pale blue dot Carl Sagan spoke of. You have to be able to see that its one small closed climate system is being irrevocably altered from within with relative ease by a single species swarming across its surface—us."
The Water Knife, Apocalyptic Filtration, & the Tesla X written by Anontos: "What I like about Bacigalupi's new eco thriller The Water Knife (Knopf, 2015) is that you can reach out your hand and practically touch the novel's dystopian future. Battles over water rights, Big Daddy Drought, grit goggles, Clearsacs, and the elites living in Chinese-built arcologies full of plenty of clean water and air. All of it just just almost here, just around the corner. No worm holes. No aliens. All of it is totally plausible extrapolated from today's realities. A good example of this believability is the recently debuted Tesla X and the futuristic Teslas in the novel. They are practically identical. The novel's Teslas are the go-to car for the well-to-do to zip through the desert in dust-free, virus-free air conditioned comfort. That's right. The Water Knife's Teslas can not only filter out dust but also other nasty stuff."
Fish die off is more than a lack of seafood to eat written by don mikulecky: "Two reports about the die offs in our oceans: Study: Fish die-off linked to ocean warming in the Cape Cod Times and Goodbye, oceans! Study finds ecosystems headed toward a major collapsein grist. By now none of this should be a surprise except for the reality of how our world is really constructed as opposed to the reductionist view modern science is forced to give us because it is all it has. Read on below and I'll try to give you a complex systems perspective. You won't like it. [...] You must have noticed by now that every report we get tells us that things are much worse than expected, they are happening sooner, and they are connected to so many other important things. This is not because of republican hype it is because the science our best scientists have been using is flawed in an important way. It is based on the philosophy of reductionism and reductionism is a bad way to model complex interacting systems because it destroys the processes and links that make the system what it is."