Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the most recent previous Green Spotlight. More than 24,960 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
Pacificshift writes—Out of time on Planet Earth - Climate "World War II" needed: “We are out of time on Planet Earth. In the three months since the Paris climate summit declared a 1.5° C maximum global warming target to significantly reduce climate disruption dangers, rapidly escalating world temperatures came within a hair’s breadth. The average for the January-March timeframe was 1.47°C above the 1890s, the baseline before mass fossil fuel burning began to significantly heat the planet, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported. For the first time in the historical record the planet has neared or crossed the agreed danger threshold for three months in a row. [...] The new World War II message is quickly coming in from the climate movement’s leading edges to the mainstream. A group leading the call for a climate emergency response is Climate Mobilization. The group aims to zero out U.S. climate-heating pollution by 2025. Its Pledge to Mobilize asks that we, “Immediately commence a social and economic mobilization to restore a climate that is safe, stable, and supportive of human civilization. This heroic campaign shall be carried out on the scale of the American World War II home front mobilization, and will require hard work and shared sacrifice from all Americans.’”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
cardinal writes—Dawn Chorus open thread: Top 10 birds: “Good morning bird lovers! We all love birds. But did you know that some birds are better than others? It’s true. As with any animal class, some bird species are valedictorian, while others lack the vale and the torian and are just dics. Fortunately, the editors here have used criteria and methodology to assemble an accurate list of the top 10 birds. Do you agree with their picks? [...] And the world’s number one bird? Our editors haggled over some of the placements, but this one was a runaway unanimous pick. No other bird in the world can measure up to the understatedly flamboyant, cautiously spontaneous, contrived authenticity of the … Silver-Headed Indigo Tanager (Manhattan and Palm Beach).”
Milly Watt writes—The Daily Bucket - Late Winter at Hurricane Ridge: ”On April 1st, Mr. Watt and I went up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park to have our annual snow experience before it all melts away and leaves the wonderful wildflower meadows. At the snow depth measurement station at 5010’ elevation, there were 91” on the ground. It was a beautiful sunny day with fluffy white clouds drifting above the peaks. The road to the Hurricane Hill trailhead is closed in winter and becomes a popular hiking/ snowshoeing/ cross-country skiing trail. We took our snowshoes with us, but the snow on the road was so well-packed that we left them behind in the car. The hike offered views of the Olympic Mountains in one direction and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Victoria BC, and the San Juan Islands (waving ‘Hi’ to OceanDiver) in the other. Wildlife consisted of birds. We saw ravens, Gray jays (those beggars), and juncos. There was also what I guessed to be a small flock of Yellow-rumped warblers. I didn’t get a good photo as they were usually in motion or foraging off in the trees. If you have a better ID, please correct me.”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket - A walk in John Heinz NWR at Tinicum: “The John Heinz at Tinicum National Wildlife Refuge (link) is a 1000-acre NWR located in the southern part of Philadelphia County and part of Delaware County. It abuts the Philadelphia Airport and Interstate 95 on its eastern side. The refuge includes some woodlands, but is mainly a few impoundment ponds and a freshwater tidal marsh where Darby Creek flows into the Delaware River. It was established in 1972, and is remarkable in being an NWR that is essentially in an urban area since it is surrounded by developed areas and active industry. The refuge supports migratory birds as well as a year-round population of other birds, plants, reptiles, etc. Besides a visitor center with displays there are also 16 miles of trails, boardwalks across the pond and into the marsh, and also some observation platforms. One of the latter is close to where the bald eagles nest.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Institute for Marine Mammal Studies looking into spike in turtle deaths along Gulf Coast: The BP Deepwater Horizon spill continues to leave its terrible mark. Marine life numbers have been down in general since the spill, because oil is poison. Recently, a quickly rising number of turtles have been found dead—washed up onshore. The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) is looking into the disturbing trend. ‘Since the oil spill, the numbers have been down,’ said Wendy Hatchett, IMMS veterinarian technician and assistant stranding coordinator. ‘This is a spike this year, and it makes us very concerned. Whether it's red tide, whether it's left over from the oil spill, we really don't have a clue until we can actually send the tissues out and have them analyzed.’ In the year 2016 year alone, 48 dead Kemps Ridley turtles have washed ashore across the Gulf Coast; including one turtle recovered Sunday morning and three the day before.”
ban nock writes—IUCN Issues Briefing Paper on Trophy Hunting: “To any scientist concerned with wildlife the IUCN does not need introduction. They are the only official group advising the UN on issues wildlife. They began the program regulating trade in endangered species (CITES). Thier rating program for all species is the most recognised international listing of endangered species. In response to the attempt to restrict or otherwise end trophy hunting by some members of the European Union’s Parliament the IUCN has issued an unambiguous position paper on trophy hunting. Informing decisions on trophy hunting IUCN. Removing the incentives and revenue provided by hunting would be likely to cause serious declines of populations of a number of threatened or iconic species. For example, the recovery of some populations of African Elephant, Black Rhino, White Rhino, Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra, Cheetah and Lion in Africa, of Markhor, Argali and Urial in Asia, and of Bighorn Sheep in North America could be stopped and reversed (Case Studies 1-8).”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: young wildflowers on four million year old mud: “Ancient mudflow substrate atop older basalt stacked above 75 million year old sedimentary sandstone and eroded by a creek for millennia created Butte Creek Canyon. Seeps and ghost waterfalls slide off the north canyon slopes this wet season and drain into the many tributaries that join Butte Creek far below. When I visited in late March the dense green herbs on seepy slopes promised wildflower carpets but, except for a few patches, spring sunshine hadn’t yet teased out many blooms. This area is directly below the serpentine barrens I described previously. The rocky barely-one-lane road begins atop a Sierra ridge at 2,550 feet elevation and clings to the north canyon wall. It descends past vanished historic gold mining towns — Irish Town, Helltown, Mineral Slide, Diamondville — finally reaching Butte Creek and scattered residences at 700 feet elevation. Before the miners and other Europeans, Konkow Maidu lived and traveled through here. One group (Konkow) lived higher in the foothills above the Feather Rivers, and another Konkow group, theMechoopda, lived 30 miles downstream in the Central Valley near what is now the town of Chico, California. [...] The north slope now is green, lush with grasses, wildflowers and chaparral scrub. At intervals, I catch at view of the south slope across the canyon, its rocky cliffs vivid with seasonal grasses and pockets of manzanita chaparral. For one second, I spied a dramatic vista of snow-covered Mount Lassen rising behind the flat ridgeline, but where it’s open enough to take a photo, the volcano and Cascade Mountain range aren’t in sight due to the canyon/road angles.”
Attack Gardener writes—The Daily Bucket - A Touch of Spring: “Morning, Bucketeers! It’s a quiet, lovely morning in upstate NY today. It’s sunny and breezy with temps in the mid 50s, maybe reaching the mid 60s later. Not a deep Bucket today, just a few observations on what’s blooming around the garden and who’s visiting the feeders. We lost the early round of daffodils to 3 inches of snow a few weeks ago and the next round is just beginning now. [...] A few wee beasties share our place, many taking advantage of our little pond. With the mild winter we had, our frogs managed to overwinter in it. We have 4 large ones sharing the watering hole.”
Mike Kahlow writes—Spring flower p0rn, bugs, and birds - A tribute to blueyedace2: “I haven’t been here on Kos lately. But someone contacted me in the real world and told me that blueyedace2 — ‘Ace’ — had died. I was a little late for the tribute diary, and my feelings were still raw, so I haven’t posted until now. Since he posted pictures of ‘Flower p0rn,’ I went outside and tried to do the best I could. Ace and I never met, but he was a friend of mine here on Kos. A buddy. We traded messages on photos and gear, on composition, on what we were trying to do in our photography. And of course, we shared some liberal politics and a love of Wisconsin progressivism, along with a sadness of what we’ve lost in this state. We chatted a bit about getting together for a photo shoot together. He lived in the Fox River valley in Wisconsin, not far from where my daughters were going to college, and where my parents live. I thought it would be fun to photograph together, but it never happened. [...] Ace, my friend, be well and be at rest. May you always have good light, may your autofocus always be fast and accurate, and may the birds and bugs always hold still just long enough. I’ll see you on the other side of the bridge, and we can share with each other what each of us has learned about photography. And other stuff.”
Lenny Flank writes—The Strange Case of the Cyanide Grass: ”In June 2012, a Texas cattle rancher named Jerry Abel released a herd of 18 cattle onto a patch of pasture. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then, the cows started bellowing, staggering around, and falling to the ground, convulsing. Within minutes, fifteen of them were dead. Necropsies on the dead cows revealed something startling and completely unexpected--they had all died from cyanide poisoning. But where had the poison come from? It has long been known that many varieties of plants produce toxins as a method of protecting themselves from herbivores. Since plants cannot run away from animals that want to eat them, they must resort to chemical warfare, and manufacture an enormous variety of compounds in their tissues that discourage herbivores (especially insects) from chewing on them. These include chemicals that are extracted and used in some of our most common foods and medicines: peppermint, spearmint, digitalis, aspirin, caffeine, opiates, nicotine, vanilla--all of these are basically chemical insecticides, designed to sicken or kill bugs that try to eat the plant's leaves, stems, or seeds. For larger herbivores such as deer or cattle or goats, the plants have more potent chemical weapons--such as urushiol (the irritant found in poison ivy), or oxalic acid. One very common plant weapon is hydrogen cyanide.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Et tu, AGU? Group Continues Exxon Relationship: “InsideClimate News has been named a Pulitzer finalist for its series of stories on ExxonMobil’s climate denial, ranking it as some of the best journalism of 2015. This will be yet another blow for Exxon, which has repeatedly attacked the credibility of the outlet and the story. But now Exxon has gotten a small win, handed to them by one of the biggest scientific societies on the planet, the American Geophysical Union (AGU). In February, a group of scientists wrote an open letter to AGU asking them to end ExxonMobil’s sponsorship of the group, as per AGU policy prohibiting partnerships with groups that ‘disseminate misinformation of science.’ AGU's board held a meeting, examined the evidence, and came to the conclusion that they would continue to take ExxonMobil’s money because they can’t confirm that the company is STILL funding misinformation, just that it has in the past. Joe Romm at ThinkProgress lampoons the decision, calling it the ‘You can’t prove they didn’t stop yesterday’ defense.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Bill Nye Still Teaching: Lessons on Schooling Deniers: “Last week provided a beautiful series of examples of the increasingly amusing way that deniers are being handled. It all began with a post on DeSmog that featured an exclusive clip of a discussion between beloved educational icon Bill Nye The Science Guy and his polar opposite, misinformation expert Marc Morano. In the clip, Nye offers Morano a pair of $10,000 bets: that 2016 will be among the hottest on record and that this decade will be record hot. Morano, of course, turned down the bets on the basis that it’s ‘obvious’ that scientific data will show warming, implying that the data would be doctored. In the video, which has over 100,000 views since April 12th, Nye takes a calm approach to Morano’s typical rapid-fire spewing of pseudoscience, leaving Morano flustered and dejected. By preventing Morano from dominating the conversation and framing his argument in terms of future generations, Nye showed how to set a professional denier on his heels.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Curry’s Crazy Consensus Conspiracy: “Readers with very good memories may recall a story from 2013, wherein a guest post at WUWT made the argument that because climate change is a complicated question with many potential answers, the consensus on human causation is actually evidence that humans are not responsible. Confused? You should be. The idea that the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change is evidence that humans DON'T cause climate change is mind boggling, to say the least. In response to the recent “Consensus on consensus” paper, Judith Curry decided to revisit and endorse this three-year-old paradox. Hot Whopper and Quark Soup both appropriately point and laugh at this, with Sou suggesting that this means Curry must not accept evolution, the big bang, atoms or, well, everything else in science, and David doing a quick debunking of the science at play. But neither note one classic climate conspiracy that Curry embraces.”
Mark Sumner writes—March was the 11th straight record hot month–and that's not the worst news: “Where in the past even months that crossed into record territory were often due to remarkable numbers in one part of the globe, this March was warm almost everywhere. The Arctic? Hot. The remainder of the Northern Hemisphere? Hot. And the Southern Hemisphere? Also hot. Western Europe and parts of South America enjoyed a fairly clement month, but the rest of the globe saw temperatures that were often well above normal. In fact… here’s the bad news. The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for March 2016 was the highest for this month in the 1880–2016 record, at 1.22°C (2.20°F) above the 20th century average of 12.7°C (54.9°F). This surpassed the previous record set in 2015 by 0.32°C / (0.58°F), and marks the highest monthly temperature departure among all 1,635 months on record, surpassing the previous all-time record set just last month by 0.01°C (0.02°F). This wasn’t just the hottest March on record. It was the most that any month has ever diverged from normal values going back to the start of NOAA record keeping. Want to guess what month had the second highest deviation? How about the Third? Here, this should help.”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
pollwatcher writes—3 Feet Of Snow, Again! “I woke up this morning to find 3 feet of snow on the ground. The storm had been blowing for a couple of days so it wasn’t a surprise. Since I live off the grid, getting to my ground mounted solar panels is rather important if I want the electricity I need to participate in the pie fights here at DKos. Now a 3 foot snowfall somewhere in the Colorado front range foothills, isn’t all that unusual. It probably happens every couple of years or so. EXCEPT: it was one year ago almost to the day when we had a 4 ½ foot snowfall. Now that’s pretty unusual but it’s not unheard of. But to have 2 really big spring snowstorms in the same spot a year apart, and we’re getting a bit weird.”
Assaf writes—Omega Block: April 18 Rainiest Day Ever in Houston, Hottest April Day Ever in Seattle: “Several people have already died from historic flooding in Houston — today has been the region’s rainiest day on record, topping 400mm before midday at some locations. Seattle (where I live) had a sizzling 31 degrees Celsius today. (That’s 88F for you non-metric folks.) It shattered the previous daily record by double-digits (F scale), and broke the all-time April record, which was set 40 years ago on April 30. Today’s forecast was for low 80s… when I left the office around 2:30 to take the shuttle for a work meeting somewhere else, it certainly felt warmer. I was still shocked to see our home’s north-wall thermometer hit 29.4c around 4:30 (we’re on a hill, so always a couple of degrees cooler than the official city temperature).’ The average daily high for Seattle on April 18 is 15c (59F). This type of weather would be considered hot even at the height of Seattle’s traditionally-mild summer. We were actually hotter than Phoenix today. Tomorrow is forecast be in the 80s too. The link above cites the various records expected to be broken this week.”
Terrypinder writes—Severe Weather Liveblog: Massive flood event underway in metro Houston: “A massive flooding event is underway in Houston, where pretty much the entire region is completely shut down. [...] If you are reading this from the Houston area and you do not have to go out, please do not. This flood event seem to be rivaling that of Tropical Storm Allison, June of 2001, still one of the most damaging flood events in US history. The storm system causing this is the result of the interaction between several weather systems and a direct connection to the deep tropics. In the Gulf, this is called ‘The Maya Express.’ This is actually the first year I’ve heard of the term, and I’m currently researching it to see when it first appeared in the literature. It seems closely related to the ‘Pineapple Express’ on the West Coast.”
fqwatkins writes—Humans of Climate Change: Haiyan, Two Years On: “This piece serves as the introduction to four first-person narratives collected in Tacloban, Philippines. The narratives come from survivors of Tropical Storm Haiyan/Yolanda, who now advocate for justice for storm survivors like themselves. On the morning of November 8, 2013, Supertyphoon Haiyan made landfall in Tacloban City, Eastern Visayas, Philippines. The night before, the Hong Kong Observatory had put its 10-minute sustained winds at 285 km/h (180 mph), the highest ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere. The eye of the storm passed just south of Tacloban, leaving the city at the mercy of its strongest winds. They left many of the city’s residents injured, and ripped the roofs from most of the city’s buildings.The storm surge wrought further destruction. 4-6-meter (13-19-foot) waves devastated the city’s low-lying population centers, sweeping up to a kilometer inland and killing thousands. Residents of low-lying waterfront neighborhoods describe returning to their old neighborhoods and being unable to find any trace of their former homes. In the days after the storm, power was out through much of the region, and many had difficulty accessing food, clean water and medical assistance. The majority of the survivors I interviewed turned to looting in those desperate weeks.”
fqwatkins writes—Humans of Climate Change: Imelda Rona, Tacloban, Philippines: “This is the first of four "Humans of Climate Change" stories from Tacloban, the Philippines. Tacloban was one of the cities hardest hit by the 2013 supertyphoon dubbed "Haiyan" internationally and ‘Yolanda"’in the Philippines. For an overview of the storm's impacts in the region and the influence of climate change in increasing the severity of tropical storm impacts, visit the series introduction here. Rona and I talked in her sister’s house in early February, and she recounted her experience of superstorm Haiyan (called ‘Yolanda’ in the Philippines). ‘Before Yolanda it was sunny and normal…I was thinking ‘it’s not true…’ says Rona. The family planned to stay in their home to ensure its security in the aftermath of the storm. ‘We were 7 there, and the coconut trees were swaying, then I heard something at the back window, and I went to look. A huge wave was coming. We were only shouting and praying to God. The water rose to our chests and then up…and we were all against the ceiling and we tried to break through.’ There was a small hole for phone and electric wires in a plywood section of the roof. They pulled at it, trying to widen it enough to fit through. ‘One of the children shouted repeatedly, he was 5 years old, ‘Lord forgive us so we can live again’…But it wouldn’t break. ‘And then finally it did…it was a miracle.’”
ENERGY
Nuclear & Fossil Fuels
CorpFlunky writes—Teddy Roosevelt is rolling over in his grave: “Both trust-busting Progressives like Teddy Roosevelt and rich, establishment Democrats like his nephew FDR should be able to agree, even in the heat of a New York primary, if there’s one place that we should NOT build a new oil refinery, it’s right outside the gates of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. And yet, that’s the really bad idea proposal: Crude Oil Refinery Proposed Next To Theodore Roosevelt National Park Raises Concerns. ‘They shouldn’t be putting an industrial park next to a national park,’ Valerie Naylor, the park's former superintendent, said Friday during a phone call. ‘If this was being proposed within three miles of Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, or even Mount Rushmore, there would be a huge national outcry. I don’t know why there shouldn’t be a similar outcry about Theodore Roosevelt.’”
Walter Einenkel writes—Norway has a $860 billion sovereign fund—divests from 52 fossil fuel companies, more to come: “Norway is, by definition, a welfare state. About a fifth of Norway’s social welfare success comes from a lot of oil. It is not a stretch to say that in Norway we see how an entire country’s way of living is being effected by lower oil prices and changing environmental times. With the slowdown of the oil industry in recent years, Norway has had a rising ornery conservative movement. Luckily, recent elections have shown a resurgence of lefty politics, and while conservatives still have control, the green movement (and labor) have regained footholds in the government. Part of controlling the government in Norway is controlling how its $860 billion sovereign wealth fund is being handled. Last year, the Norwegian parliament agreed to ban companies that base more than 30 percent of their wealth in coal.”
Hydraulic Fracturing
Dan Bacher writes—Legislators, Health Professionals and Scientists To Hold Panel on the Health Impacts of Fracking: “Below is the media advisory for a great event on the impacts on oil and gas on California communities this evening in Sacramento: Coalition-Sponsored Forum to Discuss Toxic Drill Sites and Fracking Wells in California Communities. A panel discussion titled ‘Drilling Down into Health Impacts: Effects of Oil and Gas on California’s Communities’ will explore the effects of fossil fuel production on the health of Californians throughout the state, bringing together individuals from some of the most impacted communities in California, along with state legislators, health professionals and scientists.”
Emissions Controls & Carbon Pricing
bgalliance writes—Advocates to Senator Brown: Reduce Methane Leaks to Create Jobs, Protect Workers and Environment: “On April 8, labor and environmental advocates hosted Senator Brown and local union members and elected officials for a roundtable discussion about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new methane standards for the oil and gas industry. The discussion focused on how we can create critically needed jobs and improve working conditions for workers while also providing important environmental protections for Ohio’s at risk communities. Most in the room agreed that this can be accomplished by fixing leaks and reducing methane emissions in the oil and gas sector. The roundtable was held at the Noble County Health Department in Caldwell, Ohio. The EPA’s proposed Emission Standard for New and Modified Sources for the Oil and Natural Gas Sector represents a huge step towards tackling methane leaks. We are hearing that this standard will get the final stamp of approval by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in the coming weeks. Stakeholders at the meeting took the opportunity to emphasize to the Senator how important it is to expand these guidelines to oil and gas equipment currently operating. These “existing sources” are estimated to account for up to 90 percent of oil and gas sector leaks and emissions by 2018.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Brainwrap writes—Hey, Rick, I have a better idea: How about letting the people of FLINT drink YOUR water for 30 days? “This is one of the most shameless, embarrassing stunts I’ve ever heard of. Never mind the fact that not a single foot of piping in Flint has actually been replaced yet … Never mind the fact that the residents of Flint were drinking, bathing in and cooking with UNFILTERED, lead-filled water for MONTHS before anyone got around to explaining why it tasted strange and was making them sick Never mind the fact that the impact of lead-filled water is MUCH more dangerous for pregnant women, infants and toddlers than it is on a 57 year-old man…”
Dan Bacher writes—CA Commission moves forward with plan to postpone marine protected area assessments: “On April 13, the California Fish and Game Commission moved forward a controversial final Marine Protected Area “Master Plan” that postpones environmental assessments from every 5 years, as originally promised, to every 10 years. In what the California Sportfishing League described as “a stunning admission,” the Commission at its meeting in Santa Rosa introduced the possibility that recreational fishing may never return to California’s coastal waters designated as so-called ‘marine reserves’ under the privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. The three current members of the commission—President Eric Sklar, Vice President Jacque Hostler-Carmesin, and Member Anthony C. Williams—voted unanimously to approve the plan at its June meeting, in spite of the objection of California anglers and conservationists, The Commission failed to acknowledge that the alleged ‘Yosemites of the Sea’ created under the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative are in reality faux ‘marine protected areas,’ crafted under the helm of a Big Oil lobbyist, that fail to protect the ocean from pollution, fracking, oil drilling, corporate aquaculture, military testing and all human impacts on the ocean other than sustainable fishing and gathering.”
Dan Bacher writes—Bill Forcing Public Vote on Delta Tunnels Passes Key Committee: “A bill prohibiting the building of Governor Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels plan unless it is approved by California voters passed out of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife today by a vote of 8 to 4. Assembly Bill 1713, authored by Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), targets the California Water Fix plan, Governor Brown's name for the Delta Tunnels. This project would divert water from the Sacramento River to supply corporate agribusiness interests, Southern California water agencies and oil companies conducting fracking and extreme oil extraction methods in Kern County. After the bill passed committee, Assemblymember Eggman said, ‘Today’s vote was about choice. AB 1713 will shed some light on a project with huge implications and its passage is a huge win not only for the San Joaquin Delta, but also for the people of California.’ ‘The Governor’s proposal is financially questionable, potentially environmentally detrimental, and based on an outdated and outmoded plan from over 50 years ago. The people of California have consistently weighed in on important infrastructure projects since the early 20th century and this initiative should be no different,’ she explained.”
Dan Bacher writes—Water rates to increase to pay for Delta Tunnels: ”How would you like to find out that a new fee was added to your groundwater bill to support Governor Jerry Brown’s ‘legacy’ project, the salmon-killing Delta Tunnels, without your consent. Well, that’s exactly what happened when ratepayers attended a recent public meeting in Gilroy to find out that their hard-earned money would go to support the California WaterFix, the state and federal government’s name for the Delta Tunnels. Several users of small private residential water systems “complained bitterly” about the cost of the current groundwater charges on top of the cost of pumping and maintenance of their wells, according to a news release from Restore the Delta. ‘They were unanimous in stating that they could not afford the proposed increase for FY 2017. The groundwater charges are also paid by the cities and passed on to customers,’ RTD stated.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
rufe writes—Who's Plan will Keep the Earth from Berning? ”I have been thinking recently a bit about both plans. First let me comment on things that I think can only be good: • I personally support the carbon tax. There are a number of very real problems with a carbon tax, but such a tax, especially when combined with other regulations and trade agreements, would no doubt have a positive effect in forcing the free market to reduce carbon emissions. [...] I like that both candidates are focusing on an incremental approach to improving the efficiency of existing buildings. When I was still a student, one project the physics department did with undergraduates was to try to compare the cost vs. benefit of our LEED certified remodels and minor improvements such as replacing old windows in dormitories. By far, the incremental improvements were more cost effective. [...] I am concerned about Bernie’s desire to decommission nuclear plants and lack of interest in investing into R&D. Nuclear produces ~20% of power in the US. Decommissioning pants is expensive and still requires storage of waste, and that 20% will have to be made up elsewhere, which ultimately means that other more polluting sources will not be replaced as quickly as if we kept nuclear plants operating.”
Mark Sumner writes—Big Oil's favorite congressman plays tour guide for oil rigs: “Congress members wear so many hats. Sometimes they’re passing laws to satisfy their big donors, sometimes they’re back at home pretending to listen to constituents before going back to pass laws to satisfy their big donors, and sometimes they’re directly working for their big donors. Congressman Steve Scalise... is one of the oil industry’s busiest tour guides in Congress. Eight times, he’s lured colleagues onto helicopters bound for remote drilling rigs and production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. His motive: to persuade even Democrats to overturn Obama administration rules that will add costs to offshore drilling. Offshore oil rigs are impressive. I spent a few weeks on one back in … the mid-Jurassic? Or maybe it was 1979. While it wasn’t quite a city at sea, it was an impressively large building, considering it was parked somewhere with water to the horizon in all directions. Since then the rigs have gotten bigger and considerably more high tech. It’s one of those things that really ticks all the boxes for anyone who might be impressed by Big Engineering. Completely understandable why oil companies would want to get congressmen out there where they can show off.”
1centspikes writes—In Oregon, oil industry drops a ballot fight but preps for election season: “At the end of March, the oil industry officially dropped their latest effort to repeal Oregon’s clean fuels standard. The Oregon Fuels Association, a group run by oil lobbyist Paul Romain, announced that it would no longer pursue a ballot initiative to repeal the state’s law to reduce transportation pollution.This announcement came after months of threats by the industry to use every effort to sink the program. Numerous polls show the Oregonians overwhelming support for cleaner transportation fuels. It seems clear now that the oil industry didn’t see a path to victory by ‘going to the people.’ This point can’t be emphasized enough – despite daunting resources and a room full of political consultants, the oil companies still saw state-wide support as too strong for a battle at the ballot. The 2015 legislative fight over the transportation package is one many Oregonians would like to forget. Clean fuels legislation saw unprecedented opposition from the oil industry that caused a complete breakdown of the legislature.”
BYPRODUCTS, TRASH, TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTE
gloriasb writes—STL landfill fire is getting close to radioactive waste: What will happen? “What happens when a landfill fire meets a radioactive waste dump? St. Louis, Missouri, may the first metropolitan area to find out. In North St. Louis County, near the St. Louis Airport, and a mile from Pattonville High School, the Westlake Landfill is on fire. It’s not a flaming, above-ground fire, but something more insidious and potentially more dangerous: a smoldering underground fire caused by years of decomposing garbage, the methane gas it produces, and the oxygen that has seeped in. Close by – some say within 300 feet—is another [previously hidden] burial ground, where high-grade uranium leftovers were dumped during the 1970s. The smoldering fire is spreading. The boundaries of the radioactively contaminated soil are not clearly delineated. The timing of the merger of the two entities is anybody’s guess. And having never encountered this situation before, no one really knows what the result would be.”
First Amendment writes—Sanders' are still profiting from Sierra Blanca nuclear waste dump, per their 2014 tax return: “The Sanders’ have partially released their 2014 tax return and on the return, Jane Sanders is still drawing a salary as an alternate commissioner for the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission. (TLLRWD Commissioner). This is the commission that oversaw the Sierra Blanca dump site, that Sanders voted for and also voted to strip out the Wellstone amendment in conference. The Wellstone amendment would have given legal recourse to this mostly poor Latino community to fight the placement of this waste dump, if they could prove environmental racism. The compact was passed, with vigorous help from Sanders. Later and fortunately the dump was scuttled by the state of Texas. This is just for 2014. Mrs. Sanders could have been drawing a salary for years and unless they release more tax returns we'll never know for sure.”
FishOutofWater writes—Texas & Vermont Dispose of Low Level Waste in Andrews Texas. Team Hillary Slandered Jane Sanders: “A supporter of Hillary Clinton has written that Jane Sanders is profiting from a nuclear waste dump in south Texas. That is a blatant lie. The is not and never was a nuclear waste dump in south Texas. The Andrews Texas facility is the only new facility licensed by the USNRC in the past 30 years to handle class A, B and C radioactive waste. The Andrews facility received its operating license in 2009. The first shipments of Vermont’s low level waste came to Andrews in September, 2012. Andrews is located in the dry lands of west Texas near the New Mexico border. [...] Vermont’s commissioners and alternate commissioners are being paid for successfully overseeing the disposal of Vermont’s low level medical and nuclear reactor waste in Andrews, Texas.”
Mark Sumner writes—When the NRA hires a congressman gun clubs win, the environment loses: “Bullets are made of metal. You probably knew that. Often, that metal includes lead. You probably knew that, too. When the lead in bullets or shot fired from shotguns ends up in lakes and streams, that lead is about as friendly to fish, birds, and other critters as the infrastructure of Flint is to kids. So lots of states try to limit the use of lead in shotgun shells, and they try to clean up the lead that’s already blanketing wetlands around shooting areas and popular hunting spots. For nearly 60 years, visitors to the Skyway Trap & Skeet Club in St. Petersburg fired at targets using shells filled with lead pellets. Often, their ammunition traveled into neighboring Sawgrass Lake Park, a public wetland. Over the decades, it accumulated there in prodigious quantities. Prodigious barely does the situation justice. An estimated one million pounds of lead was fired into the marshland, where it polluted not just the local lakes, but a delicate marine estuary downstream.”
ECO-ACTION & ECO JUSTICE
DRo writes—Action Alert: Join Union of Concerned Scientists Demand to Stop Big Utility vs Clean Power Plans: “Tell American Electric Power: Stop Funding Opponents of the Clean Power Plan. American Electric Power's power plants are a major source of heat-trapping carbon pollution in the United States, so it's a big deal when this utility company says, ‘...we recognize the need to responsibly address the issue of climate change.’ But actions speak louder than words. American Electric Power still irresponsibly funds opponents of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, including the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and the US Chamber of Commerce. [...] We can win this one. American Electric Power took some positive steps forward earlier this year when it severed its longtime ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that disputes the causes of climate change and opposes any EPA limits on global warming emissions.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Jen Hayden writes—Electric or bust—the Netherlands proposes ban on all gasoline and diesel cars by 2025: “Politicians in the Netherlands are getting serious about ending the dependency on fossil fuel-powered cars: A majority of elected officials in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, supported a motion proposed by the Labor Party (PvdA) to ban all diesel and petroleum cars from the Dutch market starting in 2025. If enacted, this proposal would allow existing fossil fuel-powered cars to stay on the road until they died, but when it comes to new sales, only electric cars would be permitted. The proposal is an effort to make a seismic shift in public perception of electric vehicles and the Netherlands’ dependency on fossil fuels: ‘One big thing that's preventing more people from buying [electric cars] is awareness – people just don't know about them,’ Joel Levin, executive director of Plug In America, tells The Christian Science Monitor in a phone interview Thursday. ‘It is a pretty big shift for how you think about your car.’’”
Jen Hayden writes—Report: VW will offer to buy back approximately 500,000 diesel vehicles in the U.S.: “Good news for some U.S. consumers who own diesel Volkswagens: The German automaker is expected to tell a federal judge in San Francisco Thursday that it has agreed to offer to buy back up to 500,000 2.0-liter diesel vehicles sold in the United States, the people said. That would include versions of the Jetta sedan, the Golf compact and the Audi A3. The buyback offer does not apply to the bigger 3.0-liter diesel vehicles also found to have exceeded U.S. pollution limits, including Audi and Porsche SUV models, the people said.”
MISCELLANY
Meteor Blades writes—2016 Goldman Environmental Awards announced under shadow of murder of 2015 recipient, Berta Cáceres: “The Goldman Environmental Foundation announced Monday the six recipients of its annual Goldman Environmental Prize, the largest eco-related prize in the world. The prize, established in 1989 by the late civic philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman, is also known as the Green Nobel. Chosen to represent Earth’s different geographic zones, each prize recipient will receive $175,000, no strings attached. It’s not unusual for them to donate their award or plow it back into their environmental efforts. The recipients this year are Edward Loure, of Tanzania; Leng Ouch, Cambodia; Zuzana Caputova, of Slovakia; Luis Jorge River Herrera, of Puerto Rico; Destiny Watford, from the United States; and Máxima Acuña, of Peru. An invitation-only ceremony tonight in San Francisco likely will be more solemn than usual. Early last month, one of last year’s recipients of the prize, Berta Cáceres, was found shot dead in a small town in her homeland of Honduras, near the border of El Salvador.”
Bev Bell writes—Berta Cácera Lives on, and So Does Violence by Honduran Government and Dam Company: “Fifteen hundred people from at least 22 countries convened in Honduras from April 13-15, 2016 for the “Peoples of ¡Berta Vive!” International Gathering. They came to honor slain global movement leader Berta Cáceres and to commit themselves to keeping her legacy alive. Members of the international gathering also experienced the violence of the Honduran government and Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. - DESA, the foreign-backed company illegally constructing a dam on the indigenous ancestral Gualcarque River - which shadowed Berta throughout her final years and ended her life this past March 2. The Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), the group Berta founded in 1993 and ran until her assassination, and two other Honduran organizations hosted the gathering. The final declaration gave the context of the meeting. In this land which has struggled for more than 500 years, with the sound of the free-running rivers, the strength of the mountains, the neighborhoods and communities; with the fury and tenderness of the beings of nature; with the spirit of the ancestors, and the hope and pain of men, children, and women [who are] all people of Berta... We are convened here for her memory and her rebellious life.”
aboutmri writes—A New Plank For The Dem Platform, Nationalize Oil Companies: “I know there will be folks here that think I am crazy, but maybe not so much. First, the goal of nationalizing the oil companies (gas and coal as well) is to wind them down to a tiny as fast as humanly possible. I could go into the decades if not centuries long despicable things that the oil companies have done but it is actually much simpler than that. The Fossil fuel companies, led by the Oil conglomerates pose a ‘Clear and Present Danger to the entire planet and the survival of the human race.’ This is reason enough, period end of story but it would solve so many other problems as well.”
wade norris writes—Earth Day, Boulder CO, The Revolution continues Musical Activist Alliance and Knew rEvolution: “Here in Colorado, I laugh when I hear people refer to Boulder as the ‘People’s Republic of Boulder’ because it’s so ‘liberal’. In fact, Boulder is leading the way on a lot things, especially when it comes to the Environment. Locally here, the Non-profit, Musical Activists Alliance is joining forces with Knew rEvolution for their Earth Day Festival event that features musicians who are not merely entertainers, they are activists. Here they are in their own words explaining the meaning of the Festival. (me) What’s the Fund the Revolution event on April 23rd, 2016? Jessica Borth of MAA: It’s the announcement of 2 organizations that part of the StarWater Collective, Musical Activist Alliance and Knew rEvolution. Musical Activist Alliance is a non — profit that focuses on empowering performers and production companies and anyone that involved in music or performances to use their voices on stage to promote positive public change.”
Mark Sumner writes—Can we feed the world and save the trees? “With a world population pushing past seven billion on its way to who knows what, and an increasing demand for farmland, forests around the world are under pressure. Though roughly thirty percent of the world’s land is still covered in forest, in many areas that forest is sliced through by roads, chopped into by farms, clear cut for lumber, and simply encroached on by human habitation. The result is that much of the world’s forest has been forced into ‘islands’ which are separated from one another by lanes of human activity. This reduces the overall health of the forest, and by limiting the range of animal populations makes them much more susceptible to localized conditions. Forests support the most diverse populations of plants and animals found on land, but forests also produce a relatively low energy per acre when it comes to making food. So … if we’re going to feed an ever-growing human population, does that mean a world where trees are pulped to make room for more cropland. Not necessarily. According to new research, we can keep the people and the trees.”