Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.
Tonight's editor: LaughingPlanet
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As the Earth bleeds her millions of years-old fluids a mile beneath the the ocean, scary events are taking place up above as well. Acid rain, once considered a problem solved, has returned in a new and nefarious way due to our ongoing unsustainability.
Our current ways of doing things DO. NOT. WORK.
Without sudden and aggressive action, expect lots more blowback from mother nature on increasingly devastating scales. Over 97% of scientists agree.
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Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.
All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.
Don't forget to check out tonight's EcoAdvocates!
Quote of the day:
I’m no longer sceptical.
I no longer have any doubt at all.
I think climate change is the major challenge facing the world.
-- David Attenborough
Don't look down, but don't look up either
No, this is not about reoprts of oil raining down from the sky, although not much would surprise me about the Oilpocalypse anymore.
Sour Showers: Acid Rain Returns--This Time It Is Caused by Nitrogen Emissions
Acid rain is now caused by nitric rather than sulfuric acid--and it comes from more sources than the earlier acidic precipitation did:
By Michael Tennesen
The acid rain scourge of the '70s and '80s that killed trees and fish and even dissolved parts of statues on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall is back. But unlike the first round, in which sulfur emissions from power plants mixed with rain to create sulfuric acid, the current problem stems primarily from nitrogen emissions mixed with rain to create nitric acid.
"Both are strong acids, and both create serious problems for the environment," says William Schlesinger, president of the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y. Acid rain degrades cement and limestone as well as leaches critical soil nutrients, which injures plants. It also liberates toxic minerals from the ground that flow into stream runoff where they can kill fish.
(snip)
Nitric acid rain is derived primarily from power plant, car and truck emissions as well as from gases released by fertilizer use. Part of the problem dates back to WWI, when two German scientists invented the Haber–Bosch process, which took nonreactive nitrogen from the air (N2) and converted it into reactive, usable ammonia (NH3). Most of the nitrogen harvested via this process has been used in fertilizers, and the runoff from farms has created dead zones in Chesapeake Bay and at the mouths of the Columbia and Mississippi rivers. Some efforts have been made to regulate the agricultural nitrogen runoff, but atmospheric emissions of agricultural ammonia remain virtually unrestricted.
Climate Bill or No Climate Bill ?
Good start: We defeated the Murky Air attack on the EPA. Barely.
Now what?
What say you to a climate bill like the one the House passed lasat year?
Kerry says he can muster the votes for A.P.A.:
But...on the other hand....
The CLEAR Act has at least one GOP Senator co-sponsor, so it might have a better chance of passing the dinosaur chamber known as the Senate.
Here's the competing YouTube (it is much shorter ∴ better; editors take note!)
• How do you folks feel about the two bills?
• Will you fight for a bill that addresses carbon?
• Do you think passing an energy only bill is a good thing?
Swiss Firm Says Its Fabric Can Clean Up Oil Spill
ZURICH (June 21) -- A Swiss company, working with German partners, has developed a fabric that it says can be rolled out onto the vulnerable beaches of the Gulf of Mexico to help limit the environmental damage of the BP oil spill.
As U.S. authorities and officials at BP consider how to minimize the impact of the oil still flowing from the damaged Deepwater Horizon well, they are taking a closer look at a specially designed material developed by HeiQ Materials, a high-tech textile effects company based in Bad Zurzach, northern Switzerland. The company says its product, dubbed "Oilguard," developed with the TWE Group in Germany, is slated for testing in the Gulf of Mexico over the next few weeks as part of the efforts to clean up after the oil spill.
The fabric, a nonwoven kind of fleece treated with a chemical compound, selectively absorbs oil while repelling water at the same time. In their Swiss lab, company representatives demonstrated on Swiss television how the product can soak the oil out of saltwater and even protect sand from the deposit of oil through wave action.
WarrenS made a New Year's Resolution to write a letter advocating climate action every day. The result is over one hundred letters to congresspeople, newspapers, President Obama, and more. Warren has even had letters published in the New York Times and the Boston Globe.
Learn Warren's letter writing technique here. And be sure to steal his stuff!
From his blog:
The National Resources Defense Committee is requesting people to contact the Senators who’ll be going to the Wednesday meeting NEXT WEEK [LP edit] at the White house (they’re all listed at the bottom of this post) and deliver something akin to the following message:
Dear Senator,
As you go to the White House on Wednesday for the Climate and Clean Energy Meeting with the President, please keep some of these things in mind.
The American people want comprehensive energy and climate legislation. A recent Pew poll on June 14 indicated overwhelming support for measures like limits on greenhouse gases, higher efficiency standards, and a requirement that utilities produce more energy from renewable sources. This is one of the rare times when the popular thing to do is also the right thing.
There is no time to lose, and no time to waste. The polar ice caps are melting and nearly every day registers record-setting high temperatures all over the world. Our addiction to oil is crippling both our national security and and our economy — and every day the Gulf of Mexico reminds us that this is a substance of extraordinary toxicity. Our elected representatives have been unable to develop a serious, long-term, sustainable national energy plan for many decades, and now is the time. Failure cannot be an option.
With a billion dollars a day going to buy foreign oil, with our trade rivals investing heavily in clean energy industries, our economy is under assault from within; our century-long addiction to oil has finally reached the point where its unsustainability is obvious to all but a few oblivious deniers. Add catastrophic climate change to the picture and it is self-evident that we cannot afford to procrastinate; inaction, as the President said, is not an option.
Senator, we are hoping against hope that you will come out of Wednesday’s meeting with an agreement that gives us some reason for optimism. Don’t let us down.
Yours Sincerely,
Warren S
Harry Reid: 202-224-7327
John Kerry: (202) 224-8525
Joe Lieberman: 202.224.9750
Lindsey Graham: (202) 228-5143
Richard Lugar: 202-228-0360
Barbara Boxer: 202-224-0454
Lisa Murkowski: 202-224-5301
Susan Collins: 202-224-2693
Debbie Stabenow: 202-228-0325
Judd Gregg: 202-224-4952
Sherrod Brown: 202-228-6321
Maria Cantwell: 202-228-0514
Jay Rockefeller: (202) 224-7665
I saw recently that our eKos founder loves the space program.
Well, I imagine he will like this too-
The green fire of the southern lights
It was taken on May 29th by an Expedition 23 astronaut aboard the International Space Station (it’s unknown which one; NASA and the astronauts decided to give the expedition the credit, not an individual crew member). At that moment, the ISS was 350 km (190 miles) above the Indian ocean, and the astronaut was looking south. You can see the limb of the Earth and some stars in the background as well.
Santa, 6 months removed from his big night, asks us to help:
Please contact your all Senators and tell them it's time to pass a climate bill. We do not want a feckless energy-only bill.
WE WANT A CLIMATE BILL!!
NOW!!!
boatsie posted two wonderful diaries last week.
boatsie's recommended diary:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
June 26: Join Hands Across the Sand
By Dave Rauschkolb
It is my greatest hope that when Americans stand hand-to-hand on beaches on June 26 the message is loud and clear: NO to Offshore Oil Drilling, YES to Clean Energy.
No industry should be allowed to place the coastal economy of our coastlines, oceans, marine wildlife and the fishing industries at risk. The oil companies have had their way in the Gulf for too long.
Visit Hands Across the Sand to locate or organize an event at a beach near you. The website provides interactive maps of states and nations as well as a resource toolkit of downloadable banners, posters, logos, press releases and t-shirts. Scroll down the main page for a complete list of sponsors and partners.
What to do at a Hands Event:
STEP 1
Go to the beach at 11 AM in your time zone for one hour, rain or shine.
STEP 2
Join hands for 15 minutes at 12:00 forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in our coastal waters.
STEP 3
Leave only your footprints.
boatsie's rescued diary:
ecojustice: deepwater death counts
by boatsie
Mon Jun 21, 2010 at 07:01:06 PM PDT
I'm only re-posting this video from that diary, but the entire thing should be read by all here, and the 2nd video therein is also worth a precious 20 mins of your time, as well.
Our oceans are on the brink of collapse.
If it's not already too late, we must begin to act aggresively to save what we can.
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If you would like to make an announcement for an upcoming diary or event, please e-mail us at eKos350atgmaildotcom. Please send us formatted HTML!
(All times Eastern!)
Today's eKos diaries:
Author | Diary | Time | Tags |
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Crashing Vor | Legal-Ease | 06/23/10 12:00AM Eastern | Recommended, oil, Louisiana, Deepwater Horizon, law |
Stranded Wind | The Gulf Wildlife CAN Be Saved | 06/23/10 12:21AM Eastern | Recommended, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico |
LaFeminista | Orange Satan says "WTF! I mean seriously WTF!" | 06/23/10 01:33AM Eastern | Recommended, ekos, BP, Gulf of Mexico, Transocean |
jamess | A Clear difference: setting the Price of Carbon, so WE get a Share | 06/23/10 03:56AM Eastern | Clean Energy, Energy Bill, Cap and Dividend, Clear Act, Maria Cantwell |
Liveblog | BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: #29 | 06/23/10 05:37AM Eastern | Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, LMRP |
Dartagnan | Breaking: Dramatic Increase in Oil Flow--2 Deaths | 06/23/10 12:38PM Eastern | BP, Oil Disaster, Containment effort, Robotic Submarines, ekos |
Jed Lewison | Oil flowing freely after accident forces cap removal | 06/23/10 12:48PM Eastern | BP, oil, eKos |
JekyllnHyde | Final Update #16: The Week in Editorial Cartoons - General A*S Kicking and When Joe Met Tony | 06/23/10 02:32PM Eastern | The Week in Editorial Cartoons, eKos, Republican Party, Joe Barton, Tony Hayward |
Bruce Nilles | Report: Coal Industry Harms TN and WV More Than It Helps | 06/23/10 02:34PM Eastern | eKos, Sierra Club, coal, Tennessee, West Virginia |
Yesterday's eKos diaries:
Author | Diary | Time | Tags |
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Crashing Vor | Fly Away | 06/22/10 12:01AM Eastern | Recommended, oil, Louisiana, oil spill, Deepwater Horizon |
TrahmalG | Federal scientist est. flow could be up to 2.5 million gallons a day. FU BP! | 06/22/10 04:10AM Eastern | Federal, Scientist, 2.5 million gallons, Oil, BP |
Liveblog | BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: #28/ UNREC, PLEASE | 06/22/10 06:55AM Eastern | Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, LMRP |
Steven D | Climate Science: Who is More Credible? | 06/22/10 01:07PM Eastern | BP, PNAS, National Academies of Scienmce, National Research Council, Climate Change |
Bob Higgins | The Oil Game They're Playing In Our Oceans Ain't "Beanbag" | 06/22/10 01:11PM Eastern | Offshore oil, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, Canada, Mark McLeod |
kirbybruno | Judge Blocks Drilling Moratorium - Updated 8:35 CT | 06/22/10 02:00PM Eastern | BP, Gulf Coast, Drilling Moratorium, Judge Martin Feldman, Recommended |
jamess | The Empire Strikes Back -- in the Fight for our Energy Future | 06/22/10 05:57PM Eastern | Meta, Star Wars, Big Oil, Business as Usual, World National Oil Companies Congress |
Ellinorianne | Methane Gas, Tsunami's and the Collapse of the Sea Floor in the Gulf | 06/22/10 11:07PM Eastern | Methane, gulf, bp, ekos, sea bed |
slinkerwink | This Is Depressing | 06/22/10 11:08PM Eastern | eKos, oil spill, BP, broken wellhead, 2010 |
Edger | Gulf Oil Leak May Be Over 4 Million Gallons Per Day | 06/22/10 11:57PM Eastern | eKos, Ed Markey, offshore drilling, Well Blowout, Oil spill |
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