Juvenile snowy egrets
Many environmentally related posts appearing at Daily Kos each week don't attract the attention they deserve. To help get more eyeballs, Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The most recent Saturday Spotlight can be seen here. So far, more than 18,600 environmentally oriented diaries have been rescued for inclusion in this weekly collection since 2006. Inclusion of a diary in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
Sunday Train: Crutches vs Splints for the Highway Fund's Broken Leg—by
BruceMcF: "There was a gleam of hope this week for state officials faced with the prospects of having to start delaying projects and lay off people working on maintenance and new construction funded from the Federal Highway Fund: Bloomberg:
Lawmakers’ fight over how to fund roads and transit probably will end with legislation from the Republican-led House sent to President Barack Obama, leadership aides in both parties said. House and Senate leaders have been collaborating on a strategy for preventing the Highway Trust Fund from running dry at the height of the summer road-construction season. While bills approved July 10 by committees in both chambers are similar, the Democratic-led Senate’s version contains tax proposals seen as obstacles in the House. But this is akin to lending someone with a broken leg crutches and hoping that it will heal on its own. For some fractures, that might work, but most would require a splint at least, and for serious fractures, you need to set the leg and put it in a cast of some sort. In the case at hand, the long term broken funding model that lays behind the Highway Funding crisis is something that requires something better than a temporary loan of crutches."
Dawn Chorus: Splendid White Wonders In Trees of Green (Photo-Heavy Diary)—by
Kestrel: "If you're not a birding enthusiast and just happened to click here to see what "white wonders" I'm talking about, please just scroll your way through the photos here to find out. The white wonders are egrets, elegant birds that dazzle with their acrobatics, their wide wingspans and flight, and their communal nesting that rocks at this time of the year as the chicks mature and put on shows for us mere mortals. Check out these young'uns happy to show you what I'm talking about. These young birds are Snowy Egrets and they are growing up fast, still fighting each other in the nest for premium spots and screaming like banshees to be fed."
Mountaintop Removal, the perfect symbol for America—by
DWG: "When future historians study our time, they really should focus on mountaintop removal strip mining in Appalachia. It will tell them everything they need to know about America in the early 21st century. Mountaintop removal is a dirt-cheap way to mine thin seams of coal near the surface. This practice has already scarred an obscene amount of a biologically diverse ecosystem. Trees dozed. Soil destroyed. Streams covered in toxic mining spoil. The coal industry promises it will one day restore the land to its original state but everyone knows that those are lies. The standard practice has always been to declare bankruptcy when a coal mining operation is no longer profitable and leave cleanup to the public. Everyone knows the very same thing will happen to the toxic dumps left behind from mountaintop removal mining."
You can find more rescued green diaries below the sustainable squiggle.
Climate Chaos
The Pause in Global Warming -- Buying us Time or Buying us Trouble?—by
jamess: "According to this Scientific American article, the Atmospheric CO2 trend-line is still heading 'skyward'-- while the "Global-mean temperature" line has sort of leveled out (when compared to the upwards trends of prior decades). Which raises the question: Where is all that extra heat going? Well recent studies think they have discovered where ... Is the Pacific Ocean Responsible for a Pause in Global Warming?
[...] the tropical Pacific Ocean, which is responsible for the weather patterns known as El Niño and La Niña that can swing global average temperatures by as much as 0.3 degree Celsius, was anomalously cold. [...] a new study suggests that the phenomenon may explain the recent 'pause' in global warming of average temperatures."
New study: Rich republicans are the worst climate deniers—by VL Baker: "We perhaps had assumed that ignorance or merely stupidity was responsible for the rabid climate denialism which occurs in the Republican party, but a new study from the Journal of Climatic Change shows that it's all about the money and that it is an entrenched belief system. Using data from the 2010 General Social Survey, this article looks at the moderating effect of party identification on income in predicting climate change beliefs in the U.S. Probing this interaction reveals that increased income predicts a higher probability of dismissing climate dangers among Republican-leaning individuals when compared with Independents and Democrats. Alternatively, increased income predicts a higher probability of ranking climate change as the most important environmental problem facing the United States among Democratic-leaning individuals compared with Republicans. The results indicate that income only predicts climate change beliefs in the presence of certain political orientations, with poorer Republicans less likely to dismiss climate change dangers than their affluent counterparts."
Token victory for beleaguered scientist—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "This week saw a small win for Dr. Michael Mann, one of the most heavily attacked climate scientists to date. The "think tank" American Tradition Institute (recently renamed Energy & Environmental Legal Institute) earlier sued Dr. Mann and the University of Virginia to gain access to emails related to Dr. Mann's work there. In what is decidedly more of a symbolic win than a real award of damages, courts ruled ATI must pay Dr. Mann $250 in damages. Dr. Mann has indicated that he'll be donating his winnings to the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund."
Telegraph reporting contradicts Telegraph's title—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "A new Telegraph headline based on the results of a UK government survey on electricity use and environmental concerns states that 'People who claim to worry about climate change use more electricity.' As you'd expect, deniers and conservative politicians are reveling in the "hypocrisy of many who claim to be "green." However, what the study actually finds is that older consumers are less concerned about future climate impacts, which is understandable in a self-interested way since many climate impacts will be outside the lifetimes of currently elderly people. Older consumers also tend to use less energy, not because of environmentalism but because their needs are fewer."
Ten Florida scientists want to tutor Gov. Rick Scott on climate change—by VL Baker: "Florida is in big trouble due to climate change. No other state is as vulnerable to rising seas and storm surge and we're not talking about the far distant future we're talking about the next few decades. It's that bad. Florida is drowning and the powers that run the state are turning their heads. There is some action to mitigate and adapt being implemented at the local level, especially in southeast Florida, the area most at risk for rising seas, but at the state level with the corrupt wingnut Governor Rick Scott in charge there has been blatant obstruction and corrupt support for his corporate buddies who want to maintain the status quo because it fills their pockets. Those who understand the urgency of the situation are getting desperate especially those whose work it is to educate regarding the eminent threats to our state. So it is that ten Florida university scientists are requesting an audience with Gov. Scott to school him on the dangers and available remedies."
Food, Agriculture & Gardening
Science policy decisions: by experts or average Americans?—by mem from somerville: "Here is my clip of Stephanie Seneff speaking at the last March Against Monsanto that I attended. It's my own vid, I saw her say these things myself, and I manage not to laugh. [...] Seneff is an author of one sheet of paper in this guy's hand. It's a vanity published paper of free-range associations and correlations that are actually laughable if you understand the science. She's done no work in the related biology of this field, she's been in computer science for decades. In fact, it should have all just be incorporated to Tyler Vigen's Spurious Correlations site. The real question is: how do people want science-related policy decisions to be made? Do you want them done by this woman with a Google search? Or by the author of that one result? What if it was about vaccines? Or on climate? Or maybe birth control--you want that call made by the HobbyLobby health team, or do you want it made by qualified practitioners in the field?"
The Daily Bucket - A Look Around the Yard—by enhydra lutris: "We were able to harvest some apricots on June 28th and take them on our camping trip. It has been a while since that tree threw any fruit, so I'm not at all sure, but it seems early. Touring the yard upon our return, I noticed that we have a Hollyhock that is over 6 feet tall already. The pears and apples seem to be on schedule for a more or less normal harvest in early and late August, but the real surprise is the grapes. I have pretty much normal clusters, and the grapes are still green, as they should be at this time of year, but the individual grapes are generally larger than any I've ever had, even at harvest time, and not just one or two, but a goodly number per cluster. I don't know what to attribute this to at all. We did have some unusually timed bursts of rain earlier in the year, but we also had less rain overall than has been the norm lately. Tomatoes are still green which is, I believe, normal."
Energy & Conservation
Wind Energy options to PSE&G—by eakope: "I just received Daily Kos email recommending a switch to Ethical Electric energy utility services, and want to report my recent problem with making that switch. Several months after having switched to Ethical Electric, in autumn 2013, I received one of the highest monthly bills I ever received in nearly 6 years at my current home in Montclair New Jersey.It was not a particularly cold winter month, nor was the next month in which my bill was even higher. I called PSE&G to complain that my meter must be broken or at least inaccurate. I was told the problem was because I was using Ethical Electric but that they would in any event check out my meter. I immediately canceled Ethical Electric and the following month got my meter test results showing 100% accuracy, and a substantially lower energy utility bill. I'm interested in knowing whether any others who have had Ethical Electric or any other alternative to PSE&G have had similar problems."
Renewables
A plan to store wind energy in giant underwater air bubbles—by Hounddog: "Sarah Zhang of Gizmoto brings us the interesting news of a The Plan to Store Wind Energy In Giant Underwater Air Bubbles, well, actually, they would be stored in compressed air inside giant balloons deep underwater, displacing highly pressurized deep sea water. Like many good ideas, the seeds of compressed-air energy storage, or CAES, were sowed long ago, in the 1870s. Today, a handful of operations store energy as compressed air in sealed-off caves or pipe systems. But that's all on land. Bringing CAES deep underwater, where water pressure naturally keeps air compressed, is a novel and tantalizing idea for the massive offshore wind farms of the future. In August, IEEE Spectrum reports, the Toronto-based Hydrostor will make the first commercial deployment of underwater CAES technology. It'll use electricity to fill several balloon-like bags tethered to the bottom of Lake Ontario with compressed air. To turn that stored air back into electricity, they'll run the compressed air through a turboexpander."
US military wants 25% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025, solar saving lives in war zones—by HoundDog: "Stephen O'Brien, of The Motley Fool, writes in The Business Insider that, 'The US Military Could Drive Solar Energy Growth,' telling us that the Department of Defense, DOD, spends $20 billion a year on energy making them the largest energy consumer on earth. The DOD intends to derive 25% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025, and is already moving aggressively in that direction. The Military just recently began construction of a solar power plant at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, where solar panels will be installed over 68 acres, constituting the largest solar array of any military base in the U.S. According to the commanding general of the base, Maj. Gen. Robert Ashley, the project reflects the military's commitment to energy security. Whether it be engaged in disaster relief, humanitarian missions or in military operations, the military needs reliable energy that is 'off the grid,' since public electrical utilities are vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and potential sabotage. The military also needs to be ready for possible disruptions to the oil supply, which could cripple it and the nation's economy."
100% Renewable has Arrived—by Just Bob: "That's in one German state, not in the US, more's the pity. Germany’s windiest area, Schleswig-Holstein, will probably achieve “100% renewable electricity” sometime this year. That is, its clean energy production will be able to supply all of its electricity consumption. Schleswig-Holstein has a goal to generate 300% of its electricity consumption with renewables eventually. This mostly rural area is grid-connected, so it can sell excess electricity and still use conventional power during periods when wind is not available. So why not here? Why can Germany's grid handle 100% renewable energy but the US grid cannot?"
Huge win for solar energy in Iowa—by Wee Mama: "Great news! In a setback to the regulated utility model, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that a power purchase agreement (PPA) between the city of Dubuque and Eagle Point Solar does not violate state law. Regulated utility companies had fought the arrangement, claiming to have exclusive rights to sell to customers in their service areas. Today, Iowa’s high court disagreed. After the decision was handed down, Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), released the following statement: 'This is an important milestone for solar energy in Iowa. It undoubtedly will help to jumpstart solar installations across the state, creating new jobs, pumping money into the Iowa economy and reducing pollution. But just as importantly, this is a victory for freedom of choice, affirming the right of Iowans to decide how they want to power their homes and businesses in the future. We commend the court for doing the right thing.'"
Fracking
Oklahoma experiences 7 earthquakes in 14 hours over weekend—by tmservo433: "Oklahoma had a very busy weekend, at least according to the Richter scale. The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded seven small earthquakes shaking central Oklahoma in a span of about 14 hours. The temblors are part of an increase in earthquakes across Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas that some scientists say could be connected to the oil and gas drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, and especially the wells in which the industry disposes of its wastewater. [...] While the media focuses on seven earthquakes in fourteen hours, the state could also be said to have experienced 11 earthquakes in separate regions in 48 hours. [...] Langston, just north of Oklahoma City and one of the areas of continuous fracking has been at the epicenter of earthquakes that have continued over the last few years."
CA-Gov: CREDO Action Fights Back Against Jerry Brown's (D) Attempt To Frack Long Beach—by poopdogcomedy: "Received this e-mail today from CREDO Action regarding Governor Jerry Brown (D. CA): Governor Brown is continuing to press for a California oil-fracking boom, putting public health and the climate at risk. His administration just released a revised draft of his proposed fracking regulations, which still allow a dangerous expansion of fracking in California, despite the opposition of the more than 100,000 Californians who submitted public comments opposing the first plan. We have an important opportunity to protest these outrageous pro-fracking regulations on Thursday in Long Beach, where the state is holding a public hearing about the regulations. Sign up to attend the hearing and speak out for a ban on fracking."
Keystone and Other Fossil Fuel Transportation
Long train a coming—by DWG: "The Chicago Tribune just published a series of articles on oil trains passing through Chicago in ever increasing numbers. Kudos to Richard Wronski for the fine series. [...] Thanks to the great North American oil rush, railroads are investing a ton in new rolling stock to carry crude from oilfield terminals to refineries. They need all new rolling stock because the old tanker cars had a nasty habit of going napalm upon derailment. Out of the goodness of their heart after the Lac-Megantic incineration, they will now only use lined (less likely to explode) tankers. According to the US Department of Transportation, the old cars were 'susceptible to damage and catastrophic loss of hazardous material.' The Tribune series raise some interesting issues, starting with the size of the oil-by-rail boom. Oil tanker traffic through the Chicago rail hub jumped off the charts in the past year."
Trade & Eco-Related Foreign Policy
Will We Stop Dominion's Cove Point Gas Exports in Maryland?—by mimi: "I sure hope so—We will—We should—God willing —And Gods are willing, united to not let us mess up their creation—Or do you really believe they let us get away with it ?—They won't—That's my belief. So, if you haven't heard about the Maryland Cove Point LNG facility expansion plans to export liquefied gas to Asia, you should really listen to this video, because it's the best summary explanation video you can get."
The Great Outdoors
Why Care About America's Sagebrush—by ban nock: "Prairie is without doubt America's most vulnerable ecosystem. Almost none of it is protected as are our mountains, forests, and rivers. Our Fish and Wildlife Service is considering listing a widlely occuring large bird of America's sage brush covered praries. Listing might cause considerable changes in the way we develop energy and build roads, solar farms, and other infrastructure projects. Some might wonder why bother. [...] I've often heard prairie described as 'fly over country' or heard the complaints of those unlucky enough to drive across it. One can see most of the prairie at a glance out the window of a car at 80mph, yet to truly be seen it's often necessary to stop and look for a long time."
Critters
The Daily Bucket: Snowshoe Hare July Madness (warning silly mammal photos)—by matching mole: "Good day one and all. After a fairly brutal day yesterday, this morning finds me staring out at the strait between St George Island and the Florida panhandle. I'll be here for the rest of this week while a french drain is installed in our backyard (the AC had to be disconnected). But today's bucket isn't going to discuss blue crabs, pelicans, or ospreys. [...] As I'm sure many of you are all too aware as I talked about it incessantly, I went on vacation in Washington and British Columbia in late June and early July. I asked long-time bucketeers and Washington residents OceanDiver, Milly Watt, and bwren for advice on places to go. One recommendation was to visit the Hurricane Ridge area of Olympic National Park, immediately to the south of the city of Port Angeles. [...] As I'm sure many of you are all too aware as I talked about it incessantly, I went on vacation in Washington and British Columbia in late June and early July. I asked long-time bucketeers and Washington residents OceanDiver, Milly Watt, and bwren for advice on places to go. One recommendation was to visit the Hurricane Ridge area of Olympic National Park, immediately to the south of the city of Port Angeles."
The Daily Bucket - Merlin—by
enhydra lutris: "Merlin. No, not the wizard and not the bird, but a bird app from Cornell which is perhaps a bit of wizardry. For both iOS and Android. [...] To report on and analyze the changes in our natural environment, it helps to be able to identify what we see. From beginners to advanced birders, everybody uses aids in identifying birds. This particular aid is different from most and bases its effectiveness not on its comprehensiveness, but on what it omits. Currently, it omits all but 400 North American Species. On the other hand, it is tied in to eBird in an interesting way."
What About the Elephants?—by sherman54: "Current statistics estimate that the elephant population in Africa will be extinct by the end of this decade. (The elephant population in 1980 was approx. 1.87 million. Today it is about 500,000.) [...] We must act now or the elephants will be gone! The timing is critical, for the sake of the elephants as well as others. Ivory money fueling terrorism is a threat that none of us can ignore! How did Boko Haram fund the recent kidnapping of the Nigerian schoolgirls? How did Al Shabab fund the bombing of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi last November? The illegal ivory trade continues to produce casualties, not only animal, but human as well. This is far more than a sentimental cause for these magnificent creatures...(which is enough reason for me); this is a highly sophisticated organized crime that ranks among the most heinous acts in our world today. Now, it is time to get to the war front! We must fight to stop this. My next diary will focus on how we can take the next step together!"
More birding in July - a photo diary—by boriscleto: "Not a life bird, but it was a good omen for a Scarlet Tanager to give me the best photo I have of one first thing in the morning."
Thousands of Pacific Herring entrained at Delta pumps this year—by
Dan Bacher: "One place you wouldn’t expect to see herring, a marine fish, is at the Delta water pumping facilities near Tracy. But this is a record drought, aggravated by continued water exports at the Delta pumps, resulting in a minus 45 cfs inflow into San Francisco Bay in May. One alarming indication of the increasing saltiness of the water of Delta water is the fact that a total of 1780 herring have been entrained at the Delta fish salvage facilities this year. This is the most fish since the drought of 1976 to 1977, according to Carl Wilcox, a Delta policy advisor for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife."
Is federal judge's decision a 'death warrant' for Delta smelt?—by Dan Bacher: "In major setback to Delta smelt recovery efforts, a federal judge on July 11 denied a motion by an environmental group and fishing organization for a preliminary injunction against water transfers from northern California to San Joaquin Valley irrigators. Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill of the U.S. District Court in Fresno rejected the motion for the preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from transferring water through the south Delta export pumps to the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, which includes the Westlands Water District."
Daily Bucket: Wild Florida--Ant Lions—by
Lenny Flank: "The Ant Lion is a common insect in Florida, and indeed it is found in most of the United States. But despite its wide range and common distribution, most people have never seen the actual insect. Instead, we know it by the conspicuous cone-shaped traps that it makes, often in large groups, in suitable flat sandy areas. The insect family Myrmeleontidae (the Latin translates literally as "ant lion") contains over a thousand different species around the world, ranging from large tropical versions to smaller types in temperate areas like Europe. We have about a hundred different species in North America. In Florida, the pit traps can often be found in bare sandy areas in lawns or city parks. They are often clustered together rim to rim, looking like a miniature moonscape. The little pits are actually the equivalent of a spiderweb--they are the tool used by the Ant Lion to catch its prey. If you use a trowel to very quickly dig up the sand underneath the pit trap, and then carefully sift through it, you will find the pit's maker. Ant Lions look like something out of science fiction (in fact, the Ant Lion was the inspiration for the alien creature that figured so prominently in the plot of the scifi movie
Star Trek III: The Wrath of Khan)."
The Oceans, Water & Drought
Lake Mead at lowest level ever—by tln41: "Drought in the southwestern U.S. will deplete the vast Lake Mead this week to levels not seen since Hoover Dam was completed and the reservoir on the Colorado River was filled in the 1930s, federal water managers said Tuesday. The lake's previous record, broken this week, was in 1956 after another persistent drought. However, there is greater demand today. The population of Los Angeles City was less than 2.5 million in 1960 and is over 3.8 million today. The problem: inflows continue to exceed outflows, with inflows 62% of what they were last year. According to a 2013 Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research study: ...found that water resources will be affected by changes in rainfall and evaporation due to climate change, putting 40 percent more people at risk of absolute water scarcity.<?i>"
Updated: Extreme Climate, Extreme Measures - the Water Problem—by xaxnar: "There's a good diary by tin41 noting that Lake Mead is at its lowest level ever. I thought I'd do a follow-up to expand on some of the points raised. It's not just there's a water shortage, it's that we have a lot more people, more demands on the water, and collapsing infrastructure. Business as usual is failing to meet the challenge. We're already into the adaptation phase - those of us who can see the writing on the wall anyway. [...] So the question is: what do we do when there is no water? The people of Wichita Falls, TX are finding out. City officials began blending 5 million gallons a day of treated wastewater into their municipal water system this week, launching one of the biggest so-called direct reuse programs in the country. While some residents in this city of about 105,000 are concerned about drinking water from a sewage treatment plant, city officials and business leaders say it was the only way to adapt to an unprecedented dry spell. The lakes that supply the city have dropped below 25 percent of their capacity."
National Parks, Forests & Other Public Lands
Gardening - The Wilderness Act Turns 50—by ban nock: "A recent op ed in the NYT suggested the Wilderness Act is Facing a Midlife Crisis. The basic idea is that some people are considering an update based on what we've learned in the fifty years since the Wilderness Act was passed. [...] The impetus for this blaspheme is that scientists now realize the natural world does not exist in a natural state of equilibrium. Wilderness as all natural places is now and always has been in a state of change, what ecologists call 'flux.' In recent decades ... several pillars upon which the act was built have eroded. One is the idea of 'naturalness,' that nature exists in some unadulterated state apart from humans. Work in paleoecology and other fields has shown that humans have shaped many of the ecosystems on the planet for thousands of years (and not always to their detriment). Research has also dismantled ideas about a stable, primeval world. Nature is always in flux."
Eco-Philosophy, Eco-Essays & Eco-Poetry
Back Country: The Odyssey of a Field Biologist—by Desert Scientist: "I grew up in southwestern Arizona and got to hike out into the desert often. In part this was because my father liked to take a Sunday drive out into the surrounding back country, often to have a picnic or to do target practice with his rifle. After I was old enough I would often wander off on my own to explore. I remember hiking into the Muggins Mountains, a wilderness of rock and canyons near Welton, Arizona, capped by the strange fortress-like peak called "Clothos' Temple." In a side canyon I discovered an abandoned hawk's nest on a ledge, a big find for a budding naturalist. Not far to the east was Texas Hill, a rocky outcrop covered with petroglyphs left by some earlier inhabitants. In other times I hiked over the Algodones Sand Dunes in California before there were sand buggies to make the hiker cautious. Occasionally I would find the strange S-shaped tracks of the sidewinder rattlesnake and in pockets between dunes sometimes desert willows in bloom with pale lavender flowers. At the old mining town of Tumco, also across the river in California, I discovered washed out graves and the remains of what was once a grand hotel."
From a Green House—by ruleoflaw: "In a green house I dithered and grew.
Soft hands and sharp elbows
shaped a head full of wonderment and worry.
In root-stained blackwater, wood frogs waited.
Under cedars, under oaks,
through ferns and trilliums, a breeze hallooed.
On the black rocks, taps and rushes of cold springs
filled my ears, flowed in my mouth.
Red dust shook down from my hair.
In a boat, on a lake full of moonrise and loon cries,
stars showered down around me,
piercing into the earth below the water.
On this red sand, on these black rocks,
water will take me into the land,
into the shadow-filled waters."
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