Fresh snow on Mount Rainier
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 19,585 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.
Energy Bookshelf: Even though we must think about Climate, "Don't Even Think About It"—by
A Siegel: "George Marshall's Don't Even Think About It: Why our brains are wired to ignore climate change (first chapter in pdf) should be on the must read list for anyone concerned about communicating climate change (and -- as importantly -- who is open to reconsidering much of their thinking about what works and doesn't work). In 43 short and highly accessible chapters, Marshall lays out how we mentally are not prepared to tackle climate change and, as revealingly, how most climate 'communicators' have failed to understand how their own biases impact how they communicate and undermine their ability to convince others. [...] For example, a 'gem' from the concluding paragraph:
Climate change is a process, not an event, so it requires that we RECOGNIZE MOMENTS OF PROXIMITY that can demand attention. These may be moments of political decision-making, collective action, or generated conflict. ... the Keystone XL pipeline is a legitimate attempt to create a historic moment. Those critics who argue that the pipline will only ever be a small part of overall U.S. emissions are missing the point. Their complaint is like saying that the locations of seats at the lunch counter of the Greensboro Woolworth's or on the Montgomery buses were trifling examples of racial segregation. Sometimes the act of CREATING THE SYMBOLIC MOMENT is far more important than its overall relevance."
World has lost half of wildlife populations in 40 years says World Wildlife Fund study—by
HoundDog: "From the original report entitled, Living Planet Index, we learn additional disturbing facts.
The state of the world’s biodiversity appears worse than ever. Population sizes of vertebrate species measured by the LPI have halved over the last 40 years. The Living Planet Index (LPI), which measures trends in thousands of vertebrate species populations, shows a decline of 52 per cent between 1970 and 2010. In other words, the number of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish across the globe is, on average, about half the size it was 40 years ago. This is a much bigger decrease than has been reported previously, as a result of a new methodology which aims to be more representative of global biodiversity. Biodiversity is declining in both temperate and tropical regions, but the decline is greater in the tropics."
Wildflowers mowed down during prime blooming season.
Natural Wanderings: Big Boo-boo or Were These Wildflowers Mowed on Purpose?—by
PHScott: "Something went wrong on State Road 65 in the Apalachicola National Forest and the Florida DOT did it! One of the highlights is driving down SR-65 thru Liberty County to admire the roadside wildflowers. This area is a biological hot spot and well-known to plant enthusiasts in North Florida as well as visitors from across the country. This pdf explains a lot. Quoting:
Liberty County Fall Wildflower Self-Guided Tour on State Road 65. To protect the wildflowers along state road 65 through the Apalachicola National Forest, the Florida Department of Transportation only mows a 6 foot strip along each side of the road during the growing season. This provides a safe place to pull off the road during emergencies. Please do not use this safety strip to cruise or park when enjoying wildflowers. There are many forest roads along this route that you may pull into so you can get out and see the flowers. And here is what we saw: Mile after mile of recent mowing, from the roadside to the power poles, well beyond the specified 6' strip. And guess what - they mowed both sides of the road. Gone are 1000s of fall wildflowers during peak blooming time, and gone are the Pitcher Plants in the wetter ditches."
You can find more rescued green diaries below the sustainable squiggle.
Climate Chaos
Welcome to the Era of Climate Schizophrenia
—by ClimateBrad: "The first law of climate policy is that global warming won’t stop until we stop burning fossil fuels. As long as our policy elites attempt to address global warming while appeasing the fossil-fuel industry, all they can achieve is the appearance of insanity. We are now entering the era of climate schizophrenia. As the costs of fossil-fueled global warming grow, our leaders are accelerating the extraction of carbon reserves. President Obama is the most prominent climate schizophrenic today. His self-defeating climate policy describes global warming as an existential threat to be solved by increasing fossil fuel production. [...] Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shares Obama’s climate schizophrenia. At a recent clean-energy summit convened by Senator Harry Reid, Clinton called climate change 'the most consequential, urgent, sweeping collection of challenges we face as a nation and a world.' She then promoted increased fossil-fuel production: “Assuming that our production stays at the levels, or even as some predict, goes higher, I do think there’s a play there,” she said. 'This is a great economic advantage, a competitive advantage, for us. … We don’t want to give that up.'"
"The destruction of the earth’s environment is the human rights challenge of our time"—by VL Baker: "Iconic human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu has made a strong and moving statement for world action on climate change. Archbishop Tutu has spent his life campaigning for the oppressed. He was a major catalyst to end South African apartheid and knows that seemingly intractable situations can be moved. [...] We are already experiencing loss of life and livelihood due to intensified storms, shortage of fresh water, spread of disease, rising food prices, and the creation of climate refugees. The most devastating effects are visited on the poor, those with no involvement in creating the problem. A deep injustice. Just as we argued in the 1980s that those who conducted business with apartheid South Africa were aiding and abetting an immoral system, today we say nobody should profit from the rising temperatures, seas and human suffering caused by the burning of fossil fuels."
Heartbreaking photos from Greenland—by VL Baker: "Eric Holthaus at Slate got the exclusive from glaciologist Jason Box at the Dark Snow Project. The Dark Snow Project is a crowdfunded scientific study focusing on the causes and advancement of rapidly accumulating dark soot on Greenland glaciers. The Dark Snow Project wanted to release the findings from their summer Greenland data recovery before peer review due to the extraordinary important and timely information on Greenland glacier melting. I warn you to be prepared for the heartbreaking photos from the once beautiful Greenland landscape."
Greenland's summer ice sheet, 2014
Start with this climate model: Salt makes water boil at a higher temperature—by
Knute Heimdall: "I was pointed to this clip by a another writer here at DKos. It's the wide spectrum of climate denial in the three clips that is on display here. The candidates are asked whether government should take steps to limit climate change. But, it is also an illustration of how an abstract concept can get muddled the journalists asking the questions. If I had my way, the fantasy interview would go much differently and start in territory under much less debate."
Deniers Attack Drought and National Security Climate Connection—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "Two days ago, the Huffington Post featured an oped titled, 'How Climate Change Helped ISIS,' co-written by an attorney at John Jay's Center on Terrorism and a history professor. Jeff Dunetz wrote an article in response that has been making the rounds in the deniersphere attacking the climate connection to Syria's drought, which preceded the current conflict and contributed to the instability of the region. Dunetz begins his rebuttal with the familiar denier adage, 'I am not a climate scientist BUT,' only to claim 'it's not getting warmer' (notwithstanding the NOAA report stating the summer of 2014 was the hottest on record) and there has been 'no increase in droughts world-wide.' He then quotes Roger Piekle Jr. saying, 'It is misleading and just plain incorrect to claim that disasters associated with hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or droughts have increased on climate timescales either in the United States or globally.' Perhaps Dunetz should check out the new special issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, released the same day as the HuffPo article, which investigates the climate change connections of a variety of extreme weather events. In the studies, climate change is implicated in worsening several droughts, including Europe's hot dry summer and New Zealand's 2013 drought."
War and Global Warming—by Dovie: "I noticed that during each war from World War I through the Iraq War there were definite temperature spikes with a gradual falling off when the war ended, except with Iraq where we are still spiking because of bombing still going on. If you notice on the graph above that a spike begins around 1914 and begins to fall off about 1920. That was when WWI took place and then the cooling trend within about 2 years after the end of it. Again a spike begins around 1939 lasting till about 1948 which was the time of the beginning of WWII and three years after that. I noticed the high point of the spike is around the time of the dropping of the atomic bombs. Then in 1950 after a small dip in temp, we see another spike that lasts till about 1957 or 8 which was the beginning of the Korean War and two or three years after that when the temp began to go down again."
Watts Aims at Summit Deforestation Pledge & Misses—by ClimateDenierRoundup: 'In an attempt to obscure the success of last week's climate events in New York, Anthony Watts over at WUWT quotes a frequent guest blogger on the site, Eric Worrall, who states, 'Now that its all over, the climate spinners are already hard at work, desperately trying to reframe the New York climate shambles as a win for the environment.' However, coverage of the People's Climate March was anything but desperate—with headlines extolling the record breaking outpouring of civil society members—and the UN Climate Summit has been widely touted as a historic and successful moment in which government and business leaders made commitments and affirmed a common wish to reach an international agreement next year in Paris. Nevertheless, Watts—in what appears to be an ironically desperate attempt to reframe the Summit as a failure—zooms in on the government and business pledge to halt deforestation by 2030 calling it a 'truly empty, painless piece of spin.' According to Watts, 'Forests are already recovering worldwide, thanks to globalization, cheap energy and economic development.' These trends, says Watts, save forests by leading 'the younger generation to abandon subsistence farms hacked out of the jungle' (never mind the fact that deforestation increased rapidly in the last 50 years relative to historical rates to make land available for housing and urbanization, timber, and large scale cash crops). Suffice it to say, whether Watts likes it or not, the Summit's deforestation pledge is the kind of broad scale, multi-stakeholder initiative necessary to make substantive emissions reductions and is exactly the kind of momentum we need in the lead up to Paris."
Climate change roundup: failure to price pollution costs everyone else—by djwinfo: "Pollution is priced too low (usually free), since few governments put a fee on pollution to cover the costs of the global warming (like Hurricane Sandy that shut down Manhattan, more droughts that raise food prices, etc) that pollution causes. The big battle is pricing pollution correctly so there will be less of it and thus a chance to slow down global warming. A new report shows emissions increased by 2.3 percent last year when we need emissions to reduce, not increase. What can we do?"
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Bárðarbunga: A Song of Ice and Fire (update x1)—by Rei: "Winter is coming. Fans of Game of Thrones probably know that the land beyond the Wall is, in real life, Iceland. Film crews are nothing new to us here; this scene was filmed only about 10 kilometers from my house at Þórufoss, short from where a drilling project recently struck the hot water that'll be used to heat my home. "The Mountain" is Icelandic strongman Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, one of the world's strongest men. For scenes of rugged, frigid-looking territory, the crews turned to the Mývatn area in lieu of computer generated imagery. But Holuhraun is deeper into the highlands and colder still. And now winter is coming, and the ice and the fire meet. Join us below the fold for this snowy edition of Eldfjallavakt Those of you watching the eruption on the webcam have noticed the snowstorm that has been bearing against the cameras. Further away, it bears against the researchers and media as well. But still, they come.d."
Bárðarbunga: "We'll Just Call The Police, They'll Come Get The Body"—by
Rei: "The eruption on Holuhraun continues. Its gas continues. The quakes and subsidence in the caldera continue. The spread of the lava field continues. None of this will surprise any of our regular readers. But one thing on the other side of the world surprised everyone: the eruption of Ontake-san, Japan's second highest volcano. I last saw Ontake-san (Pronunciation: "on-tah-keh-sawn") in 2005 while on a train from Nagoya to Matsumoto, beyond the fog laying in the Kiso valley. Had I had more time, I had considered climbing it, but it was not to be. For me, it was just a quick glimpse through a break in the mist, and then it was gone. This eruption too, came and calmed in an instant. By any standard, this was a rather small explosion. Small amounts of ejected matter, a little plume, and it's down to just a moderate steam plume today. It's quite possible that magma might not even have been involved—there is talk that this might have been a phreatic explosion, a steam explosion from superheated groundwater. This would explain the main problem: why there was no warning. There was no magma on the move. No earthquakes. No closures. And a consequence, dozens are dead."
Energy & Conservation
Mary's Electric Choice—by CA148 NEWS: "Up until November of last year she paid approximately the average rate for the state. She could have paid significantly less if she had chosen lower cost suppliers. There higher rate areas of the state and Pennsylvania's version of electric choice is crafted to ensure that the elderly and poor pay higher rates. Mary has had electric power most of her life. Her second husband was in middle management with Pennsylvania Power and Light (PP&L). She knows electricity. [...] Because of new regulations she must choose an electric supplier. It is intentionally confusing, complex, and lays open the public to hoards of out of state grifters and reavers. [...] Residential customers vary greatly in resources and economic sophistication. More money can be extracted from this class by applying the time honored principle of 'We cheat the other guy and pass the savings along to you.' Overall residential rates will increase, but those with the time, resources, and knowledge can be bought off with lower than average rates while the others will be charged more."
Renewables
Solar energy could be the world's primary energy source by 2050 says IEA—by HoundDog: "The Guardian reports Solar power could be world's top electricity source by 2050, says IEA. The International Energy Agency predicts solar photovoltaics could generate 16% of the world's electricity with solar thermal energy generating an additional 11%. Solar energy could be the top source of electricity by 2050, aided by plummeting costs of the equipment to generate it, a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the West’s energy watchdog, said on Monday. IEA Reports said solar photovoltaic (PV) systems could generate up to 16% of the world’s electricity by 2050, while solar thermal electricity (STE)—from 'concentrating' solar power plants—could provide a further 11%. [...] One glaring unexplained aspect of this IEA roadmap is the lack of further solar penetration from 2040 to 2050. I'm going to look for a broader report to see what assumptions are being made about the other energy sources that constitute the remaining components of the energy mix predicted here. There may be some political aspects to this forecast worthy of footnotes."
anti-solar, in the anti-nuclear style—by doomvox: "If there was such a thing as anti-solar news written the way anti-nuclear news is, it might look like this ... Solar power advocates would have you believe that solar power is "clean", but they refuse to evaluate the entire production cycle-- no semi-conductor fabrication process is perfectly clean, and large scale production of photovoltaic cells requires very large scale semiconductor fabrication, far beyond anything needed for today's microprocessor industry. The plunging prices in photovoltaic cells that have solar power enthusiasts so excited are manufactured in China, which has notoriously weak environmental controls. A plant in China has already been shut-down due to local protests concerning massive fluoride contamination of the country-side producing a tremendous increase in rates of cancer."
Tampa International Airport goes solar!—by VL Baker: "In a collaborative venture Tampa Electric Co. and Tampa International Airport (TIA) have announced the largest utility solar installation in Tampa Bay region. To clarify the title, TIA is not going totally solar, what they are doing is installing solar PV panels on the top floor of a mega airport parking lot. Tampa Electric will build a 2-megawatt solar panel canopy on the top floor of TIA’s south Economy Parking Garage at an estimated cost of $5 million to $6 million. The airport provides the real estate for $15,000 a year and allows the utility to send the energy back to its grid. No parking spaces will be sacrificed in the installation and lots of shade will be provided with the new parking canopy; a major benefit in Florida's sun dominated weather. But the 2 megawatts — which can power up to 250 homes — is the electric company’s first foray into utility-scale solar. Tampa Electric currently produces a paltry .135 megawatts of energy from the sun."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
ON NATIONAL DAY OF MAIZE IN MEXICO, PROTECTING THE SACRED PLANT—by Adelita San Vicente Tello via Bev Bell: "Mexicans celebrated National Day of Maize yesterday, September 29, 2014, with demonstrations, marches, and expositions. Known as the Land of Maize, Mexico now imports one-third of this sacred icon and staple food, mostly from the US. A fierce battle is being waged over corn that is still grown in Mexico, with small farmers and seed sovereignty activists pitted against Monsanto and other GMO giants, the Mexican government, the US government, and the World Trade Organization. Here we have an opportunity, which is that most corn is still produced by campesinos/as [small farmers]. They still use native seeds, and they use rainwater for sowing – even though they do it in soil that is very degraded and thus produces little. We consider this small-holder production to be an opportunity, because genetic reserves are stored in the native seeds. Traditional knowledge lies within them. This is really where the alternative lies for the food production model, especially when faced with the problem of climate change."
President Obama's FDA Releases Four Food Safety Proposals—by LakeSuperior: "In today's Federal Register, the Obama Administration Food and Drug Administration released four new proposed rules for public comment. Each of the actions re-opens a comment period on selected issues on which the agency has previously issued proposed rules in 2013. Each individual rule addresses features of the food safety system for both humans and animals. Each of the proposed rules is also an amendment to a previous proposed rulemaking carried out in 2013. FDA now asks for public comment on certain revisions of all of the rules. The comment deadline on all four rules is December 15, 2014."
Food Fight—by Robocop: "The EPA did a review of DPA in 1998 (rules dictate testing should be done every 15 years), and did find a small quantity of nitrosamines on apples. The EFSA wanted more information on what happens when DPA breaks down, and the apple industry responded with a study that 'detected three unknown chemicals on DPA treated apples that were greater than 50 parts per billion, but couldn’t determine if these chemicals were nitrosamines.' Given that no more information was available, the EFSA reacted by stating that a conclusion that DPA is not harmful is 'based on incomplete and inadequate safety data compiled by the produce industry.'"
Eco-Related Candidacies, DC & State Politics
"You're doing black people a disservice by registering them to vote."—by RLMiller: "Words fail. Yes, that's what the Climate Hawks Vote organizer was told in woefully segregated Benton Harbor, Michigan. We've endorsed Paul Clements, challenging Fred Upton in southwest Michigan, and Gary Peters for Senate in Michigan, and we're registering voters in Benton Harbor. Sometimes our organizer runs into truly asinine people, like the one who thinks she's doing black people a disservice by registering them to vote."
Fred Upton's voter shenanigans. Is he that desperate?—by RLMiller: "Climate Hawks Vote has endorsed Paul Clements, challenging Fred Upton in Michigan's 6th District. A number of voters in Benton Harbor (yes, that Benton Harbor of emergency manager fame) have received mailers that, to put it kindly, blur the distinction between official mailings and campaign advertisements. [...] Note: the PO Box address is associated with Upton For All Of Us. The envelope contained two pieces of paper. The first is an official absentee ballot application. The second, from Upton For All Of Us, asks: 'Can I count on your absentee ballot vote in the general election?' It goes on and on with the usual rant against President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and 'burdensome regulations that are hurting our southwest Michigan economy.'"
Occidental Petroleum Dumps ALEC—by ManfromMiddletown: "It's a bad time to be a right wing front. Last week, a group of tech companies including Yelp, Google, Facebook dropped their membership in ALEC. After a spectacular takedown of the group's position on climate change by Google's CEO, ALEC shot back. Clever as they may have though maligning a former corporate member to be, it looks like ALEC end succeeded in shooting itself in the foot. Earlier today, news broke that Occidental Petroleum was leaving ALEC: Occidental Petroleum sent a letter Friday to an investment-management company indicating its intention to sever ties with ALEC, a conservative coalition of state legislators and major corporations that actively opposes environmental regulations. 'There are no plans to continue Occidental's membership in, or make further payments to, ALEC,' the company said in a letter to Walden Asset Management obtained by National Journal. Occidental declined to comment on the letter [...] But Occidental's letter notes a concern that it could be 'presumed to share the positions' on global warming and regulations to limit air pollution from the nation's fleet of power plants held by organizations of which the company is a member, such as the Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute, the largest trade association for the oil and gas industry."
Major US oil and gas company leaves ALEC!—by VL Baker: "You read that right! Emily Atkins at Think Progress/Climate shares the news that the fourth largest US oil and gas company Occidental Oil and Gas is feeling the climate change backlash. In a letter to its investment manager obtained by National Journal, Occidental Petroleum said it has “no plans” to continue supporting the group. The company said it determined that there are “other associations at the state-level that provide equal or greater value” than ALEC. It also cited concerns that it could be “presumed to share the positions” of other ALEC members, like the American Petroleum Institute and the Chamber of Commerce, on climate change and EPA regulations."
Eco-Essays and Eco-Philosophy
The Trees are Turning—by Steven D: "Sorry I don't have any pictures to put up (I am photography challenged), but our trees have started to turn here in western NY. The reds always appear first, and some few oranges, too. Its a very lovely time of year. Having lived out in the arid West for so long, all the vegetation was quite a shock to me when my wife and I moved back east sixteen years ago, but what was most striking were all the trees, which grow in such abundance here, so many that the farmers consider saplings weeds. Such things remind me that all is not wrong with our world, and that we, individually and as a species, are only passing through, part of a long parade of life on earth. It also helps me stay calm in the face of so much bile and anger in our society, and so much injustice. Outrage dominates America these days, though what one is outraged about very much depends on where you stand on the political spectrum. I believe that what underlies that outrage, however, is the knowledge among most people that things have gone terribly wrong. Most of us have lost the idea that our live and the lives of those we love, will continue to improve."
The (Al) Gorification of Neil deGrasse Tyson—by RASalvatore: "The people over at The Federalist are on a mission from Go...err, Koch. They are out to destroy Neil deGrasse Tyson. Why? Well, The Federalist is one of those octopus tentacles in the echo chamber, reaching forth as a new voice with credentials (from all the same old voices of the chamber). The founders are from a place you might have heard of before - the Heartland Institute. Tyson has become a star, mostly because of his ability to engage a layman into the wonders of science and intellectualism, and also, for people like me, because he has been very blunt and straightforward, concise and instructional, on the data, implications and science of Anthropogenic Global Warming. He must be stopped. [...] Tyson is poking two big bears: the fossil fuel industry and Christian fundamentalists. This isn't going away until his name becomes synonymous with charlatan."
Oceans, Water & Drought
Lower Great Lakes Algae Imagery Yesterday from NASA—by Lake Superior: "This NASA MODIS Instrument Aqua Satellite platform imagery of the lower Great Lakes, taken yesterday (09/29/2014), shows an interesting image of transport and occurrence of algae/phytoplankton. [...] Upon circulating this link to Great Lakes lists, the researchers at the the Michigan Technological University in Houghton at the Harmful Algal Bloom Mapping, Water Quality, and Public Health project contacted me noting their observation of the same images from yesterday. That project is part of the Great Lakes Observing Network."
Brown Proclaims “Water Is Sacred” As He Promotes Tunnels—by Dan Bacher: "While members of Indian Tribes across the state gathered to celebrate the 47th “Annual Native American Day” at the State Capitol in Sacramento, Governor Jerry Brown issued a proclamation declaring Friday, September 26, 2014, as 'Native American Day' in California. The press release announcing Brown’s proclamation stated, “The theme of this year’s celebration at the Capitol is ‘Water is Life, Water is Sacred.’ Many at the event noted the irony of the 'Water is Life, Water is Sacred” theme at a time that the Governor is promoting the destruction of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and Chinook salmon, a fish that is sacred to many Tribes, through the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build the peripheral tunnels.'"
Update: Proposition 1 opponents to Hold Mock Reception in Front of Resnicks' Mansion—by Dan Bacher: "Proposition 1 would allocate up to $3.6 billion of taxpayer money to secure more water for corporate agriculture interests. On Thursday, October 2, Food & Water Watch, the Southern California Watershed Alliance, and dozens of Los Angeles residents will hold a press conference and rally in opposition to Proposition 1, the $7.5 billion water bond on the November ballot. The event, featuring a 'mock reception,' will be held outside the Beverly Hills mansion of Stewart Resnick, a corporate agribusiness tycoon who owns Paramount Farms and controls vast amounts of California’s water. The rally will highlight that Proposition 1 unfairly allocates up to $3.6 billion for new dams and water transfers for corporate agribusinesses such as Resnick’s Paramount Farms and should be rejected by voters."
Stanford scientists link California's drought to climate change—by Walter Einenkel: "The atmospheric conditions observed during California's drought have been linked to human generated climate change. This all according to new study published today: In a new study, a team led by Stanford climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh used a novel combination of computer simulations and statistical techniques to show that a persistent region of high atmospheric pressure hovering over the Pacific Ocean that diverted storms away from California was much more likely to form in the presence of modern greenhouse gas concentrations. The research, published on Sept. 29 as a supplement to this month's issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, is one of the most comprehensive studies to investigate the link between climate change and California's ongoing drought. [...] The exceptional drought currently crippling California is by some metrics the worst in state history. Combined with unusually warm temperatures and stagnant air conditions, the lack of precipitation has triggered a dangerous increase in wildfires and incidents of air pollution across the state. A recent report estimated that the water shortage would result in direct and indirect agricultural losses of at least $2.2 billion, and lead to the loss of more than 17,000 seasonal and part-time jobs in 2014 alone."
Critters & the Great Outdoors
Hickory tussock moth
Daily Bucket - A Walk in the Park—by
Attack Gardener: "Fall is coming to the Northeast. Now's the time to take walks and leaf-peep, admire the late flowers and generally feel the pleasant melancholy of the changing season. [...] We are blessed with a lovely town park not 10 minutes from our house. It fronts on the Mohawk River and has acres of woods, a pond with a covered bridge and a small dog park. That is, the dog park is small—it's not just for small dogs. ;) Gracie [the Wonder Pug] loves the park and gets ridiculously enthusiastic when we tell her we're going. Google 'screaming pug' and you'll have some idea of the cacophony we experience. Our park is set up for people. It is not a wildlife or nature sanctuary by any means. The town pool is located inside its borders along with the local Little League fields, a boat launch, a large playground for children (and adults, if they are so inclined) and a huge pavilion for parties. You might think a place so dedicated to human activity would be lacking in natural appeal but, if you know where (or how) to look, it can be full of wild life."
Daily Bucket: The Moth on My Wall—by
Lenny Flank: "A little while ago I was walking out of the store after grocery shopping when I just happened to see a very large dead moth on the sidewalk. Since it was in perfect shape, with all the legs and both antennae (the only damage being a notch taken out of one wing, probably by a bird, but that's not what killed it), I decided to keep it and mount it. So I carefully picked it up and put it inside a little box that I picked out of a nearby trash can and slipped it into a pocket on my backpack to take home. Here's what it looks like (the wingspan is about six inches, and when I found it the wings were overlapping quite a bit): I am pretty sure it's a Polyphemus Moth (
Antheraea polyphemus), but would very much welcome a correction to that if necessary, before I label it. Since it was already dried out and desiccated, I had to rehydrate it in a "relaxing box" so I could move the wings to a good position for mounting without breaking them. Since I spent much of my childhood collecting bugs, I knew how to do this, and improvised a relaxing box at home from a Tupperware container and a couple damp paper towels."
The Daily Bucket: Preparing for winter on the mountain—by Elizaveta: "I spent yesterday up at Mt. Rainier showing a friend who's not from around these parts one of my favorite places. The weather was brilliant--meaning we had some clear views of the mountain, but the clouds were constantly on the move. We could be in warm sunshine one minute, and covered in a dense fog the next. Few sightings of wildflowers, brightly colored foliage, and new snow on top all signal that winter is coming to the mountain. We came across some of the locals getting ready for a winter on in one of the snowiest places on earth. Follow me along the path from Paradise for more. [...] The locals. Specifically, the marmots. Even more specifically, hoary marmots that live in the meadows below the mountain."
Glacier Park: McDonald Creek—by
Ojibwa:
McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park.
35,000 Walrus Agree: The Koch Brothers Are A Nightmare—by
Retroactive Genius: "You know that 'global warming' stuff that, according to the Koch brothers (one of the major contributors to the phenomenon) isn't happening? Well...it is:
An estimated 35,000 pacific walrus have been spotted ashore on a beach in north-west Alaska. Unlike seals, the mammals cannot swim indefinitely and are now coming ashore in record numbers as they struggle to find sea ice for resting in the Arctic. And what is causing the disappearance of the ice that the walrus have been depending on for about 2.5 million years? Benghazi...probably. Or maybe not:
Pacific walrus spend winters in the Bering Sea. Females give birth on sea ice and use ice as a diving platform to reach snails, clams and worms on the shallow continental shelf. As temperatures warm in summer, the edge of the sea ice recedes north. Females and their young ride the edge of the sea ice into the Chukchi Sea, the body of water north of the Bering Strait. In recent years, sea ice has receded north beyond shallow continental shelf waters and into Arctic Ocean water, where depths exceed two miles and walrus cannot dive to the bottom."
Governor signs Chesbro bill to protect fisheries from ‘frankenfish’—by Dan Bacher: "Salmon and steelhead face a lot of problems in California, ranging from the state and federal mismanagement of northern California reservoirs during the record drought to the Governor's plan to build two giant peripheral tunnels under the Delta, but one challenge they won't face here is the threat posed by the commercial hatchery production, cultivation or stocking of transgenic salmonids, or 'frankenfish.' That's because Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill, AB 504, by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) that protects California’s native salmon and steelhead by banning the commercial production of genetically altered (transgenic) non-native salmon. A big round of applause goes to Assemblymember Chesbro for sponsoring this bill, as well as being one of two lonely Legislators who voted against the $7.5 billion water bond this year. Chesbro also showed a lot of courage by holding two legislative hearings in 2011 regarding the myriad of problems that Indian Tribes, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen and grassroots environmentalists had with the privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative to create so-called 'marine protected areas' on the North Coast and South Coast."
The Daily Bucket - First Fall White Crown here—by enhydra lutris: "OK, it is Tuesday September 30, 2014 at 10:00 am in Castro Valley, CA, and I espy a White Crowned Sparrow in my platform feeder. It is the first fall White Crown of the year here. I also note that there is not yet a daily bucket. Since buckets exist to indulge in phenology and track the recurrence of annual events, this seems to me to be serendipitous, so here we go ... "
The Politics of Animal Cruelty—by brasch: "Pennsylvanians can still butcher, braise, and broil their pet cats and dogs because a murky mixture of politics has left a critical bill on the table in the state senate. Residents may also continue to use cats, dogs, and other animals as targets for what some erroneously call 'sporting events.' Although there are no documented cases of cats and dogs being thrown into the air at these shoots, there is a long history in Pennsylvania of pigeon shoots. Pennsylvania is the only state where such shoots occur legally. The remaining shoots are in the southeastern part of the state, in Berks and Bucks counties near Philadelphia. However, this past week, an undercover investigator for SHARK, an animal rights group, documented a pigeon shoot in Oklahoma to provide campaign funds for Sen. James Inhofe (R). About 1,000 pigeons, according to SHARK, were thrown into the air a few yards from the shooters."
Dawn Chorus: Pelagic Cormorant breeding colony—by OceanDiver: "You could say I'm a bit obsessive about Pelagic Cormorants. Besides being lovely graceful creatures there are also a lot of intriguing conflicting aspects in their story which I've been trying to understand since I started paying attention to them a few years ago. When I suggested doing an account of this one bird, lineatus encouraged me with the observation that focusing on a single species is a way to get to know it well. But while I can watch these birds at close range for months, there are parts of their life unknown to me. So this is a peek into their lives rather than a comprehensive portrait. For example, it's only during the breeding season I see these cormorants. Being seabirds—and strictly marine unlike the more common Double Crested Cormorants—they live out on the ocean which is mostly inaccessible to me as a terrestrial creature except during the half of the year when they come to the ferry dock. They also spend much of their life underwater, invisible to me. [...] The males dive for seaweed which they bring back for building the nest. Sometimes they burst from the water and instantly spread their wings for flight. They keep wings tightly closed for streamlined swimming under water."
Forests, Wilderness & Public Lands
Federal Judge Nixes Grand Canyon Mining—by Land of Enchantment: "The action was taken by the Interior Department under Ken Salazar, but the industry challenged it: Mining industry groups say a ban on the filing of new hard rock mining claims near the Grand Canyon is irresponsible public policy, but the federal government and conservationists say it will protect water flowing through the canyon from potential contamination. The issue is crowding to the edge of the Grand Canyon National Park with large scale mines. The U.S. District Court in Phoenix has just ruled, earlier today. It's not made the newspaper yet, only a few activist groups have posted the news so far, so it's not even "hot off the presses" quite yet. The ban was adopted January 2012 to protect the Grand Canyon’s watersheds. The withdrawal prohibits new mining claims and development on old claims that lack 'valid existing rights' to mine."
Grand Canyon, viewed from near Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim
Adirondack Water Colors in the Fall (photo diary)—by
jbob: "I took this kayak and train trip again on Sunday 9-28-2014. Unlike the other times I've gone when it has been in the mid 40's with rain showers, this time it was warm with sunshine. Unfortunately there are no train photos from this trip. I slipped on a wet rock getting out of the kayak and the camera went swimming. Here are some photos I captured."
Miscellany
California bans plastic grocery bags—by ybruti: "Yesterday, the Governor of California signed into law Senate Bill 270, which will prohibit grocery stores, drugstores, and convenience stores from providing single-use plastic bags for their customers. It will first go into effect in large grocery stores next year in July, and to encourage people to use their own bags, stores will be required to charge a minimum of 10 cents each for paper and other kinds of bags. This is the first state-wide ban on single use plastic bags in the U.S. But such bans are not new in many parts of the state. 127 California cities and counties have already developed their own plastic bag ordinances, and where there are no local policies, supermarkets have led the cultural change with signs like: 'Did you remember your reusable bag?' Some even offer a 5 cent discount if we use our own bags. The new 10-cent charge for a bag will be a strong incentive for people to use their own bags. An article in the Guardian: No more 'paper or plastic': California adopts strict new law on grocery bags emphasizes that new businesses making reusable bags will be encouraged by the ban. In fact, the state will help plastic bag producers in California to make the switch, thus saving the jobs of approximately 1800 employees. $2m in grants will be available for in-state plastic bag producers so that they can change to manufacturing reusable bags."
Legendary Texas Ranch For Sale; More Than Money At Stake—by xaxnar: "Putting aside the historic, cultural, and political aspects of the sale for the moment, there's the environmental impact to be considered. That's a vast amount of land that's essentially been under one ownership for over a hundred years. There's a phrase "stewardship of the land" which this 1980 manifesto from Catholic Rural Life spells out nicely. While rooted in theology, it aligns well with social and sustainability principles, as this excerpt shows. The land’s benefits are for everyone. The land is given by God for all people, not just for those who hold civil title to it. The land is God’s gift for present and future generations of humanity. As the earth’s finite resources are used, provision must be made for people’s future needs. The consumption patterns of the present generation must be adjusted so that future generations might also partake of the land’s bounty."