Vanuatans prepare for protest
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 Wednesday Spotlight can be seen here. So far, more than 19,790 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.
"We are not drowning. We are fighting."—by
boatsie: "Paddling out in hand-made canoes from Australia's Horseshoe Beach, twelve Pacific Island nations early this morning blockaded coal ships as they approached Newcastle, the world’s largest coal port. Late last night Australia time, as the small flotilla returned to shore, only four of twelve ships approaching the port, including two coal ships, had broken through their blockade. Now that is what I call an event of awesome beauty. Of heroic desperation. A poignant battle cry so primal in its power it ought to ignite a vehement, almost voracious response from around the globe.
'For 20 years we’ve asked world leaders to take action to stop polluting the atmosphere. We cannot wait longer. Now, warriors of the Pacific are rising peacefully to protect the Pacific Islands from climate change.
Our message: We are not drowning. We are fighting.'"
Momentum builds in Louisiana, the latest front in the fight against coal exports—by
Mary Anne Hitt: "In recent weeks, something amazing has been happening in the Gulf Coast of Louisiana—communities have been standing up and casting votes to ring the alarm about proposed coal export projects. As U.S. coal use has declined, mining companies are looking for a future in international markets. And while most people might think of the Pacific Northwest as ground zero for planned coal export facilities, the Gulf Coast is home to over a dozen proposed coal export terminals as well. Thankfully, as the plans to export coal through the state grow, so does the opposition from local residents.
Case in point - the small town of Gretna, Louisiana, in Jefferson Parish. This is a historic metro area of New Orleans, and it's also the site of a proposed coal export project called the RAM coal export terminal. If constructed, the facility could see some six to eight million tons of coal and refinery waste exported overseas every year (that's about six coal-fired power plants worth of coal). It would add to the dust and water pollution burden in the communities it neighbors by sending mile-long, uncovered coal trains running through historic neighborhoods, and it also threatens the state's vital coastal restoration projects."
The Daily Bucket - madrona shedding season—by
OceanDiver: "Clinging tenaciously to dry rocky bluffs, madrona trees settle into the autumn season with a flamboyant display of color. It's quite unlike the leafy shades of red that briefly decorate deciduous forests before those trees drop their foliage and subside into the colorless dormancy of winter. The bright colors of madronas come from their bark, varying and persisting throughout year, renewed each autumn by a thin outer layer falling away.
Arbutus menziesii is a lovely iconic tree that stands out in the coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, remarkable in many ways. In contrast to the telephone-pole-straight trunks typical of conifers, it grows in randomly beautiful curvaceous forms which makes each tree unique. It flourishes on rock with minimal soil and its large glossy broadleaf foliage is evergreen. Its wood and flowers and fruits are special too."
You can find more rescued green diaries below the sustainable squiggle.
Climate Chaos
Ice Loss sends Barrow Alaska's temperatures soaring.—by Pakalolo: "Analyzing 3 decades of weather data, scientists have discovered a gut wrenching rise in autumn temperatures in Barrow, Alaska. According to Climate News Network: In the last 34 years, the average October temperature in Barrow has risen by more than 7°C—an increase that, on its own, makes a mockery of international efforts to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2°C above their pre-industrial level. A study by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks analysed several decades of weather information. These show that temperature trends are closely linked to sea ice concentrations, which have been recorded since 1979, when accurate satellite measurements began. [...] In that period, the average annual temperature rose by 2.7°C. But the November increase was far higher − more than six degrees. And October was the most striking of all, with the month’s average temperature 7.2°C higher in 2012 than in 1979."
Deniers Pontificate while the Pentagon Prepares—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "In response to the Department of Defense having recently unveiled a comprehensive plan for how the U.S. Military will address climate change, deniers are insisting (as you might expect) that there are more important things for the DoD to worry about, like ISIS and ebola. The DoD, on the other hand, says climate change will 'affect [its] ability to defend the Nation and poses immediate risks to U.S. national security.' The report doesn't actually say much that's new (in the sense that climate change has been and remains a threat to U.S. security that defense strategists take very seriously). Some deniers have used the lack of "new material" as an opportunity to point to a similar report from 2004 and argue that anticipated security threats from a decade ago haven't come true. However, the projection that climate change would become a conflict catalyst has come true! If anything, the fact that security experts have been concerned about climate risks for over a decade should raise a red flag for those who have any doubt. Surprisingly, Fox News covers the story fairly straight. It offers only one denier quote from Inhofe (R-OK) who says right on cue that, "there are other, legitimate threats in the world." Because, apparently, we need to achieve world peace and the end of all diseases before we can finally get around to solving climate change."
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Bárðarbunga: Lava Flow Expanding Near The Vents; Small Quakes Increasing In Abundance—by Rei: "Here in Reykjavík, most people I talk to feel like they're starting to come down with something—myself included. Nobody is getting anything like Mývatn's 5800 µg/m³ SO2, but rather there's now a new norm in this new period of static winds wherein the pollution spreads and everyone breaths in low to moderate levels for weeks on end. It's not just in Reykjavík. It's in Ísafjörður. It's in Þórshöfn. People in the north are holding meetings about it. It's bloody everywhere. Blue is the 'In' color these days. At least I finished painting my crate, except for a bit of touchup, accent colors, magical symbols and the like. That'll keep the Mist off the steel (the paint, not the magical symbols ;) ) "
Bárðarbunga: I Am An Idiot—by
Rei: "So, yesterday I went out to my land and did some touchups on my crate. Then having another hour or two of light, I decided to do some long-overdue repairs on my windbreak. Mist—400-500 µg/m³ at the meter across the fjörd? Meh, I've been painting in the mist for hours when the meter shows a few hundred µg/m³. I get some irritated eyes, a little bit of a sore throat... 'I'll deal,' I think. So I haul some posts, nails, and my sledgehammer over to the windbreak and start pounding away to re-anchor some posts. 'Strange how easily I'm getting winded,' I think to myself, but of course I don't want to credit it to the Mist ... I'm always prone to overcompensating against the nocebo effect. But after I fix just a little section, maybe 10-15 minutes of work, it's clear that this isn't just being 'winded.' I feel like I've just run a marathon with a cold. And stopping doesn't 'catch my breath.' I reluctantly accept that I have to stop and head back to my car. Where I had a bloody gas mask that I wasn't using. Of course, it was too late for that."
Energy & Conservation
Only help was 20 hours away from drifting Russian ship close to BC's rocky coast UPDATED—by Lefty Coaster: "A Russian ship the Simushir is adrift about 25 kilometres ( 15 miles) off Tasu Sound in the Queen Charlotte Islands. The lack of a timely response points to the folly of Canada's Harper Government's plan to turn Kitimat BC into a major oil port for the Northern Gateway Tar Sands pipeline. The Council of the Haida Nation has issued an emergency alert in case the ship makes landfall, in part because the ship is reportedly carrying 470 tonnes of bunker fuel and 50 tonnes of diesel. Rescue officials say the ship is drifting parallel to the coast so there is no imminent threat of it hitting land, but the Haida Nation is calling the situation dire, saying the ship could hit the B.C. coast before help arrives. CHN President [kil tlaast’gaa] Peter Lantin said it's their worst fear coming true and casts doubt on the Northern Gateway Pipeline project's promises of world class oil tanker safety. [...] Two tugs are on their way and were supposed to arrive at 1 a.m. but because of weather will likely arrive at about 4 a.m., he said. 'We're not out of the woods yet,' said Lantin. 'Until they get on site we really don't have, you know, absolute security of this ship.'"
And Now for Something Entirely Different: Oiltanking—by hannah: "I was looking for some information on reversible multi-purpose pipelines. Well, first off, I was looking to see if there are such creatures or it was just my imagination that they exist. [...] According to the abstract: As the construction of twin pipelines transporting products in opposite directions demands large capital investments, reversible-flow pipelines arise as a promising alternative. This paper introduces a novel continuous-time formulation for the short-term operational planning of reversible multiproduct pipelines. The proposed model allows to change the flow direction as many times as needed to meet terminal demands, determining precise time instants for flow reversals. It provides the input and output schedules in a single step, and the most convenient product used as filler to push current batches out of the line. Three examples are successfully solved with much less computational effort than previous approaches."
Stunning: TransCanada Cited For Commitment to Climate Change Action—by Village Vet: "Sitting here in Nebraska, the only state opposing the Keystone XL Pipeline, I was stunned to learn that TransCanada was cited by a UK non-profit for its commitment to climate action. It made the non-profit's "A" list, one of only three energy companies to do so. More beneath the orange cloud of carbon emissions that win TransCanada an award. CDP states on its 'about us' page: CDP works to transform the way the world does business to prevent dangerous climate change and protect our natural resources. We see a world where capital is efficiently allocated to create long-term prosperity rather than short-term gain at the expense of our environment. [...] So one would think here that CDP is interested in promoting corporations across the entire range of the world economy that are truly interested in climate change and how they work to mitigate it while not tanking the economy. It lists companies across the entire economy, from Wells Fargo to Coca Cola. So how does TransCanada make the list?"
Renewables
Have a $1000 bucks to spare? Invest in Solar!—by cooper888: "What a great idea. SolarCity is offering bonds starting at $1000 each, giving regular folks a way to invest in solar energy. It’s a way for a company to build up capital to finance future expansions, particularly in its start-up years. SolarCity’s bonds will be sold in $1,000 increments, and will be available to any U.S. citizen, 18 or older, with a domestic bank account. The bonds will mature in one, two, three, or seven years, and will offer interest rates between two and four percent.
By giving everyday investors a stake in the energy source, solar bonds can also serve as an implicit marketing program or awareness-raiser for solar power and green policy. 'If you have some skin in the game, then you’re going to want [solar] to succeed in the same way as when you invest in a stock, you want that stock to be successful,' Amy Davidsen, the U.S. executive director of The Climate Group, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote clean energy technology, told The Guardian. '[This] will include supporting policies to help support clean energy.'"
Fracking
Coal CEO Robert Murray Unearths Lease from Aubrey McClendon’s New Fracking Company—by Steve Horn: "DeSmogBlog has obtained a copy of a sample hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') lease distributed to Ohio landowners by embattled former CEO and founder of Chesapeake Energy, Aubrey McClendon, now CEO of American Energy Partners. Elisabeth Radow, a New York-based attorney who examined a copy of the lease, told DeSmogBlog she believes the lease 'has the effect of granting American Energy Partners the right to use the surface and subsurface to such a great extent that it takes away substantially all of the rights attributable to homeownership.' The American Energy Partners fracking lease was shaken loose as part of the discovery dispute process in an ongoing court case pitting coal industry executive Robert E. Murray—controversial CEO of Murray Energy Corporation and American Energy Corporation—against McClendon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division. Murray brought the suit against McClendon back in August 2013, alleging McClendon committed trademark and copyright infringement by using the 'American Energy' moniker. Murray’s attorneys used the lease as an exhibit in a Motion to Compel Discovery, filed on September 8, over a year after Murray brought his initial lawsuit."
Research shows that the only positive thing about fracking is probably not true—by HoundDog: "Tom McDonnell writes in Mother Jones that This New Study Explains Why Fracking Won't Solve Climate Change Even if we solve the methane problem, shale gas alone won't save us. A new study published today in Nature "finds that natural gas is essentially useless as a climate solution unless it is buttressed by new policies that discourage carbon pollution and promote investment in renewable energy." This includes the natural gas coming from fracking. 'In the absence of policies that help natural gas play a positive role, you won't make things much better,' said Jae Edmonds, Chief Scientist at the Joint Global Change Research Institute and one of the study's lead authors. 'It's kind of a wash.' The specific outcomes vary, but all five models tell the same story: By 2050, global temperatures rise beyond the internationally agreed-upon limit of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in both the 'conventional' and 'abundant' scenarios. In other words, simply using more natural gas, even as it displaces far dirtier coal, has an almost negligible effect on climate change."
Fracking is not the answer to reducing emissions—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "Nature published a new study that finds hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, isn't going to be the answer to our energy problems. This is bad news for those who wish to see natural gas as a 'bridge' fuel to a clean energy future. The story's gotten wide coverage, with the AP, Guardian, National Journal, Discovery, and others weighing in with this inconvenient news. The study is model-based, finding that a gas boom could increase use of the fuel by 170% by 2050, which would increase overall emissions. So while some tout it as an important part of an 'all of the above' energy strategy, this study shows that despite its being cleaner than coal, natural gas is still a dirty source of energy that will not reduce emissions to the levels we need."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol. 10.34: Kiku at NYBG—by Eddie C: "This is a story about the chrysanthemum in Japanese culture and how these Japanese traditions came to be exported to the Bronx in 2007. It is also about the ancient Imperial arts of Kiku at Shinjuku Gyoen, an autumn art of Emperors that would become a living art of the Japanese people just after World War II. The chrysanthemum which has influenced western art since the 17th century has been cultivated in China going back as far as the 15th century BC. Chinese horticulturists cultivated yellow-flowered chrysanthemums as long ago as 500 B.C. and the flower has played a significant role in Chinese art for at least that long. [...] It was a Chinese philosopher who once said, 'If you would be happy for a lifetime, grow chrysanthemums.' But somewhere around the 8th century A.D. when the chrysanthemum was exported from China to Japan, the flower found an even more important role in Japanese culture. Idle speculation on my part but in 'Land of the Rising Sun' perhaps the the similarity to the sun of the simple yellow chrysanthemum played a role. [...] The Karesansui Garden probably represents the definition of Zen for many in the west. These usually dry landscapes composed of rock and raked sand are both spiritual and an abstract representation of the larger natural world. Garden designer Marc Peter Keane meant to capture the Japanese mountainsides in both autumn and winter. These outdoor displays represented an example of West meets East. Masses of chrysanthemums and river pebbles replaced the raked sand of the traditional Karesansui."
Karesansui Garden
It's World Food Day: "Feeding the world, caring for the Earth"—by
boatsie: "The importance of family farming is the theme of today's World Food Day, as international organizations collaborate to draw attention to the critical role small scale family farms play in solving world hunger and addressing global food security. Globally, 500 million of the 570 million farms worldwide are family farms, responsible for growing produce and grain, raising livestock and managing fisheries but also for harvesting non-wood forest products. 'Every year, we witness hunger’s devastating effect on families, communities and whole economies,' said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. “But despite horrific crises engulfing entire regions, we are making real progress in the fight to sustainably and durably end hunger and chronic malnutrition. Thanks to the work we do with our partners on emergency preparedness, support to family farmers, nutritional assistance—particularly in a child’s first 1,000 days—and building the resilience of communities to withstand shocks, millions of people are now better able to focus on building a future free of hunger for themselves and the next generation.'"
The Daily Bucket--Blind Ambition—by
6412093: "In the West and Pacific Northwest, many of us have experienced drier and hotter weather. Whether or not these perceived changes denote capricious weather or climate change, all creatures great and small are reacting. Continue reading below the orange racetrack of fate, for observations of the reactions from the strangest creature of them all. I refer, of course to a variant of Homo Sapiens, the onmivorous Fanatic Gardener, an invasive species who has widely settled North America over the last 522 years. In the following scarcely-believable footage, we see a pair of Fanatic Gardeners, blinded by ambition, who are actually attempting to plant dozen of herbs in the middle of October, fully six weeks after the usual passage of decent weather. Clearly the unusual weather has confused these usually-intelligent creatures, whom often construct sophisticated habitats."
Sustainability & Extinction
Unsustainable Sustainability—by John Crapper: "More and more things in our modern world are fighting against doing things in a sustained fashion. News is fed to us in sound bites. We text message in cryptic abbreviated fashion using acronyms whenever possible. We tweet in 144 characters or less. Who came up with this number? Why not make it at least 150? We are conditioned to the 24 hour news cycle where top stories come before us as breaking news and disappear into oblivion the next day. To maintain any sustained focus on an issue is becoming harder and harder. We crave sensationalism and the bizarre. We are continually fed the minute details of celebrities' lives. Our religions constantly reduce complication to simplicity and the one true way. We are fed lies with such 1984 regularity that they become truth. Oxymorons such as coal is clean, nuclear is safe and Exon and Shell Oil are green, permeate our consciousness. Environmental degradation is framed as sustainable development. In this environment it is easy to be distracted and diverted. It is easy to be unsustainable. It is easy to believe a given action is a sustainable one, when in actual fact it is unsustainable."
Eco-Justice & Eco-Activism
Nestlé Bottling Plant in Sacramento Targeted for 'Shut Down' Early Thursday—by Dan Bacher: " A coalition of water advocates said it plans to 'shut down' the Nestlé water bottling plant here early Thursday morning—the blockade could take place anytime between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.—to prevent 'further theft of millions of gallons of Sacramento water during the drought.' Activists said they will risk arrest if necessary to block the trucks going into and out of Nestlé, according to a press release. Activists will begin gathering as early as 5 a.m. Thursday/Oct. 16 in front of the Nestlé office entrance (8670 Younger Creek/Younger Creek Drive off Florin-Perkins Road to parking lot at Nestlé's office). The protest is expected to last all day, with environmentalists, Native American groups and community activists surrounding the water bottling plant."
NYS Senate: Author of Major Deregulatory Bill (S.5166) Given "Oil Slick" Award From Watchdog Group—by
Upstate Blue: "State Senator Kathy Marchione (R - Saratoga County), who serves as chairwoman of the Administrative Review Commission (ARRC) in the New York State Senate spearheaded controversial legislation (S.5166) earlier this year which proposed repealing thousands of laws and regulations, many of which are aimed at protecting public health and workforce safety. Last January, over 50 national and statewide consumer advocacy groups, including the Consumer Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, composed a letter in opposition to Marchione's legislation, titled "Don't Turn New York Into West Virginia," referencing the Elk River chemical spill that took place in West Virginia earlier this year that many blamed on weak environmental regulations. [...] While Senator Marchione is not presently known to be a member of the controversial American Legislative Executive Council (ALEC), a special interest group that develops template 'model bills' favoring corporate interests, she has maintained close ties to several special interest and lobbying groups that maintain strong connections to ALEC, including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), whose proposals Marchione last year hailed as a model for economic development in the Upstate New York region, citing figures and statistics from the Tax Foundation, another group with close ties to ALEC. [...] Now Senator Marchione's in the spotlight again for her controversial deregulatory legislation, receiving the annual 'Oil Slick' award from Environmental Advocates of New York, a statewide environmental advocacy and policy development group."
Oceans, Water & Drought
Big Oil Company Donates $250,000 to Yes on Prop. 1 campaign—by Dan Bacher: "The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) revealed today that Aera Energy LLC, a company jointly owned by affiliates of Shell and ExxonMobil, has contributed $250,000 to the Yes on Proposition 1 and 2 campaign. As of today, the total of money donated by top contributors for Governor Brown Prop. 1 and 2 campaign has risen to $8,026,015. [...] Aera Energy LLC is one of California's largest oil and gas producers, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the state's production, according to the company’s website. [...] Opponents of Proposition 1 say Governor Jerry Brown’s $7.5 billion water bond is an expensive and unfair taxpayer giveaway to special interests that won’t solve the drought or help secure our water future – and see the latest contribution as one of many by powerful corporate interests to spur the voters to approve the controversial measure. 'It allocates over $3.6 billion, without oversight by the legislature, to build dams and pay for water transfers for corporate agribusiness. Prop 1 with interest will cost CA taxpayers $14.4 billion or $360 million per year for 40 years out of our State’s general fund, money that could be used for other needs like education and healthcare,' according to the Con argument in the California Progressive Voter Guide."
"Sucked Dry: Examining Drought and Privatization from Mesoamérica to California"—by Dan Bacher: "The Beehive Design Collective's California tour is coming up, and they've got some great shows set up so far. "Stay tuned for updates and info, and help us come full-circle by getting us in touch with venues for our remaining dates," according to Ryan Camero. 'California is in the midst of a historical drought, the most severe the region has had in the last 500 years," said Camero. 'This water crisis has devastated resources, with several communities facing the prospect of running dry. A number of projects advocating infrastructure development such as the BDCP and Prop 1 have been proposed as solutions for the state, but are they truly in the interests for all? What are their impacts to our drying rivers and reservoirs? 'Fisheries and communities? Drawing inspiration from struggles against large-scale infrastructure projects throughout MesoAmerica, the Bees will take you on a visual journey touching on the local and the global struggle for control and protection of water,'" Camero said."
Forests, Wilderness & Public Lands
Whining cowboys protest BLM taking away their right to subsidized overgrazing—by akeitz: "It was a traffic nightmare for many in Washington, DC this morning as a result of protesters on horses and mule wagons. No really this is NOT The Onion. It really happened without a scintilla of awareness of the irony of it all on the part of the 'authentic cowboys' who journeyed from California across the US to DC to bellyache about the Bureau of Land Management having the audacity to limit their subsidized grazing on drought stressed land."
Glacier Park: Lake McDonald and Snyder Creek (Photo Diary)—by Ojibwa:
Log house on Snyder Creek
Expanding the National Parks System #22-Michigan—by
MorrellWI1983: "This time I'm exploring Michigan. the Great Lakes state, so-called because it touches 4 of the 5 Great Lakes, only Lake Ontario does not border Michigan. 10% of Michigan is federally owned, good for 16th in the country, and third among states east of the Mississippi River , only New Hampshire (13.4%) and North Carolina (11.8%) have more among eastern states. Michigan currently has 1 national park, 4 national forests, 8 wildlife refuges, and 8 historic sites /other NPS Units. I will be proposing giving Michigan its first national monuments."