See Attack Gardener's post.
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) normally appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The most recent Saturday Spotlight can be seen here. More than 22,910 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.
Getting some Honey Badger Wine: Geoinformation approaches to tracking down wildlife poachers—by
annieli: "Ultimately the elimination of cultural folk ideologies on the capitalist demand side should stop the illegal harvesting of wildlife. That such conspicuous consumption still motivates unsustainable practices cannot be minimized in its globally immoral turpitude. Moral suasion seems far too timid in the abuse of complex global economic trade relationships and infrastructure and the demands for serious policy solutions should become paramount, as they perpetuate premodern barbarity and ignorance in the modern name of wretched excess. But without knowing exactly what’s going on, wildlife agencies and researchers can’t stop these killings. So Nikkita Patel turned to HealthMap, a tool the Boston Children’s Hospital created 10 years ago.The tool searches multilingual news aggregators and forums for media reports, parsing them for relevant keywords. It was already tuned to the wildlife trade, in part because animals can be vectors for disease spread. HealthMap records the key information in each article, such as the location of the reported illegal transaction, and keeps a tally of the number of individuals from each species traded."
Jeb Bush takes a shot at Pope Francis on Global Warming & addressing Inequality—by
Lefty Coaster: "Jeb Bush a Catholic took a couple of preemptive shots at Pope Francis' Encyclical that due for its official release on Thursday. Jeb Bush calls out Pope Francis on climate change. 'I hope I’m not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home, but I don’t get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope,' Bush said. 'And I’d like to see what he says as it relates to climate change and how that connects to these broader, deeper issue before I pass judgment. But I think religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting in the political realm.' Bush isn't about to leave such a lucrative decision to the Pope or the overwhelming scientific consensus. He knows better. He has to adhere to GOP Free Market über alles orthodoxy."
You can find more excerpts from green diaries below the orange spill.
Climate Chaos
Water is Life; Denial is Death—by Xaxnar: "That Climate Change is upon us should not be something treated as a mere political issue, one that falls along party lines. Quite simply, if the weather is changing as the climate shifts, if established weather patterns are disrupted or are morphing into something new, that has real world consequences. And as far as 'IF' goes, it no longer applies. It's happening. Where we live, how we live, the crops we grow, the infrastructure we build, all that is based on a certain set of assumptions about the climate: how much rain will fall and when; how hot/cold it will get and when; whether there will be floods, blizzards, hail... When those assumptions are no longer valid, when those with the responsibility for making decisions based on them fail to see what's happening, when the people who depend on those decisions do not pay attention ... chaos is in the works. In the U.S. we are increasingly aware of the California drought and the lack of snow cover. The people of Massachusetts got a hard lesson last winter of what happens when the jet stream shifts and snow doesn't stop falling. Texas has had a huge chunk taken out of the drought there - at the cost of massive flooding. The Midwest and the East are experiencing severe storms with ridiculous amounts of lightning, rainfall, and tornadoes. Violent, extreme weather at unpredictable intervals is becoming the new normal - and it's global."
Global Temperatures Soaring: 2015 starts off the top of the chart & El Nino is just warming up—by FishOutofWater: "2014 was the warmest year in global climate records but 2015 is on track to be significantly warmer than 2014. The first 5 months were the warmest on record and global models are predicting a super El Niño that could be the strongest ever measured on record or by paleoclimate proxies. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology just released a stunning compilation of forecasts from a range of global models. The consensus of models forecasts that this will be a super El Niño with water temperatures in the equatorial central Pacific of greater than 4.5°F (2.5°C) above normal. NOAA's CFS model forecasts that abnormally warm waters will spread across the southern hemisphere. Moreover, the deep mass of much warmer than normal water in the Gulf of Alaska dubbed "the blob" will expand to cover the whole far north Pacific. Exceptionally warm water off of the coast of New England will continue to affect east coast weather. Extraordinarily warm global sea surface temperatures forecast for this summer and fall will bring on even hotter temperatures in the second half of 2015 than the first half. If the models are correct 2015 temperatures will spike far above 2014."
Pontiff going #UFC on #Climate Change/#ScienceDenial—by
A Siegel: "This Thursday, the Vatican will release the Papal Encyclical 'Laudato si’, on the care of our common home.' Pope Francis' decision to take such a serious stance on climate change (on the need to take action seriously to protect our common heritage, to protect the poorest among us, and to protect our common future) could have a dramatic impact on the global political dynamic. And, by entering the fray, Pope Francis is taking on serious adversaries and creating serious foes. This preview captures the situation in a compelling manner. [...] Within the U.S. political context, Catholics are generally more inclined to see Climate Change as a serious issue and something meriting action. The Encyclical should only strengthen that."
"No longer a Scientist" Francis—tells us a Thing or Two about Science—by jamess: "Well, since Republican Candidates feign ignorance, everytime someone asks them their position on human-caused Climate Change—maybe they finally have another 'Non-Sciency' role model, that they can borrow a few pointers from ... Pope Calls Global Warming a Threat And Urges Action. “Laudato Si’ ” is addressed not only to Catholics but to “every person who lives on this planet,” the pope wrote. In it, the pontiff related ecological concerns to his signature theme of economic justice, especially the gap in wealth between the global north and south. In the draft, the pope wades into the debate over climate change, writing of a “very consistent scientific consensus that we are in the presence of an alarming warming of the climactic system.' He [Pope Francis] writes that there is an 'urgent and compelling' need for policies that reduce carbon emissions, among other ways, by 'replacing fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.'"
PopeForPlanet: The Encyclical June 18—by boatsie: "In an unprecedented papal encyclical, Pope Francis is calling for a economic and ethical revolution to wage battle against climate change. The letter to the world's 1.2 billion Catholics will be released in five languages on Thursday, June 18 and will expound upon the link between economics, poverty, and ecological destruction. 'An economic system centered on the god of money needs to plunder nature to sustain the frenetic rhythm of consumption that is inherent to it. I think a question that we are not asking ourselves is: isn’t humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature? Safeguard creation because, if we destroy it, it will destroy us. Never forget this.” (Pope Francis, October 2014 from The Global Catholic Movement, The Universal Common Good: Our Common Home). This Papal Encyclical, entitled Laudato Sii (Praised be to you), is the second released by Pope Francis. His first, Lumen Fideii, The Light of Faith, was primarily authored by Pope Benedict XIV."
Attacking the Encyclical One Tweet At A Time—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "The pope's encyclical on climate change was leaked a few days before the formal release, and deniers and delayers alike have flocked to Twitter to voice their criticisms. For example, Mike Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute, known for its techno-optimism (or "egomodernism") ranted about how, in his view, the encyclical warns against the perils of technology, wealth and cities. In his tweets, Shellenberger defends greed, suggests that the Pope is a hypocrite for condemning wealth despite the Vatican's riches, claims St. Francis (whose name the pope chose for his regnal name) would be the opposite of Pope Francis, and suggests that the Pope visit the Congo to see what a world that followed the encyclical's advice would be like. This prompted a tweet pointing out that the Pope has already been to the Congo. Shellenberger's most arrogant tweet, though, is probably the one where he accuses Pope Francis of blasphemy. Overall, it's a pretty embarrassing outpouring from Shellenberger. However, Shellenberger's tirade was not nearly as bad as the tweets from Steve Milloy. Milloy, of JunkScience.com, is a former communications executive for Murray Energy, one of the largest coal companies in the world We don't know for whom he's working, but given his history of undisclosed punditry-for-hire, odds are he's not collecting unemployment checks and advocating for fossil fuels just for fun."
False Prophets of Profit Want Pope Francis to Sit Down and Shut Up—by Nathan Fields: "The pope's decision to address climate change has caused a backlash from American conservatives. Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and also allegedly a devout Catholic, said earlier this month that Pope Francis should be "leaving science to the scientists.' The pope actually does have a background in chemistry, not to mention the backing of the overwhelming majority of climate scientists who insist that human activity is causing drastic climate change. But nevermind all that: Santorum insists he is more qualified than the pope to address climate change, despite no scientific background of his own, because he is a politician! Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who is unbelievably the chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, was even more blunt, arguing that 'the pope ought to stay with his job, and we'll stay with ours.' Ironically, it is Inhofe who has repeatedly strayed away from his job to make a flimsy religious case against the scientific facts of climate change, arguing through a radical misinterpretation of the Bible that God directly controls the climate and humans can't change it either for better or for worse. While Santorum thinks he's better qualified to address science than the pope, apparently Inhofe believes he is better qualified to address religion and biblical interpretation than the pope."
What Are the Odds that Heartland Believes Itself?—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging the Heartland Institute to stand behind its claim that global warming has stopped. They've issued a $25,000 Climate Challenge, promising to donate $25,000 to a science education nonprofit of Heartland's choosing if the 30-year average global land surface temperature fails to set a new record in 2015, as well as every year thereafter. It's important to note that the 30-year average means that this is about climate, not weather. The challenge isn't just taking into account whether or not it's a record hot year, but whether the larger (climatic) trend continues. In essence, CSI is making a point about Heartland's misleading attempts to portray warming in terms of 15-year "pause" instead of a climatically relevant 30-year trend. CSI got significant press last December when they issued a letter to media to stop calling deniers 'skeptics,' perhaps thanks to high-profile signatories like Bill Nye and Richard Dawkins. Attention over this challenge will likely rely on what sort of response Heartland provides. Will they stand by their 'no warming talking points and take the bet? Or will they admit their claims are dishonest by refusing?"
Short, funny video on climate change and recent water impacts—by Dont Just Sit There DO SOMETHING: "Looking for a way to keep up with climate news and findings that won't crush your soul*? Look no further than our latest Don't Just Sit There - Do Something! video! This one covers water cycle impacts -floods, blizzards, droughts- with a generous splash of good humor. We also give a summary of recent international news, and easy actions you can take to make a difference! The series is created and produced by Communitopia."
Heartland's Last Stand?—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "We weren't going to write about the second day of Heartland's conference on climate change, unless something new came up. Just as we expected, like the first day, it was the same regurgitation of denier hits from the usual suspects. But something mentioned by James Taylor made our ears prick up—this might just be the last of Heartland's annual climate conferences. While lavishing praise on his boss, Heartland President Joe Bast, who was unable to attend, Taylor mentioned that Bast has indicated that this 10th conference would be the last. Apparently, it takes a lot of time to pull together two days of back-patting and self-promotion. Though after announcing that this is the last conference, Taylor said he'd try and change Bast's mind, asking the audience to applaud to show how important it is to them. So don't be surprised if Heartland is just teasing its audience before passing around the collection plate."
Critters & the Great Outdoors
The Daily Bucket - The Snakes Keep Coming—by
foresterbob: "Snakes tend to be elusive. They are not known for holding still for pictures. Until recently, my collection of snake pics included more blurry shots than clear ones. Things have changed. Not long ago, a black rat snake was the subject of this diary. While that snake was in custody, and during its release, I got some close-up shots. I expected that to be a one-time event, but it seems that my homestead has become Rat Snake Central. Last Thursday afternoon, I had just posted a comment about snakes in this Daily Bucket by 6412093, who also goes by the more easily remembered nickname Redwoodman. After commenting, I decided to wander around my yard, where I quickly came upon a large rat snake tangled in the netting that I had placed around a tomato plant. It was the only plant in the entire yard with netting, and the snake had found it. [...] The entire rescue probably took 10 or 15 minutes. There were minor setbacks when the snake began to slide forwards or backwards, entangling itself even more. Eventually the last strand yielded. You'd think that the snake would have seen enough of me, and would have bolted for the woods. Instead, it went straight for my house, slipped around the corner, and disappeared under the concrete steps at my front door."
Tide Pools of Manele Bay—by se portland: "When we went to Maui we took a day trip to snorkel in the still mostly health coral off the shore of the Island of Lanai. The sail boat tour included a picnic lunch at the Holopoe Beach at Manele Bay. I tried to get people to join me on my walk along the lava rocks on the left of the bay, but no one would bite. I can't blame them, the beach on the perfect horseshoe-shaped bay is beautiful. There are worst ways to spend an afternoon. But I was determined to take a walk along the lava rocks on the left side of the bay ..."
The Daily Bucket: Spring in St Joe Bay—by
matching mole: "I've posted several diaries before documenting snorkeling trips to the sea grass community in St. Joe Bay in the Florida Panhandle. Most of our trips have been in late summer/early autumn, largely because we originally started going in conjunction with a grad student class that had a field trip at that time. We've also gone a bit earlier in the spring (once). On the recommendation of a marine grad student we decided to try going in late spring - he suggested that there would be a lot of activity at that time. It was an excellent suggestion. The first thing we noticed were these sea hares,
Aplysia sp. I've only seen a single individual at this location once before and there were young ones (smaller than my baby finger) scattered through the sea grass and across the sand. Some were crawling and some were 'flying' through the water."
The Daily Bucket : A gathering of eagles—by
Wood Gas: "A few days ago, eagles started showing up in the trees around my house. I counted 14 the first afternoon. Several individuals are depicted in the next few pictures."
Dawn Chorus: Wood Duck Open Thread—by
matching mole: "Welcome to Dawn Chorus. This is an open thread and all comments and images related to birds are welcome. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Without further ado here are some images of wood ducks from Wakulla Springs State Park from about three weeks ago. Wood ducks were, until recently, the only regularly breeding native duck species in north Florida. Black-bellied whistling ducks have moved north and now also breed in the area."
The Daily Bucket - Tables Turned!—by
Attack Gardener: "As I've mentioned a few times lately, we seem to be having an exceptional year with birds. All our nest boxes were used and we counted at least 6 regular nests somewhere on our little one acre property. I am absolutely certain there are more nests in the pines on the property line but I haven't been able to pinpoint them. Our feeders are emptied on a regular basis and I've been heckled by woodpeckers for not keeping up with the peanuts. This abundance naturally draws predator birds who believe I have set up a feeding station for them, too. I do nothing to discourage them. They are as welcome at our home as the wrens and chickadees. Fortunately for the little birds, they are not common visitors but we do find the odd pile of mourning dove feathers or clump of rabbit fur. [...] The most common of these visitors in my yard are the red-tailed hawks. I have seen them mating in the spring out in the woods bordering our land and watched the young ones chasing the parents around, begging, with those strange squawking cries. The adults are magnificent birds, easily identified by the red tail that gives them their name. The young ones are sometimes a little harder to identify as their tails don't turn red till they are grown."
The disappearing Joshua trees of Joshua Tree National Park—by
Susan Grigsby: "In April of this year, a small group of scientists from Joshua Tree National Park and the University of California Riverside's Center for Conservation Biology, joined by volunteers from Earthwatch, spread out across the national park to count and measure the plants, insects, reptiles, and animals they found within each of the 27 22-acre plots. They were looking to create a baseline against which the future death of desert species can be measured. Why? Because the modeling done thus far indicates the possible loss of 90 percent of the habitat of Joshua trees within the national park named after them. It is getting hot out here. [...]If you have ever seen a Joshua tree, you are unlikely to have forgotten this strange, slightly bizarre-looking indicator plant of the Mojave Desert. Resembling a child’s first drawing of a tree, or, to the Mormon travelers who passed through the Mojave in the 19th century, the prophet Joshua raising his arms in supplication and guiding the travelers westward. If Joshua trees are indeed raising their limbs in supplication, it would be for water. Or perhaps for an end to the drought that, if it continues, may very well wipe them out at lower elevations. But even if the drought ended tomorrow, the rapidly escalating results of man's ability to alter our planet's climate presents an even greater threat to these plants and the life they support."
Energy
Coal, Oil, Gas & Nuclear
More Fukushima Question and Answer: Why don't you measure contamination in marine algae?—by Marine Chemist: "The purpose of this diary is to address common questions related to Fukushima monitoring efforts being conducted by the Integrated Fukushima Ocean Radionuclide Monitoring (InFORM) network in the northeast Pacific Ocean and coastal waters of Canada. This diary continues a series aimed to report the results of scientific research into the impact of the Fukushima disaster on the environment. I am asked routinely why we do not measure contamination in marine microalgae, the base of the marine foodweb, given that they concentrate radionuclide contamination from Fukushima found in seawater into their cells as they grow. The extremely low levels of contamination found from Fukushima in the northeast Pacific Ocean combined with the very small amounts of microalgae present in oceanic waters make such monitoring logistically infeasible."
The world spends 10 million dollars a minute to subsidize fossil fuels—by VL Baker: "10 million dollars a minute that's 5.3 trillion dollars, more than the entire health spending of all the world's governments! The picture is becoming clear. The reason fossil fuel extractors have been able to rule the world for the last century is because they are getting away with murder, literally. There are no consequences for the destruction they have caused to the health of the planet and to the health of our species. The attention to this inequity is coming from some unexpected sources. None other than the IMF (International Monetary Fund), last century's evil boogieman, which required collateral of obedience to its strict conservative economic principals for loan assistance, is sounding the alarm."
the corporate trade promo vote, the week's oil patch data, & a followup on the Karnes county blowout—by rjsigmund: "while that was going on in DC, the number of drilling rigs operating in the US and coastal waters fell again this week for the 27th consecutive week, as working oil rigs fell by 7 to 635, and gas rigs and miscellaneous rigs each fell by one, to 221 and 3 respectively...the total active rig count of 859 is now down 995 from the year ago count of 1854, with horizontal rigs down 10 this week to 663 and down from 1248 a year ago, vertical rigs up 2 this week to 101 but down from 388 a year ago, and directional rigs down 1 this week to 95 and down from 218 a year earlier...land based rigs were cut by 12 to 825, down from last year's 1780, while two rigs were added offshore, bringing the offshore total back up to 29, still down by more than half from the year ago 59, and a fifth rig was added on inland waters, while the inland water rig count is down from 15 that were in use during the 2nd week of June last year. ... no state or shale basin lost more than 1 rig the past week, which is a first in the half year we've tracked this metric [...] despite the ongoing drop in the number of active drilling rigs, US oil production again roseduring the first week in June to a new modern record of 9,610,000 barrels per day, up from 9,586,000 barrels a day last week and 13.6% higher than the 8,460,000 barrel per day production in the first week of June last year ... in the face of higher production, our oil imports finally fell, dropping by 750,000 barrels a day to 6,623,000 barrels a day in this report,"
Renewables & Conservation
Solar Thermal Plant in CA Not Delivering per Plan—by Superpole: "'The $2.2 Billion dollar Ivanpah solar thermal power plant in the Mojave Desert in California is delivering just 40% of expected electricity.' [...] A $2.2 Billion dollar investment to get 40% of the projected electricity? Unfortunately the pro coal and oil burning crowd is going to be all over this like a bad suit. Solar-thermal technology, which uses mirrors to capture the sun’s rays, was once heralded as the advance that would overtake old fashioned solar panel farms. But a series of missteps and technical difficulties threatens to make newfangled solar-thermal technology obsolete. The $2.2 billion Ivanpah solar power project in California’s Mojave Desert is supposed to be generating more than a million megawatt-hours of electricity each year. But 15 months after starting up, the plant is producing just 40% of that, according to data from the U.S. Energy Department. One big miscalculation was that the power plant requires far more steam to run smoothly and efficiently than originally thought, according to a document filed with the California Energy Commission. Instead of ramping up the plant each day before sunrise by burning one hour’s worth of natural gas to generate steam, Ivanpah needs more than four times that much help from fossil fuels to get the plant humming every morning."
Renewable plus Nuclear Conversation #ReNuLRC—by Rezwan: 'I've just submitted 'Renewable plus Nuclear Conversation #ReNuLRC' as a proposal to the MIT Climate Colab contest. The proposal is to host systematic "renewable + nuclear conversations' in multiple venues, adopting the existing 'Living Room Conversations' model, tailored to renewables + nuclear, with an 'energy supply field' worksheet. Check out the proposal and let me know what you think! Please support the proposal on the Climate CoLab site, and better yet, let me know if you want to host one of these conversations. Indicate which side you lean toward in the comments - 100% Renewables only, or Pro nuclear. Note that as of June 13th at midnight, the proposal has been frozen and sent to the Judges for the first round of evaluation. We will be able to revise and edit it in subsequent rounds after they unfreeze it. Your comments are welcome! Let's win the Race to Zero Carbon, one conversation at a time. Thanks for your participation!"
The Dinosaur and the Mouse. A solar story—by patbahn: "A dinosaur once looked down on a mouse and said. 'I eat more then you, look, I eat a tree an hour, and you, barely chew on a leaf'... The Mouse said, 'Well, I shall eat you up,' The dinosaur laughed. but a few days later he saw 10 mice and he laughed, and a few days later he saw 100 mice and he laughed but not quite so loudly and then it was 1000 mice and soon enough it was 100,000 mice and the dinosaur saw that the trees were getting stripped and the dinosaur was going further to get a meal, and then there were a million mice and he noticed they were biting at his tail and his feet. and it hurt more to walk for a meal. ... now this is Fortune Magazine, the magazine of big business. The sheer number of homeowners who are now opting for solar panels over other energy sources is growing. A significant 437 megawatts of solar panels were installed in the first quarter, which was a 76 percent increase from the first quarter of 2014, said the report. That's 2 nuke plants a year without adjusting for growth. If that doesn’t wow you, what about this: There were more residential solar panels installed in the first quarter of this year than natural gas power plants. Small scale Residential PV is now outrunning large scale fossil."
Fracking
Blind 92-year-old grandmother arrested for protesting fracking laws in Texas—by Jen Hayden: "Violet Palmer probably never imagined she'd start building a rap sheet at age 92-years-old, but that's exactly what happened when she was arrested this week for criminal trespassing outside a Denton, Texas, fracking site: Violet Palmer said she knew that was a possibility when she joined her son and a small group of protesters outside a drilling operation on the west side of the city Tuesday morning. 'I did feel compelled,' she said. 'I feel like I must do something.' Before her arrest, Violet says she'd never even had a parking ticket. She was prompted to take action after she felt the Texas legislature was overstepping its bounds. The residents of Denton, Texas passed a ban on fracking last November. That prompted the Texas legislature to follow-up with their own law which essentially took away the authority of towns like Denton to ban fracking."
Texas town caves to pressure from Big Oil, city council repeals ban on fracking—by Jen Hayden: "Denton, Texas made history late last year when residents voted to ban fracking, choosing public health over oil and gas profits. In March, the Texas legislature passed a state law making the ban unenforceable in Denton. Oil and gas executives promised numerous lengthy and expensive lawsuits. Faced with the costs of these lawsuits, the Denton City Council is repealing the ban: Early this morning, the Denton City Council repealed that unenforceable ban in a move to head off costly future legal battles. Many Denton City Council members said they had no choice but to repeal the ban. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law earlier this year that takes the power to regulate most drilling activity away from local governments."
Candidates, DC, State & Local Eco-Politics
Tomgram: Why Climate Deniers Are Their Own Worst Nightmares—by Naomi Oreskes via TomDispatch: "While Senator McCain didn’t go directly down the path of attacking science, he, too, shifted in disturbing ways. After all, with Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, he had been a co-sponsor of the Climate Stewardship Acts of 2003, 2005, and 2007, which called for a mandatory cap-and-trade system to control greenhouse gas emissions. These were at the time endorsed by many Democrats and most environmental groups. By 2010, however, he was retreating fast from support for his own bill and insisting that he had never backed capping carbon emissions “at a certain level.” He now calls for increased offshore oil and gas drilling, claims that important aspects of energy policy should be left to state and local governments, and has criticized both President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry for framing climate change as a national security issue—a position that the Pentagon itself endorses. Still, compared to many of his colleagues, McCain looks like a moderate. They have dismissed climate change as a fraud and a hoax, while conducting McCarthy-esque inquiries into the research of leading climate scientists. Many of them attack climate science because they fear it will be used as an excuse to expand the reach of government."
Obama's New BFF makes sure the TPP won't get in the Way of Climate Change—by jamess: "Very few of us would have predicted these "page-turners" working together -- to insure the Corporate "free ticket to ride" -- that would end up steam-rolling all over the strengthening world-wide Environmental movement. Only in the 'Global Corporate Federation of America', could stranger bridge-partners have been forged ... to carry out the Corporate bidding ... House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced an amendment to a customs bill this week that would 'ensure that trade agreements do not require changes to U.S. law or obligate the United States with respect to global warming or climate change.' The customs bill would be part of a package that would make approving the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement (TPP) a straight up-and-down vote in Congress, the so-called “fast-track” option. Environmental groups have already taken a strong stand against the TPP. Under the proposed agreement, corporations will likely be able to sue governments that interfere with their business—even if the interference comes from enforcement of carbon reduction goals and passing environmental legislation."
Jeb Bush says believing that climate change science is settled is 'Intellectual Arrogance'—by VL Baker: "Jeb Bush thinks you're arrogant if you believe the science for climate change is settled. Arrogant like you think you're smarter than anyone else. Well, if that's what you believe you're much smarter than Jeb Bush! With his surprise announcement today that he is really a 2016 candidate, he is also trotting out his stupid climate denier/sceptic bona fides to show his worthiness to the dumbass republican primary voters. The former Florida Governor lives in an exclusive community in Miami. I wonder how high the water level in his home has to be for Jeb to realize 'Oh noes!' I may have made a mistake not believing in this climate change stuff!"
Seven Ways America Loses, If a Republican Wins the White House—by fidlerten : "I know for many of my progressive and liberal brothers and sisters, the idea of a Republican winning the White House is just too far-fetched to consider with any degree of seriousness. That’s easy to do when we take a look at the current and possible candidates for the Republican nomination, not a qualified one among them. [...] 6.The Environment. A Republican president will make it clear that global warming is only a hoax put on by those evil environmentalists who want to rob the wealth of Big Oil and other polluting industries—again, think Koch brothers. What little funding that is currently going into research and development of clean and renewable energy will go out the door, and perhaps even larger subsidies will be provided to one of the GOPs best friend, Big Oil. And, if the president takes his cue from Republican state governors and legislators, like my own here in Oklahoma, new laws will be created to make sure that progressive states and municipalities have no say to where Big Oil sets up shop to drill, frack or whatever it takes to suck up the oil from the ground. The XL Keystone pipeline will be stretching across the Midwest in no time too, and state governments will have little clout to protest if any at all."
Eco-Action & Eco Justice
Photo Diary: Polar Pioneer leaves Puget Sound w strong outgoing currents foiling Kayakativists—by Lefty Coaster: "Earlier today While monitoring the location of the Polar Pioneer I noticed it had stopped after leaving Seattle's Elliot Bay and then proceeded very slowly at about 2 knots. They were waiting for the outgoing tide to transit Admiralty Inlet with its strong currents. Those strong currents thwarted Kayak activists, as the Polar Pioneer left its marine traffic lane crossing to the west side of Admiralty Inlet and then hugged the west side of Whidbey Island as it passed Fort Casey State Park. [...] Adding insult to injury the EPA has quietly given Shell permission to dump the Polar Pioneer's wastes into the Chukchi Sea. [...] Quietly last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency authorized Shell to discharge 13 separate “waste streams” into the Chukchi Sea when the Polar Pioneer begins drilling wells in Arctic waters later this summer. In a letter from the EPA’s Region 10 office in Seattle, Shell was given a green light to discharge such waste as water-based drilling fluids, domestic wastes, sanitary wastes, blowout preventer fluid, bilge water and excess cement slurry."
24 protesters detained including member of the City Council as Shell's Polar Pioneer leaves Seattle—by Lefty Coaster: "This morning 24 protesters were arrested as they tried to block Shell's Polar Pioneer from leaving it moorings in Seattle's Duwamish waterway. Those arrested included a member of the Seattle City Council Mike O’Brien. About 40 to 50 supporters in kayaks and canoes lined up behind the blockade. Royal Dutch Shell hopes to use the rig for exploratory drilling during the summer open-water season in the Chukchi Sea, off Alaska’s northwest coast. Greenpeace said Shell plans to start drilling in less than two weeks. Conservationists bitterly oppose offshore drilling in the Arctic, saying it’s not clear any spill could be cleaned up. Shell spokesman Curtis Smith says the company remains 'committed to operating in a safe, environmentally responsible manner.'"
sHell NO Arctic Drilling—by
XR News Service: "Kayaktivists mobilize in Seattle and north to stop the misguided plan to try and tap into the resources already causing massive degradation to the livability of the planet. With a history of contempt for people and environments [Niger Delta and Ecuador] they are trying, for the second time to work in an area with a shorter total drill season than the time the Gulf of Mexico gusher was spewing deep beneath the surface. Odds of serious trouble if they continue have been put at 75%."
232,000 call on the U.N. to kick big polluters out of climate talks: petition delivery photos—by Jesse Bragg via Mara Schechter: "Despite the clear and irreconcilable conflict of interest fossil fuel corporations have with climate policymaking, the meetings last week were overrun with the industry's influence. The meeting space was plastered with corporate greenwashing lauding the voluntary and unenforceable commitments corporations have made to mitigate their emissions. And trade groups representing major corporations that rely on fossil fuels (including coal, oil, mining and automobile corporations) hosted or were major contributors to a number of sessions. That's why, last Wednesday at the treaty meetings in Germany, Corporate Accountability International called on Parties to the UNFCCC to recognize big polluters as the 'arsonists' they are, rather than part of the solution. They delivered petitions on behalf of dozens of additional organizations, including Daily Kos, that represent hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. [...] Godwin Ojo, director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, joined representatives from Réseau Action Climat-France and Corporate Accountability International to deliver the petitions on behalf of the hundreds of thousands who had signed across the world. They joined a silent youth-led action, where activists spelled the message, 'Protect Climate Policy! Kick Big Polluters Out!' in the main entryway of the conference venue. Delegates and Secretariat staff stopped to stare and take photos."
The Federation of Young European Greens and other UNFCCC-accredited youth NGOs organized a silent protest outside the U.N. climate talks, spelling the message “Protect climate policy! Kick big polluters out!”
Maui Reaches Breaking Point—by
Karen from Maui: "Welcome to paradise. Now let's destroy it. Maui residents have apparently reached their breaking point on exploitation by corporations. On Sunday, residents sick (literally) of the missionary company Alexander & Baldwin burning sugarcane 250 days per year hired an attorney and began fund-raising to pay for litigation seeking an end to burning. Alexander & Baldwin's HC&S division burns 35,000 acres of sugarcane every two years. The Department of Health (DoH) (which angry residents call the Dept of UNhealth) issues a yearly burn permit that leaves regulation in the hands of the plantation."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
USDA to eliminate trans fats from the food supply—by SantaFeMarie: "This is good news- although long overdue: The US Food and Drug Administration will all but eliminate partially hydrogenated oils from the food supply by 2018, it announced on Tuesday, almost a year and a half after the agency first announced its intention to do so. 'The FDA’s action on this major source of artificial trans fat demonstrates the agency’s commitment to the heart health of all Americans,' said the FDA’s acting commissioner Stephen Ostroff. 'This action is expected to reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year.'"
How the Demise of Agribusiness Would Save us All—by Robocop: "A new study, The Large Potential of local Croplands to Meet Food Demand in the United States, was recently conducted by Professor Elliott Campbell of the University of California, Merced. The study itself is behind a paywall, but provides evidence that shows that up to 90% of Americans could be fed entirely by food grown or raised within 100 miles of their homes. Campbell and his students examined the calorie potential of local farms and then compared that to the population of each city. Some cities, such as New York and Seattle, have less ability to feed their populations with food grown within the radius, but over all the study demonstrates a great potential for providing Americans with a sustainable diet which would also be beneficial to the environment. Professor Campbell notes that the '2014 U.S. Farm Bill supports local production [as] there are profound social and environmental benefits to eating locally.' The caveat, however, is that this seachange could not occur without economic and government shifts. The major obstacles are how much of our land is being used to produce corn and soybeans, two crops that are chiefly used in processed foods, feed for meat animals and biofuels, and the amount of land required to raise cattle, pigs and chickens."
Softboiled solution suggestion o'the day...—by SninkyPoo: "Today, I'm talking about not eating meat. [...] This is a tough sell to America. The 'Vegetarianism in America' study, published by Vegetarian Times (vegetariantimes.com), shows that 3.2 percent of U.S. adults, or 7.3 million people, follow a vegetarian-based diet. Approximately 0.5 percent, or 1 million, of those are vegans, who consume no animal products at all. That is not a hee-helluva-lot, as my Da would have said. It is, in fact, a LOT fewer than want politicians to get off their duffs and take action on climate change."
Jeb Bush says believing that climate change science is settled is 'Intellectual Arrogance'—by VL Baker: "Jeb Bush thinks you're arrogant if you believe the science for climate change is settled. Arrogant like you think you're smarter than anyone else. Well, if that's what you believe you're much smarter than Jeb Bush! With his surprise announcement today that he is really a 2016 candidate, he is also trotting out his stupid climate denier/sceptic bona fides to show his worthiness to the dumbass republican primary voters. The former Florida Governor lives in an exclusive community in Miami. I wonder how high the water level in his home has to be for Jeb to realize 'Oh noes!' I may have made a mistake not believing in this climate change stuff!"
How to fix America's beef problem in under 2 minutes—by VL Baker: "Grist did a wonderful elevator interview with Denis Hayes who BTW was the coordinator of the first Earth Day way back in 1970. Denis as a new book out Cowed: The Hidden Impact of 93 Million Cows on America’s Health, Economy, Politics, Culture, and Environment which talks about the environmental destruction caused by livestock production and puts forward the idea that if we could solve the problems caused by the industrial, corporate production of meat, we could solve our worst environmental and climate change problems. The video is brilliant and to the point. If all meat eaters did just as video recommends Haynes knows that there would be a drastic reduction of meat consumption. Works for me because the livestock production sector , especially in US and now developing nations such as China is a major contributor to climate change, to resource depletion especially water and to land and air degradation."
Trade & Eco-Related Foreign Policy
David Axelrod: When Hillary Clinton was SoS she 'owned' the TPP/ Updated—by VL Baker: "Real Clear Politics has a segment of MSNBC's Hardball where Chris Mathews interviews David Axelrod, former Obama senior advisor. Axelrod had this to say regarding Clinton's non-commitment on the TPP. DAVID AXELROD: Look, we've got a situation where people now are, the median income in this country is about what it was in 1989 and there is a great deal of anxiety about that and there is a great deal of anger about what is seen as the rigging of the system. That is real. But I think Hillary's fundamental approach reflects the mainstream of the Democratic party. And I don't really believe -- I think she'll be the nominee of the party. I think people have will have a fling with Bernie. Bernie is like a great fun date because you know he's not going to be around town too long and I think you're going to see people flirt with that. But at the end of the day, I think she's going be the nominee and she'll incorporate elements of a more populist agenda but it's going to be in a growth frame [...] It was a little easier for President Clinton because he wasn't the Secretary of State in charge when these negotiations began and when she left in December of 2012, she was in Australia, she called the TPP, she said it was going to be the gold standard for trade agreements, so this is very, very freighted for her. This is difficult terrain to navigate because she owned this to some degree and now she has to try navigate through it. So it's going to be challenging for her."
Nancy Pelosi: Courageous Climate Leader, stalls TPP—by VL Baker: "We have a climate warrior in the house. Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA) pulled together a anti-TPP coalition and spoke out strongly for the defeat of fast-tracking the TPP. This in spite of forceful lobbying by The President, who even attended a baseball game in order to lobby Ms. Pelosi. Pelosi's take away line said before the vote on the House Floor: 'You cannot separate commerce and environment.'"
Eco-Essays and Eco-Philosophy
It's the Overpopulation, Stupid—by agonito: "Arguably the most calamitous threat we face as humans is climate change, since it threatens to annihilate us. Everywhere we confront discussions about issues that must be tackled to address global warming – greenhouse gas emissions, burning fossil fuels, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane released into the atmosphere, heat-trapping ozone, deforestation, desertification, rising sea levels, acidification of the oceans, destruction of animal species, beef and pork production ... All are important, but none speak to the real issue that renders all the others pale by comparison, none speak to the bottom line we have developed an aversion to discussing. It’s the overpopulation, stupid. Too many people are popping out too many babies. Too many people are doing too many things that destroy the environment we cannot live without. It’s not burning fossil fuels as such that’s the problem; the biosphere has great regenerative capacity. It’s too many people burning too much fossil fuel. It’s not methane released by growing cattle as such; it’s too much methane released by too much cattle production to feed too many people."
The depth and breadth of economies—by SkepticalPartisan : "In keeping with the factory metaphor, for most of civilization, the environment was able to absorb the discarded economic waste and convert it back into raw organic/inorganic materials. Implements composed of organic materials such as wood, leather and edibles were broken down by decomposers and re-entered the food chain; metallic objects corroded over time and dissipated back into the environment. When the volume of economic waste was within the capacity of the the environmental factory to process, all planetary matter was in flux, transitioning through stages of formation, degradation and re-formation. So long as the environment was capable of servicing the economy by recycling its discarded products back into raw material input for economic production, the economy could run indefinitely. This gave rise to the assumption that environmental resources are limitless and therefore could be externalized and set outside of economic accounting."
The Water Wars in the US: A Spiritual Issue?—by sophiahochmah: "A new round of the water wars is starting in California where, surprise! the rich demand their right to use however much water they want since they pay taxes and can pay for the water. (Diarist Walter Einenkel) The fundamental question is: when is 'your' water 'our' water? An analogy that comes to mind is not quite about rich vs. poor, but asks the same question. Property owners in a community are offered obscenely high prices--uh, payoffs--from people representing, it turns out, a company that wants to use properties for fracking (Galliardi). If you accept the buyout and I don't, 'your' water will endanger the quality and safety of 'my,' ultimately 'our' water. What can be done? When must the common good beyond the gated community impinge on the privileged? In California, the economy of scarcity comes into brutal play when there is, under current projections, literally not enough water given current usage patterns. When one entitled group uses profligately while others conserve, that bottom line limit is still there. In the case of water safety, the issues seem to be different but are really the same. When the entitled company wilfully risks water quality for everyone, whether property owners consented to it or not, the bottom line is still there. When water is undrinkable, it might as well not even be available. The overall amount of potable water is limited. What used to be unquestioned abundance Biblically granted by God for human 'domination' becomes a question of property rights vs. human rights, vs. a spiritual (!? Yes, you read that right) view of the cosmos, whether it's Coca Cola buying the rights to the water of a village in India, which then has no right to 'their' water, even for survival, or Oprah (neither mentioned in the diary) who still has a green lawn. It's not just about 'them', whether in India or California or Minnesota or Wisconsin: it's about 'us'."
Well-meaning nature programs...—by SninkyPoo: "The entire 'Nature' series is wonderful. And it's pretty consistent in tone. There is much talk of vast wild spaces, and wilderness. There are stunning shots of magnificent beasts roaming across the tundra, hunting under the ice in an immensity of chilly blue, or prowling the mysterious nighttime forest, probing under tree bark for for fat, succulent grubs. There are deliriously adorable close-ups of family favorites like meerkats. There's heart-tugging footage of baby seals 'whoo-ing!' for Mama, and suckling while a terrible blizzard howls around them. You and I both know why, of course. 'Nature' isn't just informational—it's designed to instill awe and wonder at the immensity of our amazing planet, the myriad ecosystems and creatures on it, and the dazzling array of food webs and intersections among and between our fellow travelers and their environment. The problem is that, if you come to such a program with an uncritical eye, you would not be faulted if you came away entertained, dazzled, drunk on the sumptuous beauty and wonder of it all—and completely unaware that any of the featured creatures were in danger of extinction. Or that the 'vast forest of the Congo' might more accurately be described as 'under pressure from human civilization,' and 'no longer quite so vast.'"
Oceans, Lakes, Water & Drought
Fisheries Council Protects Kentucky-Sized Swath of Deep Sea Coral Habitat—by pmustain: "More than 1,000 feet below the ocean’s surface and 60 miles from the beaches in Maryland, New Jersey and New York, an unlikely ecosystem thrives in the dark, frigid waters. Far from the sun’s nourishing rays, diverse and colorful corals cling to the rocky seabed, obtaining nutrients floating past on deep currents or falling from the sunny waters above. Though few humans will ever see this unique habitat directly, it plays an important role in maintaining the health of the oceans. Deep-sea coral gardens can be found in canyons, on continental shelves and along undersea mountains around the world. Like their shallow-water counterparts, deep-sea corals provide a vital habitat for other marine life. Their intricate branches create an ideal nursery for juvenile fish; they act as a foundation for sponges and anemones; and they provide food and shelter for a variety of species. Off the East Coast of the United States, dozens of deep canyons house coral gardens that teem with a huge variety of marine life. This habitat is the foundation of the ocean ecosystems that support a number of commercially valuable species, like mackerel and squid. Many U.S. coastal residents depend on the populations that originate and grow in these canyons for their livelihoods. [...] Last week, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council recognized the imminent threat that expanding fisheries pose to deep sea corals. The Council approved a proposal to protect over 35,000 square miles of deep-sea coral habitat from fishing gears like bottom trawls and dredges. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, all trawling and dredging deeper than 450 meters will be prohibited as well as in shallower coral gardens in 15 canyons in the region."
Using NASA data new study says global groundwater is depleting at unsustainable levels—by Walter Einenkel: "A new peer-reviewed study has been released that looks to analyze groundwater stresses on the world's 37 largest aquifer systems. Those stresses come in the forms of climate change and population growth (and their subsidiaries—drought, and irrigation/farming needs). The impact of quantifying groundwater use based on nationally reported groundwater withdrawal statistics is compared to a novel approach to quantify use based on remote sensing observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission. The results are troubling. According to the study, 21 of earth's 37 largest aquifers are unsustainable because they have extraction rates that exceed their replenishment rates—these are aquifers where more water is being taken then replaced."
Interim Lake Erie Nutrient Reduction Plan Released by Great Lakes Commission—by LakeSuperior: "Following months of work through the Great Lakes Commission, the Lake Erie Nutrient Targets (LENT) Working Group, comprised of the four states bordering the lake (Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York) and the province of Ontario released today a nine-step interim Joint Action Plan for nutrient reduction. The interim Joint Action Plan complements and provides additional detail to the Collaborative Agreement signed by the western basin governors of Michigan and Ohio and the premier of Ontario on June 13. The LENT plan calls for a 40 percent reduction in loadings of phosphorus into the western and central Lake Erie basins from 2008 levels by 2025, with an interim reduction target of 20 percent by 2020. The reduction targets and the nine steps are designed to help protect Lake Erie from harmful algal blooms, toxic cyanobacteria, anoxic zones and other problems caused by excessive loadings of phosphorus. 'Excessive phosphorus in Lake Erie creates threats to drinking water and other issues that affect all of our states and Ontario,' said Kelly Burch, chair of the Great Lakes Commission and executive director of oil and gas operations for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. 'Pennsylvania shares a commitment to jointly solve these problems.'"
Lobbyist for oil pipeline company oversaw creation of fouled marine protected areas—by Dan Bacher: "The head of the same oil industry trade association that lobbies for the Plains All American Pipeline corporation, whose corroded pipeline rupture caused a massive oil spill off Refugio State Beach on May 19, is the very same person who chaired the panel that created the so-called "marine protected areas" that have been fouled with crude oil. 'Plains All American, the owner of the pipeline, is a member of the Western States Petroleum Association,' proclaimed Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) in her blog post responding to the spill on May 19. (https://www.wspa.org/....) In a huge conflict of interest, Reheis-Boyd served as the chair of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create so-called marine 'protected areas' (MPA) in Southern California, including four MPAs being fouled by the spill. She also served on the task forces for the Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast from 2004 to 2012, as well as on a federal marine protected areas panel from 2003 to 2014."
Wealthy Californians don't think they need to conserve water because they're rich—by Walter Einenkel: "The Washington Post did a piece about the wealthy in California and how they are responding to the terrible drought we are in. Governor Brown has called for austerity measures to take effect and the rich out west are super on board with it all. By on board I mean not on board at all. Actually, sort of blubbering cry babies about things: People 'should not be forced to live on property with brown lawns, golf on brown courses or apologize for wanting their gardens to be beautiful,' Yuhas fumed recently on social media. 'We pay significant property taxes based on where we live,' he added in an interview. 'And, no, we’re not all equal when it comes to water.' Yuhas lives in the ultra-wealthy enclave of Rancho Santa Fe, a bucolic Southern California hamlet of ranches, gated communities and country clubs that guzzles five times more water per capita than the statewide average. In April, after Gov. Jerry Brown (D) called for a 25 percent reduction in water use, consumption in Rancho Santa Fe went up by 9 percent."
The BDCP forges ahead!—by Dan Bacher: "If anybody thought the tremendous opposition to Jerry Brown's plan to build two giant tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by fishermen, Indian Tribe leaders, family farmers, environmentalists and an array of scientific panels was enough to get the state and federal governments to ease their way out of the boondoggle, think again! The Brown administration may have divided into two components - the California 'Water Fix' (tunnels) component and the California "Eco Restore" component (habitat 'restoration') - but the essence of the project remains the same. Whether you call the project a peripheral canal, pipes, Delta tunnels or some other term, the plan continues to be a shameless water grab by corporate agribusiness, Southern California water agencies and oil companies conducting fracking and steam injection operations. The commitment of the state and federal governments to push the plan forward was revealed on Friday, February 12, when the Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Water Resources filed notice in the federal register of their intent to prepare a partially 'Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report/Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (RDEIR/SDEIS) on the Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan and Natural Community Conservation Plan.'"
Court blasts Siskiyou Farm Bureau move to gut salmon protections—by Dan Bacher: "The California Court of Appeal last week overturned a Superior court ruling from Siskiyou County in northern California that would have dramatically undermined a key means to protect fisheries from water diversions, according to a news release from the Karuk Tribe. 'This ruling a strong affirmation of the State’s obligation to ensure that our rivers are not completely dewatered by agricultural diversions,' said Karuk Tribal Chairman Russell ‘Buster’ Attebery. The court found that the California Fish and Game Code section 1602 clearly requires irrigators to notify the California Department of Fish and Wildlife when installing and operating stream diversions. For years, diverters have been offering notifications which often result in ‘Streambed Alteration Permits.’ The permits themselves often require certain mitigations to ensure that the diversion does not harm fisheries."
Trash, Pollution & Hazardous Waste
Power Plants Continue to Pollute Our Water; EPA Must Act—by Mary Anne Hitt: "Arsenic. Hexavalent chromium. Lead. Mercury. Do these sound like things you want in the glass of water you are about to drink? I'm guessing no, but power plants are discharging more than 5.5 billion pounds of these pollutants into our waterways every year. A new report out today from Clean Water Action, the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Sierra Club details the extreme amount of pollution coal plants are releasing into our nation's waterways, and the urgent need for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enact strong clean water protections. The report: presents evidence that EPA has been under-estimating the public health benefits of controlling metals … released by power plants into rivers, streams, and lakes. While EPA has estimated that controlling these pollutants would provide $14 million to $20 million worth of health benefits per year, a more accurate assessment would likely far exceed $300 million annually... According to the report, 'power plant wastewater has contributed to over 3,000 miles of contaminated rivers, fish too polluted to eat in 185 bodies of water, and the degradation of 399 water bodies that are used as public drinking water sources.'"
CBS: The Spill at Dan River | nationally syndicated news coverage | poll: did 60 minutes do justice?—by Eric Nelson: "Environmental activists called the River Keepers worked for years to make this happen including one of the most successful significant law suits against the corporate behemoth, Duke Energy. Rachel Maddow and team have been covering this story for a couple of years now. Here is a comment with links to the video segment from 1 1/2 years ago and the updated video segment of the story a month or so ago plus the story written up with links to the RiverKeepers: Some good news; Riverkeepers busted Duke energy."
Miscellany
The Inoculation Project 6/14/2015: Texas Wild Animal Books—by Belinda Ridgewood: "The Inoculation Project, founded in 2009 by hyperbolic pants explosion, is a group of Kossacks who gather weekly to combat the anti-science push in conservative America by providing direct funding to science and math projects in red state classrooms. Our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, a fifteen-year-old organization rated highly by both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau. [...] Project: Saving the Endangered Animals in Your Backyard. Resources Needed: Good research books, such as Copperheads and Mountain Lions, to learn about the animals that live around us and figure out how we can live together without stealing more of their habitat. School Poverty Level: Highest. Location: Fannin Elementary School, Corsicana, Texas. Total Cost: $237.88.
Texas Secedes from United States via Flooding...Floats Away—by Stephen Benavides : "Tropical Storm Bill, a pro-seccesionist rain and water deity is set to make landfall and flood the shit out of Texas...in fact it may already be happening. This is after floods sapped the will of Presidential Primary Candidate Ted Cruz to maintain his grip on reality. According to factually accurate and non-satirical news site The Stately Harold, Sen. Ted Cruz blames Native American rain dances for the deadly floods, not climate change, nope not that, in fact don't even talk about 'that.' In a press advisory sent out by TS Bill's public relations team, he made history by laying out the first ever platform for pushing forward with a Texas secession via statewide flooding. 'While the Republic of Texas and other so-called patriots fill the airwaves and online media with stories of militia takeovers and lame ass petition campaigns to push for secession, I have developed the only viable strategy to separate Texas from the United States. Flood the shit out of it over and over again...eventually we can all wave bye to the United States of Socialist America and Emperor Obama as we float into the Gulf of Mexico.'"