See RockyMtnHigh's post.
The Green Spotlight will not appear Saturday, Aug. 29. Environmentally oriented diaries published between now and then will be included in the Spotlight published Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The most recent Spotlight can be seen here. More than 23,330 environmentally oriented diaries have been rescued for inclusion in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a diary in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
Offering tobacco and bottled water for a sea of oil, Chevron gets booted from indigenous territory—by
citisven: "No, this is not the 17th century: Chevron engineers, looking to frack billions of cubic feet of gas from indigenous Unist’ot’en territory in British Columbia, did indeed try to get past the tribe's roadblock a few weeks ago. Trying to keep out oil and gas pipelines from deep within their unceded traditional territories, the Unist’ot’en's concerns about the wholesale destruction of their sacred lands were met with generous offerings of bottled water and industrial tobacco:
Yesterday Chevron, the company behind the Pacific Trails fracking pipeline, attempted to enter our unceded territories. They have no consent from our chiefs and our hereditary governance system, who are standing strong in their stance against all pipelines. Next to the Wedzin Kwah river, which is pure enough to drink from, Chevron presented us with an offering of bottled water and industrial tobacco. But hey, who would care about clean river water when you can just drink water from bottles made with the oil that's going to be sucked out of your ground? Here, have a Camel! Everyone in the U.S. knows about the Keystone XL pipeline, and there's been a lot of attention given to its harmfulness on all fronts. However, Keystone is far from being the only battle to be waged in the fight against the greedy fossil fuel industry and their determination to fry the planet."
The Daily Bucket-Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site, digging for Science & Education—by RonK: "The Coyote Canyon dig is located in the Horse Heaven Hills, just a few miles south of Kennewick Washington, also home of the famous, or infamous, Kennewick Man who was found along the Columbia river. The photo below looking north shows Coyote Canyon with a sliver of the Columbia River in the mid ground. Finding mammoth remains is relatively common in this region. As with most such paleontological sites, this one was found inadvertently during a quarrying operation on the edge of Coyote Canyon in 1999/2000, when excavating equipment dug up some large bones (a Mammoth mandible). Fortunately, after covering up the site the excavators moved elsewhere to dig. Eventually the land was sold to a local farming family who wanted the site to be preserved and developed as an educational site for K–12 teachers, students, community volunteers and as an intern site for college students. In 2008, an initial group of volunteer scientists and educators formed a non-profit foundation to pursue both educational and scientific goals. The Foundation was called the 'Mid-Columbia Basin Old Natural Education Sciences' (McBONES)."
You can find more excerpts from green diaries below the orange spill.
Climate Chaos
Front Group's False Claims about Fake Bill—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "The Western States Petroleum Association is one of the oldest fossil fuel front groups, dating all the way back to 1907. For over a century, they've lobbied on behalf of gas, and it seems they rarely use honest means to do so. Most recently, their efforts in California included mailing flyers that didn't just lie about proposed legislation, but actually made up a bill out of thin air. Adding to the confusion, the front group sent the flyers under the name of yet another front group, the 'California Drivers Alliance.' The supposed 'California Gas Restriction Act of 2015' will—according to flyers and radio announcements—mean gas rationing, surcharges on mini-vans and SUVs, and fines for using too much gas. However, there is no bill by that name, nor is there any bill proposing similarly draconian measures. The real target of this blatantly false material is the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, which would increase California's renewable fuel standard to 50% and increase building energy efficiency by 50%, as well as cut California's oil use by 50%. The California Driver's Alliance warns that such a reduction would mean gas mileage would need to rise to 50 mpg in 15 years, as though it would be a bad thing for consumers to save money at the pump. Obviously it's not, which is why in 2012, Obama ordered mileage standards to reach 54.5 mpg by 2025. Now, the fossil fuel lobby is so dishonest that their front groups are making front groups to warn people about nonexistent legislation."
Saving capitalism and maybe the environment too: how will you do it?—by Cassiodorus: "On one of those fun Facebook feeds I saw this piece, from HuffPo, April of this year: Economic Collapse Will Limit Climate Change, Predicts Climate Scientist What's the fun passage in this one? Here it is: To wrap up the interview, I asked Christopher Reyer how much hotter he thought the planet would be by the year 2100. 'I'm not sure,' he replied, 'I'm not an expert on the policy side.; I persisted, asking him not for an official projection, just for his best personal guess, a single number. He visibly relaxed. 'I guess it should be between three and four degrees hotter. We used to think that we were headed for +8°C, but that will never happen. We are not even on track for +6°C because economies will be collapsing long before we get there. So even the climate experts, who aren't likely to know much about the historical trajectory of the capitalist system, suggest that economic collapse is likely."
Yes, but WHY are deniers wrong?—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "People paying attention are largely aware that 97% of climate science papers with a position on climate change agree that the rapid rate of recent warming is human-caused. But what is going on in the papers that disagree? The journal 'Theoretical and Applied Climatology' published an interesting new study, 'Learning from mistakes in climate research,' that looks at 38 papers that reject anthropogenic global warming and attempts to replicate their findings to test their results. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that these papers share some common flaws. Many of them don't acknowledge other conflicting studies, while others fail on more technical grounds with weak models, 'incomplete physics,' or trend fitting and faulty correlations. While the paper alone is interesting for illuminating the many, many faults of climate deniers’ favorite studies, the lead author has a post at Real Climate with some interesting backstory on the paper's publication process. Due to its unique focus (most papers look for things that are right, not things that are wrong) and the fact that editors are seeking reviews from some of the very people whose work was criticized, the study has had a little trouble finding a journal. As it stands, the study is a helpful look at the many tactics deniers can use to manufacture the results they want, as co-author Dana Nuccitelli explains in detail at the Guardian."
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Where there's Smoke, there's Fire -- and even More Fire—by jamess: Which led me to wonder: Are Wild-Fires increasing year after year? Or have we just gotten more sensitive to the red flag warnings and smoky air alerts. [...]I put together these charts to show, what those 'hundreds of millions' of burnt acres looks like, when plotted in charts to show the fiery trend, year over year. The redline shows the overall linear Trend-line for each of those two Date ranges plotted [1990 - 2014 and 1970 - 2014]. The overall Trend is upwards at nearly same rate, in both cases: 24 years and 44 years.
1000 Miles of Smoke—by
Lilyo: "I live in Laramie, Wyoming, about a 1000 miles away from the worst of the fires this year but I feel like I am living next door. A golden dirty brown haze has settled over the world. My normally crisp mountain views are as blurry as mountains on a smoggy day in Los Angeles. At sunset the sky glows deep maroon. The air feels harsh to breathe even with an air filter and humidifier running. A huge shoutout to all the firefighters risking their lives to contain and battle the fires. Even a 1000 miles away, we benefit from your actions."
The Accidental Journalist, Part 2: Reporting from Washington’s North Star Forest Fire.—by foresterbob: "Early this morning, a long tongue of dense smoke extended along Aeneas Valley. At first there was a sharp boundary with clear air above. Before long, however, the smoke hung in a diffuse pall all the way to the mountaintops, and extending beyond Tonasket (as I discovered when I made the 22-mile drive there). The smoke made the townsfolk tense. They were aware of the big fires in the area, of course. But the smoke was a constant reminder they could not avoid. [...] And while the omnipresent smoke and eerily still air might have seemed apocalyptic, it was actually good news. It was the sign of a temperature inversion. The fire would not be able to form a giant convection column into the atmosphere and burn as rapidly as yesterday."
The Accidental Journalist, Part 3: Reporting from the Washington Forest Fires—by foresterbob: "THURSDAY, AUGUST 20. The day began smoky, though the smoke was not as dense as yesterday. Still, it’s hard to tell what is going on, other than the fact that there’s no fire within a mile or two. I decided to leave the cabin and go to Tonasket to connect with the world as best I could. [...] At the Forest Service office there was bad news. Although I probably imagined that tree torching near Tunk Mountain last night, there was an enormous fire to the southwest of the peak. Immediately this new fire became a clear and present danger to the cabin, not to mention the numerous other properties closer to its path. Stopping it in difficult terrain would be unlikely. Unless winds were favorable, it was going to spread. There was still no cell phone service in town. I returned to The Junction to use their wifi. An Indian woman was checking news feeds with her phone, and learning more bad news about the Colville Indian Reservation. Land was burning, homes were burning, and more areas were being evacuated."
Morning view of Aeneas Valley
WildFires Updates ~~ Cougar Creek, Chelan Complex, Okanagon Complex—by e2247: "8:30 pm Pacific Time ~~ Pierce Co firefighters getting overnight instructions for #wawildfires. They'll patrol threatened neighborhoods ... 2010 Census population was 795,225 and second-most populous county in Washington. Not part of Okanogan Complex (Pierce Co is on northeast slope of Mt. Ranier running up to Tacoma, its county seat and is included in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area) but that news is too big to not include in this diary."
Wildfires ~~ Sitrep 8-23-15 ~~ Political "Leaders" Deafening Silence—by e2247: " 75 Uncontained Large Fires (Uncontained large fires include only fires being managed under a full suppression strategy); another day of National Preparedness Level 5 which is the highest level. There are nowhere near enough resources to fight all these fires. Volunteers are being given immersion training summary workshops and then being put into the fights immediately. Donald Trump and all of them including Hillary & the rest are remaining oddly silent on the issues around the combustion of The West even though day before yesterday Obama Declares Washington state Fire Emergency; Guard, Army, Canada, Australia, New Zealand inbound."
Okanogan Complex Fire 7:45 pm Pacific Time—by e2247: "Okanogan Complex is 5 fires [...] As expected the fire was fairly active today. As conditions allowed firefighters were able to continue to move forward with indirect and direct line construction. The persistent smoke layer grounded the fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. Three Hotshot crews, along with smokejumpers, worked on the northwest corner of the Twisp River fire. This area, as well as other areas with structures, remains high priority. Smoke from the North Star fire blew south today, then circled back north through the valley."
Energy
Coal, Oil, Gas & Nuclear
The Tribes battle the Proposed Coal Export Trails—by 6412093: "The coal barons are vigorously pushing plans to export Montana and Wyoming coal to Asia. The coal would fuel 500 new coal-fired power plants and vastly increase the carbon emissions that drive climate change. The Lummi Indian Tribe in northwest Washington have a large historic burial ground near Cherry Point, where the coal barons want to build one of their export terminals. The Lummi decided not only to fight the Cherry Point proposal, but they would help fight every proposed West Coast coal terminal and even one of the proposed coal mines in Montana. The would do it by carving a lovely, 40-foot tall cedar totem pole, and trucking it to the location of every proposed terminal. The totem pole serves as a focus point for the anti-coal rallies, and also invokes some of the magic and mystery of eons long past, especially after being brushed with a bald eagle feather. Last night the Lummi brought the totem pole to Longview, Washington, an hour north of Portland Oregon."
Regurgitated Fossil Fuel Talking Points—by
ClimateDenierRoundup : "Right-wing CNSNews.com has a 'news' article that's simply a repackaging of a June oped by Alabama climatologist John Christy, who is perhaps best known for keeping a data set that seems to need constant correction from other scientists. The CNSNews article demonstrates the ease with which conservative media masks opinion as news to fool its readers. The entire article merely consists of quotes from Christy, mainly pulled from his oped but also from Congressional testimony. Interestingly, the headline points out that Christy is using the exact language recommended by for-profit fossil fuel booster Alex Epstein. Specifically, the headline states there is a "moral imperative" to burn fossil fuels, and that we must use fossil fuels to 'liberate' humanity from the evils of energy poverty. Sure, this is great if you own fossil fuels, but it's the exact opposite of what the Pope and other religious figures (with slightly more authority on morality) claim. We see the whole game here - fossil fuel companies pay pundits like Epstein to think up catchy phrases, which he then passes to supposedly unbiased voices like Christy, who is then parroted in biased 'news' outlets and shared by ideological sympathizers."
Renewables & Conservation
Mooving Forward with Cow Power—by John Crapper: "Anyone who has been in close proximity to a diary farm knows the powerful au natural fragrance that emanates from the multiple rear ends catered to in the facility. Well, it turns out that is not the only thing that is powerful about the substance that comes forth.
Company files to build renewable natural gas plant. Lincoln Renewable Gas has filed a petition with the Vermont Public Service Board for a certificate of public good to build a renewable gas plant in Salisbury. The LincolnRNG plant would produce natural gas from dairy farm manure and other organic fuel sources. If approved, the plant will be built on the Goodrich Family farm in Salisbury. Renewable natural gas is interchangeable with conventional natural gas and may be used as an alternative heating and vehicle fuel. The plant will produce natural gas from an aerobic digester tank system and sell most of it to Middleburg College replacing a substantial volume of # 6 heating oil the college currently uses. This would be only the second of its kind in the United States. It is financed by private investment and a commercial loan."
How the Clean Power Plan is a Game-Changer for Clean Energy—by Mary Anne Hitt and Liz Perrera: "The final Clean Power Plan is the most significant single action any President has taken to date to tackle climate disruption. It establishes the first-ever set of national carbon limits on power plants, our biggest source of the pollution that's throwing our climate into chaos. It's also a game-changer for clean energy, because it creates big, important new opportunities for renewable energy and energy efficiency in every state. This post provides an overview of the clean energy elements of the Clean Power Plan. The Clean Power Plan opens up the opportunity for every state to chart its clean energy future and rapidly expand renewable energy generation. And the Clean Power Plan is happening at just the right time, because clean energy is becoming cheaper every month and is outcompeting dirty fuels in the marketplace at a rapidly accelerating rate. Wind reached nearly five percent of US electricity demand in 2014, at an average of $0.59 per kilowatt hour (kWh), as compared to an average $1.06 per kWh for coal and $0.74 per kWh for natural gas, and its technical resource potential has increased due to newer wind turbines designed for areas with lower wind speeds. Meanwhile, some of the latest solar projects are offering power at prices cheaper than coal or natural gas. In addition, innovative approaches to community solar, like Maryland’s community shared solar program, are popping up all over the country."
Fracking
Fracking caused 4.4 earthquake in 2014 and same company may have just done it again last week—by Walter Einenkel: "British Columbia's Oil and Gas Commission is saying that a 4.4-magnitude earthquake in northeastern B.C. last summer was the result of hydraulic fracturing activities in the area. B.C.'s Oil and Gas Commission confirmed the cause of the earthquake in an email statement to CBC this week, saying it was "triggered by fluid injection during hydraulic fracturing." The 4.4-magnitude quake was felt in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson in August 2014. It was preceded by a 3.8-magnitude earthquake in late July, also caused by fracking. They acknowledge that there are quite a few fracking outfits in the area, but one company shot to the top of the charts—Progress Energy."
New Analysis Exposes Fracking Risks In California—by Dan Bacher: "Ahead of a state legislative hearing Tuesday, Californians Against Fracking today released a new analysis of an independent scientific study on the environmental and health risks of fracking and other oil and gas well stimulation. The analysis breaks down the 1,000-page study by the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), which found that fracking threatens the state’s water supplies, public health and the environment, and—most notably—recommended minimum setbacks for all oil development to protect communities from air pollution. 'Scientists are warning that fracking and oil drilling threaten California’s air and water in ways that clearly aren’t addressed by state rules,; said Hollin Kretzmann, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. ;Oil companies are fracking next to homes and schools and dangerously close to underground water supplies. That’s unfair, unsafe and unacceptable. Lawmakers and Gov. Brown must protect our water and the millions of Californians who live near polluting oil wells.'"
frackers push to end ban on oil exports as imports hit high for the year (w/ Ohio issues update)—by rjsigmund: "but even with all the oil and products that we're importing, there's been an ongoing push by the frackers and their supporters to end the federal ban on crude oil exports, which was instituted in 1975, at a time when our production started to slip and domestic shortages developed...the reason the oil industry wants to export crude, even though we're importing so much, is simple; international oil prices have been running between $5 and $10 a barrel more than US oil prices...so if they're able to sell their crude overseas (Canada and Mexico are exempt from the ban), US prices for oil will quickly jump to the international price, and we'll be paying 10% to 20% more for our oil products than we otherwise would if our market remained protected...a bill to lift the ban has passed the U.S. House, and a similar bill cleared the U.S. Senate Energy Committee in July, and it will probably be taken up when the Congress returns from recess after Labor Day...a new report, published Friday by the Center for American Progress, predicted that US oil drilling and production will increase if the export ban ends, and that an average of 26,385 new oil wells would be drilled in the U.S. each year between 2016 and 2030 if the ban is lifted, 7,600 more wells per year than would be drilled otherwise...as a result, an additional 137 square miles of land would be developed for oil each year...over 15 years, that would be 2,055 more square miles of oil drilling sites than we'd otherwise see, for a total drilled out and newly fracked area more than 60% larger than the area of the state of Rhode Island...so if we want to save ourselves from that dystopian future, we'd better start pushing back against the frackers on this oil export issue now."
Candidates, DC, State & Local Eco-Politics
Carly Fiorina - Holy $h*T - 10 Lies on Climate Change in Less Than 5 Minutes—by John Crapper: "Katie Couric interviewed Carly Fiorina the other day and the subject of climate change came up. In less than five minutes she spouted off ten lies albeit in a very slick manner. After watching this video I can sure see why she's moving up in the polls. She's truly professional at it. [...] Lie 2: California 'destroys lives and livelihoods with environmental regulations.' In California total carbon emissions are declining, jobs are being created with the 5th highest GDP growth rate. Lie 3: The answer to this problem is innovation, not regulation. Innovation is part of any climate change solutions mix but the silver-bullet approach alone is not enough. The lie is framing the answer as an either/or one. The truth is regulation is needed to spur innovation with such programs as theclean energy loans and the Obama administration's ' regional innovation clusters.' It's not regulation or innovation it's regulation and innovation. Lie 4: China couldn't care less if we try to reduce carbon: There is no doubting that China acts in their own best interest. So does the US for that matter. So this assertion falls flat on its face for one obvious reason: the climate pact China entered into with the US."
Washington first state to price carbon by popular vote? The obstacle course—by Pacificshift: "Washington state climate advocates are aiming at a political act never before achieved on this planet, enacting a state-level price on carbon pollution by popular vote. Carbon Washington volunteers are on the streets seeking signatures to place I-732 on the November 2016 ballot. It would set a $25-per-ton carbon tax. The Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy is exploring a carbon-pricing measure for that ballot, likely by a cap-and-trade similar to California’s. So far the only U.S. electorate that has voted to tax its own carbon pollution is at a city level, that of the uber-liberal enclave of Boulder, Colorado. Residents in 2006 voted to tax themselves an average of $21 annually, and renewed it in 2012. In 2010 Californians voted down an initiative to repeal their cap-and-trade. But to this date, none of the many state, province or national carbon pricing systems has been enacted at the ballot box. The path to this date has been through legislative and executive decision-making."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
GMO scientist Kevin Folta receives apologies from PLoS—by SkepticalRaptor: "Recently, I wrote an extensive article [...] about the hatchet job written by some hack anti-GMO activists against renowned plant geneticist, and pro GMO scientist Kevin Folta that used misquoted and out-of-context emails in an attempt to discredit him. Obviously, shades of the loathsome 'Climategate' email hack which was trying to do the same to top climate scientists. In an entry at PLoS* Biology Blogs, written by Paul D. Thacker and Charles Seife, attacked Dr. Folta for a whole host of sins, including a claim that he was more or less directing Monsanto's strategies for dealing with GMO labeling laws. These gonzo 'journalists' (and I use that term very loosely with these at PLoSONE) lacked the college freshmen level of investigative journalism to spend 30 seconds clicking on a couple of Google hits to determine that GMO scientist Kevin Folta has been a strong advocate of GMO labeling laws (something that I personally oppose)."
No more turkey, chicken and eggs for us.—by icallbs : "If you have not noticed yet, the price of eggs is skyrocketing, and chicken is not far behind. Both of these have been relatively affordable protein sources for many people who can't afford that steak some politicians are so adamant they not buy. I recently read an article about what is causing this. I had heard rumors that there was some bird flu wreaking havoc, but I really had no idea the scope of the problem. To tell you the truth, while I have been very aware of the issues surrounding raising cattle and pigs for us carnivorous and omnivorous consumers, I always just went along with the fact that the egg and chicken industries, while still not great for the environment, were the most water efficient and land efficient source of non-veggie protein available on the market that was actually affordable to the average consumer. I tried hard to buy free range, but let's face it, when you are feeding three hungry kids, sometimes you gotta go the cheap route. More below the orange squiggly thing."
Consumer Reports: Your conventionally raised ground beef has a lot of bacteria in it—by Walter Einenkel: "From the files of "don't eat anything but a salad while you are reading this" comes a new report from Consumer Reports about bacteria in our ground beef supply. How safe is your ground beef? they ask. Not anywhere near as safe as you would hope. They tested 458 pounds of ground beef bought from a variety of big box stores, local stores, and natural stores: The results were sobering. All 458 pounds of beef we examined contained bacteria that signified fecal contamination (enterococcus and/or nontoxin-producing E. coli), which can cause blood or urinary tract infections. Almost 20 percent contained C. perfringens, a bacteria that causes almost 1 million cases of food poisoning annually. Ten percent of the samples had a strain of S. aureus bacteria that can produce a toxin that can make you sick. That toxin can’t be destroyed—even with proper cooking. Now if you live in a demographic that is knee deep in words like 'sustainably farmed' and 'organic' your beef stock is considerably safer."
Eco-Essays and Eco-Philosophy
The Pope, the Activist, the Martyr – And the Organization Putting Their Words Into Action—by Bev Bell: "If you believe in the ecological and moral mandates of Pope Francis, activist-author (and EcoViva Advisory Board member) Naomi Klein, and beatified Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, then you should be pleased to learn there is an organization of communities in El Salvador putting their message into practice. These great leaders have coalesced around the priorities of saving the earth, fighting climate change, and working to lessen the gap between the wealthy and the poor. In El Salvador, the Mangrove Association, a grassroots organization based in the Lower Lempa region, has created a remarkable movement that brings together the environment and the fight against poverty. Their model of action is beginning to influence the country’s direction as it fights to escape a legacy of conflict and corruption that predates the civil war."
Oceans, Water & Drought
California's been sinking for a while but the drought is making it sink a lot faster—by Walter Einenkel: "A new study, using the newest in technologies has allowed scientists to get a better understanding of how much subsidence is going on and at what rate. The good news is that we have some pretty amazing technology. The bad news is that California is sinking faster than before and the drought is the main culprit: The state's sinking isn't new: California has long suffered from subsidence, and some parts are now a few dozen feet lower than they were in 1925, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But the state's worst drought on record — 97 percent of the state is facing moderate to exceptional drought — has only accelerated the trend. To quantify this accelerated sinking, researchers at the Department of Water Resources and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, compared satellite imagery of California over time. There are places that have sunk 13 inches in eight months! Most of the stresses on our water supply is agricultural."
Take Action Now to Stop Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels—by Dan Bacher: "If you want to save the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas, and Pacific Coast fisheries, it's time to take action against Governor Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels Plan. The pork barrel project, if constructed, would hasten the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Delta and longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish species, as well as imperil salmon and steelhead populations on the Trinity and Klamath rivers. The last round of public comments on the California Water Fix, formerly called the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP, ends in just 65 days (Oct 30). That's why it is essential that you submit a public comment to go on record opposing the Delta tunnels/CA WaterFix/BDCP. This will be your last chance to submit a public comment—federal agencies may attempt to permit this plan as early as 2016!"
Protesters oppose LA funding of Delta tunnels for Big Ag tycoons—by Dan Bacher: "Outside the plush Los Angeles headquarters of agribusiness tycoon Stewart Resnick on August 19, 25 protesters chanted, "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Corporate Greed has got to go" and 'Mayor Garcetti, have some will. Don’t let Resnick raise our bills.' The protesters, including Los Angeles ratepayers, community leaders and representatives of water watchdog groups, demanded that Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti protect LA water ratepayers from funding the massive Delta tunnels project promoted by Governor Jerry Brown to export more water to corporate agribusiness interests and oil companies on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. The tunnels opponents held their rally outside the corporate headquarters of The Wonderful Company, owned by Stewart and Lynda Resnick, to expose the Resnicks' campaign to promote the 'California Water Fix,' formerly known as the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The Resnicks in June unveiled their company's new name, the Wonderful Company, to replace the old corporate name, Roll Global."
California's drought is 25% worse because of climate change—by Walter Einenkel: "A scientific article published and funded by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) says that climate change, and more specifically rising temperatures associated with climate change, have exacerbated the drought affecting California. 'A lot of people think that the amount of rain that falls out the sky is the only thing that matters,' said lead author A. Park Williams, a bioclimatologist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. 'But warming changes the baseline amount of water that's available to us, because it sends water back into the sky.' The study adds to growing evidence that climate change is already bringing extreme weather to some regions. California is the world's eighth-largest economy, ahead of most countries, but many scientists think that the nice weather it is famous for may now be in the process of going away. The record-breaking drought is now in its fourth year; it is drying up wells, affecting major produce growers and feeding wildfires now sweeping over vast areas."
Trash, Pollution & Hazardous Waste
Duke Energy says the contaminated water around their power plants not a problem—by Walter Einenkel: "Duke Energy, best known for making money, pleading guilty, and paying out multimillion-dollar fines for contaminating waterways throughout North Carolina, has released a report saying that the contaminated ash wells around their power plants are not the cause of nearby private wells' contamination. Contaminated groundwater at power plants in Gaston and Rowan counties is not flowing toward private wells, Duke Energy said Monday. Duke, in groundwater analyses that will be reviewed by the state environmental agency, said no imminent health or environmental hazards exist near its Allen and Buck power plants. Neighbors of the plants have been hardest hit by the results of statewide tests of private wells near Duke’s plants. Through Aug. 18, owners of 128 private wells near Allen had been advised not to drink their water. Buck’s neighbors have received 78 advisories. The good news for Duke is that this is exactly what they said they would find when they sent their scientists to find it in the first place!"
Forests, Wilderness & Public Lands
Black Hills Photo Diary & LWCF—by RockyMtnHigh: "One might think a government program with a 50 year track record of success would be a pretty safe bet to continue into the future. Yet in the case of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which since 1965 has applied dollars from offshore mineral royalties to supporting public lands conservation and state and local parks, its future is very much in doubt. When Congress reconvenes after its August recess, LWCF will be less than a month away from expiring. And while the program enjoys bipartisan support, previous efforts to pass reauthorization in the Senate fell just short of the 60 vote threshold required. Continuing on a series of photo diaries highlighting some of the areas that have benefitted from LWCF investments (the first covered the Great Sand Dunes), this diary highlights the Black Hills - where LWCF federal funds have been been applied both with the Black Hills National Forest and Wind Cave National Park, while LWCF state and local assistance funds have provided 23 separate grants to Custer State Park. All photos are RMHigh's except the closeup of boxwork from Wind Cave (credit: National Park Service)."
Rapid Climate Change Threatens Survival of World's Boreal Forests (and us with them)—by Steven D: "You know all those trees burning in the Northwestern United States and Canada? Those are just a small part of the great boreal forests, a/k/a the taiga in Russia, that cover as much as thirty percent (30%) of the earth's total forests. In 1998, scientists published a study, 'Climate Change and Forest Fire Potential in Russian and Canadian Boreal Forests,' which predicted that climate change would bring about significantly greater risks of "forest fire danger levels" in Canada and Siberia, with large relases of carbon into the atmosphere as a result. Seventeen years later, we are witnessing their predictions come true as over just the last five years massive fires have burned millions of acres in Russia, Alaska and Canada. Millions of acres of forests have burned or are burning right now in the United States alone as I type these words."
Miscellany
Will You Save Earth?—by CSDofNM : "I went to a big industry conference, to pitch the proposal that the major domestic airlines could take 10% of their monthly fuel cost as a tax break, then the 501c(3) could spend 5% of that on University research, 5% on University scholarships, and 90% of it on industrial research, to implement the best jet engine technology for the jet fleet of today. One of the big jet engine manufacturers WOULD NOT EVEN DISCUSS it, and sent a threatening letter from their legal counsel. One of the big airlines was polite enough to consider it but reject it because they felt there was not much chance of success. Yet NASA has N+1 (33%), N+2 (50%) and N+3 (75-95%) more efficient engines being researched today, with the N+1 engines already certified and mounted on new planes as we speak. Not much chance of making the same engines you are buying on the 4B$ dollars of planes you just ordered, sure, might as well bomb the Moon."