Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the most recent previous Green Spotlight. More than 25,255 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
enhydra lutris writes—Fire at Ivanpah solar plant. Lessons to be learned? “According to an article at SF Gate this morning (Ivanpah Fire), there was a fire at the Ivanpah Solar Plant Thursday which required the closing of one generating tower. That is 1/3 of its generating capacity, and it is the largest solar power plant in the world right now. One other tower is down for maintenance, so it is currently running at 1/3 capacity. [...] Now, if my solar goes down, that’s it, I lose power. Actually, I feed the grid during daytime, so Pacific Grief and Extortion has to go pay retail for enough power to make up the difference, but it is no big deal. Independent, distributed generation systems pose no material threat to the grid itself or to the overall power supply and flow. Micro grids, where in use, have a micro impact, taking down, at most, the members of the micro-grid. [...] Why centralize something like this. Greater total, end to end efficiency? Probably not. Greater security. Not in any sense of the word. The sole reason is that something that big must be owned by either a government or a corporation. Governments, since the Reagan Revolution, are not supposed to compete with private industry. There are profits to be made. There are monopolies or oligopolies to maintain. I say the old fables are right, centralized power is dumb and no longer necessary. It is time to facilitate, or at least not impede, local, user owned distributed power generation.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
enhydra lutris writes—The Daily Bucket - May Yard Report: “The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. This is part of my ongoing project to document the changes in our yard from month to month.”
Jen Hayden writes—Check out the highly addictive live bear cam at Alaska's Katmai National Park: “The Katmai National Park live cam at Brooks Falls is up and running and these Alaskan bears are mighty active right now. Warning: Brooks Falls bear watching can be highly addictive. Check it out.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: when good forests go bad - an obituary for California oak trees: “California’s coast is defined by cliffs, beaches, mountains, and a doomed lush forest. Already coastal forests have brown patches of dead trees scattered throughout and in 14 years this will cover 8,700 square miles. A modeling study projected that the disease killing millions of California trees is impossible to eradicate and our once lush forests will be a mosaic of dead, damaged, and survivor trees. The mathematical modeling used can analyze other infestations of diseases and invasive species, for example when Nile crocodiles show up in the Florida Everglades or the next aquatic pest is released into the Great Lakes along with ship ballast water. Knowing when to act and how to allocate resources to the problem requires rapid evaluation. We waited too long to save these trees and “’oo long’ was only a few years.”
Austin Bailey writes—1,000,000,000 Birds - Just Gone: “The just released State of North America’s Birds report is grim reading. Based on a comprehensive evaluation of species population size and trends, ranges and threat severity the assessment reaches a stark conclusion. A billion birds have disappeared from North America since 1970, and a third of bird species across the continent are threatened with extinction…The first State of North America's Birds report finds that of 1,154 bird species that live in and migrate among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, 432 are of "high concern" due to low or declining populations, shrinking ranges and threats such as human-caused habitat loss, invasive predators and climate change. Complied by experts from Mexico, the United States and Canada, the report breaks down species risk in 10 habitats. Even when these "high concern" species are protected by international agreements and or endangered species protection they are placed at risk by both human encroachment and the impact of climate change on breeding grounds and food sources.”
Pakalolo writes—Africa's man-eating Nile crocodiles have slithered into the Everglades: “Another blow to the fragile South Florida ecosystem as Nile crocodiles have been captured in the southernmost tip of South Florida near Miami. They are the second largest crocodile after the Saltwater crocodile. It is a very aggressive species and is able to kill any animal within its range. The bite is very powerful and razor-sharp conical teeth sink into flesh allowing for a grip that is almost impossible to loosen. This crocodile is able to survive in saltwater but prefers brackish lakes and rivers. The Burmese python had been the most destructive invasive species in Florida before the recent discovery of Nile crocodiles. The python has decimated the population of small and medium size mammals in Everglades National Park. They have even been caught on camera consuming large alligators. WAFP reports: ’They didn't swim from Africa,’ University of Florida herpetologist Kenneth Krysko said. ‘But we really don't know how they got into the wild.’”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: A walk in the Azalea Garden: “My usual walking loop up the Schuylkill River from my apartment tends to end with a transit of the Azalea Garden in the edge of Fairmount Park. There are a lot of flowers in this area’s beds besides azaleas, but their recent blooming season makes the name very appropriate at this time.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
catgrin writes—How This Year's El Niño Has Affected Global Temperature: “Initial note: Don’t get angry before you read the whole thing. I am absolutely not an Anthropogenic Climate Change denier! This diary is specifically about how a natural weather occurrence is exacerbating this year’s temperatures. The Earth is still definitely getting warmer. There is no arguing that this year’s April is the hottest one recorded in 136 recorded years. A discussion of that fact, and the effect of the warming in general, can be found at the DK diary “Earth records hottest April and it wasn’t even close”. (here) Not noted in that diary is this: In addition to human activity, cyclic weather patterns affect global temperatures, and the larger the pattern, the larger the effect. This year is no exception. It brought a particularly strong El Niño to the Pacific Ocean. It’s been news now for quite some time, but for those who’d like some info about this cyclic phenomenon.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Republicans write sad letters saying investigations into Exxon are First Amendment rights violations: “House Republicans on the House Science Committee sent a series of letters to 17 state attorneys general and eight climate change organizations, from Greenpeace to theRockefeller Family Fund, that accuses them of a: [...] coordinated attempt to deprive companies, nonprofit organizations, and scientists of their First Amendment rights and ability to fund and conduct scientific research free from intimidation and threats of prosecution. This is in response to the 17 attorneys general who announced that they will be going after ExxonMobil and others for perpetuating a fraud on every single person on the planet.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Even Blind, Experts See Flaws in Denier Arguments: “Before we get to today’s not-Exxon story, a quick announcement: The Center for International Environmental Law has added over 100 new documents to their Smoke and Fumes website of searchable oil industry documents. So if you have an appetite for investigation, this should suit your tastes. Speaking of tastes, everyone knows what a blind taste test is. They're a staple of the marketing world, and check whether or not you can really taste the difference between diet and regular soda. Which you prefer, is the consume-ate question that will never be decisively answered and will keep bubbling up again and again. But blind tests can be useful for delivering refreshingly unbiased answers to questions even more contentious than Coke vs Pepsi. For example, is the ice cover of the Arctic growing or shrinking? And are sea levels rising or stable? These are two questions posed in a new study that uses the tried and true blind test approach to gauge the reliability of denier arguments. Researchers relabeled climate data as population and economic data and served it up to economists and statisticians. That way the subjects were blind to the true meaning of the data, so no one could accuse them of being biased in their responses.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Walter Einenkel writes—Brewery uses edible byproduct of its beer to create ocean-safe six-pack rings: “Down in Florida, the Saltwater Brewery has come up with a seemingly no-brainer solution to one of the more distressing environmental issues of the day—plastics in the ocean. Marine animals, including birds, are killed every year by plastics, either suffocating by getting caught in them or by ingesting smaller plastics. Saltwater Brewery’s idea is to turn their classic six-pack packaging into something edible, so if it finds its way into the ocean, it will not only be safe for the life down there, it will be mildly healthy. [...] Unchecked, plastics will outweigh the fish in our oceans by 2050. Saltwater Brewery is a small fish in the pond that is plastic manufacturing, but they have a good idea.”
Dan Bacher writes—Breaking News: Court Issues Ruling on Challenges to Delta Plan: “In a favorable decision for Delta advocates, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael P. Kenny on May 18 issued a complex 73-page ruling on challenges to the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan, a plan that embraces Governor Jerry Brown’s California Water Fix to Build the Delta Tunnels. Although the decision upheld the Council's regulatory authority, Kenny said the Delta Plan didn’t meet the requirements of the Delta Reform Act of 2009 by failing to provide sufficiently quantifiable performance measures. The Court also said the plan also did not adequately promote alternatives to improve the way water projects convey water across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas. This decision is a ‘victory for those who live, work and recreate in Delta,’ said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta (RTD).”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
poopdogcomedy writes—CO-Sen: GOPer That Didn't Need Voter Fraud To Get On The Ballot Is A Full Blown Climate Denier: “But let’s take a look at the top GOP candidate who did make the ballot after pulling off a surprise win in the Colorado GOP convention. I give you Darryl Glenn (R. CO):= Asked about the issue by KNUS 710-AM’s Jimmy Sengenberger Show May 7, Glenn, an El Paso Couty Commissioner, said: Glenn: Climate change, we can debate that until the cows come home, for lack of a better way of stating that. The bottom line is, I do not believe that man is contributing to that factor. We need to stand up for energy independence, and Colorado needs to lead the nation. Sengenberger: I think this issue is so overblown. But it is something that is very important to Millennials in particular, because they have gone through a college process and a K-12 education where this is something constantly ingrained in them. How can we appeal to Millenials, to young people, in your mind on the issue of energy, to say, ‘We need to be developing our energy infrastructure in this country and in the state of Colorado, not harming it. Glenn: I agree. And it’s an extensive conversation.”
BYPRODUCTS, TRASH, TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Mark Sumner writes—New chemical regulations are a rarity—Congress working as it should: “The House and Senate have come to an agreement on how to regulate a large number of chemicals, many of which have been used in household products for decades, and some of which have either been known or been suspected to be hazardous. It’s an important piece of legislation, the first significant update to a bill passed in 1976. But more than that, it’s an example of how Congress should work. First, there’s the fact that the chemical industry—a substantial lobby—was against any regulation. Pressure from that industry stalled any movement on new regulations for years, but both legislators and staffers continued to work behind the scenes to hammer out a compromise. The bipartisan authors of the new bill say their breakthrough represents a pragmatic, politically viable compromise between better environmental standards and the demands of industry. What did Democrats give up to make this happen? Mostly a thing called primacy. In environmental legislation, including the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, states are given a form of primacy over federal law. They’re allowed to implement their own regulations, so long as those regulations take the federal standards as a minimum. Often, the federal standards are pretty weak and it’s up to the states to provide both numbers and testing procedures that deliver real safety to their citizens.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—EELI’s Anti-EPA Suit Uses 'Exhibit A’ from Tobacco's RICO Loss: “With few exceptions (like this weak WSJ column), the folks defending Exxon from RICO accusations focus their attention on the free speech argument and avoid the tobacco comparison. But now one of their own, Dr. James Enstrom, has provided a painfully clear connection between the beleaguered industries. The Daily Caller carries the news that the Energy & Environment Legal Institute’s (EELI) latest attempt to waste its (probably coal) funders' money is a lawsuit against the EPA, claiming an independent review panel for air quality regulations isn’t actually independent. Their reason is that members of the panel have received funding from the EPA for past studies. Obviously, that’s ridiculous, since public and private funding are vastly different in terms of conflict of interest. So what does a real conflict of interest look like? For a prime example, look no further than the plaintiffs EELI is representing: The Western States Trucking Association (WSTA) and Dr. James Enstrom.”
ENERGY
Nuclear & Fossil Fuels
xxdr zombiexx writes—Without the least hint of irony, OilPrice.com publishes this outrageous little paragraph: ”The massive wildfires in Canada continue to spread, encompassing more than 1.25 million acres, but cooler weather and efforts from firefighters have kept the blazes away from oil sands sites. More than 1 million barrels per day have been sidelined over the past two weeks, and the inability to get the fires under control has temporarily shelved some plans for restarts. The Alberta government said this week the 80,000 residents of Fort McMurray could start to return in increments beginning in June. Look at that for a moment. Let it sink in. I split it into two pieces for some processing: First — I am bitterly amused at their apparent cluelessness: I mean where did these massive wildfires come from in the first place? They are artifacts spawned by ‘global warming’ and ’climate change.’”
Meteor Blades writes—As the coal industry collapses and workers suffer, top executives rake in more cash than ever: “The advocacy group Public Citizen released a report Tuesday showing how top executives for three giant coal companies got large compensation boosts even as they laid off workers and cut their benefits. The three companies—Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, and Alpha Natural Resources—are all continuing their operations under Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings. Over the past few years, they went deeply into debt expanding via mergers and other purchases even as coal prices were falling and their bottom lines were going from black to red. Their choices were not criminal. But they illustrate the stupidity of how executive compensation works these days. Bonuses and stock options when times are good, higher cash compensation when the company tanks. The so-called “war on coal” has been good to these men. [...] The guys at the top may no longer qualify as coal barons, but they’ve adequately padded their nests with millions of dollars extracted the way they extracted the coal itself, ripping the resource from the ground and leaving the economic, environmental and social debris from their operations for somebody else to clean up.”
Emissions Controls & Carbon Pricing
Mary Anne Hitt writes—How EPA's Haze Rule Can Help Keep Our Air Clear: “If our air isn’t clean, our communities can’t be healthy. I grew up just outside Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the gateway community to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where my dad worked as the chief scientist. Growing up in the Smokies, clean air was essential to the health of the national park, visitors and local residents, and the economy. But on some summer days growing up, although you were in one of our nation’s crown jewel national parks, it was unhealthy to go on a hike, and you couldn’t see the next ridgeline, due to air pollution. Much of that pollution was coming from old, outdated coal-fired power plants nearby. We weren’t alone – national parks and other special places around the country suffer from high rates of air pollution, worse on some days than the pollution in our biggest cities. Why are our parks and communities suffering from this pollution?”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
NH LABOR NEWS writes—Powering Forward: A New Book About Campaigning On And Enacting Real Green Energy Solutions: “One gubernatorial candidate took a stand against climate change. Not only did it win him the election, it pushed Colorado to the front of the green energy revolution. ‘I believe that a global crisis is looming on the horizon and that the United States not only can but must take the lead in addressing it, in large part through a dynamic overhaul in how we produce and consume energy. The well-being of people around the globe depends on us doing just that,’ said Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. Bill Ritter ran his campaign for Governor of Colorado on building a new economy based on renewable energy and lowering the state’s dependence on fossil fuels. In his new book, Ritter talks about how he ran his successful campaign on building a new economy on green energy. After winning his election, Ritter put his ideas into actions creating a thriving economy in Colorado and creating thousands of new good paying jobs.”
rmoolick writes—Arizona’s War Against Alternative Energy: “Being environmentally conscious is a drawback for Arizonans. Having investigated the possibility of installing solar panels on my home in Tempe, I have discovered a subtle and deliberate series of actions that seriously tarnish the opportunities for adding solar power to my home. Two major utilities service the electrical needs in central Arizona. Electricity is provided by the Salt River Project (SRP) and the Arizona Public Service (APS). SRP works to discourage the installation of solar panels on homes by charging higher rates to homes with solar panels. APS managed to get a special surcharge passed through the Arizona Corporation Commission so that homes with solar panels pay extra for having them.”
gmoke writes—Advertorial Education for Solar: “One of the things I’d like to see happen is a set of short videos that teach people the basics of solar and renewable energy. I’ve done my best as an amateur but would love for professionals to take over and do something more polished. And effective.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
kishik writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging - Spotting Rainbows in the Garden: “Have you ever noticed how flowers and feather colours mimic one another? It’s warbler migration time and, for me, that means prime bird watching season, and at the same time the flowers also putting on a pretty show in the garden. Here are some of my colour observations. [...] The Blue.”
Jen Hayden writes—Bayer looks to strengthen their seed business with record-breaking offer to buy $42 billion Monsanto: “In big news from the world of Big Agriculture, Bayer has made an unsolicited offer to buy Monsanto. From Bloomberg News: The St. Louis-based company, with a market value of $42 billion, said it’s reviewing the offer in a statement Thursday. It didn’t disclose the terms of the proposal. Bayer, confirming the bid, said the combination would bolster its position as a life sciences company. If Bayer successfully buys Monsanto, it would be a mega-deal: If Bayer buys Monsanto, it could be the biggest acquisition globally this year and the largest German deal ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A takeover of Monsanto would require an enterprise value of as much as 65 billion euros, according to analysts at Citigroup Inc.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
terrypinder writes—The Transportation Roundup: Hype(r)loop: “See, I like Elon Musk. A lot of people do. His ideas are pretty great, and the things he’s put into actual practice, also great. Teslas are almost at a price point where a middle-class family can afford one. SpaceX seems to be on its way. I think the great ideas are why a lot of people don’t really look too deeply at some of the things he promises, why some scientific conventions pay him a bundle to speak at the expense of other programs (the AGU, for example, did this last year, inviting him and Al Gore and skimping, I thought, on some of the science outreach stuff), and stuff like that. Like the Hyperloop. He proposed it a couple years ago as a back of the envelope kind of operation. The essentials were he could build a vacuum pod system that’d transport people between a location in Silicon Valley or the East Bay to Los Angeles in under an hour and it’d cost only $6 billion. There’s a context here too. California is currently the only state that is actually building a TGV-style High-Speed Rail, approved by its voters in a referendum. The other 49, even liberal places like New England and the Pacific Northwest, either aren’t interested or are actively hostile to it. The cost to construct over 30 years is quite a bit; at last estimate, it was somewhere north of $68 billion. Musk is a substantial critic of it.”
NH LABOR NEWS writes—Our Failure To Invest In Infrastructure Is Actually Costing You Thousands: “Just drive down the road and you will quickly realize that our roads and bridges are in dire need of repair. However roads and bridges are not the only part of our crumbling infrastructure that needs to be addressed before its too late. Our infrastructure includes water, wastewater, electricity, airports, inland waterways & ports, and rail. ‘Infrastructure is the backbone of the U.S. economy and a necessary input to every economic output. It is critical to every nation’s prosperity and the public’s health and welfare,’ wrote the American Society of Civil Engineers in their new study, Failure to Act: Closing the Infrastructure Investment Gap for America’s Future. ‘Each Failure to Act study demonstrates that deteriorating infrastructure, long known to be a public safety issue, has a cascading impact on our nation’s economy, impacting business productivity, gross domestic product (GDP), employment, personal income, and international competitiveness,’ ASCE added. Failing to properly invest in maintaining and rebuilding our infrastructure is costing Americans thousands of dollars a year and it is about to get worse.”
MISCELLANY
Walter Einenkel writes—This North Carolina company has turned 4 billion plastic bottles into clothing for 7 years: “Unifi is a Greensboro, North Carolina-based company. They produce 300 million pounds of polyester and nylon yarn every year. Much of that yarn will go into making one of the 400,000 sets of caps and gowns worn by graduates across the country this year. The company collects clear plastic bottles from processors around the country who first shred them into plastic flakes. The plastic bottles are turned into small flakes that are then ground down into even smaller pellets. The pellets are in turn melted down, pulled out and spun into a yarn. Repreve makes three types of recycled yarn: 100% from used plastic bottles, a hybrid of plastic bottles and fiber waste, and a hybrid of plastic bottles and used fabric.”