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 25,750 environmentally oriented stories have appeared in the 465 editions of 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
FishOutofWater writes—Extreme Melting: Antarctic Glacier Lost 1000 to 1500 Feet in Thickness of Solid Ice in 7 Years: “Extraordinarily rapid melting of the bottom 1000 to 1500 feet of solid ice of west Antarctica’s Smith glacier was discovered by NASA’s detailed aerial radar surveys in 2002 and 2007 of the ice shelves of the Amundsen Sea embayment (ASE). Melt volumes in the ASE, the highest in Antarctica, are already a large contributor to sea level rise. This new study shows that the ice shelves of west Antarctica may be extremely unstable and that shockingly high melting rates are possible. Because west Antarctica stores huge volumes of ice, destabilization of the ice shelves would lead to rapid global sea level rise. [...] We now know from this study that glaciers are already melting at astonishing rates but predicting how rapidly the west Antarctic ice sheet will collapse is a major scientific challenge. Thus predicting the changing rates of sea level rise and the effects on coastlines will be controversial and political, but 20 to 30 feet (minimum) of sea level rise is pretty much inevitable. It's only a matter of time. Although 20 to 30 feet of sea level rise will be very destructive to coastlines, efforts to slash CO2 emissions are worth doing to prevent far higher levels of sea level rise that will take place if the whole Antarctic and Greenland ice caps melt.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Busy day at the dam: The Canada Goose flock was out of the water at this time and over in a grassy area grazing. There were a few individual geese swimming here and there, but none in the photos here.
fll7612 writes—The Daily Bucket: In Glorious Color: “October 19, 2016. Loughberry Lake I managed to sneak a few minutes before a meeting to see what was happening at beautiful Loughberry lake. I’m so glad that I did because we were about to get slammed by three days of wind and much needed rain. The foliage was absolutely magnificent and the weather was perfect, partly cloudy and warm. The lake freezes over eventually, December IIRC, at which point the waterfowl move elsewhere. I checked ebird to see what was around in November and December of last year, before the freeze, and found thousands of Canada geese, hundreds of ring-necked ducks, both greater and lesser scaup, ruddy ducks, hooded mergansers, lesser mergansers, green-winged teals and a steady population of 4 buffleheads among others. I have to say the last surprised me as I thought buffleheads were purely migrants. There is still plenty to see when the lake is frozen. There are hawks, four types of woodpecker and many passerines. Needless to say I plan to revisit Loughberry Lake often.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - White-Headed Gulls on their way south: “Heermann’s gulls, also known as White-headed gulls (a name preferred by some as being descriptive), have been abundant in the open waters of the Salish Sea since mid- July — until now. On October 12 when I took the photo above, White-headed gulls were gathering in several large flocks offshore, over a hundred in each group, a sign they were mobilizing for departure. On our most recent boat trip a few days ago, along the exact same route, I saw 6 of these gulls total. Except for those few stragglers, our Heermann’s gulls have left the Pacific Northwest, headed south toward their breeding ground in Mexico. Today is a good day to reflect on these very special gulls. Flying north after breeding is not the only unusual feature of these distinctive birds. Their appearance is remarkable too: while the plumage of most gulls is primarily white, like the California gulls in the background below, Heermann’s gulls are gray all over except for white accents on their wings and tails, and seasonally white heads.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Lefty Coaster writes—Ominous Three-peat as 2016 is the Hottest Year on Record Just like 2015 and 2014 were: “As we continue to muddle along dependent on fossil fuels, which are being extracted in increasingly destructive ways, we see unmistakable changes taking place all around us that we’re damaging the natural world so essential to our survival. Most prominent among those indicators is increasing global surface temperatures. This year we can already say that we are experiencing the hottest year on record, and we’ve got three months to go! Just like 2015 WAS the hottest year on record. And just like 2014 WAS the hottest year on record.”
JamesRiverMaven writes—Dave Brat Would Block Government From Dealing With Climate Change: “Dave Brat cosponsored HR 3880, the Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 2015. According to the Congressional Research Service, ‘This bill amends the Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride pollution from the scope of that Act. ‘The bill declares that current law does not authorize or require the regulation of climate change or global warming and nullifies certain proposed rules relating to greenhouse gas and carbon pollution emissions.’ Dave Brat has told me twice in letters that because he is a parent he cares about the environment.”
xaxnar writes—Among the Bad Climate News, Some Good:
“Marketplace.org has news from the International Energy Agency. Renewable energy is being installed at a faster rate than conventional energy; wind and solar have passed coal. As installations increase, the costs keep dropping. The audio at the Marketplace link starts with that story before moving onto other economic news. While projects like wind farms and large solar arrays are important, smaller scale installations are also making a difference. Led by the utility-scale segment, GTM Research forecasts 16 gigawatts (GW) of solar will be installed in the U.S. in 2016, more than doubling the record-breaking 7.3 GW installed in 2015. While utility-scale installations will represent 74 percent of the installations for the year, the residential and commercial markets will also experience strong growth in 2016. In fact, the U.S. is on the verge of the 1 millionth solar installation milestone.’This is a new energy paradigm and the solar industry officially has a seat at the table with the largest energy producers,’ said SEIA president and CEO Rhone Resch. ‘Because of the strong demand for solar energy nationwide, and smart public policies like the ITC and NEM, hundreds of thousands of well-paying solar jobs will be added in the next few years benefiting both America’s economy and the environment.”
puddytat writes—Top Comments: Coffee is Already Becoming a Victim of Climate Change: “Maybe this will get crazy Uncle Bob to wake up before he can’t smell the coffee anymore. … climate change, which is expected to fall hardest in the very region where coffee thrives, the tropics. Coffea Arabica—which accounts for 70 percent of the coffee grown globally, including your morning joe—requires the cool year-round temperatures and ample rainfall found in tropical highlands. Robusta (Coffea Canephora)—source of the low-grade joe that supplies the instant market—also requires a tropical climate, but can tolerate warmer, drier conditions. It gets worse (of course). Those of us who already rely on this beloved liquid (don’t even think of talking to me before my first cup) are already starting to mourn.”
Pakalolo writes—'The largest iceberg in decades broke free from a North American glacier – and no one noticed': “Porcupine Glacier is a 12 and a half mile long outlet glacier of an icefield in the Hoodoo Mountains in northern British Columbia. During late August of 2016 it calved a large iceberg but it was just recently discovered via satellite images. It took us almost two months to notice what’s been described as ‘the biggest calving event in North America’ in recent memory. [...] The American Geophysical Union notes the significance of this discovery: ‘During 2016 the glacier had a 1.2 square kilometer iceberg break off, leading to a retreat of 1.7 km in one year. This is an unusually large iceberg to calve off in a proglacial lake, the largest ever seen in British Columbia or Alaska… The retreat of this glacier is similar to a number of other glaciers in the area: Great Glacier, Chickamin Glacier, South Sawyer Glacier and Bromley Glacier.”
popsicleStyx writes—Does our warming climate contribute to the spread of flesh-eating bacteria? ”According to The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, that answer is yes. ...for the first time to our knowledge, that a warming trend in sea surface temperature is strongly associated with spread of vibrios, an important group of marine prokaryotes, and emergence of human diseases caused by these pathogens. From this recent story in The Washington Post, one unfortunate victim succumbed to this deadly bacteria just 4 days after contracting it while cleaning crab pots in Ocean City, MD. Symptoms of the infection developed within hours and the victim, despite having had a leg amputation, died just a scant 4 days later in Baltimore.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Another Inspector General Report Slams Illegal Irrigator Subsidies: “Has the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation become a rogue agency within the Department of Interior? It’s beginning to look like that, based on recent Inspector General reports documenting the loss of millions of taxpayer dollars through Reclamation mismanagement in the Klamath Basin.On the heels of an Inspector General audit finding that Reclamation has “wasted” $32.2 million in illegal payments to Klamath Basin irrigators, a new federal audit report reveals that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has cost taxpayers millions by failing to collect for nearly a decade moneys owed by Klamath Basin irrigators. The audits have spurred calls by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and other organizations to hold individual Reclamation officials to account and to reform the troubled agency.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
poopdogcomedy writes—WI-Sen: Ron Johnson (R) On Climate Change, 'Mankind Has Actually Flourished In Warmer Temperatures’: “Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on Monday said he doesn’t think people should worry about finding solutions to climate change ― because historically, ‘civilization thrives’ in warmer temperatures. ‘Climate has already changed, always will. I’m just not an alarmist. We will adapt,’ Johnson told Wisconsin radio station WHBY. ‘How many people are moving up toward the Antarctica, or the Arctic? Most people move down to Texas or Florida, where it’s a little bit warmer [...] Obviously, man affects the environment, and we should do everything we can to maintain a clean environment, but you need an affluent society. You need a strong economy,’ the senator said. ‘Let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot with policies.’”
throughaglassdarkly writes—The Climate's Most Important Election: “...despite a do-nothing Congress, in the last eight years there has also been significant and under-appreciated progress at the federal level in the United States. Acting under the Clean Air Act and Supreme Court precedent confirming that it applies to greenhouse gases, the Obama Administration has adopted rules that significantly cut emissions from the largest categories of source – cars and trucks, fossil-fuel burning power plants, and oil and gas production facilities. The Administration has required that federal agencies factor into their decisions the cost to society of carbon pollution. Besides these legal breakthroughs, a complex set of factors – including plunging costs of renewable energy; reduced costs of natural gas compared to (higher-emitting) coal; state climate and clean energy laws; and the retirement of antiquated coal plants—has in the last decade brought about significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from the country’s largest category of sources. Carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity generation sector—our largest emissions category—are now at 21 percent below 2005 levels. There is every reason to expect much deeper cuts: the cost of clean, renewable energy is dropping below that of climate-destabilizing fossil energy.”
Clark75 writes—Climate change betrayal in Washington state. P1: “For years, climate activists and politicians in Washington have been trying to pass significant climate legislation to curb GHG emissions but have failed. Suffice it to say, the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy did not put their grandiose, big-tent policy proposal on the 2016 ballot because a different group advocating a revenue-neutral tax called CarbonWA got there first. The ‘Alliance’ consists of some heavy hitters including the AFL-CIO, Sierra Club, OneAmerica, minority community organizations, tribes, business coalitions, and many others (>150 organizations). The ballot successful CarbonWA, spearheaded by a guy named Yoram Bauman, devised a tax shift proposal with a carbon tax as its centerpiece that turned into I-732. With two separate climate initiatives on the same ballot, both would have failed for obvious reasons. Boom, dimensional Void wormhole just got created in St. Helens caldera circa 1980. Many of the same groups that make up the ‘Alliance’ and the state Democratic Party turned right back around and either chose not to endorse I-732 or are actively telling voters to reject the measure. This is really simple: that kind of approach to real climate policy and emissions reductions policy, in particular, is naive, selfish, self-defeating, ironic, political cowardice, stonewalling, and downright dangerous.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Lenny Flank writes—Photo Diary: Petrified Forest National Park: The Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona actually consists of two parks side by side. At one end is the Petrified Forest, and at the other end is the Painted Desert. Here are some photos from a day at the parks:
BYPRODUCTS, TRASH, TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Jen Hayden writes—Lung cancer and mesothelioma links be damned, Donald Trump thinks asbestos scare is a conspiracy: “Sure he wants to build a wall, lashes out at immigrants, pushes hateful rhetoric, is a known sexual predator and all-round horrible person, but this is something else, even for Donald Trump. The man adores cancer-causing asbestos. From Mother Jones: Believe Donald Trump, folks: There is an anti-asbestos conspiracy. In his 1997 book, The Art of the Comeback, Trump warned America not to buy the crusade against ‘the greatest fire-proofing material ever used.’ He claimed the movement to remove asbestos—a known carcinogen—was actually the handiwork of the mafia: I believe that the movement against asbestos was led by the mob, because it was often mob-related companies that would do the asbestos removal. Great pressure was put on politicians, and as usual, the politicians relented. Millions of truckloads of this incredible fire-proofing material were taken to special ‘dump sites’ and asbestos was replaced by materials that were supposedly safe but couldn't hold a candle to asbestos in limiting the ravages of fire. Trump claimed asbestos is ‘100 percent safe, once applied,’ and that it just ‘got a bad rap.’”
ENERGY
Nuclear & Fossil Fuels
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Memo to UN: Coal is No Poverty Cure: “A group of more than a dozen international organizations lead by the Overseas Development Institute have put out an in-depth report on the bogus claim that coal can cure poverty. It’s true that over a billion people around the world lack access to energy, but the report shows how more coal will make things worse. The basic facts are very simple: Coal is a primary source of air pollution, which kills millions, and is a major driver of a little problem called climate change. Climate change is very bad for all of us, but even worse for the world’s most vulnerable. At least 2400 coal-fired power plants are in the planning or construction phases around the world right now. Building just a third of those would push the world over 2°C of global warming, worsen climate impacts, and negatively impact the millions of people that are already struggling with air pollution.”
Hydraulic Fracturing
annieli writes—What are Fracking's “right circumstances”? “Expectations abound for 2017 as President Clinton, if her legislative history holds, is likely to be more conciliatory to some version of bipartisanship in environmental legislation. What counts as the Wikileaks documents show, is that there are ‘serious policy matters’ which cannot be marginalized depending on the audience’s ideology. There can be a ‘Left balance’ that is also the ‘right balance.’ This nuanced easing will occur even if fewer obstructions than under her predecessor are expected with improved party minority/majority status in Congress and perhaps fewer ‘baggers. As always there will be the constraints of special interest lobbies. Yet how committed will she be to the 2016 Democratic Party platform as the GOP resistance which receded with the Trumpian implosion will reconstitute itself with new and usual suspects in the next session of Congress. Even in her non-radical(sic) environmentalism, she has been grudgingly receptive to progressive positions not simply because of gaffes like forgetting to speak of retraining and redirecting lost jobs in West Virginia coal country. Considering Clinton 42’s influence at that moment, her lifelong triangulating tendencies will need to be criticized, regardless of the balance of Congressional power.”
Emissions Controls & Carbon Pricing
Karen Feridun writes The Clean Power Plan Is a Dangerous Fad Diet: “The Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan was not developed with a strict carbon budget in mind. The Environmental Protection Agency has targeted a too little, too late 32% decrease in carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector by 2030. The plan calls for states to develop plans of their own to lay out how they will meet individual targets set by the EPA. Pennsylvania’s target is a 23% decrease. Unfortunately, the CPP’s weak target is just one of many problems it poses. Just as a dieter cannot be selective about which calories to count, governments cannot be selective about which emissions to count, yet that’s what occurs throughout the plan.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Next Conservatism writes—The Right to Sunshine in the Sunshine State: ”You’d expect Florida to live up to its name as “The Sunshine State”, but Florida lags behind Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, and even West Virginia in producing solar-generated electricity. The state obstructs distributed generation by defending its utilities’ monopoly on buying and selling electricity. A developer of apartments or offices can't sell electricity from rooftop array on his own buildings to tenants. Innovative business models that permit a third party to build and own an array on a private home, and then to sell that power at a discount to the homeowner--models that have been proven in wide use across the country--aren’t permitted in Florida.”
Observer343 writes—Wind Turbine Blades Nearly Snapped Off: “Well, this is quite terrifying. One or two days ago, 3 blades on 3 wind turbines (2 damaged turbines pictured) in Huron County, Michigan snapped off and are (as the local radio host puts it) hanging by a thread. I don’t know why or how this happened. A few days ago, the the turbine blades seemed just fine. Yesterday, I was going for a walk, and I noticed something weird in the distance. The tips of the blades appeared to be gone. I thought I was just seeing a cloud obscure the blades or I saw the blades at a weird angle. The radio news confirmed that the blades had indeed nearly snapped off.”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
navajo writes—83 arrested at Standing Rock yesterday, Dakota Access Pipeline wants war. Native drones shot down! “Last night on October 22, 2016, Dallas Goldtooth reported, via Facebook Live about the 83 arrests that happened yesterday near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation where American Indian Nations are resisting the construction of a four-state oil pipeline being constructed under the Missouri River, the water source for 17 million people. My detailed news timeline on Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) v. The Water Protectors can be read here if you need it. Goldtooth, (Mdewakanton Dakota and Diné) the Keep it in the Ground Organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network is the frontline’s go-to reporter for the Water Protectors in North Dakota. I transcribed [emphasis mine] his impromptu video update.”
navajo writes—Cops jail 141 in ND: Even more 'water protectors' step up to the frontline, citing 1851 treaty: “It was not 83 Water Protectors who were arrested on Saturday, October 22, as reported yesterday: 141 people were actually jailed! The 83 count was from the Morton County jail alone. Due to a lack of space to hold the 141 arrested, Morton County sent protectors to several county jails, including Mercer, Cass, Stutsman, Lake Region, Stark, and McLean counties. Arrestees continue to report being strip searched for misdemeanor charges. This seems to be a ‘Let’s catch everyone we can in one fell swoop’ approach by police. But like other environmental protests in the U.S., this was not catch and release. Our people are being held and forced to pay bail. And, apparently these rural police think this will stop us by reducing our numbers.”
EarthquakeWeather writes—DAPL update: aggression against water protectors escalates; lawsuits expected: “Hundreds of American Indian Nations and others, who call themselves ‘water protectors’ and are led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, have actively resisted construction of the four-state oil pipeline, claiming that it would cross significant tribal lands and could endanger the water source for 17 million people. The Morton County Sheriff’s Department maintains that protesters Saturday were trespassing on private property and inciting a riot. The department also said that in a separate action, protesters damaged construction equipment vehicles and cut holes in doors and fused their arms to the door with concrete. Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said the actions of protesters Saturday were ‘intentionally coordinated and planned by agitators with the specific intent to engage in illegal activities.’”
Lefty Coaster writes—Two activists filming pipeline protester in Anacortes WA. arrested and charged w sabotage felonies: “Two activists were arrested filming a single protester shutting off the the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline shipping the oil from from the Canadian Tar Sands during the #ShutItDown protests on October 11. Now they are being charged with archaic felonies used to punish labor activists during one of the Red Scares that swept across the Pacific Northwest during the rise of the Industrial Workers of the World in the early 20th century. That pipeline brings Canadian oil from Alberta to refineries in Anacortes. Two other people were watching from outside the fence: Lindsey Grayzel and Carl Davis, who lawyers say are making a documentary about Ward. Ward posted his video in which a Skagit County deputy approaches the filmmakers, telling them, ‘You don’t have permission to be on this property. So now’s your chance to go back. If not, you will be arrested also.’ Court documents suggest they complied. But all three were arrested that day and charged with the same felonies: burglary, criminal sabotage and being part of an assembly of saboteurs.”
ECO-ESSAYS & PROPOSALS
Irna L Landrum writes—When we sin against the water: “Communities drink and bathe in poison, because so many make money desecrating the life source of the poor and black and brown. Lawmakers fight about whether they should "have to" pay to clean up drinking water supplies, water that is causing skin rashes, brain damage, and cancer. CEOs say that life should go only to those who can afford it, that there is no human right to water. My heart to Flint, where the crisis has not ended, but the political grandstanding, for the most part, has. My heart to Standing Rock, where hundreds of tribes unite and pray and stand vigil, only to be met with tanks. My heart to southeast Louisiana, where the person I am was first watered and where the water was too polluted to touch. My heart in me, as I realized just now, that I didn't learn to love being in water til a few years ago because for so long it wasn't a safe option.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
LiberalTexan11 writes—EPA's Glyphosate Review Panel: “About a month ago, I wrote a story detailing the EPA's review of glyphosate’s carcinogenicity. Glyphosate is a pesticide that was discovered and patented by Monsanto and sold under the brand name RoundUp. The report came to the conclusion that the “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans” classification was the strongest descriptor for glyphosate. I ended that story with information about a review panel that would evaluate the report in October. Well it seems that the panel has been postponed. The panel was suppose to convene last week, but the EPA postponed it for later in the year. That almost certainly means that the panel will not convene before the election.”
gmoke writes City Agriculture - October 23, 2016: A collection of links.