This is the 492nd edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) usually appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the March 25 Green Spotlight. More than 26,735 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
Mary Anne Hitt writes—Trump Attacks Climate Plan, But We Won’t Go Backwards: “In today’s move, Trump instructed EPA to begin the process of repealing the CPP by instructing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to review and rewrite the standard. The Executive Order further directs the EPA to not defend the Clean Power Plan, which is in the midst of a legal challenge brought by polluters and fossil fuel heavy states. However, that doesn’t mean all hope is lost for the CPP. In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act, and that the EPA had an obligation to regulate those emissions if it concluded that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change. On the basis of a robust scientific record, in 2009 the agency concluded that six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, are the primary cause of climate change, and the D.C. Circuit upheld this finding. In 2011, the Supreme Court also held that the Clean Air Act ‘speaks directly’ to carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Returning King of the Sky to the Redwoods and the Yurok: “Re-introduction of condors to California was a risky, intensive, expensive project that resulted in conservation success. This year’s condor nesting has already begun and a 14-year-long plan for a major new phase of condor re-introduction is moving towards fruition. Bringing the nation’s biggest birds to the biggest trees (coast redwoods) in California’s northwest corner will reunite prey-go-neesh with the 5,000-member Yurok tribe of the Klamath River region. “To us, he is the king of the sky,’ says tribe chairman Thomas P. O’Rourke, Sr. ‘His absence is a hole in our hearts. Conservation scientists work from hope as well as rigorous analysis and preparation. The Yurok’s 2003 bold proposal combines hope, detailed site suitability evaluation, and complex planning by multiple agencies and organizations. O’Rourke says this proposal was an easy decision for the largest tribe in California. ‘No world can function and stay in balance until it is whole.’ The Yurok began by hiring biologists to evaluate the Klamath’s current status and ability to support condors. Historically, this is condor territory. In recent centuries the birds ranged from British Columbia to Baja California. Their numbers dwindled due to habitat loss, lead poisoning from ammunition, and DDT-thinned eggshells.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Thinking Fella writes—Valley of the Gods, Bears Ears National Monument-Join Me? A very photo heavy diary: “Yesterday, I went to Valley of the Gods in Bears Ears National Monument, located in Southeastern Utah. It is located in San Juan County, UT—I posted a diary about the area around Bluff, Utah two weeks ago. Valley of the Gods is located a bit further west than the area that diary focused on, though still (just less than) 20 miles from Bluff. Valley of the Gods, or ‘VotG’ going forward, has been a named destination for many years. However, prior to being protected by inclusion in the newly established Bears Ears National Monument—it was completely unprotected by any Federal designation. Thankfully, by being included in Bears Ears this gorgeous valley is now protected from development. Fwiw, there are no gas wells in VotG, although the entire area around it that is not within Bears Ears is chocked full of gas and/or oil extraction wells. And to be clear, when an area is designated a National Monument, all current leases, be they acreage for cattle grazing or mining/extraction operations—remain. What becoming a National Monument means is that no further leases will be issued (among other things), not that any current lease is cancelled.”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: O is For...”Welcome to the fifteenth entry in our Backyard Science ‘Alphabet’ series. Today’s Bucket is brought to you by the letter ‘O’. [...] ”
Senor Unoball writes—Dawn Chorus: Monument Valley and NE Arizona (and a plea for our annual Audubon fundraiser!): “We’ve all been to Monument Valley, whether in person or in our imagination. The landscape is one of the most recognizable in the world, primarily due to the many Western movies filmed here, including John Ford’s Stagecoach, starring John Wayne. But no matter what you think you have seen, photos or movies cannot hold up next to reality. And that is where we headed in early March, to see it for ourselves. It was quite a drive from the SF Bay area, but we wanted to see this beautiful part of the country, to learn a bit about Navajo and Hopi history and culture, and we wanted to go in the off-season when crowds would be smaller and temperatures cooler than in summer. After a night’s stop in Needles, CA, we continued to our first destination of Navajo National Monument. This park has several hiking trails, including an overlook to the Betatakin cliff-dwelling ruins.”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Spring Forward, Move Ahead...: “A sort of quick review of the progress of spring in the Philadelphia area following the end of a snow storm and week-long cold snap that froze things in progress. Photos are from a walk along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia and in Ridley Creek State Park, which is about fifteen miles west of Philadelphia.”
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--Heaven Must be Missing some Angels: “Every evening, a half-dozen chorus frogs still ribbet in the Frog Mitigation Area. I’ve been scrutinizing the two ponds’ foot-deep waters at night with a powerful flashlight that illuminates the murky waters right to the bottom, so I am getting accurate counts for frog attendance and egg sac production. [...] Every evening, a half-dozen chorus frogs still ribbet in the Frog Mitigation Area. I’ve been scrutinizing the two ponds’ foot-deep waters at night with a powerful flashlight that illuminates the murky waters right to the bottom, so I am getting accurate counts for frog attendance and egg sac production. [...] I identified two Brown Stripes, and six Camo Frogs among the eight frogs there a few days ago.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Highlights from the Lowlifes at Heartland’s Climate Conference: “Last week at Heartland’s denier conference, some crazy people said some crazy things. As is our duty, we rounded up the coverage for our readers. As the event is barely worth mentioning, we’ll keep it short: Lamar Smith, chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, reportedly ‘acknowledged that the committee is now a tool to advance his political agenda rather than a forum to examine important issues facing the U.S. research community,’ according to Science’s Jeffrey Mervis. Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma declared, ‘Obama’s war on fossil fuels is temporarily over.’ He also took a page out of Trump’s ‘truthful hyperbole’ playbook, saying the Waters of the United States rule that Trump rolled back ‘would have allowed the EPA to regulate all land and water uses in America.’ Willie Soon, famed for his undisclosed fossil fuel funding, said that the IPCC was an ‘anti-science movement’ for which he would create a ‘place in hell’.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Understanding the Mercer-naries of the Trump Administration: “What do Donald Trump, Heartland’s Denial-palooza, and Breitbart have in common, besides their obviously hostile relationship with the truth? They all share a common funding source: the embodiment of every stereotype about socially awkward computer nerds who get rich and became eccentric, Robert Mercer. The reclusive, model-train loving billionaire got the Jane Mayer treatment in the latest New Yorker, a long read that is well worth poring over. The piece provides a window into the anti-government, ‘the Clintons are murderers’ type of conspiracy-driven libertarian worldview motivating those who brought money and organization to Trump’s campaign. The Mercers also fund Heartland. The Washington Post reports that, while attending last week’s Heartland conference, Robert’s daughter Rebekah chatted up Heartland President Joe Bast. Robert, true to his antisocial persona, sat silently eating his salad. Given Trump’s win and the anticipation over yesterday’s executive order (the fact sheet for which was based in part on a debunked, coal-funded study), one would expect the deniers to have been celebrating bigly. However, as Emily Atkin reported from the conference, things were actually pretty tense.”
J Graham writes—Climate Change is a Hoax! (But we'll geoengineer our way out of it, says the Trump administration): “Since profits for oil companies trump every decent and honorable effort to lower CO2 emissions and increase renewable energy development, how about spraying sulfates into the earth’s atmosphere for the next 100 years? If that doesn’t sound reasonable to you, then take it up with the Trump administration. They think it’s just dandy, according to a report in The Guardian. Harvard engineers who launched the world’s biggest solar geoengineering research program may get a dangerous boost from Donald Trump, environmental organizations are warning. Under the Trump administration, enthusiasm appears to be growing for the controversial technology of solar geo-engineering, which aims to spray sulphate particles into the atmosphere to reflect the sun’s radiation back to space and decrease the temperature of Earth. Never mind those pesky solar panels, people! No need to climb up on rooftops and risk injury from falls when you can let the government, and our friends in industry, do the “solar” work for you. Wind power? Pshaw! Wind turbines just ruin your view. Instead, you can have a little bit of haze way up in the sky — you won’t even notice it! — and voilà!”
nancyjones writes—Yo, Trump. About that executive order you're fixing to sign: “You are wrong to do this. Dreadfully wrong. Why are you so dead set on killing people and causing needless suffering? [...] I ran fossil fuel plants, including coal burning plants. I worked with awesome people. They were the best people. I made really good money when I worked in the power industry. Real good. But it wasn’t good enough to put up or shut up. I wasn’t cool with having to go, with really high priced lawyers in tow, to meetings with legislators and attorneys general to explain to them why they should let us keep polluting. I squirmed that my company was willing to spend $10k for me to go to an eight person dinner with the governor of my state (not Texas, this was later after I’d climbed a few more rungs of the ladder) to convince him that we shouldn’t have to put pollution controls on our coal burning power stations. I went and I did it, but there was something wrong with that.”
m2c4 writes—Some Silver Linings In The Clouds Of Climate Change: “Today’s executive order on repealing Obama’s climate actions are not good news and will likely create more global warming. But, as is typical of Trump, the rhetoric in the order will not match the changes that actually occur. In fact, as Nancy Letourneau points out, his chances of rewriting Obama’s rules on curbing carbon emissions are actually quite slim. The real target of Trump’s executive order is coal country and the order makes it seem like it will roll back the requirement that existing power plants limit greenhouse gas emissions. The existing rule spelled doom for coal-fired plants and made it prohibitive to build new ones. So Trump’s order is intended to give those coal-fired plants new life. Except it’s not going to happen. The first hurdle that Trump will have to clear is that the rules themselves are caught up in existing litigation. The EPA would have to get permission from the DC Court of Appeals to revisit the rules at all. Assuming that permission is granted, however, means the EPA would then have to justify why the original rules would need to be changed.”
Tevye writes—Trump Signals End Of U.S. Dominance in Climate Change Battle. Arctic Researcher On Data Deletions: “The Trump Administration is destroying evidence of the effects of global warming. These politically-motivated data deletions come at a time when the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average. I will paraphrase from an article by Victoria Herrmann...’I am an Arctic Researcher. Donald Trump is deleting my citations’. ‘As an Arctic researcher, I’m used to gaps in data. Just over 1% of US Arctic waters have been surveyed to modern standards. In truth, some of the maps we use today haven’t been updated since the second world war. Navigating unchartered waters can prove difficult, but it comes with the territory of working in such a remote part of the world. Over the past two months though, i’ve been navigating a different type of unchartered territory: the deleting of what little data we have by the Trump Administration. At first, the distress flare of lost data came as a surge of defunct links on 21 January.”
Mzkryz writes—REXxon TILLERSON'S OILY EMAIL SCANDAL? “During my morning browse, I ran across this interesting article at msn.com: Rex Tillerson May Be in Hot Water Over ExxonMobil Emails. It starts: Amid the fresh outrages over the Trump administration's budget proposal, the GOP effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and Muslim Ban 2.0,another scandal is quietly simmering. It's a story about big oil's lies and Wall Street corruption that hasn't gotten anywhere near the attention it deserves.‘Wayne Tracker’ is the alias allegedly used by Rexxon Tillerson for his sensitive email communications to ExxonMobil’s board members, possibly including tactics for covering up it’s own climate change research. [Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says – but it funded deniers for 27 more years]. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating ‘whether the Irving, Texas-based company broke state law by misleading investors for years about the possible impact of the Earth’s warming on its business.’ [...] When ExxonMobil, under subpoena, turned over its documents, lo and behold, Exxon Can’t Find Up to a Year of Tillerson’s ‘Wayne Tracker’ Emails. The company has been given a deadline of March 31 to turn them over.”
Jen Hayden writes—Check out the misleading climate change book being sent to 200,000 science teachers in U.S schools: “The Heartland Institute, a radical conservative “think tank” backed by big corporations, has been pushing back against worldwide climate research for years. Emboldened by the dawn of a new Trump climate-denying era, they are taking things to the next level by sending a book to the 200,000 K-12 science teachers in U.S. public schools with misleading and confusing information about climate change. PBS Frontline has more on the book and reaction to it: The Heartland initiative dismisses multiple studies showing scientists are in near unanimous agreement that humans are changing the climate. Even if human activity is contributing to climate change, the book argues, it ‘would probably not be harmful, because many areas of the world would benefit from or adjust to climate change.’ The campaign elicited immediate derision from the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), a nonprofit in Oakland, California that monitors climate change education in classrooms. ‘It’s not science, but it’s dressed up to look like science,’ said NCSE executive director Ann Reid. ‘It’s clearly intended to confuse teachers’.”
HonorFredHampton writes—Something to share with any climate-change deniers: “Invariably, those who deny climate change end up blaming some obscure band of anti-capitalist kooks who are deluded at best or active anarchists, etc. It probably enables them to easily avoid taking real responsibility. So, without further ado, a link to a speech given by that well-known Marxist, Margaret Thatcher, to the United Nations General Assembly back in 1989(!). www.margaretthatcher.org/… It probably won’t change anyone’s minds, but it helps to dispel some of the more idiotic charges.”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Mopshell writes—Tropical Cyclone Debbie is Heading Our Way and She's Packing a Punch (with updates): “We’re expecting a visitor. Her name is Debbie, Tropical Cyclone Debbie. She’s a Category 3 as I write this but BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) is confident she’ll strengthen to a Cat 4 by the time she makes landfall. Oh and by the way, ‘tropical cyclone’ is what we call hurricanes in this region of the Southern Hemisphere and yes they do spin clockwise (hurricanes spin anti-clockwise). She was heading straight for us — I live in Townsville — but she’s swung more to the south while I’ve been out doing some last minute shopping. [...] The last three days have been hot and stuffy, the air heavy with humidity. Debbie is pushing all the hot air in front of her as she heads towards us. Once the outer ring of gale force winds and rain reach us it will cool down quite quickly. This is good because as soon as the next ring of destructive winds arrives, that’s when we’re likely to lose power — and that means no air conditioning and no internet.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Delta group says PPIC twin tunnels poll yields 'bogus' results: “The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), an organization that has published several pro-Delta Tunnels reports in recent years, last week released their annual survey of ‘Californians and Their Government’ that included a controversial question about the tunnels. Crosstabs here. Pro-tunnels groups touted the results of the survey as showing ‘support’ for Governor Jerry Brown’s water project, while tunnels opponents challenged the use of a ‘leading question’ in the survey. The PPIC question asked: ‘The governor has proposed to improve the reliability of water supplies by building tunnels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. How important is this proposal for the future quality of life and economic vitality of California?’ In response to the question, about half (51%) say the project is ‘very important,’ (26%) ‘somewhat important,’ and 14% ‘not too important’ or ‘not at all important’.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Leslie Salzillo writes—Al Gore slams Trump in statement & mocks him in new documentary 'An Inconvenient Sequel': “Nobel Peace Prize laureate, environmental activist and former Vice President Al Gore threw a double whammy at Donald Trump this week. After a new presidential executive order was issued on Tuesday that essentially rolled back environmental protections and pulled America’s support from the international fight on climate change, Gore released a statement with a personal jab at Trump saying no one man or group can stop the momentum in this battle to save the planet. [...] Here is the official trailer for An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, on Paramount Pictures — a must-watch video clip that’s just 2½ minutes. [...] Thank you, once again, to Al Gore and all those who have continued their relentless fight to save and protect our climate, our environment, and our earth in the face of right-wing extremist ridicule, slander and lies.”
ENERGY
Fossil Fuels
Mark Sumner writes—Donald Trump continues to use coal miners as sad props while he lies to them about their future: “On Tuesday, Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Clean Power Plan, generally spit on the grave of any reasonable approach to climate change, and free billionaires from the burdens of following safety and environmental rules. Chief among those plutocratic cronies is Robert Mercer, a fabulously wealthy hedge fund tycoon who funds Breitbart News and was a strong supporter of Trump’s presidential campaign. Mercer does not believe climate change is a problem, but government is. He has been quoted as saying he wants to see the federal government ‘shrunk to the size of a pinhead.’ For him, getting rid of Obama’s climate change rules is a no-brainer. Acting as a Greek chorus to this event were Trump’s most reliable prop—a set of coal miners provided for the occasion by some of the mining executives who also came along to see this anti-historic occasion. As he signed away the environment, Trump made a promise to the miners.”
Annieli writes—Stooges, Stooges everywhere ... Russo-Sinophobia brings coal to every stocking: “It was bitterly ironic that on the same day that President Trump took America on a great leap backward to coal, The Wall Street Journal reported that ‘Tencent Holdings Ltd. bought a 5% stake in Tesla Inc., giving the backing of China’s most valuable company to the Silicon Valley electric-vehicle maker as it prepares to launch its first car aimed at the mass market. … Having a powerful friend in China could help Tesla as it eyes further global expansion. Big Chinese tech companies have backed a wave of green-car start-ups in the country recently.’ If you liked buying your oil from Saudi Arabia, you’ll love buying your electric cars, solar panels, efficiency software and batteries from China.”
Emissions Controls & Carbon Pricing
Meteor Blades writes—Trump steps up war on regulations, signing climate-related order that equals 1000s of early deaths: “Showing that climate science deniers really are in charge now, Pr*sident Donald Trump took a giant leap backward Tuesday with his signing of the ‘Energy Independence Executive Order.’ The order begins the process of undoing President Barack Obama’s signature Clean Power Plan, rescinds a temporary ban on new coal leases on federal lands, dumps a federal guidance to factor in climate change in policymaking, and dismantles the government team that measures the social cost of carbon, methane and nitrous oxide. Flanked in the Environmental Protection Agency map room by coal miners, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Vice President Mike Pence each spoke briefly—announcing the signing with lots of blather about national security, energy independence, innovation, an end to ‘regulatory assault,’ but not—SURPRISE!—a single word about climate change. Pence noted that the ‘war on coal’ is over.”
Mark Sumner writes—Trump to strike down Clean Power Plan on Tuesday: “President Obama’s Clean Power Plan was created through executive orders supported by careful analysis and supporting regulations at agencies. That, unfortunately, makes it completely vulnerable to an action backed up by no information and no concern for the outcome. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt says President Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday to roll back the Obama Clean Power Plant initiative, which aimed to curb greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. Following the hottest year ever (that’s a NASA link, so get it while you can) it might seem reasonable to at least review the information behind the Clean Power initiative before drawing a line through the whole thing. But then, reasonable is not exactly a quality Trump is known for.”
Pakalolo writes—Trump plans to derail the climate fight today, poll shows 50% in USA 'very concerned' about impacts: “Trump will sign his Executive Order eliminating the Clean Power Plan rule today. To add insult to injury, Trump will sign this suicidal order at the Environmental Protection Agency. This is an agency that has been threatened with a proposal that promises the harshest funding and staffing cuts in the agency’s history. This is worse than the ‘business as usual’ approach that was prevalent before President Obama’s climate change policies, rules and the Paris Climate Agreement which are providing a glimpse of hope that we can transition to a worldwide green economy, if we throw everything we have at the problem. After today the government, our corporate overlords and a swath of the population that wants to ignore the ‘bad news’ of global warming and take no responsibility in this planetary climate emergency that we find ourselves in, than our ability to solve the problem in time to mitigate it’s most deadly consequences. There is a sign of hope. The American people who do believe in human caused climate change can change the world if we resist. We need to shut down Trump’s budget plan. Take to the streets and demand change now.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—EO, EO, It’s Off To Work We Go: “Today’s the big day. The one we’ve been waiting for. The day Grumpy Donald Trump and his snowy white administration try to forget their embarrassing failure to repeal Obamacare by beginning the process to repeal the Clean Power Plan and otherwise encourage ‘energy independence’ by doling out gifts to the fossil fuel industry. (So much for not picking winners and losers.) Anticipation for this EO has been building for weeks now, reaching a fever pitch over the past few days. The ever-Happy Steve Bannon texted Politico forecasting ‘action action action’ this week, specifically EOs on trade, energy and the environment. Meanwhile, Dopey Scott Pruitt’s preview of the EO and policy falsehoods on This Week on Sunday were quickly debunked by Doc Joe Romm. Romm made four great points about today’s EO, which are followed by an additional point from us.”
Myslewski writes—Hey, Donald, here are a couple of simple climate-change questions for ya', y'big lunk: “Dear President Trump: If you are so certain that man-made climate change is a ‘hoax,’ you shouldn't have any problem in answering three simple questions: First, disprove the physics behind the blockage, absorption, and re-radiation of long-wave (IR) radiation by large, active molecules such as CO2, CH4, N2O, and the like, and how that blockage and re-radiation warms the troposphere in quite easily measurable and quantifiable amounts while concomitantly and measurably cooling the stratosphere, as has been well-demonstrated for many decades. Second, please explain how it's meaningless that that warming not only correlates quite smoothly with the steep increase in radiative-forcing CO2 in the troposphere in, say, the last century, as well as being mathematically and demonstrably well-fitted through multiple well-sourced and peer-reviewed analyses to prove that such other forcings as volcanoes, solar activity, aerosols, and other niceties can't account for the same global temperature rises. [...]”
Frank Vyan Dalton writes—Trump guts clean energy rules, because of course he does: “Dirty Energy is now the goal. ‘There are a number of policies from the Obama administration that the president believes should be reviewed,” a senior White House official said during a press call on Monday night. “Some of them should be taken off the books immediately, to the extent that we can.’ … In the order, the president asks for more than just a repeal and rework of the Clean Power Plan, Obama’s signature domestic climate policy and Trump’s preferred scapegoat for the declining coal industry. The order also seeks to repeal rules regarding fracking on public lands, and coal leases on federal lands. It orders agencies to reconsider the Social Cost of Carbon and rescinds an Obama-era order requiring agencies to consider the impact of climate change in their environmental permitting process. And it undoes key executive actions meant to make the federal government — and communities — more prepared to handle the consequences of climate change.”
ClevelandAttorney writes—Why the CPP and EPA Matter to OUR FAMILIES (pics plz share): “This is my son. He wakes up and says ‘outside’ almost everyday. At night I read to him then tell him stories about how the seasons will change and what we can do in the Spring and the Summer.He loves the Rivers, the Beach, Flowers, etc. He would give up anything to grow up without ever risking that. [...] Feel free to post your pictures as you probably KNOW Climate Change is real, and care about my son, the same way I would care about your Children. He/they can’t preserve the beautiful world they wake up energetically to explore, and removing the CPP at best speeds up the likelihood he won’t be able to take pictures like this with his own son maybe not even other.”
gmoke writes—Energy Secretary Moniz Exit Letter and Obama Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization: “Please note that after the perceived failure of the Copenhagen climate talks, people went back to their cities, towns, and regions to begin working on a local level, which, in my observation, paved way for the perceived success of the Paris talks. Cities especially have to deal with the reality of climate change effects that are already happening. Hurricanes like Katrina and storms like Sandy have made municipalities aware of the necessity for preparation in the certainty of a weather emergency, whatever it may be. They have discovered that emergency preparedness and civil defense are generally climate adaptation and the best of them can be climate mitigation too.
This is why I’ve been saying Solar IS Civil Defense for many years now. In fact, I remember asking George Lakoff what he thought of the idea in Las Vegas when Netroots Nation began as YearlyKos. He had some question about it but was called away before I could learn more. These days, it might fit in with his advice ‘to do it [present a message] always from the point of view of what’s positive. Not attacking Trump implicitly, but by saying what’s good for the public and why it’s good and then, by the way, this goes against everything that Trump is doing. But the main thing is to frame it in terms of public good’.”
DWG writes—Tell your grandchildren to blame Trump for the climate chaos they will experience: “Today will live in infamy for all of us that take to heart what science is telling us about human-fueled climate change. The President will order the United States government to ignore the science and accelerate fossil energy production and consumption in this country. This deliberate attempt to destroy the quality of life for future generations will be called the ‘Energy Independence Executive Order.’ Here is a brief summary of this executive action: The order will instruct all agencies to identify all policies that “serve as obstacles or impediments to energy production.” The White House provided no timeline for implementing the order, but said Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt was ‘ready to hit the ground running.’ You can find a detailed description of Trump’s Energy Independence order here.”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
Meteor Blades writes—Trump's greenlight to Keystone XL and his move against Clean Power Plan renews activist resistance: “The glee is palpable among fossil fools over Donald Trump’s actions favoring the Keystone Xl pipeline and trashing several Obama-era climate-related initiatives. But it’s premature. Environmental activists say they are determined to fight. Indeed, every anti-environment move Trump makes seems to energize people whose political activism has been dormant or who have since the November 8 election joined protests and other grassroots actions for the first time. Says Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director, Oil Change International: ‘Keystone XL has been seen as inevitable before, but nevertheless, we persisted. This isn’t game over, it’s game on. Now we have a President who is deeply beholden to the oil industry and will do anything they ask, so this approval is no surprise. This is a pipeline that was designed for an oil market that no longer exists, that will go through lands where people have never wanted it. Donald Trump likes to talk a big game when it comes to laying pipe, but landowners, Native nations, and climate activists aren’t going to let him get away with groping America. Put your tiny hands in the air, Trump, and back away from the climate.’”
ECO-ACTION & ECO JUSTICE
Earthjustice writes—Trump’s Heartless Attack on Black Communities: “Last week, Trump unveiled his 2018 preliminary budget blueprint, which includes cutting the U.S. EPA’s budget by 31 percent and its workforce by 20 percent. He wants to get rid the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice, which was created to analyze and limit environmental racism. Trump’s antipathy toward the EPA and environmental justice led Mustafa Ali, the senior advisor and assistant associate administrator for environmental justice, who helped found the program, to resign two weeks ago. He wants to get rid the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice, which was created to analyze and limit environmental racism. The Office of Environmental Justice exists because communities of color have spent decades pushing for recognition that not all pollution is equal. For instance, people of color are more likely to live near sources of pollution like toxic waste. Nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant produced by cars and heavy industry and linked to asthma and heart disease, is more prevalent even in well-off communities of color than in white communities with similar income levels.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
AuntieB writes—Straw Bale Gardening, My experiences, DK Preppers, --10: “I’ve talked in the past about starting garden beds with straw bales, but I thought I’d revisit it for the Prepper series, since someone mentioned it in the comments last time. Disclaimer: I’ve never read the books on straw bale gardening. I did start with this website for instructions: I have used bales of wheat straw, and also mixed grass hay bales. The wheat bales I know were not organic. I don’t know about the hay. Getting the bales ready to plant is the same for either hay or straw. I use straw/hay bales to increase my garden size, since my soil is clay, and needs lots of organic matter to make it good for growing veggies. I’ve found that if I use bale garden beds to start new areas, in a year or two the bales have decomposed and the soil under them is great to use. My beds are slightly raised beds, not tilled. First, put cardboard or heavy paper down where you want your garden, as many layers as you want. If you want them framed, most bales are 3 feet wide, and about 2 feet long, so make your beds 3 feet wide and an even number of feet long, so the bales fit well. Framing your beds isn’t necessary, but I like it. It really helps later on, to keep all the organic matter in the beds. A frame made with 2x6 boards, two deep, will cover a bale to the top.”
HellsBells writes—Dirt Lust, with Photos: "’Too wet to plow, too windy to haul rocks,’ we like to say here in the Midwest, pretty much every chance we get. But today it's true, so here I am instead of out there, where I'd rather be. I don't care if you think I'm crazy. I'll flip the pages of seed catalogs and draw garden beds until I can’t stand it anymore, and then while the snow’s still on the ground, I'll walk around in the yard looking at all the stuff that’s not coming up. I've got it bad--the dirt lust. When I was barely big enough to hold a trowel, my mother had me digging holes. I think was the pansies that got me--purple, white, yellow, velvety. ‘Each one has a different face,’ my mother said. ‘Look,’ I said, ever the pessimist, ‘that one’s frowning.’ Still, I loved it.”
MISCELLANY
Silent Spring writes—Seattle Washington's recent raw sewage catastrophe [UPDATE]: “Beginning in early February, Seattle Washington’s West Point waste water treatment plant experienced catastrophic equipment failure due to being inundated with water from heavy rainfall and a high tide. West Point is one of three large regional treatment plants in King County (King County being 1 of 39 counties in Washington State). [...] The equipment failure of the West Point waste treatment plan sent some 15 millions gallons of raw sewage and stormwater cascading down stairwalls, blowing off doors, and flooding rooms 12 feet up, it destroyed motors, electrical panels, lighting, ventilation and heating systems. Hundreds of millions of raw sewage was diverted to Puget Sound as that gate, intended to save the plant from further damage, directed the flow to an emergency bypass. I can’t even imagine coming back to work after this. It has been no easy feat getting the plant back to full operation. In addition to the actual clean-up of the plant itself (again, I can’t even image) is the re-establishment of the ‘bugs’.”
dandenman writes—This Arctic researcher says her citations are being deleted: “Arctic researcher Victoria Herrmann, who is studying the depleting Arctic ice cover, claims that the Trump Administration is deleting her citations [that link works which appeared on government websites]. She writes about U.S government policies on the polar region and its impact. She said that her work was being deleted since January and now she receives weekly emails to delete her citations or replace them. Her statement written for the Guardian can be read here.”