This is the 564th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the June 30 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
Desert Scientist writes—The Wilderness Experience: A Song to Sycamore Canyon and the Borderlands: “I have made several trips to one of my favorite haunts, after the Chiricahua Mountains, Sycamore Canyon in the Pajarito Mountains of Arizona. I mentioned one of my trips there in an earlier diary (www.dailykos.com/...), but I went back several times during my career, including twice as part of an organized field trip during a national meeting of museum and zoo curators in Rio Rico and Tucson. I never was disappointed by my visits to this biodiverse part of the arid Southwest. The existence of permanent water in the creek flowing south into Mexico made this area a mecca for all sorts of biota, including 95 species of nesting birds (See: aziba.org/...) In the trip I mentioned, I (probably rather inadvisedly) hiked the canyon alone as far south toward Mexico as I could go. It was a beautiful, if warm, summer day and the canyon beckoned me on into deep wilderness. As I walked along the creek I occasionally heard the plop of frogs and sometimes saw them. These were the rare Tarahumara frogs (Lithobates tarahumarae) and possibly a few local leopard frogs. This was in the early 1970s and after 1984 Tarahumara frogs were not seen in the canyon for decades. This actually remained the case until 2014 when over 285 were released into the creek by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. I was on an arachnological collecting trip and so looked under rocks (which I carefully replaced) and used my sweep net to find spiders especially. My rock turning turned up a nice fat western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus), as I recall, and my sweepnetting produced new records for the eastern US ant-mimicking jumping spider Sarinda hentziand the Mexican jumping spider Phidippus tux, the latter being the first found in the United States. However the creek finally narrowed into a sheet of water over bare rock and I felt that could go no farther.”
Pakalolo writes—Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week: “It is all coming down faster than previously expected, my friends. Heat records have fallen all over the world this week. Thirty three dead and counting in Montreal from extreme wet-bulb temperatures. Meanwhile, a blowtorch is blasting away at northern Siberia and the Laptev and East Siberian seas. (see story below the fold).Yours truly came quite close to a heat stroke on Thursday, and just about blacked out in the scorching sun. I’m scared and so incredibly sad, I never expected to see this much change to the climate in my lifetime. [...] A massive and intense heat dome has consumed the eastern two-thirds of the United States and southeast Canada since late last week. It’s not only been hot but also exceptionally humid.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--Morphed on the 4th of July: “For the last 100 million years, since dinosaur days, tiny frogs have sharpened their evolutionary advantages. Beginning life as tadpoles; which appear to be worms with large heads, the tadpoles actually harbor incredible abilities that humans might envy. They can changes the shape of their growing limbs. They can sense the availability of nutrients and speed their transformation if needed. My backyard tadpoles decided to honor our National Holiday by morphing yesterday /s/.”
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--Up From the Rushes: “Over the last several years, I’ve dug 4 ponds in my backyard and encouraged the inch-long, small native chorus frogs to breed there, especially in the two ponds I left fishless. After I put in the fishless ponds, the frogs began arriving and breeding every early Spring, by the scores. More frogs came each year, and they even recolonized the ponds that had fish, despite the risk of getting eaten up. This year, my original,older fishless pond, dubbed the Frog Mitigation Area, swiftly filled up with mating frogs. However, this Spring the chorus frogs left quickly, within a few weeks. In past years they hung around for a couple of months. This Spring the Non native bullfrogs had attacked the chorus frogs’ breeding grounds, probably spurring the chorus frogs’ retreat. Even still, perhaps 1000 chorus frog eggs still hatched into tadpoles in the older pond, much like past years.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - celebrate BLUE today! “While all those flags are waving around today, representing our nation, let’s not forget the blue in it, and the power and beauty of blue in general (somebody forebodingly predicted if certain influences have their way we might be waving flags that are red, white and...white, just as Michigan has deleted the term ‘democratic’ from their state school standards...gah). Let’s celebrate blue today! It’s pretty important in the world.”
OceanDiver writes—Dawn Chorus: 3 Chases: “Today I’m sharing three incidents of birds chasing other birds that I saw these past few weeks, and hoping to get some insights into two of them from folks more knowledgeable than me! Chase #1 May 26. The first one was pretty clear: blackbirds chasing a raven. Alerted by a chattering sound overhead I looked up to see a Brewers blackbird dive-bombing a raven. [...] Chase #3 June 21. This was a group of Northwestern crows, a kind somewhat smaller than the more common American crow, which is the only way I can be pretty sure that’s who they are. Also known as Beach crows, they live and feed mostly along the shore. Their range is limited to coastal Washington state, British Columbia and Alaska. Even though Beach crows are a distinct species with a limited niche, their social behavior is just like other kinds of crows, the books say. So what we know about crow activity in general would apply to them. There were several crows first hopping around on the beach, then they flew up to a small grassy rock by the shore. At that point things got really active. Three of them began chasing and dive-bombing and sneaking up on each other, cartwheeling at times in the air. One other crow stood by, watching them and at times ‘yelling’ at them, caw-ing with its whole body.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Bird calls cost Polish enviro group $2,700: “EcoLogic Environmental Group just wanted to track white stork migratory habits, not distribute free phone calls in Africa. White storks summer in Europe and migrate to Africa for winter. But a sim card is a sim card, and the one EcoLogic installed last year in the GPS tracker fitted on the back of a stork named Kajtek also worked in a mobile phone. The group had been monitoring Kajtek’s movements since August 2017. They tracked Kajtek and posted progress online. The bird migrated over 3,700 miles from Poland to Africa and EcoLogic was waiting to track his return flight north. He began on February 1st and after 10 days reached the Blue Nile Valley in Sudan. And stayed there for unknown reasons, moving around the same area daily until April 26 when they lost contact. Then, on June 7, the $2,700 phone bill arrived.”
Mark Sumner writes—Octopuses aren't psychic or alien, but they are weird—and possibly increasing in numbers: “How did these octopuses come by their time-bending skills? According to a slew of media reports, and one highly suspect paper published in an online journal, these cany cephalopods get their forecasting skills from the home of many comic book psychics: outer space. According to the theory put forth in this paper, cephalopods arrived on Earth in the form of free-dried eggs, ready to spark the explosion of complex life on the planet, rather like a kid sprinkling a packet of Sea Monkeys into a jar. Only … no. Octopuses are neither aliens nor gifted with the ability to divine the outcome of people booting a ball around a green. The ‘experiments’ by which the football-calling octopuses do their stuff is a minor variation on an old scheme in which chickens were used for the same purpose. Not only can chickens not predict the future, they’re not too canny about the past, and only modestly aware of the present. It’s just a parlor game.”
Walter Einenkel writes—'Rhino poachers' eaten by lions on game reserve in South Africa: “The killings of rhinos has increased over the last decade, peaking in 2014 with over 1,200 rhinos being killed for their horns. And while numbers have gone down the last few years, the problem is still at epidemic levels. The BBC reports that two, possibly three, bodies were found on a South African wildlife preserve, having been eaten by lions. According to the report ‘a high-powered rifle and an axe were also found’.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Trump administration's proposes plan that would allow hunting of critically endangered red wolf: “Around 35 red wolves live in the wild. All are located on a peninsula in North Carolina. On Wednesday, Trump’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offered up a new plan that would allow surrounding farmers the right to kill the wolves if they strayed onto their land. This would end three decades of work by conservationists to save the species that once roamed across our country. Leopoldo Miranda is the assistant director for ecological services and tells the Washington Post that the new plan is to try to keep 10 to 15 wolves at the refuge and find them a new ‘more friendly and suitable’ habitat. ‘Success for me right now is to keep this smaller wild population as intact as possible,; Miranda said. It will take hard work, outreach with state officials and conservation groups dedicated to saving red wolves, and research that can guide government officials to more supportive habitat.”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Sunday Pot-au-Feu - Ammonites: “OK, let’s talk about what happens when you get an unholy alliance of octopus and snail — an armored mollusk with tentacles. And how about letting them get large? How about some species with shells two meters in diameter. So here’s a little bit about ammonites, a marine mollusk with a long history — from the Devonian to the Cretaceous before they went extinct at roughly the same time as the dinosaurs.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Is Pielke Jr.’s Climate Policy Envelope-Opening a Call for The Green New Deal? “Regular readers will know that we’re…not big fans of U-Colorado Boulder political scientist Roger Pielke Jr. For years we’ve called out his hypocrisy, cherry-picking, attacks on legitimate climate scientists, and, more recently, his laughably naive defense of Trump. That’s why when we saw that his latest piece of climate policy writing for Issues in Science and Technology has been made available on WUWT, we assumed it would be yet another piece of fantastically unhelpful radical centrism--attacking the left while letting the far greater sins of the right go unmentioned. Unsurprisingly, that’s exactly what the piece does: it ignores the actual politics of fossil-fueled right-wing rejection of solutions, and instead focuses on the supposed failings of those working towards solutions. The subheadline makes this thesis clear: ‘Fudged assumptions about the future are hampering efforts to deal with climate change in the present. It’s time to get real.’ But in getting real, Pielke appears to, perhaps accidentally, ask questions that if accurately answered, lead to a climate policy prescription far more strident than putting a price on carbon (his standard suggestion).”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Deniers Tout Global Sea Ice Rebound Because They’re Stupid and/or Dishonest: “Sunshinehours.net is a simple blog that, at first glance, looks like it’s solely dedicated to posting global sea ice extent graphs. But there’s a couple key clues to the blog’s true leanings: the blogroll on the sidebar lists a few denier sites, and the categories of past posts include topics like ‘AGW is a cult,’ ‘bird slaughterers’ and ‘evil environmentalists.’ Last week the blog came to our attention because Climate Depot ran a link to the UK denial shop GWPF, who has posted a graph from Sunshine Hours with an all-caps headline shouting that global sea ice is on the rebound--and is a million square kilometers higher than last year. [...] Does that mean we’ve been all wrong about sea ice? That warming isn’t, in fact, melting ice? That this whole climate conspiracy is about to be exposed because ice is making a comeback? Of course not. Looking at Sunshine’s graph, it’s still quite clear that the sea ice extent is two million square kilometers less than the 1981-2000 average, and a million below the standard deviation from the mean. Not exactly good news for the folks claiming that warming isn’t happening.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Rhode Island becomes first state to sue big oil for the costs of climate change: “Our current government has made it very clear that it is deeply in the pockets of the fossil fuel industry and other interests who maintain an anti-science—and more specifically an anti-climate science—bias. On Monday the state of Rhode Island filed a lawsuit at Providence County Superior Court, seeking damages for the costs the state is dealing with trying to build out infrastructure and repair damages caused by rising sea levels. According to reports, 14 oil companies were named in the suit, including heavy hitters like Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and BP. ‘Big oil knew for decades that greenhouse gas pollution from their operations and their products were having a significant and detrimental impact on the earth's climate,’ he said. ‘Instead of working to reduce that harm, these companies chose to conceal the dangers, undermine public support for greenhouse gas regulation and engage in massive campaigns to promote the ever increasing use of their products and ever increasing revenues in their pockets’."
PHScott writes—The Daily Bucket: My New Neighbor: “Derrick D is his name, a building contractor in Tallahassee. Lived in the city a long time, overpaid for 20 acres on a pond out here west of town, spent a couple years building his dream house and moved in a couple months ago. [...] I'm sure he's a good person but ignorant about some things - like nature and all that. Being a building contractor, he probably thinks the world is there for him to remake however he likes. It's a short-sighted view of things, non-sustainable but then this is modern man and why the world is dying. Other news down in the bottoms - the beaver appears to have moved on or maybe the new neighbor is a hunter of some sort. Either way the pond level and dams have not changed in the week since I poked holes in the series of 3 dams across the bottom of the hill to the man-made pond.”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Pakalolo writes—Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week: “It is all coming down faster than previously expected, my friends. Heat records have fallen all over the world this week. Thirty three dead and counting in Montreal from extreme wet-bulb temperatures. Meanwhile, a blowtorch is blasting away at northern Siberia and the Laptev and East Siberian seas. (see story below the fold).Yours truly came quite close to a heat stroke on Thursday, and just about blacked out in the scorching sun. I’m scared and so incredibly sad, I never expected to see this much change to the climate in my lifetime. [...] A massive and intense heat dome has consumed the eastern two-thirds of the United States and southeast Canada since late last week. It’s not only been hot but also exceptionally humid.”
Franks Human writes—119 Degrees in the Sun (The Turner Diaries and Our Times): “Okay, this began not so much a post as a plea for mercy for those of you controlling the weather today, but once I began writing, what unfolded below is a full-blown post about The Turner Diaries and the power of art to inspire action, both good and evil. But first, the weather: I’m in Los Angeles, near the Arroyo Seco, which is nestled between various valleys—so our weather pattern is very much the Valley weather pattern, not the ocean-side LA basin, which can be ten degrees cooler most times. The heat from the valleys basically moves through my valley toward the LA basin. (Often times, perhaps not always. In past heat waves I've heard this described by meteorologists.) It means we get the heat, too, and sometimes for an extended period after the local areas of the valley cool down, we keep getting the heat.”
Gary in Los Angeles writes—Amid heat waves and as the EPA is MIA, a Pruitt-inspired line of "It was so hot today" jokes: “It’s 106 degrees here in Los Angeles today. With apologies to Johnny Carson, a new line of ‘It was so hot today that ...’ jokes could star the recently departed EPA head Scott Pruitt. In this new line, Pruitt is still trying to get his staff to go shopping for him, this time for something to cool down his environment. But each joke ends with the staff reminding him that he’s no longer their ethically-challenged boss. Here are a couple of my own half-baked examples: • It was so hot today that Scott Pruitt ordered his assistant to go buy him a fan for his soundproof phone booth. However, his assistant reminded him that the phone-line and his employment had been disconnected. • It was so hot today that Scott Pruitt ordered his deputy to go buy used ice cubes from the Trump Hotel. However, his deputy reminded him that Pruitt had been frozen out.”
terrypinder writes—DKos WxCenter: Watching Beryl and another disturbance: “The tropical Atlantic is sort of active today, with one disturbance east of the Carolinas, and one inexplicable and very tiny intense hurricane. BERYL [...] The Atlantic at the moment is covered with a dense layer of Saharan dust---it’s been affecting air quality across the Caribbean and the southeastern US. This inhibits storm development. Not for Beryl. Beryl is a very tiny hurricane—if it moved directly between islands like St. Lucia and Martinique neither island would experience much intense weather. As such, it can survive hostile atmospheric conditions. Beryl will reach the islands late on Sunday.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Delta Counties, Groups Urge Legislature to Halt DWR Contract Extension for Tunnels Financing: “As California Governor Jerry Brown nears the end of his fourth term, his administration continues to march full-speed ahead on trying to lay all of the groundwork necessary to build his Delta Tunnels project before he leaves office in January 2019. In response to a state legislative informational hearing regarding the extension of State Water Project (SWP) contracts requested by the Department of Water Resources (DWR), the Delta Counties Coalition (DCC) on July 3 called on the Legislature to halt funding a DWR contract for financing the construction of Governor Brown’s Delta Tunnels project, AKA the California WaterFix. DWR is the lead state agency promoting the California WaterFix. The Coalition called the contract extension a pretext for the Delta Tunnels financing. Opponents, including conservation groups, Tribes, environmental justice advocates, family farmers, Delta residents and elected officials, consider the project to be the most environmentally devastating public works project in California history.”
Dan Bacher writes—CPRA reveals water agencies are complicit in Calvert rider banning Delta Tunnels lawsuits: “A California Public Record Acts (CPRA) request by Restore the Delta reveals that the Metropolitan Water District and other water agencies are complicit in Congressman Ken Calvert’s rider banning judicial review of Delta Tunnels lawsuits. While Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris are officially opposing the dangerous rider, Governor Jerry Brown, Attorney General Xavier Becerrra and Department of Water Resources officials have been silent on the rider. ‘He (JerryBrown) is holding a climate change conference in September to cement his legacy as an environmentalist,’ said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. ‘Yet, he allows California WaterFix to drag on, without demanding environmental and economic veracity, and allowing the sacrifice of due process rights for Delta communities, judicial review, and the rule of law. He is poised to sacrifice his moral principles just so he can build his tunnels’.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Ojibwa writes—Public Lands: D River (Photo Diary): “The D River in Lincoln City, Oregon, which flows from Devils Lake into the Pacific Ocean, claims to be the world’s shortest river. The River is 440 feet long and has been listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as theworld’s shortest river. However, in 1989, some Montana Boy Scouts convinced Guiness that Montana’s Roe River which flows into the Missouri River in Great Falls (see the photo diary A Very Short River) was actually shorter. To counter this claim,Lincoln City claimed that at extreme high tide, the D River is only 120 feet long. The Guiness Book of World Records has dropped the world’s shortest river category from its listings.”
ENERGY
Emissions Controls & Carbon Pricing
Nick Engelfield writes—Precedent-Setting Carbon Fee Headed to Washington Voters: “On Monday, a diverse coalition of organizations in Washington turned in over 375,000 signatures to qualify a precedent-setting ‘carbon fee’ initiative for the November ballot. Only 260,000 valid signatures are required to make the ballot, so the measure all but certain to appear before Washington voters this fall. I was one of thousands of people who volunteered many hours this spring and early summer collecting signatures for the carbon fee initiative, Measure 1631. [...] Measure 1631 would charge a modest fee per unit of carbon emitted on most of the state’s largest polluters. All the revenue would go into a fund reserved for financing climate change mitigation or adaptation projects. These could include not only renewable energy and efficiency, but projects that restore forests and salmon-bearing streams. If approved by Washington voters, Measure 1631 would be the nation’s first statewide carbon fee; though California and several Northeastern states also have statewide carbon reduction policies, they rely on cap-and-trade programs rather than fees.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Will Driscoll writes—Michigan could create 69,000 job-years on a path to 30% renewables by 2027: “Michigan could generate 69,000 new job-years by reaching 30 percent renewables by 2027, per a report funded by the Michigan Conservative Energy Forum. The 30% scenario, one of three considered, ‘was chosen based on the current growth factor of renewables,’ and compares to the state’s recent 10 percent renewable percentage. The analysis calculated that adding 3.1 GW of solar capacity and 4.7 GW of wind capacity by 2027 would generate 5800 job-years per GW in the construction phase. That includes direct job-years (1600 per GW), indirect job-years in supporting industries (2400 per GW), and induced job-years, as direct and indirect wage-earners spend their earnings (1800 per GW).”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
modesttraveller writes—Scandalous! Trump's EPA is hiding its OWN STUDY proving that Formaldehyde causes cancer: “Outrageously the EPA conducted and finished a study on the health effects of the chemical Formaldehyde last fall. In 2017. The finding was that there is a direct correlation between breathing in formaldehyde and developing Leukemia. After finishing a study the EPA then sends its findings to the National Academies of Sciences for further review. Then the EPA issues binding restrictions on the use of formaldehyde, forcing manufacturers of furniture, insulation, adhesives, make-up and fabrics to find alternative ways to produce their products. Deliberately holding up the release of the study puts many lives at risk. Of course, they don’t care about the health of the public. They care about the profits of manufacturers. Period. The EPA is not interested in protection, just profit. Welcome to Trump’s America.”
MTmofo writes—BREAKING: Scott Pruitt has resigned from EPA Updated with Pruitt's letter: “Get a puke bucket close by.”
annieli writes—the continuing strangeness of the post-Pruitt White House: “Trump claims one thing, Pruitt another, in spite of that wacky resignation letter because Divine Intervention made him do all those stupid things, but maybe Ritz-Carlton hand lotion is just that good, especially with Chik-fil-A.”
Mark Sumner writes—Scott Pruitt's resignation is a victory, but beating his replacement is the real challenge: “Scott Pruitt’s departure from the Environmental Protection Agency is worth celebrating. His resignation isn’t a Democratic victory, it’s a genuine victory for democracy. Little ‘d.’ The good news out of Scott Pruitt’s resignation is that there is still some level of corruption that generates sufficient public outrage to merit dismissal. The bad news is that it's a lot of corruption. But efforts to turn Pruitt’s departure into a cautionary ‘Be careful what you wish for’ story, or to suggest that in watching Pruitt pack up his cone-of-silence and slip back to Oklahoma Democrats should cry over lost political leverage are not just wrong, they're complicit. No one should be mourning the departure of a man who so openly used his sycophancy to Trump as an excuse to conduct a corruption Superbowl. But that doesn't mean that Pruitt's replacement at the EPA won't be a nightmare for the environment. He is. He will. He already has been.”
Mark Sumner writes—Scott Pruitt's resignation letter is just that crazy: “Fox News has been gifted with a copy of Scott Pruitt’s resignation letter. Or is that blessed? Because there is a whole lot of blessing going on in Pruitt’s final homework assignment. Please find appropriate sad violin music before beginning to read this note. It is extremely difficult for me to cease serving you in this role, first because I count it a blessing to be serving you in any capacity, but also because of the transformative work that is occurring. That transformative work includes allowing coal mines to dump waste into streams and rivers, relieving oil and gas companies of the pesky business of letting anyone know when they leak huge plumes of methane into the air, allowing factory farms to flood streams with animal waste without even having to report on water or air quality.”
Mark Sumner writes—Scott Pruitt is gone. In a puff of smoke. A trail of slime. And a hearty good riddance: “With a set of scandals that seemed endless, zero hesitation about seizing any graft, and a willingness to lie openly to the press and Congress, Scott Pruitt was the Donald Trumpiest of Donald Trump’s cabinet members. But now he’s out of there.”
Mark Sumner writes—Scott Pruitt nears the 'tipping point' as more than a dozen investigations move forward: “CNN reports that EPA administrator Scott Pruitt is finally edging toward the exit, as Donald Trump realizes that Pruitt has become the poster boy for Trump’s own personal DC ‘swamp.’ At last count, there were 15 open investigations into Pruitt’s actions since becoming head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Those investigations have little to nothing to do with Pruitt’s genuine achievement in making the EPA’s name the cruelest joke in Washington. They’re focused on the transparent instances of overspending, cronyism, abuse of power, and general corruption that Pruitt apparently uses as his standard practice. Through all Pruitt’s actions—a list of scandals long enough to launch a brace of soap operas and a few reality shows on the side—Donald Trump has held onto Pruitt, but that long run may, at last, be nearing an end.”
Mark Sumner writes—Scandal-sodden EPA Admin Scott Pruitt directly asked Donald Trump to make him Attorney General: “CNN is reporting that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt directly approached Donald Trump in April and asked him to replace Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions with Pruitt. It wasn’t a spur of the moment decision. Pruitt had the whole plan worked out: Trump would fire Sessions, then make a temporary appointment of Pruitt without Senate approval. Pruitt could then get rid of that pesky Russia investigation—along with any other scandals Trump needed to be swept under the carpet at the Department of Justice—and before Pruitt had to face the embarrassment of an actual Senate hearing, he would run back to Oklahoma, where the people would be happy to elect him Senator, or Governor, or God-Emperor of Dune.”
Meteor Blades writes—Open thread for night owls: Perhaps not so corrupt, but Pruitt replacement could be worse on policy: “But while we can cheer about seeing the departing backside of this corrupt low-life, his deputy, the lower-key climate science-denying Andrew Wheeler, will push the same environment-wrecking policies as Pruiit did, but presumably without a Praetorian guard, cone of silence, and first-class air travel that made him the focus of so much bad press and numerous ethnics investigations. The Republican senators who are glad to see Pruitt out the door will be just as glad to confirm Wheeler for the top EPA job, and a few Democrats will probably give him the thumbs-up too. When he was confirmed as deputy chief in April, a trio of coal-state Democrats—Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.)— voted for him.”
Satya1 writes—I'm a Little Nervous about Pruitt Resigning: “But only a little nervous. I had hoped that the dude who became a walking, talking example of the Trump regime’s corruption would be around a little longer — at least until late October. I understand full well that Trump supporters probably love his policy bent and don’t care about his ill treatment of the amazing scientists we have at the Energy Protection Agency. But the little petty things he did made him look corrupt in idiotic and small ways that might influence rotating voters (swing if you prefer) to think less of Trump. Using EPA staff to pick up his dry cleaning, his aspiration to sleep on a used Trump Hotel mattress, but mostly the cone of silence all helped to show what kind of person Trump thought was a good hire. With all the treachery the GOP has working in their favor, we need every bit of help we can get.”
Rmuse writes—Celebrating Pruitt's departure ignores the danger of his replacement: “Although there is an abundance of glee that Pruitt was allegedly pushed out over a dozen or so ethics investigations, it is clear that cheering Pruitt’s exit as some kind of victory is incredibly foolish. Obviously the people celebrating Pruitt’s ‘removal’ are unaware that his temporary replacement is just as hazardous to the environment, and Americans’ health and welfare, as Pruitt. The new anti-environment crusader will be much worse simply because he is a seasoned Washington insider and fossil fuel industry lobbyist who knows how to achieve Trump’s goals without drawing attention to himself or Trump’s corrupt administration.”
jeremybloom writes—Oil-man Pruitt exits EPA, coal lobbyist Wheeler steps in: “Who is Andrew Wheeler? First and foremost, he's the Washington greaser for coal company Murray Energy. As the Sierra Club's Mary Ann Hitt wrote back in April. Under Wheeler, however, the great fear is that we are going to get more of the same — or even worse. Wheeler, in his role as a tool for fossil fuel companies, has lobbied against national efforts to reduce carbon pollution and other toxic emissions. In other words, he has advocated against the very regulations that the EPA is mandated to uphold – by Congress – to protect Americans from pollution and natural disasters, many of which are now exacerbated by climate change. In his most recent position as a lobbyist at the law firm Faegre Baker Daniels, Wheeler worked on behalf of Murray Energy, a company which has actively used the Trump Administration to enact policies that prop up the polluting coal industry. Wheeler wasn't just some guy on the sidelines - he's been at ground zero for some of the most eggregious pro-pollution actions of the Trump administration's first year.”
ursulafaw writes—Scott Pruitt Is Gone So Maybe 'General Sessions' Is Breathing Easier: “Good riddance to bad garbage. A senior administration official told CNN Wednesday, without irony, that Scott Pruitt was ‘inching forward to the tipping point’ where finally, apparently even the Trump administration would find his endless scandals intolerable. Pruitt resigned Thursday, while the subject of 14 federal probes, including investigation from the House Oversight Committee, the Government Accountability Office, the inspector general of his own agency, and the White House itself — meanwhile testifying before Congress. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) said about the stratified corruption revealed in Pruitt’s financial and professional decisions, ‘In almost all cases, the more we have learned, the worse they get,’ and ‘You have failed as a steward of American taxpayer dollars and of the environment.” The man has a gift for understatement. While under fire from two House panels, Pruitt hilariously quipped, ‘I’m not afraid to admit it has been a learning process’.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Pruitt Sends Love Notes to Big Oil, Public Sends Him Global Warming for Dummies: “Over the weekend, the Washington Post’s Juliet Eilperin reported on some of the non-oil industry folks who’ve been emailing with Pruitt’s political appointees. As it just so happens, the EPA coincidentally made policy moves following these correspondences that were favorable to that industry, and a little less favorable to public health. Here are a few examples. In March 2017, a lobbyist for Waste Management asked two of Pruitt’s top aides for a reconsideration of ‘climate-related rules.’ One of these rules was then delayed by the EPA. In April, a representative from the golf industry (which is a drain on fresh water and source of pollution from all the fertilizers, pesticides and chemicals used to keep greens green) wrote to since-resigned Pruitt aide Samantha Dravis that after meeting with the EPA, they are ‘amazed at the marked difference’ between this EPA and past ones. A few days later the CEO of the World Golf Association thanked Dravis for a meeting regarding the Clean Water Rule- which the EPA is now attacking. Then there’s the message reportedly sent from the pork lobby in which a lawyer for the industry thanks the EPA appointees for their ‘efforts to help address the recent air emission reporting issues facing livestock agriculture.’ You will be shocked to hear that the EPA subsequently changed the rules so that pork, poultry and dairy farmers don’t have to disclose pollution from their industry’s waste.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Trump's EPA scoundrel being confronted at restaurant by mother and her child is the best thing today: “Kristin Mink was at a restaurant when Scott Pruitt and some crony of his came in to eat. She walked up to him with her son and asked him to resign. And it’s all on video! Here’s an excerpt of what you get to see Pruitt confronted with. Hi, I just wanted to urge you to resign because of what you’re doing to the environment and our country. This is my son. He loves animals. He loves clean air. He loves clean water. Meanwhile, you’re slashing strong fuel standards for cars and trucks, for the benefit of big corporations. Kristin Mink posted her heroic video to Facebook.”
Pakalolo writes—Scott Pruitt's lunch eaten by young mother and 2 year old boy: “Hooray! We finally have video of a citizen taking it to the EPA head during his lunch time. A young mother and her child confronted this monster about his crimes against humanity and the planet. Look out Trump stooges, the truth is coming and it will burn your ears when you hear it. There are perilous days ahead as global warming and CO2 emissions continue to accelerate. Such a despicable human being that intentionally sabotages the war against climate change does not deserve to eat his lunch in peace. Not now, not ever. The video can be seen here. The video is on FB and was posted 3 hours ago.”
OwossoHarpist writes—EPA's Scott Pruitt's personal notes just exposed: “Fresh off of Twitter. Here’s a collection of personal notes written by that corrupt idiotic buffoon Scott Pruitt, the man who needs to be removed from being the Head of the Environmental Protection Agency now due to his ties with the oil, gas, and other polluting companies and how he’s misusing and abusing his job to enrich himself! Eric Lipton on Twitter has posted all these notes in a long thread. Too long to be placed in the comment section so I’m posting it here in this diary.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Missys Brother writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging V. 14.27 - granddaddy and vegetable ramblings: “Two Saturdays ago was the farmer’s market opening in our town for the season and above was our purchased goods. I believe our eyes were bigger than our stomaches and wallets but we did consume all of this during that week. Neither of us has ever met a vegetable that we didn’t like. I wish every kitchen table in the world had this and I know that we are very fortunate and extremely thankful. It would be hard for me to grow all of the above by myself. It also gets expensive buying it, even though you are cutting out the middleman and buying directly from the farmer. I supplement it by growing all that I can, such as this year, I have already harvested from my own garden, onions, strawberries, lettuce, peas, radishes, mint, thyme, sage, basil. Still to come is tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, ground cherries, beets, Swiss chard and hopefully some watermelon. Once you have had fresh, you just don’t want to go back.”
MISCELLANY
Merlin1963 writes—A Good Write Up About Coal Country: “I just want to link to this Huffington Post article on one “solution” to disappearing coal jobs in Kentucky: Huffington Post. To wit, let’s build a federal prison where a coal mine was at.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Is the Balance of Nature a Myth? Or just a Metaphor? (It’s the Second One.): “If any of our readers are jonesin’ for some denier takes on environmental myths, there’s a new post in ‘BigPicNews.com,’ which is the rebranded ‘NoFrakkingConsensus’ blog run by Donna LaFramboise. (You might, but probably don’t, remember LaFramboise for attacking the IPCC when AR4 came out.) The post references a book by former UC Santa Barbara biology professor Daniel Botkin, who, as Sou at HotWhopper explained back in 2014, is fully in denial about climate change and has ‘gone emeritus.’ In the post, LaFramboise quotes passages from Botkin that claim the concept of a ‘balance of nature’ is a myth. Green groups use the phrase all the time, but LaFramboise and Botkin argue instead that there is no stable state of environmental affairs for human activity to throw off-kilter. (This position is somewhat odd for deniers to hold, given climate denial often invokes the balance of natural cycles to explain warming.) There’s some truth to their claim. Ecosystems are vast and ever-changing, made up of not one single balance between predators and prey, or resources and population, but a fluid and shifting interplay. Nature abhors a vacuum, so niches are constantly being created and filled.”