Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.
Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.
Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.
Tonight's editor is: Hopeful Skeptic with input from LaughingPlanet
All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.ss
In tonight's Editor's Choice, we highlight a diary by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse that shows how eco-issues are closely tied to politics.
This diary is a great example of exactly why we blog about environmental issues on this political website.
Some friends shared their frustration with trying to make sense of the interrelationship of AB 32 (California's climate change law), Proposition 23 (a ballot measure to nix our climate change law), and Proposition 26 (a measure to transform regulatory fees into taxes). Essentially, the Whitman game plan is to give the sham appearance that she cares about our health, environmental resources and climate change impacts. In reality, she wants to enable corporations to continue to sicken people and damage natural resources while removing a key tool for corporate accountability.
Meg Whitman opposes Proposition 23, the ballot measure to nix our climate change law, and might hope that people won't notice that she also opposes our climate change law. Meg apparently does not want the voters to nix AB 32 because she plans to unilaterally nix our climate law by issuing a moratorium order on her first day as governor. Whitman also supports Prop 26, which would remove a key tool of corporate accountability for external costs of pollution and could be used for climate change impacts.
This is the kind of EPA conundrum we like to see:
About two months before two new plug-in cars go on sale in the United States, the federal government is struggling with how to rate the fuel economy of mass-market plug-in vehicles.
Providing the customary city and highway miles-per-gallon information would make little sense for the Volt, which can drive 25 to 50 miles on battery power before its gas engine kicks on, and even less so for the Leaf, which is powered by only a rechargeable battery.
A year ago, G.M. announced to widespread skepticism that it expected the Volt to earn a city rating of 230 miles per gallon based on a draft proposal for new testing procedures. Nissan later calculated the Leaf, using the same method, at 367 miles per gallon. (The vehicle with the highest E.P.A. rating is the Toyota Prius, with 51 miles per gallon in city driving.) The E.P.A. later rejected the formula that resulted in the two estimates.
Some Not-so-good news:
The escalating economic tensions between the United States and China took a new turn on Friday, as the Obama administration pledged to investigate Beijing’s subsidies to its clean-energy industries while delaying a politically volatile report on the Chinese currency.
The approach — part carrot, part stick — reflected the delicate balance the administration is trying to strike in a newly assertive posture over China’s trade and commercial policies, while pursuing delicate negotiations with the Chinese as an alternative to confrontation.
On the trade subsidy challenge, the United States trade representative, Ron Kirk, said his office would investigate a complaint filed by the United Steelworkers, the nation’s largest industrial union, on Sept. 9. The complaint asserted that China had violated its obligations under the World Trade Organization, which China joined in 2001, by supporting manufacturers of wind and solar energy products, advanced batteries, energy-efficient vehicles and other goods.
"This is a vitally important sector for the United States," Mr. Kirk said. "Green technology will be an engine for the jobs of the future, and this administration is committed to ensuring a level playing field for American workers, businesses and green technology entrepreneurs."
If it’s so vitally important, then why don’t we see more support for alternative energies coming out of congress and the WH? There is such transparent hypocrisy in showing sudden support for these industries when it is obviously just part of making China the scary boogie-man...
I have a suggestion... How about we actually provide substantial support for these industries domestically and ramp up our own manufacturing, so we wouldn’t have to worry about the problems that come along with importing these products?
And for contrast... some Good news:
The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that it was following through with its year-old plan to revoke a crucial permit for West Virginia's largest mountaintop removal mine, saying the operation would cause irreversible damage to the environment and wildlife.
Arch Coal's Spruce No. 1 mine in Logan County would encompass 2,278 acres. It would bury not only the Pigeonroost and Oldhouse streams, the EPA said, but all the creatures that live in them.
It would also likely affect downstream waters and wildlife, contributing to conditions that would support blooms of oxygen-sucking, toxic golden algae that kill fish and other aquatic life.
Arch planned to invest $250 million, create 250 well-paying jobs and generate tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues "in a region that desperately needs both,".
Perhaps they should have planned to invest that money in a technology that doesn’t destroy the environment in order to create jobs?
People should not have to choose between their livelihoods and the ecosystems around them. Shame on corporations for creating that choice with irresponsible eco-damaging projects!
Arch spokeswoman Kim Link ... said the ruling effectively puts every U.S. business on notice that a legally issued Clean Water Act permit "can be revoked at any time according to the whims of the federal government."
"Clearly, such a development would have a chilling impact on future investment and job creation," she said.
It will only have a chilling effect on projects that have potentially horrific ecological consequences... and it would be GREAT if it does have a chilling effect on such projects.
For a more in-depth discussion of the decision, check out the diary posted earlier today by Bruce Nilles
WarrenS made a New Year's Resolution to write a letter advocating climate action every day. The result is over two hundred letters (I believe he's closing in on 300 letters, now!) to congresspeople, newspapers, President Obama, and more. Warren has even had letters published in the New York Times and the Boston Globe.
Learn Warren's letter writing technique here. Be sure to steal his stuffand visit his blog.
Month 10, Day 14: Yet Another Installment of "Why Capitalism Sucks."
The Wall Street Journal never misses an opportunity to mislead.
A fairly even-handed discussion of the most recent round of climate negotiations was derailed by a paragraph of heavy-handed editorializing, including allegations of "flawed science" in the IPCC reports and yet another reference to the so-called "climategate." Let’s get this straight, starting with the second item: there have thus far been three separate and independent investigations of the leaked emails, and each investigation has completely exonerated the scientists involved. Completely. If the print and broadcast media had any sense of responsibility, this fact would have received as much publicity as the original non-scandal. With regard to the flaws in the IPCC report —in a document thousands of pages long, mistakes are inevitable. If a miscalculation of glacial melt rates invalidates the entire report, then by analogy, an error of fact anywhere in the Wall Street Journal must invalidate everything in that day’s edition, including the stock market reports.
Warren Senders
(Emphasis added by Hopeful Skeptic) Yet another fabulous letter, Warren!
Some breathtaking images of the lingering effects of the Pakistan floods, courtesy of NASA.
As October 2010 wore on, the massive floodwater lake in Pakistan’s Sindh Province showed little sign of abating. A dozen weeks after the first floods of the 2010 monsoon season, water levels on the Indus River had fallen throughout most of the country, with some lingering high levels near the coast. But even though water levels fell along the Indus, the floodwater west of the river basin remained trapped.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite show part of the Indus River Basin on October 11, 2009 (top), August 11, 2010 (middle), and October 12, 2010 (bottom). All three images use a combination of infrared and visible light to increase the contrast between water and land. Vegetation is bright green. Bare land is pink-beige. Clouds are pale blue-green. Water ranges in color from electric blue to navy.
The image from October 2009 shows relatively normal conditions. The Indus is a thin, meandering waterway. West of the river lies a wide expanse of irrigated land, dotted with small water bodies. Manchhar Lake (also spelled Manchar) appears surrounded by dry land.
The image from August 2010 shows the region in the midst of devastating floods. The Indus River fills the river valley, and remains swollen downstream from the a Sukkur Barrage (a type of dam). This image also shows the development of a floodwater lake west of the river, following a dam breach. Water collects along the fringes of irrigation works, especially in the northwest. A thin stream of water makes its way southward toward Manchhar Lake.
The image from October 2010 shows the lingering floodwater lake west of the Indus. Apparently trapped by levees that were unable to prevent flooding, water rests on what would normally be dry land, leaving nearby communities underwater. Manchhar Lake is swollen to perhaps twice its normal area. The Indus River itself appears to have returned to normal water levels, although a lack of vegetation in the river valley suggests that floodwaters swept away river valley plants.
Annoucements
If you love the environment, and have a couple hours to spare... consider becoming an eKos editor!!
You can e-mail us at eKos350atgmaildotcom to let us know you're interested.
Advertise here!
If you would like to make an announcement for an upcoming diary or event, please e-mail us at eKos350atgmaildotcom. Please send us formatted HTML!
(All times Eastern!)
eKos diaries from Friday, October 15, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
Addressing home affordability through energy efficiency in financing process | A Siegel | 2:17:40 PM | ekos, energy, home ownership, energy audits, energy efficiency |
EPA Recommends Protecting Clean Water by Rejecting Giant WV Coal Mine | Bruce Nilles | 1:42:56 PM | moutaintop removal coal mining, coal, EPA, Sierra Club, West Virginia |
Getting the Most from Crops, in the Field and at the Market | NourishingthePlanet | 1:19:50 PM | Ekos, Nourishing the Planet, Innovation of the Week, Innovation, Cassava IITA |
Blog Action Day: Water | The Opportunity Agenda | 11:23:42 AM | opportunity, water, action, blog, ekos |
Weekly Mulch: When Will Our Water Be Clean? | The Media Consortium | 10:59:14 AM | eKos, BIODIVERSITY, BT, CLEAN WATER ACT, CLIMATE CHANGE |
Why Dick Cheney Sticks to Bottled Water | Michael Brune | 10:27:11 AM | fracking, natural gas, clean water, water, ekos |
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #409 | Lorinda Pike | 8:06:08 AM | Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Macondo, Gulf of Mexico |
Daily bigjac Poetry Slam | bigjacbigjacbigjac | 6:47:39 AM | poetry, eKos, philosophy |
Whitman's One-Two Punch to Health And Environment | Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse | 12:40:48 AM | Meg Whitman, CA-Sen, California, Jerry Brown, propositions |
eKos diaries from Thursday, October 14, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
eKos: C02 Caused Climate Change Will Be Irreversible | FishOutofWater | 10:23:20 PM | eKos, environment, climate change, global warming. hydrologic cycle, drought |
California Technology – Help Jerry Brown | Sara R | 6:11:00 PM | Recommended, Community Quilts, Jerry Brown, Governor of California, CA-Gov |
Village Green: Revitalization With Palm Trees | Kaid at NRDC | 2:35:38 PM | eKos, sustainability, neighborhoods, smart growth, cities |
Coping with Coal Ash's Health Effects | Bruce Nilles | 11:37:40 AM | eKos, Sierra Club, coal ash, coal, Illinois |
Stupid Goes Viral: Climate Zombies of AR, IL, MI, NE, ND | RLMiller | 11:28:09 AM | eKos, climate change, global warming, climate zombies, AR-01 |
Daily bigjac Poetry Slam | bigjacbigjacbigjac | 8:59:26 AM | poetry, philosophy, personal, eKos |