Every week Daily Kos diarists write dozens of environmentally related posts. Many don't get the readership they deserve. Helping improve the odds is the motivation behind the Green Diary Rescue. In the past seven years, there have been 230 of these spotlighting more than 12,964 eco-diaries. Below are categorized links and excerpts to 50 more that appeared in the past seven days. That makes for lots of good reading during the spare moments of your weekend. [Disclaimer: Inclusion of a diary in the rescue does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.] |
NOTE: Because I am on vacation, the cut-off for this week's Green Diary Rescue was 10 a.m. Pacific Time today (instead of noon).
Green Diary of the Week
Wolves: "Mission Accomplished"—by Agathena: "The original mission was wolf recovery begun in 1994 because of expiration (local extinction) of the grey wolf in many areas. Recovery goals of an equitably distributed wolf population containing at least 300 wolves and 30 breeding pairs in 3 recovery areas within Montana (MT), Idaho (ID), and Wyoming (WY) for at least 3 consecutive years were reached in 2002.
Ten years later 2012, there were 1,674 wolves counted in 5 states MT, ID, WY, Washington (WA) and Oregon (OR) and this led to the removal of the grey wolf from the Endangered Species List in the Rocky Mountain states by August 2012. Removal means the wolves are no longer protected by the Federal government and they are managed by individual states. States' management means hunting/trapping and for the most part uncontrolled hunting/trapping, open season, no license needed, no bag limit. Whereas before a rancher was permitted to shoot any wolf attacking livestock, now wolves can be shot on sight. De-listing the wolves across the country is a death sentence except for the wolf population in Yellowstone Park which is holding steady at 100 wolves."
Grey Wolf #832F in Yellowstone Park, photo credit: divineorder.
Photographer's Note: An amazing hunter and mother, this alpha female of Lamar Canyon pack was able to take down an elk by herself. She surprised the group of us who were looking the opposite direction toward the bison carcass until I sensed something, turned around, and there she was, just across the road, intent on heading downhill and crossing back for more.
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Daily Bucket-damselfly dialogues—by 6412093: "I learned from OceanDiver's photos a few days ago, that the small dragonflies around my pond are probably actually damselflies. I set out to learn more about these exquisitely named, electric-blue aerial acrobats. One difference between damselflies and dragonflies, is that damselflies' eyeballs touch, while dragonflies eyes are separate. I knelt down by the pond, magnifying glass held at arm's length, to peer closely at the suspected damselfly. 'Not so close,' said the damselfly, as it darted another foot distant. 'Keep that thing away from me.' 'I just want to see if your eyeballs touch,' I replied, extending the magnifying glass again. 'Do I know you?' countered the damselfly, dancing away. 'I don't think so. We've heard the birds talking. You are always looking in their nests. The coots say you are advancing on their young ones. The killdeer think you are creepy. My eyeballs are my own business,' concluded the damselfly, flitting from a purple iris flower to a freshly bloomed yellow lily."
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The N Hemisphere's Atmospheric Circulation Has Collapsed Creating a Persistent Polar Cyclone—by FishOutofWater: "A sudden stratospheric warming split the polar vortex in two in mid-January. Since then, the northern hemisphere's atmospheric circulation has been behaving very strangely. An area of extreme high pressure formed over the Arctic ocean and lasted for months. It formed in response to prolonged subsidence of air from high above caused by the slow cooling of bubble of warm air that invaded the stratosphere. High pressure at the pole and a very weak polar vortex pushed cold air out of the Arctic towards north America and western Europe. Weather in the U.S. and Europe in February, March and April was exceptionally cold because polar air poured out of the Arctic. In May the pressure patterns reversed. Siberia ran out of cold air by the end of April. The weak atmospheric circulation retreated north very rapidly as the long days brought strong solar heating to northern latitudes. The escape of the Arctic cold air in early spring led to an extraordinarily fast snow melt in Siberia in May. A record minimum area of Eurasia was covered by snow in May."
Climate Change
Arctic Methane found at "Amazing Levels" by NASA—by FishOutofWater: "NASA issued a press release (that should be read in full by clicking the link below) on the CARVE mission which is using a very low flying, specially instrumented, airplane to study the details of Arctic CO2 and methane release. [...] Permafrost, which is anything but permanent in a warming climate, stores enormous quantities of carbon. Bacteria convert that carbon to the greenhouse gases CO2 and methane (CH4) when the permafrost melts. Permafrost covers a vast area of the Arctic. Global warming is approaching the tipping point of 1.5°C when permafrost will melt all across the Arctic."
NASA CARVE scientists observed episodic, localized bursts of methane being emitted from the tundra as the spring thaw progressed northward over Alaska's North Slope in May and June 2012. Reds and yellows represent the highest concentrations of methane, and blues the lowest. The methane is released from the topsoil as it thaws. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
400 ppm not enough pressure to prevent collapse of Bonn Talks—by boatsie: "Process rather than content is once again front and center at the official UN Climate Talks as disagreement over the official negotiating procedures today closed down discussions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) before they even started. Eight days into the Bonn Climate Change Conference, Russia - with agreement of two of its allies —prevented the SBI from tackling pressing issues relative to climate change adaptation, finance and compensation by holding firm to its objection over the ending of the Doha Climate Gateway. The Doha agreement extended the Kyoto Protocol without allowing Russia the opportunity to receive acknowledgement for 5.8 billion tons of carbon credits the nation planned to sell under Kyoto's first period."
Report: CO2 emissions rise. Cost of delay in acting on climate change beyond 2020? $3.5 trillion—by Meteor Blades: Right now, according to the IEA report, by 2020 we will exceed by four billion tons the CO2 level scientists say is necessary for staying on a 2°C trajectory. Of course, the deniers say that cutting back on the burning of fossil fuels is unnecessary since global warming isn't happening. But they aren't the only obstacles to action. There are also the delayers, the business leaders and elected officials who say they accept the scientific evidence of climate change as reality but shy away from doing anything about it because they claim the cost of cutting back on our use of fossil fuels is too high. They don't want to discuss the cost of not doing so. The authors of the report do talk about it. Their conclusion ought to make the need for action obvious even to those folks who believe that the environment and economy are separate entities. By refusing to take action curbing fossil fuel burning between now and 2020, they conclude, the world would "save" $1.5 trillion. But the costs of getting back on track to 2°C after delaying action until 2020 would be $5 trillion. Thus, the myopic delayer approach has a $3.5 trillion price-tag."
Denialists in the DoE: Do they believe in unicorns too?—by Mike Stark: "NETL (National Energy Technology Laboratory) is an energy research lab organized within the Department of Energy. If what I found on their website is fair representation of their work product, it seems they spend a good chunk of their $9 billion budget searching for magical creatures. Squandering billions on wasteful vanity projects and junk science like carbon capture and sequestration is bad. Very bad. I mean it's very, very, bad. But it may not be their most egregious offense."
Coal burning linked to decades of drought in N. Africa—by Lefty Coaster: "After reading FishOutofWater's latest piece on how we've changed the current patterns in the Arctic Ocean I saw this news about a tragedy that went on for decades, caused not by bad farming practices as was claimed at the time (the actual perpetrators blaming the victims) but by industrialized countries burning massive amounts of one of the dirtiest fuels available, coal. Coal-Burning in the U.S. and Europe Caused a Massive African Drought: A famine ravaged North Africa's Sahel region from the mid-1960s through the early 1980s, killing 100,000 people and leaving 750,000 more dependent on food aid. Between 1972 and 1974, the U.S. shipped 600,000 tons of grain to the region, which accounted for about half of the total relief at the time. But even as they worked to save Africans from starvation, what Westerners at the time didn't know is that the United States and Europe played a big role in the drought itself."
June the month of WILDFIRES in CO, report from CO Springs—by RWN: "This morning the El Paso County Sheriff Maketa, (actually a very good law enforcement administrator but RWinger politician nonetheless), reported that 360 homes are now totally lost (1205 remain standing in the affected area, an additional 79 are unknown). Yesterday the number was 92 homes burned to the ground, one being a close friend of ours. Last year, we had three friends from our church and my wife's summer employer lose their homes in the famed Waldo Canyon Fire that invaded CO Springs from the mountains on the west, as the area lost 347 homes."
Wildfire Season shows its Fury early—by jamess: "But nobody could have of known the "storms" would be so furious—except for maybe the Director of the U.S. Forest Service ... America's wildfire season lasts two months longer than it did 40 years ago and burns up twice as much land as it did in those earlier days because of the hotter, drier conditions produced by climate change, the country's forest service chief told Congress on Tuesday. But the forest service was forced to make sharp cuts to fire prevention programmes, and reduce the numbers of fire-fighters and engines because of budget pressures, Thomas Tidwell, the chief of the United States Forest Service, told the Senate committee on energy and natural resources."
Food & Agriculture & Gardening
The food waste program—by John Promethos: "Here's an idea. It's well know that there's a huge waste in the food industry and the supply chain. The USDA estimates that supermarkets lose $15 billion annually in unsold fruits and vegetables alone. One industry consultant estimated that up to one in seven truckloads of perishables delivered to supermarkets is thrown away. Most stores pull items off the shelves 2 to 3 days before the sell-by date. Other waste includes damaged packaging, outdated promotional products and unpopular items. On the one hand the government is spending billions to feed the poor and on the other hand we have all this food waste. Why can't we just give the wasted food to the poor? Instead of the stores just throwing away food, which they can't sell, they could instead give it to people, who are covered by the food stamp program."
Gardening-Something Strange Is Happening--—by Mayfly: "I live in the Great Southern Piedmont, Zone 8 (formerly Zone 7B) and garden in-town. Lucky me, I've got a nice-sized back yard and grow tomatoes, culinary herbs, greens, asparagus, potatoes, beans, squash, small fruit, etc. Over the years, the Eastern gray squirrel has been my main problem. These rascals bite into green fruit and green tomatoes, then toss them aside. They chomp on squash and beans, and there seems to be no way to deter them. Whenever I was outside I saw squirrels running along the fence, climbing my neighbor's oak tree, etc. This Spring season, suddenly, I am seeing very few live squirrels (and no dead ones). For the past couple of years the grey squirrels, with no effective predators in-town, have become more red. I am assuming this is natural selection and the courting squirrel says to himself/herself 'oh look, a redhead--I am in love.'"
Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol. 9.17—by Frankenoid: "It’s been a wild week here on the Colorado Front Range. We started the week by breaking the record highs two days in a row: 99° on the 10th, and 100° on the 11th. The 11th also saw the wildfires start — we’ve had 4 or 5 (or maybe 6? I’ve lost track). What’s called the Black Forest fire near Colorado Springs is the largest, beating out last year’s Waldo Canyon fire as the most damaging with 419 homes burned. The weather started turning in favor of containing and controlling the Black Forest fire on Thursday — including an increase in the humidity levels; rain arrived yesterday in the Springs area (but it missed Denver). As of this morning there’s 30% containment."
Is That a Chunk of Pigshit in My Water?—by Karen Hedwig Backman: "Those Iowa boys. They got to look out for those factory farms on their turf. You damn betcha they are doing their best to underfund and threaten the EPA and the USDA. Never mind about the rights of other Americans to drink clean water and eat healthy food."
Energy
CA smashes solar record—by nzanne: "This record equaled 5% of Friday’s peak demand of 36,000 MW, was enough to power 1.5 million average California households, and is just under the 2,250MW of nuclear power removed from the state grid when the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station was retired. Even more remarkable, Friday’s output doubled the record set in September 2012 when solar peaked at 1,000 MW total generation. The article goes on to say that '97% of all new electricity generation capacity scheduled to come online in California during the second half of 2013 will be solar power.' One thing you have to realize is that it was 107 degrees in the Central Valley on Friday - Fresno, Bakersfield, etc. Summer has come hard and hot here. So to offset 5% of peak demand on the first killer day of summer is great."
The Truth about Oil Shale: Estonia is a Failure—by War on Error: "Estonia is being touted as the OIL SHALE SUCCESS STORY. It is not. It is an economic and environmental failure. It took decades for Estonia to find a way to refine the oil from oil shale, causes 80% of Estonia's pollution, and only functions because it is HIGHLY SUBSIDIZED by the government. It's a socialist business model. Now Utah is about to be oil shale mined because "OIL SHALE HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL IN ESTONIA" so out came my research hat. The following is what I have found. What look like actual lies about oil shale production in Estonia made by those looking for investments in Utah oil shale production. Keep in mind, if they mine oil shale in Utah, they will do so near the Green and White Rivers, which flow into the Colorado River as well as near Utah's key water reservoirs. It's a damn desert! Estonia's oil shale refineries are near a huge natural water resource."
Patriot Bankruptcy Puts Retired Miners in Life and Death Struggle—by
Mary Anne Hitt: "Coal mining is one of the world’s most dangerous occupations. No one knows better than the miners that working in the coal mines can cause lifelong, debilitating illnesses like black lung disease. If there's anything retired coal miners need, it's health care. And Peabody can definitely afford it. Peabody is the world's largest coal company, and earned nearly two billion dollars in profit last year alone. The Sierra Club is a unionized organization, we've partnered for many years with organized labor through the Blue Green Alliance, and we are firmly committed to workers' rights. These miners risked their lives for years in coal mines, and their union has fought hard for these basic benefits. It’s appalling that Peabody and Patriot are refusing to keep their end of the deal. It’s a corporate swindle that reaches beyond Appalachia, with implications that threaten all union workers around the nation."
Inspector General’s report faults Interior Dept & BLM for Big Coal preferential lease deals—by Lefty Coaster: "Coal for domestic consumption is priced at a much lower royalty rate, but Big Coal using shell corporations to skirt the rules for coal bound for overseas export markets, with a nod and a wink from the Obama Interior Department. That seems about to change in light of a new Inspector General's report. [...] This Inspector General's report exposes the too cozy relationship between the BLM and the big corporate miners they are supposed to regulate. Despite past abuses it remains a persistent problem."
Kazakhstan: From Coal to Clean Energy?—by nicoleghio: "Why is Kazakhstan, one of the world's major oil producing countries, with 3% of recoverable oil reserves within its borders and an energy sector dominated by coal, going green? Because it makes economic sense, it is good for growth, it will create jobs, and it will reduce carbon emissions."
U.S. coal exports causing death in Europe—by Jguay: "Coal-fired power plants are silent killers. Hour after hour these plants fill the air with toxic pollutants, including mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium and tiny sulphate and nitrate particles that go deep into people’s lungs and bloodstream. These emissions caused 22,000 premature deaths in the European Union in 2010, through strokes, heart attacks, lung cancer and other diseases, as estimated in a new report from Greenpeace, based on research by the University of Stuttgart. The EU has seen a problematic short term rise in coal burn over the past three years (though the long term trend is down, down, down). New statistics from BP place the increase at 11% with imports increasing a whopping 26%. One of the biggest sources of those deadly coal imports was the U.S. whose exports to the EU almost doubled. In fact the U.S. accounted for 65% of Europe’s increased coal consumption. Which means, according to Greenpeace modeling results, 65% of the 2,000 premature deaths in the EU were caused by US coal exporters. Not exactly an export to be proud of."
Maine Town Tells Coal Plant to Clean Up Its Act—by Mary Anne Hitt: "Every week it seems like yet another small town gets fed up with the coal industry and demands action. This week's fantastic example comes from Eliot, Maine, where Tuesday night residents voted 906 to 560 to ask the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate dangerous sulfur dioxide pollution coming from the Schiller Station coal plant just across the border in Portsmouth, New Hampshire."
Fracking
Frackers have strange ideas about "open communications"—by Mike Stark: "It's well known that part of the opposition to fracking is lack of transparency and concern over the chemicals extractors pump into our land and aquifers. For some reason, citizens and researchers find it impossible to learn what is actually going on beneath the soils of their farms, schools and playgrounds. So I found this video a bit ironic."
A huge portion of Anadarko Corp.'s profits derive from fracking. In November, 2011 an Anadarko public relations professional, Michael Carmichael, spoke at a conference and decided to share how much he valued the lessons he learned from United States military psy-ops manuals and training. Evidently, the tactics he learned turned out to be very valuable when applied to pacifying certain villages in the United States: the communities that think it might not be such a good idea to provide oil and gas corporations with unfettered reign to pump some ungodly number of gallons of carcinogenic industrial chemicals into the ground under their homes and neighborhoods.
Frackademia: University of Tennessee Set to Lease Forest For Fracking, Enriching Governor's Family—by Steve Horn: "8,600 acres of the Cumberland Forest owned by University of Tennessee-Knoxville will be leased off to the oil and gas industry this August in a new form of "frackademia"—and one of the top financial beneficiaries will be the family of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, who sits on UT-Knoxville's Board of Trustees. 'Frackademia' is usually thought of as 'studies' conducted by university-based 'frackademic' researchers and funded by Big Oil, the old 'Tobacco Playbook' in action. But UT-Knoxville has taken the game to a whole new level, leasing off land it owns so that it can study 'best practices' for fracking in the Volunteer State."
Keystone and Other Fossil Fuel Transportation
Huge Toxic Spill Unreported for 10 Days—by Agathena: "A pipeline operated by Houston-based Apache has spilled 9.5 million litres of toxic industrial waste water in wetlands area of northern Alberta on June 1, 2013. It was only made public when someone alerted a local TV station. To explain the delay, the Alberta Energy Regulator claimed it took 10 days to determine the size of the spill. The industry and the government called it salt water but the local Dene tribe claim the 'toxic substance contains hydrocarbons, high levels of salt, sulphurous compounds, metals and naturally occurring radioactive materials, along with chemical solvents and additives used by the oil industry.' It is located in a muskeg or wetland area, habitat of birds, lynx, woodland bison, wolves, moose, woodland caribou."
Eco-Related DC & State Politics
Giving our coal away for a song—by Mike Stark: "There's been a fair amount of reporting on the OIG evaluation of coal leases on federal lands published yesterday. As it turns out, the environmentalists and conservationists have been right all along: coal companies are stealing from us. The headlines I've seen are mostly focused on the IG's assertion of $60 million in potential lost revenues resulting from undervalued lease modifications. Let me say here that I agree: If we must tear coal out of the earth, we should damned sure make sure we get every last penny we can from the extractors. That said, I think it's a mistake to focus on the $60 million in potential losses."
Ken Cuccinell's Slimepit of Corruption: Oil & Gas Edition—by lowkell: "A Southwest Virginia legislator Monday called for an state Inspector General investigation into Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's office after a federal judge rebuked a lawyer on his staff for assisting two energy companies as they defend against lawsuits from citizens over natural gas royalties. State Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Russell County, publicly made that request after the Associated Press last week reported on the shock U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent conveyed in a recent court document upon learning one of Cuccineli's staff attorneys had offered advice to the corporate litigants. E-mails provided to the court show that assistant attorney general Sharon Pigeon gave advice to attorneys for the companies: EQT Production Co. and CNX Gas Co., both from the Pittsburgh area."
The Great Outdoors
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
The Daily Bucket - A Progression of Pink—by
Milly Watt: "Here in the Pacific Northwest, there is a profusion of wildflowers to enjoy. Just this spring, we had a bucket about the pink wild Pacific Rhododendrons and OceanDiver's bucket on the pink wild roses (Baldhip and Nootka). Next comes the pink Foxgloves, to continue the pink theme. While these are non-native, they are now common along the roadsides of the Olympic Peninsula, WA. While the common foxglove is often grown as an ornamental plant, my first exposure to it was as a wild plant, growing along the roadsides during my first visit to the Olympic Peninsula over 35 years ago. I was quite surprised to learn that it wasn't native. Colors vary from pink, lavender, or white, with deep pink to purple spots inside."
Touring Our Wild America—by Michael Brune: "Not coincidentally, the Sierra Club is also launching its new Our Wild America campaign this month. It brings together all the elements of our work to protect (and enjoy) our national wild heritage. You can learn more about the campaign here (and you'll also get updates and photos from our family tour, including four-year-old Sebastian's mishap with a cactus and eight-year-old Olivia's sketch of Nevada mountains). Mostly, we're having a lot of fun, but our family road trip also illustrates why the Our Wild America campaign is so important. For instance, not everyone is lucky enough to be able to take a trip like this that includes iconic places such as the Canyonlands and the Grand Canyon. That's why one focus of Our Wild America is making sure people have access to nature close to home, whether it's a state park or an urban greenbelt."
The Daily Bucket: wild roses—by
OceanDiver: "June 2013, San Juan Islands,
Pacific Northwest. Wild roses are blooming all over the islands right now, thousands of modest pink blossoms decorating what's otherwise impenetrable thorny thicket, treating passersby with clouds of the most heavenly fragrance. When the roses burst into bloom, summer has arrived, regardless what the calendar says. I can't send the fragrance out to you through the intertubes, but I can show you a little bit of this flamboyant Pacific Northwest display. The abundance of color and fragrance is all the more amazing, considering these are native roses, unlike the thousands of selectively bred cultivars with lots of petals and every imaginable color and scent. We actually have several species of wild rose, all with pink, 5-petaled, many-stamened flowers, small serrated compound leaves, and thorns. Two of these are common, but in different habitats."
The Daily Bucket: Agave flowering—by
matching mole: "In front of my building on campus we have a flowering
Agave americana. Plants in the genus Agave are famous for two things: being the source of tequila and as 'century' plants. The name century plant is an exaggeration as no species lives to be 100 years old. What they are, in technical terms, are long-lived semelparous organisms. Semelparity refers to only reproducing once in your life time. Most semelparous organisms are short-lived (annual plants, many insects). Living a long life just to reproduce once and die seems a bit odd from a human point of view. However it works for salmon and it appears to work for Agaves."
Fish & Wildlife
Dawn Chorus: The Florida Razorbill Mystery—by matching mole: "First - what's a Razorbill? Razorbill's are auks, members of same family (Alcidae) of birds as Puffins, Murres, and Guillemots. They are often referred to as the penguins of the north. Many auks do resemble penguins; they are stout-bodied birds with black and white bodies that live in cold oceans and 'fly' underwater to pursue their fishy prey. Unlike penguins, auks can fly in the air as well. Like some penguin species, some auks have elaborate ornamentation on their heads (e.g. puffins)."
The Daily Bucket - Dazed and Confused—by
foresterbob: "Yesterday morning I heard that all-too-familiar thump of a bird slamming into a window. It happened in almost the same spot on the same window as another collision this spring. I have no idea why that spot is so appealing to a bird on the wing. The room was unlit, and it was a long way across the room to the next window. The unfortunate victim was a robin. It stood on the ground, dazed, with its beak open. The robin barely noticed my approach with the camera. Later on, the bird was gone. Hopefully it is okay, and a bit wiser about those strange transparent rectangles on my house."
Wild Fish Stocks Win One—by akmk: "It's been a hard-fought battle of over twenty years. The warriors were getting weary. Still the voices of the people, speaking for the voiceless fish and wildlife of a most extraordinary watershed in Southeast Alaska near Haines, ultimately prevailed. Just as we were preparing for another round, Alaska Power & Telephone, the utility company with the proposed boondoggle of a hydro-project in the Upper Chilkoot Watershed finally threw in their towel. The sweet message arrived today from FERC and from a rare (dedicated to both the resource and the commenting public) Alaska public official, Monte Miller, FERC's liasion with Alaska Department of Fish & Game for FERC hydro-project proposals in Alaska."
The Daily Bucket - one crow nest—by bwren: "When I arrived she was crouched on the edge of the nest, a little wobbly, looking out over the thickets. I moved on, feeling my presence somehow intrusive this time. When I looped back she was perched on a low branch just east of the nest tree. She was making a sound I can't describe. No other crows responded. Female Crows will sit on infertile eggs for as long as a month before abandoning their efforts."
Water
Indian Water Rights on the Klamath—by Ojibwa: "The calls authorized the local water master, who works for the Oregon Department of Water Resources, to start checking river flows and telling ranchers with junior rights to turn off pumps and shut headgates on diversion dams until enough water remains in the rivers to meet the bureau and tribes' rights. That process is likely to take several weeks. The state Department of Water Resources sent in extra personnel so three two-person teams will handle the shutoffs. Each team will notify the sheriff where they are at all times for safety. As the summer continues and rivers continue to drop, even more ranches will be shut off. Non-Indians have suggested that there could be violence over this. Water rights in the west are not riparian—that is, you may not have the right to use water flowing through your property. In the west, water law is based on use and users with superior water rights—i.e. first in time—get first call on the rights. A century ago, the Supreme Court in the Winters Doctrine ruled that water rights for the tribes must be dated to the formation of the reservation. In most areas, tribes have superior water rights. The water does not have to be on the reservation for the tribes to claim it."
Breaking News: Fishing, environmental, farming groups will sue to halt Delta Plan—by Dan Bacher: "In the latest escalation of the California water wars, a statewide coalition of fishing, environmental and farming groups on Monday, June 17 will announce the filing of a lawsuit to stop the Delta Plan, a document that lays the groundwork for the Delta water export tunnels. The details of the lawsuit will be released to the media in a conference call and press release. The groups filing the litigation include the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN), California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, AquAlliance, Restore the Delta, Friends of the River and Center for Biological Diversity. 'The Delta Reform Act gave the Delta Stewardship Council a historic opportunity to remedy 40 years of water policy failures,' said Santa Barbara resident Carolee Krieger, executive director of the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN), a statewide water advocacy organization."
Brown Proclaims 'Great Outdoors Month' As He Plans Delta's Destruction—by Dan Bacher: "Governor Jerry Brown on Friday, June 7 issued a proclamation declaring June as "Great Outdoors Month" in California. Ironically, the same Governor is fast-tracking the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), a $54.1 billion dollar project that would divert massive quantities of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, leading to the extinction of Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other species."
Statewide Campaign Launched to Defeat Governor Brown’s $54.1 Billion Water Tunnels Project—by Dan Bacher: "While Governor Brown plots to build massive twin tunnels to send the Sacramento River to corporate agribusiness and oil interests, a group of over 30 organizations from across the political spectrum have formed Californians for a Fair Water Policy, a statewide coalition working to defeat the tunnels project that will unfairly and unnecessarily burden California’s taxpayers, ratepayers, and the environment. 'The tunnels would impose billions of dollars of tax and water rate increases on Californians to enrich a few large and powerful agribusinesses and oil companies' said Adam Scow, California Campaigns Director for Food & Water Watch. 'This project was a bad idea in 1982 and it’s a worse idea today.' "
Fishing and conservation groups, Winnemem Wintu sue over Delta Plan—by Dan Bacher: "The North Coast Rivers Alliance, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Associations and Winnemem Wintu (McCloud River) Tribe on Friday, June 14 filed a lawsuit against the Delta Plan approved recently by the Delta Stewardship Council. Attorney Stephan C. Volker filed the litigation in the Sacramento County Superior Court, charging that the Delta Plan violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009 and the Public Trust Doctrine."
Eco-Activism, Eco-Justice & Sustainability
Al Gore Passes the Climate Change Advocacy Torch to a Most Worthy Successor—by markthshark: "Former Vice President Al Gore returned to Washington on Tuesday. Even though part of the reason he made the trip was to voice his displeasure at the lack of leadership coming out of the Oval office, his destination wasn't the White House itself; it was to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. He went looking for a passionate advocate to carry on his legacy; the issue he's worked on for most of his adult life. Mr. Gore visited the man he considers the next champion of climate change legislation. The next advocate for the future of Earth. That new face belongs to none other than the junior U.S. senator from Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse. 'Sheldon Whitehouse has become the leading United States Senate advocate for solving the climate crisis, and you ought to be very proud," he told an audience of Rhode Island environmental leaders.'"
A Breakthrough in How We Work to Protect Our Oceans—by Phil Radford II Greenpeace:
"The Bering Sea is known to scientists and conservationists as one of the most remarkable places on Earth—a home to sponges, coral, fish, crab, skates, sperm whales, orcas, Steller sea lions, and a vast array of other species all part of a delicate ecosystem extremely vulnerable to human activity. On Monday in Juneau, Alaska, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to identify key coral areas in the Bering Sea canyons and consider measures to protect them. While this may sound like a routine decision in a far off place, it's anything but the status quo."
Forests, Wilderness & Other Public Lands
The greedheads will destroy the Boundary Waters Wilderness—by chuck412: "If they can. Here’s the deal. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) straddles part of the Minnesota/Ontario border. What with not being so much the trekking, camping type, I haven’t been there, but knowledgeable sources tell me that it is quite literally heaven on earth. Spectacular and powerful. A corporate entity called Twin Metals Minnesota wants to dig and operate a big mine, for copper, nickel, and whatever else turns up, right about where the South Kawishiwi River connects with the BWCA. [...] (More about the various corporate tentacles involved, below.) The project has the (almost giddy) support of many of the state’s top elected officials, which in Minnesota right now means Democrats, who have been seduced by the siren call of purported jobs and 'economic development.'"
Pollution, Disasters & Hazardous Wastes
Extraction—by James Wells: "I keep seeing this term “Production” used to describe the process of extracting a natural material and sending it on its way to becoming pollution. That’s wrong, and we should all commit to using the correct word, which is: Extraction. This is so basic. What you extract something, it’s gone. Like my left upper molar. I can try to convince myself that the object now there is just as good as the real thing. The good news is that it doesn’t hurt any more when exposed to a hot drink. But I am reminded every time I floss under it (yes under it!), that it is not the same thing as that which was once a firmly attached part of me. And the endontist was very clear on the range of bad outcomes (bone surgery, anyone?) if I do not maintain it."
Transportation & Infrastructure
Sunday Train: All Aboard for the Cross Illinois Line—by BruceMcF: "While browsing the Midwest HSR Association site recently, I came across this story: Midwest High Speed Rail Association Executive Director Richard Harnish released the following statement Thursday in response to Illinois State Rep. Donald Moffitt’s (74th District) proposal of a new bill proposing a study leading to the creation of a new east-west Amtrak line in Illinois: 'Rep. Moffitt has identified a missing link in our state’s mass transportation system. The addition of a new Amtrak route linking population and commercial centers would be a major enhancement of our rail system, and a stepping-stone to further expansion and improvement of the system. Today, if you need to travel between Chicago and Springfield, Galesburg, Peoria, Normal and Urbana-Champaign or over to the Quad Cities, you are most likely to drive. .. This addition and the public’s utilization of it will help to lay the solid foundation for future modernization—especially for the full implementation of high-speed rail between Chicago and St. Louis and other major midwest destinations.'"
NC GOP want special electric/hybrid car taxes—by gnosticator: "In addition to tax increases on 80% of North Carolinians, including small businesses via service taxes, the NC Teapublicans plan to start nickel and diming tax payers with a slew of fees. Not content to do away with alternative energy incentives, the NC GOP wants some revenge on environmentalists by taxing hybrid vehicles. Most of these hypocritical NC Republican clowns have signed the Grover Norquist tax pledge but that doesn't stop them from this rank hypocrisy. Nope, stealing from the poor and giving to rich campaign donors is a given for the Republican Party. That's their modus operandi: increase taxes the poor and middle class, outsource American jobs, encourage and support tax cheating by the rich, sabotage of the American economy, like voting to default on American debt, generally doing whatever they can to screw America. They plan debt default again this fall as we all know."
Eco-Philosophy & Essays
The Future of Storm Chasing - Ethical or Carnival?—by JPax: "My heart goes out to those affected by the recent severe storms. I survived at least one tornado in Oklahoma as a kid, and worked on homes there for HFH once upon a time. I'm loath to write this, but I feel a little shock to the system might be in order."
Miscellany
It Isn't Nice to Fool Mother Nature—by jerrywaxman: "Are we talking evil here? No, we’re not. We’re talking corporate mindset, which protects overhead, inventory and profits over people. Even if they’re wrong in their thinking they’ll protect their profits first, and let’s face it, they buy the best legislators they can for insurance. The law of unintended consequences will produce adverse results in due time. Remember that scene in The Bridge over the River Kwai where Alec Guinness has his “Oh My God, What Have I Done” moment? Perhaps it will happen in corporate America. After all, Victor Frankenstein didn’t intend to create a killer."
"The East" Does More Harm Than Good to the Green Movement—by ReelChange: "The creators of The East, especially star and co-writer Brit Marling, have been quite vocal about their intentions: they made the film to provoke discussion about the tactics of so-called 'eco-terrorist' groups and about the environmental movement in general. Marling’s heart is surely in the right place: several years ago, the struggling actress spent a summer backpacking around the country, spending time with Freegans, anarchist collectives, and organic farmers. In the film, Marling has created a character—an undercover agent embedded with an eco-terrorist group—caught between betraying and supporting these people and their movement. But in real life, Marling has already betrayed them onscreen: The East may have a do-gooder sheen, but it only skims the truth of the movement it depicts and ends up portraying its activist heroes far worse than they really are."
UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan: A Mileston of Global Environmental History—by Nathan Jaco: "The original document of the Med Plan outlined four main elements: Element I. The first element was the product of a recognition by the original parties that there was a tradeoff between economic development and environmental protection, and that the socioeconomic inequalities between these nations made a joint coordination effort the optimal solution (United Nations Environmental Programme Intergovernmental Meeting on the Protection of the Mediterranean, 1975). This element was pursuant to the essential objective of improved natural resource utilization and was predicated on an awareness of the relationship between human activities and the state of natural living communities. [...]"