Iceland's Bárðarbunga volcano delivers its very own light show.
Many environmentally related posts appearing at Daily Kos each week don't attract the attention they deserve. To help get more eyeballs, Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The most recent Wednesday Spotlight can be seen here. So far, more than 19,225 environmentally oriented diaries have been rescued for inclusion in this weekly collection since 2006. Inclusion of a diary in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
Bárðarbunga: Ash Nazg Durbatulûk—by
Rei: "The police have observed people trying to sneak into the area and reiterated their warnings about the dangers and that it's a closed area. I'm not even sure that the word 'sneak' is applicable when one was outright trying to land an aircraft near the eruption to let out passengers. The gas is a local threat in the beginning, but that which leaves the surface can enter high-level wind currents and be lofted around the world. [...] The dangers on-site are much more than just the gases. Chunks of cooling lava are being thrown hundreds of meters from the craters. One scientist nearly got trapped between a sudden flood and the advancing lava flow. Their "getaway vehicles" keep getting stuck in the wet sand. They're staying in the camping shelters near Askja for "safety", except that the pressure from the dike has destabilized the whole Askja system. The quakes there have made rocks on the edges of the canyon Drekagil unstable, and they regularly rain down. Part of their water system was hit by a large rock and smashed to pieces, leaving the scientists to have to collect water in buckets until they could get it replaced. And of course, as always, the large quakes in the caldera continue."
Urge Pepsi To Stop Guzzling Tar Sands!—by
Marcia G Yerman: "In July of 2013, Moms Clean Air Force joined in an open letter to top North American businesses. The agenda was to strongly 'urge' them to stop using fuel derived from tar sands sources. [...] The letter noted, 'Extracting and upgrading a barrel of tar sands oil generates up to three times more greenhouse gas emissions than extracting a barrel of conventional oil.' A ten-point fact sheet outlines the toxicity of this form of oil and the resulting ecological devastation from the extraction process. Additional concerns include the excessive use of fresh water, high risk of endangering water supplies, spills, and the data documenting a spiked rate of cancer in communities adjacent to drilling areas. Now, a year later, groups are once again asking American corporations to 'follow the lead of nineteen major companies' that have cut their usage of tar sands fuel. At a shareholder meeting for PepsiCo this past June, Gina Coplon-Newfield of the Sierra Club had the opportunity to meet PepsiCo’s CEO, Indra K. Nooyi. Coplon-Newfield was present with activists from ForestEthics, to deliver petitions against the use of tar sands oil by PepsiCo. The two women had a personal conversation about their concerns for the wellness of the planet, and connected around the fact that they were both parents of daughters. Having spoken to one of the top decision makers at the company, Coplon-Newfield departed with an encouraged outlook. If PepsiCo made a commitment to join other enterprises (like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods) in discontinuing the use of tar sands oil, the impact and optics would be major."
2 Montana Coal Companies team up to boost exports to Asia through proposed NW Terminals—by
Lefty Coaster: "Two coal companies operating in Montana's Powder River Basin are combining resources to expand coal exports through proposed new terminals in the Pacific Northwest.
Under terms of the deal, Wyoming-based Cloud Peak Energy would sell its 50 percent stake in the 120-worker Decker Mine to co-owner Ambre Energy of Australia. In turn, Ambre would assume liability for $67 million in reclamation and lease bonds for the mine. Cloud Peak also gains the option to move almost 8 million tons of coal annually through a port proposed by Ambre in Longview, Washington. [...] Most residents of the coastal region oppose more coal trains that the proposed export terminals would bring, along with the bulk carrier ships transiting our sensitive waterways. Tuesday in Everett local opponents to the increase in coal and oil trains sent a message we won't take more trains laying down."
You can find more rescued green diaries below the sustainable squiggle.
Climate Chaos
Sinking Beauties—by boatsie: "Up close and personal, it is hard to hide from the reality that we are all sinking beauties. And so it is impossible not to be moved by the poignantly powerful interactive, 'Sinking beauties,' which details the devastating impact of rising seas levels on over 50 Small Island Developing States (SIDSs), where climate change is causing water levels to increase at a rate four times higher than anywhere else on the planet. The infographic, designed by the India Environment Portal, was released two weeks before the September 23 UN Climate Summit to draw attention to the communities most vulnerable today to unabated climate change."
Deniers show little understanding and even less logic—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "Climate of the Past has published a new study looking at models' ability to accurately capture temperatures during the last interglacial period from 131,000 to 114,000 years ago. In response, the Hockey Schtick has a post that not only misinterprets the study, but also employs some painfully bad logic. Ecologist Richard Telford, blogs about the study in a post titled: 'The perils of just reading the abstract (and of not understanding it).' While the study is technical, Telford highlights its main takeaway: 'models are performing well at the global scale.' The bottom line is that because the last interglacial period is too far back to radio carbon date, you have to line up the hottest temperatures from different regions in order to match them together. Because of this rudimentary but necessary warm bias, models tend to overestimate temperatures by 0.4 ± 0.3°C. The new study supports scientists' estimates of warming bias by finding that models overestimated by 0.67°C. Comparing the two figures, you can see models are actually pretty accurate. This, of course, is the opposite conclusion reached in The Hockey Schtick post, which claims models can't fully simulate temperatures. The post goes on to say the models 'failure' to simulate past warming must mean present-day warming could be entirely the result of natural processes. Of course we all know this is a bit like saying that because people die naturally, there's no such thing as murder."
Persistent Drought a Threat to Civilization—Odds Humans are causing Global Warming is 99.999%—by Lefty Coaster: "Our alterations to the makeup of the earth's atmosphere are likely to be so disruptive that they could potentially threaten the sustainability of civilizations in the most adversely affected regions. Regions that could be drastically affected by repercussions like persistent droughts lasting a decade or longer. Global Warming Boosts Chances of Civilization-Threatening Megadroughts Here And Abroad, By Joe Romm: By taking no serious action to slash carbon pollution and put the world on a path to 2°C warming (or less), humanity is voluntarily choosing to sharply boost the chances of the worst kinds of droughts — including the kind of multi-decade megadroughts that in the past have overturned entire civilizations. In their self-described “conservative” new study, “Assessing the risk of persistent drought using climate model simulations and paleoclimate data,” scientists have now quantified the risk of devastating, prolonged drought in the southwestern U.S. (and the world) due to global warming."
New Study posits a Link between dwindling Sea-Ice and wide-ranging Polar Vortex—by jamess: "It seems counter-intuitive, but it seems like these Scientists are saying heat up the Arctic air above normal—and that "normal" polar air has to go somewhere ... In the past several years, many studies have looked at the accelerated warming in the Arctic and whether it is connected to extreme weather farther south, from heatwaves to Superstorm Sandy. This Arctic-extremes connection is "cutting edge" science that is hotly debated by mainstream climate scientists, Serreze said. Scientists are meeting this week in Seattle to look at the issue even more closely. Well if you 'leave open' the door to the freezer, the freezer gets warmer—but those sitting near-by will feel the chill. That 'once-normal' Arctic sea-ice is 'the freezer door' in this analogy."
Energy & Conservation
GETTING TO ZERO: The size of the problem—by Keith Pickering: "We've all read those rosy optimistic stories about renewable energy, and how in some given month 100% of new electrical capacity in the US was all renewable; or about how during some hour in the dead of night all of the electricity demand in Denmark was met by wind. You read those stories and you think, 'Hey! We're making progress in the climate fight!' And that impression is dead wrong. We're not making progress, we're going backwards. It's just that we're going backwards a tiny bit more slowly that we would have otherwise. Here's a graph. Look at it closely. Study it carefully. And then try to project, on the basis of this graph, the year in which the world will stop burning fossil fuel. If you look way down at the bottom of the graph, that green line is renewables. Do you think that's tiny? You don't know the half of it. Most of that green line is biofuels, and only a tiny fraction of the green line is solar and wind. If solar and wind had been broken out separately, they would both be hugging the axis. Let's put it this way: ALL the growth in ALL non-fossil energy during the last 10 years, combined, adds up to less than 20% of the growth in fossil fuels during the same period."
CO-Sen: Cory Gardner (R) Brags About A Green Energy Measure That Failed In New Campaign Ad—by
poopdogcomedy: "GOP Senate candidate Cory Gardner, framed by sunflowers and wind turbines, tells voters in a campaign ad this week that he co-wrote a law to launch Colorado's green-energy economy. He leaves out that the law was repealed five years later, deemed useless for not enabling a single project. 'Gardner's claiming credit for launching Colorado's clean-energy economy and he did not. Coloradans did that and Coloradans deserve the credit,' said Chris Harris, spokesman for incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Udall. Udall's camp has been deriding Gardner's wind-turbine ad and the Republicans' touting of the 2007 law."
Tomgram: Michael Klare, Oil Rush in America—by Michael Klare via TomDispatch: "Considering all the talk about global warming, peak oil, carbon divestment, and renewable energy, you’d think that oil consumption in the United States would be on a downward path. By now, we should certainly be witnessing real progress toward a post-petroleum economy. As it happens, the opposite is occurring. U.S. oil consumption is on an upward trajectory, climbing by 400,000 barrels per day in 2013 alone—and, if current trends persist, it should rise again both this year and next. In other words, oil is back. Big time. Signs of its resurgence abound. Despite what you may think, Americans, on average, are driving more miles every day, not fewer, filling ever more fuel tanks with ever more gasoline, and evidently feeling ever less bad about it. The stigma of buying new gas-guzzling SUVs, for instance, seems to have vanished; according to CNN Money, nearly one out of three vehicles sold today is an SUV. As a result of all this, America’s demand for oil grew more than China’s in 2013, the first time that’s happened since 1999."
Keystone XL & Other Fossil Fuel Transportation
Someone must stand up to Big Oil—by DDomina: "Today, I will stand in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court to block the path of the Keystone XL pipeline. In doing so, I will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a powerful new coalition of activists and landowners that I believe has the potential to fundamentally realign American politics. Someone has to stand up to Big Oil and its kind. I am. So are three Nebraskans who gave their names as plaintiffs to our efforts. It isn’t just the pipeline that moves us; it’s also the tactics of corporate bullies. You see, there are at least two different categories of arguments against the Keystone XL pipeline."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol. 10.28—by Frankenoid: "Good morning, and is it summer? Fall? I'm getting so confused. Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging. On Wednesday, September 3, the high was 94° — hotter than it had been through the entire month of August. On Thursday, September 4, the high was 72°, and yesterday we didn't make it out of the 60s. And we had more rain. And may get even more. By Sunday we may be back in the mid-80s. I'm fighting to get ripe melons. There are several well-formed green nutmeg melons, but the green nutmegs are under attack by melon aphids — and the melon aphids are under attack by ladybugs and ladybug larva."
GMO foods cause cancer–pseudoscience says it's so—by SkepticalRaptor: "Let's make something clear right here, at the beginning of the article–there is a vast amount of legitimate scientific literature that describes evidence that GMO crops are safe to both human health and the environment. In the world of scientific research, the absolute highest quality evidence are meta reviews, which are methods to contrast and combine results from a wide swath of peer-reviewed studies which may be useful in identifying patterns, sources of disagreement and other relationships. Since meta reviews combine the results from a larger number of studies, they can be more statistically significant. Last year, a team of Italian researchers published one such meta review of GMO studies in a peer-reviewed, high impact factor journal, Critical Review of Biotechnology (pdf). The authors collected and evaluated 1,783 research papers, reviews, relevant opinions, and reports published between 2002 and 2012, a comprehensive process that took over 12 months to complete. The review covered all aspects of GM crop safety, from how the crops interact with the environment to how they could potentially affect the humans and animals who consume them. Their conclusion, even in science-speak, could not be clearer: The scientific research conducted so far has not detected any significant hazards directly connected with the use of GE crops."
We've created a environmental monster no one wants to talk about—by VL Baker: "Call it a conspiracy if you want. But there is a new documentary that tells it like it is. They call it "Cowspiracy". They bring the research and facts together and show, in a powerful film, how animal agriculture is largely responsible for many of the most pressing issues of our time including: climate change, water scarcity and pollution, deforestation and land depletion, rapid loss of species, dead sea zones...you name it, animal agriculture is there."
Trash, Pollution & Hazardous Waste
Federal judge rules BP 'reckless,' two other companies 'grossly negligent' in gulf oil spill—by Meteor Blades: "After four years of debate and legal testimony, a federal district judge ruled Thursday that BP's grossly negligent actions led to the explosion of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and consequent gusher that spilled an estimated 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico from two and a half miles below the seabed. The accident also killed 11 workers and injured 16 others. Judge Carl Barbier, a Clinton appointee, didn't let others involved in the spill off the hook: 'BP’s conduct was reckless,' Barbier wrote in a decision today in New Orleans federal court. 'Transocean’s conduct was negligent. Halliburton’s conduct was negligent.' Barbier apportioned fault at 67 percent for BP, 30 percent for Transocean and 3 percent for Halliburton."
HUGE NEWS: Judge finds BP was "grossly negligent" in 2010 spill—by Stuart H Smith: "It’s a well-established fact, by this point, that the British oil giant ignored a series of looming problems in its offshore deepwater rig. The Big Oil icon nevertheless pushed to keep cutting corners in the drive for even bigger profits, and then it also went to great, albeit unsuccessful, lengths to keep the full extent of the spill a secret. All happened before BP’s recent crusade to undo its promises to make good on the damage the oil spill caused to the Gulf. But inside a courtroom, the phrase 'gross negligence' takes on a much greater significance. Under the law, the finding that a company didn’t just make an honest error but was willfully reckless in its actions can open that firm up to maximum penalties, especially under environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act. In the case of the millions of barrels spilled by BP, such a finding means that BP could be forced to pay as much as $18 billion in penalties, and today the judge overseeing the 2010 oil-spill case told the oil giant to start looking for its checkbook."
Holy Fishgrease! BP Ruled 'Grossly Negligent' in Gulf Spill—by divineorder: "Well son of a gun! Finally. One of largest human caused disasters of recent memory was of course the oil spill tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico. Great to finally see a court decide on this! U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier held a trial without a jury over who was at fault for the environmental catastrophe, which killed 11 people and spewed oil for almost three months into waters that touch the shores of five states. The case also included Transocean Ltd. (RIG) and Halliburton Co. (HAL), though the judge didn’t find them as responsible for the spill as BP. The decision apportioned % of responsibility, which was interesting, but there are appeals ahead so the final outcome is uncertain.
The Daily Bucket - Micro Bead Pollution—by enhydra lutris: "Tiny plastic beads are finding their way into our local streams and rivers from our sinks. From there they wend their way into lakes, the oceans, and the bodies of aquatic & marine wildlife. Since they are not biodegradable, they'll wind up all throughout the food chain. It is claimed that they absorb various toxins such as DDT, PCBs, and other toxic industrial chemicals. The chemicals are then absorbed by a variety of marine life and other mammals including humans who eat fish. From whence comes this universal pollution? Personal care products. Possibly your personal care products. Personal care products with micro beads are everywhere. As noted in the link above: Exfoliating ingredients in many products like facial and body scrubs and toothpaste are actually made out of tiny particles of plastic. They wash down the drain, flowing into the sewage system, into watersheds and, eventually, our oceans. Because of their size it’s nearly impossible for sewage and other water treatment facilities to stop these tiny invaders from getting into local waterways."
Eco-Related Candidacies, DC & State Politics
Monsanto's Money Modifies Politics—by ThisIsProgress: "In July of 2013, the non-partisan National Institute on Money in State Politics issued a report focusing on contributions from agricultural giant Monsanto. Monsanto made over $600,000 in contributions to politicians and political parties in 2012. They made an additional $8.2 million in contributions to defeat California Proposition 37, which would have required the labeling of genetically modified organisms in California. According to campaign filings at the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, Monsanto also contributed $5.3 million to committees in Washington state focusing on Initiative 522, which would have required the labeling of genetically modified organisms. Who exactly benefited from Monsanto contributions?"
Senator who accused trees of 'stealing Arizona's water' set to return—by wolfbane in AZ: "Former Arizona state Sen. Sylvia Allen, the Republican whose first stint in the Legislature made Internet history over and over, was selected last week to be on the ballot for senator again. Even in Arizona politics, it's hard to recall anyone who established a more solid reputation as a moon-howler in a shorter period of holding office. Picking which Allen chestnut became the most famous during her 2008-2012 time in the Legislature would be futile, but her statement that trees were 'stealing Arizona's water supply' was a notable example. Allen's part of the state includes huge expanses of national forest, and when she got a towering ponderosa pine donated as a Christmas tree for the Senate lobby, the state's largest newspaper commented, 'One less tree to steal our water.'"
Eco-Justice
A Zero Emissions Manifesto for the Climate Justice Movement—by Renewable Rider: "Zero has become the most important number for humanity. Why? Any chance of stabilizing the climate hinges on transitioning to zero greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as humanly possible. Simply slowing the rise of emissions will not work. For the first time, the world's leading climate authority, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has embraced a goal of near zero greenhouse gas emissions or below."
Eco-Essays
U.S. all in both Ebola & Climate Change—by e2247: "Be Neither denier nor disengager. My response to people like those at ThinkProgress/ClimateProgress who disclaim any links between ebola and climate change: stop minimizing and deal with both consequences now for it's too late to dither about causes. This Canadian pathogen data sheet on ebola raises a different perspective from that of U.S. media reports. The 2014 [Quadrennial Defense Review] lists climate change as a threat multiplier. Climate change makes pandemic more likely. Climate warming & drying make likely movement by people who are at great risk of aggravating tendencies toward pandemic events. United States cannot undergo retrenchment, reduction, curtailment, "a cutting of expenses", U.S. dis-engagement in the world needs, in an attempt to avoid conflict and reduce its burdens from its global responsibilities, the world it helped to make, and the international system it helped build and has guaranteed for better or worse. Cowards and deniers are not helping the U.S. when they advocate refusals to aid ebola victims, health-carer givers/helpers (like NIH, CDC, Médecins Sans Frontières [MSF] a.k.a. Doctors Without Borders, Samaritan’s Purse, etc.) or to ignore the imperiled, fragile regional and global climate and attempt to forbid ("defund...") involvement by overstretched ministries of health and private non-governmental organizations."
Our Ego and Our Environment—by John Crapper: "Ann Druyan said—'A lot of people have this ego need that makes them want to believe that Earth is the center of the universe and humans are the most important species, the supreme expression of creation.' The greatest change of all must be the relationship between man and his ego. As long as man allows himself to be convinced of his specialness, he will continue to commodify, abuse, and destroy the world around him because he fails to see its relationship to himself. 'Save the Planet' is the most blatant egotistical statement being uttered regarding man’s current perspective regarding their relation to the world."
Oceans, Water & Drought
California's 4th Largest Watershed has Run Dry—by New Minas: "The SF Gate has reported that the Eel River watershed has failed. Here is the U.S. drought monitor for California. Apparently, California is in its worst drought since at least 850 AD and probably much longer."
The Colorado River, the California drought and how you can help from Sara Lu—by wade norris: "Do you like Blueberries? Tomatoes? Fruit and Vegetables in general? Pay attention. California supplies the half of the United States produce and California is in the midst of a drought that could effect all of our families. And at this critical time, when we need every drop of water, the EPA and US Senate are going to be ruling on which water systems should be protected—and your public comment to the EPA can help that cause. I talked with Sara Lu of Colorado Clean Water Action on this subject and the coming ruling of the EPA and the Senate on the 'Waters of the United States,' a ruling that could restore protection to our waterways in this critical drought period. [...] This ruling will return the EPA standards to Pre-Bush Era standards, which is barely a decade old. Yet there are some, like at Fox news who are asking 'Will EPA Water Grab tip US back into Recession?'"
Drought got you down?—by
VL Baker: "If you use public transport in the San Francisco Bay Area (BART) you may have seen the ad above. The facts in the ad are not only useful to Bay Area residents but to all of us who are concerned about increasing global water stress.
What does dairy have to do with the drought, or taking showers for that matter, you ask? As you can see above, the ad says that consumers can save the same amount of water by "skipping one gallon of milk or 27 showers." The ad then hints to the obvious: you stink. [...] The group's focus on dairy production comes in response to numerous recent exposés about the environmental and ethical toll of factory-farmed dairy. At a time when residents are advised to conserve water,direct use by consumers makes up only 4 percent of water consumption in California, compared to meat and dairy production's 55 percent."
Critters & The Great Outdoors
The monsters of the deep are back—by BOHICA: "Checking the BBC News this morning, I came across this good news story; California blue whales bounce back to near historic numbers. Researchers believe that California blue whales have recovered in numbers and the population has returned to sustainable levels. Scientists say this is the only population of blue whales to have rebounded from the ravages of whaling. The research team estimate that there are now 2,200 of these giant creatures on the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean. But concerns remain about their vulnerability to being struck by ships."
The Daily Bucket: Buckeyes Abound!—by
PHScott: "Now I know it's fall - the Buckeye butterflies are showing up. Common name is Common Buckeye or
Junonia coneia. You could call it a fall companion, one that stays around well into our Gulf Coast winter when most the other butterflies have faded away. [...] Yesterday I spotted the specie's caterpillar munching it's way up the stems (and then back down the next) of False Foxglove (Agalinis sp.). Last year was when I actually saw and learned about the host plants for this butterfly. Seeing beats reading any time."
The Daily Bucket - Mexican Fish Kill—by enhydra lutris: "There was a massive fish kill in Mexico at the end of August. It occurred in Cajititlan Lagoon which is in Tlajomulco de Zuniga in western Jalisco State. It was the fourth “mysterious” mass death in Cajititlan Lagoon this year. At least one of the four die offs, though unexpected, was not exactly mysterious. It was caused by pollution, the illegal dumping of large quantities of molasses by a nearby company making livestock feed without a permit. Current suspects include contamination from a nearby waste water treatment plant, which an environmental minister suspects of negligent operations. Another possible culprit is the wind. Nearby housing projects are accused of drawing off too much water resulting in water levels so low that strong winds can kick up enough sediment from the bottom to deprive the fish of oxygen. Another potential culprit is simply cyclical changes in water temperature causing a drop in the amount of dissolved oxygen. Meanwhile, the locals have a broader and more likely correct explanation. Simply put, they hold that bad water management practices are driving more frequent die offs of aquatic life."
Remembering the Klamath Fish Kill of September 2002—by Dan Bacher: "To refresh people's memories, below is my original article about the Klamath River fish kill, published widely on line in September 2002. The 12th year anniversary of the fish kill that resulted in the deaths of over 68,000 salmon on the lower Klamath River will take place this month. A big fish kill was likely this year also, but fortunately members and leaders of the Hoopa Valley, Yurok, Karuk and Winnemem Wintu Tribes and their allies in the environmental and fishing communities waged a campaign of direct action, phone calls and emails and political pressure to prevent this from happening in this historic drought year. As a result, the Bureau of Reclamation beginning on August 23 began releases from Lewiston Dam on the Trinity River to avert another fish kill from occurring."