Senators prepare to debate controlling greenhouse gas emissions.
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) normally appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The most recent Wednesday Spotlight can be seen here. More than
22,000 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.
Jump in NW Atlantic Sea Level Driving Gulf Stream Water into Arctic, Sea Ice Collapsing—by
FishOutofWater: "Sea level has jumped off the east coast of north America since March, 2013. The warmest and saltiest water ever seen in the northwest Atlantic is mixing with icy water drained from the Arctic ocean and sinking to the bottom of the Labrador Sea. [...] [The saltiest and warmest waters ever found in this region] have spawned a series of extreme storms which have spun up both the polar vortex and the north Atlantic ocean's currents and deep water formation. Cold, relatively fresh water is draining from the Canadian side of the Arctic and sinking in the Labrador sea as it mixes in the stormy waters with dense salty Gulf Stream water cooled by Arctic air. [..] The flow of warm salty water from the Gulf Stream has sped up off the coast of Norway driven by strong southwesterly winds. "
AVISO's global map of sea surface height departure from normal for March 14, 2015, shows a huge rise in sea level off the east coast of North America. This water has the highest levels of heat and salt ever measured in this region.
Senator McConnell to Fifty Governors in Letter: Ignore Federal Law—by
Village Vet: "I swear, from my perch in Wyobraska (the Nebraska Panhandle), it looks like the GOP is involved in a slow-moving coup against the Federal government. McConnell's premise seems to be the EPA does not have the authority to enforce such pesky things as the Clean Air Act. His solution: the states should simply ignore the EPA — presumably this would allow time to mount a lawsuit, or perhaps delay until the next election.
Don't be complicit in the administration's attack on the middle class. Think twice before submitting a state plan—which could lock you in to federal enforcement and expose you to lawsuits—when the administration is standing on shaky legal ground and when, without your support, it won't be able to demonstrate the capacity to carry out such political extremism.There is only one extremist here, Senator McConnell. Hint: it is not President Obama or President Nixon's EPA. The whole letter is a fascinating study in dissembling and obfuscation. It is practically a call to secession."
Video: FL Senators Try (and Fail) to Get Rick Scott's FDE Director to Say "Climate Change"—by
SemDem: "This was kind of mean. They know Bryan Koon, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency, will be canned if he says those words. It is the worst-kept secret in Tallahassee that Rick Scott threatened anyone in his administration if they simply say the words 'climate change.' This Orwellian ban has already punished several state employees. One was ordered to undergo a mental health exam for refusing to not say the forbidden term. Another was suspended. The "words that shall not be spoken" were excised from all official reports--including a report that awkwardly was about climate change impacts. Employees cannot to use the phrases ‘climate change,’ ‘global warming,’ 'sea level rise,' or ‘sustainability,’ attorney Christopher Byrd, who worked with the department's Office of General Counsel from 2008 to 2013, confirmed to Reuters. They are given euphemisms to use instead. For example, the term you use for 'Sea Level Rise' is 'Coastal Resiliency'."
U.N. Report Warns Of Stunning 40% Global Fresh Water Shortfall By 2030—by Dartagnan: "Shortages of fresh water for human consumption and farming could reach crisis proportions in just 15 years, with a stunning 40% shortfall in fresh (including drinkable) water by 2030, according to a UN Report released today: Many underground water reserves are already running low, while rainfall patterns are predicted to become more erratic with climate change. As the world's population grows to an expected 9 billion by 2050, more groundwater will be needed for farming, industry and personal consumption. The report predicts global water demand will increase 55 percent by 2050, while reserves dwindle. If current usage trends don't change, the world will have only 60 percent of the water it needs in 2030, it said."
You can find more rescued green diaries below the orange garden layout.
Climate Chaos
The phenomenon that can not be spoken in Florida continues as salt water intrusion moves inland—by Pakalolo: "The densely populated megalopolis of South Florida is losing its water wells as sea water intrudes into the Biscayne Aquifer. Salt water has already moved 6 miles inland in Broward County and is likely to continue to creep westward. Ninety percent of South Florida gets its drinking water from underground supplies, most from the Biscayne aquifer. This inland movement observed in Broward County is due to urban withdrawals from the Biscayne Aquifer, ocean water moving sideways into the aquifer and seepage of saltwater from surface sources. Governor Scott, this is threatening the habitability of a region of close to 6 million of your fellow Floridians. Your inaction and hostility towards climate issues and sustainability now threatens funds and other aid from FEMA as they will not give money to any state that does not plan for climate change. Where is the disaster relief going to come from if not from Federal sources? A report titled 'Climate Change AND Sea-Level Rise IN Florida' notes the hellish calamity that will affect Florida's urban populations, economy, ecosystems and coasts."
UCS Spotlights Fossil Fuel Fiction—by ClimateDenierRoundup : "The Union of Concerned Scientists is continuing its campaign to get Shell to drop its membership to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) with an infographic contrasting real science with the fossil fuel fiction. UCS explains that, as far back as 1988, the science connecting GHG emissions and temperature was well established, and it's only gotten stronger since. Unfortunately, disinformation efforts have also gotten stronger, which is why UCS is running a petition to 'Tell Shell: Stop Shelling Out for Climate Disinformation.' UCS is also hoping that fossil fuel companies disclose their financial and physical risks from climate change, invest in clean energy, support policies to move us off of fossil fuels, publicly disclose their political spending, and pay their share of the costs of climate damages and preparation. Obviously the odds that any fossil fuel company is going to volunteer to take responsibility and pay their share of damages (without a lawsuit) are slim, to say the least, as are the odds that they'll disclose their political funding or advocate a move away from their product."
Evil Personified: Marc Morano, Climate Denier Exposed in "Merchants of Doubt"—by Steven D: "There's a new film you should see about the industry of Climate Change Denial: Merchants of Doubt. It will be shown in only a limited release, but you can also stream it on Hulu. Here's the trailer:
And one of the featured 'stars' of the film is the Marc Morano, who runs the climate denial blog Climate Depot (link deliberately not provided), a former staffer of Senator James Inhofe (R-Big Oil). He openly admits in
Merchants of Doubt that 'I'm not a scientist, although I do I play one on TV occasionally. Okay, hell, maybe more than occasionally. [Laughs]'"
The Weather Channel: Warmest winter on record—by don mikulecky: "The headline startled me. Living in the Eastern US I had no idea. But here's what they say: Earth Records Its Warmest Winter on Record. The winter of 2014-15 was the warmest on record worldwide, according to the state of the climate report released by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Wednesday. NOAA says that December through February—for meteorological record-keeping purposes, winter is defined as those three months in the Northern Hemisphere—was 1.42 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average for all land and ocean areas. This tops the previous warmest winter of 2007 by 0.05 degrees Fahrenheit. Global temperature records are available for the period 1880-2015. Individually, here is how each month ranked for the earth: December 2014: Warmest on record; January 2015: Second warmest on record; February 2015: Second warmest on record."
Critters & the Great Outdoors
The Daily Bucket, Feeding Frenzy—by Wood Gas: "A few mornings past, when we had one of those rare nice mornings, birds started showing up en-mass at our beach. They were coming from all over the Straits, headed toward us. Cue the Alfred Hitchcock theme. The tide was approaching full, and the gulls who arrived first commandeered the best seats. The water just off these rocks is only about 3' or 4' deep at this stage of the tide. Still more coming, Red Breasted Mergansers, a few Harlequin ducks and I think a couple of late Surf Scoters. The RBM's lead the charge for the diving birds and got down to serious fishing. More birds arriving, and even more steaming at flank speed straight at us."
The Daily Bucket: A Walk at Sawgrass Lake—by
Lenny Flank: Photo Diary.
Energy
Put this in the Alaska LNG Project environmental impact statement (EIS)—by e2247 : "Gas injection for enhanced oil recovery is usually CO2 because it reduces oil viscosity and it is cheaper than both Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and nitrogen (N2). Near the national capital of Three Affiliated Tribes—the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Sahnish Nation on Fort Berthold Reservation near New Town, ND (down the road from Williston), Theodora Bird Bear’s story is of gas flares, prairie biome fires they cause and semi-trucks running amok to rip the Bakken shale field oil, where in 2011 fully 30% of the natural gas that bubbles from the oil is 'valued' as waste—by spring 2014 the amount of flare gas had doubled!—hence burned. Since this 'valued' flare gas is equally available nearly everywhere oil drilling is and, to stimulate approximately one million historic oil and gas wells since 1940, fracking (for which are required 400 tanker trucks to carry water and supplies to and from the fracking site), why in the world are the corporatists agitating for the Planned Alaska LNG Project?"
New data on energy subsidies from EIA—by Keith Pickering: "It's been a long time coming, but the EIA has finally updated its numbers on US energy subsidy levels. The latest data is for FY 2013, while the previous version was for FY 2010. Once again, wind energy comes out on top in total subsidies received, and once again solar leads (by far) in subsidy per MWh generated. Some items which could be called subsidies are excluded from these data. For example, tax breaks that are generally available to all industries, including energy extraction and generation, are not considered energy subsidies per se and are not included here. There are some trust funds that energy producers are required to pay into, for things such as black lung disability payments, leaking underground storage tanks, oil spill liability, pipeline safety, abandoned mine reclamation, nuclear waste disposal, and nuclear decomissioning. If the amount paid into those funds is not adequate for their stated purpose, the difference could be considered to be a subsidy, but it is not reflected here."
Fukushima Unit-1 Muon Scan Results: No Fuel In Reactor Vessel—by Joieau: "'Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, destroyed 4 years ago in explosions and meltdowns triggered by an earthquake and tsunami, won't be truly safe until engineers can remove the reactors' nuclear fuel. But first, they have to find it.' So begins an in-depth article in the March 6th edition of the Journal Science entitled Muons probe Fukushima's ruins. In February of this year two muon detectors from the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization [KEK] in Tsukuba, Japan were installed outside the Fukushima Daiichi unit-1 ruins at reactor vessel height for the purpose of finding that 'missing' reactor fuel. Muons—particles somewhat akin to electrons—are generated as cosmic rays slam into atoms in the upper atmosphere and rain down on Earth to the tune of 10,000 or so per square meter every minute. They pass right through solid objects, but a few do get absorbed or deflected by massive objects, so these can generate an X-ray like image of the reactor vessel and what's in it despite the thick concrete and steel of the containment vessel and assorted ruins/debris all around. The image at right is from a TEPCO handout (in Japanese). As expected, the Fuku scans revealed no fuel in the reactor vessel."
Emissions Control
POTUS Signs Executive Order to Cut Govt. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 40%—by ericlewis0: "The federal government contributes only modestly to the U.S.’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But hoping to spur others into action, President Obama announced today that he will issue an executive order that will cut the federal government’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent by 2025, including across its entire supply chain. [...] The new actions and commitments are expected to reduce GHG emissions by 26 million metric tons from 2008 levels by 2025. The administration is also releasing its Federal Supplier Greenhouse Gas Management Scorecard where the public can track GHG emissions for all major federal suppliers and their progress in reducing them."
Renewables & Conservation
This Texas city is going 100 percent renewable energy—by FaithGardner: "Great news out of Texas: Georgetown is about to become the first city in the state to be powered 100 percent by renewable energy: The city’s electrical utility is planning to announce Wednesday that it is signing a deal with solar developer SunEdison for 150 megawatts of solar power beginning in 2016. Combined with a 2014 deal with wind developer EDF, the city of 54,000 north of Austin says it now has enough renewable power under contract to cover its customers’ entire electricity needs. This trend of cities committing to 100 percent renewable power is incredibly encouraging, especially in the South: On its website, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists 12 municipalities that have made commitments to 100 percent renewable power."
Fracking
BLM announces fracking rule for federal lands. Inhofe seeks to squelch it. Other critics upset, too—by Meteor Blades: "Some environmentalists view the federal rule skeptically, though not so much as they did the draft rule released two years ago. [...] Instead of offering clarity and protecting our resources, today’s rule lets industry off the hook,' said Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. 'Rather than raising the bar, the [Bureau of Land Management] settled for the lowest common denominator.' A coalition of five environmental groups called the rules 'toothless.' Actor Mark Ruffalo, who sits on the board of Americans Against Fracking, said Obama should have banned the procedure altogether. 'The Obama administration has devised fracking regulations that are nothing more then a giveaway to the oil and gas industry,' he said."
DC, State & Local Eco-Politics
Florida Man's Sanity Questioned After Saying "Climate Change"—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "Despite Gov. Scott's denial about it, the reported ban on the term 'climate change' in Florida continues. This time, an employee was not only forced to take time off, but before he could return he was required to go to the doctor for a medical evaluation! That's right, these days if you're an employee of the state of Florida and you say 'climate change,' then you may just have to see a doctor to make sure you're fit for duty. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) issued a press release with the story of Barton Bibler. He's an employee of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection and has been reprimanded due to his behavior at the Florida Coastal Managers Forum, held on Feb 27th of this year. What scandalous spectacle did Bibler perpetrate to warrant a letter of reprimand, forced leave and a medical evaluation? He had the gall to discuss climate change—and record notes of said discussion—at a Florida Coastal Managers Forum! So for the heinous crime of talking about the cause of sea level rise at a forum for people who have to deal with sea level rise, he was ordered to get his head checked. Florida PEER director Jerry Phillips took the words right out of our mouth: 'If anyone needs mental health screening it is Governor Rick Scott and other officials telling state workers to pretend that climate change and sea-level rise do not exist.'"
Rick Scott's ‘Climate Change’ Gag Order Claims First Victim, Enviro Group Says
saintpetersblog—by saintpetersblog: "Gov. Rick Scott’s prohibition on the term 'climate change' has now claimed its first casualty, says an environmental responsibility group. On March 9, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) suspended a state employee for speaking about climate change at an official meeting, which made its way into the record of the meeting, according to a complaint filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Barton Bibler, a long-time DEP employee, received a letter of reprimand ordering him to take two days personal leave. The agency also instructed Bibler not to return without medical clearance. Bibler currently serves as Land Management Plan Coordinator in DEP Division of State Lands."
House GOP Votes Again to Hamstring the EPA with "Secret Science" Bill. Which Democrats Went Along?—by Liberty Equality Fraternity and Trees: "Following their attack on the EPA on Tuesday, House Republicans voted to further hamstring the EPA with the so-called Secret Science Reform Act of 2015. What would the bill do? This bill would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from proposing, finalizing or disseminating any rule, regulation or other 'covered action' unless all scientific and technical information relied upon to support that decision is made available to the public in a manner where the research can be independently analyzed and substantially reproduced. While this appears to be a reform that provides greater public transparency in agency rulemaking, these new requirements would force the EPA to ignore any scientific information related to personal health and other confidential data legally protected from disclosure—jeopardizing the agency’s ability to use best-available scientific data and weakening its scientific integrity. ... [...] 50 scientific societies and universities recently wrote to Congress to urge members to oppose the bill because it would prohibit the use of large-scale public health studies because their data cannot 'realistically be reproduced.'"
Mitch McConnell's War on America (and the World)—by xaxnar : "Coral Davenport at the New York Times spells out the extraordinary efforts the Senate Majority Leader is making to ensure that there will be no restrictions on the ability of the coal industry to kill the planet. McConnell is going way beyond the bounds of his duties as Majority Leader. You have to wonder what motivates him. Greed and power hunger alone would not seem to be enough; it must also take huge amounts of self-deception. Or perhaps it is simple sociopathy. President Obama and the EPA are on the verge of issuing regulations that will ultimately close a number of coal-burning power plants. It's part of an effort to deal with climate change, and it is more important than ever, while there is still time. McConnell's response: In addition to stopping state-level enactment of the climate rules, Mr. McConnell’s strategy is intended to undercut Mr. Obama’s position internationally as he tries to negotiate a global climate change treaty to be signed in Paris in December. The idea is to create uncertainty in the minds of other world leaders as to whether the United States can follow through on its pledges to cut emissions."
"Liberal" Lawrence Tribe Helping McConnell Kill The Planet—by Tasini: "[W]ho is assisting McConnell in his quest to kill the planet: To make his case, Mr. McConnell is also relying on a network of powerful allies with national influence and roots in Kentucky or the coal industry. Within that network is Laurence H. Tribe, a highly regarded scholar of constitutional law at Harvard Law School and a former mentor of Mr. Obama’s. Mr. Tribe caught Mr. McConnell’s attention last winter when he was retained to write a legal brief for Peabody Energy, the nation’s largest coal producer, in a lawsuit against the climate rules. In the brief, Mr. Tribe argued that Mr. Obama’s use of the existing Clean Air Act to put forth the climate change regulations was unconstitutional."
UCS Spotlights Fossil Fuel Fiction—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "The Union of Concerned Scientists is continuing its campaign to get Shell to drop its membership to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) with an infographic contrasting real science with the fossil fuel fiction. UCS explains that, as far back as 1988, the science connecting GHG emissions and temperature was well established, and it's only gotten stronger since. Unfortunately, disinformation efforts have also gotten stronger, which is why UCS is running a petition to 'Tell Shell: Stop Shelling Out for Climate Disinformation.' UCS is also hoping that fossil fuel companies disclose their financial and physical risks from climate change, invest in clean energy, support policies to move us off of fossil fuels, publicly disclose their political spending, and pay their share of the costs of climate damages and preparation. Obviously the odds that any fossil fuel company is going to volunteer to take responsibility and pay their share of damages (without a lawsuit) are slim, to say the least, as are the odds that they'll disclose their political funding or advocate a move away from their product."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
Saturday Morning Garden Blogging ~ Vol. 11.4 : Spring—by kishik: Photo Diary.
Transportation & Infrastructure
Coal is dying ?—by Indycam: "The two largest rail companies serving mines in the Powder River Basin—the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe—aren’t carrying as much coal as they used to. By some estimates, rail congestion cost miners in the basin between 20 million and 25 million tons in missed shipments during 2014. The rails improved as 2014 progressed, according to many coal executives. BNSF, which experienced the majority of the problems, spent $5.5 billion to expand terminal capacities, purchase 600 locomotives and hire more than 6,000 people to boost relief crews across the United States in 2014. The company is spending more than $6 billion this year to continue its rebuilding effort. 'We still have work to do,' said Matthew Jones, BNSF spokesman. 'Rebuilding coal stockpiles will occur throughout 2015 and in some cases into 2016. We will continue to make every effort to communicate frequently and be transparent with our customers.'"
Eco-Essays and Eco-Philosophy
Water has no secrets especially when you're a mile high—by annieli: "Geologists may finally be able to explain why Denver, the Mile High City, is a mile high: water. A new theory suggests that chemical reactions, triggered by water far below the Earth's surface, could have made part of the North American plate less dense many millions of years ago, when the continents we know today were still forming. Because plates float on the Earth's mantle, parts of the Western United States might have risen, like an empty boat next to one with a heavy cargo, pushing the vast High Plains far above sea level, according to the theory formulated by geologists Craig Jones and Kevin Mahan at the University of Colorado-Boulder. [...] Geologists have long been puzzled by how the High Plains could be so big, so high and so smooth. The plains descend gently from roughly 6,000 feet to 2,000 feet above sea level as they stretch for thousands of square miles, from the Texas Panhandle to southern Montana, and from western Kansas to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado."
Oh, my aching Earth—by Grandma Kinne: "I'm always amazed by those who worry about passing the nation's debt on to their offspring but don't think twice about ensuring those offspring have an earth to live on in the first place. Not until a major catastrophe occurs will those people acknowledge the damage humans have done and are doing to our planet. Species lost, forests felled, waters dying—even if climate change weren't a concern, we could still spend the rest of mankind's existence trying to rectify the damage already done."
Oceans, Water & Drought
Tunnel critics blast false advertising' in Gov. Brown's drought response—by Dan Bacher: "Governor Jerry Brown and lawmakers touted the introduction of drought legislation in the Legislature on March 19, while leaders of environmental and corporate watchdog groups urged Brown to put real limits on the 'most egregious' water users—corporate agribusiness and big oil companies—to really address the drought. Today Restore the Delta (RTD), opponents of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build the peripheral tunnels, responded to Gov. Brown’s drought response as 'false advertising,' and a Valley economic expert’s finding that the claims of farm job losses by water exporters are unfounded. Water exporters use farm job loss claims to whip up hysteria to overcome fact-based examination of the tunnels, according to RTD. Benefits/cost, environmental impact and other analyses find the tunnels to be a bad investment."
Drought legislation must target agribusiness and Big Oil—by Dan Bacher: "Governor Jerry Brown and lawmakers touted the introduction of drought legislation in the Legislature on March 19, while leaders of environmental and consumer groups urged Brown to put real limits on the 'most egregious' water users—corporate agribusiness and big oil companies—to really address the drought. Brown joined Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, and Republican Leaders Senator Bob Huff and Assemblymember Kristin to unveil legislation that they claimed will "help local communities cope with the ongoing, devastating drought.'"
Trash, Pollution & Hazardous Waste
The Daily Bucket - Balloons: What Goes Up Must Come Down—by foresterbob: "There is one type of trash that has become nearly impossible to escape. I'm talking about balloons. Yes, those festive, helium-filled balloons so popular at parties and other events. Releasing them into the sky is irresistible. People can't help but watch them float away, perhaps wondering how far they will travel, and where they might return to earth. Well, I have the answer to the last question. They return to earth randomly; and upon their return they are converted from festive globes to common trash. Out in stretches of forest where nobody has set foot in months or years, I see their deflated remains with alarming regularity. [...] For the past few days, I've been working on a privately owned forest, located roughly 50 miles southeast of Atlanta. First I made a map by visiting the corners and walking the creeks with a GPS unit. Then I took a forest inventory plot on a square grid of 360 feet, which translates into one plot per three acres. Shortly after arriving there, I found an old balloon in the woods. I decided to keep track of how many I saw. [...] Total: 8 balloons in 7 days. The total land ownership is roughly one square mile. Let's make the very wild, highly implausible assumption that I saw every balloon on the property. And let's make the equally implausible assumption that this square mile is representative of the 59,425 square miles of land and water in the state of Georgia. This translates into 475,400 balloons littering the state of Georgia."
Fukushima Radionuclides in Pacific: Doses to Japanese and World Public Unlikely to Cause Damage—by MarineChemist: "The purpose of this diary is to summarize a the most recent, peer reviewed scientific study to examine the likely impact of Fukushima contamination of the North Pacific on human health. The diary is part of a continuing series that seeks to communicate the results of scientific studies aimed at determining the impact of the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) on ecosystem and public health. Povinec and Hirose's recent paper in Scientific Reports examined the variation in Fukushima derived 90-Strontium (90Sr half life 28.8 years), 134-Cesium (134Cs half life ~2 years) and 137-Cesium (137Cs half life ~30 years) in seawater and biota offshore of the FDNPP and in the northwest Pacific. These isotopes are most likely to represent radiologically health risks to consumers of Pacific seafood given their propensity to concentrate in organisms and, in the case of 90Sr and 137Cs, their longevity in the environment. Doses to the Japanese and world population were estimated and compared to doses attributable to naturally occurring isotopes present in food. Doses from food caught in coastal waters right next to the FDNPP to 20 km offshore were similar to doses from naturally occurring isotopes (primarily 210Po) while doses from the consumption off fish caught in the open northwest Pacific were much lower than natural doses. In each case the individual doses are well below levels where any negative health effects would be measurable in Japan or elsewhere."
Christiegate: Crime in Progress! Christie Refuses to Release Details of Shady Exxon Settlement—by
ericlewis0: "From International Business Times: It's Sunshine Week, but you wouldn't know it in New Jersey. This week, Gov. Chris Christie’s administration blocked a Democratic lawmaker’s effort to learn hidden details of the Republican’s controversial Exxon Mobil settlement. Separately, the administration also withheld other government documents related to a top Christie aide who went to work for Exxon's New Jersey lobbying firm a few months before the settlement was disclosed. Two weeks ago, Christie’s appointed attorney general formally announced that the state had agreed to settle its lawsuit against Exxon for widespread contamination at its Bayonne and Linden facilities for just $225 million. The settlement, which was far less than the nearly $8.9 billion the state had been seeking, came when the judge presiding over the case was reportedly set to issue a ruling."
With Proceeds from the Exxon Lawsuit, NJ Should Re-Establish Environmental Science Education Program—by arrjay: "While it is very upsetting, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's administration settled a decade-long, $8.9 billion pollution lawsuit against Exxon for $225 million. It's a move that's anti-environment, fiscally reckless, and uncomfortably chummy—in other words, just another day in NJ under Christie's leadership. I have a proposal for a small portion of [some of the settlement money]: Revive the New Jersey Governor's Schoool on the Environment. The Governor's School on the Environment was a state-funded program that, for more than 2 decades, provided an opportunity each summer for up to 100 students from around the state to spend a month at Richard Stockton College (now Stockton University) studying environmental science. Stockton's unique setting adjacent to some of the most important forests and wetlands in the entire region makes it a terrific hands-on laboratory for experiential environmental education."
Forests, Wilderness & Public Lands
Amazonian carbon sink has declined 30% in last 10 years—by e2247: "Published today online in Nature is a study authored by nearly 100 people who have been studying the Amazon (approximate size = 3,000,000,000 trees) across the last 30 years. In the last 10 years the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) being sequestered has decreased about 30% according to their work 'Long-term decline of the Amazon carbon sink.' 500 people at 300 sites across 8 countries monitored trees from 1983 through 2011 to get these results. Now ask if the same processes are at work in other tropical rain-forests of the world. Some people think [CO2]-induced stimulation of tree growth increases the dynamism of the forests. Others conclude that the widespread assumption of a CO2-induced stimulation of tropical tree growth may not be valid."
Expanding the National Parks System - #30 New Jersey—by MorrellWI1983: "This is the thirtieth diary in my Expanding the National Parks series. Links to prior diaries are located at the bottom of this diary. Last time I was in New Hampshire, this time I'm in New Jersey, the Garden State. New Jersey is a small state covering less than 9000 sq miles. 3.1% of the state is federally protected, good for 34th in the country, slightly ahead of South Carolina, and slightly behind Tennessee. Currently, New Jersey has 1 national monument, 5 wildlife refuges and 9 historic sites and other NPS Units. I will propose adding 2 more monuments to New Jersey's total."
Miscellany
Adventures in Green Homeownership—by SouthernLeveller: "My family has always tried to be eco-friendly. When we were renters, there was only so much we could do. We could put a brick in the toilets, but not replace them with low-flow toilets. Thanks to the Obama admin., we were able to become homeowners in 2009. (Whenever any GOPers asked me in 2011-2012, 'What has he done for you?' the FIRST thing I answered was, 'Helped me to buy my home!') We were determined to lead by example in an eco-friendly lifestyle. [...] In our first year in this house, we used TARP money to trade in our old car for a more fuel-efficient one—though after buying the house, we didn't have enough for a hybrid or electric. We then used more TARP tax credits to buy more energy efficient appliances—washer, dryer, and fridge. In year 3, we used our end-of-year tax returns to finally get those low-flow toilets—along with a far more efficient water heater, low-flow showerheads, and adding a layer of insulation to our attic."
Gates Foundation has at least $1.4 billion invested in world's leading fossil fuels companies—by Laurence Lewis: "Not good: The charity run by Bill and Melinda Gates, who say the threat of climate change is so serious that immediate action is needed, held at least $1.4bn (£1bn) of investments in the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies, according to a Guardian analysis of the charity’s most recent tax filing in 2013. The companies include BP, responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Anadarko Petroleum, which was recently forced to pay a $5bn environmental clean-up charge and Brazilian mining company Vale, voted the corporation with most “contempt for the environment and human rights” in the world clocking over 25,000 votes in the Public Eye annual awards. The Gates foundation does a lot of good work, but what good will it really do if it is undermined by the overwhelming consequences of climate change? And more specifically, how can Gates pretend to care about climate change when his foundation is so deeply invested in the industries that cause it?"