This is the 488th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) usually appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the March 8 Green Spotlight. More than 26,610 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
ARodinFan writes—There is Always Free Cheese in a Mousetrap: “Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) issues a Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, rating the condition and performance of pubic bridges, dams, airports, flood protection levees, roads, water and sewer systems, waterways and transit systems in the familiar form of a school report card—assigning letter grades based on the physical condition and the need for investment to maintain or improve these assets. The report card was issued today and once again the news isn’t good. The ASCE once again rates our overall infrastructure at dismal D+ — with 4.5 trillion dollars in improvements needed to maintain and improve those aging systems www.infrastructurereportcard.org. [...] Supporting T*rump’s infrastructure plan is bound to come at a steep price. It will no doubt be larded with misleading ‘public-private partnerships’ that will convert public assets to private toll facilities — some of them owned by anonymous foreign corporate interests (who of course are free to exercise their constitutional rights as ‘people’ to give unlimited campaign contributions).”
Keith Pickering writes—A detailed reply to Scott Adams on climate science: “In a recent blog posting, cartoonist Scott Adams (drawer of "Dilbert") took climate scientists to task for his own failure to understand how climate science (and as it turns out, science in general) works. Actually, I quite sympathize with Scott. He clearly spends a lot of time reading "fake news" on climate skeptic websites, and that takes so much of his time that reading real science just gets crowded out. Like Talking Barbie used to say, "Math is hard!" And science is even harder, especially when there are vast reams of fossil-fuel-funded nonsense non-science out there, deliberately designed to fool the gullible. And those booby-traps really do trap quite a few boobies. Scott starts by telling us he's not a scientist, but that he accepts the scientific consensus on climate change. Then he spends the next 20 paragraphs telling us why he doesn't really accept the scientific consensus.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Liberal in a Red State writes—In Memory of 10 Dead Opossums: Checking a Roadkill Opossum Could Save the Babies: “Over the past year, I have gotten over my squeamishness and “the gross factor” and started checking out roadkill opossums. If they look reasonably freshly hit and if I can pull my car over to a safe place, I will put on my plastic gloves, drag it out of the road and inspect it to see if its a male or female, and if a female, if there are babies in its pouch. I now keep plastic gloves in my car as well as a container because you never know when you are going to see a dead opossum on the side of the road.Yesterday was my third opossum roadkill inspection and it was the first time I found one with babies in her pouch. Sadly, all nine of her babies had died — though not from the car strike as she was hit in the head. I am guessing the mother had been there for about 24 hours and they died from exposure, cold and lack of milk. (They were all still attached to her teats.)They were probably far too immature to have survived had I arrived on the scene earlier. It was disappointing and a bit sad but it wasn’t gross like I expected it to be. I buried the little guys in the woods behind my back yard.”
Dan Bacher writes—Nimbus Fish Hatchery releases 420,000 young American River steelhead to begin journey to sea: “The Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Rancho Cordova has released 420,000 young American River steelhead into the Sacramento River just upstream of the I Street Bridge in Sacramento so they can make their long journey downstream to the ocean. The fish made it through both drought conditions last year and winter flood conditions this season, thanks to the hard work of the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFW) staff. ‘Staff at Nimbus Fish Hatchery nursed the young steelhead through several potentially devastating conditions, including drought-induced high water temperatures in the hatchery last summer and winter flood conditions that nearly cut off usable water supplies and carried dangerous levels of silt into the hatchery’s normally clean water distribution system,’ according to a news release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). ‘The fish we released will be returning to the American River over the next two to four years, and we are proud and relieved to have brought them this far,’ said Gary Novak, the Nimbus Hatchery manager.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: as meteorology alters phenology, spring is redefined: “What tells you that winter is waning and spring is beginning? Tree leaf buds swelling? Longer daylength? First wildflower or robin? Warmer temperatures? Seasons are defined by three types of information: astronomical, meteorological, and phenological. Once upon a time before global warming these three aligned most years. As daylength grew longer and earth’s tilt increased light intensity in the northern hemisphere, warmer temperatures arrived and snow melted. Pussy willows and crocus burst into bloom, tree leaves began to unfurl, birds migrated north, butterflies emerged from overwintering chrysalises and we said spring is here! Weather and the axial tilt of earth still drive phenology but meteorological aspects are out of kilter, confusing plants and animals. This winter Denver hit 80o, California has phenomenal precipitation, Portland Oregon was snowed in, the eastern U.S. zips between cold snow and sunny warmth, and Miami had record-setting heat. How do we define spring now? The National Phenology Network (NPN) tracks the status of spring across the U.S. using models based on leaf and bloom data.”
6412093 writes—Daily Bucket: Isn't It Romantic? “In Washington County, Oregon, the suburban tree frogs migrate back to their birthplaces in early March, to propagate their species. The first ones have arrived! (pictured below). These tree frogs are widespread. But in a time of worldwide troubles for frogs, yay for these tree frogs surviving.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
BarbaraCCLer writes—A Call for Climate Action: “Greetings, climate-minded Kossacks! I am a Bay Area software developer who is very concerned about the direction our environment is headed (especially considering the demise of the Clean Power Plan), and I wanted to share a passion of mine I haven't seen mentioned very much around here. Ideally you will find it easy to climb on board; in any case let's get a conversation started. Citizens Climate Lobby is an international organization that has about 45,000 “supporters” across the U.S. (hard to say exactly how many of these are currently active volunteers) working to get Congress to pass a carbon tax. […] Specifically, CCL supports an approach called ‘Carbon Fee and Dividend.’ A mouthful, but all it really means is that we want to tax all CO2-producing fossil fuels as they enter the economy (at the wellhead, refinery, or port), and refund the money collected to consumers, preferably via monthly checks.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—In Climate Journalism, Women Are Killing It: “While climate denial is by and large a man’s game, there are a bunch of great women reporters who cover the climate beat. So because the denier roundup’s editors are women who deserve the day off, here’s a list of reporters who rock. It started with New York Times Mag reporter Hannah Jones making a general ask of admirable women journalists, and then New Republic’s Emily Atkins (@emorwee) really got the ball rolling with a list of awesome climate reporters: ThinkProgress’s Natasha Geiling (@ngeiling) and Samantha Page (@samanthadpage), Mother Jones’s Rebecca Leber (@rebleber), E&E’s Hannah Northey (@HMNorthey), ProPublica’s Lisa Song (@lisalsong), the New York Times’ Coral Davenport (@CoralMDavenport) and Washington Post’s Suzane Goldenberg (@suzyji). Then Suzanne Goldenberg added: Washington Post’s Juliet Eilperin (@eilperin), Rueter’s Valerie Volcovici (@ValerieVolco) Huffington Post’s Kate Sheppard (@kate_sheppard), InsideClimate News’s Neela Banerjee (@neelaeast), E&E/ClimateWire’s LIsa Friedman (@LFFriedman) and Financial Times’ Pilita Clark (@pilitaclark).”
rktect writes—Sea level rise in meters per degree of warming as Chief EPA Environmental Justice Official Resigns: “Multi Millennial? Here we have a graph (E) showing 2.3 m/°C, and that at 2°C, which we are fast approaching we could have from 5 to 10 meters of sea level rise before 2026, mostly coming from the melting of the polar ice caps (C) and (D) with a smaller contribution from melting glaciers (B) and the (A) coeficient of expansion for the water in the oceans as it warms. Meanwhile, we lose the EPA’s institutional memory and expertise. NOAA and NASA are threatened. This was published online July 15, 2013, slightly before the last IPCC report in 2014. It didn’t take into account the melting of the sea ice and permafrost and the rapid increase in methane releases. What it did do was tie the sea level rise to the temperature rise so that we can effectively ignore the rather foolish optimism of thinking that hitting 2°C would take millennia.”
rflowers writes—The breathtaking pace of climate change: “Like most people here, I'm reading the tsunami of increasingly dismal news about rising temperatures, disappearing polar ice, unforeseen droughts and storms. Climate change effects on the oceans are increasingly grim. After a disastrous 2016, another bleaching event seems to be underway on the Great Barrier Reef. Of wider concern is ocean acidification, which can directly affect all marine food chains, since all of them include things like corals, plankton, or mollusks that incorporate calcium carbonate into their bodies. Climate chance in the oceans will thus radically change not only weather patterns but also food supplies for millions. And we need to start worrying about methane and CO2 releases from growing ocean dead zones, as well as from the permafrost. There is one point in all this that I hadn't seen much discussed but which I think might be rather important. Oceanic phytoplankton is the source of about 50% of the oxygen we breathe. What is rising ocean acidification going to do to THAT?”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
dyna writes—Everglades Wildfire Liveblog (and Backgrounder): “Got an e-mail from my landlady just after noon, our trailer park is evacuated and but there's no damage. The fire has consumed 7,500 acres at the west end of the Everglades near Naples, southwest of the I-75 and Collier Boulevard. No casualties but a few houses and other buildings lost… So far. But the fire is only 40% contained and winds are expected to increase tonight. Here's the Collier County Emergency Management's wensday afternoon update.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—The Feather below Oroville Dam: A Tale of Two Rivers: “The giant hole caused by erosion in the primary spillway and then the erosion and damage to the emergency spillway that spurred the evacuation, followed by the release of 100,000 cfs down the primary spillway, also created the need for two rescue operations of salmon and steelhead by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). First, CDFW staff completed a successful relocation of 6.5 million young Chinook salmon imperiled by raging, muddy flows of 65,000 cfs below Oroville Dam a couple of days before the Department of Water Resources and law enforcement agencies issued the evacuation order. Hatchery staff from throughout the state teamed up with Feather River Fish Hatchery to relocate the 6.5 million fall-run and spring run Chinooks to the hatchery annex near the Thermalito Afterbay, according to Andrew Hughan, CDFW spokesman.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Mark Sumner writes—The biggest threat to America's coasts isn't hurricanes—it's Donald Trump: “If you’ve never heard of Sea Grant, that’s because supporting it is not exactly controversial. The program was created all the way back in 1966. It funds projects to help commercial fishermen, to clean up estuaries, and helps communities plan for hurricanes. Why would Donald Trump want to kill a program that’s helped families and communities on both coasts for 50 years? Though hardly a household name, Sea Grant funds important work, supporting over 3,000 scientists and paying for coastal research through 33 university programs. Sea Grant projects shed light on sea-level rise, ocean acidification, the effect of melting glaciers on kelp beds, and much, much else. First off, there’s a connection with climate change, where Team Trump denies even the most basic mechanisms. But more importantly, Sea Grant funds science—and Donald Trump hates science.”
BYPRODUCTS, TRASH, TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Rolling Electrons writes—Increasing volume of poison in our air and water brings us additional poisoned people: “A change in environmental policy which allows for an increase in toxic effluent a business generates and distributes into our common air and water will cause increased harm to our environment and our population. There is no doubt. There is no debate. If you object to this, please enjoy a fresh fish dinner from Clear Lake in California. This lake was contaminated with Mercury during the gold rush of 1849 and will never recover. Mercury kills people. It was first identified as toxic to humans in 1885, accompanied by the term “Mad as a Hatter.” This was a real issue of elemental mercury absorbed through skin contact as hatters worked the felt. It is in our best interest to remove Mercury from our food chain. To do otherwise becomes madness.”
ENERGY
Nuclear
Joieau writes—Fukushima 6 Years Later: “TEPCO has been less than honest since the beginning about radioactive contamination that has been steadily released into the environment (air and water) for six long years, and continues to be released to this day. Health effects are and will be what they are, various groups and the regional Japanese medical system are monitoring and responding as cancers and other maladies appear. [...] This mess will be ongoing until long after I'm dead. The SimplyInfo report is quite detailed, with lots of pictures and diagrams and graphs, descriptions of current and planned technologies (including robotics), and offers the latest iteration of TEPCO's hopeful plans through 2020. From the conclusions—Will the disaster site at Fukushima Daiichi ever be cleaned up? That remains to be seen. The technical challenges are immense. Technology must be invented to deal with the conditions at the plant. Many times it has to be modified or re-evaluated on the fly as new challenges show up. Just giving up is not an appropriate response. Not appropriate by a long shot, but probably how this unholy mess is finally not-really dealt with.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
gmoke writes—What I See with My Solar Lights.
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
Berry Craig writes—Kentucky Steelworker is not surprised at Trump's flip-flop on Keystone XL: “Jeff Wiggins isn't surprised that the Trump White House now says foreign steel can be used in the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. ‘With Trump, it’s not about American jobs,’ said Wiggins, president of United Steelworkers Local 9447 in Calvert City, Ky. ‘It’s about billionaires making money.’In January, the president issued an executive order clearing the way for the pipeline, which is strongly opposed by Native Americans, environmentalists and others. But as late as last week, he insisted it had to be made of American steel “or we’re not building one.” The administration's new policy will enable pipeline builders to use stockpiled Canadian steel manufactured by a subsidiary of Evraz, a Russian company. One of the firm’s principal owners is connected to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Peter Lance wrote in The Huffington Post.”
SusanPlattforVA writes—We Have to Stop Trump From Building More Pipelines: “President Trump pledged more oil and gas pipelines like Keystone XL. In Virginia, we face two proposed pipelines, the Atlantic Coast and the Mountain Valley Pipelines. Now is not the time to plow millions of Virginia taxpayer dollars into a risky gas pipeline that takes advantage of Virginia families and landowners, disrupting people’s properties and farms. In addition, it's a fuel we need to start moving beyond because of climate change and the plummeting cost of renewable energy. I am very concerned about climate change. Here in Virginia, we are the second-most vulnerable state to climate change effects. Sea level rise is especially hurting places in coastal Hampton Roads, where folks can’t even sell their homes because of normal tidal action.[...] As Lieutenant Governor, I will work to promote affordable, safe, clean energy alternatives like wind and solar and always work to create good-paying jobs for Virginians.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
CathyM writes—State Dept. Out of Loop; EPA Minority Justice Head Quits - All TOO MUCH!! “Mustafa Ali, who has worked at the EPA for 24 years, is leaving as the Trump administration is proposing to completely defund environmental justice efforts at the EPA. Ali submitted a resignation letter Wednesday to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in which he implored the agency's new leader to take seriously the concerns of minority communities, which often bear the brunt of air and water pollution and live in areas near major industrial centers. He told InsideClimate News, which first reported on the letter, that he does not see in the Trump administration “any indication that they are focused or interested in helping those vulnerable communities. My values and priorities seem to be different than our current leadership and because of that I feel that it's best if I take my talents elsewhere.”
Mark Sumner writes—EPA chief Scott Pruitt contradicts the EPA's own information to reach ugly level of science denial: “If you were holding out any hope that EPA-suing Scott Pruitt would be even the slightest bit better once he had a chance to head the agency he’s hated for decades, stop hoping. Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said on Thursday that carbon dioxide was not a primary contributor to global warming, a statement at odds with the global scientific consensus on climate change. Pruitt isn’t just taking the “we need to weigh the cost of addressing climate change” stand that has most recently been the stalling position of many Republicans. He’s not just backing up to the “we don’t know how much of this is caused by human action” setting that came before that. Pruitt is denying even the basic science behind the greenhouse effect, science that’s been understood and confirmed for decades.”
walterc writes—EPA's Science Office drops 'science': “The Tramp EPA Office of Science and Technology has dropped the word ‘science’ from its mission statement.Office of Science and Technology (OST). WHAT WE DO. OST works with states, tribes, and other stakeholders to develop recommended safe water quality levels for toxics, nutrients, and pathogens to help ensure our nation's waters can be used for fishing, swimming, and drinking water. OST also develops national economically and technologically achievable performance standards to address water pollution from industry.”
bgalliance writes—‘Wait… you want to gut protections that prevent big explosions?’ “One would think that question had to have come up sometime during the discussion when the honorable U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin and Sen. James Inhofe—both of Oklahoma—drafted bills that would stop the EPA from implementing updates to their rules that would help prevent industrial disasters. But, here we are with Mullin’s House Joint Resolution 59 and Inhofe’s Senate Joint Resolution 28 introduced in their respective bodies. Listen, I realize that one of these guys is most famous for bringing a snowball on the Senate floor to disprove climate change. And, the other is a former professional mixed martial arts fighter. But, even they have to appreciate how bad of an idea it is to do away with rule changes that were informed by the terrible disaster in West, Texas that killed 15 people—12 of which were first responders—destroyed three out of four of the town’s schools, and leveled homes and businesses. Right? No. They clearly don’t get it.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Scott Pruitt is 200 Years Behind the Science. We’re Totally Sure He’s Merely Ignorant: “Yesterday morning on CNBC, EPA Administrator and fossil fuel industry errand-boy Scott Pruitt denied the fact that carbon dioxide is the primary driver of climate change. Scientists beg to differ. By which we mean ‘plainly contradict, mock and ridicule.’ Here are some examples of what they have to say, in order of serious to snarky: Noah Diffenbaugh (🔥): ‘To deny that reality not only is a denial of scientific evidence but it also threatens the safety and security of Americans who face increasing odds of extreme events like the California drought, the flooding from Superstorm Sandy, and the heat wave that decimated crops in the mid-west in 2012.’ Ben Santer (🔥): ‘Mr. Pruitt is wrong… We can’t afford to reject this clear and compelling scientific evidence when we make public policy. Embracing ignorance is not an option.’ Kevin Trenberth (🔥🔥): ‘Pruitt has demonstrated that he is unqualified to run the EPA or any agency. There is no doubt whatsoever that the planet is warming and it is primarily due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning of fossil fuels.’”
ECO-ACTION & ECO JUSTICE
Meteor Blades writes—EPA office flooded with phone calls after Scott Pruitt's idiotic comments about carbon dioxide: “The office of Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency-hating chief of the EPA, was deluged with phone calls Friday over his numbskull remarks about carbon dioxide and climate change. So many calls, in fact, that they jammed the office’s main phone line.The calls came in response to Pruitt’s telling CNBC on Thursday that carbon dioxide isn’t a ‘primary contributor’ to climate change. [...] Given what a low priority most Americans—including many progressives—place on dealing with climate change, it’s encouraging to see this response. [...] Good. But it’s going to take a lot more than phone calls and petitions and more money flowing into the coffers of activist environmental groups. The climate crisis is not just other policy dispute. [...] Deniers and delayers have given us no choice now but to take bold action, far bolder than any that has so far been proposed by any politicians of prominence. This at a time when we are being led by people like Pruitt who think we should take no action at all.”
yragentelman writes—No more EPA? Sue, Sue, Sue: “It is clear that Drumpfian EPA will not be doing the enforcement that is basic to its’ charter. That will leave it to citizens and citizen organizations to carry on. We have to hope for, encourage and support vigorous law suits against violators. We need the Sierra Club, 350.org, Environmental Defense Fund, et. al. to do even more, take direct action and put on their badges.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Missys Brother writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging V13.10: Don't throw away forced bulbs - recycle them: “Grocery, hardware, big box and many other stores all sell thousands of forced bulbs in pots during the winter holidays and up until Easter. I pick up a few myself from time to time. I would say the majority of the plants get tossed by consumers once the blooms have faded. I hope to convince a few to reconsider disposing of them. This diary is about my own experience with forcing and recycling bulbs in Connecticut. And also a fantastic discovery I made by accident this year by not listening to the experts. Definition. Forcing is a technique that imitates the environmental conditions that bulbs encounter outdoors, thereby tricking them into flowering earlier. My favorite bulb to force is amaryllis.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Walter Einenkel writes—American Engineers release infrastructure report card and $1 trillion ain't cutting it: “The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) just released their latest ‘infrastructure report card,’ and the United States got a D … plus. The good news is that we can totally get a B! We just need some money. Bad news is that the money unpopular President Trump is talking about is about 20 percent of what we need to get that B! So … $1 trillion, right? Great news! Except the ASCE report says it’ll take $4.59 trillion to bring things up to a B, or adequate grade, by 2025. That’s a shortfall of $2 trillion over current spending plans. Again: $1 trillion is nowhere near enough. The other problem is that any “goodwill” Trump might receive for investing in the no-brainer infrastructure work we need was dashed when it became clear that the Republican infrastructure plan is just another attempt to scam taxpayers into giving more to corporations by giving them tax breaks and then raising tolls on citizens.”
MISCELLANY
foresterbob writes—Noble Fur, Road Warrior, Part 4: “In our last exciting Road Warrior episode, Noble Fur and I paid a visit to my cabin in northern Washington. This was near the end of my western adventure for 2016. We had to drive nearly 500 miles back to the rental house in McCall, Idaho. A few days later, we’d be returning to Georgia. The first stop on the way back from the cabin was Grand Coulee Dam. It was here that I decided to photograph Noble Fur in as many locations as possible on the journey home. There were times when I was too tired to bother; there were times when the kitty just wanted to stay in the truck. If it was noisy, especially when there was a lot of nearby traffic, she tried to hide under the truck, and I had to coax her into sitting still for a picture. Still, I managed to get some good images.”
Xaxnar writes—While Trump Cripples NASA, the ESA moves ahead. “While Great Leader Trump and his minions pursue their unholy crusade against science and knowledge, others are still paying attention to the real world. The European Space Agency just launched Sentinel 2b. Sentinel-2B carries a large camera to image all land surfaces and coastal waters in visible and infrared light. The duo will be flown on the same path but 180 degrees apart so that they can provide a complete map of Earth - clouds permitting - every five days. The Sentinels constitute the space segment of the European Union's Copernicus environmental monitoring programme. A suite of sensors is being lofted over the next few years to gather critical information on the state of the planet and to acquire the data needed to inform and enforce EU policies.”