This is the 514th 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 July 22 Green Spotlight. More than 27,440 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
ecostar writes—Coal Country and I'm done with Trump voters. Sometimes they say things we need to hear: “Even if you're not a fan of natural gas, it’s one of the reasons coal is dying and it has the benefit of being substantially cleaner and less climate forcing. At the same time, onshore wind is both cheaper and cleaner than even natural gas, though it is not as dispatchable (a measure of how reliable it is 24/7 and its ability to get power to communities quickly). If we account for environmental harm, Solar is also cheaper and cleaner than coal and natural gas. But, even if we discount the environmental effects of coal and natural gas, Solar’s LCOE (the cost of the power generating resource over its lifetime) will also be cheaper than dirty coal by 2020/2022. Herein lies the rub. I know these things as a researcher. But, I’ve also talked to people that live in coal country and I have no good answer to people whose jobs rely on coal. Saying Solar employs more people than coal doesn’t mean those solar jobs will go to coal country. Ultimately, their problems are all of our problems. The wealthy taking advantage of workers that have few options.”
golives writes—Technology Cannot Save Us From Ourselves: “Despite our mind boggling technological and scientific advancement, we are not-so-slowly destroying our planet. Yet one of the many well-known nonpolitical causes of climate skepticism (paywall) is that day to day change is essentially unobservable, and given our biologically based psychological bias toward incremental change it is easy to intuit that it is not happening at all (one might recall the Senator with the snowball who had the epiphany that the climate debate was settled because it snowed in D.C.). Nonetheless, the rate of this destruction, like that of technology, is accelerating geometrically. While Tech gurus titillate the population with their armchair musings about colonizing Mars (viz. Elon Musk) or building floating Libertarian utopian nation states on the high seas (viz. Peter Thiel), we mere mortals occupy ourselves with quotidian chicken-cackling about the utility of the latest app, the battery life of the newest laptop, or how intuitive the controls are for our Internet of Things devices. Indeed, I expect that the tech world will be bickering about some banality of a tech issue on social media when global warming really gets its groove on and we begin to boil in our own excrement.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Diana Somerville writes—Save Our Salmon. Save Our Orcas: “It’s time to call a halt to net pens in our waters, a practice that contaminates the waters every citizen enjoys, threatens our resident orcas (southern resident killer whales), and defeats the state’s extensive salmon recovery programs. Whether it’s from the beach, while riding on a ferry or a whale-watching cruise, seeing orcas in the wild is a uniquely memorable experience. Our struggling pod of endangered southern resident killer whales—just 78 of them as of December 2016 -- add a minimum of $65-$70 million to Washington State’s economy. Yet Washington is the only state along the orcas’ travel routes that allows net pen farming in their waters. Alaska, California, and Oregon have outlawed them. This matters because raising Atlantic salmon in open water net pens has an abysmal safety record. Concentrated populations of these non-native fish trigger major outbreaks of viruses and transmit parasites to wild fish. Especially vulnerable are our native salmon—the primary food of our orcas.”
The Katwoman writes—SeaWorld's last Captive-bred Killer Whale Has Died: “Kyara, the final calf produced by SeaWorld’s defunct breeding program, died this past Monday of suspected pneumonia in San Antonio. Born on April 19, 2017, her health had recently deteriorated to the point that trainers had to separate her to provide care. Her mother, Takara, is one of the more attentive and experienced of SeaWorld’s matriarchs—Kyara was her fourth calf despite only being 26-years-old. Wild killer whale females typically begin breeding in their mid-teens and only calve about once every five years, which means that Takara has had twice the number of calves that is normal. As I detailed in a previous diary, her first two calves were separated from her (one lives in the Canary Islands, the other in Orlando). Kyara is the first calf of captive born male Kyuquot. Both of Kyuquot’s wild born parents, father Tilikum and mother Haida II, were implicated in the death of Keltie Byrne at Sea Land of the Pacific. Like his parents, Kyuquot gained a reputation for aggression against his trainers and fellow whales—in fact, Takara was brought to San Antonio specifically to curb his behavior problems.”
Kestrel writes—Dawn Chorus: The Eyes Have It: “How much do you know about bird vision? Do birds see well? Why do they have different colored eyes? And do birds see in color? So many questions, lots of answers. Let’s start with the basics. Birds have terrific vision. It’s better than human vision, according to most experts. Vision is the most important sense for birds since good eyesight is essential for safe flight. And birds have a number of adaptations which give them visual acuity superior to that of other vertebrate groups. Birds with eyes on the sides of their heads have a wide visual field which is useful for detecting predators. Birds with eyes on the front of their heads, such as owls, have binocular vision. This allows them to estimate distances when hunting. Their eyes tend to be rotated toward the front of the head so that the visual fields of each eye overlap to some degree. Most birds have binocular vision. Small birds that are likely to be prey for raptors tend to have their eyes set on the sides of the head, allowing them to watch for danger in all directions. At the opposite extreme from the owls are the woodcocks, mud-probers with eyes set high and back on the head, out of the way of vegetation and splattering mud and in a position to look out for predators.”
Angmar writes—The Daily Bucket: Waterlilies [or]: "looking for tads in all the wrong places": “(So, having caught Tadmania from 64's posts and all the frog poems,I decided that I ALSO needed tads! But Tads are hard to find...so here's what I was able to Bucket.....) First, some Waterlilies.”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Mirror Alphabet - "U": “Moving on, the Mirror Alphabet visits “U” today.”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Letchworth State Park: “Documenting a visit to Letchworth State Park in early July on a rainy morning. Called ‘the Grand Canyon of the East’ it’s an impressive river gorge where the Genesee River is cutting its way though a variety of Devonian Age sedimentary rocks. The gorge is 550 feet deep in places and contains three notable waterfalls of the Genesee River. The Park has a wide variety of trails, picnic and camping grounds, a nature center, an inn and a museum as well. Of historic interest is the occupation by the Senaca of the area, traces of an old canal (Genesee Valley Canal), the viaduct (railroad bridge) across the gorge near the southern end, a modern (1950s) flood control dam near the northern end, and a lot of interesting stonework due to CCC work during the 1930s.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Lefty Coaster writes—GOP House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith touts "the positive effects of Carbon Enrichment": “Today House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith wrote an op-ed touting the benefits of Carbon Enrichment.’ Don’t Believe the Hysteria Over Carbon Dioxide. The American people should be made aware of both the negative and positive impacts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Without the whole story, how can we expect an objective evaluation of the issues involving climate change? Smith’s top donors include Koch Industries. The benefits of a changing climate are often ignored and under-researched. Our climate is too complex and the consequences of misguided policies too harsh to discount the positive effects of carbon enrichment. A higher concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere would aid photosynthesis, which in turn contributes to increased plant growth. This correlates to a greater volume of food production and better quality food. [...] The persistent myth that adding more CO2 to the atmosphere will help agriculture has been refuted by scientific studies.”
Lefty Coaster writes—Exxon wasn't alone - US Electric Utilities studied Climate Change in 1970s & 1980s then silence: “It turns out far more of the US corporate leadership elite were complicit in the deliberate obfuscation of climate science than just the management at the oil giant Exxon. Study: Utilities knew about climate change risks decades ago. The Energy and Policy Institute study, citing industry documents, found that utilities and industry groups were aiming to investigate the “effects of carbon dioxide” on the environment — including rising temperatures and sea levels — as early as the 1970s. One 1988 study, from industry groups Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and the Electric Power Research Institute, concluded that ‘climate changes possible over the next 30 years may significantly affect the electric utility industry’. ”
Lefty Coaster writes—As UK's Environment Secretary tells US: 'It’s our planet too' Trump plans a 'Dummy Run' UK Visit: “The UK’s Environment Secretary Michael Gove called out Donald Trump for his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, a disruptive, un-collaborative move that has been unpopular on both sides of the Atlantic. Michael Gove slams Trump over climate change saying US is ‘walking out when the heat is on’. Michael Gove has attacked Donald Trump over his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change, saying the world’s second biggest source of greenhouse gases could not ‘simply walk out of the room when the heat is on.’ Climate change won’t respect Trump’s proposed border wall scheme. The old nationalist paradigm doesn’t apply to our shared predicament. Only working collaboratively with an international community can reduce the shared harm.”
ChrisPerri writes—Lamar Smith Claims Global Warming is Good Because Plants Need CO2: “It’s never a dull week with both Trump and Lamar Smith of TX-21 in Washington, D.C. This week ol’ Lamar tells us: ‘Don’t Believe the Hysteria Over Carbon Dioxide.’ Lamar Smith reveals his agenda in the first sentence of his op/ed: ‘The way Americans perceive climate change is too often determined by their hearing just one side of the story.’ And then he proceeds to debunk this side of the scientific ‘story’ without citing any evidence to support his tale of fossil fuels creating lush greenery and abundant vegetation for all the world to enjoy. Why does Lamar think increasing the amounts of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere is good? Because, as we all learned in middle school, plants love CO2. Thus, he argues that ‘carbon dioxide in our atmosphere would aid photosynthesis.’ While there may be a nickel of truth in that, he forgets to mention the million-dollar omissions that obliterate his arguments.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Even a Warming Arctic Couldn’t Melt Lamar Smith’s Heart on Climate: “Just last week, we wrote a hopeful missive about a marginal thaw in the chilly stance of many House Republicans towards climate action. Anti-science chair of the House Science Committee Lamar Smith had just visited the Arctic, observing the impacts of climate change firsthand. A large group of Republicans had joined Democrats to vote down an anti-climate amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. For once, we had a sunny outlook. But on Monday, Smith froze those hopes, writing a piece in the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal extolling the ‘often ignored and under-researched’ benefits of climate change. He specifically cites melting sea ice in the Arctic and resultant shipping lanes as positives. (Whereas one maritime expert says that this possibility ‘keeps us up at night.’) Clearly, Smith’s Arctic pilgrimage didn’t warm him up to sound climate science.Smith also parrots other classic denier talking points, from ‘more CO2 is good for plants’ to ‘fossil fuels cure poverty.’ It’s not worth debunking each point, as it has been done many, many times before (including by us).”
AndySchmookler reprises a 1991 piece he wrote for the Christian Science Monitor and titled Manhood and The Fate of the Earth: “In the case of global warming, there is substantial consensus among scientists on crucial points: that there is a problem; that continuing what we are now doing to the atmosphere could inflict catastrophe on living systems, including the food we depend on; that we know enough now that it is only prudent to take immediate steps to mend our ways. Yet, despite almost unanimous scientific opinion that Reagan's Star Wars concept was fundamentally flawed, the same administration that preferred "study" to action in response to the problem of acid rain launched an exorbitant program to make us invulnerable to enemy missiles falling out of the sky. Why is it that when facing the ‘Soviet threat,’ our conservative leaders always insisted that we prepare for the ‘worse-case scenario,’ but when it comes to how we care for this living earth, these same men always assume the best and sneer at those who fear the worst?”
ian douglas rushlau writes—Climate Change is already killing people by the tens of thousands: “Emily Atkin, writing in Wired, presents a brief, grim summary of what unchecked carbon combustion means for humans: ‘We’ve got a new normal,’ said Howard Frumkin, a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Washington. ‘I think all of the studies of trends to date show that we’re having more extreme heat, and we’ve having higher average temperatures. Superimposed on that, we’re seeing more short-term periods of extreme heat. Those are two different trends, and they’re both moving in the wrong direction.’ Based on those trends, the US Global Change Research Program predicts ‘an increase of thousands to tens of thousands of premature heat-related deaths in the summer ... each year as a result of climate change by the end of the century.’ And that’s along with the deaths we’ve already seen: In 2015, Scientific American noted that nine out of the ten deadliest heat waves ever have occurred since 2000; together, they’ve killed 128,885 people.”
AmericaAdapts writes—The World Adapts to Climate Change: “In episode 45 of America Adapts- in a first—host Doug Parsons travels to Kampala, Uganda to cover the CBA11(Community Based Adaptation). This podcast consists of multiple conversations with conference attendees representing countries from Europe,Asia, Africa and the United States. If you want to learn how the rest of the world approaches adaptation, this podcast is for you!”
Mark Sumner writes—New information suggests that scientists have underestimated global warming—but don't panic: “A new study indicates that climate scientists may have underestimated the amount of global warming that has already occurred by as much as 20 percent. But that doesn’t mean that it’s any hotter outside. It’s a matter of hotter relative to what? Preventing global warming from becoming ‘dangerous”’may have just got significantly harder after new research suggested climate scientists have been using the wrong baseline temperature. Scientists haven’t been making some kind of mistake in measuring the temperature. The issue is time. Most climate change models start somewhere in the 19th century, with the best data set beginning around 1880. But this new study indicates that this date may actually be too late if the intent is to really capture all the impact burning of fossil fuels has had on the climate. By the late 1800s, people had already been burning fossil fuels in rapidly-increasing amounts to stoke the beginning of the industrial revolution. That early consumption of coal and oil may have had more impact than previously thought.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
rvtravel writes—My letter to Senator Cantwell re dirty energy bill S1460: “Senator Cantwell: It seems ironic, to say the least, that you opposed the nomination of David Bernhardt while simultaneously co-sponsoring S1460. You say that you are concerned ‘about his record on behalf of these corporations at the expense of the environment.’ I am concerned about your commitment to the environment. Scientists tell us that we have little time to combat global warming and that the vast majority of reserves need to stay in the ground. Many of the groups who oppose Mr. Bernhardt have also signed the letter (over 350 organizations) to the Senate rejecting S1460. [...] S1460 will perpetuate our dependence on fossil fuel while other countries plan for the future. US taxpayers subsidize the fossil fuel industry to the tune of tens of billions of dollars a year. It would be much more productive if you and Senator Murkowski worked together on a bill to advance our green industries than to sponsor a bill which puts young people’s futures in jeopardy.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Raindrop, Drop Top, White House Staffers Gonna Flip Flop: “The day after he accepted the comms director role, Scaramucci said that he’d be deleting old tweets to reflect his ‘evolved’ views and the fact that he now serves Trump’s agenda. Both of the aforementioned climate tweets have already been deleted. Actions speak louder than tweets, but if Scaramucci is serving Trump’s agenda, his calls for climate action are as history as Spicer. In other appointment news, Axios reports that Trump will tap coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler as EPA deputy administrator. Wheeler served as a top aide for Senator James ‘Snowball’ Inhofe and has been a lobbyist for coal giant Murray Energy since 2009. According to the Washington Post, three other EPA appointments (for the Office of Air and Radiation, EPA general counsel and the Office of Water) may follow quickly, and are likely to rankle environmentalists. Over at State, E&E News reports that the department’s top science advisor resigned last week ‘amid concerns about the science priorities of President Trump and reorganization under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.’ Though advocates call the position ‘critical,’ there is concern that Tillerson’s ‘reorganization’ may eliminate this position altogether.”
Mary Anne Hitt writes—Another Fox in the Henhouse: Coal Lobbyist Tapped for Top Spot in Trump’s EPA: “In a move that will probably surprise no one, but should dismay everyone who breathes air and drinks water, recent reports indicate Donald Trump will nominate former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to serve as deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Wheeler was not only a key D.C. advocate for the coal industry, but also used to be an aide for everyone’s ‘favorite’ climate-denying senator, James Inhofe. Wheeler doesn’t believe in climate disruption, which means he’ll be at home in Pruitt’s agency as it moves forward with the plan to try and cast doubt on climate science. As recently exposed in the press, the red team, blue team exercise Pruitt wants to hold to ‘debate’ climate science has been advised by the fossil-fuel-funded staff at the Heartland Institute, a fringe group notorious for its highly controversial tactics to undermine climate action.”
ENERGY
Emissions Controls & Carbon Taxes
Mark Sumner writes—Cap-and-trade for Northeastern states so successful that the only fight is over how much to improve: “When Donald Trump announced that he was pulling the United States from the Paris Agreement—a spiteful action that promises precisely zero benefits while offering near infinite downsides—there was an immediate reaction from many governors and mayors in states and cities that retained some modicum of sense. Official after official promised that, while Trump may be racing to make synonyms of ‘America’ and ‘mud,’ they would maintain standards for their region that were as high, or higher, than those proposed under the agreement. But with Trump actively promoting pollution and climate change, states could take that as an excuse to forget past promises. Which makes an upcoming plan all the more important. Eight years ago, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative ― made up of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont ― established an interstate cap-and-trade system that puts a limit on carbon dioxide emissions from the utility sector and allows power companies to buy and sell permits to pollute. The program has proven to be a notable success, reducing average utility bills by 3.4 percent, driving $2.7 billion in economic growth and creating at least 14,200 new jobs through energy conservation projects funded by the revenue it generates.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Lib Dem FoP writes—World's First Floating Off-Shore Wind Farm Being Installed: “The first of five floating off-shore wind turbines has been installed off the NE coast of Scotland. Normally the pylons carrying the turbine assemblies are built on the sea bed to provide stability. This limits the locations that such wind farms can be located to shallow seas of up to 40 metres. The new design being trialled is intended to be anchored to the sea bed by cables in waters up to 1Km deep. This opens up large areas of the west coast of the USA and Japan, where bed steeply shelves, for exploitation. As well as very heavy ballast, the Hywind farm turbines also rely on sophisticated trimming of the blades to counteract the effects of wind, seas and tide on the stability of the platform. This video from last year shows the prototype.”
Jen Hayden writes—While Trump pretends to bring back mining jobs, China is building 100 panda-shaped solar farms: “While Donald Trump pretends to bring back dirty coal jobs, China’s future is looking brighter. The Panda Green Energy Group has announced plans to build 100 new solar farms: A new solar farm is opening up in China, and this one has a twist. The energy firm, Panda Green Energy Group, has constructed the solar panels in the shape of a giant panda. This particular solar panda farm has been built in the province of Shanxi, and Panda Green hopes that this is only the first of a hundred panda-themed solar farms the company is planning to build. The total cost of all 100 plants is estimated to be around $3 billion. In addition to building potentially dozens of solar farms, the company hopes that the friendly panda faces will give Chinese citizens a greater appreciation and understanding of solar power. Panda Green has also built an education center geared toward teaching children about the importance of renewables.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS, OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
ARodinFan writes—Trump Tweets While Montana and The West Burn: “Twenty Seven major fires are currently burning in the west—many of them in flyover country—in states where the pResident has garnered wide popular support. Hot dry weather will surely lead to more fires. The question is, will Trump take action in a timely manner and at an appropriate scale to coordinate an effective response to these wildfires—or will he tweet and whine and ignore the blazes until they reach historic proportions—destroying lives and property that might then provide him the opportunity to, like Nero, achieve the historical recognition he so desperately desires, by then sending armies of young men and women in to risk their lives trying to put them out. Governance isn’t easy—this will be a historical test for the pResident and his half staffed ‘administration’—one I fear they will fail with spectacularly horrific results. If you live in the path of these blazes, my heart goes out to you. You deserve much more help than you are likely to get from this pResident. Be safe and be smart— help may arrive too late for many of you, if it comes at all.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENS
Meteor Blades writes—Udall introduces bill to ban brain-damaging insecticide that EPA decided can still be used on farms: “Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and seven other Democratic senators introduced a bill Tuesday to regulate or ban a neurotoxic insecticide if the Environmental Protection Agency cannot prove it is safe. You can read a summary of the bill, S. 1624, here. An organophosphate, the insecticide named chlorpyrifos has been banned from household use for more than a decade and a half, but it’s still widely used on crops like broccoli and almonds. Several studies have tied the chemical—a product of various companies, including Dow—to attention deficit disorders, lowered IQ, other health issues, and negative impacts on fetuses, including brain damage. Dow claims it’s safe when used as directed. But the EPA had planned to ban the chemical last November. The Trump regime wedged a stopper into that move. Twice during the Obama Administration, the EPA had proposed to revoke all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos. At the time the agency said exposure to chlorpyrifos from food and drinking water poses health risks, specifically citing neurotoxicity concerns. In late November, the EPA said it would ban the chemical. But the decision never became official.”
Ojibwa writes—A Desert Garden (Photo Diary): “The San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, California, includes a desert garden in the grounds outside of the museum.”