This is the 523rd 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 Aug. 30 Green Spotlight. More than 27,625 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
OceanDiver writes—Fish Farm Collapse & Escaped Salmon - Update: “Two weeks ago a Cooke Aquaculture salmon farm in Washington state had a catastrophic failure, releasing about 150,000 Atlantic salmon into the Salish Sea. I live in the San Juan Islands not far from the wrecked fish farm and have been monitoring the situation since then. On Saturday August 19 the open net-pen anchored in the swift currents near Cypress Island began to break apart and by Sunday it had collapsed. At the time, an unknown number of the 305,000 captive salmon escaped; since then Cooke has transferred enough remaining fish to say about half were lost. [...] Farmed-fish proponents say Atlantic salmon pose no risk to the local environment because they can not interbreed (Atlantics, Salmo salar, are genetically distinct from our local species, genus Onchorhyncus) and previous deliberate and accidental releases have never established themselves in our rivers. Both these are true. However, given the fragile state of our native salmon species, most of which have threatened or endangered status, the added stresses of these invasives could make their situation worse. There is concern they will prey on juvenile salmon or other scarce fish — salmon are carnivorous. So far, biologists checking the stomachs of captured escapees have found them empty, likely because these fish have been fed pellets their whole life and never hunted. Right now they are living off their fat. However many of them have been caught with bait on a fishing line, so they still have the hunting instinct. So if they get hungry enough….? Some local salmon runs are heading upstream right now; Lummi fishermen are concerned that Atlantics will follow them and prey on eggs.”
A Siegel writes—#HurricaneHarvey & the #HoustonFloods prove #climate adaptation investments can pay off …”Amid the serious (and often valid) discussions of how Houston’s free-wheeling land development and Texas political elite’s climate-science denial’s damaging of efforts to reduce vulnerabilities, there are ways in which parts of Houston showed real learning and invested (often with meaningful Federal (both Bush and Obama Administration) support to be better prepared to face climate-driven/enhanced catastrophes like Hurricane Harvey. Houston’s hospitals and medical system might prove to be the strongest example of how learning from expert analysis (of disasters and risks) and investments based on that learning help society better deal with climate impacts. [...] Investing in mitigation (reduce future human impacts on climate) is preferred over adaptation. Though both are necessary — climate is changing and adaptation investments are required even as (much) more should go to mitigation David Roberts’ discussion has this core point: ‘Mitigation has local costs and egalitarian global benefits; adaptation has local costs and inequitable local benefits.’”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: More Observations in Philadelphia: “More photos from along the Schuylkill River. Plants in the ‘waste area’ and edges are generally more interesting than the flower beds and managed trail edges that are short grass that gets mowed periodically. And there is seasonal variance as small plants like the deadnettles get an early start in the spring and then die back. Then things fill in as the nettles, thistles, garlic mustard, milkweed, etc. take their turn. The late bloomers are dominated by the goldenrod, but there are other flowers mixed in.”
wee mama writes—A stroll in the garden [pix]: “When the world becomes too much, when Trump corruption oppresses or the devastation of Harvey wounds our hearts, Tall Papa and I escape by taking a stroll in the garden. You’re welcome to join us!”
foresterbob writes—The Daily Bucket - Northeast Oregon Photo Diary, Part 2: “When I posted Part 1 in mid-July, I sorta promised that there would be a Part 2. Although I’m no longer working in that part of Oregon, the photos have been patiently waiting in my file folder. [...] Manmade watering holes were spread around the area, mainly for benefit of the cattle. One morning, instead of the usual collection of bovines, I encountered elk instead. When I stopped to take pictures, they decided to run. I got two good pics as they crossed a meadow.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - insect life in a dry woodsy clearing: “A clearing in a dry forest looks pretty quiet, especially on a hot August day. I had some afternoon hours while occasionally helping Mr O on a painting/scaffolding project this month to walk around and note the activity, mostly insects. It was hot and dry, typical Northwest summer weather. Quiet and still for the most part, with buzzing and scratching and flitting near the ground. Some second-growth Douglas firs and Western Hemlocks had been taken down near the house and there seemed to be enough attractive food sources in the stumps, brush and duff for a variety of our 6-legged friends, includung each other I suspect.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Bret Stephens’ Callously Capitalist Climate-Harvey Take: “Yesterday, Bret Stephens used his New York Times column for one of the most callous and tone-deaf Harvey takes we’ve seen anywhere (including in the deniersphere proper). In the piece, good ol’ Bret praises capitalism and wealth for helping people survive disasters like Harvey, but ignores the fundamental moral failing of climate inaction: some countries grew rich and developed thanks to unchecked fossil fuel use, while those countries now developing are forced to deal with the worst of the impacts they did little or nothing to cause. Unsurprisingly, Twitter was quick to call out both the framing and the factual errors in Stephen’s ‘hurricane apologism’ and how the choice of image for the column, a sinking Mercedes Benz, ‘perfectly encapsulates’ Stephens’ priorities. So, as Stephens states, Harvey may just be a ‘speed bump’ for Houston’s economy in the long run. At least 39 people died during that ‘speed bump,’ which is a heartless way to describe the economic losses stemming from flooded homes and lives lost. But hurricane victims and climate activists should be comforted, Stephens seems to suggest, by the fact that disaster losses as a percentage of global wealth have held steady since 1990, using Pielke Jr.’s favorite (deceptive) statistics.”
hammerinhank writes—It's time to address the Climate Change elephant when we talk about the horrors of Harvey: “KATRINA. HARVEY. WILL WE EVER LISTEN TO THE SCIENTISTS ABOUT WHAT IS TRULY THE GREATEST THREAT TO HOMELAND SECURITY? I am tired of tv commentators tiptoeing around the issue of Climate Change when talking about Harvey. This storm was not simply a ‘freak of nature’; it reflects a new reality. It’s not a 1000 year storm ... there’ll be another one like it in a timespan measured in a few years, not a millennium. This tragedy and other climate change induced disasters have been predicted with eerie accuracy by scientists, After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many people made reference to a National Geographic article by Joel K. Bourne, Jr. from October 2004 which predicted a levee failure in New Orleans during a major hurricane, and the subsequent destruction to life and property. This wasn't the only prediction which unfortunately came true about New Orleans - many other scientists published similar warnings WELL BEFORE Katrina. But Bourne's article was one of the most stark, because it painted an (at the time) fictional picture which later came true. From Bourne's article describing New Orleans after a catastrophic fictional Category 5 Hurricane, published 11 months before Katrina: A liquid brown wall washed over the brick ranch homes of Gentilly, over the clapboard houses of the Ninth Ward, ... As it reached 25 feet (eight meters) over parts of the city, people climbed onto roofs to escape it. Thousands drowned in the murky brew that was soon contaminated by sewage and industrial waste.”
WCWatch writes—Mark Levin just made possibly the most hilarious climate denial argument ever: “National talk radio host Mark Levin has come out with some awesome new proof that man-made climate change does not exist. On his August 30th broadcast, first he gravely listed scientists from history: ‘Aristotle, Archimedes, Galileo, Tesla, Faraday, Newton, Pasteur, Einstein and Edison,’ while managing to mispronounce ‘Archimedes’ as if his first name were ‘Archie,’ which is pretty funny in itself. Then Levin popped his serious question: ‘What do they all have in common?’If that sounds more like the wind up to a joke (nine scientists walk into a bar, and the bartender says...), well, yeah. Because here’s Levin’s actual answer: ‘Not a single one of them ever wrote about man-made climate change.’ Levin repeats this several times, as if he’s fathoming a major revelation. Then: ‘Because ladies and gentlemen, man-made climate change is not about science. It’s not about evidence. It’s not about knowledge. It’s not about facts. It’s about an ideology, imported in the United States from Europe, like Marxism itself.’”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
terrypinder writes—Daily Kos WxCenter: We're Watching Irma: “We’re watching Hurricane Irma, which bombed out to a Category 3 hurricane today, with interest. [...] Irma has become an impressive hurricane with intense eyewall convection surrounding a small eye. Satellite estimates continue to rapidly rise, and the Dvorak classifications from both TAFB & SAB support an initial wind speed of 100 kt. This is a remarkable 50-kt increase from yesterday at this time. Microwave and satellite data suggest that an eyewall replacement cycle could be starting. This isn't surprising given how small the eye is, and will probably be the first of many eyewall cycles for this hurricane. Overall, Irma should be in a low-shear environment for several days, with the intensity controlled by eyewall cycles and the moderately warm SSTs along the path. Thus the forecast intensity is leveled off for the next 2 days. After the weekend, Irma should be moving over much warmer water, with SSTs forecast to be 29C at the end of the period. All indications are for Irma to be strengthening by the end of the forecast period, with the NHC prediction adjusted slightly upward from the previous one, in line
with the extremely low pressures forecast by the global and regional hurricane models at that time.”
John Crapper writes—Harvey, Borrowed Time & Climate Philanthropy: “Harvey marks the most extreme rain event in U.S. history. The rain from Harvey is in a class of its own. The storm has unloaded over 50 inches of rain east of Houston, the greatest amount ever recorded in the Lower 48 states from a single storm. And it’s still raining. People in the path of Harvey are hurting. In the midst of this catastrophe we are seeing and hearing of story after story of people helping others in need. [...] After this immediate crisis is over I hope you will consider some long-term ways to help mitigate what we are currently seeing. There are many ways to give back to society or pay it forward in some way to help others less fortunate. There are scores of organizations asking for your time and/or money. A person can help feed the poor, educate the young, rescue animals, preserve our natural resources, help house the homeless and a myriad of other worthy causes. Here at the Church of the Holy Shitters we believe it imperative for individuals to prioritize their philanthropy efforts and put climate change at the top of their worthy causes list.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
MRH1 writes—We should discuss the real tough questions about Federal Aid in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. w/poll: “I, like most all of you, support full and complete federal relief for the victims of Hurricane Harvey and of all natural disasters! However, what ‘full and complete federal relief’ is is a very tough question. I think their is no doubt that ‘full and complete federal relief’ includes rebuilding all public infrastructure like highways, water systems, sewage systems, public buildings, public parks, hospitals, schools, universities and so on. It is how we provide ‘full and complete federal relief’ to private individuals that raises substantial issues between our desire to help and the risk of subsidizing and thus encouraging the decision not to carry full insurance.”
durrati writes—Re: Floodplain Regulations, Drumpf Eclipse Of Obama Rolls On Out: “Yeah, drumpf was gonna eclipse Obama, cancel all his executive orders, like he was never there, yada, yada, yada… WaPo AFTER HARVEY, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RECONSIDERS FLOOD RULES IT JUST ROLLED BACK. ‘A couple of weeks ago President Trump scrapped Obama-era rules, intended to reduce the risks posed by flooding, that established new construction standards for roads, housing and other infrastructure projects that receive federal dollars. [...] ‘This overregulated permitting process is a massive, self-inflicted wound on our country — it’s disgraceful — denying our people much-needed investments in their community,’ he said in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York during an event to tout his infrastructure policies. [...] Then [Harvey] happened. Cue up new tune: This potential policy shift underscores the extent to which the reality of this week’s storm has collided with Trump officials’ push to upend President Barack Obama’s policies and represents a striking acknowledgment by an administration skeptical of climate change that the government must factor changing weather into some of its major infrastructure policies.”
ENERGY
Nuclear
2020 Vision writes—Nuclear Power Plant threatened by Flooding: “South Texas Project has not yet dodged a bullet from hurricane as groups call for shutdown. Beyond Nuclear and two Texas watchdog groups are persisting in their call for the operator of the South Texas Project nuclear power plant near Bay City, Texas to place the power station into "its safest condition, cold shutdown" in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Given that flooding of evacuation routes in the vicinity of the South Texas Project is a growing concern, shutting down the reactor remains the most prudent action to take in the interest of public safety. The Colorado River is now cresting over its banks in the Bay City area just miles from the reactor complex. Flooding originally prompted Bay City officials to order a "mandatory evacuation" of all residents before evacuation routes became impassible. While that order has been downgraded to voluntary evacuation, flooding remains a public safety concern in the area given that these same evacuation routes are required in the event of a radiological emergency at the still operational nuclear power station.”
TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE HAZARDS
DRo writes—Fire burning at Arkema plant in Crosby: “Little is known at this point. This was expected.”
DRo writes—Texas Republicans Helped Chemical Plant That Exploded Lobby Against Safety Rules: “Well, wouldn’t you know it! On top of giving them subsides to have plants in Texas, they lobbied to remove safety rules. IBT. Arkema has six production plants in Texas and has received more than $8.7 million worth of taxpayer subsidies from the state. Arkema’s Crosby plant — which OSHA fined more than $90,000 for ten “serious” violations earlier this year and has spewed smoke in Crosby — appears to be covered under the existing EPA rules because of the kinds of chemicals it uses. While Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has given chemical companies legal cover to hide the locations of their EPA-regulated chemicals, the Associated Press reports that the imperiled Arkema facility houses large amounts of toxic sulfur dioxide and flammable methylpropen, which required Arkema to submit a risk management plan to the agency — and which would have subjected the company to the strengthened safety rules. However, those rules — which would have taken effect on March 14 — were blocked by EPA administrator Scott Pruitt. The move was a big win for the chemical industry that has spent more than $100 million supporting federal lawmakers since 2008. Among those who have received more than $100,000 from the industry are powerful Texas lawmakers including Sen. John Cornyn (R), Rep. Joe Barton (R), Rep. Pete Olson (R), Rep. Gene Green (D), Rep. Pete Sessions (R) and Rep. Kevin Brady (R).”
Meteor Blades writes—Burned Texas chemical plant benefited from lax regulation, small fines, and paid-off politicians: “Despite worries about toxic emissions from those fires, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that it has detected none. Officially then, there’s no reason for concern that the situation will cause harm to people in the area. Believe that if you wish. Who are those people? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 1,278 households exist within a five-mile radius of the plant, 909 of whom are below the poverty line. The EPA estimates that about 4,000 people live within five miles of the plant. Expendables in the view of too many of the powers-that-be. Arkema, however, has gotten better treatment than those expendables could ever expect. That includes $8.7 million in subsidies from the state’s taxpayers. And for 10 violations earlier this year—eight of them serious—the federal government fined it $90,000. In 2016, the company earned a record profit of $1.4 billion from its worldwide operations.”
SocioSam writes—Republicans delayed implementing safety rules at exploding chemical plant: “New safety rules at the Arkema Americas plant were to have gone into effect earlier this year. However, those improvements were “halted by the Trump administration after a furious lobbying campaign by plant owner Arkema and its affiliated trade association, the American Chemistry Council, which represents a chemical industry that has poured tens of millions of dollars into federal elections. The effort to stop the chemical plant safety rules was backed by top Texas Republican lawmakers, who have received big campaign donations from chemical industry donors.”
Xaxnar writes—The Texas Time Bomb has Detonated: Business Friendly = People Expendable: “The Chemical Plant Explosion in Texas Is Not an Accident. It's the Result of Specific Choices - The perils of deregulation. Continuing from yesterday’s Bill of Particulars, Pierce has chapter and verse on how Texas not only failed to prepare for predictable disaster, but encouraged man-made disasters just waiting to happen. It wasn’t accidental. It was the result of deliberate choices. Being ‘business friendly’ means no oversight, no accountability — and the rest of us are going to be stuck helping pay the butcher’s bill, which Jack Holmes writes up, is going to be pretty substantial. (Or as Trump would say, ‘Epic!’) ...Of course, the human and ecological damage will inevitably create more economic turmoil. Perhaps this stunning assessment from AccuWeather—which found one percent of the $19 trillion GDP will simply disappear after this storm—may still be conservative. It's unclear, for instance, whether the assessment factors in the possible collapse of Superfund sites, of which Houston is home to an unusually high number, or the toxic chemical plants that just exploded in Crosby, Texas. We know for sure, though, that like Katrina and Sandy, Harvey will require a massive cleanup and rebuilding effort, heavy on federal assistance and spanning years. Except it may require more than those two massive disasters combined. Houston, no matter its resiliency, may just never be the same.”
Belinda Ridgewood writes—Harvey Check-In #16: Arkema Explosions, Beaumont Water Supply: “This morning we have ‘incidents’ at the unstable Arkema plant in Crosby TX, the water supply to Beaumont TX (pop. 120K)has been knocked out, and there are new evacuation orders for suburbs near Barker Reservoir (listed here).”
MonsterSound writes—Explosions, smoke reported at Arkema chemical plant in Crosby TX: “Recently reported by click2Houston, at the Arkema plant in Crosby the expected fire and explosions have begun. As Rachel Maddow reported, Arkema refused to provide a list of chemicals stored at the facility, so, who knows what will become airborne? Crazy laws from the gov in 2015 removed the public's ability to know.”
Dartagnan writes—A Chemical Plant in Crosby, Texas, Is About To Explode (Updated): “Um, maybe we should be paying attention to this? The Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, is going to explode any day now, the CEO of the organic-chemical company said Wednesday. On Tuesday, all of the plant’s workers were sent home, residents within 1.5 miles of the plant were evacuated, and a nearby stretch of highway was shut down after the plant was inundated with water from Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent flooding. That’s not some clarion call from the EPA, It’s the head of the goddamn plant. Crosby is 24 miles from Houston. The flooding brought about by Hurricane Harvey has inundated the Arkema plant with six feet of water. The situation there is not capable of being controlled.”
OTHER HURRICANE HARVEY NEWS
Lawrence writes—Things Just Got Very Real in Beaumont, TX: The City Has Lost Its Water Supply: “The citizens of Beaumont, TX are in deep trouble. Not only has this city of 120 thousand people seen wide-spread flooding that has caused many to lose their homes, local news is now reporting that they have lost their water supply. [...] This means that over 100 thousand people are going to lose access to drinking water and will either have to evacuate or be supplied with drinking water from the outside. he Neches River is flooding at an alarming rate and won’t be cresting in Beaumont until Fri/Sat, so these people are going to be without water for quite some time. This is also a logistical nightmare, since virtually all the highways into the Beaumont-Port Arthur Metro Area from Texas are flooded and access from Louisiana is difficult, at best. If Obama were still president, I would not be as worried about enough supplies getting in, but with Mr. photo op/campaign rally-muppet head- egomaniac now being in charge, I am not sure that the resources will be in place to handle this situation.”
Egberto Willies writes—MSNBC cut off reporter as he tells climate change and oil industry truth? “One cannot help but notice that anytime this reporter brings up climate change and the negligence of the oil industry that something happens where he gets cut off. Reporter cut off when informing about climate change and oil industry complicity: MSNBC seems to cut off reporter Shihab Rattamsi any time he begins revealing truths about the oil industry, climate change, and politicians. Many people do not think it is copacetic to get into the politics of a disaster as it is occurring. That may be true for those people immediately affected by the catastrophe because their immediate goal is survival and a quick return to some semblance of comfort. The reality, however, is it is imperative that national networks give the rest of the country the full context of the disaster including causality when there is irrefutable evidence at the time of the event. The human psyche absorbs information best when there is an immediate relationship between words, theory, and an event in real time.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS, OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
MTmofo writes—Montana burning: “There are many fires across Montana. First, I’m fine. My biggest threat is breathing varying levels of smoke on any given day. Evacuees are as fine as they can be considering, many have been through this before. We’ve got this. A wildfire first reported on the Custer Gallatin National Forest, west of Volborg, Wednesday morning is now estimated at 40,000 acres and continuing to spread quickly to the northwest. Only about 70 personnel are currently deployed at the Sartin Draw Fire, which has spread across a swath of forest and range land including portions of Powder River, Rosebud, and Custer counties. Evacuation orders are in effect for ranches and homes in the area of the fire, although Eric Lepisto, a Bureau of Land Management fire management officer, didn't immediately have an estimate of how many people or residences are affected.”
Lefty Coaster writes—Reports of fires burning at damaged Texas Arkema Chemical Plant: “The remnants of Hurricane Harvey carried its wrath up the Mississippi Delta on Thursday, but not before hammering the Gulf Coast with more punishing cloudbursts and growing threats that included reports of “pops” and “chemical reactions” at a crippled chemical plant and the collapse of the drinking water system in a Texas city. The plant’s operators, which had earlier Thursday reported explosions, later said they believe at least one valve “popped” there, though they noted it was impossible to know for sure since all employees had left the site.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Lib Dem FoP writes—London's Docklands Light Railway at 30 - Case Study for Transport Links Fueling Regeneration: “Forty years ago great swathes of eastern London were derelict. The docks on which the area’s economy was based were closed, killed off by the container ships that could not reach so far up the Thames. Today the area is thriving. A forest of high buildings has grown up and more are being built. Banks, financial services companies and many others have moved in, many from the traditional financial area in the “square mile” of the City of London. Over 120,000 jobs have been created in the area. The prime catalyst for this growth now celebrates the 30th anniversary of its opening. The Docklands Light Railway provides a case study in how an efficient transport link is all but vital to the regeneration of inner cities.”
MISCELLANY
endyra lutris writes—No War 2017: War and the Environment (Activism & More): “No War 2017: War and the Environment. September 22-24 Conference in Washington, D.C. Just following the International Day of Peace, and in the tradition of No War 2016: Real Security Without Terrorism, and the best speech any U.S. president ever gave, this year's conference will focus on activism, including activist planning workshops, addressing how the antiwar and environmental movements can work together. We encourage and can help you to hold similar events in other locations, and this event will be live-streamed so that other events can watch it.”