This is the 538th 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 Jan. 6 Green Spotlight. More than 28,220 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
AmericaAdapts writes—The Snow Leopard adapts to Climate Change: “In episode 57 of America Adapts, Doug Parsons talks with experts from all over the world focusing on the conservation of the elusive snow leopard of High Asia and how this species and the communities around this species, are adapting to climate change. Guests from Nepal, India, China, Russia, Sweden, and the US share stories on studying this amazing cat and talk about some of the innovative adaptation strategies that are being put in place thanks to funding from a USAID project that is being implemented by World Wildlife Fund. Two additional themes emerge in this episode, the influence of Peter Matthiessen’s epic masterpiece, The Snow Leopard, and stories from these experts about their own magical encounters with the snow leopard in the wild. Peter Matthiessen never did see a snow leopard, but several of these experts did. Hear their amazing stories in detail.”
Pakalolo writes—Sydney Australia Basin-The hottest place on Earth. "Day Zero" water crisis looms for Cape Town: “The Sydney Australia Basin has been suffering from some of the most dangerous heat and humidity on earth with a high of 117F in Penrith. So hot that roads are melting. In addition to suffocating heat, extremely dangerous bushfires were burning out of control in South Australia’s southeast on Saturday afternoon, and residents were warned that their lives and properties were at risk. The Climate Forecasting System (CFS) issued the apocalyptic warning to residents in the impacted area. ‘If you are in this area you are in danger. There is a risk to your life and property...take shelter inside a solid building. Do not leave or enter this area in a vehicle or on foot. It is too late to leave and the roads will not be safe.’ Sydney's weather is expected to remain hot with another heat burst building around the end of this week.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Kestrel writes—Dawn Chorus: Leucism Explains the Odd Coloring of Birds: “Have you ever seen a leucistic bird in the wild? The turkey in the photo above is leucistic, which is defined as an abnormal condition of reduced pigmentation affecting various animals (such as birds, mammals, and reptiles) that are marked by overall pale color or patches of reduced coloring. It’s caused by a genetic mutation which inhibits melanin and other pigments from being deposited in feathers, hair, or skin. Leucism is sometimes confused with albinism, but leucism relates to diminished amounts of melanin as well as other pigments. Albinism is characterized by a complete lack of melanin. A key distinguishing characteristic between leucistic organisms and albinos: albinos have pink or red eyes while leucistic individuals retain normal eye color. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on its Project Feederwatch page, ‘Albinistic birds have pink eyes because without melanin in the body, the only color in the eyes comes from the blood vessels behind the eyes. It is possible for a bird to be completely white and still have melanin in the body, as when a white bird has dark eyes. In that case, the bird would be considered leucistic because the mutation only applies to depositing melanin in the feathers, not the absence of melanin in the body’.”
Owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Sunday Pot-au-Feu - Legs: Photo diary. “Was thinking about doing herons… but what is the most noticeable thing about a heron? The legs rank right up there.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - Coop or Sharpie?? “One of the most difficult and contentious questions out there for nature observers, sure to start a heated discussion is this one: Is it a Cooper’s or a Sharpshinned Hawk? Even experts will wrangle about this, and for raptor novices like me, I’m rarely willing to go out on a limb to say it’s one or the other. So I’m going to let you decide about this bird who perched in a fruit tree in my backyard for 15 minutes or so yesterday. I have my own opinion, and we can compare conclusions in the comments. I’ll provide a few pictures, and one short video, plus some fact-sheets from Feederwatch at Cornell University. These similar-appearing birds are both accipiters, aka sparrowhawks, relatively small, slender birds of prey who swoop in fast to snatch smaller birds in short chases. They hunt in woodsy brushy habitats, and their short broad wings give them agility darting through branches. They are attracted to birdfeeders for the obvious reason.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Has the Backfire Effect of Debunkings Been Debunked? “It’s no secret that we’re fans of Skeptical Science’s The Debunking Handbook: we’ve found it to be an invaluable resource to beat back the latest nonsense from deniers. At its core, the Handbook is a cognitive psychology-based rebuttal to the idea that people just need to hear more facts to stop holding incorrect beliefs (an idea known formally as the information-deficit model). Instead, the Handbook embraces a more nuanced approach that emphasizes how communications are structured and formatted. The bulk of the booklet is made up of tactics for working around a phenomenon known as the backfire effect: a phenomenon some have observed where attempts to bust a myth actually reinforce the belief in its falsehoods. Last week, Slate published a new feature from Daniel Engber about the trouble scientists have had in replicating the backfire effect in years of follow-up studies. Engber pushes back on the newly-popular idea that we’re in a post-truth age, detailing the years of scientific back-and-forth concerning the backfire effect.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Ice Age Might Be A Nice Change, But Still Not Gonna Happen Any Time Soon: “According to NOAA/NCEI, 2017 was the 21st year in a row that the US has been warmer than average. Undaunted by reality, deniers continue to insist that an ice age is coming. They are, as they have been for years, quite wrong. In his blog at the Guardian, Dana Nuccitelli took a look Tuesday at the cooling claims coming from Northumbria University mathematics professor Valentina Zharkova. A recent Sky News interview with Zharkova spurred a round of cooling coverage in a handful of outlets, but despite what deniers suggest every time this comes up, even if the Sun cools we’re still going to warm. Nuccitelli's blog explores the science behind specific historic cooling periods deniers claim show the current climate’s future. A key driver of these cold periods, Nuccitelli explains, was the Sun, which at times doesn’t burn quite as hot. Zharkova believes, based on her studies, that the Sun follows a particular warm-cool cycle that suggests we’re in store for cooler temperatures. But even if Zharkova’s much-debated solar cycle theory is accurate, the predicted cooling effect would barely put a dent in our warming.”
Craig Hunter writes—New York City sues five major oil companies over the rising cost of climate change: “New York City has filed a lawsuit against five major oil companies, joining a growing list of cities seeking billions of dollars to pay for damages caused by climate change. The suit against BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell asserts that they are the largest contributors to climate change and that they should bear the brunt of paying for the costs of protecting city infrastructure from rising seas and extreme weather. ‘Defendants are collectively responsible, through their production, marketing and sale of fossil fuels, for over 11 percent of all the carbon and methane pollution from industrial sources that has accumulated in the atmosphere since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution,’ lawyers for the city said in a complaint filed in Manhattan late Tuesday. ‘Defendants are also responsible for leading the public relations strategy for the entire fossil fuel industry, downplaying the risks of climate change and promoting fossil fuel use despite the risks,’ they said. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, contends that the companies marketed and sold fossil fuel products despite knowing for decades that they would negatively impact coastal areas.”
Pakalolo writes—Climate Change May Have Helped Spark Iran’s Protests: “E&E News reports that the recent nation wide protests in Iran have parallels with what has occurred in Syria. Iran has been dealing with climate change enhanced droughts since the 1990’s. A severe drought, mismanaged water resources and dust storms diminished Iran's economy in recent years, according to experts who study the region. While the protests are largely driven by resistance to the country's hardline conservative government, such environmental factors might have contributed to the largest protests inside Iran in years. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad understood that climate change and water mismanagement was ravaging family farms, and his government provided subsidies to families who struggled to put food on the table, said Amir Handjani, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center. When the current president, Hassan Rouhani, signaled that he would reduce those benefits, enraged Iranians across the nation's arid countryside joined the wave of protests. ‘You have climate change, shortage of water, they can't grow their crops, and now they're getting their cash handouts taken away,’ said Handjani. ‘It's a panoply of issues coming together at once’.”
Mark E Andersen writes—It is damn cold ... but that does not mean climate change does not exist: “I live in Wisconsin, and if you are not aware, it has been damn cold here over the last couple weeks. Unlike the current White House resident, I do not think this makes global warming a Chinese hoax. But then I also do not believe every conspiracy theory someone floats by me. I live in a city, Madison, built on four lakes, Monona, Mendota, Waubesa, and Wingra (and Kegonsa if you want to include all the lakes in the chain). The University of Wisconsin—Madison sits on the shores of Lake Mendota, and because of that, Lake Mendota is very likely the most studied body of water in the world. [...] In Trump’s world, because there is lake ice, there can be no climate change. The lake ice records tell a much different story. This record shows that the 10 longest periods of ice cover all occurred more than 100 years ago, while seven of the 10 shortest ice covers all happened inside the last 50 years—the four shortest ever within the last 25 years. When averaged, this record shows a long-term downward trend in the length of time that Lake Mendota is ice covered to where it is now19 days shorter than a century ago. In a typical winter these days, the ice on Lake Mendota lasts only three months compared to four months 150 years ago.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Governor Jerry Brown Remains Silent As Delta Smelt Nears Extinction: “The abundance of Delta smelt recorded in the state’s annual fall midwater survey (FMWT) in the estuary is the lowest in the survey’s 50-year history, despite a record water year in Northern California. To make things even worse, the results of the survey were announced as the Trump administration aims to increase pumping and take other measures to “maximize water deliveries” for Central Valley Project irrigators. On December 29, the Bureau of Reclamation announced its intention in the Federal Register to increase Delta water exports to San Joaquin Valley growers, in spite of the Delta smelt nearing the abyss of extinction. In the wake of this environmental crisis, Restore the Delta and other environmental watchdog groups and reporters are wondering, ‘Where is Governor Brown?’”
Dan Bacher writes—RTD: Act Now - If the Delta Smelt Goes, So Will the SF Bay-Delta Estuary: “The Delta smelt could be the first fish species to become extinct in the United States since the Endangered Species Act was signed in 1973. The Trump Administration’s recent announcement to increase Delta exports to Central Valley farmers poses an imminent threat to the emblematic California fish species under the watch of Governor Brown. With only two Delta smelt identified in the last fish survey, state and federal agencies need to focus time, money, and energy on restoring smelt populations instead of turning up the pumps. The Delta smelt is our small but mighty canary in the coal mine; it is an indicator of the health of the Delta ecosystem. If it goes, the future impacts to the health of humans and to other Delta fish and wildlife would be devastating. We can’t let this happen under our watch. In the wake of this environmental crisis, we need to push our elected officials, regardless of their past or current behaviors, to speak up against the Trump Administration’s plan. If we remain silent, we become complicit in the first extinction of a fish species since the enactment of the Endangered Species Act.”
Dan Bacher writes—North Coast groups, fishermen slam Trump plan to open offshore drilling in federal waters: “While there are lots of offshore rigs pumping oil under existing leases in federal and state waters off Southern California, fishermen, tribal leaders and environmentalists have prevented the oil industry from drilling oil off the Northern California Coast — and they want to keep it that way forever. The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), the North Coast Environmental Center (NEC) and the Humboldt Baykeeper issued a joint statement blasting President Donald Trump’s plan to open offshore oil drilling off the North Coast. ‘Trump will have to go through us first,’ they pledged.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - rare winter Barn Swallow: “Reinforcing my certainty that you won’t see cool things if you don’t go outside and look, I present a first-for-me, a Barn Swallow in January! I was excited enough at the time to stand out in the increasing rain and dark to watch it, and try to catch a photo. The one above isn’t the best, but it shows the nice wintry rainy sunset out there at the beach, at 4:05pm on January 4. Barn Swallows are summer birds for us in North America. They show up in my neighborhood in April or so, nest and raise babies, then depart en masse in September. For some reason this swallow missed the convoy. [...] Barn Swallows have the widest distribution of any kind of swallow, worldwide.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
RandW writes—Support The Most Important Clean Energy Bill you never heard of: CA's SB100 - Twitterstorm Monday: “Want 100% clean energy? Tweet on Monday, Jan 8th to make a difference. California legislation (#SB100) will commit the state to reaching 100% zero carbon electrical power by 2045, joining Hawaii on the road to 100%. The bill passed the CA Senate in 2017 and now has to get out of the more moderate Assembly. Local 350 groups and many other organizations across California are working hard in a statewide coalition to pass this bill this year. Join us on Twitter on Monday, Jan. 8th, for a large twitterstorm from 1-4pm PST go to #ActonSB100 and @righttozero for a twitter chat with some awesome experts from 1-2pm including: Vien Truong, CEO, Green for All; Bonnie Holmes-Gen, Am Lung Assoc of CA; Todd Gloria, State Assemblyperson; and, Dan Kammen, energy expert at UC Berkeley. And yes, we welcome tweets even from outside of Calif to our Governor (@jerrybrowngov) the author of the bill (@kevindeleon) and others mentioned in this nifty Twitterstorm Guide (that may be useful to you if you ever want to organize a twitterstorm) developed for our coalition by Earth Justice and Rally Communications.”
ENERGY
Fossil Fuels
Mark Sumner writes—Donald Trump and Rick Perry's plan to save coal gets shut down hard by Trump-appointed regulators: “Last fall, Donald Trump dumped the Clean Power Plan and replaced it with a new proposal that would have forced energy companies to keep large amounts of coal power in the mix. The plan, authored by Secretary of … what department was that again? Rick Perry, required that the electrical grid depend heavily on plants which kept a 90-day supply of energy “on site.” And the way the rules defining on site were written, wind was out, solar was out … even natural gas was out. Only coal and nuclear plants could fit the guidelines. The plan made little sense. It would have kept the price of coal artificially high, forced utilities to keep aging, highly-polluting plants on line beyond their projected lifetimes, and prevented companies from dealing with a rapidly-changing market where gas, wind, and solar are all able to out-compete the massive investments needed for a new coal plant. On Monday, federal regulators agreed.”
Meteor Blades writes—In brazen partisan move, Zinke exempts Florida coastal waters from oil and gas drilling plan: “Less than a week after announcing the Trump regime’s radically aggressive plan to open up 98 percent of U.S. coastal waters to drilling for oil and gas, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said Tuesday after meeting with Republican Gov. Rick Scott that offshore Florida would be excluded from the plan. His brief statement is here. Like Scott, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, and 20 members of the 27-member Florida congressional delegation had also voiced strong opposition to the plan. But Nelson is wary: Mr. Nelson criticized the move as political posturing, and said he did not believe Mr. Zinke would fully exempt Florida from the plan. Governor Scott is expected to challenge Mr. Nelson for his Senate seat in November. “’ have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts,’ Mr. Nelson said in a statement. ‘But now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida’s coast and four days later agrees to ‘take Florida off the table’? I don’t believe it. This is a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott’.”
Hammerhand writes—More carbon means more heat. More heat means climate change: “Megatons of energy, in the form of heat from our sun, are added to our atmosphere's collective energies every day. Some of that heat radiates into space, and some is trapped by our atmosphere. More heat will be trapped by the system as more carbon dioxide is added to the system. If we trap too much heat our climate will undergo catastrophic change. Each of those facts can be demonstrated using physics and chemistry. Or one could just look at the planet Venus. The only question is whether or not we’ve added enough carbon. By way of fossil fuel consumption we humans add millions of tons of carbon dioxide to our atmosphere every day, and most scientists studying our climate think those additions are too much and are currently causing that change.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
gmoke writes—DIY Solar Systems for Puerto Rico and Other Emergencies or Disasters: “Jehu Garcia is designing & explaining how to build DIY simple solar systems for Puerto Rico & other emergencies on Youtube: $400 solar system; $500 solar system. Solar IS Civil Defense. Practical, affordable, and available off the shelf or DIY. It’s not only for such places as Puerto Rico, the American Virgin Islands, or the other hurricane affected islands in the Caribbean. Everybody should have enough solar electricity for a light, a phone or a radio, to charge batteries to be prepared for disaster and emergency, especially since the cost is now from a day’s to a week’s wages even for the poorest of the poor. If people want to contribute to Puerto Rico’s efforts here are some of the other efforts on the ground that I’ve found: individual scale: Solar4PR Solar Puff Lights; Family, institution, and neighborhood scale: Family, institution, and neighborhood scale: Joseph Mangum of Sunnyside Solar of Brattleboro, VT; Barrio Solar.”
Pipelines & Other Fossil Fuel Transport
Colorado Blue writes—A giant oil tanker is on fire and could explode in the South China Sea: “This could be an environmental catastrophe, worse than Exxon Valdez or even the Gulf disaster because the ship, from from Iran to South Korea, is carrying condensate, according to The Washington Post, a form of ultra-light crude which is colorless, odorless and actually eats the bacteria we put into the ocean to limit oil spills. And, if the ship explodes, fumes would waft into the atmosphere potentially causing breathing problems for people on shore. The ship, Sanchi, collided with a freighter in a region that’s become so dangerous to shipping it’s now referred to as the ‘New Bermuda Triangle.’ And the ship is enormous, carrying 1,000,000 gallons of condensate.”
MINING
Dan Bacher writes—U.S. Supreme Court Slams Door on California Suction Dredge Mining: “The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a request from recreational gold miners to overturn a California Supreme Court decision upholding a statewide moratorium on recreational suction dredge mining.The court’s rejection of the request, effectively upholding California’s role in regulating small-scale gold mining, is an important victory for fish, water quality and tribal cultural sites. ‘Suction dredge mining is a continuation of the genocidal legacy of goldminers that started over 150 years ago,’ said Leaf Hillman, the Karuk tribe’s director of natural resources. ‘We pressed California to develop stronger protections for our fish, water and cultural sites only to have mining groups sue. Now the courts have clarified California’s authority to regulate this destructive hobby’.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
Mark Sumner writes—The Interior Department clamps down on science, only projects that fit Trump's 'priorities' allowed: “The Interior Department has introduced a new filter for research grants. Rather than evaluating grants over the rigor of their procedures or the potential importance of their results, the Ryan Zinke-headed department will now look for something they value much more highly—proposals that support Trump’s positions. The Interior Department has adopted a new screening process for the discretionary grants it makes to outside groups, instructing staff to ensure those awards “promote the priorities” of the Trump administration. Proposals are to be checked against a list of priorities created by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. That list includes ‘Utilizing our natural resources,’ and ‘Generating additional revenues.’ Zinke’s list also calls for weakening the Endangered Species Act and chopping regulations on companies that want to extract coal, uranium, timber—and every ounce of natural environment—from federal lands. Zinke’s proposals don’t just destroy the idea of funding projects based on their merit and potential impact, they distort the whole idea of ‘science.’ This isn’t just filtering out projects that don’t fit their priorities, it’s ensuring that any research done will fit those goals.”
AIR & WATER POLLUTION, TRASH, HAZARDOUS WASTE
randallt writes—North Carolina Open Thread: GenX Pollution Update: “This is a weekly feature of North Carolina Blue. We hope this regular platform gives readers interested in North Carolina politics a place to share their knowledge, insight and inspiration as we work on taking back our state from some of the most extreme Republicans in the nation.The more scientists look for GenX and other similar, potentially hazardous chemicals in North Carolina, the more they find. And next spring they could ramp up their efforts. The state’s environmental regulators at the Department of Environmental Quality took several actions in late 2017 against the company that has been accused of being behind much of the water pollution. And as 2018 rolls around, the legislature appears ready to give DEQ more direction on addressing GenX. State lawmakers have squabbled over some of the details on how to address GenX, a chemical used in Teflon whose health effects are largely untested. But disagreements aside, addressing water pollution is high on the list for lawmakers when they return briefly to Raleigh in January. There’s a bipartisan consensus in the General Assembly that more action is needed.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
SkepticalRaptor writes—Raw water – another ludicrous and dangerous fad: “I thought I've heard it all about food fads. GMO-free salt! Gluten-free cauliflower crust pizza. MSG-free honey. Raw milk diets. I suppose what we need next is an expensive gluten-free, GMO-free, MSG-free, pure organic raw water. And guess what? Yes, now you can buy that ludicrously expensive pure, untreated, unfiltered, unsterilized raw water. And put your life and your health at risk for absolutely no benefit but following another inane fad. I used to think that homeopathy was absurdly expensive, but ultimately useless water. It still is. But raw water comes close to homeopathy in being both ridiculous and ridiculously expensive. Let's look at the dumbest pseudoscientific food fad of 2018 – and it's only day 3.”
MISCELLANY
SouthernLeveller writes—Green Energy News, Week Two: “Since I’m not a stable genius, I’m foolish enough to try to continue this weekly diary series. … Renewable Energy Costs Will Continue to Fall. Solar costs have dropped 62% since 2009 and offshore wind costs have dropped in half “in recent years.” Subsidy free solar and wind farms are a thing and expect this to continue this year. Wind and solar are now cheaper than coal and oil and will only get more so. (My favorite 2 symbols of this reality: 1) Saudi Arabia uses solar power to operate some of its oil wells, now. 2) The Kentucky Coal Museum is solar powered.) China, the world’s biggest polluter, is the place moving fastest to renewables. That push to convert to solar, wind, and other renewables will continue and even increase in pace. This includes carbon pricing and 8 large scale carbon capture and storage projects. China also hopes to become the world’s leading manufacturer of electric cars.”