This is the 555th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the April 14 Spotlight. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
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OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
Laurence Lewis writes—The last time atmospheric carbon dioxide was this high humans didn't exist: “In 2013, atmospheric carbon dioxide broke 400 parts per million for the first time in human history. Just a year later, atmospheric carbon dioxide averaged that for an entire month. And now?The average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 410.31 parts per million (ppm) for the month of April, according to the Keeling Curve measurement series made at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. This marks the first time in the history of the Mauna Loa record that a monthly average has exceeded 410 parts per million. This also represents a 30-percent increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the global atmosphere since the Keeling Curve began in 1958. In March, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego observed the 60th anniversary of the data series, the first measurements of which were 315 ppm.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Our bloom is gone. We are the fruits thereof*: “The naked trees of February are dressed in their seasonal leaves now, hugging hopeful fruits to their woody hearts. Spring moves onward. Flowers from my February 20th Daily Bucket Why trees do it naked are the baby fruits of today. Bright new leaves still burst from a few trees. A fig I never saw in flower (neither did Linneaus) shyly clutches her fruits. [...] Plum tree flowered lushly before I was sure it was plum. I knew it was some Prunus,which includes cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds. I was fairly sure it wasn’t cherries (based on leaf shape). Our almond flowers have pink centers, some have entirely pink flowers as do peaches — eliminating them.”
RonK writes—The Daily Bucket: A Creek Preservation Project on Earth Day 2018 & When is a plant a weed? “There were so many Earth Day activities to attend that I had some difficulty choosing which to spend my day with. I chose to go with the Whatcom Land Trust that has preserved over 20,000 acres from Farm land to salmon spawning habitat, to watersheds, to river corridors, to old growth forests and parks and has facilitated preservation of thousands more acres. At least part of the reason I chose this site for my Earth Day activity was the promised magnificent views of Mt. Baker from along the creek. It was the right decision — see above photo. [...] Our work site was Canyon Creek, a Nooksack River tributary that is an important salmon and trout spawning stream that is subject to spring time floods after large snow melts. Typically the floods occur after mud slides dam the creek and then burst. The mudslides are at least partially man-made from over logging the steep hillsides above the creek. The State and County have expended a great deal of effort and money to mitigate the floods as they fill the creek with silt and literally muddy up the spawning beds. Also, there are recreational housing developments close by and owners were concerned that the creek erosion from the floods would get too close to their vacation homes.”
matching mole writes—Dawn Chorus: White Bird: “This is a diary about white birds. It is filled with rampant speculation. Colorful birds catch our eyes: red cardinals, blue jays, orange orioles, purple finches. We have ideas about why these bright colors exist (mate choice and other social interactions) and the mechanisms that produce them (pigments derived from carotenoids in food, structural colors). Brown and black birds are everywhere, their color derived from variants of the pigment melanin. Brown has obvious advantages for camouflage. Black can be a story for another day. But what about white birds?”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - sweet golden cottonwood season: “I almost missed it, being away for much of April: the sweet golden season of the Black Cottonwoods in my neighborhood. When this tree leafs out in spring its new foliage opens up as soft delicate sheets in shiny golden hues. Yes, in fall, the abundant spent leaves that drop form drifts of yellow, but they are dull and crumbly then. These new leaves glow. [...] Black Cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa, is a member of the same plant genus as Quaking Aspens and Lombardy Poplars. Like most Populus trees, cottonwoods have leaves that flutter in a breeze due to their flattened petioles (leaf stems). Cottonwood leaves are heart-shaped. Cottonwoods prefer damp soil, such as this wetland site behind the beach. A century ago a drainage channel was dug out between what’s now a marshy pond (where chorus frogs nest in spring and trumpeter swans roost in winter) down to the beach. Dirt was pushed up high enough above the water table to build a few houses on. Somebody planted a line of cottonwoods along the driveway next to the drainage channel long enough ago so the trees are very tall and their bark is furrowed.”
PHScott writes—The Daily Bucket: Wildflower Heaven in the Florida Pinelands and Savannas: “A photo-heavy bucket from a Saturday hike down SR-65 in Liberty County in the Apalachicola National Forest. It’s mostly pine trees along this road to the coast and most folks are speeding too fast to see the beauty flowering by the 2 lane road but this is your chance. [...] Mowing is an issue. Some in Liberty county like their backwoods county just the way it is and don’t care for plant-loving botanists from over in the big city of Tallahassee telling them when they can and can’t mow the roadways. It’s dangerous if that grass grows up; why there might be a deer or bear hiding behind a clump and ready to jump out and cause an accident (yes, this was said in a county meeting). I think thru the hard work and continued effort by Ms. Eleanor D. an agreement has been reached for mowing.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Could Climate Concern Be Part of a Post-Trump Conservative Rebirth? “Yesterday, E&E ran a story about Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, a supposedly rare Republican who accepts climate science. Instead of embracing any sort of climate friendly policies, however, Cassidy prefers to throw his weight behind fossil fuels--specifically natural gas. In practice, this is hardly different from denial. After all, if your answer to the problem of climate change is to burn more fossil fuels, you’re clearly in denial. Regardless, Cassidy gets praise from a fellow fossil-fuel state Senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who told E&E that ‘Republicans have just veered away’ from climate change and ‘ceded that as an issue to the Democrats.’ Bob Inglis, former South Carolina Representative and current crusader for climate-conscious conservatism, closes out the story by predicting that the current GOP platform of ‘populist nationalism will [be] found out to be snake oil. And when it is, there will be a rebirth of conservatism.’But per Inglis, why does conservatism need a rebirth, and per Murkowski, why did Republicans cede the issue to the Democrats?”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Walter Einenkel writes—Pakistan hit 122.3°F this week and that's a scary record for April: “According to the New York Times, temperature highs in Nawabshah, Pakistan, have not dropped below 113°F all week. The rest of Pakistan and India have also seen triple digit numbers as they have been experiencing what is being politely called a ‘heat wave.’ A large area of high pressure over the Indian Ocean, known as a heat dome, is to blame. Another heat dome brought 113.9-degree temperatures to Nawabshah in March, setting a national record for that month. Several other countries in Asia also broke their heat records for March. And temperatures will only increase as spring turns to summer. According to Al Jazeera, the city of Nawabshah reached a temperature of 122.3° F on Monday, making this is a ‘global record’ for the month of April. Yay?”
Pakalolo writes—Unprecedented squall of powerful dust storms leaves trail of destruction in N. India: “The Hindustan Times reports on freakish dust storms, accompanied with heavy rainfall and hail, that struck North and Northwestern India over the past few days (including the capital of New Delhi a city of extreme disparity between rich and poor). Dust storms in this area of India are not uncommon during the dry season with ‘winds picking up desert sands from Iran and spraying them across Pakistan and India at high speeds.’ The chain of thunderstorms were described by Mahesh Palawat a meteorologist at Skymet Weather as ‘a freak incident. Dust storms are usually not this intense, nor do these systems cover such a large area.’ The dust particles from these storms are not coarse like sand, but father the fine powdery dust found in a vacuum cleaner. A chain of powerful thunderstorms, a freak pre-monsoon phenomenonthat experts blamed on a confluence of three weather factors, pounded parts of north and north-west India overnight Wednesday, killing at least 117 people and leaving a trail of destruction in at least six states. The squall of storms had wind speeds of 80 mph as it barreled over the area, damaging homes, buildings, crops, uprooting trees and creating power outages.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Santa Clara Valley Water District Votes 4-3 to Support Jerry Brown's Twin Tunnels Project: “Despite overwhelming opposition by district ratepayers, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) Board of Directors today voted 4 to 3 to fully participate in Governor Jerry Brown’s controversial Delta Tunnels project. Directors Keegan, Kremen, Estremera, and Hsueh voted in support of the project, while Director Varela, Vice Chair LeZotte, and Chair Santos voted against the project. During their vote on a 14 point memorandum, the board did not commit to a specific cost share today, but plans to revisit the proposed $650 million financial commitment at a later date. Today’s decision conflicts with the resolution the board approved in October to only back a single tunnel project. In the ensuing months, the Brown administration, after last fall supporting a phased project proposing the construction of a single tunnel now and a second tunnel later, has put the Twin Tunnels project back on the table.”
Dan Bacher writes—Groups Accuse Metropolitan Water District of Violating Brown Act, Jeopardizing Tunnels Vote: “On the eve of tomorrow’s vote on the Delta Tunnels by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, two groups today accused the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California’s Board of Directors of ‘blatantly violating’ the Brown Act, the state’s landmark open government law, by ‘making decisions behind closed doors’ before a public vote on the multi-billion dollar tunnels project. In a letter, Food & Water Watch and The First Amendment Coalition called on the Metropolitan Water District to ‘formally withdraw’ its commitment to finance the tunnels, or risk a lawsuit to nullify the vote. MWD is one of the key financial backers of the California WaterFix, a project that proposes the construction of two massive 35-mile long tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest and most significant estuary on the West Coast of the Americas.”
ENERGY
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Lakota Peoples Law Project writes—Petition: Green the Rez — Support Energy Sovereignty For Standing Rock! “In 2016, the world stood in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the Dakota Access pipeline. Now, as oil flows under Lake Oahe, tribal members still suffer from a lack of sovereignty over their own energy future. The tribe currently pays some of the highest electricity costs in North and South Dakota. Additionally, during harsh winter months, neither state regulates its utilities to prevent electricity shut-offs. In a place where money is scarce and temperatures can drop to -40°F, this bureaucratic negligence constitutes a threat to human life and an insult to the original peoples of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires). Fortunately, there's a solution. Renewable energy can deliver reasonable rates and local tribal control over the power supply. The Lakota People’s Law Project is working in concert with Standing Rock’s leadership and activists (and representatives from MIT Solve) to bring renewable energy to the reservation, and to encourage the states of North and South Dakota to start looking forward.”
ChesterEnergy writes—Rewriting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Jokes for the Clean Energy Crowd: “The White House correspondents’ dinner took place last week, with duties of the keynote ‘roaster’ of the President, his staff, and the press at large being bestowed upon Michelle Wolf. [...] Regardless of how the event is received, the White House correspondents’ dinner remains a fascinating look into the interactions between the media with the public officials they are tasked with covering. However, the parts of the government tasked with overseeing energy policy were largely left out of Wolf’s speech. While embattled Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt was the focus of one punchline, the Paris Climate Agreement got name-checked, and the monologue was closed out by highlighting the environmental injustice that is still going on with the lack of clean water supply in Flint, Michigan, I was selfishly hoping there would be more comedic fodder for those of us in the energy crowd. With that in mind, I went through Wolf’s set (full transcript here) and changed up some of her punchlines so the energy communities could get in on the laughs.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
Hunter writes—EPA chief Scott Pruitt may not be able to count on Trump's support much longer: “To put an exclamation point behind just how many different scandals Trump EPA head Scott Pruitt has gotten himself mired in: even Trump's White House aides are fretting that he's making them look bad. Senior White House staff members are encouraging President Trump to fire Scott Pruitt, his embattled Environmental Protection Agency chief, according to two top administration officials. While Mr. Trump has until now championed Mr. Pruitt, the officials say the president’s enthusiasm may be cooling because of the ongoing cascade of alleged ethical and legal missteps.
Over the past few months, as Mr. Pruitt’s problems have mounted — he is now the subject of at least 11 federal investigations and [...] Eleven! The man's actions have resulted in 11 different federal investigations! The list of his transgressions is beginning to look like the devil's own shopping list.”
Mark Sumner writes—As more documents emerge, the evidence is clear: Scott Pruitt is even worse than we knew: “After the EPA refused to comply with a FOIA request, the Sierra Club took them to court; the result is a more than 10,000 page archive of documents having to do with Scott Pruitt’s activities since he took over as Donald Trump’s EPA Administrator. It has scheduling information for the days that were blank on Pruitt’s public calendar, and details on who he met with in his cone-of-silence equipped office. And those documents are producing revelation after revelation showing that, incredibly, Scott Pruitt is even worse than anyone believed. In addition, Buzzfeed freed up another cache of documents showing that Pruitt’s famously ‘unprecedented’ security concerns amounted to a grand total of three threats — one of which consisted, in its entirety, of someone drawing a mustache on Pruitt’s picture. And even Democratic senators have raised the issue that everything they’ve been able to discover provides no excuse for Pruitt’s extravagant actions and lavish spending. What the documents have mostly demonstrated is an incredible effort to hide what Pruitt is doing and provide excuses for his over-the-top behavior.”
Mark Sumner writes—Scott Pruitt is not just corrupt, he's teaching classes in corruption—to corporate execs: “The continued presence of Scott Pruitt as administrator of the EPA is the clearest sign that the rule of law and principles of common decency have been suspended. Pruitt has been proudly front and center for a greatest hits of scandal: Pay for play from lobbyists? Of course. Patronage for his friends? Big time. Lying to Congress? Constantly. Living the high life on the taxpayer dime? Like no one before. But as much as Scott Pruitt has made himself the poster child for Corrupt and Proud, he’s not stopped there. Because Pruitt is showing corporate utility executives the way to be more corrupt.”
Sher Watts Spooner writes—EPA chief Scott Pruitt is one hot mess of corruption: “A new scandal about the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency emerges almost daily. If you miss one, don’t worry—there will be a new one out the next day with some other piece of corrupt malfeasance, whether it’s a shady deal, a lavish taxpayer-funded trip, or undue influence by fossil fuel lobbyists. The latest scandal involves Pruitt’s desire to be a world traveler without paying for it himself. He asked aides to rustle up reasons for him to visit multiple countries, ostensibly for environmental reasons but really so Pruitt could push the U.S. business interests of influential outsiders. At least a dozen nations were on his travel bucket list on six continents—guess there’s no profit with penguins. Never mind that the guy who is supposed to be in charge of protecting the U.S. environment has no business visiting a new country every month to peddle liquefied natural gas or water purification products.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Pruitt’s EPA is a “Dry Wall Prison” of His own Creation, But Maybe We Can Move Him Out? “According to a new study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, those who are concerned about climate change are more likely to support federal policies, yet it’s the skeptics who say they do the most, personally, to help the environment. This apparent hypocrisy has been welcome news to the deniersphere, which has excerpted Pacific Standard’s coverage of the study all over the place. The study suggests ‘moral licensing’ may be at play to explain why the environmentally-concerned reported lower levels of public transit use, recycling and other sorts of relatively minor actions.We’d like to suggest a simpler explanation, a hunch one based on our experiences with deniers and their indifference to the truth: they lied about their pro-environment actions, inflating their rates so that they look better. After all, if they’ll lie to themselves about the threat of climate change, they’ll have no problem lying to the researchers to make the alarmists look bad. And on the other hand, those most concerned about climate change are going to recognize how trivial the personal activities are, given the massive systemic changes needed to address the problem.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Joan McCarter writes—Conservative groups pan farm bill for spending too much on farms: “Some of the Republican hardliners in the House are warming up to the farm bill because of the massive cuts it makes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. Not so fast, say some conservative groups, for whom making people go hungry just isn't good enough. ‘There's not a whole lot of excitement around this bill,’ among GOP conservatives, Dan Holler, vice president of Heritage Action, said last week at a briefing for reporters. The pile-on began on Tuesday at the briefing by the Heritage Foundation, where the group’s political arm, Heritage Action, formally came out against the bill. On Wednesday the group joined about a dozen other right-leaning, free-market organizations in writing to Congress to denounce the legislation. And on Thursday, two conservative groups linked to the influential Koch brothers — Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners — penned a letter to Congress that said the bill moves the system farther away from free-market principles.”
MISCELLANY
Xaxnar writes—Sierra Club to New York State: Don't Do It: “The Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club has issued a call to send in comments to New York State’s Adirondack Park Agency opposing plans to make it easier to convert Adirondack rail corridors into trails. The State Supreme Court in September 2017, ruled in favor of the railroad, preventing DEC from beginning the track removal. Now, the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) has proposed in a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) to amend the State Land Master Plan (SLMP) for the Adirondacks to redefine the ‘Travel Corridor’ classification in such a way that will allow DEC to remove the tracks, essentially an end-run around the judge's ruling. Background: The rail corridor runs from Utica, NY all the way to Lake Placid, NY. It is owned by New York State from a point near Remsen, NY going north. In 2016 New York State pushed through a plan to convert the last 34 miles of the line from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid into a multi-user trail. (This 2015 diary, although outdated in some details, describes the situation.)”