This is the 563rd edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the June 23 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
Pakalolo writes—The Humboldt Marten, nature's adorable serial killer, faces threat from cannabis farms: “It’s a kitten that thinks it’s a honey badger. It will crawl right into a bee nest and eat the honeycomb and larvae, getting its face stung the whole time. Tierra Curry, Center for Biological Diversity. The secretive kitten-sized carnivore was thought to have gone extinct in 1947. But in 1996 the small mammal, full of cuteness with a button nose and bushy tail, resurfaced again, and is now estimated to have a population of less than 100. Historically the coastal marten, also known as the Humboldt marten, were hunted for its mink-like fur and driven from its home in the ancient, over-logged coastal forests of Northern California. Related to minks and otters, the coastal marten survives today in only three isolated pockets of old growth forest and dense coastal shrub. [...] Besides logging and hunting/trapping, other threats to the marten include wildfire, the loss of genetic diversity due to population separation through forest fragmentation, a tiny overall population size, climate change, and collision with vehicles. In addition a new threat has emerged, marijuana cultivation in northern California, both legal and illegal, which results in exposure to rat killer and other pesticides according to the Center for Biological Diversity.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Despite Denial, Thirty Years of Climate Projections Still Match Observations: “Saturday was the 30th anniversary of the day Dr. James Hansen famously testified to Congress on the dangers of climate change. A variety of great pieces that ran this week, from the AP, Guardian and others have shown how Dr. Hansen’s predictions back in 1988 have largely--and unfortunately--come true. Deniers, of course, trumpeted otherwise. They’re wrong, but that didn’t stop The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed on Friday from Cato’s Pat Michaels and Ryan Maue that claims because the Earth is “only modestly warmer,’ the ‘rapid warming [Hansen] predicted isn’t happening.’ Maue and Michaels point, obliquely, to the pause as an excuse, claiming that aside from the 2015-16 El Nino, temperature hasn’t increased since 2000. Not sure what data they’re looking at, because it definitely has. There’s also the fact that 2015 would have been record hot even without that year’s El Nino, and 2016 would not have been record hot without climate change.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Jen Hayden writes—Good news! The live bear cams are back at Katmai National Park: “It’s that time of year! The bears are making their way to the Brooks River falls and other feeding areas of Katmai National Park in Alaska. The great news is, you don’t have to get close to become bear food yourself, you can watch on the five live bear cams throughout the park. Here’s the Brooks Falls live cam where, at the time of this post, only scrawny brown bear is feeding and waiting for the salmon. In the coming days and weeks, the salmon will literally be jumping into their mouths at the top of the falls. If you want/need a break from the news, check in on nature and the bears of Katmai.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Freshwater eels are ingesting too much of our flushed cocaine and it's hurting them: “Freshwater eels may already have the face of someone who has done too much cocaine—but that may be less of a joke than it seems. A new study exposes the potential environmental costs of drugs like cocaine, even in trace amounts, making their way into our planet’s fresh waterways. Focusing on the endangered European freshwater eels, researchers first focused on the levels of pollution these animals faced. ‘Data show a great presence of illicit drugs and their metabolites in surface waters worldwide,’ says Anna Capaldo, a research biologist at the University of Naples Federico II and the lead author of the study. She adds that water near densely populated cities is even worse, with some research showing particularly high concentrations in the Thames River near London’s Houses of Parliament and in the Italian Amo River near Pisa of leaning tower fame. Researchers took eels, gave them trace amounts of the drug, and watched them. While the coked-up eels were predictably more “hyperactive” than their sober counterparts, they seemed relatively healthy. Unfortunately, those looks were deceiving, according to researchers.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - injured elephant seal recovers on the beach: “Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest. In all the years I’ve been walking along my four local beaches, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen seals hauled out here. A road runs along most of these beaches giving easy access for humans and dogs. While seals and sea lions frequent these waters, sometimes quite close to shore, they prefer to haul out on remote inaccessible offshore rocks and islands. That’s why it was so notable to see one on my favorite local beach last month — and even more surprising to see an elephant seal! This seal was a female, lacking the big ‘trunk nose’ of the males that gives them that name. […] Northern Elephant seals were nearly exterminated in the 19th c, slaughtered for their blubber, but a few isolated populations survived off Mexico, and with official protection by both Mexico and the US in the 1920s, the elephant seal population recovered (blog.nature.org/…). All they needed was an end to hunting. Their rookeries are in California and Mexico — except for one recent northern outlier in the Salish Sea.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - heron grace: “A Great Blue Heron occupied the beach next to the road a few days ago. Perhaps because I stopped and got off my bicycle to watch it, the heron flew past me to another spot on the beach. Those huge wings and big feet could be awkward to manage, and yet somehow it unfolds, swings and sweeps itself lightly into motion and then to stillness again.
“I was ready to take some video of it flying when it decided to do so, but my arms got tired waiting. The patience and quiet deliberation of a heron is far beyond mine. Lest one think a heron is zoning out in its quietness, all you have to do is watch its face to see how intently it’s watching everything, including you. Alert in its stillness.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - a committee, not a wake nor a kettle (of vultures): “I expected to see them feasting, when I heard there were a lot of turkey vultures gathered in field of cows and sheep. But once I got there, all the vultures were resting quietly, mostly up high, occasionally flying from one perch to another. Hence, a committee, not a wake (a group of vultures feeding) nor a kettle (a group in the air). Nevertheless, it was pretty cool to see so many in one place on this rainy summer day. Hanging out in a fir tree.”
Kestrel writes—Dawn Chorus: Birds of the World Cup - Gooooooaaaaallllll!: “Let’s take a look at some of the national birds from World Cup countries. Starting off with Japan, the beautiful Green Pheasant is their national bird. This seems fitting. It’s a gorgeous bird, full of color and splendor, and seems to match the formal elegance that we associate with the old world imperial country. Let’s move on to Sweden. Sweden played Germany this morning (Saturday) in a match I watched from start to finish. Sweden lost and is now headed home, out of the competition altogether. Sweden, your play was uninspired and unimaginative. Just like your national bird, the Eurasian Blackbird. I mean, c’mon. A blackbird? Could you possibly have chosen a more boring designee? Worse, Sweden didn’t even HAVE a national bird until 2010. So they decided to let their citizens vote on what bird should hold the title. So, of course, a bunch of non-birders chose the most common bird they see on every street corner and park in the country to be their national bird. Like I said, no imagination. Yawn.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Mountain lion kittens and mama claim the Simi Hills near LA: "With the Simi Hills now destined to be open space, rocket engine testing is over and industrial toxins will be cleared out. That’s good news for the kittens born there this spring and the other 50 or so mountain lions known to live in the Los Angeles urban-wildland habitat. The four female kittens were born about five weeks ago to mama P-62. Their den was found at the Santa Susana Field Lab in the Simi Hills, a small area of habitat wedged between the larger Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountain ranges. It is an important corridor linking the Santa Monica Mountains with the extensive undeveloped habitat to the north that also holds the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. Los Angeles is one of only two mega-cities with big cats living within the urban area. (Mumbai, India is the other.) [...]Researchers visited the den while the mother was away. The 4 to 5 pound babies had a general health check, blood samples taken, and were given ear tags labelling them P-66 through P-69.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Lean into the heat: “Soft delicate spring greens and gentle sunbeams transitioned into the firm glare of summer sun. Spring flowers faded and summer’s soldiers take over. The strong yellows of sunflowers and enduring lavender of coyote mint swell into bud, bloom bloom bloom and then fade into fruits.”
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--Tomorrow I'll Fly: “For over 99 million years, inch-long frogs have stalked the earth’s rain forests, striking terror into the lives of smaller critters. This Spring, the tiny frogs continue their ruthless harvesting of mosquitoes, gnats, and other annoying bugs, from the rain forests of the Pacific Northwest. In the Pacific Northwest,the resident tiny frogs are Chorus frogs (Pseudadris Hylidae). The fearless chorus frogs have once again found new mates during their annual gatherings, and evaded the onslaught of predatory invasive bullfrogs. The Chorus frogs laid eggs in my Backyard Pond. The eggs hatched. A new generation of tadpoles has begun its metamorphic 16-week countdown. As Bastille Day approaches, the tadpoles begin to sport legs and technically become froglets, for the 99-millionth time.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Pakalolo writes—Barents Sea seems to have crossed a climate tipping point: “Planetary climate change has already had significant observable effects on the environment, particularly in the ice covered regions of the world known as the cryosphere. Species are migrating (including humans) poleward, glaciers have shrunk and are receding rapidly, ice shelves in the Antarctic are collapsing, ice in rivers and lakes are breaking up earlier. These are all the effects that were predicted by climate scientists that have now come to pass: loss of sea ice, intense and deadly heat waves, changing rainfall patterns and accelerating sea level rise. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as any other place on Earth, and is reeling from the heat in spectacular ways. The Barents Sea is located in the Arctic Ocean just north of Norway and Russia, and has abundant marine life with hydrocarbons under its shallow shelf. This region is already being exploited by the fishing and fossil fuel industries. John Timmer, writing for ars Technica, notes that we have just passed a tipping point in the Barents Sea.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Climate Intersectionality from Another Angle: Cornwall and Far-Right Christian Denial: “Last week we took a long look at the intersectionality of climate change. There’s a lot to say on this topic (just yesterday, we saw calls from climate justice organizations to join the informal #AbolishICE campaign), so we didn’t have time to touch on how deniers actively ignore intersectionality--and, in many cases, perpetuate the status quo. But since there’s already been a spate of bad news this week--on Tuesday, the Sierra Club pointed out that America is considering putting children in concentration camps with poisoned water, while tobacco and fossil fuel propagandist Steve Milloy celebrated the SCOTUS ruling on Trump’s Muslim Ban--it seems it’s time to take a look at how a very different sort of intersectional politics propagates denial. A pair of recent posts at WUWT deal with the fringe, far-right brand of (potentially co-opted) Christian evangelicalism that denies climate science and evolution: an Axis of Denial, so to speak.”
Kirk Herbertson via KRedford writes—Federal Court Dismisses Climate Lawsuit, Ruling that Oil Industry is Too Big to Fail: “A federal court this week dismissed a groundbreaking lawsuit by San Francisco and Oakland that would have forced some of the world’s largest oil companies to pay a portion of local taxpayers’ costs of adapting to climate change. U.S. District Judge William Alsup reasoned that climate change is a ‘worldwide problem’ that requires “a balancing of policy concerns–including the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions, our industrial society’s dependence on fossil fuels, and national security.’ For our legal analysis of the errors in the decision, click here. Judge Alsup’s reasons for dismissing the case are concerning. He acknowledged that the five oil companies being sued are ‘collectively responsible for over eleven percent of all carbon dioxide and methane pollution that has accumulated in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution.’ But he then concluded that fossil fuels are so essential to our economy that the oil industry cannot be held liable for any harm that their products cause. In other words, the oil and gas industry is ‘too big to fail’.”
Marco Simons via KRedford writes—Three Key Errors in First Decision Dismissing Climate Nuisance Lawsuits: “The San Francisco and Oakland climate cases were dismissed by federal judge William Alsup on Monday. Much has already been written – and much more will be – about the merits of this decision. I want to focus briefly on what I think are three key flaws in the decision. Judge Alsup divided the cities’ suit against five oil majors into two halves – claims harms from for fossil fuel production within the United States, and claims for harms from fossil fuel production outside the United States. In the first half, he ruled that the Clean Air Act displaces these claims – essentially, that because the CAA regulates emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, cities cannot sue for damages caused by climate change. I think this was wrong, because the CAA does not regulate the oil companies’ activities – under the CAA, the EPA cannot stop or even limit fossil fuel production. (Even if it did, the EPA has never actually regulated CO2 emissions. The Supreme Court only ruled that EPA had that authority in 2007, and EPA did not use the authority until it issued the Clean Power Plan in 2014 – which was immediately tied up in court, has never been implemented, and which current EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt plans to repeal.)”
Walter Einenkel writes—Trump's team floated the idea of getting rid of the word 'climate' from NOAA's mission statement: “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a very clear mission statement: Science, Service, and Stewardship. 1. To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts; 2.To share that knowledge and information with others; and 3.To conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. At least that is what it is supposed to be doing. With the new band of nihilist conmen in charge, anything and everything remotely positive is up for grabs. The acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere under Trump is Timothy Gallaudet. During a Powerpoint presentation, during a ‘vision summit’ at the Department of Commerce, Gallaudet vomited up the idea of deleting the word ‘climate’ from the mission statement. Gallaudet suggested that number one would become ‘to observe, understand and predict atmospheric and ocean conditions, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to protect lives and property, empower the economy, and support homeland and national security’.”
committed writes—Gallaudet says he was kidding about killing NOAA: “The head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently floated removing climate change from the agency’s mission. Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet gave the idea in a presentation to a summit organized by the Commerce Department, NOAA’s parent agency. [...] The full new mission, as proposed in Gallaudet’s presentation, would be “to observe, understand and predict atmospheric and ocean conditions, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to protect lives and property, empower the economy, and support homeland and national security.’ In a statement following UCS’s release of the presentation, Gallaudet downplayed the idea. ‘This presentation is a simplified draft for discussion [...] It was not intended to create change in NOAA mission or policy from what it was before. Any interpretation to the contrary is simply inaccurate.’ BULLSHIT!”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Pakalolo writes—Immense rains are causing more flooding in the Eastern US. New feedback from storm runoff: “Tim Craig and Angela Fritz, writing for The Washington Post, have a must read article titled ‘Immense rains are causing more flash flooding, and experts say it’s getting worse’. The story begins about how a warming earth is adding more moisture into the atmosphere sparking heavy rain with dangerous flooding in many parts of the United States, particularly in the eastern and mid Atlantic regions. This is obviously a global issue as well as rainfall patterns are beginning to dramatically change everywhere. Crain and Fritz also report on the disconnect in bible belt country regarding climate change enhanced rainfall patterns and faith. It is a disturbing read on why we appear to be doomed to a dystopian future due in part by the stubbornness and know nothing qualities of the typical, simple minded Trump voter. Their shocking distain for science, along with their political power over the rest of America, goes a long way to explain why they do not view global warming as the ghastly catastrophe that awaits us all.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Forest Service issues new permit for Nestlé corporation to withdraw water: “In a controversial move blasted by environmental groups, the U.S. Forest Service yesterday issued a new permit to Nestlé Corporation that allows the international water-bottling company to keep withdraw water from the San Bernardino National Forest despite evidence that its operations are draining spring-fed Strawberry Creek. ‘I am pleased to announce that I have signed the Decision Memo for the Nestlé Waters North America special use permit,’ said District Ranger Joseph Rechsteiner in a statement. ‘Based on my evaluation of the project record (including public comments, specialist reports, and consultation with other agencies) I have decided to approve the continued occupancy and use of National Forest System lands for the extraction and transmission of water using existing improvements, subject to resource protection measures designed to ensure compliance with the San Bernardino National Forest Land Management Plan.’ Rechsteiner said the initial permit term will be three (3) years, with the provision for annual permits for an additional two (2) years. The maximum permit term covered by this decision is five (5) years.”
Dan Bacher writes—Klamath Dam removal plan filed with federal government: “The Klamath River Renewal Corporation today announced that it has filed its plan to remove four four dams on the Klamath River, a move that would open the long-blocked tributaries of the Upper Klamath Basin watershed to king salmon, coho salmon and steelhead migration. Below is the news release from the Klamath River Renewal Corporation. [...] The Definite Plan is an approximately 2,300-page document that provides comprehensive analysis and detail on project design, deconstruction, reservoir restoration, and other post-deconstruction activities. KRRC also filed responses to FERC’s requests for additional information, including requests in FERC’s March 15, 2018 order, as a part of its regulatory review and approval process. Among the many topics covered in the Definite Plan are KRRC’s plans to: manage construction impacts, manage impacts to groundwater wells, perform flood-proofing, improve roads and bridges, provide recreation opportunities, replace the City of Yreka water line, protect aquatic resources, and provide for ongoing fish hatchery operations. The plan also provides updated information on project costs and risk management.”
BYPRODUCTS, TRASH, TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTE
AuntieB writes—Preparing for Plastic Free July: "This year our family is participating in Plastic Free July. In the month of July we want to use absolutely no single-use plastic, and we’ve been working toward that for a while now. With that in mind, we’ve been adjusting our consumption. For one week, we just wrote down everything we purchased or used that contained single use plastics. The list was prodigious. Laundry soap, shampoo, milk, cheese, grains, pastas, storage bags, plastic wrap, toothpaste, cleaning products, light bulb packaging… our list was dizzyingly long. Next, we researched alternatives. One was Bees Wraps to replace plastic wrap and plastic lunch bags. We also switched to a laundry powder. I tried making my own laundry soap, and it worked OK, but our water is very hard, and the soap seemed to either make clothes dingy over a few washings, or, if I increased the cleansers, make the darks more blotchy. Now I just get a commercial powder in a box. That wasn’t as easy as it sounds. Nearly every detergent in my small local store is liquid in a bottle, but I asked, and now they stock a couple of brands of powders in boxes too. I also could order big boxes from Amazon, but I do prefer to patronize my small, locally owned stores.”
ENERGY
Dan Bacher writes—Update: CA Senate Judiciary Committee approves controversial Western regional grid bill: “On June 26, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-2 to approve AB 813, a Governor Brown backed-bill that would dismantle the California Independent System Operator (CAIS) and replace it with a western regional electricity market under the control of the Trump administration’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara and Bill Monning voted no on the bill. ‘If we lose the last layer of protection we will have spent decades trying to create renewable energy future that will be obliterated,’ Jackson told the Committee why she was voting against the bill. ‘It’s critical that we maintain protections against an administration has shown it will undermine California’s energy and environmental goals.’ After the vote, the Aromas Progressive Action League - APAL, noted, ‘Well over 100 environmental organizations expressed concerns that AB-813 could undermine CCAs and California’s ability to set strong standards on climate emissions. If you contacted Monning or Jackson about AB-813, please consider letting them know that you appreciate their votes’.”
Fossil Fuels
Dan Bacher writes—109 elected officials sign letter to Jerry Brown urging him to phase out CA fossil fuel production: “Today 109 elected officials from 24 counties in California sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown calling for a statewide plan to phase out fossil fuel production in California. The letter was sent in anticipation of Brown’s Global Climate Action Summit this September 12-14, 2018 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. ‘Now is the time to address the true costs of oil and gas production on our communities and public health,’ the new group, Elected Officials to Protect California, explained on their website. ‘Fossil fuels cost Californians thousands of lives and billions of dollars in public health and climate damages each year. Elected officials across the state must stand together on this critical issue.’ The group said, “We must take the missing step of climate leadership and commit California to a plan for phasing out oil and gas production, starting with: • A halt to permitting of new oil and gas projects • A 2,500-ft public health drilling setback from homes, schools, farms, and other vulnerable areas • 100% clean energy, starting with investing in disadvantaged communities’.”
Dan Bacher writes—New map reveals massive number of offshore oil wells in California waters: “On January 4, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown joined Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Washington Governor Jay Inslee in condemning President Donald Trump's plan to expand oil and gas drilling in federal waters as ‘reckless’ and ‘short-sighted.’ Ironically, as the three Governors condemned Trump’s offshore drilling proposal it turns out time that California regulators under Jerry Brown have overseen a massive expansion of new offshore drilling in state waters in recent years — while a new map website reveals that Governor Jerry Brown controls four times as many offshore wells in state waters than Trump controls in federal waters.”
bluewill writes—Fine: Oil – before and after the November election: “The full article is here→ www.daily-times.com/...”The Trump Administration is moving towards less royalty rates on Federal land leases, less Bureau of Land Management discretion on Environmental Protection Act obstruction on the Application for Petroleum Drilling process, less coal and nuclear power generation decline, and less oil supply confidence in OPEC-Russia world price management. This is the thrust of the signature world energy domination policy of Secretary Ryan Zinke for the last 16 months. It accounts for the action of OPEC-Russia 10 days ago. Saudi Arabia led OPEC to increase oil production to respond to President Donald Trump, but averted a price shock with gradualism. More output from OPEC offers increased revenue in the very short term. It now faces an election to decide majority party control of Congress. Should the Democratic Party win at least in the House of Representatives, President Donald Trump will be set back on energy policy and its action realization. He will be forced to use executive power narrowly.”
Emissions Controls & Carbon Pricing
Hunter writes—Half of New York City's carbon emissions come from just 2% of the buildings—and Trump stands out: “A new report identifies a mere 2 percent of the buildings in New York City as being responsible for almost one-half of the city's carbon emissions. Surprise: It turns out that we can blame the Trump and Kushner families for this, too! Buildings for the ultra-rich are far bigger energy hogs than most of the city's other buildings, and Team Trump gets high marks in the things a building really, really doesn't want to get high marks in. For 157 West 57th Street, that figure came out to 287. Trump Tower hit 208. The Trump International Hotel & Tower reached 267. [Kushner's] 666 Fifth Avenue had 285. 15 Central Park West notched 222. The Baccarat soared to 386. Government sources peg the median energy use for New York office buildings atb186 kBtu per square foot, meaning these luxury hotels are somehow managing to be astonishingly inefficient. Or perhaps Trump Tower residents have been leaving their paper shredders running nonstop? ‘It’s the Trumps and the Kushners that are polluting this city,’ said Pete Sikora, the senior adviser at New York Communities for Change, the nonprofit that spearheaded the report. ‘We’re not a factory town in New York City, but if we were, our smokestacks would be buildings like Trump Tower’.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
webranding writes—My Carbon Footprint Is Much Smaller: “Folks have heard me mention here too many times about my house fire. House torn to the studs and rebuilt. What I have not talked about much was how much money I spent trying to make my house as ‘green’ and energy efficient as possible. From the insulation to the new HVAC unit, kitchen appliances, toilets, putting in an attic fan, I dipped pretty deep into my savings on top of what Allstate paid me to buy the best of the best. My parents looking from the outside in were confused by the money I spent. [...] I now have six months of results, in the form of my power/water bill (they are one bill from my little rural city). I’VE NOT HAD A BILL MORE THAN $97. A low of $83 this month. Keep in mind I have what was a five bedroom house. My bill used to be $150-$170 for the same time frame.”
Will Driscoll writes—With more solar and wind, North America’s grid is getting more reliable: “The North American electric grid’s annual checkup shows that it is becoming increasingly reliable, as solar and wind gain share, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). For solar, one grid reliability factor—frequency response—is of great interest because of concern, as stated in the report, that ‘a changing resource mix and increase in renewable resources’ may have a ‘potential impact on frequency response performance.’ Frequency response has steadily improved since 2013, as shown in the last two columns of this table (i.e., one or both measures are improving in each interconnection): The report notes that inverters from solar and wind farms now provide frequency support, alongside the frequency support that has traditionally been provided by synchronous inertia from fossil-fired generators. (See, for example, a report on solar and frequency support, prepared by California’s grid operator, First Solar, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratories.)”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Pruitt’s Condo Deal, Emails, Hurricane Coins and Retaliatory Firing Practices Coming Under Scrutiny: “Back in March, the EPA ordered a bunch of commemorative challenge coins to celebrate the agency’s response to last year’s hurricanes. EPA brass thought it would be a good idea to do this at a time when the agency was only just beginning to get a handle on the Harvey-flooded Houston Superfund site (that the press office attacked an AP reporter for covering)--and, of course, while places in Puerto Rico continued to suffer without power. Unsurprisingly, and like the news about the tragedy itself, this story has gotten overlooked by all the other Pruitt scandals. Remember that $50-a-night condo Pruitt rented from a couple of lobbyists? Remember how the lease for the condo originally named J. Steven Hart, whose firm lobbies the EPA, as the landlord, but then his name was scratched out and the name of his non-lobbyist wife was written in by hand? According to emails FOIA’d by Sierra Club, not only did Hart lobby the EPA, but his wife Vicki and Pruitt also apparently discussed hiring a family friend and recent college graduate at the agency.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Emails Continue to Reveal Conservative Attacks on Science at EPA: “Just because the White House didn’t let Pruitt run amok with the Red Team doesn’t mean he’s given up on appeasing his conservative denier base when it comes to attacking climate science. The batch of emails FOIA’d by the Sierra Club that’s been generating stories all month led to two more revelations this week about how the EPA tries to accommodate conservative deniers, even if it doesn’t always give them exactly what they want. On Tuesday, Politico reported that emails between EPA staff and Pruitt’s conservative allies showed how deniers sought to have a career staffer fired as a way to stall or stop the release of the National Climate Assessment. Lisa Matthews, who played key management role in the multi-agency process, was the target of this campaign. According to the emails, David Schnare and E&E Legal (a group known for weaponizing FOIA against climate scientists--which, by the way, recently imploded due to some very juicy intrapersonal drama) talked with representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) about it, and they brought the plan to the EPA. Fortunately, the scheme failed and the NCA was published without significant or obvious denial interference. (Some might tip their hat in thanks to the NYT’s coverage of the NCA draft for making it so that any political tampering would be easily noticed.)”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Heartland Wants to Abolish EPA for 50-State Committee. What Could Go Wrong, Besides Everything? ”Yesterday, the Heartland Institute’s environment site--which is usually ordered chronologically with new materials at the top--reposted a policy brief from 2014. The proposal? Replacing the EPA with a ‘Committee of the Whole of the 50 state environmental protection agencies.’ Eight years ago, this idea was a pipe dream. No policymaker in Washington would have seriously considered a plan to slash the EPA’s budget by 80 percent, eliminate staff from 15,000 to just 300 employees, and move the headquarters from DC to Topeka, Kansas. The brief, written by Heartland’s science director (lol k) Jay Lehr, claims that ‘today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups.’ This sentiment was, of course wrong in 2014, but it’s especially ironic today: the EPA is essentially now a subsidiary of the Kochs brothers, at least at the leadership level. (Note to career EPA staff who may see this: We love you, keep doing your job protecting Americans as best you can. And certainly don’t try and protect Pruitt, because if he’ll ‘ratfuck’ his loyal aides, there’s no telling what he’ll do to you.) But Pruitt’s dedication to polluters and their propagandists like Heartland means that while it may have just been an accident or tech glitch that reposted the policy brief atop the new material, there’s also a serious possibility that this is something it’s pushing in a serious fashion.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
kishik writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol 14.26 ~ The B Word: “** WARNING WARNING — THIS DIARY CONTAINS PHOTOS THAT SOME MAY FIND (FILL IN THE BLANK) ** I really wanted to present this diary without the warning. For most gardeners, the B word comes naturally to most of us. You can find them e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. So the warning are for those with B phobia. View below at your own risk. [...] Ok. Sorry about not being the map genius to do the click to enlarge trick! But hopefully you spotted the great Bugs I photographed in the garden. Whether pests or beneficial, they’re out there! How’s your garden growing? You can’t grow a garden without Bugs. :)”
enhydra lutris writes—The Daily Bucket - June 2018 Yard Report: The lushness has fully returned.
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
jammin writes—Electric beats gas: THIS IS A BIG DEAL. A company interested primarily in profit and image hired a team of engineers interested primarily in solving a challenge and a driver interested primarily in winning a race and together they created a milestone in environmental change. First the electrics will take over the racetracks, and then they will take over the streets. Combined with solar, wind, and battery advancements, this evolution could lead to much cleaner air. Most drivers will prefer electrics to internal combustion engines not because they want to save the environment, but because the electrics are simply better. They accelerate faster. They drive faster. They control traction in the corners better. They drive so quietly that music can be loud without causing hearing loss. They never require an oil change. Or a radiator flush. Or a timing belt replacement. They are already superior in every way except one– range– and even that is already changing due to battery technologies that already exist.