This is the 593rd edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the March 16 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
[Today’s Spotlight is so long because it covers the past two weeks, instead of just one.]
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Climate Denial Also Human Rights Denial, Mary Richardson Says, as Rep. Steve King Proves It: “Yesterday, Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and UN High commissioner for human rights and special envoy for climate change, now chair of the Nelson Mandela-founded human rights group The Elders, accepted the Kew International Medal for her work on climate justice. In her acceptance speech, the Guardian reported, Robinson described how the recent climate strikes are just the latest example of how ‘we have entered a new reality, where fossil fuel companies have lost their legitimacy and social license to operate.’ It’s great to see someone so directly acknowledge that fossil fuels are incompatible with a healthy climate. And ‘healthy’ is used intentionally here—it is people’s wellbeing that’s at stake. As Robinson puts it, ‘climate change denial is not just ignorant, it is malign, it is evil, and it amounts to an attempt to deny human rights to some of the most vulnerable people on the planet’.”
pcf writes—Sometimes, we all need a nature break: “Last Sunday, as the ridiculous Barr report was dominating the news, it seemed like a good opportunity to spend some time in nature. After all, it’s now springtime, and here in Texas the wildflowers are spectacular. So, along with our 2 dogs, we set out to see what we could find along the roads south of the city. And what we found was something amazing. Fields of bluebonnets, acres and acres of wildflowers, and the most amazing fragrances floating on the breeze. It seemed that each turn in the road offered sights more amazing then the last. It was a respite to experience the bounty of nature continuing on it’s course, without a care for the shenanigans in DC. And, as the day wore on, such a gift to spend hours outside, with only the dogs and people I love. Too often, current political affairs overwhelm and feel crushing. In fact, since Nov., 2016, the call to despair has been strong. But it’s not really possible, standing among Mother Nature’s gifts, to focus on the negative. It seems disrespectful. And so, for that afternoon, life seemed, and indeed was, very, very good.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Friday: Grid Storage: “Wind and solar are killing coal. Battery storage, for load balancing and time shifting, is just about to start killing gas. The same batteries in EVs will kill gasoline and diesel fuel. Load balancing for intermittent power sources, notably wind and solar, has raised new issues in power engineering design, but engineering schools have taught how to do it in general for more than a century. The problem of load balancing arose soon as electricity was offered to homes and factories and offices along with the new-fangled Swan (UK) and Edison (US) electric light bulbs. The amount of electricity produced had to exactly match the amount used. A slight variation in the brightness of the lights was tolerable, but not brownouts from low voltage, or blown filaments from high voltage. And so began the intricate dance of bringing generators online or taking them offline, and especially of trying to predict demand based on known usage according to the seasons, the days of the week and the time of day. The new issue with wind and solar is predicting supply, according to the weather as well as the seasons and time of day. One of the moldy old lies about Renewable Energy that I didn’t bother with last week was that we can’t get to 100% renewables with wind and solar being intermittent. But power engineers knew perfectly well decades ago how to integrate storage with renewables to create a system with fewer brownouts and blackouts than we get now.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Walter Einenkel writes—Two whales wash up dead with more than a hundred pounds of plastic in their stomachs: “Over the past two weeks, two whales have washed up on shores—one in the Philippines, and one in Italy—with stomachs stuffed with disposable plastic trash. On March 16, a young Cuvier's beaked whale died and was found in Mabini after having consumed about 88 pounds of plastics. Last week, a pregnant sperm whale washed up dead in Sardinia with a little less than 50 pounds of plastic in her stomach. The beaked whale was found in a state of advanced dehydration and starvation, while the sperm whale’s death has not been fully diagnosed. Whales hydrate themselves by absorbing water through their food. Marine biologist Darrell Blatchley, who worked on the Philippines beaked whale, told CNN, ‘I was not prepared for the amount of plastic. Roughly 40 kilos of rice sacks, grocery bags, banana plantation bags and general plastic bags. Sixteen rice sacks in total.’ Blatchley explained that the plastics in the beaked whale had blocked the mammal’s ability to absorb the nutrition and hydration it required from any real food it ate.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - shrinking puddle: “March 2019. Pacific Northwest. The field behind the bay has had a giant puddle all winter in the low corner. It rains a lot in winter here. A sign of the changing season is how fast the puddle is drying up, now spring and the dry season settles in. In December it was so big and deep a whole flock of geese could bathe at once, dipping all the way under. After more rain, by February the puddle had expanded even more, nearly reaching the fence. [...] Now after a few weeks with little rain the puddle is smaller and shallower, with the tops of grass appearing above the water. Puddles dry up fast in this climate when our wet winter gives way to summer drought. Not nearly as much room for ducks to swim and bathe. A bit of a crowd sometimes even. Hardly enough room for both geese and Hooded mergansers.”
OceanDiver writes—Dawn Chorus: at the Tombolo: “Bird life varies dramatically with habitat as we know. One of the things I really enjoy about birding at aquatic sites is how different habitats can be over short distances. Depth, water movement and substrate vary considerably along the coast where I frequently birdwatch, and that affects what foods are available, hence the bird life. It’s been a long term puzzle for me to sort out why birds prefer one bay over another even when I can’t really perceive what factors are significant. Having two different habitats right next to each other makes a good side by side comparison. Since the location and general weather conditions are exactly the same, it must be the aquatic conditions that birds use to choose one or the other. If they do. One such spot I visit now and then is a tombolo, which is a narrow strip of sand connecting two larger land masses, in this case a small spit to the island. The tombolo happens to be owned by our county Land Bank, so it’s publicly accessible for me to wander and birdwatch. This tombolo is made of sand deposited there by a northward flowing current. The whole spit was formed that way over thousands of years. Inside the spit is a shallow quiet bay while outside is a deep channel with swift currents. The tombolo separates them, and it’s easy to observe what birds are in each habitat.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - eagles in spring: “March 2019, Salish Sea. Eagle activity has been heating up as spring progresses in the Pacific Northwest. They returned from the mainland rivers where the majority spent the winter feasting on spawned out salmon. On our most recent boat trip around offshore rocks and islands we saw a total of 16 Bald Eagles in various spots. Many were on Whale Rocks. We couldn’t get very near as an incoming tide was roiling the channel waters but my zoom lens could resolve enough to show a wide range of ages among them. I’m judging the ages of the immatures as best I can based on beak and plumage color.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - spring flora waking up at last! “Late March. Pacific Northwest. Finally, spring has arrived in the PNW. Bucketeers have probably noted the endless whinging from this corner of the country about the very unusually cold February and March we had this year up until recently. There were still residual clumps of snow in spots around here deep into March fer cryin out loud and I think our freezing temps with days of snow may have killed the baby grape vines I put in argggh :( But starting the 19th the weather rebounded into record high temperatures for a few days which kicked off our spring at last. For the past week the weather has settled into somewhat above normal temperatures. Looking around my neighborhood, plants have woken up at last, putting out foliage or flowers. Everything is 1-3 weeks behind right now based on my observations from past years. We’ll see if things catch up now.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - spring changes, early April ‘19: “April 3, 2019. Pacific Northwest. Recently I posted a couple of Buckets about the insects and plants emerging at the very beginning of spring in my neighborhood (3/22/19 The Daily Bucket - spring! butterflies & bees & 3/27/19 The Daily Bucket - spring flora waking up at last!). Today I'm adding some developments over the past week. This will be my last Bucket for several weeks since I'll be away — I expect things will be very different when I get back! Still very few flowers, we're mostly in the leafing out stage. Twinberry has leafed out though and flowers are in bud.”
scurvy turbo writes—Is Shark Valley Evergladey enough for you? Everglades National Park part 1 (photo heavy): ”As we were driving across southern Florida on US41 toward the Shark Valley entrance to Everglades National Park two and a half years ago, I kept thinking that there were too many trees. I’d been in the area 16 years before (while attending the Phish Y2K extravaganza at the Seminole Indian Reservation adjacent to the Big Cypress National Preserve), and I remembered vast sawgrass prairies with scattered hammocks (islands of trees), along with cypress stands and pine forests on the (relative) highlands. But what stuck most in my mind was the endless gator-populated water-logged grassland (sawgrass is actually a sedge, but whatever). Granted, my memory of that particular event is extremely fuzzy, due to all the booze and drugs. Still, there were too many trees, dammit. So I said, ‘I’m a little concerned because this doesn’t look as Evergladey as it should.’ To which my wife, the professional editor, responded, “What the hell does Evergladey mean? That’s a terrible made-up word’.”
Lenny Flank writes—Photo Diary: A Cormorant Catches Lunch: “I just happened to see this Double-Crested Cormorant emerging from the water with a very large fish she had just caught. It took her a lot of pounding and tossing and gargling, but she finally got it down.”
Dan Bacher writes—Scientist urges Reclamation to reduce pre-spawning salmon mortality on American River this year: “Felix Smith, a Save the American River Association (SARA) board member and the former U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist who exposed the Kesterson Wildlife Refuge selenium contamination scandal in 1982-83, has just sent a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation regarding his concerns about the operations of Folsom Dam and Reservoir for this summer and fall months. ‘My concern is the amount of pre-spawning mortality of the Chinook salmon run that has occurred over the years of 2001 through 2017,’ says Smith. ‘In my opinion, a pre-spawning mortality of more than 5 to 7 percent is uncalled for. An extra effort must be made to reduce such mortality.’ Smith says the Bureau should “prioritize the protection and propagation of Chinook salmon and steelhead. Lets try to reduce the pre-spawning mortality of the Chinook salmon run’.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Setting the Sacramento River free to roam is flood control: “Earlier this month, the Sacramento River jumped through a hole in the levee and flooded 925 acres of newly planted fields in NorCal just as intended. The fields, former orchards (mostly walnuts), now are a habitat restoration project implemented by River Partners (RP) and designed by The Nature Conservancy. Last August, RP planted 192,000 native plants grown from local seed that are adapted to seasonal flooding. The floodplain will have seven different plant communities scattered throughout. Each community is designed to attract a different population of birds and critters. ‘If you’re a bird, there’s a specific structure of plants you’re looking for,’ [River Partners President John] Carlon said. Different animals rely on the shade of the valley oaks than live in the grasslands. ‘Every single one has this little niche.’ Carlon said the design was done by the Nature Conservancy based on analysis of the soil and and conditions of the property. Then the design was run through a hydrological model to see if the plantings would disrupt the flow of flood waters over the property.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Instantly ID wild life in real time using your phone: “No need to upload a photo — just open the Seek camera, point it at a plant, insect or other wildlife, and the app tells you what you are looking at, maybe. On April 5, in conjunction with the release of the Our Planet series by Netflix, iNaturalist released a new version of Seek by iNaturalist. To heed David Attenborough’s call to action in Our Planet to protect biodiversity, we need to understand what’s here and what we might lose. Seek by iNaturalist unlocks curiosity about the natural world by giving speedy identifications with computer vision and challenging you to earn badges for finding species new-to-you . . . This on-screen identification is tied to the tree of life, and guides you towards taking a more identifiable photo by getting more specific as you fill the frame and get the right angle or features. When the app narrows it down to species, it prompts you to take a picture, which earns you a badge and unlocks more information about the species. This ‘augmented reality”’view of the world makes it easy to explore and interpret the natural world around you all while guiding you to take more identifiable photos. Seek can’t always identify things to species (it’s still learning...), but it aims to provide the most precise correct name it can.”
enhydra lutris writes—The Daily Bucket - March 2019 Yard Report: “This is part of my ongoing project to document the changes in our yard from month to month. This month I am going somewhat by exception, only things that are blooming, significantly changed or otherwise of interest. As of March 11, 2019.”
Angmar writes—The Daily Bucket Earth: Greenhouse gas emissions‘ ‘worrying’ rise in global CO2 forecast for 2019: “The level of climate-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is forecast to rise by a near-record amount in 2019, according to the Met Office. The increase is being fuelled by the continued burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests, and will be particularly high in 2019 due to an expected return towards El Niño-like conditions. This natural climate variation causes warm and dry conditions in the tropics, meaning the plant growth that removes CO2 from the air is restricted. Levels of the greenhouse gas have not been as high as today for 3-5 m[illion] years, when the global temperature was 2-3C warmer and the sea level was 10-20 metres higher.”marksb writes—Hiking the Santa Barbara front range: a relaxing photo diary: “”
Angmar writes—The Snaily Bucket April 1st Bucket: "The Snailers"p1 (An Angmar/RWM graphic novel): “An acoustic version of ‘Lola’ plays on the overhead sound system at the massive pet store. Bobby walked to the best place in the aisle to watch the snails in the aquarium tank, but someone was already there. Bobby slowed, but transfixed by the snails, still bumped into the other person. ‘Oh sorry,’ Bobby blurted. Their faces were close as they looked at each other through thick horn rimmed glasses.”
Angmar writes—The Daily Bucket Earth: "Canada warming at twice the global rate, climate report finds": “Canada is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, a landmark government report has found, warning that drastic action is the only way to avoid catastrophic outcomes. ‘The science is clear—Canada’s climate is warming more rapidly than the global average, and this level of warming effectively cannot be changed,’Nancy Hamzawi, assistant deputy minister for science and technology at Environment and Climate Change Canada, told reporters on Monday. [The report] paints a grim picture of Canada’s future, in which deadly heatwaves and heavy rainstorms become a common occurrence. Forty-three government scientists and academics authored the peer-reviewed report.”
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket: The Chorus Frogs Mate at the Spring Equinox: “The chorus frogs have returned to the Frog Mitigation Area again this Spring. These tiny native frogs first occupied two small ponds in my backyard five years ago. The males usually arrive by ones and twos in late February. but they didn’t show until early March this year. They set up personal spaces every foot along the ponds’ edges. When they’ve achieved critical mass of about 5 frogs, they begin croaking loudly, to attract female companionship.The Alpha frog begins festivities with a loud AAACK. Then his minions pitch in with their own versions of the ‘ribbet.’ Later they roll their ‘R’s’ as a warning to keep of their turf. In prior years, the frogs only serenaded after dark. This year they are calling all day long. too. I can observe additional behaviors. For instance, the males putt-putt around the perimeters, patrolling their area, even with their throats ballooned. Somewhere nearby, the female frogs listen and wait for the right chorus, while they text each other ‘OMG did u c the throat on that 1?’ ”
matching mole writes—Dawn Chorus Rerun: Incredibly Evolving Birds: “In previous diaries, when I've written about bird evolution I've discussed how birds have changed over evolutionary history. But it is important to realize that evolution isn't just something that has happened in the past, it is happening all around us. Yesterday one of my students sent me a link to a fascinating story about rapid evolution in cliff swallows. And the story reminded me a some classic examples of current evolution in birds. So follow me and observe our feather friends evolving before our very eyes. An example of rapid evolution caused purposefully by humans - breeds of pigeon. 1. Hermon Bumpus and his House Sparrows. In 1898, Professor Bumpus of the Anatomical Laboratory of Brown University published a paper ‘The elimination of the unfit as illustrated by the introduced sparrow, Passer domesticus.’ This was one of, if not the first, numerical study of natural selection in a 'wild' population.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Pakalolo writes—A glacier the size of Florida is on track to change the course of human civilization: “Thwaites glacier in West Antarctica is enormous and is often referred to as the most dangerous glacier on Earth. It has also been dubbed the Doomsday glacier. The glacier holds two feet of sea level but, more importantly, it is the ‘backstop’ for four other glaciers which holds an additional 10-13 feet of sea level rise. When Thwaites collapses it will take most of West Antarctica with it. This is not new information for those of us that follow the science. For example, Eric Rignot in 2014, stated that the loss of West Antarctica is unstoppable. (You can listen to an excellent interview from 2019 between Rignot and Radio Eco-shock on Antarctica). According to researchers at the University of Washington back in 2014, Thwaites is already collapsing. ‘The simulations indicate that early-stage collapse has begun,’ notes their news presser. What’s more, the Thwaites Glacier is a ‘linchpin’ for the rest of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet; its rapid collapse would “probably spill over to adjacent catchments, undermining much of West Antarctica’.”
Pakalolo writes—John Kerry developing a global initiative to hold Trump accountable for climate crimes: “It's about time Trump gets his comeuppance for his crimes against humanity and the planet. Former Secretary of State John Kerry, the man who negotiated and signed the landmark Paris climate accord on behalf of the United States, is working on a new initiative that will seek to punish President Trump and other politicians for failing to combat climate change. Trump has a horrendous record on the climate and the environment from his decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords to appointing fossil fuel, mining and chemical interests as caretakers of our environment. These acts are not only abhorrent but genocidal. This psychopath needs to be held to account.”
AmericaAdapts writes—Dr. Michael Mann: Return of the Climate Jedi: “He’s back! In episode 86 of America Adapts, host Doug Parsons interviews famed climatologist Dr. Michael Mann. Dr. Mann is the author of the famous ‘hockey stick’ climate research that has become one of the iconic images in the climate movement. This is Dr. Mann’s second appearance on America Adapts. In this episode, we discuss: winning the Tyler Prize (the environmental equivalent of the Nobel Prize); the quickly emerging issue of climate adaptation; Trump’s climate policies being worse than our worst case predictions; academic freedom and climate denial; the new generation of outspoken climate scientists and the worldwide climate youth movement!”
Meteor Blades writes—House Democrats introduce bill demanding that Donald Trump stick with Paris Agreement on climate: “A day after Republicans and a handful of Democrats in the Senate rejected a Green New Deal resolution in what critics called a sham vote, House Democrats introduced H.R. 9 Wednesday—the Climate Action Now Act. It’s designed to stop Donald Trump from withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate and require that, within four months, he ...make available to the public a plan for the United States to meet its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement that describes—(1) how the United States will achieve an economy-wide target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below its 2005 level by 2025; and (2) how the United States will use the Paris Agreement’s transparency provisions to confirm that other parties to the Agreement with major economies are fulfilling their announced contributions to the Agreement.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—NAACP Report On Fossil Fueled Foolery Takes On Denial Propaganda: “For hundreds of years, millions of Americans were force-fed a steady diet of lies by their government, the media, their neighbors and industry writ large. Perhaps the rest of the country, especially the white liberal environmental class, can learn a thing or two from a community who has dealt with constant brutality, oppression and deception that too many are only now, thanks to Trump, taking seriously. Fortunately, the NAACP released a report this week that may help. Titled ‘Fossil Fueled Foolery,’ the report illustrates (literally, with cartoons) ten key propaganda tactics the fossil fuel industry uses to protect its polluting profits, along with ten things frontline communities can do to fight back. Key among them are resisting attempts by the industry to co-opt minority communities. A prime example: according to the report, Peabody Coal financially supported the St. Louis, Missouri NAACP branch until it criticized the negative repercussions of the company’s coal on their community to the EPA. Then the checks stopped coming.”
gmoke writes—From School Strike to Teach-in to Global Hackathon for Climate Friday After Friday: “Friday School Strike for Climate to Friday Teach-ins on Climate to Friday Global Hackathons on Climate that is the progression I’d like to see and so I am passing on the idea. It came to me when I found that Harvard Divest was going to ‘Flood Harvard’ Yard on Friday, April 26 (https://www.facebook.com/events/347126895944173/). I suggested to them on their Facebook event page that perhaps part of their activities could include a kindergarten to graduate school teach-in on climate to coincide with the Friday school strikes for climate which are happening around the world every Friday. Later, listening to the MSNBC town hall with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Friday night, I thought that perhaps this idea could be extended from a teach-in to a hackathon using the Internet to connect globally. Seems like it would be a natural for an organization like MIT’s Climate Collaborative (https://www.climatecollaborative.com). Already there are tools like the C-ROADS climate simulation (https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/c-roads/) and the Energy Policy simulator (https://energypolicy.solutions) available for free online.”
gmoke writes—Geotherapy Not Geoengineering, Please: “The book Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertilly Restoration and Carbon Sequestration
(https://www.crcpress.com/Geotherapy-Innovative-Methods-of-Soil-Fertility-Restoration-Carbon-Sequestration/Goreau-Larson-Campe/p/book/9781466595392)
describes the wide variety of known methods that can sequester carbon from the sky while improving soil quality (and plant growth). If these methods and techniques were brought to scale, used globally consistently, we could remove the extra carbon we put in the atmosphere over the last century or two within the next century or two. Conceivably by 2100, we could plan for a 270-280 ppm of CO2 atmosphere, the equivalent of the preindustrial level. After all, we are as Gaia so we might as well get good at it.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Snow Cover Study and Kigali Op-Ed Show Need To Always Check Sources: “In the online wars over climate or evolution or vaccines--or, well, anything--the term “ad hominem” gets thrown around a lot as a fancy way to complain about name-calling. But sometimes the source of a claim can carry a lot of information about that claim. If, for instance, your doctor tells you that you’re going to die soon after checking out your test results, you might take that a little differently than if a psychic on the street claims you will soon perish if you don’t have your palms read. Case in point: We recently came across a freshly published study claiming that climate models have failed to accurately capture northern hemisphere snow extents. Upon an initial skim, it seems legitimate, and potentially cause for some real digging into the science at hand. But then we noticed something odd: a citation to Willie Soon. What kind of shoddy academic is still citing the work of someone who got paid by fossil fuel companies to produce studies to be used as climate denial ‘deliverables’? As it turns out, Willie Soon does. He co-authored the paper, along with the father-son ‘global warming solved’ Connolly team and David Legates, the disgraced former Delaware State climatologist turned B- or even C-list player in the organized denial machine.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Who Will Speak Up For The Poor Bullied Climate Deniers, Besides, You Know, Authoritarian Regimes? “Last week, WUWT posted an essay by ‘aspiring Ph.D meteorologist’ Chris Martz (he plans on attending college to get a meteorology degree) complaining about how deniers ‘have dealt with bullying.’ Apparently, Martz rarely sees his side bully people who accept the scientific consensus (aside from picking on Al Gore). Instead he sees ‘a lot more bullying and harassment’ coming from the consensus camp. His evidence for this claim is a handful of angry tweets which will will admit were unkind. But is his overall thesis true? Do environmentalists do ‘a lot more bullying’ than their opposition? Twitter is the be all and end all of The Discourse, of course. But let’s look around for some other evidence of who is using power differentials to exert control of who, and explore if bullying is really a big problem or just a pretext to complain about being ridiculed for taking a ridiculous position. Coincidentally, Peter Schwartzstein wrote in the Atlantic the very next day on how authoritarian regimes in the Middle East are actively targeting conservationists.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Miami Real Estate Market Show How Denial Is A Luxury of Wealth: “Two great pieces of journalism were published this week we’d like to draw attention to today. While neither were particularly focused on climate change denial, taken together, they provide some helpful insight into denial not only as a state of mind, but as a function of luxury and privilege. That’s the underlying message of Sarah Miller’s recent piece in Popula. Miller poses as a wealthy married woman interested in purchasing pricy Miami real estate, feigning interest before springing her key question: is it smart to buy something with a 30-year mortgage in Miami, given the fact that sea level rise is already regularly flooding the city? One after another, high-end real estate agents assure Miller that sea level rise is ‘something the city is trying to combat’ by ‘raising everything’ and installing pumps. One, who couldn’t think of the word “studies,” mentioned that she knew someone who paid for a study that said ‘we shouldn’t be concerned. Unless you have a family, and you’re planning on staying here.’ Miami: a thriving city with new construction that’s perfect for you, as long as you don’t intend to stay for your full 30-year mortgage. ”
AstridJ writes—Women and Climate Change Act of 2019: “This seems a good idea. Women and Climate Change Act of 2019 was introduced by Representative Barbara Lee and Senator Mazie Hirono. It’s important to see how much climate change affects women, and especially women globally. Women who run their homes, and along with their daughters become victims of violence, run the risk of being raped or abused. This can happen in the United States and globally, in other countries. If this Act is passed, policies for climate control will research and assist in solving and responding to women’s needs thru planning, overseeing ways to combat and reduce these occurrences. If you want to know more about this Act, and are interested in co-sponsoring this Act, please contact WEDO (Women’s Environment and Development Organization 147 Prince St. Brooklyn, NY 11201 www.wedo.org +1 (212) 973-0325. You can check the website, http://sc.org/WomenClimateAct”
Lefty Coaster writes—New Yorker series on how Climate Change is driving Central American farmers off their land to US: “The New Yorker is running an important three part series: How Climate Change Is Fuelling the U.S. Border Crisis. It shouldn’t be missed by anyone who cares about climate change or immigration. How Climate Change Is Fuelling the U.S. Border Crisis. In the center of Climentoro, in the western highlands of Guatemala, a dozen large white houses rise above the village’s traditional wooden huts like giant monuments. The structures are made of concrete and fashioned with archways, colonnaded porches, and elaborate moldings. ‘Most of them are empty,’ Feliciano Pérez, a local farmer, told me. Their owners, who live in the U.S., had sent money home to build American-inspired houses for when they returned, but they never did. Pérez gestured to a three-story house topped with a faux-brick chimney. “No one lives there,’ he said. The family of twelve had migrated a few years ago, leaving the vacant construction behind. ‘Vecinos fantasmas,’ Pérez called them—ghost neighbors.”
Speaking Fiction To Power writes—Global Warming & Climate Change: It’s Time To Get Real! “We all know one thing for certain. Whether or not the Democrats choose to emphasize climate change and global warming as significant issues, the table has been set, and it will be served. This fact led me to call one of my favorite political operatives, a man who I know at times has been a speech writer and idea contributor to both major political parties, and some not so major. He is an equal opportunity political savant, in my estimation, Maxwell Jaxson. What follows is a summary of the call.”
annieli writes—Just when you think Fox News couldn't get more stupid ... Diamond and Silk on Climate Change: “ LYNETTE HARDAWAY (DIAMOND, FOX NATION PERSONALITY): Listen, you have to realize that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she's reckless, she's clueless, and she have a vacuous mindset. ROCHELLE RICHARDSON (SILK, FOX NATION PERSONALITY): Right. HARDAWAY: First of all, civil rights have nothing to do with climate change. First of all. And then second of all, her Green New Deal is a green new scam that we must stay away from. Now, I know that she's worried about climate change, but she need to talk to Mother Nature. RICHARDSON: That's right. HARDAWAY: Because with the Earth rotating at 1,000 miles per hour, OK, 365 days of the year, we subject to feel climate changing a little bit. But not to the tune where we have to dismantle everything and start the Earth back over again. It's a absolutely no for us.”
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Michael Brune writes—Lost in the Flood: “No one can say that the floods which inundated Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Iowa after a hurricane-strength ‘bomb cyclone’ were caused by climate change. At the same time, it would be grossly irresponsible to dismiss the role that climate change may have played in the disaster. Warmer temperatures allow the air to hold more moisture. According to a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, the 10% more moisture in the atmosphere from climate change is enough to turn a storm from a ‘billion-dollar disaster into a 10 to 50 billion-dollar disaster.’ It's too soon to say how many billions of dollars in damage this year's flooding will cost, but it's already the worst in the history of the state of Nebraska, where 95% of the populationhas been affected by the storms. Even the National Weather Service's office in Omaha was inundated. So was an Air Force Base. Contaminated drinking water is a major concern -- at least six public drinking water systems went offline—and many people rely on well water that may have been contaminated when wastewater-treatment facilities failed (Omaha has been dumping about 65 million gallons of untreated sewage daily into a creek that flows into the Missouri River).”
Lefty Coaster writes—Alaska hits 70F in March for the earliest 70s reading ever: “More alarmingly warm weather in northern regions unaccustomed to such heat this early in the year. Alaska hit 70 degrees the earliest ever, and more record highs are expected Much of the country will see a dive in temperatures this weekend, but Alaska continues to bake with record highs. Parts of the state have had their earliest 70-degree readings on record. Klawock, a town in southeastern Alaska, reached 70° F on March 19—the earliest any spot in the state has hit that high. More records are expected to be broken this weekend, with temperatures soaring as much as 50 degrees above normal in the fastest-warming state.”
ENERGY
Green New Deal
Uncle Vasili Shwetz writes—AOC on "Green New Deal" critics: "I didn't expect them to make total fools of themselves": “MSNBC host Chris Hayes wanted to know if AOC was expecting Republicans to counter her proposal with arguments that including images of a machine gun-toting Ronald Reagan riding a velociraptor.AOC had a choice response — listen to that crowd react. MSNBC quotes her: ‘But I didn't expect them to make total fools of themselves,’ she told MSNBC's Chris Hayes during an ‘All In’ town hall at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx. ‘I expected a little more nuance, and I expected a little more “concern trolling”,’ meaning disingenuously expressing concern.”
tad barks writes—About that case of green sticker shock: “That notion of system maintenance works very well when it comes to dealing with climate change. After all, America’s de-carbonization is ‘necessary to sustain the Earth's ecological system.’ So we can have a planet, thank you very much. Another government stretch, or should I say overreach, which was justified as "necessary" to stimulate the economy, was the #GOPTaxScam. That added $1.5 Trillion dollars to the deficit. That sum could easily stimulate the country’s transition to climate-neutral energy. Or could have stimulated it. Because now that sum is not really stimulating much of anything except perhaps the back pockets of the wealthiest Americans. These are the fellow citizens who greet progressive ideas with the objection that they ‘don't want to pay for someone else's well-being.’ But why shouldn’t they now help pay for the Earth’s well being? Are billionaires not affected by the prospect that our climate may come to resemble that of the planet Venus soon?”
The Reasonable Voice writes—Oranges, Trump and Origins of Green New Deal: “Our new colorful 116th House, with its female twist of fate, reflects the wisdom of voters refusing to throw America’s pearls before swine willing to flagrantly discard human decency - including to those from any of the, 3 Mexican Countries – but Americans need to get serious, because Trump, and his administration are less joke and more dangerous threat to our nation, our planet and our children. Cure: 2020 Election and a new, New Deal, that snatches, love thy neighbor as thyself, from the jaws of this inhumanity to humankind.Usually, live and let live has nurtured our ability to learn, adapt and indeed transform ourselves and the lives of others. However, that which has always dwelt among us, albeit in the deep darkness of fear that breeds envy and hate, has been exposed by a new kind of, dawn’s early light, that blinds many to our increasing polluted water, weather extremes and a level of insensitivity to nature’s food chain, that is suicidal.”
Bethesda 1971 writes—It's December 7, 1941 for the next 12 years. Did FDR ask "How will we pay for this?" “Scientists tell us it’s now December 8, 1941 every day for the next 12 years. And yet people (including Democrats) are still asking “How are you going to pay for it?” about immediate action on climate change. The good news is the World War II analogy is gaining traction. We’ve seen AOC using it. And yesterday, we saw a Fox News reporter get a live surprise by a well-informed Missouri man's support of the Green New Deal: Fox's Todd Piro seems genuinely confused by a diner guest supporting higher taxes to fund the Green New Deal and fight climate change. Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) April 4, 2019. Jack, the diner guy, made the World War II analogy right off the bat, and the Fox guy doggedly pursued his agenda by making sure Jack admitted you might have to raise taxes. Fox and the entire Republican Party (and again, many Democrats) are that fictional World War II Senator. Glaciers melting, Floods in the Midwest, Record temperatures for 18 out of 19 years, Hurricanes, disappearing islands are our generation’s December 7, 1941.”
billofrights writes—In Defense of the Green New Deal, a talk to a gathering of Democrats... : “I write now in early April as the counter-attacks on the Green New Deal (GND) have mounted from all quarters: from specializing environmental groups on the ecological left, like Food and Water Watch and the sprawling and complicated movement for alternative agriculture, to the not surprising hysteria of the Republican Right, pounding the “Socialism” key and itemizing all the cherished products of American consumer culture that the GND would take away, from hamburgers to air travel. From inside the Democratic Party come the charges of over-reach, Utopianism, and the possibility of frightening swing voters, Independents in purple states. Despite the fact that the Resolution has a jobs guarantee and a pledge of a ‘just transition’ for displaced fossil fuel workers, portions of the AFl-CIO most dependent on fossil-fuel industry current jobs fired off a tough complaint letter on March 8, 2019, which, naturally enough, was mostly picked up and Trumpeted (sorry) by the conservative press.”
Nuclear
Jennifer Hayden writes—Overriding experts, Trump admin approves plan to sell secret nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia: “The Trump administration continues bending over backward for the Saudi royal family, despite the fact the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been implicated in the gruesome murder of Saudi dissident and Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi. Amid widespread outrage over Khashoggi’s murder inside a Saudi consulate in Turkey, Jared Kushner reportedly encouraged Donald Trump to stand by the Saudi regime, telling Trump the outrage would eventually blow over and they could get back to business as usual: Apparently they feel enough time has passed, because Reuters reports the two are back in business. U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has approved six secret authorizations by companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, according to a copy of a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.”
jamess writes—About that 'Back-room' Saudi Nuclear Transfer ...: “National Security, preventing the proliferation of Nuclear Arms, used to be among America’s top priorities. Under the perpetual ‘garage sales’ of Donald Trump — not so much anymore. If there’s a buck to be made (buck = a million) — Donald will twist enough arms to make it. Just marvel at the Trump ‘fire sale’ scheme, that ProPublica discovered and warned us about … back in the early days when such ‘National Security implications still mattered’… The Trump administration is holding talks on providing nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia — a move that critics say could upend decades of U.S. policy and lead to an arms race in the Middle East. [...] The talks stalled a few years later because the Saudi government backed away from its pledge not to pursue enrichment and reprocessing, according to current and former officials. ‘They wouldn’t commit, and it was a sticking point,’ said Max Bergmann, a former special assistant to the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security at the time those negotiations occurred. U.S. officials feared a domino effect. Accords with the United Arab Emirates and Egypt restrict those countries from receiving the most sensitive technologies unless the U.S. allows them in another Middle Eastern country. ‘If we accepted that from the Saudis, nobody else will give us legally binding commitment,’ a former State Department official said.”
Fossil Fuels
Mark Sumner writes—Federal court halts Trump's attempt to open huge areas of the ocean for drilling: “The United States District Court for the District of Alaska has declared Donald Trump’s opening of over 128 million acres of coastal waters to oil and gas drilling was illegal. At the same time, District Judge Sharon Gleason moved to block construction of a highway through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, protecting an area that’s been described as ‘America’s last true wilderness.”’As the Washington Post reports, Judge Gleason found that Trump’s actions violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act by withdrawing protection over federal lands without seeking congressional approval. Her ruling halts any further development on 128 million acres of federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Following Trump’s opening of huge areas for drilling along the coasts, including areas that had previously been the sites of major oil spills and areas regarded as ecologically sensitive, the Interior Department moved quickly to rescind opening areas around Florida—a move that was seen as a nod to Florida’s GOP governor and legislature. At the same time, protests from other coastal states affected by Trump’s decision were ignored. Now all of the areas opened by Trump are off the table.”
TXL writes—King Coal desperately tries to stay alive while climate change-provoked floods wreak havoc: “A battle in Washington, D.C., between King Coal and the clean, renewable energy industry seems to be coming to a head with the green side of the debate heralding the demise of the coal industry and the industry pushing back hard and proclaiming how alive and well it is in an effort to get Donald Trump to save it. From the right-wing pro-Trump Washington Examiner: THE BATTLE OVER COAL’S DEATH BED: Environmentalists and the coal industry are in a battle over coal’s narrative, based on new reports released in the last 24 hours. The environmentalists say the industry is on its last legs, and are tracking its demise, while the industry argues that coal isn’t dying — it’s just not being correctly valued. The Sierra Club, together with other international environmental advocates, issued a comprehensive update on the global demise of coal-fired power plants on Wednesday.”
Jessica Sutherland writes—2017 recording reveals the oil industry is dangerously intimate with Trump's EPA and Interior: “A shocking recording reveals just how deep some oil industry execs believe their ties to Donald Trump’s administration go. Released by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, the hourlong chronicle of a meeting of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) offers a horrific glimpse into the rotten collaboration between Big Energy and the most corrupt administrations in modern history—as one of their own, David Bernhardt, climbed the ranks of Trump’s cabinet. Dan Naatz, the association’s political director, told the conference room audience of about 100 executives that Bernhardt’s new role meant their priorities would be heard at the highest levels of Interior. ‘We know him very well, and we have direct access to him, have conversations with him about issues ranging from federal land access to endangered species, to a lot of issues,’ Naatz said, according to an hourlong recording of the June 2017 event in Laguna Niguel. Bernhardt’s new role? The former oil industry attorney, lobbyist, and on-again-off-again Republican operative since the 1990s had just been named Ryan Zinke’s No. 2 in the Department of the Interior. As Reveal’s Lance Williams put it, the oil execs were ‘giddy’ over the prospect of access they hadn’t seen since Dick Cheney was vice president.”
Dan Bacher writes—Over 120 groups urge CA Governor to shut down Aliso Canyon facility, halt new fossil fuel projects: “More than 120 national, statewide, and local organizations on March 27 delivered a letter urging Governor Gavin Newsom to take ‘bold action’ to prevent the worst impacts of climate change in California, including shutting down the notorious Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, according to a news release from a coalition of groups. During his campaign, Newsom pledged to ‘on day one … issue a directive putting California on a clear path to 100 percent renewable energy.’ ‘Yet nearly three months into his term he has not taken any significant steps on climate or outlined a comprehensive policy,’ according to the groups. Environmentalists point to moves by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who recently announced his decision to forgo rebuilding three coastal gas plants as part of a shift to 100 percent renewable energy, and voiced support for shutting down the SoCalGas Aliso Canyon storage facility for good.”
NHLib writes—It all has to go: “75% of the oil refined and used in the US is burned. The remaining 25% goes into the manufacture of plastics, road asphalt, and lubrication. (Data from the US Energy Information Administration.) There are over 300 oil refineries in the US that convert crude oil into these products, though not every refinery makes all of them. Refineries vary in size but all together they process about 19.5 million barrels per day. Nearly all natural gas in the US is burned, except for some (10%?) used as feedstock in industrial applications, again for making plastics, etc. According to the IPCC all of it has to goby 2050, and half of it has to go in the next 10 years, if we are to avoid the worst of the effects of climate change. But that 50% is worldwide. Because the developed countries already produce proportionally more of this stuff, they have to cut back proportionally more.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Mokurai writes—Renewable Friday: AOC and the Green New Deal: “[Chris] Hayes and AOC went to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, which is where Hayes was born. He got right to the point. Chris: If we had started in 1979, we could have cut a little bit every year…What we have to do to avoid the most catastrophic effects of Climate Change is to cut emissions in half in twelve years. And into the vacuum has come a bold new idea…Green New Deal. It envisions a carbon-zero economy by the middle of the century and a transformation of the American economy and indeed society. And why? Because it’s all interconnected. In particular, financialization of the entire economy messes up everything and brings major crashes more frequently. Oppression of numerous segments of society in a universal game of Beggar Thy Neighbor messes up everything for everybody. We need to provide for all of us, and empower all of us.”
KeithDB writes—Do Windmills Cause Cancer? A Very Quick Scientific Study: “The question is so bizarre, I doubt it has been scientifically studied, so I gave a quick stab at it. I acknowledge the methodology was crude, but this is what I did. Data Sources And Variables I gathered data on national per capita cancer rates, and national per capita megawatts generated from wind power. For the scientifically minded, the hypothesized independent variable (the cause) is national per capital megawatts generated from wind power. The dependent variable (the effect) is national per capita cancer rates. The Theory, Hypothesis and Null Hypothesis The theory being tested is that wind power causes cancer. The tested hypothesis, based on this theory, is that as national per capital megawatts generated from wind power increases, national per capita cancer rates shall also increase. As usual in statistics, the Null Hypothesis is that there is no statistically significant relationship between these two variables.”
annieli writes—Trump claims wind farms cause cancer (they don't): “As if coal energy had no pollution danger, Trump now goes to even more stupid assertions on a day when he also made an anti-vaxxer claim. He claimed that wind farm noise causes cancer while worrying about how his live televised speech would be leaked. President Trump has long despised wind power. He has repeatedly blamed wind turbines for killing birds (which they do at a lower rate than other energy sources) and for allegedly causing electrical power to halt when the wind stops blowing (in fact, electricity grids using mixed power sources and battery storage have solved this problem.) In a speech tonight to House Republicans, Trump claimed that wind turbines cause cancer.Wind turbines do not cause cancer. Some people blame the noise for causing a variety of other health ailments, but these charges have zero scientific validity. Cancer is not caused by noises of any kind.”
mastergardener2k writes—Renewable Power Becoming Cheaper than Coal: “Despite Donald Trump’s best lies, renewable wind and solar power continue to spread and develop as very realistic replacements for fossil fuels. Here’s a site with resources detailing the point: energyinnovation.org/… America has officially entered the “coal cost crossover” – where existing coal is increasingly more expensive than cleaner alternatives. Today, local wind and solar could replace approximately 74 percent of the U.S. coal fleet at an immediate savings to customers. By 2025, this number grows to 86 percent of the coal fleet. The New York Times has a piece profiling a number of people whose families are rooted in the coal or oil business and yet found better employment in renewables. Solar power alone has more than twice the jobs in the US than coal.”
Witgren writes—Oh Noes! Wind & Solar getting cheaper!?! Whatever will Donald do? “Since Trump has been in office, there has been a slight uptick in coal jobs, but it’s a blip. Current stats show a total for February 2019 of 52,700 miners. Sure, that’s about a 5% increase since 2016, but it still really amounts to noise in the numbers. The reality is that renewables are grabbing an ever-increasing market share of power generation. A new article on CNN today, ‘More bad news for coal: Wind and solar are getting cheaper’ tells the story: Wind and solar costs have plunged so rapidly that 74% of the US coal fleet could be phased out for renewable energy—and still save customers money, according to a report released on Monday by Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan think tank. That figure of at-risk coal plants in the United States rises to 86% by 2025 as solar and wind costs continue to plunge.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Wind and solar power is now cheaper than 74 percent of coal production: “In order to clean up our air and water and try to slow down the rapid warming of our planet, cleaner energy must become the dominant source of power. Trump and conservatives have pushed a mythology of working class nobility surrounding coal production, all in the service of a fossil fuel industry that wants to squeeze the last drop of any and everything dry. One of the fossil fuel lobby’s big goals is to hamstring any and all subsidies being offered to the wind and solar industries. However, it’s hard to fight time and necessity and, according to a new study released by Energy Innovation Policy and Technology, even the Republican Party’s inaction on climate change has not stemmed the country’s move away from coal.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Trump to roll back Obama-era lightbulb standards, will pollute more and cost consumers $12 billion: “When President Barack Obama took office, he announced that, instead of re-inventing the wheel, he would continue to improve upon the national minimum energy efficiency requirements for lightbulbs developed under President George W. Bush. The plan was to move away from the old technology of incandescent lightbulbs that has been dominant for over 100 years into more energy-efficient, safer, and cheaper technologies available to us now. Throughout the Obama presidency, more types of lightbulbs were added to the list of those needing to meet higher efficiency standards. Obama’s legacy in this area is clear, as more and more Americans have moved to LED technology for their lighting needs. Seems too good to be true? The Trump administration’s Department of Energy announced that it plans to roll back some of the standards established near the end of Obama’s presidency. Under those standards, vibration service lamps, rough service lamps, three-way incandescent lamps, shatter-resistant incandescent lamps, and higher-lumen (2,601-3,300 lm) incandescent lamps would need to reach higher efficiency standards starting Jan. 1, 2020. The NRDC says that the bulbs in question are used in over 2.7 billion sockets, and that the potential costs to consumers in leaving the highly inefficient technology unregulated will be up to $12 billion over the next five years.”
NHlib writes—First they came for my lightbulbs: “This chart shows the kinds of vehicles that sell in various countries. Darker colors represent more powerful engines, expressed in Kilowatts (which is how most of the world measures engine power). 200 KW is about 268 HP. The more of a line that is dark, the greater the share of that country’s vehicles have more powerful engines. It is showing that 40% of vehicles in North America have engines more powerful than 268 HP while for most of the rest of the world it is less than 10%. The small red dots indicate average fuel consumption in Liters per 100 km (which is how most of the world measures ‘mileage’). Higher numbers are worse.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Our House is On Fire, But Bret Stephens Is Still Pondering Insurance: “This week’s Green New Deal debate has certainly generated its fair share of fireworks, highlighting the growing rift between deniers who are insane (like Utah Senator Mike “Climate change? Fuck it!’ Lee) and those who are pretending to be sane (like Matt ‘Holocaust denial’s fine but climate denial isn’t’ Gaetz). But if proposed solutions involve dumping piles of money on the fossil fuel industry to develop carbon capture technology or improve fracking as part of an ‘all of the above’ energy portfolio, then they’re just delay tactics. As Kate Aronoff put it on Twitter, any climate policy the fossil fuel industry supports is probably not going to be effective at solving the problem fossil fuel use caused in the first place. It’s no surprise the GOP is apparently incapable of offering a plan to kick our fossil fuel addiction, given that the industry funds their campaigns. Oil Change US found this week that the fossil fuel industry gave more than $55 million to politicians who voted “no” on the Green New Deal, while ‘no’ voters received 11 times more fossil fuel money than the ‘present’ voters over the course of their careers.”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
Eyesbright writes—Breaking: "Trump abruptly issues new Keystone XL permit in boon to lobbyists": “The controversial pipeline has faced nonstop legal challenges. Think Progress just broke this story — and it’s typical Friday afternoon fare that I’m sure lots of Drumpf-istas hope will get buried. President Donald Trump handed a victory to a major North American energy company on Friday afternoon with a new presidential permit allowing the controversial Keystone XL pipeline to go forward. Many say the move is an effort to sidestep judiciary and environmental review and is likely to face legal challenges. Pipeline company TransCanada Corp. is authorized to ‘construct, connect, operate and maintain’ pipeline facilities running between the United States and Canada, per the permit issued on March 29… The presidential permit revokes and replaces a previous presidential permit granted by Trump in March 2017. In November 2018, a Montana judge invalidated that permit and it is currently being appealed, while a December lawsuit and subsequent injunction largely halted pre-construction activities on the pipeline. The Trump administration was, as a result of the November legal action, ordered to conduct a new environmental review of the pipeline — something the new presidential permit apparently seeks to sidestep.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Petsounds writes—Former MI Governor Rick Snyder Reinstated as a Defendant in Flint Water Crisis Class Action Lawsuit: “It’s a great day in the Mitten State! Justice may finally be done! Former Republican Governor Ricky ;The Squeak’ Snyder has been reinstated as a defendant in a class action lawsuit related to the Flint Water Crisis by the same federal judge who originally removed him from the defendants’ list. The reason? Federal Judge Judith E. Levy blamed it on The Facts. The facts! Imagine that! Citing what everyone with a brain in Michigan has known for years, Judge Levy wrote, in her 128-page decision today, ‘When plaintiffs state that by February 2015, the governor was fully aware of a public health threat posed by the water supply in Flint, and that by July 2015, at the very latest, the governor knew that the water supply was contaminated, these conclusions are supported by the well-pleaded factual allegations. It is reasonable to infer that Governor Snyder knew that the residents of Flint faced a substantial risk of serious harm emanating from the water.’ AND DID NOTHING.”
douglassmyth writes—Control the Hudson River, Or Not? “We went to a meeting in which the Army Corps of Engineers presented their progress on the storm and climate change program they’ve researched for protecting the Hudson River watershed from sea-rise storm surges and flooding. They’re proposing a variety of alternatives, but most dramatic is the closable sea wall in New York’s harbor, that would be meant to ward off ocean surges as the sea rises and storms get more violent. It was clear that environmental concerns were fairly low on their list of priorities, most of which were to protect human habitation and infrastructure. They did read my comment: they should devise quantitative measures of environmental benefit and loss, not just storm damage for houses, etc. And, they agreed. I’m sure there have been such measures constructed, already. Engineers may not consider them important. To close off the River That Flows Both Ways (translation of the indigenous people’s name for the Hudson River) in any significant fashion does not seem like a good idea, environmentally, but also, probably, hydrologically.”
Dan Bacher writes—Yurok Condor Reintroduction Initiative reaches a major milestone: “The majestic California condor once soared the skies over western North America from British Columbia to Mexico. However, by 1985, the condor had spiraled down to the brink of extinction, with only 22 birds remaining. These remaining birds were taken into captivity in a last ditch effort to save the species. That effort paid off. Today, thanks to three decades of dedicated work by a range of partners, 290 condors now fly free in the wild, all in the Desert Southwest and northern Baja Peninsula. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Yurok Tribe of Northern California and National Park Service are taking the next big step in the condor’s recovery with a proposal to reintroduce America’s largest land bird to parts of the Pacific Northwest, where it has not been seen for over a century. Building on a decade’s worth of preparation initiated by the Yurok Tribe, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to establish a collaboratively managed new California condor release facility in Redwood National Park, within the Tribe’s ancestral territory. Like the southwestern population, this new population would be given the special status of “Nonessential, Experimental” under the Endangered Species Act, which would provide protections to the released birds while also allowing flexibility to landowners and other stakeholders potentially affected by the reintroduction of this federally listed endangered species.”
Dan Bacher writes—April Fool's Day news: Blackwater to enforce California's marine protected areas! “California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Chuck Bonham on April 1, 2019 announced the beginning of a historic partnership between Blackwater (now Academi Corporation) and the CDFW to enforce the statewide network of marine protected areas created under the landmark Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. The Western States Petroleum Association, Walmart, Safeway Corporation and the Resources Legacy Foundation, all avid backers of the MLPA Initiative, have generously offered to pay for the costs of enforcement. Bonham announced that the Academi Corporation – previously known as Xe Services LLC, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide – will be enforcing these ‘Yosemites of the Sea’ and glorious marine parks in an innovative public-private partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.”
Dan Bacher writes—Breaking: Trump administration sues State Water Board over 'failure' to comply with CEQA: “The Trump administration today filed a lawsuit against the State Water Resources Control Board for ‘failure’ to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for its approval of increased flows for salmon, steelhead and other species on the San Joaquin River. Fishing and environmental groups called the litigation a ‘frivolous attempt’ to divert more water and ‘destroy salmon industry jobs and families.’ The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) today filed its civil actions against the State Water Board in both federal and state court. On December 12 of last year, the Board approved and adopted amendments to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta Estuary and the related Substitute Environmental Document (SED) that would increase flows needed for imperiled salmon, steelhead and other fish species in the San Joaquin River and its tributaries, as required under state law.”
Dan Bacher writes—Fishermen, Tribes and Conservation Groups Challenge Sites Reservoir Project: “A coalition of 27 organizations, including Indian Tribes, fishing groups and environmental organizations, sent a letter to Jim Watson of the Sites Project Authority on March 17 indicating their concerns about the detrimental impacts that water diversions from the controversial Sites Reservoir Project pose to salmon and water quality. The project is backed by Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Creek, who introduced the Sites Reservoir Project Act (H.R.1435) to provide federal support for the construction of Sites Reservoir and related water infrastructure in Colusa and Glenn Counties. Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) is the bill’s original cosponsor. ‘Construction of Sites Reservoir would bring California closer to achieving a drought-resilient water system. Our state needs to make forward-looking investments to meet its future water supply needs, and Sites will benefit farmers, precious ecosystems, and our communities,’ said Congressman Garamendi [...] ‘I am proud to sponsor the bipartisan Sites Reservoir Project Act, building upon the nearly $1.2 billion in public funding for the project secured to date’.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Lefty Coaster writes—Jay Inslee testifies before House Energy & Commerce Com. Slams Trump's neglect of Climate Change: “Washington Gov. Jay Inslee became the first Democratic presidential candidate to testify before Congress on Tuesday, appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to offer sharp criticism of the Trump administration on his signature issue of climate change. As Democrats work to fast-track a bill that would recommit the U.S. to the Paris Climate Accord, Inslee said the Trump abandoned America’s international responsibility by walking away from the agreement. Responding to committee members who argued the agreement did not do enough to push developing nations to curb their carbon use, Inslee said U.S. inaction discouraged other countries from taking action on climate change.”
occupystephanie writes—CLIMATE: Presidential Debate Orphan: “We turn our faces away, not wanting to see. Most of all, we don’t want to talk about climate change. Worst of all, our presidential candidates do not want to talk about it--at least in the last five elections. [...] There is only one candidate who has made climate solutions his number one priority: Jay Inslee. Inslee views climate solutions as a way to rebuild our energy infrastructure, provide environmental justice, boost sustainable economic growth, revitalize labor, and secure the health of the nation. If he does not make it to the debate stage, who else will bring it up other than an “...also climate change” remark after speaking at length about their signature issue which is not about climate? This early in the race, it is not about your eventual choice of candidates. The choice is yours about what you want this election to be about.”
Meteor Blades writes—Reconstituted climate advisory group that Trump nuked releases its report on local resiliency needs: “The report, of course, would have a lot more clout than it does if were directly plugged into policy-makers at the federal level who could direct funding toward the needs the IAC identified. Because while the federal government cannot alone prepare the nation for change, neither can states or local governments do so alone. The analysis nonetheless provides guidance for local governments and others, and it may give congressional lawmakers something to work with after the 2020 elections when, hopefully, deniers and policy delayers no longer have the power to continue their lethal climate idiocy. A key IAC finding that does require federal policy: The United States needs but has no national clearinghouse with reliable information for decision-makers on specific climate issues such as risks of future floods, wildfire and heat-wave potential, and the likelihood of persistent droughts. Nor is there federal assistance to bolster often-inadequate local resources for dealing with the uncertainties of future climate impacts and for improving resilience in the face of the changes that are happening and will happen in the years to come.”
News Corpse writes—FOX News Flat Out Lies About Rep Ocasio-Cortez Comparing Climate Change and 9/11 (She Didn't): “It's never exactly breaking to news to report that Fox News has broadcast something that is blatantly contrary to reality. In fact, it would be easier to point out when they say something that's even marginally true. Nevertheless, it's important to set the record straight lest we allow their lies to linger and get a foothold on the weaker minds that populate their audience of Deplorables. On Saturday morning, Donald Trump's favorite breakfast club, Fox and Friends, put together a segment that was obviously intended to deceive. The target of their dishonesty was a familiar one: Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), for whom they have developed a perverse obsession. The subject of the segment was emblazoned on their chyron which read ‘Ocasio-Cortez Compares Climate Change to 9/11.”’ There's just one little problem with that. AOC never did anything of the kind.”
Pakalolo writes—Buttigieg: "We can see the climate disaster coming. Shame on us if we don’t act": “I am haunted by the overwhelming complexity of the climate crisis and the frightening necessity of relying on homo-sapiens to respond to the disaster in time and with the necessary effort required for the scale of the problem. Our species has not been a good caretaker of the earth, and there are way too many of us consuming and breeding; creating a social movement that cares enough seems impossible. I want to remain hopeful, that we will throw everything we possibly can at this looming disaster and, that we have the wisdom and the courage to do so. But I don’t believe that we will even though we have the technology to get rolling. We seem to be paralyzed much like a deer in the headlights. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently stated that governments must reduce current greenhouse gas emissions by half in 2030 and be completely weaned off of fossil fuels by 2050 to avoid catastrophe. Guess what? That is the best case scenario to avoid the apocalypse.”
RonnieRossVA writes—If the EPA Won't Lead, then Virginia Will: “So, let me tell you about what the EPA is doing. There is a long established scientific consensus that air pollution can cause premature death. It is a scientific consensus because, perhaps obviously, we have robust and persuasive evidence that this is the case: air pollution, in particular soot (aka particle pollution) causes us to die earlier than we otherwise would. Now, I realize that public health is a tricky thing to study. That is why, for years, the EPA has weighed the evidence in the studies in order to control for variables, externalities, and overall quality. This is what has led to the scientific consensus. However, last year, the EPA disbanded the Particulate Matter Review Panel, a group that was focused on studying the impact of particulate pollution. Beyond that dissolution, a recent article in Science details how the EPA has also stopped leaning on economists to help inform its thinking. Specifically, the EPA’s science advisory board just eliminated the Environmental Economics Advisory Committee. This has led to the EPA relying on economic analysis that does not take an industry’s environmental effects into account. This can lead to analysis supporting deregulation because it does not examine or consider the economic benefits derived from something like protecting wetlands. Similarly, it can also lead to analysis that ignores how emissions can have a negative future economic impact because of climate change or adverse effects on human health.”
NickEngelfried writes—We're Seeing a Wave of State-Level Climate Action Unlike Anything in Over a Decade: Perhaps nowhere is the positive fallout from the 2018 elections more evident than in the realm of state-level action on climate change. In fact, I believe the raft of recently-passed and proposed new climate and clean energy policies moving through state legislatures and across governors’ desks is unparalleled by anything that’s happened in this country since 2007-2008, when Democratic officials elected during the 2006 wave advanced the first real nationwide suite of state-level climate policies. One of the most significant developments from that first wave of state action was the establishment of renewable energy portfolio standards, laws mandating major utilities obtain a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources within a given time period. Some states already had an RPS prior to 2007, but the number went up dramatically after the 2006 elections. Today well over half of U.S. states have some sort of RPS.”
Jen Hayden writes—Republican calls climate change an 'elitist issue' and AOC's response was perfection: “The core of [Sen. Mike] Lee’s argument was that climate change is an ‘elitist issue.’ So, how does the congresswoman from the Bronx respond? Perfectly. Every second of it. WATCH:
She’s amazing, right? She didn’t stop in the committee. She kept going on Twitter and she went scorched earth on both Mike Lee and Republican climate change games, saying ‘If this guy can be senator, you can do anything’.”
kindler writes—Can a State Senate Race Impact Climate Change? In Virginia’s 35th District, YES: “ ‘Think globally, act locally’ very much applies to today’s climate crisis. I and others are busy doing just that in Virginia’s 35th Senate district, where a clean energy champion—Yasmine Taeb—is challenging a long-time defender of one of the most backwards electric utilities in America—Senator Dick Saslaw. This is the rare battlefield where, in a race likely to be decided by a few hundred or thousand votes, we have a leverage point—a moment to tip the scales in favor of climate action—or miss yet another chance to avert future climate catastrophe as the hours slip away. What makes this such a rare opportunity is that Saslaw, the incumbent, is the Democratic leader of the state Senate. Yet rather than using his position to advance clean energy policies, he has more often than not used it to support the position of the fossil-fueled energy giant that has given him more than $350,000 in donations over the years, Dominion Energy.”
fcvaguy writes—Buttigieg Signs No Fossil Fuels Money Pledge: “ ‘I pledge to not take contributions from the oil, gas, and coal industry and instead prioritize the health of our families, climate, and democracy over fossil fuel industry profits.’ Taking the pledge means that a politician or candidate’s campaign will adopt a policy to not knowingly accept any contributions over $200 from the PACs, executives, or front groups of fossil fuel companies — companies whose primary business is the extraction, processing, distribution, or sale of oil, gas, or coal. We will provide a list of these companies upon request.”
estamm writes—AOC accepts an invite to a coal mine: “My representative here in Lexington, KY, Andy Barr, is just soooo angry at AOC for working against climate change and promoting alternative sources of energy, thereby putting the last two coal miners out of work, that he has invited her to visit a coal mine. Here is the story: www.kentucky.com/… Barr, the Kentucky Republican whose office has reached out to hers, extended the offer Tuesday to the sponsor of the sweeping Green New Deal that Republicans say would put coal miners out of business. Barr asked Ocasio-Cortez to ‘go underground’ in a mine with him. Great, she said. ‘It’s very close to my heart,”’Ocasio-Cortez said of struggling areas of Appalachia. ‘Folks may not think of that because I’m from the Bronx, but my family in Puerto Rico was a rural family too. I understand some of the challenges.’ His thinking was probably ‘I’ll invite her to a coal mine, and she will decline, and I’ll hit her for being against coal miners and not even wanting to hear what they say OR if she accepts, she’ll realize how horrible she is for wanting to put these guys out of work — either way, I can make her look bad.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
MorrellWI1983 writes—Obama's Expansion of Cascade -Siskiyou NM upheld in court: “In the latest win for Obama’s conservation moves during his tenure, following the reinstatement last week of the protected areas in the Arctic and Atlantic he reserved on his way out in 2016 , and last years upholding of his declaration of Northeastern Canyons and Seamounts Marine national monument in the Atlantic off of New England, an Oregon court has upheld his midnight expansion of Cascade-Siskiyou by 48000 acres, ruling Obama had the authority to expand the monument under the Antiquities Act, and that the Antiquities Act does not conflict with the 1937 Oregon and California Revested Lands Act ( O+C Act), which was passed by Congress to provide a guaranteed and sustainable supply of timber on some 2.1 million acres, primarily in Oregon. This win is the latest sign that his declaration of Bears Ears at 1.35 million acres in late 2016 will be upheld as well, and Trumps reduction of Bears ears by 1.15 million acres will be tossed as being outside the presidents statutory authority, as a president may not undo the actions of his predecessors in regards to designation of monuments.”
BYPRODUCTS, TRASH, TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Laura Clawson writes—Texas tells people not to worry about vomiting, shortness of breath following massive chemical fire: “A fire at a petrochemical storage facility sent noxious clouds over two Texas cities, but state authorities are telling residents not to worry. Some residents, told to shelter in place as the fire burned last week and now experiencing symptoms including vomiting, burning eyes, and shortness of breath, aren’t so sure. In addition to the fire that burned for four days, a containment wall broke Friday, letting chemical waste into waterways and causing another fire. Tests by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found nine different chemicals in the water that ‘exceed their health-protective concentration level,’ but insisted there’s no threat to drinking water. The TCEQ also found benzene in the air, but said it wasn’t at dangerous levels.”
Walter Einenkel writes—Tennessee Republicans to override cities by passing statewide ban on banning plastic bags: “While companies like Trader Joe’s continue to try to reduce their disposable plastic waste, Tennessee’s Republican Party is trying to figure out a big problem—how to stop their most populous, and liberal, cities from passing plastic bag bans or taxes. For most people, saying you believe in government of the people, by the people, for the people means that those people get to decide what they want. Republicans have always said that government should not legislate people into doing what they don’t want … except when that government is controlled by a Republican legislature that is beholden to big business and its anti-environment, anti-science interests. After Memphis and Nashville began discussing creating a tax on commercial plastic bag use, state Republicans seem to have woke up. Memphis’ and Nashville’s metropolitan areas comprise almost half the state’s population. The Republican-majority state House has put together a bill that would pre-empt those municipalities from creating any kind of environmentally conscious ban on disposable plastics.”
AIR POLLUTON
walterc writes—Air pollution at Mono Lake (CA): climate change? “I checked airnow.gov and noticed that parts of CA and NV had astounding levels of air pollution — PM10 of 1447, beyond Beijing levels. A little checking showed that this reading was at Mono Shores on Mono Lake, CA. There did not seem to be fires in the area. My best guess is that this is a dust storm caused by climate change combined with Los Angeles’s need for water. Dust from exposed lake bed causes very high levels of particulate pollution in spring and fall. Scientists say climatic shifts, however, are bringing less snow to the Sierra Nevada and less snowmelt to Mono Lake. That means if Los Angeles keeps taking its allocated share, it will lead to a decline in lake levels and increased health risks for those exposed to windblown dust from the receding shoreline, according to the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Bill Wehrum, EPA Air Chief, Has A Secret Lobbyist Lunch Crew: “Late last week, PoliticoPRO ran a story detailing how EPA air chief Bill Wehrum would regularly meet with his old colleagues for lunch, coffee, and other informal gatherings. Normally this wouldn’t be much of a story—except that Bill Wehrum’s old colleagues are lawyers representing the coal industry Wehrum’s now supposed to be regulating. Wehrum told Politico’s Alex Guillén that the ‘lunch crew,’ as it is affectionately known by its pollution-protecting members, was supposedly ‘purely and completely social,’ and that’s why they’re not on his official calendar. Apparently, this group has been eating lunch together “virtually every single day for the last 10 years,’ and Wherum ‘thought it’d be fun to get together for lunch with the crew again.’ Wehrum insisted that conflict of interest rules don’t say his ‘friends can no longer be [his] friends,’ because “we don’t have to talk about work. And we don’t need to talk about work; there’s no reason’.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Conservative “Media” Confused About FOIA Spike After Fossil Fools Took Over EPA: “Last week, a report bounced around conservative websites alleging that the mainstream media is obviously biased against Trump because FOIA requests to the EPA spiked after he took over. This EPA defense play came from Brent Scher at the Free Beacon, a fake news website whose chairman lobbied on behalf of the Kochs (as well as Taiwan…) and which ran a piece in 2014 explaining why it would “make more sense to worship the Koch Brothers” than ‘Earth Mother.’ [...] Trump’s EPA plays nice with conservative fake news outlets like these, so it may be easy enough for them to ignore the fact that the agency has engaged in ‘bullying tactics against news organizations’ like calling a reporter ‘trash’ or physically shoving a woman out of the building. It's all part of a pattern of ‘hostility to the press’ that Mother Jones’s Rebecca Leber and others have experienced. This hostility would certainly explain why reporters are using FOIA to get information they are otherwise being denied.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Even Swamp Monsters Are Shocked by DOI Admin Bernhardt’s Corruption: ”You may remember Bernhardt as the guy who has so many conflicts of interest he has to carry them around on an easy-reference card to make sure he doesn’t violate ethics rules. It's now apparent that while Bernhardt has claimed he doesn’t keep a personal calendar, it appears DOI is keeping track of his meetings in a Google calendar that is overwritten each day--a potential violation of federal records law. (Considering that calendars certainly came in handy for another Trump nominee, Bernhardt may want to be better about it.) And people are worried about who Bernhardt’s meeting with for good reason. He spent his career lobbying for oil and gas interests and against environmental protections. Naturally, this made him qualified to work at the DOI under the-supposedly-actually-not-that-bad George W. Bush. Some of Bernhardt’s highlights at Bush’s DOI included helping the attempts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which exempted the fracking industry from certain regulations and created the ‘Halliburton Loophole.’ And as the Solicitor General he also, no joke, managed the ethics office.”
Dan Bacher writes—Committee Chairs Raúl Grijalva and Jared Huffman Request Documents on Bernhardt Ties with Westlands: “A day after the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 14-6 to move the nomination of Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to a floor vote, Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Water, Oceans, & Wildlife Subcommittee Chair Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) today launched a new inquiry seeking documents associated with Bernhardt and California’s powerful Westlands Water District, a former client of Bernhardt’s. ‘Serious questions have been raised in filings with the Inspector General and the Office of Government Ethics regarding the conflicts between his work as a lobbyist and lawyer for the irrigation district and now as a top official in the Trump administration,’ according to a press release from Grijalva and Huffman. The inquiry comes in the wake of new details released by The New York Times yesterday revealing that Bernhardt had continued to associate with the water district at least until his deputy secretary nomination on April 28, 2017. Within four months of his confirmation as Interior Deputy Secretary, Bernhardt pushed for a decision that would be beneficial for his former client.”
Dan Bacher writes—Breaking: Committee votes to move Bernhardt's nomination as Interior Secretary to full Senate vote: “In his lobbying disclosures, Bernhardt has listed ‘potential legislation regarding the Bureau of Reclamation and the Endangered Species Act’ under his specific lobbying areas, including trying to minimize protections for endangered salmon, Delta smelt and other fish populations. According to a story I broke here in January, a fish survey that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) conducts every autumn turned up zero Delta smelt — the very same fish that Bernhardt is trying to strip protections for — throughout the monitoring sites in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in September, October, November and December 2018. (www.dailykos.com/...) ‘It’s no surprise that a group of Senators who owe so much to special interest lobbyists would support this choice for Interior Secretary,’ said Western Values Project’s Executive Director Chris Saeger in a statement in response to the committee’s vote. ‘For the last two years, conflict-ridden David Bernhardt has tipped the scales in favor of former clients, likely violating his ethics pledge and responsibilities to the American people’.”
Lefty Coaster writes—Jay Inslee slams oil lobbyist David Bernhardt's nomination to head Interior Department: “Let’s not put big oil in charge of the Interior Department. Today’s Senate confirmation hearing shows that oil lobbyist David Bernhardt is dangerous to America’s public lands and waters and can’t be trusted to be our Interior Secretary. Big oil is literally laughing about the access they have to this administration,” Inslee said in a statement. ‘The Senate should reject this deeply flawed nomination and prevent this ethics nightmare.’ Trump formally nominated Bernhardt to lead the agency earlier this month. His nomination was always expected to face fierce Democratic opposition over his past career as an oil lobbyist and his positions against environmental and wildlife protections. Bernhardt has overseen several initiatives during his time at the Interior Department, including rolling back the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and ramping up efforts to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”
lynn47 writes—Creature of the Black Lagoon Sighting at davie bernhardt's confirmation hearing, and it is AWESOME: “The video says it all!! This moment in time will not be forgotten.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Mark Sumner writes—Farmers held on to a mountain of grain because of Trump's trade war—now it's underwater: “The Midwest has been subject to widespread flooding that has destroyed homes and businesses across four states. Those floods have also put a lot of farmland underwater. They’ve done so at a time of year when farmers were either just planting, or just preparing to plant, crops in millions of currently deluged acres. Farmers are already on the brink. They’re suffering from Trump’s trade war that has caused commodity prices to crash as it has driven former U.S. partners to buy grain elsewhere. They’re suffering from deregulation that makes it easier for banks to foreclose. And they’re suffering from a government that is intentionally ignoring climate change in planning for disasters. It’s not just fields that are flooded. Because Trump’s tariffs and trade wars have driven prices to record lows, many farmers had put unsold grain from last year in storage, hoping against hope that demand might rise enough to allow them to sell later. But those silos and bins are also underwater, ruining millions of pounds of grain. With losses already huge, and predictions that things are going to continue to get worse through the spring, the U.S. government is preparing to do … nothing.”
Hunter writes—Trump administration to slash USDA pork inspections, including tests for salmonella, E. coli: “The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration plans to slash the number of federal inspectors in the nation's pork-processing plants by about 40 percent. The change, which could take place next month, is part of the Republican press to deregulate industry—including removing regulations previously put in place for public safety reasons. The removed federal inspectors would be replaced by ... actually, by nothing. Under the proposed new inspection system, the responsibility for identifying diseased and contaminated pork would be shared with plant employees, whose training would be at the discretion of plant owners. There would be no limits on slaughter-line speeds. The ‘responsibility’ for keeping contaminated meat out of the plant would be transferred to industry employees, but there are no hard requirements for how, or if, those workers will be trained to identify specific diseases or contaminants. There would similarly be no requirement that the plant operate at a speed that would even allow for plausible visual inspections, and no requirement that plants publicly disclose the results of their own disease testing, a move that could delay identification of new outbreaks.”
Sarah Corcoran via CACourtsMonitor writes—Farmers Breathe Easier After N.C. Trial, More Battles on the Horizon: “Nationwide, including California, agricultural interests are likely breathing a collective sigh of relief after a North Carolina jury awarded a relatively low judgment to 10 plaintiffs in that state’s latest round of ‘nuisance’ hog farm lawsuits. However, it would be premature to assume that farmers are in the clear: In North Carolina alone, close to 21 cases are on the docket with hundreds of plaintiffs still awaiting their day in court. Nuisance litigation has taken on national implications in part because they involve ‘concentrated animal feeding operations,’ or CAFOs. The practice of centralizing production began with poultry farms in the 1950s and is a common practice both globally and in the U.S. For example, there are close to 20,000 CAFO operations across the U.S., with approximately 1,000 in California.”
Jade Pierce writes—The 'Doomsday Vault' Seed Storage Imperiled By Melting Permafrost: “The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was established in Norway in 2008. It’s purpose is to act as a safeguard against the loss of seeds in other genebanks in the event of large scale regional crises. There are almost one million types of seeds in the vault, to be used in case genebanks lose samples due to mismanagement, accident, or natural disaster. Unfortunately, due to global warming, the permafrost is not refreezing and the vault is in danger. [...] It's an ironic turn of events for the creators of the vault, who chose the location for the vault ‘because the area is not prone to volcanoes or earthquakes, while the Norwegian political system is also extremely stable’, said CNN. Because of the warming, the permafrost around the underground vault's tunnel entrance has not refrozen. That led to leaking water in the tunnel in October 2016, which then froze into ice.”
Leslie Salzillo writes—Supermarket uses banana leaves to wrap produce instead of plastic and people are loving it: “A supermarket was spotted opting out of using plastic to wrap their produce. Instead, they are choosing to use something biodegradable, aesthetically beautiful, non-toxic, waterproof, and much cheaper than plastic. They are bundling their fruits and vegetables with banana leaves! Good News Network reports the Thai store is being praised around the world. The leaves, which are also humidity-resistant, are wrapped around the produce and tied together with flexible bamboo. Since banana leaves are so common in the tropics, they are available for free, which saves supermarket owners money. It’s a win-win-win for store owners, the planet, and earth-conscious consumers who can also use the leaves for compost. This is not a brand new idea. Produce vendors in tropical areas have used banana leaves to hold their products together for decades. But now the earth-friendly greens are being used in international supermarkets—a big step forward.”
Missys Brother writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blog Vol. 15.13: a Botswana safari: “Good morning and welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging where we’re known to wander off the garden paths by also including our animals, homes, travels and other interesting topics. P and I recently spent a month in five African countries. My previous diary covered Zimbabwe and Zambia. This diary will cover a nine-day safari through Botswana. Beware, it is long. Grab a coffee.
We had just crossed the border from Zimbabwe into Botswana, walked with our shoes on through an unknown liquid as required by customs and then met our open air jeep transfer. We immediately came to a halt as this funnel of tractor trailer trucks was trying to squeeze through eastbound customs without any regards to the vehicles traveling westbound. The employees vehicles were parked on the left. After several groups of people gathered around with much arm waving, an opening was finally created. No anger, loud voices or road rage, just part of daily life.”
robctwo writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol. 15.14: Let's get going: Photo diary.
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Mark Sumner writes—Trump's move to roll back emissions standards will cost the auto industry 236,000 jobs: “When then-EPA administrator Scott Pruitt selected an outside adviser to provide a report on Donald Trump’s decision to roll back standards on vehicle efficiency and emissions, it’s a fair bet that he expected to get some nice notes that Trump could wave around to show that he was “bringing back the industry.” That’s not how it worked out. Even though the adviser was selected by Pruitt and funded by auto industry grants, what he found was that the costs of Trump’s move will be higher prices for consumers and hundreds of thousands of auto jobs going up in smoke. The published analysis from adviser John Graham indicates that the industry will lose 236,000 jobs over the next 15 years compared to where it would have been had the Obama-era rules remained intact. It’s easy to see why investors and top-level brass at the auto companies supported Trump’s change. For an industry bleeding dollars, reducing standards allowed them to drastically reduce R&D spending. It also makes it easier to “upsell” consumers on larger vehicles at more profit per car. But the long-term consequences are dire.”
SusanneH writes—Amtrak California Zephyr – the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (With Broken Finger and Bomb Cyclone): “Amtrak’s California Zephyr #6 Streamliner departs daily from Emeryville at 9:10 AM, with scheduled arrival at Chicago’s Union Station at 2:50 PM two days later. It makes 31 brief stops plus half-hour stops at Salt Lake City and Denver as it chugs eastward. The train, with two levels, holds 300 people, but I’d say ours was half full. We booked a “Roomette,” with space for two adults via a fold-down upper bunk, meals included and bathrooms down the hall. The price was right, at $651 for the two of us. The Zephyr staff was fantastic. Every one – counter agents, conductors, porters, servers, ticket takers -- was personable, good-humored, informed and helpful. Our porter, Ainsley, whose girlfriend, Tonya from Flint, Michigan, was traveling in his room with him, went out of his way for Merri and me, whether because he expected a generous tip, was well-trained, or thought we were feeble—it didn’t matter. He certainly saw my splinted finger and gave us extra help. He offered to bring dinner to us if we were late. Best of all, he gave me, on the sly, an empty roomette since Merri had an injured hamstring and I the broken finger, understanding it might be tough for either of us to climb into the top bunk. What a great guy, and I tipped him well. Our fellow travelers ran the gamut of demographic, economic and interest groups, a true mischmasch of Americans – students, Amish family, science fiction fan, farmers, musician, athletes, hunter, city-dwellers, as well as European and Asian visitors to the US. It was remarkably easy to find something in common with the most unlikely of potential conversation companions, and I made several new Facebook friends.”
MISCELLANY
RoyMorrison writes—An Ecological Future and the Pursuit of Justice: “There is an inseparable connection between the pursuit of an ecological future and the pursuit of justice. We can have both or we will have neither. That needs to be our guide for the economic and ecological transformation to come. Two underlying global dynamics are leading us toward self-destruction. First, economic activity is relentlessly driving ecological damage through pollution, depletion, and habitat destruction. The result is the accelerating sixth global mass extinction of the Anthropocene. This is extraordinary. A cataclysmic event with global geophysical consequences for the ecosphere is the result of self-conscious human action. In the past, periodic mass extinction were unleashed by forces like mass volcanism pouring gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, or the result of a huge meteor strike ending the age of dinosaurs killing most living creatures and leading to the extinction of 75% of all species. The truth is that current human conduct is unsustainable. Unless substantially reformed, it will end as a consequence of ecological collapse and the great dying now underway.”
NoFortunateSon writes—Infrastructure Kos: Austerity Kills (Revisiting the Tragedy of Flint, MI): “I am pleased to announce that it will now always be Infrastructure Week at Daily Kos (always). The hope was to create a semi-regular series on infrastructure, with a focus on how it relates to the progressive agenda, how progressives can effectively talk about infrastructure needs, the obstacles in our way, and connections between infrastructure and problems in American society at large. This stemmed from a series of diaries I wrote about High Speed Rail, never intending them to amount to anything larger. But people in the comments asked, so I can now say: be careful what you wish for… It’s primary season, and Sen. Klobuchar was the first of the 2020 candidates to propose a major infrastructure package. The plan announced Thursday is the first policy proposal from the Minnesota senator since she joined the 2020 race with a snowy rally not far from where the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River in 2007. Klobuchar speaks often on the campaign trail about the collapse, which killed 13 people, telling voters “a bridge just shouldn’t fall down in the middle of America.””
AstridJ writes—Trump's Lack of Concern for Environmental Health, Global Warming Will Cause More Health Troubles AstridJ: “I would like to bring up a matter of how environmental toxins affect women’s change at fertility. Scientists and research chemists have to test products manufactured for the public. It’s important to analyze chemicals and toxinsin food we eat, the water we drink. A common toxin called Xenoestrogens found in food, affects a woman’s fertility as well as male infertility. Many contraceptive pills contain this toxin. Tap water in large cities contain high levels of synthetic oestrogen. What happened is that women who had the pill in their system urinated and as it went through process of transforming from waste water, going into water recycling, treatment it becomes tap water we drink. Unfortunately, levels of the toxin still exist and it is consumed causing these health issues. These toxins are also found in soy, and if you consume soy beans or drink soy milk, you may be ingesting a high amount of the toxins. If government cuts back on water analysis, research studies of preventing and controlling toxins in manufactured products, including pesticides sprays for gardening, farming, household cleaning products that give off odors and absorb into the air we breathe, the moment scientists and researchers are laid off and programs are cut, will mean a health crisis that will worsen and not be prevented.”
AKALib writes—Beautiful Northern Lights Expected Tonight caused by Recent Solar Coronal Mass Ejection: “A solar G2 geomagnetic storm is expected to strike Earth today (Saturday, March 23) leading to increased intensity and range of Aurora Borealis, the Northern lights, which may be visible from states as far South as New York and Iowa. On Wednesday, March 20 at 0718 EDT, a C4 flare occurred at the Sun, leading to a Coronal Mass Ejection, whose orientation is such that the storm front of electrons and protons will arrive at Earth around 7:18 a.m. EDT. It is not clear whether we will get a direct hit or a glancing blow, hence the extent of the Northern lights may not reach as far south as is widely anticipated. But our neighbors to the North are definitely in for a treat. Also, a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm forecast will be in effect on Sunday March 24. The space storm may affect satellites and GPS, but is not expected to cause any major disruption or damage.”
Michael Brune writes—Wonder Women: “Having heroes can be risky given how often they turn out to have feet of clay, but since this is Women's History Month, I'm going to name an environmental champion whose courage and determination should inspire us now more than ever: Aurora Castillo, who was known in her East Los Angeles community as ‘La Doña.’ Although she was a Goldman Prize winner (in 1995, only the fifth year of the prestigious environmental award), odds are that you haven’t heard of her. That’s a shame, because Aurora Castillo exemplified the kind of community-based, volunteer activism that’s at the heart of the work we do today. While in her seventies, she helped found and remained the guiding light for the Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA), a community organization which set as its first goal stopping the state of California from building what would have been the eighth prison in East L.A. Could a group of Latina grandmothers thwart the state? In 1992 that unwanted prison was relocated elsewhere. But La Doña and MELA looked beyond that one injustice and realized they could do more. When they learned that an oil pipeline from Santa Barbara to Long Beach would be routed through their community, they organized and stopped it. When permits for a toxic waste incinerator were issued without any environmental impact report, MELA led marches, filled public hearings, and filed suit. The incinerator was stopped, too. So was a hazardous waste treatment plant near a high school. Aurora Castillo died in 1998 at the age of 84, but the organization she founded continued to work on environmental justice issues well into the 21st century. Right now, we could use a thousand La Doñas.”
XRM67 writes—Concerning Humanity’s Future: Interview with Nick Humphrey, Climatologist and Geoscientist: “I first discovered the writings of meteorologist/geoscientist Nick Humphrey with his brutally honest essay The Conversation No One Knows How To Have and since then have followed his posts and comments. He has been featured or quoted in a number of publications such as Mother Jones, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Science Alert. Few scientists will publicly tell you how dire things are, but Nick Humphrey is not one to shy away from the truth. What follows is a Q&A interview I held with him on a variety of questions concerning humanity’s future”