The spotlight is a weekly, categorized compilation of links and excerpts from environmentally related posts at Daily Kos. Any posts included in the collection do not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of them. Because of the interconnectedness of the subject matter, some of these posts can be placed in more than one category.
CRITTERS & THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Turkey Tail decomposing dead wood on a fallen tree. This favorite forest fungus rarely damages live trees. The greenish color is due to moss or lichen, not the typical colors of the fungus.
The Daily Bucket: If you see a mushroom growing on a live tree, is that tree toast? by RonK. [An overheard question]: “Is it true that if you see a mushroom/fungus growing on a tree, the tree is sick and will die?” As you might have guessed already, there is no simple answer to the question. It might or might not be true depending on three main variables: 1. The genus or species of mushroom/fungus, 2. the genus or species of the tree, and 3. the state of the tree’s general health, including having physical wounds to its roots or trunk. Given the status of these three variables, the answer is : yes, maybe and no. Or everybody's favorite answer: “it depends.” Below I will describe five of the more lethal fungi that infect trees and lead directly or indirectly to their demise. And yes, there are many mushrooms or fungi that do not harm or infect trees, even though they have much direct contact through their root system for example. And there are others that do latch onto trees and do some feasting on dead wood but do not kill the tree. One such popular, attractive and plentiful fungal fruiting body, the Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor), is a great decomposer of dead plant life but not a killer.
The Daily Bucket, Friday Sequence: A Tribute to My Winter Companions, Who Will Soon Depart by WordsandBirds. This is a different kind of sequence, images of winter memories. For even though it doesn’t feel like it, winter is winding down. Temperatures in Seattle have been 10 to 15 degrees below average, and we just had a couple of freezing nights. But as days grow longer, more resident birds — Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, even Black-capped Chickadees — have been singing, heralding spring. So now is the perfect time to say farewell to birds I’ve seen during their time here in winter, birds who soon will fly off to distant climes, compete for mates and do the hard work of breeding. Here I salute them, and give thanks for the memories they’ve given me. And I share them with all of you. I have to confess that winter is my least favorite season. Short days with low light levels, often punctuated by rain and wind, limit time to get out in nature. Snow added its brightness only once this year. But the birds are out there every day in all kinds of weather, working for food on water and land, and I’ve been out as often as possible to watch them do it. OceanDiver has often said that ducks make winter worth it. That prompted me to make a record of the beauty and diversity of birds who visit this region in winter. Some are seen in other parts of the country, though perhaps in different seasons. And some are unique to this area. I hope you’ll enjoy seeing these winter birds, as I have.
Trumpeter Swans, part of a flock of 33 individuals, on Juanita Bay, Lake Washington.
Little Blue Heron — Egretta caerulea (in breeding plumage)
Daily Bucket - Blue should not be the "Sad" color by CaptBLI. I thought about all the blue creatures that I live around. I want to show a few and invite you to share your own. This is far from a complete list of species that I encounter and I expect everyone has something to offer to this exercise. So enjoy my entries and I hope of all my blue things brighten your day.Besides flowers, birds are the easiest things to spot when looking for blue creatures.
Karuk Tribe collects healthy juvenile Chinook salmon on mainstream Klamath River by Dan Bacher. Happy Camp, California – After the alarming report by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that 830,000 fall-run Chinook salmon fry died after being released in Fall Creek on the Klamath River last week due to gas bubble disease, some more positive news about salmon came in today. The Karuk Tribe Fisheries Department reported that young Chinook salmon collected in the mainstem Klamath near the Scott River are “healthy and strong.” “We are pleased to say that despite the sediment loads associated with draining the reservoirs, we are finding healthy wild juvenile Chinook making their way downstream to the ocean,” said Toz Soto, Fisheries Program Manager for the Tribe, in a statement. Since Iron Gate, Copco, and JC Boyle dams were breached by the Klamath Renewal Resource Corporation in January as part of the dam removal project, the river has carried large sediment loads that impair water quality,” Soto said.“ We knew there would be some short-term pain in order to see the long-term gain from dam removal.”
Snowy Owl at Willow Run Airport
The Daily Bucket -- An Early, Early Spring by Clickadee. Over the past month, I’ve visited the wetlands along western Lake Erie in Ohio and Michigan. Temps have rocketed from single digit windchill in February to a sunny 63 this past weekend. My area of SE Michigan has seen daytime highs 30 degrees above average. It’s hard to fully enjoy the record warm days knowing that winter is far from done with us here, and the impact that cold will have on plants and animals fooled into thinking it’s spring. Late January saw sustained bitter cold. February was a mixed bag, but mostly warmer than average. Lake ice has seesawed with the temperature, and remains alarmingly low this year. Being shallower, wetlands are faster to freeze. So even when the lakes are mostly ice free, the marshes can still have extensive ice. One last oddity for this spring. Snowy Owls, long on my would-love-to-see list, have been largely absent from this area of Michigan this winter. Usually, there are a few that can be counted on to venture this far south. But I’ve seen few reports on eBird and other birders I’ve talked to have remarked on their scarcity. However, an immature Snowy was reported near me this past Saturday. It was the first stop on Sunday’s birding trip. Lucky for me, it was still there and posing nicely.
The Daily Bucket - spring tease by OceanDiver. March 2024. Pacific Northwest. The weather has turned cold and windy this past week but spring is still emerging in fits and starts. I took the sunny pics in this report before the weather turned cold and stormy. This morning there was some actual snow in my yard. A week ago, spring teased us. Soon the Ribes and Salmonberry will be in full bloom, and the Rufous hummers will show up. That’s usually the second week to middle of March. The chorus frogs were singing 10 days ago, some weeks earlier than usual, until the recent cold weather hit. They’ve gone quiet again. In the meantime, allergy season has already started now the red cedars and alders are releasing pollen. Ugh. It’ll be many months of scratchy eyes, congestion, brain fog and daily loratidine, which helps somewhat. Seems worse every year. Those blue skies and greenery and hints of color tell me we’re transitioning into spring but we’re still seeing plenty of winter too. The past week of clouds and relentless high wind have even the local horses saying it’s getting old, and winter birds haven’t left yet.
Winter migrant Golden-crowned sparrow perches amongst leafless Nootka rose bush branches.
Dawn Chorus: Eagles Everywhere! by Appy. Flint Hills of Kansas. Early one morning a little over a week ago (this is being compiled 2/18/24) I got a phone call from Carla, a friend of mine. She was on her way to a doctor appointment and saw some Eagles eating on a road killed deer in a grassy easement pullout just south of Hamilton on highway 99. I had just finished morning chores and was in the middle of eating some breakfast. As hurriedly as I could I put it down, get packed and loaded up, and took off hoping the Eagles would still be at the site by the time I got there. The high speed chase took about 20 minutes from the time I got her call, but there they were. Well, one of them. I went past to get the Sun behind me, turned around, and eased to a stop just beyond the end of the creek bridge. The feeding Eagle (Carla said “Eagles” but at first sight I only saw one) was immediately concerned by my arrival, even though I was about 70 yards away. I eased out of the truck and peeked around the front fender to get the bird in focus and see how many decent pics I could get before it took off. It had already stopped eating and was looking my way, so I knew I might not get many chances.
CLIMATE EMERGENCY & EXTREME WEATHER
Overnight News Digest: February 2024 was the 9th consecutive hottest month in modern record by Magnifico. From The Washington Post: Earth posts warmest February and ninth straight record-setting month: The Earth just observed its warmest February, setting a monthly record for the ninth time in a row, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service announced Wednesday. The unrelenting and exceptional global warmth — fueled by a combination of human-caused warming and the El Niño climate pattern… From the BBC News: More climate records fall in world's warmest February — Each month since June 2023 has seen new temperature highs for the time of year. The world's sea surface is at its hottest on record, while Antarctic sea-ice has again reached extreme lows.” From Reuters: Biden's scaled-back power rule raises doubts over US climate target — “The Biden administration’s decision to exclude the existing U.S. fleet of natural gas power plants from upcoming carbon emissions regulations raises questions over the nation's ability to meet its climate goals, according to researchers… The EPA has said it plans to write a separate rule to cover CO2 emissions from existing gas plants as well as other hazardous air pollutants after it finalizes the rest of the regulation later this spring, but did not give a specific timeline.”
Tell Biden - declare a climate EMERGENCY tonight by Albanius. In recent days Texas has seen a record firestorm, and California an extraordinary rainstorm. The scientific community has been warning for decades that extreme weather events would increase as the atmosphere is overheated by burning of fossil fuels. Killer heat waves, droughts and crop failures, as well as fires and floods, are a clear and present danger everywhere NOW, just to future generations. But a smog of of fossil fueled disinformation has delayed action for decades, as a major problem became a global emergency. UN Secretary-General Guterres calls it a "Red Alert for humanity". After President Biden’s historic Build Back Better package was blocked by Senators Manchin and Sinema, the narrow Democratic majority passed the Inflation Reduction Act with some first steps to address the climate crisis with tax credits. Congress is now gridlocked while emissions continue and temperatures keep rising, but President Biden can unlock executive powers to help avert catastrophe by declaring a national emergency.
Climate Crisis -- Do You Stay Or Do You Go? by birches. Climate chaos is here. It’s time to talk through our options, choices, decisions, and plans, and share if we’ve got anything we think can help with survival. Each week let’s look at a problem for the Kos community to explore, something that every one of us is going to have to solve. A week should give us a little time to think about a topic, dig up some resources, ask questions, list a solution, and more. So let’s get started, and the first question is: Are you staying or are you going?
- If you’re staying, why? What is there that makes you think it’ll be better to stay?
- If you’re going, why? Are you going away or going to?
- If you’re going to, what makes you think the place you’ve chosen is better?
- If you’re going away, what makes you think the place you are has to be left now?
- Or are you planning to be nomadic? How?
Preliminary estimates found that February ended with extreme heat in Europe, brutal summer likely by Pakalolo. Europe experienced record-breaking heat anomalies in much of the continent, only the Scandinavian countries in the far north experienced cold temperatures. Jaw-dropping temperatures of 2 Celsius (3.6 F) above normal, portions of central and southern Europe 4-6 Celsius ( 7.2 F — 10.8 F) according to the World Meteorological Organization (the link includes the other continents as well with the exception of the Antarctic). In some European locations, 68+ F for a couple of days above normal. Wow! Here is the kicker, experts at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) found that meltwater from Greenland will bring scorching hot temperatures this summer to Europe.
The Climate Clock Is Ticking... What has been foretold is now happening… by Xaxnar. There’s no place left you can go that isn’t feeling the effects of a warming planet. People are already coming to a realization that this is real in a very end-times kind of tourism. The Morning Newsletter summary by Desiree Ibekwe spotlights one story with this headline: Travelers are racing to see parts of the world that may soon vanish...As the Earth warms, natural wonders — coral reefs, glaciers, archipelagos — are at risk of damage and disappearance. This has motivated some travelers to engage in “last-chance tourism,” visiting places threatened by climate change before it’s too late. “For thousands of years, humans have raced to be the first to scale a peak, cross a frontier, or document a new species or landscape,” Paige McClanahan writes in a piece for The Times. “Now, in some cases, we’re racing to be the last.”
POLITICIANS
Kitchen Table Kibitzing: Get Involved Helping Biden Campaign by boatsie. Both TFG and the climate crisis have resulted in a feeling of learnedhelplessness for me, a futile feeling of being inconsequential, insignificant, overwhelmed, and overpowered. Both the judicial and the legislative branches of government continue to fail us: the judicial, for its handling of TFGs appeals, its rulings on the EPA; the legislative, for its failure to find TFG guilty in his impeachment trials, for refusing to pass legislation to fund Ukraine, and for cow towing to TFG by refusing to take up the immigration bill; and the media, by its biased over-the-top coverage of Biden’s ‘shortcomings,’ continuing to provide a stage for TFG to spew his venom and lies, and its failure to aggressively cover the climate crisis. I could go on. The Courts and the EPA: In a span of 11 months, the U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a one-two punch against the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to combat air and water pollution in twin rulings that cloud future EPA regulatory moves, according to legal experts. Rulings last week and in June 2022 constrained the EPA's regulatory powers over protected wetlands and the emissions of greenhouse gases from power plants. Environmental groups decried the decisions as putting the interests of polluting industries and landowners ahead of public health and the environment. Many Republicans and conservatives lauded the rulings as necessary checks on the power of federal agencies and unelected officials. www.reuters.com/...
NC Republican governor nominee Robinson is as abominable on climate as he is on everything else by Meteor Blades. This guy, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, is about as politically stinky as they come these days. In short, he’s a Holocaust-denying, gay-hating, red-baiting, conspiracy-flogging, Trump-adoring, woman-denigrating Christian nationalist. This candidate has called gun reform activists who survived school mass shootings “prosti-tots” and sneered at actresses whom he asserted wore “whore dresses to protest sexual harassment.” Himself Black, he has called other Black people “apes” and “monkeys.” He has trashed Martin Luther King as an “ersatz pastor” and a “communist.” For his part, Donald Trump endorsed Robinson, saying he is “Martin Luther King on steroids.” Robinson has posted Hitler quotes on his social media and in 2017 posted a Confederate battle flag with the Rebel-fellating title of “Resist the ‘Resistance’.” Like other devout Christians, he believes God created everything for a purpose and makes no mistakes, but he questions what purpose homosexuals serve. And surprise, surprise, besides everything else, Robinson thinks climate change is a hoax.
WATER & INFRASTRUCTURE
Climate change and Colorado River negotiations - this isn't going to be easy by tjlord. The states comprising the Colorado River Compact — Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico for the “Upper Colorado” and California, Arizona, and Nevada for the “Lower Colorado’ — now have negotiating offers on the table. And they leave as big a gap as there is in the ability of the river to support current usage. The Lower Colorado group have offered to cut about 1.5 million-acre feet per year — an acre-foot is pretty much one large swimming pool — or about the amount of water to fill all the swimming pools in California. In return, they keep the guarantee of 7.5 million-acre feet per year.The Compact allocated 15 million acre-feet equally among the Upper and Lower groups plus an additional 1.5 million acre-feet were allocated to Mexico under a 1944 treaty — call it 16.5 million. California and Arizona were allowed to split an additional 1.1 million acre-feet under “surplus” conditions. The problem is the river has averaged closer to 14 million acre-feet per year since the year 2000. That already leaves a big gap — and California and Arizona have been taking the “surplus” out of the big reservoirs (Lake Mead and Lake Powell) even though the river hasn’t been at 17.5 million acre-feet.
AGRICULTURE, GARDENING & FOOD
Tomato spiral
Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol. 20.10 What's Growing On? Ten Year Old Tomato Seeds Sprout by CWalter. Quick background. I am a gardener in USDA Zone 5a. A prairie garden. I havebeen converting my lawn to garden and love to experiment. I try to grow all of the things. Fruit, flowers and veggies. DHM and I are a part of the HPRM tomato breeding project. The seeds are F2 (refers to generation), collected in 2014. I have at least four germinated, I know DHM has had germination on these seeds as well. Not too shabby for older seeds. The HPRM tomatoes are yet unnamed. Naming comes after a few generations, if the plants produce a stellar tomato. My preference will be for a balanced or sweet heart shaped tomato, size 8oz or larger. Flavor is top criteria, then “meaty”, then disease resistance. If those three requirements are met, I will select for size and prolific plants. Time will reveal all. Seeds want to grow. Unless they are onion seeds. Other seeds? Plant them and see, even if they are very old. Luke at MI Gardener now sells tomato seeds he started from a packet of seeds that were 85 years old. His germination rate was poor, but all he needed to revive that variety was one sprouted seed, one plant. The tomato variety is Giant Crimson.
ENERGY, EMISSIONS & TRANSPORTATION
Zero Net Energy - March 5, 2024 by gmoke. World’s biggest “passive house” office building. Also covered here. DOE’s “Affordable Home Energy Shot” and other housing emissions reductions initiatives of the Biden administration. Cement and carbon black as a supercapacitor and a building material. (hat tip Andrew Tobias). "Just over half of Europe's single family homes could technically be fully energy self-sufficient with a combination of solar energy and storage systems, according to a report by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology." Report (in German.)
President Biden Reduced Climate Emissions from Cars: Boosting Biden Day 50 by GoodNewsRoundup. The Biden administration has used many many tools to help the planet. One of them is new standards to address climate-warming emissions from cars and light trucks. For example, the Washington Post reported in December 2021 that Biden’s new emission rules would help undo some of the damage caused by his predecessor’s policies. New Biden rule reducing climate emissions from cars and SUVs reverses major Trump rollback: The Environmental Protection Agency regulation finalized Monday marks the president’s single biggest step to fight global warming. The Biden administration finalized a rule Monday to cut climate pollutants from new cars and light trucks, which will keep billions of tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere and change the kinds of vehicles Americans drive.
Speak up NOW for Amtrak expansion - the deadline is tomorrow, March 8 to comment. This is a BFD! by Xaxnar. If you want to see better, more frequent train service by Amtrak, speak up now! The Federal Railway Administration is preparing a study and they want input by March 8. Here’s the bulletin from Railroad Workers United. This isn’t just about adding new routes (see the green lines), it’s about restoring service to cities that used to have passenger rail, and adding trains on existing routes for daily service. (Some just operate on alternating days.) The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is conducting an Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study to evaluate the restoration of daily long-distance intercity rail passenger service and the potential for new Amtrak long-distance routes. This study will ultimately create a long-term vision for long-distance passenger rail service and identify capital projects and funding needed to implement that vision. The initial proposal would add 15 long-distance routes, serving 61 additional metropolitan areas to create a true national network. This Amtrak expansion plan has been 50 years in the making and of course, should have been executed in the 1970s or 1980s.
Fracking equipment in Culberson County, Texas.
U.S. Oil Industry Peaks as “the days of easy oil are over” by Justin Milkulka. In October, shortly after Exxon and Chevron announced over $100 billion in combined acquisitions, oilfield services company Halliburton’s CEO Jeff Miller warned about the reality of producing oil in the U.S. shale industry: “The reality is you have to do more work in order to stay flat.” This is an acknowledgement of the dreaded Red Queen effect for shale oil production. This is the situation where you have to do more just to keep production flat (aka running faster just to stay in place) because fracked shale oil wells decline much faster than conventional oil wells. This isn’t a new concept. Reuters reported on it in 2013 saying, “Shale production has been likened to Lewis Carroll's Red Queen Race, in which more and more new wells will need to be drilled just to offset rapidly declining output from existing holes.” So as time passes, you have to keep doing more to just maintain production, while trying to do that when the acreage you have left to drill is less productive. This can be easily seen in the Bakken shale play in North Dakota. In December 2023 the Bakken had a record number of producing wells. And production fell. And it is well below the peak Bakken volume from 2020. That is the Red Queen at work. Just like in the Eagle Ford. And, very soon, the Permian.
US sanctions keep Putin's sea ice-breaking oil tankers stuck in South Korean shipyards by Pakalolo. Too bad, so sad. One of Putin's prize projects is taking advantage of the Arctic death spiral by building on the thawing permafrost and melting sea ice for shipping to world markets by expanding methane liquefied natural gas facilities LNG). The LNG or train, known in the liquefaction process, is where the gas is turned into liquid. There are four processes required: "Pretreatment Remove dust and slug (water and condensate) along with hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and mercury (Hg). These pollutants can cause corrosion and freezing problems, especially in aluminum heat exchangers.". As some of you who follow greenhouse gas emissions know, removing sulfur from shipping fuels has led to rapid rises in the oceans' temperatures by removing aerosols that were masking the effects of the intensification of greenhouse gases. We are now in a dangerous situation that could quickly trigger tipping points we never want to face. But I digress; that nugget is for another diary.
Renewable Tuesday: The Renewable Transition for Workers by Mokurai. Wind and solar farms do not directly replace coal, oil, and gas jobs, but the renewables industry as a whole does. These stories need to be told loudly and often on general principles, and as part of this year’s election campaigns. We can’t leave this to the malarkey-spinners. Low-income communities will soon get $7 billion for local solar Per a new analysis of 35 proposed state programs, the historic climate-law funding would benefit more than 700,000 low-income households. CESA’s [Clean Energy States Alliance] new report, which analyzes Solar for All applications from 33 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, is the first to show how applicants plan to use the funds to advance energy equity.
Report Exposes $11 Million Dark Money Ad Campaign by Big Oil in California by Dan Bacher. In January 2024, the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California (CSHC) released a report revealed that more than $11 million in ads were funded by Big Oil in 2023 in an attempt to undermine a new law (SB 1137) that helps protect California communities from toxic oil drilling. Chevron gave nearly $6 million to a third-party, Californians for Energy Independence, an “Astroturf” group, which then fronted the ad campaign, the report said. The report also reveals how the California Independent Petroleum Administration (CIPA) and the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) fund extensive ad campaigns fronted by groups that masquerade as "coalitions." At the helm of the Western States Petroleum Association is President and CFO Catherine Reheis-Boyd-Boyd, the former chair of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative to create faux “marine protected areas” in Southern California at the same time that she was pushing for new offshore drilling in state waters.
MISCELLANY
The Kardashev Scale of Alien sentient evolution. Maturity eludes us & we are children aping Gods by mikeymikey. In 1964, the Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev, formulated a theoretical model for determining the level of advancement of alien civilizations. His purpose in doing so was to ascertain the feasibility of communication between such advanced life forms based in the probability that they would be capable of harnessing sufficient energy to transfer signals using a coded isotopic radio signal across the vastness of space. As such, he makes no speculation as to the nature of aliens, but much is implied by his supposition of the usefulness of his theory in the first place. Its ‘value’ is grounded in the assumption of endless technological development and growth as the natural evolutionary outcome of advanced sentient beings. Others seem to have taken this “vessel” to pour their fitful dreams into. Kardashev based his calculations on the assumption of an ever increasing amount of energy these hypothetical alien civilizations might be able to harvest and consume, with the amount being linked in direct proportion to their level of development, which he divided into three stages. This calculation is referred to as the Kardashev Scale and it is still held to be worthy of consideration by some in the astronomical community.
RESPONSE TO CONCERNS ABOUT LOW BIRTH RATES by populationmediacenter. Many economists raise concerns that low birth rates will lead to slower economic growth. In reality, a smaller population is exactly what the climate and biosphere need. Since it is the climate and biosphere that make the world habitable, they must take priority over economic considerations. In the countries that have achieved developed status in the last century, plus in all the Asian “Tigers,” rapid economic development, as measured in gross national product per capita, occurred only after the country had achieved significant reductions in fertility rates. This allowed couples to save some funds after meeting the needs for food, housing, and clothing of their smaller families. The expansion of investment capital allowed business to expand, building employment opportunities, combined with slower growth of the numbers seeking employment, which led to increasing wages. The real measure of economic welfare is not gross national product or national income, but the median income on a per capita basis. Stimulating gross national product by having more and more people buying fewer and fewer necessities does not enhance economic welfare. It may be true that a few people profit from population growth, but the mass of the people do not.
What Causes Overconsumption & Overshoot? by populationmediacenter. Earth Overshoot and overconsumption refer to critical concepts highlighting humanity’s unsustainable utilization of natural resources, surpassing the Earth’s capacity for regeneration. Earth Overshoot Day is a pivotal metric calculated annually by the Global Footprint Network signifying the point when humanity exhausts the planet’s bio-capacity in a calendar year. This alarming milestone underscores the extent to which our collective demand for resources exceeds the Earth’s ability to renew them. The term “overshoot” encapsulates the ecological imbalance resulting from excessive consumption, overpopulation, and wasteful practices, driving us to exceed the planet’s sustainable limits. At its core, overconsumption elucidates the disproportionate utilization of resources, including energy, water, land, and other vital elements, contributing to environmental degradation. This phenomenon leads to the depletion of natural ecosystems, biodiversity loss, and exacerbation of climate change. Earth Overshoot and overconsumption collectively emphasize the urgent need for humanity to reassess its consumption patterns, promote sustainable practices, and foster environmental stewardship to ensure a harmonious coexistence with the planet’s finite resources, biodiversity, and wildlife. Addressing these issues is paramount for mitigating the ecological crisis and building a resilient and sustainable future for generations to come. And for people and wildlife today. If we are to continue to have a home.
4 major U.S. banks abandon The Equator Principles -- voluntary bare minimum environmental standards by birches. The Equator Principles have been around since June 2003 when 10 big banking firms adopted them. Since then, between 70 to 100 financial institutions in many countries have signed on to the Principles. There’s been criticism from NGOs about transparency, whether or not the Principles make any difference (as projects with numerous breaches of the Principles have been funded by signatory banks since 2003), and using the Principles as greenwashing. However, environmental groups in the financial industry have said that adoption of the Principles, especially in developing countries, reduces the environmental harm caused by industrialization, especially during the building of mega-structures, such as dams. And that brings us to right now. From The Guardian: Four of the world’s biggest banks have left the Equator Principles, a set of minimum industry standards and safeguards for financial institutions to address environmental and social risks in countries where they finance fossil fuel and mining projects. The American banks—Citi, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo—are listed as having left the group of institutions that have signed the principles. The news was condemned by climate groups as “shocking” and “cowardly.”
Overnight News Digest - Saturday Science - Spring Ahead, Replacing Grass, Black Rhinos, Voyager I by Rise above the swamp. FromThe Hill: California proposes fracking phaseout, making good on Newsom’s pledge: California regulators have released official plans for phasing out fracking in the Golden State — nearly three years after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared his intentions to do so. The proposed regulation would amend the state’s Public Resources Code by including a clause “to phase out permits to conduct well stimulation treatments,” according to a notice from the California Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM). Well stimulation treatments are processes employed at oil and gas wells to boost production, including hydraulic fracturing — also known as fracking — as well as acid fracturing and acid matrix techniques. “While these methods are highly effective at increasing well productivity, there has been significant public concern about their potential environmental and health effects,” an initial statement of reasons from CalGEM said.
