Over at Climate Progress, Joe Romm writes Memorial Day 2030:
The three worst direct impacts to humans from our unsustainable use of energy will, I think, be Dust-Bowlification and sea level rise and ocean poisoning: Hell and High Water. But another impact—far more difficult to project quantitatively because there is no paleoclimate analog—may well affect far more people both directly and indirectly: war, conflict, competition for arable and/or habitable land.
We will have to work as hard as possible to make sure we don’t leave a world of wars to our children. That means avoiding decades if not centuries of strife and conflict from catastrophic climate change. That also means finally ending our addiction to oil, a source—if not the source—of two of our biggest recent wars. As the NYT reported in 2009:
The changing global climate will pose profound strategic challenges to the United States in coming decades, raising the prospect of military intervention to deal with the effects of violent storms, drought, mass migration and pandemics, military and intelligence analysts say.
Such climate-induced crises could topple governments, feed terrorist movements or destabilize entire regions, say the analysts, experts at the Pentagon and intelligence agencies who for the first time are taking a serious look at the national security implications of climate change.
It is a world not merely of endless regional resource wars around the globe. It is a world with dozens of Darfurs and Pakistani mega-floods, of countless environmental refugees — hundreds of millions by the second half of this century—all clamoring to occupy the parts of the developed world that aren’t flooded or desertified.
In such a world, everyone will ultimately become a veteran, and Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day may fade into obscurity, as people forget about a time when wars were the exception, a time when soldiers were but a small minority of the population. And if we don’t act swiftly and strongly to stop it, the worst impacts could last a long, long time (see NOAA stunner: Climate change “largely irreversible for 1000 years,” with permanent Dust Bowls in Southwest and around the globeand Nature Geoscience: ocean dead zones “devoid of fish and seafood” are poised to expand and “remain for thousands of years”).
So when does this start to happen?
Thomas Fingar, “the U.S. intelligence community’s top analyst,” sees it happening by the mid-2020s
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Green Diary Rescue is a regular Saturday feature at Daily Kos. Inclusion of a particular diary does not necessarily indicate my agreement with it.
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New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono dropped in to post a diary written by her and Assemblywoman Linda Stender about the Climate initiative flip-flop in N.J.:
Barbara Buono
The time to create a more sustainable future is now. Everyone should join us in calling on the governor to remain committed to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative."
Transportation
In the newest installment of Sunday Train, BruceMcF wrote about Fighting FUD on the first California HSR segment: "Last week, I looked at the California Legislative Analyst Office promoting a policy of raiding the California High Speed Rail funds to build commuter rail systems in LA and San Francisco by issuing what at first blush seemed to be simply a grossly incompetent analysis of the risks of building the HSR project. This week, I step back and take a broader view of why it would be idiotic to accept the LAO's advice, as well as why it matters to people across the country, and not just the people of California who risk ongoing oil addiction of their intercity transport between Northern and Southern California."
marking time explained why the answer to this question is a no-brainer—Government subsidies - Oil or HSR?: "I saw this headline in the news today: 'GOP pushes private rail investment.' Of course, the assumptions behind this policy are 1) that private development is more efficient than government funded development and 2) that the profit motive is sufficient incentive for private companies to develop HSR systems. At the same time, the GOP absolutely refuses to eliminate subsidies for big oil. The assumptions here seem to be that the profit motive in the energy industry is not sufficient incentive for oil companies to develop new oil sources."
nthelurch gave us the skinny on how things are working out with his new wheels in My Electric Ride - Week 5: "For the first time, both my wife and I didn't remember to plug in the car on Friday night. We had about 27 miles remaining and so it wasn't a big deal and Saturday is generally a light driving day. But it does bring up the fact that you do need to pay attention. I've signed up for the email reminders that the car is unplugged."
Ann Mesnikoff explained how a new labeling rule gives consumers better information in her diary Transportation News: Labels, EVs, and High Standards: "If you've ever spent time at a car dealership perusing the new vehicle's window labels, you got a little more help today. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation just unveiled new vehicle labels for new cars that will make things a little easier to understand. The new labels 'provide more comprehensive fuel efficiency information, including estimated annual fuel costs, savings, as well as information on each vehicle's environmental impact.' EPA's label website allows consumers to explore the new information and customize the data to their region."
Agriculture, Gardening & Food
NourishingthePlanet presented some Concrete Solutions for Urban Agriculture: "In this week’s episode, research fellow Supriya Kumar discusses Nazeer Ahmed Sonday and his work at the Philippi Horticulture Area (PHA). This piece of farmland, enclosed in concrete, not only produces fresh produce for the residents of Cape Town, South Africa, but it is also home to hundreds of species of migratory birds in the winter."
And revealed
Five Vegetables You’ve Never Heard of That are Helping to End Hunger: "No single food can put an end to hunger. But worldwide there are many different fruits and vegetables that are helping to improve nutrition and diets, while increasing incomes and improving livelihoods. Today, Nourishing the Planet introduces a new series featuring the four vegetables—and one fruit that acts like a vegetable— that you have likely never heard of that are helping to alleviate hunger and poverty."
Elisa made our mouths water with Savory Latino Meals Without the Meat (Recipes and time-saving tips included!): "Whenever I tell people that I cook only vegetarian food at home, their reaction mirrors my own 15 years ago when I first met my now husband. 'What kind of Latino are you?' I asked him as I gulped down a plate of shrimp. As it turns out, he is very Latino. He eats what all Salvadorans eat: rice, beans and tortillas. As a kid of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent, I ate mostly rice and beans, too. But I devoured meat any opportunity I got from Cuban pork sandwiches to Puerto Rican codfish. There was nothing more savory to me than meat juice. Believe it or not 'caldo' – a cup of chicken broth with no chicken in it – is an actual meal in Cuba!"
the fan man alerted us to a story about Organic farms being implicated in EU E Coli Outbreak: "The epicenter of this outbreak is Hamburg, Germany. Investigators first focused on meat products but the common denominator appeared to be salad produce: tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. Unlike O157, 0104 is extremely difficult to detect. After sampling a variety of produce, scientists isolated the strain in four cucumbers at a leading supermarket that also supplies restaurants in the area. Traceback certifications lead to two organic farms in Almeria and Malaga Spain as the source of the cucumbers. Spain supplies a great deal of the EU's cucumbers (who knew?) so the implications are quite serious. Spain's ag minister and food safety official are vigorously denying the accusations of course. They suspect contamination further up the distribution chain."
In another installment of Tales from the Larder, Patric Juillet delivered 2 Traditional Recipes: "Canard à l'Orange is perhaps the most well known classic dish in the French cuisine repertoire although only a few weeks ago I did read in Le Monde that Couscous is now officially number one dish served in French households, surpassing the iconic Beef Bourguignon, the well loved Choucroute Garnie and even the staid Blanquette de Veau! Food historians have written extensively about the practice of pairing citrus fruits with meat, likely originating in the Middle East (I am not aware of ancient Chinese recipes featuring fruits though it may have occurred). The acid in the fruit rips into the fat of the meat, making the meat more palatable and digestible, particularly if it's a fatty cut."
In What's for Dinner, Translator explained some Obscure Kitchen Chemistry: "Hello, everyone! Tonight we shall look at some of the chemistry that occurs when you cook. Cooking is essentially a chemical process, and the change in chemical properties in the materials changes the physical nature of them. We shall talk a bit about biology as well, because of the possibility of food poisoning and other biologically mediated afflictions."
beach babe in fl had some harsh words about the making of foie gras in Get Your Ducks In A Row/ with action: "Deprived of everything that is natural to them, ducks and geese who are used in foie gras production suffer from frustration and stress. They are crammed into tiny pens or individual cages fouled with faeces and blood and often develop skeletal disorders and respiratory problems as a result. Pipes are shoved down their throats several times a day to force up to four and a half pounds of grain, maize and fat into their stomachs. In human terms, that is the equivalent of roughly 45 pounds of pasta."
In Macca's Meatless Monday, she provided a virtual Ticket To Rome: "I want to introduce you to Mia MacDonald, Executive Director of Brighter Green a non-profit public policy action tank that aims to raise awareness and encourage dialogue on and attention to issues that span the environment, animals, and sustainable development both globally and locally. Brighter Green's work has a particular focus on equity and rights. Mia MacDonald has just returned from China where her work has been published in China Dialogue a leading online English-Chinese journal on environmental issues."
In her long running Saturday Morning Garden Blogging series, Frankenoid discussed what's growing in Denver: "The cool, wet weather has really played hell on my plantings, though. I've had seedlings drown before I could get them in the ground; root rot developing on the potted begonias; the clitoria got too cold and, while not dead, the foliage was damaged; the brugmansia seem to be hibernating."
Animals
For Dawn Chorus, lineatus discussed bird politics in Socialist Pecksticks!: "Today we take a look at some totally socialist birds. Such complete flaming lefties that I'm pretty sure their scientific name 'Melanerpes formicivorus' translates as 'community organizer.' They even wear little Che Guevara style red berets! I speak, of course, of the ACORN Woodpecker. Yes, I know your field guide doesn't bother to properly capitalize their name, but that doesn't disguise the essential nature of these little avian activists. Let’s save RedState some trouble and get to the bottom of their story here."
After a hiatus, Haole in Hawaii returned with a photo diary of Underwater Hawaii with Octopus Porn
Marbled Shrimp
Climate Change
Benintn wrote Climate Change Meets Disaster Capitalism in Tennessee: "Severe weather and flooding are not necessarily a direct result of climate change, but the increased frequency of such disasters in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions (remember Snowpocalypse?) illustrates a trend that climate scientists have been warning about for years. The fluctuations in temperature, the warming of oceans, and the mix of hot and cold extremes is all connected to global climate change and increased carbon emissions. What's going on today is just a preview of what's coming. Of course, disaster capitalists don't mind this at all. A disaster is just an opportunity to make more money by responding to an emergency."
jamess reported on how Amazing Nature is boosting its Ocean Carbon Capture as the Planet warms: "Scientists at the South Pole are announcing their recent finding that as Ice Bergs melt in the Ocean, huge Algae Blooms follow in their melt-water wakes ... 'Melting Antarctic icebergs fight back against global warming
[...] Scientists have calculated that the melting icebergs deposit up to 120,000 tonnes of biological material into the Southern Ocean every year. That material, in turn, is believed to spur the growth of enough plankton to remove more than two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air. Smith said the phenomenon may have implications for global climate models.'"
With permission, boatsie posted an essay by Bill McKibben on Tornadoes,
Keep Calm and Carry On: "Caution: It is vitally important not to make connections. When you see pictures of rubble like this week’s shots from Joplin, Missouri, you should not ask yourself: I wonder if this is somehow related to the huge tornado outbreak three weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, or the enormous outbreak a couple of weeks before that—together they comprised the most active April for tornadoes in our history. But that doesn’t mean a thing."
FishOutofWater aso wrote on that topic in Tornadoes & Climate Change: "In my quest to find out why so many tornadoes happened this year I came across a pre-publication report on line which may indicate that the United States is entering a period of increased numbers of tornadoes, a period of drought in the southwestern states and period of possibly more Atlantic hurricanes. A combination of climate change and changing natural cycles may be responsible for the extreme weather. "
Something the Dog Said was glad (and perhaps a little surprised) to see USAToday Comparing Climate Change Deniers To Birthers: "Today we see another sign that things may be on the change. USAToday has published and editorial that is comparing climate change deniers to Birthers. This is a big step because the denial of climate change has been going into high gear among Republicans and while it is to be expected in that many of the positions of the modern Republican party are flatly contrary to reality, the numbers of them have an affect on public sentiment that allows these kinds of things a legitimacy they do not deserve ."
Steven D presented More Evidence Climate Change Is Accelerating (and no, I don't mean all the Tornadoes): "[T]he new evidence has everything to do with 13 species of common plants in the Midwest and what all the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is doing to them. Here's the evidence climate change is likely occurring faster than we expected: funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy has just been just published in the journal Global Change Biology. It shows that excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affects those plants significantly in one very important way: Exposure to excess CO2 makes these plants less able to absorb CO2 emissions."
Energy
zeke7237 suggested what he believes to be The Perfect Battery!: "Once you realize that the grid is your friend, you can start thinking about solar in a different way. If you're not maintaining batteries, then it becomes much less important to have a perfect site. If you just look at your total annual power budget it turns out that all of the excess generation you do in the summer during long hot sunny days can be used in the winter when you're not generating much at all, courtesy of the grid."
Oil-price speculation was on a lot of minds this week:
The Anomaly took notice of the words of someone who should know in Exxon CEO: Oil Price is 9x Higher than Production Cost: "As Goldman Sachs has admitted, speculators have caused the price of oil to rise at least $25 per barrel above what fundamentals would dictate. In truth, the entire media narrative has been spun to mislead the public into believing that price moves are being driven by increases in demand. Despite the fact that oil consumption decreased by 1.1 Mbd over the last year, news outlets have suggested otherwise by stating that there has been a 'drawdown of inventories. 'This is because deliveries of oil have decreased by 1.2 Mbd over the same period."
Vyan wrote Finally: CFTF Charges Oil Speculators with Manipulation: "Naturally rather than recognize the truth, Republicans have been trying to somehow blame Obama for the high Oil prices because he supposedly "wants to promote alternative energy" and because of his decision to temporarily halt exploratory drilling in the Gulf after one of the largest Oil Spill In History by.. BP!"
jamess asked How's that Free-Market 'Supply and Demand' impacting your daily Commute budget?: "The Wall Street reform law enacted last year required the commission to restrict the amount of oil that speculators could trade in the energy futures market. The law called for new regulations to kick in by January. 'I want to know why they haven’t done it,' [Senator Bernie] Sanders said. 'In other words, the chief regulator on oil speculation [Gary Gensler, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman], in my view, is breaking the law.'"
Mary wrote Speculators Damage Oil Market: "Matt Taibbi discusses McClatchy's Wikileak analysis on how the Saudis warned the US numerous times that speculators had a great deal to do with the high oil prices of 2008 and they worried that the speculators could devastate the oil market. The Saudis reported that although they increased production upon the request of the US, there weren't any takers on the market because the market was already saturated."
Brian Ross wondered Will the Koch Brothers be Indicted for Oil Manipulation?: "Gasoline is at $4+ a gallon nationally. Supply is high. Demand is decreasing. So, in a free market, where supply and demand are supposed to be the yin and yang of price control, how does it happen that gas prices stay so high? When the market isn't free. The Koch Brothers aren't just about Right Wing politics. One of their businesses may be making millions by influencing the supply of crude oil. "
Regarding Japan's nuclear power plants and New Mexico's uranium mines , Cactus Justice offered Radioactive Optimism:: "In 2010, the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld a permit for a uranium mine in northwestern New Mexico. The NRC had approved the project even though the method that will be used to restore the aquifer had never been shown to work. Further, the NRC established cleanup procedures based on economic considerations and reports from the regulated industry. If nuclear power is ever to become a safe alternative to fossil fuels, America's officials and scientists must do a better job of avoiding the radioactive optimism that is prevalent among promoters of nuclear energy."
DWG gave everyone Something to share with your Catholic friends: "Climate change is already having an impact on the hydrological cycle, which will severely impact food production and water availability for future generations. This is probably the largest ethical and moral challenge we have ever faced as a species. The selfish choices we make for ourselves and we allow our politicians to make for us will harm the unborn of the future, not to mention the already born of the present. "
And lamented Another clean energy battle is about to be lost: "Allowing the biggest fuel guzzler in the federal government to use the dirtiest of fossil fuels is big step in the wrong direction. It paves the way for the use of tar sands oil, shale oil, and liquefied coal as transportation fuels by the Defense Department for the foreseeable future."
And gave some plaudits to a Congressman in Waxman dares ask if tar sands oil pipeline will benefit Koch Industries: "Henry Waxman and Bobby Rush, the top ranking Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, had the audacity to question the relationship between Koch Industries and the massive new Keystone XL pipeline under review by the State Department. The Republicans and Koch Industries were not amused. 'We are writing to request that in preparation for the hearing on and markup of this draft legislation, the Committee request documents from Koch Industries relating to the company’s interests in Canadian tar sands and the extent to which it will benefit if the Keystone XL pipeline is constructed,' the Democrats write in a letter sent to committee Republicans Friday.' The Hill, May 20, article by Andrew Restuccia."
And took on myopia in Ohio opens all state lands to oil and gas drilling: "The scorched-earth Republicans in Ohio have opened up all state lands to oil and gas drilling. The impact will be extensive in the eastern half of the state where the Devonian and Marcellus shale formations will be targeted by drillers. Frack, baby, frack. "
fjgallagher highlighted a new video on that subject in NYU Students Drop Some Fracking Knowledge: "David Holmes, one of the students behind the video, told naturalgaswatch.org that reaction to the piece so far has been 'very positive.' 'Most of the negative reactions have come from the pro-fracking camp, but there are some viewers who feel I didn’t no far enough in condemning fracking,' Holmes said. 'I definitely understand their comments, but I didn’t want the song to turn into an all-out polemic against fracking when there are still so many unanswered questions about the practice.' "
Karen from Maui brought up the problems pointed out in that video in her diary, Natural Gas - Frack You!: "This is how unsuspecting farmers who've been convinced to sell off their mineral rights suddenly find that the water from their kitchen faucet can be lit on fire."
HoundDog provided reason for optimism in Solar Cell Costs Fell 21% this Year, and May be Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels and Nuclear in 3-5 Years: "Because GE, is talking about the free market price for the installer, or owner-operators, rather than for full life-cycle, whole systems cost to society, these cost comparisions exclude the external costs, of managing radioactive wastes, liability caps, environmental costs, such as CO2 production, and global warming, and the hidden "risk-premium" to society of a Fukushima like accident. So, I suspect means solar is probably already cheaper than nuclear, and coal from our total economic and social system viewpoint."
Mountaintop removal is getting some push back next month, eeff announced in Appalachia Rising: March on Blair Mountain: "Early this June, many of our friends in Appalachia will embark on an amazing journey. They will join hundreds of people from Appalachia and across the nation for a historic event: 'Appalachia Rising: March on Blair Mountain.' The march will take place in the heart of southern West Virginia. We'd like to invite you to join them on June 11th at the culminating rally to call for an end to mountaintop removal, stronger labor rights and sustainable jobs in Appalachian communities, and the preservation of Blair Mountain."
And coal burning in general got some push back from Phil Radford II Greenpeace—In Chicago, coal is the real crime: "Ever since I got my start as an advocate for a healthy environment on Chicago’s West Side, I have wondered why we fail to feel that same sense of outrage when the culprit in a crime against innocents is not a gunman seeking cash, but a corporation seeking to improve its bottom line. Maybe the impacts of a company’s misdeeds are of a scale so grand that it is difficult for us to imagine. Every year, the toxic pollution that spews from the smokestacks of America’s coal-fired power plants kills between 13,000 and 34,000 people, according to studies by the Clean Air Task Force and Harvard University. "
Green Policy, Green Activism & Politicians
Heather TaylorMiesle NRDC Action Fund wasn't too impressed with the possibility of another GOP presidential candidate in T-PAW Behind the Times: "Former Minnesota Tim Pawlenty (R) decided to run for President on Monday. Let’s see if it’s a decision he sticks with. Because when it comes to environmental decisions, he has a habit of repeatedly changing his mind."
noise of rain focused on some direct action inGetting High the Greenpeace Way: Scaling the Tower of Dirty Power: "As nascent activists, we begin to see ourselves as agents of creative disruption. When we stand on a street corner with a sign in hand, we make a small step to alter the repressive limits of propriety regarding street corners. Street corners are re-imagined as active spaces, places of communicative possibility via body, voice and image. A march, a rally, a protest all serve the same function. They disassemble unquestioned assemblies, and allow us to create new terms for re-assembly. Within this ruptured space is our great potential for creative awakening. Our marches turn to parades, our rallies become theatrical, our voices become song, our song becomes viral. "
The Natural World & The Great Outdoors
The Daily Bucket Series:
Mark Sumner:
Snake bit Edition: "While looking off my back deck, I spotted some color down in the woods that just didn't seem to fit with the normal palette of greens and browns. Sure, there are some colorful little flowers tucked back there in the shade, but this looked like something large. And orange. A large orange thing. So I wandered down to the creek for a closer look, and here's what I found."
bwren: green: "I need to talk about green today, because green is what's happening in the forest
right now. Not the shades of green that I've spoken about before, the early spring green that's saturated with yellow or red or brown. No, this is full on crayon green, kid's coloring book green, fat summer green. "
bwren: Winter Wren kids: "A male Winter Wren explodes out of the brush to perch not three feet away from me. He faces me full on, bobs up and down and scolds, 'chtchtchtchtchtchtchtcht!.' Sings a fragment of song, just the opening trill, which collapses into more scolding as a second wren rises up to bob and yell at me from an equally close position. OK. I'm too close. I'm leaving now. I have this habit of replying to any critter who chooses to speak to me. I turn and begin to move away, which puts my line of sight directly onto a tangle of ferns. It moves. One-two-three-four wide-gaped brown fluffballs scatter out of its shelter, clumsy fluttering shadows flying fast and low. One tumbles into the brush, two make it to a fallen log, the last grabs onto a low branch and teeters there, wings flapping."
enhydra lutris: Another Heron Count: "Only 7 nests seemed to be in use as of today with at least 4 babies and at least 5 adults. One nest with no adults had two babies, so there is almost certainly another adult around, foraging or such. These are bare minimum figures, we can only observe about 1/2 of the rookery, and we cannot see into most of the nests, so unless a bird sits up or stands, we miss it."
enhydra lutris: Pesky Robin Edition.
enhydra lutris: Post Rapture Edition.
enhydra lutris: Post & Run Edition/
enhydra lutris: Delayed Tanager: "This is the first time we have ever seen a tanager in the neighborhood, or, for that matter, in the Castro Valley/Hayward, CA area, let alone in our back yard."
enhydra lutris: Post & Run Edition.
Round-ups, Wrap-ups, Live Blogs & Summaries
Gulf Watchers #521 by Lorinda Pike: Negotiating the Truth - BP Catastrophe.
Gulf Watchers #522 by peraspera: BP shutting down 3 LA claims offices - BP Catastrophe.
kavips: Recent Wind News.
Karen Hedwig Backman: Digging a Deeper Grave... Sex and Death and Oil.
Toxins & Hazardous Waste
Mary Anne Hitt urged everyone to Speak Out For Mercury Safeguards at EPA's Hearings: "EPA is holding three public hearings — two on Tuesday (in Chicago and Philly) and one on Thursday (Atlanta) — so people like you and me can make sure the agency knows how important it is to have strong protections against toxic pollutants such as mercury. The Sierra Club and our allies will be out in force at all three hearings, complete with rallies, press conferences, and even a march of moms with kids in strollers. Mercury is toxic and is especially a threat to children, babies, and babies-on-the-way. Mercury exposure can cause neurological and developmental problems like learning disabilities."
She followed up with the good news that Residents Flooded This Week's EPA Mercury Hearings: "'As a mother, I am worried about the constant threat my children face from the pollution that coal-fired power plants put in our air and water,' said Gretchen Alfonso, a Philadelphia mother two who testified on Tuesday. 'It makes me angry that, despite my best efforts at living a healthy lifestyle, my body and my children’s growing bodies are being invaded by toxins from all angles.'In Pennsylvania, coal-fired power plants emit more than 15,500 pounds of toxic mercury every year. Even industry officials showed up to support the safeguards."
On the same topic, Michael Brune asked What Are We Waiting For?: "Administrator Lisa P. Jackson was on The Daily Show last week, talking to Jon Stewart about the EPA's proposed rules to limit mercury, acid gases and other toxic pollution from coal plants. She spoke about the harm mercury does ('destroys our children's brains, oftentimes before they're born') and how many lives would be saved each year ('up to 17,000 premature deaths each year'). And this week, Americans had a chance to weigh in on the rule at public hearings held by the EPA in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. And weigh in they did -- from moms with strollers to clergy to fishermen to pediatricians. Their message was simple: We've got to stop poisoning our children. We've known about this problem for decades. We know how to fix it. What are we waiting for? Good question."
Et Cetera
Christian Dem in NC spotlighted an important analysis in LA Times op-ed: Mississippi River flood is a man-made disaster: "Paul VandeVelder has a pretty chilling op-ed piece in the May 25 LA Times that went national today. He argues that the massive flooding along the Mississippi isn't a natural disaster, but a man-made one. Specifically, VandeVelder pins the flooding at least in part on the Pick-Sloan Plan, the massive 1944 project to dam up the upper Missouri River. 'This is a man-made disaster, the legacy of an earlier generation of politicians, farmers and ranchers who made a lot of bad (and very expensive) decisions to correct short-term problems on the Missouri River when the best available science — including findings in a 1934 corps report — warned Congress that those solutions would create dire long-term consequences.' "
Stuart H Smith reviewed The Big Fix: A Film that Exposes the Biggest Environmental Coverup Ever: "I traveled to France last weekend to see the much-ballyhooed world premiere of the BP oil spill documentary The Big Fix at the Cannes Film Festival. I can't offer enough praise. It's a brilliant piece of work, exceeding all hype and expectation. The audience at the screening I attended was completely blown away by both the stunning cinematography and the jaw-dropping evidence that the BP spill involved a coverup at the highest levels of the industry, the military and the Obama Administration. It is this cabal – best described as the "petroleum-military-industrial complex" – that wreaks havoc around the world poisoning people and the environment, as it did with the BP oil spill."
Part of the answer to a settlement in the Middle East, norabele suggested, might be a Green and Sustainable Peace: "Instead of talking of DISPLACING people, especially the foundational people who work every day to earn a bit better life for themselves and their children, how about discussing GREEN-SPACING for people-- to enable the people of Palestine (and, yes, all the marginalized, underserved, foundational and at-risk peoples of the world, as possible) to have resilient/renewable infrastructures in their lives, to have adequate food, water, energy, education, economic opportunity, in short, to have safe, secure, sustainable lives, and hope for the future. Green-spacing is a much more holistic response to deprivation, violence, and dissolution of states. Peace, especially in these days of global awareness and interdependence, can be better achieved when all neighbors have unthreatened, sustainable lives and futures."
Fukushima Nukes
boatsie: 10 Centimeter Holes Fukushima #2: Rov#57.
cosmic debris: The Art of Full Meltdown: Fukushima Daiichi: "With recent revelations about failed emergency vents, the likely extreme damage from the earthquake prior to the tsunami, and finally, admission there has been full core nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, the depth of the tragedy sunk into my heart in ways that left me with no more words. It is at times like these that I look to artists, poets and musicians to translate the human and ecological tragedy into meaning. I think of the iconic images from Katrina, from the Iraq war, from Abu Ghraib and how artists transcended the horror, the horror into a common shared experience."
Jan F. Welker
joieau: Fukushima: Into the Abyss: "This no doubt explains why TEPCO's PR department felt it needed to let loose of the information that yes, there was a total meltdown at Unit-1, right as the drywell levels started rising precipitously. Since they have now reported the same for units 2 and 3, we can no doubt expect much the same sort of sudden 'bursts' of radioactivity coming from them in the next few days. "
FOYI: More Tepco Photos of Tsunami
nathguy: Fukushima: The Future's so bright, I gotta wear shades: "And in 1971 the Atomic Energy Commission did a series of tests of Emergency Core Cooling systems. Accidents were simulated. In each case the emergency systems worked - but the water failed to fill the core. Often being forced out under pressure. As one of the AEC scientists says in the film: "We discovered that our theoretical calculations didn't have a strong correlation with reality. But we just couldn't admit to the public that all these safety systems we told you about might not do any good." And again the warnings were ignored by senior members of the Agency and the industry.That was the same year that the first of the Fukushima Daiichi plant's reactors came online. Supplied by General Electric. "
nathguy: Fukushima: Losing My Religion: "The Japanese have always believed in order. That to believe in the system was to be Japanese. To have this kind of disturbance is very Unjapanese. What will happen next? Dogs and Cats sleeping together?
For the Japanese to lose this faith in Unity and State is a complete breakdown of
the modern Japanese religion."
nathguy: fukushima: The last days of may: "That Gamma Pic is showing 300 uSV/Hour and oh BTW those workers? They are
damned close to lethal doses. But, I am sure the Shills are out there screaming
even now 'NOBODY has died from Fukushima.' "
nathguy: Fukushima: Who'll stop the rain.
