Protesters are arrested for their tribal chant in the Senate gallery after the
Keystone XL pipeline vote. See Pakalolo's
diary.
Many environmentally related posts appearing at Daily Kos each week don't attract the attention they deserve. To help get more eyeballs, Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) normally appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The most recent Wednesday Spotlight can be seen here. More than
20,080 environmentally oriented diaries have been rescued for inclusion in this weekly collection since 2006. Inclusion of a diary in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
"Where's the Global Warming?" thought Buffalonian; then they looked at a map—by
A Siegel: "The continental United States has been slammed byHistoric Lake Effect Snowstorm in Buffalo, New York Area cold temperatures and it is difficult to escape images of Buffalo's massive snowfall. When there is a big snowstorm, climate science deniers gleefully crow 'Where's Global Warming' and otherwise in a way that resonates with (sadly, too large) a segment of the population and is gleefully played by media outlets looking for shallowly amusing items to spread around. A la Senator James Inhofe (R-ExxonMobil) dragging out his children to make an igloo on the Mall mocking Al Gore, the science denial community leverages what is going on in backyards and on TV broadcasts to confuse people about reality. Yes, Buffalo is having a massive, massive snowstorm. (And, I do not envy -- sympathize greatly with -- those who are trying to deal with its impacts -- from shoveling massive amounts of snow, to worrying about whether your home will cave in, to ...) For too many, that (beautiful) white stuff somehow is a disproving item when it comes to climate change science. To try to explain that, in fact, the snow is related to climate change opens the door for ill-educated mockery. Yet, it is ..."
Introducing "Natural Gas Exports: Washington's Revolving Door Fuels Climate Threat"—by
Steve Horn: "DeSmogBlog’s Steve Horn and Republic Report’s Lee Fang have co-written an in-depth report on the influence the government-industry revolving door has had on Big Oil’s ability to obtain four liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits since 2012 from the Obama Administration. Titled 'Natural Gas Exports: Washington’s Revolving Door Fuels Climate Threat,' the report published here on DeSmogBlog and on Republic Report serves as the launching pad of an ongoing investigation. It will act as the prelude of an extensive series of articles by both websites uncovering the LNG exports influence peddling machine. The report not only exposes the lobbying apparatus that has successfully opened the door for LNG exports, but also the PR professionals paid to sell them to the U.S. public. It also exposes those who have gone through the 'reverse revolving door,” moving from industry back to government and sometimes back again.'"
Daily Bucket--Florida's Invaders: Tokay Gecko—by
Lenny Flank: "Florida is the land of invasive species. Because of our status as a center for the importing of exotic pets and houseplants from overseas, and our neo-tropical climate, we have been invaded by everything from kudzu plants to Burmese pythons. One of our invaders is a large unfriendly lizard from southeast Asia with a not-very-polite nickname, that is very popular in the pet trade. The Geckos are one of the largest groups of lizards, with at least 1500 different species scattered in tropical and temperate areas around the world. Nearly all are nocturnal, sleeping during the day and hunting for insects and smaller animals at night. They are best-known for their complex toe pads which allow them to walk up walls and across ceilings, seemingly defying gravity. The Geckos are also unusual among reptiles in that they communicate vocally, calling to each other in the night using chirps, squeaks or barks. One of the most familiar of this group of lizards is the Tokay Gecko, Gekko gecko, which can be found from southeast Asia down into Indonesia and up into India. (The Bangladesh population is sometimes considered to be a separate subspecies.) This is a large lizard, reaching over a foot long (Tokays are the second-largest species of Gecko in the world), with an attractive color pattern of slate blue or light purple covered with rust-red or orange spots. [...] During the Vietnam War, American soldiers who heard the geckos calling at night thought that it was Viet Cong guerrillas taunting them with rude English insults from the jungle, and the Tokay Gecko was widely known as the 'fuck you' lizard."
GOP & 16 Ds Pass "Promoting New Manufacturing Act." Spoiler: It's Not About Promoting Manufacturing.—by
Liberty Equality Fraternity and Trees : "This week has been Attack the EPA Week in the House. The Republican attacks continued today with the so-called Promoting Manufacturing Act. Spoiler: It's not about promoting manufacturing. Instead, it's about exempting factories from the Clean Air Act. This bill would modify the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Air Act permit program.
Despite its name, this bill would do nothing to promote new manufacturing, and, in fact, would only serve to weaken the EPA’s ability to create and enforce protections for the nation's air quality. [...] This bill would create a loophole in that process by requiring the EPA to implement 'concurrent' guidance, exempting newer facilities from new, stricter air quality standards. This would directly cause more pollution in the air, harming public health and causing higher cleanup costs. It would also drive up the operational costs of existing industrial facilities, forcing them to lower their emissions further to compensate for the new facilities releasing more than their fair share of pollutants."
We won! The final tally for Climate Hawks Vote's 2014 races.—by
RLMiller: "The final tally for Climate Hawks Vote in 2014: we endorsed in 17 elections, including 3 primaries and 14 general election races; we won 11 and lost 6. No matter what, I'm proud of all of our endorsed climate hawk candidates. No regrets. No compromises. All of the candidates we endorsed have been fierce on climate, whether solar solutionistas or energy efficiency evangelists. Thanks to all who made this possible!"
You can find more rescued green diaries below the orange garden layout.
Trash, Pollution & Hazardous Waste
A Shot Across the EPA's Bow—by Quabbin: "The GOP-dominated House of Representatives is wasting no time going after the Environmental Protection Agency. With the passage last Tuesday of HR 1422, the 'EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2013', Republicans have taken two major steps toward wounding one of their favorite progressive boogeymen. First introduced in April, 2013 by Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT), the bill has languished in relative obscurity waiting for a more opportune moment to move forward. That moment has arrived. It passed 229-191 along party lines, but with four Democrats voting in support I guess it'll be hailed as an example of the ever-elusive bipartisanship that's been missing for the last six years. From Section 2, pertaining to the makeup of the Science Advisory Board come the following pertinent gems: (C) persons with substantial and relevant expertise are not excluded from the Board due to affiliation with or representation of entities that may have a potential interest in the Board's advisory activities, so long as that interest is fully disclosed . ... In other words, any 'scientist' receiving income from an oil, coal or gas company is now eligible to be a member of the advisory board regardless of the obvious conflict of interest."
GOP Uses Lame Duck Session to Launch New Attacks on the EPA--with Some Dem Help—by Liberty Equality Fraternity and Trees : "Now that the election is over, it's time for the House Republicans to go back to one of their favorite pastimes: attacking the EPA. Yesterday, the House voted on the so-called EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act. The bill is designed to weaken scientific authority, increase corporate influence over EPA rulemaking, and burden the Science Advisory Board with more work to do on its already limited funds. [...] Under this bill, the EPA would be required to select members for the SAB that represent a 'balanced' view of scientific issues, regardless of the legitimacy of those views—exposing the Board to potentially politically motivated beliefs not grounded in actual science. Additionally, the bill would allow up to 90% of SAB members to be private-sector scientists with direct ties to the industries—opening the door for corporations to hold powerful influence over its decisions and recommendations to the EPA."
Climate Chaos
Denier Reaction to 2014's Record Heat: Denial—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "Seth Borenstein, environmental reporter for the AP, writes about NOAA's recent announcement that this October was the hottest on record. October is the 5th month in 2014 to be the hottest on record, which means—in the words of NOAA's Deke Arndt—that, 'It is becoming pretty clear that 2014 will end up as the warmest year on record.' If it's the hottest year on record—hotter than 1998, which was an El Niño year—then that will certainly quiet the deniers who harp on the pause, right?Because how can you possibly say there's a pause if it's hotter? Without any legitimate way to claim warming has stopped, what might we look forward to hearing from deniers? Paul Homewood's blog provides a glimpse of what's likely to come. Instead of using NASA and NOAA data, which show record warming by taking into account both air and ocean temperatures, Paul decides instead to double down on denial by looking only at RSS and UAH atmospheric temperature data to argue that it's not the hottest month or year. Paul, of course, fails to mention the scope of the RSS and UAH measurements or the fact that 90% of the heat goes into the ocean!"
You've heard about the Polar Vortex -- Say Hello to its proximate cause: Arctic Amplification—by jamess:
"And no doubt, those same Climate clueless complainers, can't be bothered by watching a video or two, or reading the abstracts of a few Climate studies. So let me compile some 'study notes' for them in that regard ... you know for the next time our ever-morphing Climate System decides to give us another 'Pop Quiz.'"
NASA creates incredible video to illustrate the role of CO2 in climate change around the world—by Jen Hayden: "NASA has released an amazing new video: A Year in the Life of Earth's CO2. It brilliantly illustrates how carbon dioxide travels around the world. The mesmerizing computer model makes it crystal clear that all countries of the world will have to act together to combat climate change."
Americans want limits on CO2 emissions, but they keep electing too many people who don't—by Meteor Blades: "A poll conducted by Yale’s Project on Climate Change Communication has found 67 percent of Americans favor federal regulations to limit carbon emissions from power plants even if that means paying more for their electricity.
That meshes somewhat with the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll asking what Americans think the new Congress should do. Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed support addressing climate change by limiting carbon emissions."
5th Anniversary of Climategate—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "This week in 2009, one of the biggest blows to climate science exploded into public awareness: Climategate. It began with the release of thousands of emails from the University of East Anglia. The denier PR machine was then able—by truncating quotes and releasing them to a harried and conflict-driven media without context—to portray climate scientists as unethical, unscientific and untrustworthy. Ultimately, however, truth prevailed. One investigation after another cleared the scientists of any wrong-doing and proved the deceptive depths to which deniers had sunk. Years later, the damage appears to have been minor and transitory. In a study published in Environmental Research Letters, Anderegg and Goldsmith used google searches to show that while there was an intial surge in media coverage, the manufactored scandal quickly died down. But, as Lewandowsky points out in a letter in ERL about the Anderegg study, those with a 'conspiracy obsession' continue to focus on the event, even though the general public has long forgotten its existence (assuming they even knew about it in the first place)."
Climate Finance: Finally, pledges to the Green Climate Fund—by Mattias: "Climate finance has been a key element in the climate debates for years, and some progress has been made. The Green Climate Fund is a concrete result from the UN talks, and with a pledging meeting in Berlin, Thursday, the fund is finally starting to be filled. The need for climate finance is huge, and it is difficult to set targets, and to make priorities. UNEP has recently said that adaptation only in Africa will amount to 50 billion USD per year from 2050, which would consume half of the total target, of 100 billion USD per year, for climate finance from 2020. Developing countries have called for at least 15 billion USD from the first pledging round to the Green Climate fund. This should not be unrealistic, but donor countries are still hesitating."
Eco-Related Candidacies, DC & State Politics
.@badler states bluntly: @JimWebbUSA "sucks on #climate change"—by A Siegel: "Former Marine, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA)Former Secretary of the Navy, Former Senator Jim Webb is the first out of the box for the 2016 Democratic Party Presidential nomination hunt. Here at DKos, Markos has a biting (and to me, generally accurate) review of Webb's announcement video in the context of Democratic Party primary politics and TeacherKen put up a sympathetic reflection on Jim Webb. While Webb is far from the stage of having formal policy issue statements, he does have a record of action and statements to examine. Over at Grist, Ben Adler put up a searing review of Jim Webb and climate/environmental issues: in the Senate, Webb was a 'climate curmudgeon,' [who worked to undermine Presidential authority to negotiate climate treaties, fought against the Environmental Protection Agency, and on climate change, by far the most monumental environmental issue, Webb may be little better than the Republican Party to which he once belonged."
Energy & Conservation
Comparing the Environmental Impacts of the Chernobyl and Fukushima Disasters—by MarineChemist: "This diary reports on a recently published peer reviewed study by Steinhauser and colleagues in the journal Science of the Total Environment (behind pay wall) comparing the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents. The diary is part of an ongoing effort to communicate the results of scientific studies into the impact of the Fukushima disaster on the environment. A majority of the radioactivity released from both Chernobyl and Fukushima can be attributed to volatile radionuclides (noble gases, iodine, cesium, tellurium). In contrast, the amounts of more refractory elements (including actinides like plutonium), released by Chernobyl was ~four orders of magnitude (10,000 fold) higher than releases from Fukushima. The most cited source term for Chernobyl is 5300 PBq (excluding noble gases) while a review of published studies of Fukushima carried out by the authors above allow an estimate for the total atmospheric source term of 520 (a range of 340–800) PBq. Monitoring of air, soil and water for radionuclides after the respective accidents indicate that the environmental impact of Chernobyl is likely to be much greater than the Fukushima accident. The post is relatively information-dense as I have provided data tables for those who are interested in the estimates and the peer-reviewed studies from which they come. [...] According to Steinhauser and colleagues the environmental consequences of Chernobyl exceed the Fukushima accident by almost any measure. While 4 reactor complexes were involved at Fukushima and only one at Chernobyl, the total releases of radionuclides appear to be an order of magnitude lower for Fukushima."
Estimated total atmospheric source term for Fukushima compared to Chernobyl in PBq (PBq = 10^15 Bq).
Renewables
The Wind Energy Production Tax Credit Isn't About Politics, It's About People—by Mary Anne Hitt: "This week, thousands of Americans across the country (PDF) are pressuring Congress to renew the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), which is widely acknowledged for helping create 50,500 wind energy jobs that provide family wage opportunities for households from coast-to-coast. For the past two decades, the PTC has been a key driver in both wind-industry job growth and megawatts of clean wind energy. Ten states now generate more than 10 percent of their energy from wind energy because of it. Colorado, for example, generates approximately 20 percent, while Iowa and South Dakota generate more than 25 percent of their energy from wind. Nationally, clean, renewable, and affordable wind energy supplies approximately five percent of our energy needs, but can and should provide much, much more. The Department of Energy estimates that wind energy can produce 20 percent of our energy in just six years. So what's the problem? Why isn’t this tax incentive cheered from across the aisle and easily passed through both chambers of Congress and sent to the President’s desk? Wait for it...the fossil fuel industry."
Fracking
Fracking Fracking Financiers—by patbahn: "Jeremy Grantham is a British investor and co-founder and chief investment strategist of Grantham Mayo van Otterloo (GMO), a Boston-based asset management firm. GMO is one of the largest managers of such funds in the world, having more than US $112 billion in assets under management as of September 2013. He's been writing about Fracking as a disaster. U.S. Fracking: the Largest Red Herring in the History of Oil. It has not prevented the underlying costs of traditional oil from continuing to rise rapidly or the cash flow available to oil-producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and especially Venezuela from getting squeezed from both ends (rising costs and falling prices) with potential political consequences that I will leave to others to speculate about. The same pressures will of course also expose those oil operators that have been borrowing amounts close to the total of their cash flows for, strangely indeed, the fracking sub industry in total does not clearly show much positive cash flow despite considerably higher prices over the last two years than exist today. Yes, they have been drilling more wells that chew up money, but not that many more, and good operations have lowered the costs per well by over a third. On the GMO Quarterly Letter – Third Quarter 2014 16 other hand, they have drilled, as always the best parts of the best fields first, and because the first two years of flow are basically all we get in fracking, we should have expected considerably better financial results by now. The aggregate financial results allow for the possibility that fracking costs have been underestimated by corporations and understated in the press."
How Americans Came to Oppose Fracking—by brasch: "To understand why there has been a shift in public attitudes about horizontal fracking, it’s important to understand the nature of the mass media. The mainstream establishment media are not in the forefront of society, but follow it—sometimes years behind emerging issues. In the past decade, the media at first didn’t cover fracking, perhaps because it was too complicated for reporters who weren’t trained in the sciences, perhaps because significant downsizing by publishers left fewer reporters to cover critical issues, perhaps because the media didn’t think fracking affected their own circulation and viewership areas. The first stories came from the oil and gas industry, and the establishment media accepted what was handed out to them. Thus, public perception was mostly from pro-fracking information. But, the people knew. They could see their roads being torn up by gas-industry trucks, sometimes more than 200 a day on rural roads. They could see acres of agricultural and forest land leveled for the access roads and well pads. They could hear around-the-clock noise from the trucks, well pads, and compressor stations. They could empathize with neighbors whose land was condemned by eminent domain so that pipes could be laid across and beneath private land."
A Visit Home with a Slight Detour Up North To Stop The Fracking—by GoodOldSocialBill: "Living in the UK has been quite rewarding from a personal and professional standpoint. I’ve made new friends, pushed forward in my career, and enjoyed all of the sites and scenery the UK has to offer, and of course the huge amount of support the UK has for liberal agenda and anti fracking in particular which is a big issue I am involved in (which you will see later). However, I’ll always be a proud American from the great city of Memphis, Tennessee. To stave off feelings of homesick and to stay in touch with aspects of my former life, I choose to visit my hometown as often as I can. [...] My friend and I hopped in her car and, with the help of my handy automatic GPS mileage tracking app, (wooo modern tech) made our way from Memphis up to Fitchburg. We made it to Fitchburg in time for the “Stop the Pipeline Statewide Summit.” At this event, there were mainly residents from the communities that would be directly affected pipeline. The organizers came prepared with research regarding the project and ideas for less invasive methods of funneling the gases. Seeing how passionate these people were when it came to their home and their neighbors I was more than happy I made a trip to support these communities."
Keystone XL & Other Fossil Fuel Transportation
Open thread for night owls: TransCanada plans PR blitz on disputed eastern tar sands pipeline—by Meteor Blades: "TransCanada is proposing to convert and extend its existing natural gas pipeline into one that carries oil sands, an extra thick grade of crude. It's slated to transport 1.1 million barrels of oil sands daily through 2,858 miles of pipe stretching from Alberta to Nova Scotia. If completed, this pipeline would be the largest in North America. The pipeline's path would likely cross at least 90 watersheds and 961 waterways, including the St. Lawrence River from Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures to Lévis in Quebec, according to a report by the Council of Canadians. […] Edelman, based in Chicago, is the world's largest public relations firm, with more than 5,000 employees. […] Edelman advised a three-pronged approach to TransCanada: promote, respond, pressure. […] Finally, the PR company advised preparing research profiles on opposition groups, including gathering public records. Those at the top of the opponents list included the Council of Canadians, Equiterre, the David Suzuki Foundation, Avaaz and Ecology Ottowa. 'We cannot allow our opponents to have a free pass,' Edelman wrote."
Tar Sands End Runs—by Michael Brune: "In a narrow victory for common sense, yesterday the Senate rejected an attempt to legislate approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Senators like California's Barbara Boxer, Hawaii's Brian Schatz, and Virginia's Tim Kaine stood up as environmental champions and deserve our thanks for their leadership. But since the beginning, the decision on the pipeline has belonged to President Obama, so there's no good reason for the Senate to have wasted time on trying to circumvent the approval process. The bigger issue, though, is that there's no good reason to support Canadian tar sands expansion, much less allow more dirty tar sands oil into our country. Even though everything about tar sands oil is destructive, dirty, and dangerous, oil companies (and their champions on the Hill) are determined to bring as much of it as they can across our border, even if it means bending, breaking, or changing the rules. TransCanada failed this week to get the Senate to do an end run, but another tar sands company, Enbridge, has been having more success in a different branch of government."
PA SEN - Let Bob Casey Know You're Not Happy With His Keystone Pipeline Vote—by Bloodman: "I was very disappointed to read yesterday that our one Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, Bob Casey, voted to go ahead with the Keystone pipeline. As I'm sure most of us here are, I'm sick and tired of the Democrats simply voting along the same lines as the Republicans, especially when it comes to matters such as the environment. This being the case, I'm imploring all those from PA (or even if you're not) to call Senator Casey and let him know that you are not happy with this vote."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol. 10.39—by
Eddie C: "This diary is a first in a series of New York City visitors guides for gardeners. This first garden for you to explore in the Big Apple is right in Central Park and called the Conservatory Garden. The confusing name is because there actually once was a big glass house that stood on this site from 1898 until a demise caused by Great Depression. But now there are six beautiful outdoor acres in three themed gardens behind the The Vanderbuilt Gate. Before going through the gate here's a little trivia about Central Park's only exterior gate. The Vanderbuilt Gate on Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th Streets didn't start out in that location. After being designed by the American architect George B. Post the gate started out in French foundry and then stood at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street. This elaborate gate that once stood right across the street from the Plaza Hotel guarded the mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and is a reminder of the first Gilded Age. [...] Three Dancing Maidens who once danced at Samuel Untermyer's estate is the centerpiece of the French Garden. Very popular with the locals and created by the German sculptor, Walter Schott. I don't know why it is in Central Park instead of Untermyer Park."
Would you become vegan for $100,000?—by VL Baker: "Want to know how and why other people do it? Thought some of you might be interested in this award winning documentary called Vegucated. It's about 3 people who took on the challenge of becoming vegan for 6 weeks. They all reacted differently to the challenge and it's interesting to see how they utilized their own personalities to individualize their experience. Because of the humungous contribution (pdf) of animal agriculture to climate change and water and land degradation and depletion there is much interest in reducing meat consumption. And indeed reducing or eliminating meat and dairy from your diet is the single most effective way to reduce your personal carbon footprint. But I think many don't think it's a possibility for them and I can understand that changing a lifetime habit can require a major change of mindset. So this documentary can be used as a support for those who may be interested in making the change."
Groceries Are More than a Transaction—by We Shall Overcome: "Personally, I would prefer to shop at a store that offered a coffee bar, fresh local produce, meats and diary, where local farmers are invited in to talk about their products, where local chefs come in a discuss ingredients and recipes, where dietitians come in a discuss healthy eating, where food stamps and other assistance are welcome and the doors are open to the many and not the few, and where I don't feel like I am a drone being ushered through a warehouse and then having my pockets emptied when I exit."
Eco-Justice & Eco-Activism
Native American Protesters arrested after KXL vote.—by Pakalolo: "I watched the vote on the XL pipeline yesterday on C-Span. After the final tally of 41-59 was announced signaling the failure of the "Protect Mary Landrieu Act" to break the 60 vote threshold. The audible singing from protesters in the gallery could be heard and warmed my heart. That traditional tribal tune came from Native American protesters that had gathered to protest the dire danger of this project on their lands and their people. As you can see from the clip, Elizabeth Warren summoned the Sergeant at Arms to restore order. Five of the protesters were removed from the gallery and had their hands cuffed with plastic zip-ties."
Kinder Morgan has 34 protesters arrested as it resumes work on proposed Tar Sands Pipeline—by Lefty Coaster: "Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan had the RCMP arrest 34 protesters occupying one of its work sites in a public conservation area popular with hikers and picnickers near Vancouver B.C. Where Kinder Morgan intends to build a new pipeline for Alberta Tar Sands bitumen to reach an export terminal on Vancouver's harbor. Kinder Morgan said it was able to move its equipment onto Burnaby Mountain overnight and that crews would be working 24 hours a day for the next 10 to 12 days to complete drilling work required by regulators. The company, which hopes to nearly triple the capacity of the existing 300,000 barrel-per-day pipeline, plans to bore two holes deep into the mountain to test if it can run the expanded line under the conservation site, which is a popular hiking and picnic area for locals."
Breaking: Kinder Morgan Pipeline Protestors—by Agathena: "Ongoing protests in British Columbia to stop a tar sands pipeline project by fossil fuel giant Kinder Morgan escalated on Thursday night after 26 protesters were violently arrested. Those arrested also included protesters who refused to comply with an injunction issued earlier in the week ordering them to move from their encampment on the mountain. In response, Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan promised that he was ready to fight a 'war' in the courts with the federal government. 'This is going to be a war, and it’s going to be one that carries on for a number of years,' Corrigan told the Province. 'The bigger argument that needs to be fought is: How much can the federal government impose its will on local governments and the ability of people to make local decisions? That’s really the quintessential issue that takes this beyond a merely local situation to being one that attracts interest from municipalities right across Canada.'"
Oceans, Water & Drought
Feinstein delays controversial drought legislation until next year—by Dan Bacher: "Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced on November 20 that she has abandoned the secret negotiations to craft a controversial drought relief bill this year, but said she will try to pass the legislation next year. The delay is a victory by a coalition of fishing groups, environmentalists, Indian Tribes and family farmers who organized an action alert campaign over the past week to defeat the bill. They said the bill would amount to a water bailout for corporate agribusiness interests on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that would devastate salmon and other fisheries and family farms."
Critters & the Great Outdoors
Gawd - I Hate Hunters—by Hugh Jim Bissell: "Gawd - I hate hunters! I live in a pretty rural area, and this time of year I see the big pick-ups and 4x4s of hunters parked along the rural dirt road where I live, as they go off to hunt in the woods. It is very common for me to later see piles of trash - beer cans, 6-pack packaging, fast-food wrappers, emptied ash-trays, sometimes bags of household garbage - left behind where the pick-ups had been. These guys are pigs and too often drunken pigs at that."
Why I don't hate anti hunters—by ban nock: "A portion of antis are simply anti gun, anything gun related is hateful, and hunters have guns. Guns are scary as well they should be, dangerous they are. Sometimes unnecessarily scary, like fear of bird hunters who are a quarter mile away. Shot simply doesn't travel that far. In my state we usually have hundreds of thousands of hunters, yet usually more people die annually from lightning strikes. Many more by avalanche. Anti hunting tales often follow the same script, a recantation of stereotypes with loathsome behavior thrown in for good measure. Lawbreaking, misuse of firearms, drunkenness, disrespect for game animals. Did you ever hear Reagan's tale of the woman on food stamps in the Cadillac who buys the vodka?"
The Daily Bucket: Ice Age Floods, Erratics, and the Atom Bomb on the Columbia Plateau—by RonK: "This diary describes an Ice Age Floods Institute field trip that I took in September that explored some of the remnants of the ice age floods in the pacific Northwest that periodically burst from Glacial Lake Missoula and later from Lake Columbia over the last approximately one million years. This particular field trip covered the Central Columbia region, the Hanford Reach National Monument, White Bluffs, including the larger Pasco Basin. [...] These enormous cataracts sculpted the terrain of central Washington State into what is now referred to as the “Channeled Scablands,” as they coursed through south central Washington and then on to the Columbia Gorge bordering with Oregon. The first of these wild cataracts poured through this area, perhaps a million years ago. Analyses show that that they began at least 780,000 years ago based on paleo-magnetic dating of their lower sedimentary deposits. Some suggest that they may have begun a million years ago with as many as 1,000 floods over time. During the most recent ice age there were perhaps 100 or so floods that occurred between 18,000 and 15,000 years ago as the Pleistocene epoch thawed to an end. The immediate sources of these flood waters and their ice dams was the giant Corderillian Ice Sheet that covered western Canada, parts of Alaska, northern WA, Idaho, and northwest Montana. This ice sheet was confined on the east by the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. It could not top the continental divide."
Mining
Coal mine safety laws have huge holes, and Congress isn't interested in fixing them—by Laura Clawson: "Meanwhile, unionized mines are becoming rarer, which means that many mines are missing a key force keeping an eye on potential safety violations. While union mines have higher reported incidents of non-traumatic injuries, non-union mines have higher rates of traumatic injuries and fatalities—likely because unions make reporting of minor incidents more common and push for the safety fixes that prevent traumatic injuries and deaths. So miners have lost that watchdog in the mines, the Mine Safety and Health Administration is limited in what it can do, and Congress won't act to strengthen protections."