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 Saturday Spotlight can be seen here. More than
22,700 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.
Texas & Alaska Floods: El Nino & Hot Oceans Start a Year of Hellish Weather. It Will Get Worse.—by
FishOutofWater: "Global CO2 levels have rapidly risen above 400ppm causing a large imbalance between incoming and outgoing radiation levels. Almost all of the difference between incoming and outgoing amounts of energy has gone into heating the oceans. The warm subtropical waters of the global oceans expanded, the Indian ocean warmed and a large, deep pool of hot water grew around the Philippines. But then three
supertyphoons rocked the Pacific in late fall 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, with had the strongest winds ever recorded at landfall, 'broke the dam' created by years of stronger than normal tropical convection and strong trade winds that held an enormous body of hot water close to the Philippines. A first surge of hot water moved across the Pacific in spring 2014, lowering the height of the seas around the Philippines but stronger than normal trade winds kept blowing in the south Pacific holding huge amounts of excess heat near Indonesia. Then supercyclone Pam and the strongest convective burst ever recorded near Indonesia and Australia, sent a massive wave of hot water towards the Americas. Now a super El Niño is developing. [...] This is just the beginning of the hurricane season in the eastern and central Pacific but hot water already covers a huge area from the tropics south of Hawaii to the huge warm pool off of the southwest coast of Mexico. A tropical disturbance is now in the process of organizing. I was stunned to find that the model of potential tropical cyclone intensity is off scale, The potential intensity, which will not be reached for this disturbance, is lower than the lowest pressure in history. While this disturbance will likely not have enough time over warm water to become a major hurricane, conditions will be more favorable later in the season for extremely intense hurricanes to develop. Warmer than normal water extends across the tropical north Pacific. Conditions are potentially developing for this to become the most intense Pacific tropical cyclone season on record."
You can find more excerpts from green diaries below the orange spill.
Climate Action Hub: Farming First Toolkit Prioritizes Agriculture In Climate Change Treaty—by
boatsie: "As thousands die and roads melt in India's sweltering heat wave and reports file in predicting the imminent collapse of Antarctica's 12,000 year-old Larsen B Icesheet, the Bonn Talks commence next Monday. Unfortunately, they begin with scientists weighing in on the dangerously insufficient ambition of developed countries' Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), national plans to limit global warming to below 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels. To date, 37 countries have submitted their INDCs, which have been designed in a manner which allows each individual country to develop a customized climate action plan informed by its particular circumstances as part of the global framework. 'Storms are happening now, droughts are happening now, we demand action now. People are not going to settle for the very weak proposals we are seeing for 2025 and 2030,' says Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator of the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development Movement."
Climate Chaos
DOOMSDAY CLOCK Moves Up To 11:57 "current efforts are entirely insufficient" on Catastrophic Warming—by Lefty Coaster: "The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists have taken the sobering step of moving their Doomsday Clock from 11:55 up to 11:57 the closest we've been to to global catastrophe since 1987 and the bad old days of Reagan's unrestrained arms race with the Soviet Union. Two reasons were cited by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 'catastrophic warming' and the US and Russia's programs to 'modernize' their nuclear weapons arsenals. The Bulletin: 'Unchecked climate change, global nuclear weapons modernizations, and outsized nuclear weapons arsenals pose extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity, and world leaders have failed to act with the speed or on the scale required to protect citizens from potential catastrophe. These failures of political leadership endanger every person on Earth.' Despite some modestly positive developments in the climate change arena, current efforts are entirely insufficient to prevent a catastrophic warming of Earth."
Is the human mind an evolutionary failure?—by don mikulecky: "I just finished George Marshall's book Don’t Even Think about It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change. The timing could not be more ironic for I also read this diary by FishOutofWater today: Texas & Alaska Floods: El Nino & Hot Oceans Start a Year of Hellish Weather. It Will Get Worse. I can't help myself from being the scientist I have been all my life. The evolutionary experiment can only be run once so we talking a brand of science very different from the artificial world of laboratories and controlled experiments. If you have not already guessed I have already answered my question to my own satisfaction. Jim Coffman and I have written our own book about it."
Temperatures upside down. Eagle Alaska was hotter than Houston, HWY to N Slope oil fields flooded—by Pakalolo: "The town of Eagle Alaska, near the border with the Yukon Territory experienced temperatures in the 80's for seven straight days. The warmest was 86. Interior areas of Alaska are now experiencing high fire danger areas, rapid snow melt that is draining into rivers. On Monday, the Dalton Highway which is the only road to the North Slope oil fields, was shutdown by up to 2 feet of water flooding the road. The image below is not a picture from flood ravaged Texas or Oklahoma. This image was taken at mile post 394 on the north slope of Alaska."
The map above shows North American land surface temperatures from May 17–24, 2015, compared to
the 2001–2010 average for the same eight-day period. Shades of red depict areas that were hotter
than the long-term average; areas in blue were below average for the week.
—by
ClimateDenierRoundup: "Chris Mooney at the Washington Post has a wonderful piece debunking a recent Forbes post by Heartland's increasingly irrelevant James Taylor. Unsurprisingly, Taylor tries to mislead readers by saying that polar ice has stopped shrinking and started growing back, so climate change isn't anything to worry about. But in reality, there's been a 5.5% downtrend in sea ice area (the more accurate term) over the period in question, so Taylor's whole post is simply wrong. By using vague and unscientific terminology and by cherry-picking a short time period, he managed to write something that has been passed around the deniersphere as evidence that "all is well." This is exactly the type of deception that we've seen before, so it's just another opportunity to point to the great .gif from Skeptical Science showing the difference between the denier approach and an honest one."
Climate change conferences sponsored by fossil fuel interests.—by Cassiodorus: "What could go wrong? Climate Talks In Copenhagen Dominated By Climate Destroying Corps. This is about the United Nations climate talks, as they are being sponsored by fossil fuel interests. I gather they released the list of corporate sponsors. Here is the money passage: And who are the corporations financing the November 30th to December 11th conference—purportedly held to 'achieve a new international agreement on the climate, applicable to all countries, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C?' They include the French energy companies Engie and EDF, whose coal plants, according to Malika Peyraut of Friends of the Earth, 'are equivalent to nearly half of France’s entire emissions.' They also include the French bank BNP-Paribas, which 'accounts for half of the total support—now totaling more than 30 billion euros—provided by French banks to the coal industry between 2005 and April 2014,' according to the global NGO network Bank Track."
120 CEOs Managing $12 Trillion Ask G7 Countries for Bold Climate Action—by ericlewis0: "A group of more than 120 CEOs and other institutional investors who manage more than $12 trillion in assets sent an open letter to seven of the world’s wealthiest countries on Tuesday, asking them to make bold commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the U.N. climate talks later this year. The reason, the letter said, was because of the uncertainty surrounding how bad climate change would be and how it would affect their businesses. 'As institutional investors responsible for managing the retirement savings and investments of millions of people or managing endowments, we believe climate change is one of the biggest systemic risks we face,' the letter read, urging the countries’ financial ministers to support a long-term global emissions reduction goal that limits warming to a 2° Celsius."
Inside the Mind of a Climate Change Denier—by aaraujo: "Climate Change Deniers are adamant about their cause because it aligns with their political beliefs. Instead of looking at the issue objectively, they look for any evidence that can justify their views. This is an email I have just received from a work colleague. Help me debunk him. ... the test of time has disproven IPCC report about the disappearance of snow from the Himalayas (Just ask the climbers that were killed by avalanches recently). The snow in America would be gone according to the Goracle Prophet (Al Gore). But in fact the ice volume has increased in the Arctic and Antarctic the last 2 years. In fact Global Warming has been flat for the last 15 years. This can all be explained by Solar irradiance."
Whoa! Look at Alaska!—by VL Baker: "Alaska sets new record for earliest day with temperatures in the 90s! Unbelievable that Alaska would have its first day in the 90's before we do in my area in Florida. From NOAA: This temperature map of Alaska shows the unusual warmth on May 23, 2015, at 2 p.m. local time in Fairbanks. Based on NOAA’s Real-time Mesoscale Analysis data, it shows air temperatures at 2 meters (6.6 feet) above the ground. Temperatures below 45° are shades of blue, and temperatures above 45° are shades of orange and red. [...] The 91° temperature at Eagle smashed that location’s all-time record for May. It was 30.1° hotter than the average daily high temperature in May (59.5°F), and 18.1° warmer than the average high temperature in July, Eagle’s warmest month of the year. So far this month, Eagle has set or tied ten daily high temperature records."
Global Warming Makes Me Sick(er)—by
Lefty Coaster: "I can't remember a year like this one, as bad as this one. I've been feeling wiped out since I got home from the long weekend on Tuesday. My neighborhood is enveloped in an invisible fog of grass pollen. Why is this year so bad? It seems Global Warming pushes pollen production into overdrive, and each year's pollen season is worse and more miserable than the last."
Heat Waves, Floods, Forest Fires -- Just another Day in the Post-Industrial Neighborhood—by jamess: "[...] Lack of rain combined with dry, hot winds from the desert state of Rajasthan are responsible for the recent heatwave say meteorologists, who don’t expect conditions to get better until the arrival of monsoon in June. Until then, top temperatures in New Delhi, home to 23 million people, could remain around 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit), according to Brahma Prakash Yadav, director of the Indian Meteorological Department. The following images depict these shocking conditions."
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Flooding, It's not just for Texas anymore—by Tomtech: "The Red River is already flooding along the Texas/Oklahoma border and the water is still rising. Denison Dam at Lake Texoma is currently flowing over it's spillway at a rate of 85,000 cubic feet per second. [...] That ain't the half of it. Below the fold i deal with the Red River Basin but the Arkansas River basin looks like it could be much worse. [...] All these prediction are based on the rainfall which has already occurred but the 10 day forecast doesn't show many days without additional rain and that rain has nowhere to go except for the Gulf of Mexico and our lakes and rivers will be rushing to get it there."
No Aid for Texas Without Climate Concessions—by DarkScholar82: "Over the past week, we have all seen the climate-related disasters in Texas and Oklahoma, which have been repeatedly struck with floods and tornadoes. Television news reports have shown the devastation to the state's cities and towns and relayed the suffering of the victims to our living rooms. Although our first instinct may be to send federal aid, I think liberals-and President Obama-should at least temporarily hold out on that. A real argument can be made that the state of Texas has brought its problems on itself and should be made to enact reforms before receiving federal assistance. In particular, Texas officials should have to acknowledge the existence of climate change and start implementing measures to combat it, including curbs on the fossil fuel industry. My Gut Reaction: You wouldn't give money to a crackhead on the street. Why would you send money to a state suffering a climate-related disaster if they refuse to acknowledge climate change?"
Yes, Dorothy, Scientists Have Found Tornado Activity May Be Affected by Climate Change—by Steven D: "...it is true that scientists lack the means to prove that any specific outbreak of tornadoes is the result of anthropogenic climate change (primarily as the result of increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere die to the use of fossil fuels. That said, recent studies have begun to show that, as climate scientists have long hypothesized, there is evidence that shows increased severe precipitation events such as we have seen this spring—a known consequence of rising temperatures—very well may be responsible for an increase in the number and intensity of tornado outbreaks."
It Only Takes One: Get Ready for Hurricane Season—by Weatherdude: "Are you ready for hurricane season? Monday is June 1 (how'd that happen?) and the start of hurricane season in the Atlantic basin. It's only May and we've already seen one tropical storm—Ana made landfall in South Carolina as a relatively weak, struggling system, thankfully—but that's just the beginning of what forecasters widely expect to be a slower-than-normal year. Based on a strengthening El Niño in the eastern Pacific, along with a couple of other factors, just about everyone who issues seasonal hurricane forecasts is expecting a below-average season. Over the past 30 years, the average Atlantic hurricane season sees 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 major (category three or higher) hurricanes. NOAA released its seasonal forecast on Wednesday, calling for 6-11 named storms and a couple of hurricanes. These aren't specific forecasts, of course—you're in a precarious spot if you try to forecast a tropical system more than a week out—but based on overall trends."
Critters & the Great Outdoors
The Daily Bucket - Newly Arrived Squabs!—by Attack Gardener: "After a lovely 5 day weekend, I'm back with news of the wilds of upstate New York. Flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing and birds are hatching! [...] May is the time of Iris, when flowers of all colors are in bloom. The early dwarf iris are already gone but the tall iris are just hitting their stride. I noticed that they seem to be doing especially well this year, no problems with borers, and I wonder if our bitterly cold, nasty winter actually did them some good. In no particular order, here are some of the beauties gracing my garden. [...] And an iridescent grackle raiding the feeder:"
Grackle
—by
Lib Dem FoP: "Any day now a 1,000 tonne, 150 metre long machine will break through a temporary plug of concrete to complete boring tunnels for Crossrail in London. This is currently the largest civil engineering project in Europe, creating a new railway crossing London from East to West. 42 kilometres of new tunnels have been bored and new underground stations dug out. This summer will also see the breaching of a sea wall to flood low lying farmland to help create a new area of salt marsh wetlands for birds and other flora and fauna. So what's the connection? The mis-named Wallasea Island is an area of land to the east of London, separated from the North Sea by Foulness Island. Wallasea is almost completely surrounded by rivers but there is land access. It is surrounded by a sea wall which has become increasingly ineffective as sea levels rise and the SE of Britain tilts, the effect of the loss of the ice sheet that covered Scotland and the north of England in the last ice age. There is about a one in four chance of it being flooded in a year."
—by
marsanges: "This is a political website, so most readers will know about Austerity, in the sense of the current European malaise of public finances caused by socialization of private losses incurred in the recent banking crises. Well, that has botanical consequences, sort of. Due to the austerity response to the crisis, public budgets at all levels are being squeezed, not only at national, even down to the municipal of my little hometown on the Dutch North Sea coast. Well, so the magistrate tries to save money. Well, they decided to cancel the usual mowing of the green roadbanks in places that arent all too much in the public eye. Normally, by now, we would have been already in the second mowing cycle. Not so now. Whats there, grows, and grows, as it sees fit. Well, and its my way to work and home! Since I go by bike, I can watch them at leisure. [...]So I went home tuesday evening late, that way. It's a treat to watch the flowers grow now that they arent cut down so often. For instance thistles. It's genus
cirsium I believe, but it's hard for me to tell exactly which one. I's a bit thorny work to determine them completely. But in any case, as many people know, thistles give the grounds to an entire food web of little things, caterpillars, insects, mites and so on with their much desired energy rich flower heads and seeds. No different here, the thistles have hardly put up their heads and things already want to eat them."
The Daily Bucket: Another Walk at Sawgrass Lake—by Lenny Flank: "Sawgrass Lake is a wildlife refuge right in the middle of the city of St Petersburg FL. It is one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon, since it has a variety of wildlife and plants. Here are some photos from a recent walk."
The Daily Bucket - Leucistic white female Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)—by Critter Farm: "I readily admit that I am charmed by the often misunderstood Opossum. This infatuation has motivated us to set up a few HD cameras around the property, in order to record the activities of the wildlife that visit our yard. These cameras have literally plugged us into the lives and struggles of a variety of wild creatures, and a few have captured our hearts along the way. We have witnessed some interesting animal phenomenon, and most recently, we were utterly amazed and thrilled when a leucistic female Opossum showed up unexpectedly. It appears that she has tiny babies in her pouch, and we hope that she continues to visit us well into the summer to show off her progeny. We have nicknamed her Snow White."
Energy
Renewables & Conservation
For many of California's poorest residents, a brighter, greener future is on the way—by Jen Hayden: "Approximately 1,600 impoverished households in California are set to get free or low cost solar panels for their homes. Saving precious dollars for California's poorest residents and converting their homes to a renewable energy source? Sounds like a win-win for the Golden State: The arrays will save most homeowners $400 to $1,000 per year on electricity, depending on where they live. The annual savings for the residents who get the solar panels may not sound like much, but for those below the poverty level, every dollar counts: 'These systems are saving families money every month for food, for clothes, for medical expenses,' said Julian Foley, communications director for Grid Alternatives."
Free Solar for Low-Income Homeowners in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods & Other Energy Assistance Progs—by mettle fatigue: " This starts focused on a specific California solar program, then below the fold is exploration of a nationwide dot-org website operated by N.C. State University's Clean Energy Technology Center (and funded by the DOE) for hunting state by state, US territories (how often do they get remembered, right?), and 'Federal'/national, by incentive type and by technology type, and a lot of other ways, not limited to low-income or residential. Huge database! And of course there's always energystar dot gov and the California energy assistance program as listed at www dot benefits dot gov."
Fracking
Halliburton fined $7,000 for fracking site explosion that killed 1 and injured 2 in Colorado—by Walter Einenkel: "The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined Halliburton seven whole thousand dollars for the safety violations that lead to the death of one worker at one of their fracking sites in Weld County, Colorado. According to a U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration document, a 2-inch metal pipe fitting blew off a valve and hit an employee in the head, killing him. [...] 'Employees remained in the red zone while equipment was pressurized up to 3500 psi [pounds per square inch]. This condition exposed employees working in the red zone to struck-by hazards as a result of an explosion,' the OSHA report said."
The California Frack Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Fractivist—by FractivistForce: "A single tweet can change the world. It’s the butterfly effect of online activism. Last June, I just so happened to stumble upon such a tweet. This tweet may not have changed the world, but it spawned a chain reaction of events that shaped me into the person I am today. The tweet was about a Climate Justice Action Camp taking place in July. The Utah-based action camp would be a week focused on Climate Justice and Nonviolent Direct Action. In Utah, Land defenders have established a permanent protest vigil inside the boundaries of a planned tar sands strip mine. That's when I discovered the existence of tar sands mining on U.S. soil."
Keystone XL & Other Fossil Fuel Transportation
Revealed: Energy Transfer Partners’ 'Pipeline-for-Prostitute' Landman—by Steve Horn: "A DeSmog investigation has uncovered the identity of a land agent and the contract company he works with that allegedly offered to buy an Iowa farmer the services of two teenage sex workers in exchange for access to his land to build the controversial proposed Dakota Access pipeline, owned by Energy Transfer Partners. The land agent who allegedly made the offer is Stephen Titus, a Senior Right-of-Way Agent who works for the Texas company Contract Land Staff, which was contracted by Energy Transfer Partners. No news outlet has, until now, established the identity of the land agent on the tape, or the contracting company he works for. DeSmog is naming the land agent and the company after an investigation into the available evidence and publicly accessible information, as well as evidence from the farmer who first made the allegation and a second source who has heard an audio recording of the conversation when the sex offer was made."
No, pipelines are not safer—by Saldana33: "Last week, we talked about how conspicuously absent pipeline advocates were in the wake of the huge oil spill on the coast of Santa Barbara County. It seems that tens of thousands of gallons of crude befouling a tourist hot spot caused wiser voices in the pro-pipeline cohort to go silent, rather than prove themselves to be as tone-deaf as they are science-averse. Even so, there were still enough die-hards in the Big Oil camp ready to say, albeit more quietly than usual, 'Pipelines are safer than trains.' There’s no disputing it, they said. It’s just a fact. Except, it’s not. It falls into the annals of 'lies, damned lies, and statistics.'"
Candidates, DC, State & Local Eco-Politics
Hillary Clinton is Taking Democrats Backward on Climate Change—by Willinois: "Nearly seven weeks after she announced her campaign for President, Hillary Clinton has yet to make a noticeable statement on climate change. At her first campaign speech in South Carolina Wednesday she didn't mention it all, despite the threat of more hurricanes hitting the state. The best gesture for the climate movement so far is a tweet from an adviser. It's a disappointing step backward from having climate take center stage. It's a risky move since Clinton already has a credibility problem on climate. Her most significant actions to date are promoting fracking as Secretary of State and allowing oil industry influence to corrupt the state department process on Keystone XL pipeline. The climate crisis requires bold, aggressive action against entrenched corporate special interests, which isn't a style of politics Clinton is known for."
Eco-Action & Eco Justice
Activists urge officials to file civil and criminal charges against Plains All American—by Dan Bacher: "Over 300 people participated in a rally and march on Sunday, May 24 at the State Capitol in Sacramento from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The protest was part of more than 420 "Anti-Monsanto/Anti-GMO" demonstrations worldwide in 47 states and 52 countries on six continents. (http://www.march-against-monsanto.com. The colorful signs displayed at the protest included a number of slogans, such as, 'Monsanto Does Not Have My Consent to Use My Body As A Science Experiment,' 'Humans Aren't Roundup Ready,' 'Shut Down Monsanto,' 'Save the Bees - Stop Spraying Pesticides,' 'Ban Glyphophosphate.' Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the Monsanto Company from the U.S. to Europe, Africa and other countries. March Against Monsanto featured different prominent speakers, including former presidential candidates and health icons."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
Who's ready for an organic, meatless, fast-food drive thru?—by VL Baker: "The future of American style sustainable food is coming to a drive-thru near you. The announcement by Amy's Foods, which is now ubiquitous in your local supermarkets frozen and canned food section, to open a fast food drive-thru in its home base of California seems to be arriving at the perfect time to coincide with the news that Americans are reducing their consumption of meat and dairy."
Major Monsanto class action lawsuit blacked out by mainstream media—by jbourgui: "On April 20, 2015, a giant class action lawsuit was filed in California against Monsanto. To date, it appears that NONE of the Mainstream Media outlets have reported on it. See below the squiggle for screenshots of a few major news website google searches that I just screen captured ... DrKelly.info has a good writeup of the blackout: What happens when one courageous attorney and a few citizens try to take down Monsanto? The MSM doesn’t cover it, for starters. Efforts to publicize a class action lawsuit against Monsanto for false advertising it’s best-selling herbicide Roundup filed in Los Angeles County Court on April 20, 2015 have been rejected by almost every mainstream media outlet. It’s no different than Fox, NBC, CNN, or ABC refusing to cover the DARK ACT which would give Monsanto legal immunity and disallow states to demand GMO labeling."
The Biggest Mistake of Big Oil is Bigger Than Climate Change—by bigjacbigjacbigjac: "The biggest mistake of big oil
was making America's farmers
dependent of Diesel fuel
for producing and transporting
nearly all the food produced in America.
Back in the 1930's,
when so much oil was discovered in West Texas,
and tractors were starting to replace horses and mules
on American farms,
not enough people,
or no one at all,
asked the questions:
How long can America produce food from diesel fuel?
Reframing the question:
How long will all this oil last?
Back in the 1930's
they could have answered,
about 100 years."
Forests, Wilderness, Parks & Other Public Lands
SMGB: Goodbye to Gardening Edition Vol. 11.14—by Ed in Montana: "Oregon is the gold standard for volunteers in parks, beating the neighboring states and even the National Park Service for wisely utilizing volunteer labor and maintaining an exceptional state park system. California defunded their state park system many years ago resulting in the closing of many parks and the reliance of private donations to keep other parks operating. Washington increased park fees to ridiculous levels and has even moved on to featuring expensive “glamping” to fill in budget deficits. We are excited to see how Oregon maintains their high standard of park service without pricing out visitors. You can find us patrolling the beach north of Heceta Head Lighthouse, checking in campers at Carl Washburne State Park, or dining at the Luna Sea Café in nearby Yachats."
Carl Washburne State Memorial Park, Oregon.
How Austerity Kills: The New Jersey Transportation System—by Eternal Hope: "Today's paper reports on the massive transportation funding crisis in New Jersey. This is just one more example of how austerity kills in this country. I drove the streets in New Jersey a few years ago (I have family there), and some of the streets there were almost as bad as the ones in rural America, where I live. Obviously, the problem has only gotten worse. Not only is the transportation funding crisis getting worse, the paper reports that for the last several months, Governor Chris Christie is sticking his head in the sand as his popularity is plummeting. If the state does not act, things will only get worse. The article notes that Amtrak is recommending the closure of the New Jersey Transit tunnels in order to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy. That would create a transportation nightmare that would dwarf the one created by Christie's George Washington Bridge Scandal."
Amtrak is a Microcosm for the Nation—by railhunk: "But Amtrak is a private corporation. So, the only way for it to be dismantled is to drive the company out of business. We constantly hear the politicos talk about privatizing Amtrak, when it is, in fact, already privatized. However, the railroad is also unionized. While our unions have gotten progressively weaker over the years, they still guarantee us employees certain benefits and wages, retirement wages among them. This is what really sticks in the craws of our detractors. Unions represent a group of people, with the clout to vote against them. Unions mean a living wage and safety guidelines, designed to protect average workers from unhealthy conditions. Unions threaten their very existence. When you hear Tea Party rhetoric about 'privatization,' you can translate it to mean 'low wages, no benefits and no government regulations on safety.' Amtrak is under attack…and the freight railroads will be next. Sharing many of the same unions, the freight railroads face the same attacks. Imagine minimum-wage employees, hauling 2-mile-long freight trains, containing petroleum, combustible liquids and hazardous materials, with safety guidelines reduced. A catastrophe waiting to happen…"
"Structurally deficient" Washington bridge faces emergency repairs, "indefinite" load restrictions—by james321: "Washington's iconic Memorial Bridge between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery 'is so badly corroded' that federal officials will commence emergency repairs, as well as implement an indefinite '10-ton load limit' that will force tourist buses to find an alternate route between two of the capital's most-visited sites. The bridge is considered 'structurally deficient.' The Washington Post has the depressing details. As of Friday, both curbside lanes will be closed along the old drawbridge section of the bridge, taking two of six lanes partially out of commission. Four-foot strips of adjoining sidewalk will also be shut in both directions. Federal Highway Administration engineers found that steel 'secondary' support beams were corroding more quickly than expected and 'no longer meet load-bearing standards,' according to the Park Service. [...] "
Trade & Eco-Related Foreign Policy
Obama’s Dizzying Spin on the Environment and Trade—by Don Midwest: "A greener world they say, without dealing with how the "trade agreements" will address the climate change. I added the bold. The Obama Administration claims that the new round of secret trade deals will be the greenest ever. Its latest attempt to sell that story was released earlier this week in a slick new report titled 'Standing Up For The Environment: Trade For A Greener World.' As with most of the spin coming from the U.S. Trade Representative these days—there’s a lot of 'trust us' bluster in the report, marketed with unattributed numbers and fancy graphics. But, perhaps most notably, it ignores the largest environmental issue of our times—climate change—and the numerous concerns raised by environmental groups about how these trade deals will damage the climate, not protect it. [...] No wonder Julian Assange is under house arrest in London. He is a criminal, criminal I say for exposing the lies of the power structure. Without the leaked TPP text, the 'citizens' of the world would be further in the dark about what the governments are giving to the oligarchs and to the corporations."
Sustainability & Extinction
America's Architects of Mass Species Extinction—by Deep Throat: "A few days ago DailyKos ran a piece by Hunter entitled 'ExxonMobil says mankind has ‘enormous capacity to deal with adversity’ caused by climate change.' The quote in the title is from a statement by Rex Tillerson. Surely, Architect of Mass Species Extinction Tillerson must shoulder some responsibility for the current heatwave in India which is cost the lives of over 1,800 human beings. Did you know that India is in the midst of a 5-year drought? The rampaging floods in Texas. The devastating drought in California. The wildfires devastating the forests of the Pacific Northwest. The Civil War in Syria partially bought about by the prolonged drought in that region of the world. I should also mention hurricane Sandy and the devastating cyclones that if it the Philippines. I could go on and on but the real issue is what are we going to do about global climate change brought about by the reckless actions of a few executives. I wish to nominate some other well-known Americans Americans as Architects of Mass Species Extinction."
Interior of the EcoCapsule
—by
Jen Hayden: "Prototypes are in the works, but these tiny homes are portable and self-sustaining with both solar panels, wind turbines and water collection and filtration system:
Resembling the similarly-shaped Exbury Egg, Ecocapsule measures 446.8 x 240.7 x 248.7 cm (175.9 x 94.7 x 97.9 in), and comprises a total usable floorspace of 8 sq m (86 sq ft). The micro-home can be easily transported by trailer and the firm says it can serve as a tiny house, additional bedroom, office, or even as a charging point for an electric vehicle. The snug interior includes a toilet and shower, kitchenette, work and dining area, folding bed, and both internal and externally-accessed storage. Access to the home is gained via one sole door and it sports two operable windows."
Trash, Pollution & Hazardous Waste
Obama releases statement on Clean Water Rule and the right is freaking out—by Walter Einenkel: "Diarist RockyMtnHigh has written about the Clean Water Rule's long history. The EPA and the U.S. Army Corps released the new rules on Tuesday. The Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 left 60 percent of nation's streams and millions of acres of wetlands without clear federal protection, according to EPA. The new rules say a tributary must show evidence of flowing water to be protected—like a bank or a high water mark. The regulations would kick in and force a permitting process only if a business or landowner took steps to pollute or destroy those waters. 'Power grab,' tyrannical,' 'bureaucrats,' 'shoved down the throat of hardworking people,' and the always classic—'crush jobs.' Oh my! Even snowball enthusiast James Inhofe warmed his hands by the fire before pulling 'increase federal control over private lands' out of his expensive suit pocket. Like policies that address climate change, if you asked, most Americans want our waterways free from pollutants. However, like policies that address climate change, what the American people want may not matter unless they show that they really want it enough."
Santa Barbara Oil Spill: 50 Years of Drill, Spill, Repeat—by pmustain: "Memorial Day typically marks the start of summer for many tourism towns, but much of the coastal business in Santa Barbara came to a halt last week as approximately 105,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from a broken underground pipeline onshore — about 21,000 gallons making its way into the Pacific Ocean. While it is still unknown why the pipeline burst, the clean-up is expected to keep public beaches and commercial fisheries closed until at least June 4. The coastline, a popular destination due to its position near two state marine conservation areas, has seen buckets of collected oil on the beach rather than the usual influx of kayakers, paddleboarders and other beach-goers."
Mysterious tar balls wash ashore popular beach near Los Angeles—by Jen Hayden: "This can't be good: A slick of unidentified tar-like substance washed up in Manhattan Beach this morning. Lifeguards on-scene witnessed the unknown substance make landfall at 10AM and wash in with the surf until 12PM. The slick has affected the stretch of beach from Longfellow to the El Segundo Jetty in varying consistency. As a precaution the beach has been closed and signs have been posted in the affected areas until further notice by County of Los Angeles Public Health."
BP Oil Spill: Plaintiffs File Motion to Nullify Every GCCF Release and Covenant Not to Sue—by Brian J Donovan: "The 'Release and Covenant Not to Sue' requirement, which was the idea of Kenneth R. Feinberg, forces economically and emotionally stressed victims of the BP oil spill to sign a 'Release and Covenant Not to Sue' in order to receive a miniscule payment amount for all damages, including future damages, they incur as a result of the BP oil spill.The following is an excerpt from the memorandum of law which the plaintiffs filed in support of their Motion to Nullify."
Mining
Arizona's McCain and Flake swap Apache Holy Land to foreign mining company- Contact Congress—by parker02: "This is outrageous. Oak Flat in Arizona, an Apache holy place where coming-of-age ceremonies have been performed for many generations and is a sacred place for prayer, has been handed over to an Australian-British firm, Resolution Copper Mining company. They predict that the mining will result in a two-mile wide, 1000 feet-deep crater. Read the op-ed piece in the New York Times today and then do something. Contact your congressional representative and/or senator and ask them to repeal this law. Had this been a holy site for any other major religion, this would not be happening."
Miscellany
People need Nature—by Eric Nelson: "Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Kevin Spacey, Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz, Robert Redford and Ian Somerhalder all join forces to give nature a voice. Watch the films and take action at: http://natureisspeaking.org At the 'Nature is Speaking' link is a series of dy-no-mite video presentations; each only a few minutes long. The visuals are stunning; the connections to our lives made tangible; our obligation, unmistakable - imo."
1199 President Henry Nicholas to Kick Off Major Labor-Environmental-Community Forum—by StewartAcuff: "On Tuesday June 2nd, iconic 1199 President Henry Nicholas will kick off a major forum at the Electricians Local 98 Union Hall in Philly. The forum will include trade unionists, environmentalists, community activists, clergy, people of faith, and many others. This forum will help launch a new coalition to simultaneously save the earth from climate change and create hundreds of thousands of family sustaining, high paying union jobs. We have the technology right now to convert much of our energy consumption to green, sustainable, climate friendly sources including wind, solar, tidal and river currents. 'We don’t have to blow up the earth and poison our water and Philly neighborhoods with extremely dangerous fracking,' said anti-fracking organizer Elizabeth Arnold. Before I became 1199’s Chief of Staff, I served in the same capacity at the Utility Workers Union of America. I know we have natural wind tunnels and spots perfect for solar panels and ocean and river currents that could be harvested right now to drastically reduce energy from carbon-based fuel that is choking our planet to death."
Artists recreate iconic painting with landscape ravaged by oil to protest arctic exploration—by VL Baker: "British art collective Kennard Phillipps have reimagined the bucolic US artwork Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth to show how it would look after an oil spill, as part of a Greenpeace video campaign against Shell’s exploration of the Arctic. It breaks my heart to see this iconic Andrew Wyeth painting reflecting the damage that we have done to our world. I saw the original painting in the Wyeth Museum in Brandywine, PA and will never forget its power and beauty."
Religion and Climate Change—by
CCL Group Leader: "One day a reporter called me and asked me why I believed in the 'Climate Movement.' I replied, 'Climate Movement?' I sensed she was talking about an ideology or religious/political belief in her question. My reply was, 'I don't believe in the Climate Movement. I do, however, understand math and science and can see that the data is presenting a very severe threat to our survival!' It is important to talk about religion and climate change, because our actions are strongly influenced by our beliefs. When I was a teenager in a protestant family, I learned that there are two notions about religion that are quite divergent. One idea is that God set things in motion and gave us free will to make choices in our daily lives. The other is predetermination, meaning that God has a master plan for everyone and we are merely following in His path. While these brief definitions are neither complete nor necessarily true, it is useful to see how these differing views shape our thoughts on climate change."
