Spotlight on green news & views: A climate agreement to build on emerges from Paris talks

The result of China's unregulated, un-throttled economic engine. See Anontos diary below.

Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The most recent Spotlight can be seen here. More than 24,020 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.

OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES 

Rush Limbaugh cooperating with the Feds to protect his property from climate change beach erosion written by Pakalolo: “Rush Limbaugh has a secret that he keeps from his feces throwing listeners. He is cooperating with the Obama administration in a government effort to combat climate change induced beach erosion on his ocean front property in Palm Beach, Florida. [...] Hat tip to Jose Lambiet’s Gossip Extra for his exclusive on Limbaugh’s climate change hypocrisy. Limbaugh just signed off on a plan to cooperate with the US Army Corp of Engineers to use his property to store sand and then spread it along the beach where he resides. In his easement deal with the Corps obtained through the town of Palm Beach, Limbaugh is allowing the use of his 2.5 acre compound on the extreme north side of the island to ‘enhance shoreline management’ and provide ‘storm protection in safe guarding coastal properties.’ The project involves bulldozers and mounts of sand several times per year. Palm Beach County Appraiser values Limbaugh’s property at 51 million dollars.”

Why does your transit system suck? Some news from Washington DC and Boston written by terrypinder: “My day job involves transportation. It is part of my job title. I ride transit to and from work—not having any other option since I don’t drive. (In case you’re wondering, I’m the only non-driver in the office.) Part of my job involves keeping up on transportation news from around the nation and world, and researching that, so WMATA’s woes are well known to me. Friends and relatives deal with it as well and in recent years, almost nothing positive has come from that front. WMATA’s gotten so bad (and so expensive!) people have abandoned it for Uber. WMATA is the Metro, the subway system that serves Washington D.C. and its immediate suburbs. It was built at a time when no one was building subways; when most Americans owned a car, and most transit systems had been changed from trolleys and trams to buses. An exquisite book, The Great Society Subway, describes its genesis. In May of this year it served 712,000 daily passengers (a 5% drop since 2010). But WMATA has been hobbled from the start. It is run by an interstate compact between Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Funding for it comes from the appropriations of both states and the District. It has no oversight group with any regulatory authority. The NTSB has stated this has contributed to multiple fatal accidents. They make safety recommendations---that then get ignored (worth noting here if an airline did this, it’d be grounded—and yes the linked article is 10 years old. It’s still true today.)”

CLIMATE CHAOS

Smart Money is on Continued Warming Trend written by ClimateDenierRoundup: “Dana Nuccitelli at the Guardian's 97% blog has a post looking back on a 2008 paper by a group of German scientists led by Noel Keenlyside that predicted the global temperature would cool by 2015 due to oceanic natural variability. According to the paper, the oceans would likely offset any increase in greenhouse effect. At the time, the scientists at Real Climate were skeptical of the paper's claim. And, to make it clear just how little faith they had in the cooling prediction, the scientists offered Keenlyside et al a pair of € 2500 bets—one for temperatures during 2000-2010 and another for 2005-2015. Now that 2015 is winding down and looking fairly certain to be the hottest year on record, it’s clear the study authors made the right choice in deciding not to put their money where their mouths were, as they'd be down € 5000. In his article, Nuccitelli asks if it would ever “be smart to bet against global warming,” a question he answers by citing a study from earlier this year that compares temperatures since 1860 in 15 year increments. If you had bet on warming you'd win every year since 1970—this point is particularly salient given that natural factors (ocean cycles, solar activity, aerosol pollution) have all been exerting a cooling effect on temperatures. Despite this, greenhouse gas emissions have continued to push temperatures ever higher, overcoming natural cooling forces year after year.”

Deniers Debunked, Corrected, Chastised, Exposed written by ClimateDenierRoundup: “With all the excitement of COP21, which of course incites denier frenzy, it's worth recognizing a few articles that have effectively put a lid on denier attacks. Climate scientist Michael MacCracken published a debunking of the Ridley and Peiser WSJ column that claimed there is still debate over the fundamentals of climate science. MacCracken has a detailed response, but his conclusion is especially worth reading, where he says that ‘following Ridley and Peiser’s advice and aiming for the deteriorating world that will result from continued reliance on  fossil fuels will literally be like following the lemmings over the cliff.’ Carbon Brief also exposes Ridley by asking a group of scientists to correct the transcript of an interview Ridley gave on BBC. This resulted in an annotated version of the interview showing scientists' corrections to Ridley’s many mistakes. Here’s a grab bag of some other notable, recently published pieces: • The American Wind Energy Association posted a blog collecting some of the many, many fact checks needed of statements by fossil fuel funded author and ‘journalist,’ Robert Bryce. • Mike Mann penned a great oped in the New York Times on the Lamar Smith witch-hunts. Mann's perspective—as someone who’s been subject to just this sort of persecution—is uniquely informative. • The International Energy Agency challenged Bjorn Lomborg’s serial misrepresentation of their work, calling his claims “absolute rubbish.””

What Exxon knew by Pakalolo: “July 1977—‘In the first place, there is general scientific agreement that the most likely manner in which mankind is influencing the global climate is through carbon dioxide release from the burning of fossil fuels, present thinking holds that man has a time window of five to ten years before the need for hard decisions regarding changes in energy strategies might become critical.’ Exxon senior scientist James Black reporting to Exxon’s management committee InsideClimateNews conducted an eight month long investigation and uncovered the quote above as well as piecing together a devastating story of Exxon deliberately deceiving humanity into a course of creating a catastrophic climate that we may not survive. The must read series reveals what Exxon knew about climate change and when they knew it. The series provides the reader with pdf documents such as ‘Bad News Letter 1978.’ It is interesting that they knew about catastrophic climate change in 1977, a full 11 years before climate change even began to become common knowledge. And as is made clear in the quote above, they knew that there was only a small 5 to 10 year window to act in order to prevent calamity to the biosphere.”

Ted Cruz's three-hour hearing on climate change a pathetic waste of time except for denier shills written by Meteor Blades: “Sen. Ted Cruz chaired a tendentious Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday on climate change while negotiators in Paris work long hours to put together a worldwide agreement on controlling carbon dioxide emissions that are warming the planet. Anybody who has even cursorily followed the claims of climate-change charlatans wouldn’t have a learned a single thing from the three-hour hearing, titled ‘Data or Dogma.’ Other than certain diehards won’t budge from their denials of climate change even when the Atlantic Ocean starts lapping at the entrances to the buildings of Lower Manhattan. Cruz’s little carnival show included four witnesses who spouted the same old Koch- and Exxon-funded lies that they and other ‘experts’ have for years been slathering across every venue of public discourse they can poke themselves into. This despite the fact that Exxon has publicly started admitting that climate change is real and could be disastrous, no doubt in hopes of obscuring the fact the giant corporation worked diligently for more than three decades to persuade Americans that it’s not happening or, if it is, it’s no big deal and nothing can be done about it even if it is a big deal.”

Paris COP21

"This didn’t save the planet but it may have saved the chance of saving the planet” written by VL Baker: “The headline tells it all. That’s where we are now, folks. There will be a climate deal that just brings all the parties together. The devil is in the details, and the details don’t do enough to lead us to a safe future without a lot more hard work. The deal spells  the end of the fossil fuel industry but the industry put it’s mark on the deal by forcing the slowing of solutions. The industry is flopping around on the deck like a dying fish. Our activism will determine how long it takes to put an end to its misery. Bill McKibben, Co-founder 350.org: ‘Every government seems now to recognize that the fossil fuel era must end and soon. But the power of the fossil fuel industry is reflected in the text, which drags out the transition so far that endless climate damage will be done. Since pace is the crucial question now, activists must redouble our efforts to weaken that industry. This didn’t save the planet but it may have saved the chance of saving the planet.’ May Boeve, Executive Director 350.org: ‘This marks the end of the era of fossil fuels. There is no way to meet the targets laid out in this agreement without keeping coal, oil and gas in the ground. The text should send a clear signal to fossil fuel investors: divest now.’”

We have a (tentative) deal! Climate deal outline reached! written by AlexcSinger: “For all of the critics that suggested that the Paris Climate talks would be a waste of time they are proven wrong once again. Though this deal may not be as comprehensive as we had hoped and be the silver bullet toward ‘fixing’ Global Warming and avoiding it’s monumental consequences, it’s a giant step in the right direction. The parameters of this climate deal are being described as ‘ambitious’ and ‘strong.’ While this isn’t set in stone in terms of becoming law (yet), being able to corral Brazil, India and most importantly China to sign on to an outline of a deal is monumental.”

BREAKING--Paris Climate Agreement Approved UNANIMOUSLY  written by zenbassoon: “<i>As part of a concerted effort to avoid catastrophic climate change, the world unanimously committed to an ongoing effort of increasingly deeper emissions reductions aimed at keeping total warming ‘to well below 2°C [3.6°F] above preindustrial levels.’ The full text of this Paris Agreement goes even further, with the parties agreeing ‘to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.’ </i> Think about that. Think about how hard it is to get ANYTHING unanimously through this Congress. How important is unanimity? One of the usual arguments against climate agreements is about how China and India ‘never follow them’ or ‘never sign them.’ Guess what. They did. Same with Russia.”

Breaking - Climate Change Agreement Reached written by Lib Dem FoP: “Delegates in Paris have just agreed the final draft document. We now have the world’s first agreement on Climate change. … more to follow … The agreement was reached after the French Foreign Minister asked the delegates to agree some minor drafting changes. He then simply opened the formal plenary meeting, introduced the background to the detailed drafting amendents. He then opened the floor for statements. No delegation wished to speak and so he declared  the document agreed.”

Optimism for more than a toothless Paris climate pact grows, but many fear it won't happen ... again written by Meteor Blades: “...we can still hope the document that emerges in a few days will be good enough as a foundation for later amendments that will accelerate the time-frame for making the needed adjustments to civilization’s output of greenhouse gases. On the fruition of that hope depends our success at avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. Maybe come Monday morning, the world will actually have a serious agreement, imperfect but at least not some barely tweaked version of business-as-usual, a firm commitment to radically change how we humans do things based on recognition that every lost minute now exacerbates the severe impacts already in the pipeline and guarantees that other impacts will occur. In other words, an agreement that stops pretending. If, however, we are greeted Monday by a bouncy television ad from Exxon slickly explaining to us rabble that the Paris Pact is a great agreement and the company, which paid hundreds of millions of dollars to create and amplify lies about climate change, is now in the forefront of curbing emissions because it is a great environmental steward … if we see an ad like that we’ll know we’re screwed.”

Open thread for night owls: Key issues of civil society groups unmet in climate pact draft written by Meteor Blades: “People from around the world on Friday stretched a large ‘red line’ through the COP21 summit to register their outrage at politicians' failure to strike an ambitious draft climate deal—and to call for social movements in Paris and internationally to continue to take to the streets. Once again, world leaders have shown they lack the political courage, decency, and integrity to stand up for the needs of the most impacted communities around the world in the biggest ecological crisis of our time,’ Ananda Lee Tan, a Vancouver-based organizer with Climate Justice Alliance, told Common Dreams over the phone from Paris. ‘Our assessment is that, again, it is left up to us,’ Lee Tan added. ‘We know it is people and communities that have to lead us out of this ecological crisis.’”

My Letter to the BBC on COP21 written by Mokurai: “Although COP21 has produced a better agreement than previous Global Warming conferences, it matters only marginally. Governments are discussing pushing a few hundred billion dollars around in the next decade or two, perhaps by repealing subsidies for Fossil Carbon fuels, perhaps with investments, perhaps with funding for developing countries. Meanwhile, private funding for renewables worldwide is at about $300 billion and rising rapidly. In order to attain any meaningful progress on CO2 emissions and thus on Global Warming, we have to reach Peak Carbon and then start the slide down from that peak. As with the well-studied Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the decline starts at the Empire's greatest power and extent, when it is widely supposed that it is permanent. And similarly for the other great empires of conquest in history, from Alexander the Great to the Soviet Union. In environmental terms, we have seen the same story with lead, acid rain, DDT, ozone-depleting chemicals, and so on. Carbon is bigger than any of them, and has resisted the facts of the case mightily, but this is no longer a question of politics, of ideology, of science denial, of obfuscation. It is now a question of real money. Money is being made and lost on the grandest scale, trillions (million millions) of dollars, by utilities, developers, technologists, and investors, with tens of trillions more to come. We have passed the first two of many notable tipping points, Grid Parity and Peak Coal, on the way to Carbon Neutrality and then going sufficiently Carbon Negative to restore the temperatures of the air, the land, and the oceans, to de-acidify the oceans, and to start rebuilding our glaciers, sea ice, and permafrost.”

Water & an update on Paris Climate talks in plain language written by Eric Nelson: “At first Tony Dokoupil’s report seemed a bit simplistic, but then, as it sunk in his description of the various participants put in simple terms may actually be a better way for the average viewer to get a feel for what’s going on. Here is a partial transcript: Chris Hayes: ‘Tony what is the latest from the talks there?’ Tony Dokoupil: ‘..well the UN process here makes congress look fast acting and nimble right, so everybody on earth, all the countries on earth, they have to ratify this treaty, this 21-page document … consensus … not one dissenter. So right now as we get to Friday where everyone’s going to make their final vote, everyone’s kind of gone to their respective corners ...  ‘...They have their arms crossed and their backs turned and they’re making the various demands. China is saying: “yes we’re going to cut our emissions, but we don’t want anybody to watch it and look what we’re doing ... we don’t want it to be verifiable” ‘United states is saying: “Hey, I know we’ve contributed a lot to Global warming, but we don’t want to have an infinite bill for that, we don’t want to pay loss and damages to island countries and to poorer countries that are suffering the effects”... ‘And then you have countries like India that are saying; “okay fine, give us a chance to grow as rich as you guys have grown by burning all these fossil fuels” ...’And then on Friday we’ll have this tremendously interesting moment where everybody reconvenes, and the appointed president, the French foreign minister comes to the podium and he says “Do we have consensus?” on this historic agreement.’ Do we have consensus. It’s a “speak now or forever hold your peace” moment, and if no one dissents, he bangs the gavel and we have a deal. We’re far from that now, but we’re inching towards it.’”

Looking for the catapult effect in Paris written by Mattias: “When the Paris summit began, the largest part of the national plans, the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs ), as they are formally known, were already in place, and thus we already knew what each country will do and how much climate impact the Paris agreement will get. The problem is that when you compile the national targets and compare with scientific recommendations, there is a gap. Scientists say that global temperatures must not rise more than 2 degrees. Or, if you live in vulnerable areas, no more than 1.5 degrees, as the effects of climate change may become devastating. However, when the national targets are collated we still get a much higher temperature increase than is acceptable. As it stands, if all the actions offered in the INDCs are implemented we can expect an increase of at least 2.7, perhaps as much as 3.5 degrees, which will lead to fatal consequences. It then becomes clear why there is a need for an agreement in Paris. Countries will not raise ambitions, or change their national targets in Paris, but they must agree on the framework for international cooperation, and not least, how the global climate ambition can be increased in the coming decades.”

CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Mergansers

The Daily Bucket - winter colors on grey days written by OceanDiver: “We’ve had a series of storm fronts barreling through the Pacific Northwest for the last few weeks. Typical winter weather. The days are short and with the thick cloud cover it is pretty dark even during daylight hours. Any color pops out on these grey days. [...] Birds are busy on land and in the water. The pair of Hooded mergansers above show off their colors: his bright yellow eye and white hood, her rusty buff shades and yellow bill. It was raining on them — no big deal. A much bigger deal is another male moving in on the pair, posturing. Never too early to establish a pair bond.”

Bubble viewport at Sea Life Aquarium in Orlando, FL

Photo Diary: Sea Life Aquarium in Orlando FL written by Lenny Flank: “The Sea Life Aquarium just opened about half a year ago. It’s a nice aquarium with a pretty good collection—though the sharks are still younglings, so if you want to see big sharks you’ll have to wait a few years.  ;)”

Daily Bucket: A Walk Around Lake Eola written by Lenny Flank: “Lake Eola Park is located in downtown Orlando FL, near the library.  Lots of birdies there. Here are some photos from an afternoon walk around the lake.”

ENERGY

Nuclear, Coal, Oil and Gas

Democrats are in Strong Position to extract concessions to Lift the Oil Export ban. Let's make sure​written by daeros: “[I]t seems that Republicans are pretty much desperate, and a quick check of Oil prices this morning would be enough to convince me we should kill the deal and filibuster for anything Short of ten years. US oil settles at $35.62 a barrel, plunges over 10% for week The Shale Industry must be pretty desperate for results, how much you want to imagine Republican leaders will be reamed by their donors if they don’t get their way on this one? To think wind and solar may be cheaper than natural by the time that runs out too. Which, BTW, Would be Good for the Democratic party because The Backers of the Coal Industry as well as the Fossil Fuel Corporations tend to structure their Lobbying contributions to Favor the Republican party. Anything that Helps renewable at the expensse of Fossil Fuel Corporations helps because it changes the Campaign contributions picture.”

Gulls dropping onto kelp

KelpWatch 2015 Monitoring: No Fukushima derived contamination May - June '15 written by MarineChemist: “The purpose of this diary is to report the most recent results of Kelp Watch 2015, a program dedicated to monitoring for Fukushima derived contamination along the Pacific Coast of North America.  This post is the latest in a series dedicated to the public dissemination of information about the impacts of the Fukushima Dai-ichi disaster on the health of the North Pacific Ocean ecosystem and health of North American residents. New results from the fourth sampling period (May 4 through June 10 2015)  were released on Dec. 8, 2015 and can be found here. As with previously reported results here, here, here and here no radioactive isotopes from Fukushima were detected in kelp growing at sampling sites along our Pacific coast.  The absence of 134Cs in kelp suggests that ocean transport of Fukushima contamination had yet to reach persistently high enough levels in North American coastal water to bioaccumulate in kelp. The scientific community expects that levels of contamination rise in coastal waters as predicted by measurements and models in the coming year Kelp Watch 2015 will help to track the arrival of the plume in time and space. A review of the goals and approach of Kelp Watch 2015 can be found at their project website.”

External ionizing radiation doses of high school students in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus​ written by MarineChemist: “The purpose of this diary to report on a peer-reviewed, open access study published in the Journal of Radiological Protection where high-school aged citizen scientists measured and compared the external ionizing radiation doses experienced by students in Japan, Belarus, France and Poland. This diary builds on a series reporting on a growing body of scientific evidence regarding the impact of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) meltdowns on environmental and public health. Adachi and colleagues equipped 216 high-school students in Japan (inside and outside Fukushima Prefecture), Belarus, France and Poland with electronic dosimeters to estimate and compare annual external ionizing radiation doses in 2014.  The distribution of doses experienced in each region overlapped with each other indicating that personal external ionizing radiation exposure in Fukushima Prefecture and Belarus are within the range of annual doses from terrestrial background radiation in other locations.”

Oil Company Rip-off written by Madrigal Maniac: “If you want to see something funny and your favorite episode of the Big Bang Theory has bee pre-empted by an NFL game, I suggest you watch one of the commercials for an oil company. They are hilarious. They’re full of half-truths, misrepresentations, and out and out lies. The general tenor of the ads is one of caring. You’d think oil companies were the greatest companies on the face of the earth. Instead, they are nothing but comic-strip versions of companies participating in serious environmental disasters. The Kochs in 2003 made $115 billion almost all of it going to conservative groups. Their stated goal is to influence the presidential election and they plan to spend $889 million in 2016 to do it. This despite the fact they are one of the companies who benefit from global warming. Here’s a Koch ad.” 

Porter Ranch, the biggest lawsuit ever? written by Shockwave: “Someone I love lives in Porter Ranch.  She’s has been complaining about the smell of the gas for months. SoCal Gas relocates hundreds of Porter Ranch residents while trying to fix leaking well: Javier Mendoza, a gas company spokesman, said the leaking well was installed in 1953. The former oil well was converted for the use of natural gas in 1973, after SoCal Gas began operating the depleted oil reserve at Aliso Canyon as a giant underground reservoir to store natural gas. The well, which extends 8,500 feet below the earth, is one of 115 storage wells at the 3,600-acre facility. The facility can hold 86 billion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to supply all of Southern California for more than a month, Mendoza said. It was at 90% capacity when the leak was detected last month. So yesterday I went to a meeting in Porter Ranch where none other than Erin Brockovich spoke.”

Emissions Controls

Major Electric Utility Dumps ALEC over Clean Power Plan written by Nick Surgey: “The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has suffered the loss of another major corporate sponsor, the Guardian reported Tuesday, with the electric utility American Electric Power (AEP) announcing it will no longer provide the climate change denial group with funding from 2016. AEP becomes the 107th identified corporation to have withdrawn funding since the Center for Media and Democracy launched the ALEC Exposed project in 2011, joining others such as Shell, BP, Google, Microsoft and Facebook. The loss of AEP will be particularly troubling for ALEC. AEP lobbyist Paul Loeffelman is still listed on the ALEC website as the private sector chairman for the group's Energy, Environment and Agriculture task force. This task force is the arm of ALEC promoting climate change denial to state legislators and driving its anti-environmental agenda, which includes working to block President Obama's Clean Power Plan and oppose the development of renewable energy in the United States. ‘We let (ALEC) know that we won’t be renewing our membership in 2016,’ an AEP spokesperson told the Guardian. ‘We are reallocating our resources as we focus on our work with the states around the Clean Power Plan.’”

Funders Flee "Free-Market" Climate Denial Group written by Nick Surgey: “Funding for climate change denial is drying up. The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), a US climate change denial group that espouses the ‘free-market,’ has lost more than two thirds of its funding in the past two years, according to tax filings reviewed by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).In the most recently available CFACT tax filing for the 2014 financial year—filed in late 2015—the group reported receiving grant revenue of $1.5m, down from roughly $2m it had received a year earlier, but representing a massive drop off from the $5.5m in revenue it reported for 2012. CFACT Grant Funding • 2009: $3.07m • 2010: $2.85m • 2011: $2.98m • 2012: $5.5m • 2013: $1.97m • 2014: $1.5m. CFACT co-organized a failed climate-denial conference along with the coal-funded Heartland Institute this week in Paris, coinciding with the UN COP21 climate summit negotiations taking place on the other side of the city. As CMD reported previously, only about 30 people turned up to the event, leaving large numbers of empty seats in the modestly sized room.”

Sanders Targets Carbon Emissions Cuts of 80% by 2050 written by jamess: “As the Nations of the World prepare to lock arms, to target the very real security problems of Climate Change, Senator Bernie Sanders introduces legislation, daring the American delegation to put their money where their rhetoric is … Sanders Introduces Bill to Cut Carbon Emissions 80 Percent. Expanding on his ambitious plan to combat climate change, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Climate Protection and Justice Act today to establish a price on carbon pollution. The legislation would cut total emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, fund historic investments in energy efficiency and sustainable energy technologies, return billions of dollars to working families and protect the most vulnerable communities. ‘What the scientists tell us is that we have a relatively short window of opportunity to bring about the fundamental changes that we need in our global energy system to transform our energy system,’ Sanders said on the Senate floor today. ‘It is absolutely vital that we do what many economists tell us we must and that is put a price on carbon. It is the simplest and most direct way to make the kind of cuts in carbon pollution that we have got to make if we are going to successfully transition away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.’”

Bernie introduces legislation for $15/ton carbon pollution fee starting in 2017 written by geebeebee: “Where most politicians tippy-toe around the issues, Bernie, as usual, unapologetically charges right ahead with the correct solution. Sanders introduced legislation that would, starting in 2017, charge fossil fuel producers $15/ton for carbon emissions. ‘If we are going to be serious about dealing with the threat of climate change, we need to end the polluter welfare that subsidizes increased pollution from fossil fuels and instead invest those resources in clean energy solutions that reduce pollution,’ Sanders said from the Senate floor. Sanders estimates that his legislation would be able to curb carbon emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. Money from his ‘carbon pollution fee’ would be given to households that make less than $100,000 per year to help offset any fee hikes from energy companies.  Bernie, working hard for us 99%ers, every day of his life. It’s time we had his back for what he’s done for us the past 40 years.”

Renewables & Conservation

Fracking

Frack, Baby, Frack! written by Bud Meyers: “Drill, baby, drill! — and frack, baby, frack! Then export all that oil to sell on the global market once the price of oil goes up again — or store it offshore in super-tankers until the price of oil goes up again (before selling it on the global market). That's how to make America energy independent again! (sarcasm). To get a budget deal, why do we have to extend tax breaks for big corporations and give big oil companies (who already get government subsidies) another huge bonanza? You'd think that America's natural resources was a personal piggy bank for a handful of people running a few oil companies...and some crooked politicians. Huffington Post (Dec. 9, 2015) Congress is close to a deal that could flood the global markets with American oil because Republicans are eager to end the oil export ban ... and Democrats are listening. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is leading the charge. L.A. Times (Oct. 2014) Alaska gives every resident $1,884 despite declining oil revenue -- Voters upheld a state oil tax plan that critics, including leading Alaska Democrats and Sarah "Drill, Baby, Drill" Palin, called a government giveaway to oil companies. Alaska has no state sales tax or income tax, relying mainly on declining oil revenue to pay for services such as state troopers and roads. Republican Gov. Sean Parnell, a former oil industry lobbyist who took office when Palin quit in 2009, championed the tax plan. Parnell said the lower taxes would increase the oil production that was once so plentiful that it seeded the now-$51-billion Permanent Fund used to write strings-free checks to every eligible resident.”

Keystone XL & Other Oil Transport

Enbridge & Dept. of State Get Major Sierra Club Litigation Against Pipeline Expansion Dismissed written by LakeSuperior: “Major litigation filed by Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, National Wildlife Federal and First Nation groups against Enbridge Pipeline and the Department of State over a cross border pipeline expansion has just been dismissed by a federal district court in Minnesota. The Federal Court determined that it did not have jurisdiction to review a presidential decision interpreting certain maintenance and expansion activity by Enbridge on its Line 3 and Alberta Clipper system. The Department of State and Enbridge opposed the environmental Plaintiff’s civil action claiming the Department of State conduct as presidential actions was not reviewable under the Administrative Procedures Act and under constitutional separation of powers. This meant the federal judge was without jurisdiction to review or affect the decision of the Department of State. Enbridge and the Department of State won their motions to dismiss with prejudice against the environmental plaintiff’s civil action. [...]  This illustrates that federal anti-cross-border pipeline litigation is a waste of time because it is legally futile and unfounded, and that environmental groups filing such litigation do not accomplish any any greenhouse gas emission control or reduction, or progress in addressing global warming and climate change, by filing such litigation or promoting it through news releases.”

AIR Pollution

Red Smog Alert: What Happens When Capitalism Isn't Regulated written by Anontos: “The smog. Well, let’s call it what it is: shit in the air. The smog is so bad in Beijing, China, that for the first time a couple days ago it reached the most dangerous unbreathable level. Red Alert Smog.  Unregulated shit in the air is quite okey-dokey with those that make a profit from putting shit in the air. The car makers, the coal industry, the factories that belch. No matter children can’t go outside, profits are being made. An externality such as unbreathable air is not a concern. But then externalities are not part of the equation in capitalism. Unbreathable air, undrinkable water. Unregulated banks that bring the United States to its knees. Unregulated guns that accidentally kill thousands in the USA. Unregulated global capitalism that hollows out the American middle class family with scab jobs overseas and the destruction of unions. As long as profits are being made and sucked upstairs to the air-filtered CEO suite, the whole rest of the unregulated world can go to hell.”

OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT

Destructive Drought Bill May Pass - Call Senator Boxer ASAP! written by Dan Bacher: “Senator Dianne Feinstein appears ready to sign off on HR 2898, after negotiations with Central Valley House Congressmen that want to over pump the San Francisco Bay-Delta, according to an action alert from Restore the Delta (RTD). ‘Californians have not seen the federal drought bill,’ said RTD. ‘We need to make sure it does not harm our Delta estuary, which is on the verge of collapse in this extreme drought. Senator Barbara Boxer says she will NOT sign off on any bill that weaken existing federal protections. Call Senator Boxer ASAP.’ Senator Barbara Boxer: [phone] Click to Tweet our message to @SenatorBoxer.”

YouTube video from Scott Prodahl showing cruise ship damaging reef.

Diver in the Cayman Islands captures video of a cruise ship's anchor heavily damaging a coral reef written by Jen Hayden: “Environmentalists and ocean lovers in general are outraged after diver Scott Prodahl  shared a video on YouTube that shows a cruise ship’s massive anchor scraping along a coral reef, causing significant damage. From his video description: Another sad day for the reefs of Grand Cayman. Today we noticed that the Pullmantur Zenith (a division of Royal Caribbean Cruise lines) was anchored oddly close to the reef so we decided to go out and have a look...As you will see in the video, a massive portion of the reef out front from Don Fosters and Eden Rock was completely destroyed today. The Department of Environment was contacted but nothing could be done because this was a designated anchorage zone and they were given permission to drop anchor. In the previous several decades this pristine portion of the reef was never needed as an anchorage location but for some reason today, when there was only 4 ships in port, it was deemed necessary. As part of the marine park, we are not allowed to fish here, not allowed to hunt lobsters, you can't even pick up an empty shell, all in the name of conservation?....but for some reason you can drop an anchor and wipe out a reef that took thousands of years to grow. This video was shot roughly an hour after the anchor was dropped, I can't imagine what it looks like now. The video shows the long anchor chain stretched out along the reef. At around the 1:39 mark the ship’s anchor begins to move (warning: loud, sudden noise on the video), scraping away delicate coral reef with it.”

Feds Fund Delta Tunnels Under False Pretenses written by Dan Bacher: “A document obtained under a Public Records Act request reveals a ‘taxpayer grant’ of a $17 million from the Bureau of Reclamation to the California Department of Water Resources under the Jerry Brown administration on July 30, 2015, according to a news release from Restore the Delta (RTD).  Read the federal agreement here. The document was released just as Governor Brown was returning from the the World Climate Summit in Paris, where indigenous leaders and environmental activists challenged him for his promotion of environmentally destructive policies, including carbon trading, REDD and fracking. At the end of his keynote address at the summit on Tuesday, December 8, Indigenous leaders heckled Brown, challenging him on his support of controversial carbon trading polices that represent ‘a new form of colonialism’ that could potentially cause genocide.”

Trash, Toxic & Radioactive Waste, Eco-Destroying Products and By-Products

The Daily Bucket - Uranium in the Water & More written by enhydra lutris: “1. Would you believe Uranium in the drinking water? Uranium washes down from the sierras to the central valley floodplain. Overpumping and the drought combine with irrigation to drive it into the groundwater zone where wells pick it up. An article entitled ‘Fear at the tap: Uranium contaminates water in the West’ at SFGate on 12/08/15 at This Link notes that this is also happening at other locations variously described as ‘major farming regions of the U.S. West,’ ‘the U.S. Central Plains,’ and ‘the U.S. Midwest.’ In many cases the uranium levels exceed federal and state safety standards. Uranium is toxic chemically as a heavy metal (mostly kidney damage), in addition to radiological toxicity (mostly cancer). Not all contaminated sources are identified. The CA central valley alone is 250 miles long and contains 10 major cities. Ignoring urban and other public water supplies, it is estimated that 25% of the families on private wells have unsafe water. According to the article: More broadly, nearly 2 million people in California's Central Valley and in the U.S. Midwest live within a half-mile of groundwater containing uranium over the safety standards, University of Nebraska researchers said in a study published in September.”

The United States is a Senate vote away from banning microbeads from our waters written by Walter Einenkel: “The Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 has passed through the House and is now moving on to the Senate. The bill would begin the phaseout of microbeads from soaps and face washes that have been collecting in our oceans and waterways for years now. Every few months, a study is released showing how much plastic is collecting in different areas of the U.S. The good news is that the bill has the backing of a bipartisan committee which, in this day and age, is something of a Christmas miracle. The Microbead Free Waters Act would start the phase-out of the tiny pieces of plastic found in soap, toothpaste and body washes beginning 1 July 2017. Microbeads can flow into rivers, lakes and streams where, they can be mistaken for food by fish. This can lead to the spread of pollutants throughout the food chain, including to humans.”

TRADE AND ECO-RELATED FOREIGN POLICY​

Report: Israel is Buying ISIS Oil written by Justin Mikulka: “In a new report by Vijay Prasad, discussed in an interview with the Real News Network, he reveals that there is evidence that ISIS is being funded by oil they are smuggling through Turkey and selling to Israel. Here is a clip from the interview. I really don’t have much to add to this. Israel has indeed played a role recycling or laundering oil from, illegal oil, that has come out of the Kurdish regional government for, you know, ten, fifteen years. I mean, that is how Erbil, the northern capital, has been able to get revenues by itself. And that has been one of the real tension, reasons for tension, between the Kurds in the north in Erbil and the government in Baghdad. So Israel has indeed been laundering illegal oil from northern Iraq. They seem to not care. They are agnostic, it seems to me, whether that oil is being sold to them by the Kurdish regional government, which is pro-American, or by ISIS, which apparently America is against. In either case, the Israelis seem quite happy to launder that oil and provide, therefore, the group, whether it's ISIS or the Kurdish government, finances.”

Wilderness, national parks & forests, & other public lands

Which 13 House Democrats Just Voted to Prevent the Bureau of Land Management from Doing Its Job? written by Liberty Equality Fraternity & Trees: “Yesterday, the House took up legislation called the Red River Private Property Protection Act in response to a land dispute in Texas. The bill directs the Department of the Interior to commission a survey of land spanning 116 miles along the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma. According to the bill, the Texas General Land Office, in consultation with the Oklahoma Commissioners Land Office, would conduct the survey. The Bureau of Land Management, the surveying body of the federal government, would be required to sell off surface rights of federal land at market value after new boundaries are determined despite being shut out of the surveying process. [...] The bill passed 253 to 177. 240 Republicans and 13 Democrats voted for it. 173 Democrats and 4 Republicans voted against it.”

Sustainability & population

Population and Climate - Go North Young Man written by carrow: “At the present rate of US population growth (~0.7%/year), our population would double in about 100 years.  However, in my lifetime, (which included the baby boom) the US population has nearly tripled.  Whatever the future growth turns out to be, we will soon have to be building a whole new country as well rebuilding the old one.  Whew! What a task.  It’s not to soon to be discussing plans for this ‘building boom.’ With the proliferation of AC in our houses, cars and businesses that began about the middle of century number 20,  almost all the recent growth has been in the southern states where it used to be too hot for comfort. But will climate change force a reversal of direction?  If we take the necessary steps to save our planet and fossil fuels are phased out as a source, energy is going to be increasingly expensive.  I know, wind, solar, tides and nuclear are coming, but with population growth and our present usage pattern, will it be cheap? I believe that we will and must start conserving energy.”

ECO-ACTION & ECO JUSTICE

Dear Comptroller DiNapoli: There is no Replacement for Divestment from Fossil Fuels millerz written by millerz: “Last week, the new numbers for fossil fuel divestment were announced during the U.N. Climate Conference in Paris. After the press conference, there was a panel discussion in the "Climate Generations" space at COP21, open to the public. I went to watch speakers from throughout the divestment movement announce that there are now commitments of over 500 institutions representing over $3.4 Trillion in assets under management. Cities in Norway, Sweden, and Germany have been added to the list, along with Allianz, Europe’s largest insurance company. At the press conference, Kevin De León from the California State Senate spoke about making California the first state to pass divestment legislation. One of the highlights of the event was poet and Pacific Climate Warrior Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner's live performance describing the determination to save her islands. Only about three years old, the fast growing divestment movement is a sign of hope the world is ready to turn its back on fossil fuels and maybe even to do it quickly enough to make a significant difference for those most vulnerable. As a proud resident of New York State, I am looking for an indication that our elected officials understand that there is no time to waste with half-measures and political distractions. New York State Comptroller DiNapoli has the political power, right now, to announce that he is adding over $180 Billion to the divestment commitment number. Until he makes that decision, New York State will lag behind responsible investors around the world.”

AGRICULTURE​, FOOD & GARDENING

Food Waste in America – An Update written by Robocop: “As a retired chef, I currently work in a regional grocery chain that offers a mix of organic and conventional foods.  They continue to establish community connections and have actually become the main support for a variety of local food entrepreneurs.  The benefits provided to employees exceed those of most such businesses, one of which is a program allowing employees to take home food that has been discarded.  The wages paid are well above minimum pay, but considering the high costs of food and rent this particular benefit is enormously helpful, especially to those employees with children.  The store also welcomes gleaners from a variety of charitable organizations to pick up and distribute much of the food.  The daily accumulation of discarded food, however, is somewhat shocking.  Given the season, nearly every day I see approximately fifty to sixty pounds of apples on the free shelf.  Employees and gleaners take a good portion of that amount, but at the end of the day at least twenty pounds of apples remain, as well as a sizable amount of squash and other vegetables.  A lot of processed food, including cheese, yogurt, milk and eggs is also available, as the manufacturer-created expiration dates determines that it can no longer be sold.  All of the available food is perfectly edible for at least a week after the expiration date and often longer.”

Saturday Morning Garden Blogging, Vol. 11.42: Color Me Wowed! written by mikidee: “It’s that time of year again in Frostbite Falls (a/k/a St. Paul, MN) when outside color is hard to find. [...] But if we’re hankering for some real color, we head inside and find it here. [...] “TO INSPIRE OUR PUBLIC TO VALUE THE PRESENCE OF LIVING THINGS IN OUR LIVES. ”So reads the mission statement for the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, which just celebrated its 100th anniversary. [F]inished in 1915, [it] was a decades long dream of Frederick Nussbaumer, the Como Park gardener who became St. Paul Park Superintendent in 1890. He had worked as a young man at London's Kew Gardens and remembered well its enormous glass palm house. His determination to build a similar structure at Como Park finally lead to its funding through a city bond issue. Once this “folly” was complete, it became a popular success. … Within three years of its opening, the Conservatory had some 77,500 plants and some of the originals still survive. It now maintains over 260 major varieties of plants from six different continents.“

Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in St. Paul, Minnesota.

France passes law forcing big supermarkets to donate food to charity instead of destroying it writteen by Walter Einenkel: “ A few months back, France voted to force big supermarkets to donate any foods to charities that they would otherwise throw out and destroy. [...] Unfortunately, at that time there was some question as to the constitutionality of the procedure, and the bill was subsequently canceled in August. However, prior to the law being passed two weeks ago (13 August), the articles relating to food waste were taken out by the Constitutional Council, who ruled that as they were late additions to the law, having been introduced in the second reading rather than the first, there had not been adequate time to consider them. It’s been “considered” and yesterday it passed again! It was reintroduced on Wednesday and passed by members of the Assemblée Nationale with support from across the political spectrum. The legislation was described in the house as a “crucial measure for the planet”, at a time when world leaders are thrashing out an agreement at the COP21 climate change summit.”

TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE

Good News Thursday: High(er) Speed Rail in the U.S. written by FrustratedProgressive: “As something of an amateur railfan, a news item that came up on a Facebook public transportation page caught my eye. Evidently the 123-mile (198 km) rail corridor between Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA has been identified for upgrading to allow higher speeds and better service between the two cities and to ease traffic on I-95. Today, trains are limited to just 70 mph (113 km/h), but after the upgrades are completed speeds will reach 90 mph (145 km/h). This would mean taking the train would be faster than driving, something which is depressingly rare in the United States. For comparison, the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) considers 110 mph (177 km/h) to be the minimum for true high-speed rail. Addressing this corridor also makes sense as an extension of something closer to Northeast Corridor service south from the current terminus at Washington. Unfortunately, the work is scheduled to take until 2025, but any progress on passenger rail in the U.S. is more than welcome. Republicans seem to have some kind of pathological hatred of trains, which I find baffling.”

CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS​

These 24 Dems Just Voted to Prevent the US from Using Trade Deals to Reduce Carbon Emissions written by Liberty Equality Fraternity and Trees: “Today, the House passed the conference report for the customs enforcement bill, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. [...] But this being Congress—and a Republican-held one at that—there are many horrible provisions in it. It prevents the US from using trade negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: The Conference Report contains a modified version of the House language barring the inclusion of climate change provisions in fast track trade deals.  While the language is improved, it still would single out greenhouse gas emission provisions as being ineligible for inclusion in a trade deal, raising concerns about its impact on efforts to protect the environment in trade deals as called for in the May 10, 2007, Agreement setting out Democratic priorities for trade negotiations.”