Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) usually appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the November 16 Green Spotlight. More than 25,970 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
Mushrooms in the wet late autumn of the Pacific Northwest
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - wet Northwest bottomland: “November is wet in the Pacific Northwest. I was down on the mainland visiting with family last week, and while I went outside walking in the rain every day, I took my camera out one afternoon when the sun sort of broke through for a little while. Here are some moist scenes from a bottomland habitat in western Washington.These lowlands were settled and logged by the end of the 19th c so stumps like the mossy one above are all that remains of the primeval forests. But creeks and bottomlands persist. It still rains a lot here, and this fall has been especially wet. In October this area had a record-breaking 10.03”, far more than the normal 3 ½”, and it has been raining steadily through November. Usually by this time of year aquatic and annual plants have died off, but our unusual weather this year has included much warmer temperatures during the fall. This month the high and low temps, with a few exceptions, have been several degrees above normal, and on few days more than 10ºF higher. It’s strange seeing all this bright green actively growing foliage in winter.”
Pakalolo writes—John Kerry: "Time Is Not On Our Side!" - Tipping points imminent warn Arctic scientists: “Nick Breeze of Envisionation is a climate change journalist and interviewer. In September, he interviewed Professor Jason Box, a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. In the interview, Box revealed how the largest ice shelf in Greenland had just lost an area of ice shelf the size of Manhattan. He described the event as 'spectacular' and warned that it is highly abnormal and raises alarms about the Arctic system and sea level rise. Greenland’s glaciers are not simply melting they are crumbling and falling apart. We have seen massive chunks of ice cracking off the front edges of glaciers where the icebergs plunge into the ocean. It is not simply warming that is causing these calving events. The glaciers no longer flow at a glacial pace, but instead are flowing faster and faster due to changes in their dynamics, they are thinning from the top and below, they are breaking apart, retreating and dumping ice into the ocean.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Ring-billed gull
Owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Ring-billed Gull - Another migrant: “Another bird which a lot of people see is the Ring-Billed Gull (Larus delawarensis). Generally known for hanging around parking lots and garbage dumps in large numbers. These birds have a fairly large range and many nest inland along fresh water in places such as the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River. (Cornell Lab) This species migrates — but not in masses. Thus what seems to be a stable population in a given place during the winter might actually be the same number of gulls, but they are different individuals as some gulls shift south while other gulls come there from further north. And the process repeats in the opposite direction in the spring. (Details on a study in MA here). So a few more pictures of these graceful and sometimes raucous birds.”
Lenny Flank writes—Photo Diary: Some New Mexico Birdies.
matching mole writes—Dawn Chorus Retread: Feathered Cows from the Black Lagoon: “The birds that I'm going to discuss today are pretty weird and they do bear a general resemblance to our friend above. However they don't eat planes or perch atop the Empire State Building. They are Hoatzins. The Hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin, is a South American bird found in the Amazon region and neighboring areas to the east of the Andes. Hoatzins are well known for a couple of features that set them apart from all other birds. The juveniles have claws on their wings, something that appears to be found in no other living bird species. This caused many scientists to speculate, when these birds were first described, that they represent an ancient lineage that has remained unchanged since the early days of bird evolution when wings with claws were common as dirt. The nests are fairly low in vegetation emerging from the water. When threatened by predators the chicks apparently dive into the water and then climb back out after the danger is past using the claws. It is now known that Hoatzin claws are not a characteristic passed unchanged from the origin of birds. Although the evolutionary relationships of the Hoatzin are a bit uncertain it does seem certain that they fall within the main group of modern birds, most likely related to the cuckoos.”
Slide Mountain in the distance. Note where the face has sloughed away
RonK writes—The Daily Bucket: Restoration of Wild Habitat at Maple Creek Reach trying to Rescue Salmon and Orcas: “Maple Creek Reach. Nooksack Valley, WA. This fall I participated in a celebration day to welcome back the salmon of Maple Creek Reach that brought over 100 people to its meadows and river beds. This event was sponsored by the Whatcom Land Trust to honor its supporters for the huge efforts given to preserving this scenic, once wild and pristine property and streams. Located in Whatcom County in the far northwest of the Lower 48, this event was co-sponsored by Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, the Lummi and Nooksack Tribes, and supported by numerous local businesses. The Trust restores and cares for over 20,000 acres of County land. Maple Creek is a tributary of the North Fork of the Nooksack River and provides spawning grounds for all five species of Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Trout. Maple Creek meanders south from Silver Lake to where it joins the North Fork Nooksack River. Upstream the Nooksack is fed by icy waters, fresh off the glaciers from on and around Mt. Baker. After coming off the mountains the Nooksack flows down the valley across meadows where it is fed by smaller creeks such as Maple Creek which in turn meanders across the valley floor through stands of spruce, cedar, hemlock, poplar, and alder. Along its meander the creek is slowed and backed up by beaver dams and ponds. This slow moving water creates pools for trout and spawning redds for the returning salmon and steelhead.”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Bees Who Deserve an "A" (for Appreciation): “The family Apidae contains over 5700 species. This includes honeybees and bumblebees, but also a number of others, including carpenter bees, orchid bees, digger bees and a number of other groups. Like honeybees many of these are important pollinators for agricultural crops. A number of the bee “tribes” are eusocial and live in colonies. Others are solitary bees that make nests or simple ground burrows. And some, the cuckoo bees, are parasitic in that they live in the nests of other bees. One thing to note is that these bees are as threatened, if not more threatened, by the issues of pesticide use, agricultural monoculture, loss of habitat (non-cropland and margin plants), that are affecting pollinator numbers in general. (See Besame’s diary here for more details on a policy suggestion regarding this issue put forward by a group of scientists.)”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Send Us Your Ducks (Geese Accepted Too!) Photo Diary.
CLIMATE CHAOS
Rift in Pine Island Glacier of Antarctica
Pakalolo writes—Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier is breaking up from the inside out: ”The American Geophysical Union (AGU) just issued a press release informing the world that a key glacier in West Antarctica is breaking up from the inside out. This suggests, said the AGU statement, that the ocean is weakening the ice on the edges of the Antarctic continent. [...] In 2015, a massive chunk of ice broke off of the Pine Island Glacier. AGU notes that it wasn't until they started testing for new image processing software recently “that they noticed a crack had formed at the very base of the ice shelf nearly 20 miles inland in 2013. The rift propagated upward over two years, until it broke through the ice surface and set the iceberg adrift over 12 days in late July and early August 2015. [...] The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is particularly vulnerable to global warming caused by our burning of fossil fuels. It’s collapse will be catastrophic. Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers have 10 feet of sea level rise currently locked up in ice, the rapid flow of that ice into the ocean would submerge most coastal cities throughout the world.”
Mark Sumner writes—Trump is open-minded on climate change ... open to thinking it is 'a bunch of bunk': “If you’ve ever wanted to be reassured about anything when it comes to Donald Trump, anything at all, don’t read the transcript of his interview with the New York Times. While the Times may have released a handful of semi-reasonable sounding quotes from the interview, the full text reveals a terrifying lack of understanding of everything—including possibly English. It also reveals that Trump’s statements on climate change are, of course, just hot air. ‘I’ll tell you what. I have an open mind to it. We’re going to look very carefully. It’s one issue that’s interesting because there are few things where there’s more division than climate change. You don’t tend to hear this, but there are people on the other side of that issue who are, think, don’t even …’ And so on. Including this gem of a sequence: ‘I know we have, they say they have science on one side but then they also have those horrible emails that were sent between the scientists. Where was that, in Geneva or wherever five years ago? Terrible. Where they got caught, you know, so you see that and you say, what’s this all about.’”
lizbirge writes—No time to chill on climate change; North Pole heats up to 36 degrees above normal: “By Thanksgiving most people have started to get out their cold weather gear, especially for the traditional Turkey Bowl game that many families will play Thursday and through the weekend. But while the thermometer is slipping as is should in most places, in the Arctic it’s actually rising, so much so that right now the average temperature is 36 degrees warmer than normal. It’s polar night there now — the sun isn’t rising in much of the Arctic. That’s when the Arctic is supposed to get super-cold, when the sea ice that covers the vast Arctic Ocean is supposed to grow and thicken. But in fall of 2016 — which has been a zany year for the region, with multiple records set for low levels of monthly sea ice — something is totally off. The Arctic is super-hot, even as a vast area of cold polar air has been displaced over Siberia.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Exploring Antarctic Ice and El Niño Nonsense: “Though the bulk of current attention is on the coming ArmagedDonald, there are still ample examples of the misrepresentation of climate science. For example, if you have been browsing the post-truth media, you may’ve seen reports about Antarctic sea ice being stable for a hundred years (and therefore supposedly raising doubts about climate change). The basis for these stories is a study that looked at the logbooks of famed Antarctic explorer Captain Cook and compared the ice extent cataloged then with what has been recorded via satellites more recently. Carbon Brief invited one of the study’s co-authors, Dr. Jonathan Day, to write a guest post to correct the misleading media coverage of Antarctic sea ice paper. It’s always helpful to have these sorts of “straight from the horse’s mouth” rebuttals handy, and this one also provides a few screenshots of the various headlines. This an interesting addition to the post, giving readers a good sense of what went wrong without rewarding the undeserving outlets with clicks.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Exxon’s Conspiracy Defense Finds Open Ear in Texas: “To take a short break from the constant vigilance over who Trump will pick to head up the EPA, DOI and DOE, let’s check in on the #ExxonKnew story. Massachusetts and New York Attorneys General have been instructed to appear for deposition on December 13 in the Texas court where Exxon brought their defense. Though this may be a good sign for Exxon, the victory may yet be pyrrhic, as this unexpected and rather unusual turn of events could allow for a quick end to Exxon’s attempt to hold ‘em in Texas. By bringing the AGs in directly, the judge may be looking to cut to the chase and after hearing from the supposed conspirators, quickly rule against the company. After all, it would be a pretty incredible precedent if a judge were to rule it’s acceptable/legal for a company to claim a law enforcement investigation into its potentially illegal activities is actually a conspiracy. Imagine if Volkswagen could have invoked such a precedent to stave off #DieselGate!For the most part, the Rockefellers seem unfazed by this development.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—WSJ Goes On Thanksgiving Denial Spree: ”WSJ columnist Holman Jenkins Jr. seems emboldened in his climate denial since the election, penning three columns in the three short weeks since Trump’s win- the same number he wrote in total in June, July and August this year. The latest takes aim at the New York Times for a well-reported and in-depth featureabout coastal real estate and sea level rise. According to Jenkins, the idea that sea level rise will depress coastal real estate values as waters encroach on the land, as explained by the Ian Urbina’s reporting, is making ‘front-page climate propaganda out of a false syllogism.’ Jenkins also falsely claims ‘sea-level rise is a non-factor’ when it comes to the impact of storm surges and tides on coastal development, calling out Superstorm Sandy specifically as an example. Which is interesting, because science shows that a full 24% of NYC’s damage from Sandy was due to the 20 warming-caused additional centimeters of sea levels, which added $2 billion in damages and increased the number of people and houses impacted by 11%.”
Ellinorianne writes—Climate Denial is the official stance of the Trump administration: “As Arctic ice levels hit another epic low and we come near to the end hottest year on record, Reince Priebus ensures us that Trump’s official stance on climate change is that it does not exist. Nope, it’s not man made nor of any concern to his administration. Priebus appeared on the latest Fox News Sunday to explain Trump’s apparent “major flips on policy this week in an interview with the New York Times,” as host Chris Wallace put it — including the apostasy of possibly having ‘an open mind’ about ‘pulling out of the Paris climate agreement.’ Trump is appointing countless climate science deniers to key positions, which tells you vastly more about what he believes and what he’ll do than his latest semi-coherent ramblings. As I wrote last week, Trump’s repetition of the phrase “open mind” during his Times interview was meant to distract from his constant repetition of long-debunked denier talking points (and it worked).”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Restore the Delta Action Alert: Attend Water Quality Plan Hearings! ”Earlier this year, thousands of Restore the Delta supporters signed a petition urging the State Water Resources Control Board to update outdated water quality standards for the Bay-Delta region. Now we need your action in person! This outdated 20-year-old Water Quality Control Plan allows more than half the water needed for the delta’s ecological health to be diverted away for unsustainable Big Agriculture on the west and south San Joaquin Valley. The State Water Resources Control Board is currently in Phase I of updating the plan. We need to make sure that the State Water Board gets it right and is not influenced by special interests. New water quality standards that truly protect communities and species is a proactive step that helps ensure reliable water supplies for all water users of the Bay-Delta. Learn more about water quality here. We need you to make your comments! The public comment process ends January 17, 2017, and all hearings conclude January 3, 2017. Please limit your oral public comment to 3 minutes in length.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
JackHCassidy writes—Bears Ears, Utah - Sign the Petition Asking Obama to Protect the other Standing Rock: “Bears Ears, Utah, and its surrounding areas are national treasures. This region includes some of the most amazing technicolor sand stone deserts of the American West. In addition to its geologic wonders, the area is rich with indigenous culture, both current and pre-Columbian, with ancient ruins, burial grounds, and petroglyphs and pictographs spanning from early Fremont and Archaic cultures, through Chaco culture and Spanish colonialism (horses start to appear in the images). Located at the south end of the beautiful Abajo Mountains, Bears Ears is in the approximate vicinity of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Natural Bridges National Monument, Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area, and the Four Corners. Sadly, Bears Ears is a fragile environment, and is cursed with an abundance of extremely difficult to extract, extremely dirty energy sources. Some of you may have been following Rep. Bishop’s (Utah — Fascist) attempt to hand our public lands, and our indigenous Brothers’ and Sisters’ patrimony over to extractive interests. Much like Standing Rock, few of our Democrat “leaders” have stood up with the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition who are fighting to protect their lands, water, heritage, and this pubic commons. This is unacceptable.”
POPULATION, SUSTAINABILITY & EXTINCTION
dyna writes—Black Friday Flopped, Let's Start Sustainable Sunday...”So here we sit a century later, a western world with more bedrooms than we got people, a big screen TV in every one of those bedrooms and a 'puter too. We've got more cars than drivers, and hordes of computers in all sizes. Same with our lives- We've paid for college degrees we'll never use, and we're struggling to pay them back on low paid jobs that require little more than a pulse and not too much attitude. The mantra of blind consumerism plays on, long after the jobs we were trying to save left, and we're left to clean up all the dead electronics and abandoned inner cities. Black Friday was flop, small business saturday was a step in the right direction, now lets celebrate Sustainable Sunday. Let's fix something ... The LEED standards tell us that the greenest house is a rehabbed house, with as much of the original house reused as possible. The GREET standard developed by Argonne National Laboratory, which takes into account the total carbon footprint of a vehicle from production through scraping tells us that even the greenest hybrid or electric car accomplishes nothing for the planet unless it replaces one that is totally, utterly, and completely worn out beyond repair.”
ENERGY
Fossil Fuels
annieli writes—Orange Gasbag's Great Leap Backward: home heating costs to rise because post-truth coal jobs: “Clueless natural Gasbag’s ‘post-truth’ promises to cull votes with more coal jobs will now make your home heating prices go up with little effect on returning coal jobs to the US coal belt. But that was never the point in the framing of an anti-Hillary message in coal country. While an expert in luxury land-rents, Trump is clueless about competing energy sources and why social costs are much higher than making room reservations and commodifying hospitality. The middle class reliance on natural gas home heating will drive prices up as exports will increase in spite of nativist rhetoric about energy self-reliance. And of course this little boondoggle also drives up profits for ...wait… Russian and central Asian energy corporations.”
Dan Bacher writes—WSPA: The West's most powerful corporate lobbying group - and hardly anybody knows it exists: “The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) is not a household name in California and the West, but it should be. WSPA is the trade association for the oil industry and the largest and most powerful corporate lobbying organization in California. The oil industry spent $112,371,214 on lobbying expenses in California from January 1, 2009 to November 8, 2016, according to a new report, “The Chevron Way: Polluting California and Degrading Democracy,” produced by International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) Sydney Office, in collaboration with a coalition of conservation, consumer and environmental justice groups. The Western States Petroleum Association led the oil industry lobbying expenses with $49,491,104, followed by Chevron with $24,035,901 and Phillips 66 with $4,821,144. To read the full report, go to: static1.squarespace.com/... The biggest-ever gusher of Big Oil lobbying money into the state in one quarter was from July 1 to September 30, 2015. This resulted in the gutting/amending or the defeat of every bill that the oil industry opposed in the last session of the State Legislature.”
Mark Sumner writes—Trump can't bring back coal jobs, but he can reward coal companies: “It doesn’t matter how much faith coal workers put in Donald Trump, coal jobs are not coming back. The continued availability of natural gas and the general economics of coal plants have cause more than 300 plants to close in the last decade. Without those plants, there is simply nowhere to burn additional coal. And no one—no one—is building a new coal burning plant. But just because Donald Trump stiffed every coal miner with his false promises, doesn’t mean he can’t deliver for the owners of coal mines. In particular, Trump can allow streams to be destroyed despite regulations that were supposed to protect them. The Stream Protection Rule revisions would be one more piece of the conservation puzzle. The original regulations, enacted more than 30 years ago, were intended to protect streams and their ecosystems from waste discharged during coal mining operations.But those rules have fallen short, because rulings made in the 1980s allowed mine waste to be dumped in streams as “fill.” Multiple attempts have been made to alter this ruling including very specific changes that were supported by Democrats in the House and Senate for over a decade. President Obama is using the rules built into the Clean Water Act itself, to finally close this loophole. But Trump could force it back open.”
poopdogcomedy writes—PA-Sen: Bob Casey (D) Pushes Trump To Put Up Or Shut Up Over His Promise To Protect Coal Miners: “While it remains to be seen how the president-elect can revive an ailing coal industry, Mr. Trump does have an immediate opportunity to provide some relief — and an early test to see whether he will uphold commitments to coal miners. [...] The Miners Protection Act, sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and co-sponsored by Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey, would redirect excess funds from the federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund — a pot of money collected from coal companies to fund mine restoration projects. The money would prop up United Mine Workers of America pension funds, relied on by more than 89,000 miners nationwide, including 13,000 miners in Pennsylvania. The move would honor a promise by the federal government dating to the Truman administration to guarantee UMWA retirement funds.”
Heavy Mettle writes—Bankruptcy King and Sago Mine Killer Ross for Commerce Sec: “Oh the irony. Trump supporters got so played. After campaigning as a champion of coal miners, Donald Trump is reportedly close to choosing for commerce secretary a New York billionaire who owned a West Virginia mine where a dozen miners were killed in 2006. Trump’s favored candidate, Wilbur Ross, also engineered buyouts that cost workers their benefits and their jobs. It’s a striking choice, Ross made his money collecting ‘distressed assets’—failing steel and textile mills in the Midwest and South, and coal mines in Appalachia. Dubbed the ‘the King of Bankruptcy,’ Ross cutjobs, wages, pensions, and health benefits at the companies he acquired, and reaped the profits.”
whipple1078 writes—Blog Stream Groups Following Profile How do we stop oil, not just a pipeline: “Yes, we know petroleum pollution from pipelines kill, and we are fighting the pipeline at Standing Rock. My question is, now do we stop petroleum? Regardless of this pipeline, fuel can and will be carried by rail, which is even worse. The solution is no oil no how! Some alternatives come to mind. Electric vehicles mean somewhere down the line solar will be feasible to power, not just a home, the car as well. Already solar is making inroads and just this year 2016 prices are plummeting. We can get plastic from other oil, any crop will do. Consider corn and soy, which produce most of the food we eat in one way or another. If these two crops are used for most food making plastic is just another possibility. You have written me the problem America has with rail and Amtrak is that we have not electrified the trains, so most still use fuel. How do we change this?”
007pandas writes—Tar Sands Oil: “It is the same every few decades some capitalistic, corporation wants to cross the indigenous people's lands to further their profits. Based on the horrible historical past of the US government, with the native populations, some intelligent people would think it would be easier to build around sacred Indian lands. The protectors of the land in North Dakota used a live social media facebook feed yesterday to show the horrors they suffer for you and I to drive our cars, and keep warm. Profits are more important than the land of the natives or were the citizens of Bismark ND use the American adage, ‘Not In My Backyard.’ Sadly the oil industry has worked tirelessly to avoid allowing anyone to view the region where the oil originated. It is called the Tar Sand Region in Canada.”
Hydraulic Fracturing
Meteor Blades writes—Physicians report: Evidence shows regulations not capable of preventing harm from fracking: “Concerned Health Professionals of New York and the Physicians for Social Responsibility have issued their fourth report compiling scientific evidence of health impacts, water contamination and climate risks of hydraulic fracturing—aka fracking. One of the key conclusions of their Compendium of Scientific, Medical and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking: A pile of evidence indicates that no amount of regulations is capable of preventing harm from the process. A group of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, doctors hand-delivered the report to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat who has been criticized by environmental advocates for failing to seek stronger regulations or an outright ban on fracking. The doctors asked the governor say yes to a call from the Pennsylvania Medical Society for a fracking moratorium.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Patience John writes—Solar on ever roof! Locally sourced chicken in every pot! “Hot dog! Don’t know how long the 3rd Rail is going to let us populist near the megaphone so I gotta make the most of this. Just off the top of my head I have two programs that address not only the concerns of the heartland, but puts the country back on track. This really helps the poor and rural folk out the most, so it didn’t get much traction during the general. Hope I got ears now! 1) Solar on every roof! Our living and breathing Leonardo De Vinci, aka Elon Musk, has a proven product in his solar roofing tile and local battery packs. This isn’t SciFi or what if, this is happening: Elon Musk's Tesla Powers American Samoan Island With Solar Energy [...] 2) Locally sourced chicken in every pot! My unicorn will always be a will funded 4H that leads to local grants to get young people back to mom and pop farming. While industrial farming will have a place in this world to feed this world, the pendulum is swinging back towards the backbone of our republic being people instead of corporations.”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
Chase Iron Eyes writes—Ask Obama to Protect the Water Protectors from ND Governor Dalrymple: “For three months the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and our allies have taken a stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). If completed, the pipeline would shuttle half a million barrels of oil per day under the Missouri River. Even the smallest leak could destroy the water supply for our tribe and the two million other people who live downstream. Those of us who have been protesting refer to ourselves as “Water Protectors,” because Water is Life—Mni Wikoni. And despite the constant challenges we face, we remain steadfast. The threats against us, however, are growing. I come before this community today to ask for your support. Through the Lakota People’s Law Project, we have launched a petition calling on President Obama to keep the peace at Standing Rock and not allow the evacuation of our camps—not by the Governor, not by local police, not by private security squads, not by anyone.”
Walter Einenkel writes—In a turnaround, Dakota governor flinches on 'emergency evacuation' of #NoDAPL protectors: “North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple’s plans for an emergency evacuation of water protectors from the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock seems to have been put on hold. The decision indicated the state will not actively enforce Monday's emergency order to evacuate the camp issued by Governor Jack Dalrymple, who had cited a coming blizzard.Local law enforcement said on Tuesday they planned a blockade of the camp, but local and state officials later retreated, saying they would only check vehicles for certain prohibited supplies like propane, and possibly issue fines.”
BOHICA writes—Veterans For Standing Rock set to do a reverse Custer: “Here then is the plan: On Dec. 4, Clark Jr. and Wood Jr., along with a group of veterans and other folks in the “bravery business,” as Wood Jr. puts it — 500 total is the goal, but they’re hoping for more — will muster at Standing Rock. The following morning they will join members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, including Young, for a traditional healing ceremony. With an eye toward the media, old military uniforms will be donned so that if the veterans are brutalized by the police, they are brutalized not as ordinary citizens, but as people who once served the government they are protesting against. Then body armor, ear plugs, and gas masks will be issued to those who didn’t bring their own. Bagpipes will play, and traditional Sioux war songs will be sung. The music will continue as everyone marches together to the banks of the Missouri, on the other side of which a line of guards in riot gear will be standing ready with rifles, mace, batons, and dogs. Then, the veterans and their allies — or at least the ones who are brave enough — will lock arms and cross the river in a ‘massive line’ for their ‘first encounter’ with the ‘opposing forces.’”
Walter Einenkel writes—2,000 veterans plan to be a 'human shield' for the North Dakota Pipeline activists: “As more and more signs point towards the government trying to strong-arm Dakota Access Pipeline protectors and activists in the coming days, a movement called Veterans Stand for Standing Rock plan on lending their help and their bodies. As many as 2,000 veterans planned to gather next week at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota to serve as ‘human shields’ for protesters who have for months clashed with the police over the construction of an oil pipeline, organizers said. [...] The veterans’ plan coincides with an announcement on Tuesday by law enforcement officials that they would begin blocking supplies, including food, from entering the main protest camp after an evacuation order from the governor, according to Reuters. But protesters have vowed to stay put. The veterans’ efforts also coincide with the Army Corps of Engineers plans to close off access to the movement’s campsite by creating the Orwellian-named ‘free speech zone.’”
e2247 writes—COALITION STATEMENT on eviction notice to the Oceti Sakowin encampments at Standing Rock: “On Friday, November 25, after the turkey was pardoned, the Obama Administration issued an eviction notice to the Oceti Sakowin encampments at Standing Rock. [ … read entire statement here ] Army Corps of Engineers has chosen Dec 5th, General George Armstrong Custer's birthday, as the date it plans to evict people from the Oceti Sakowin Camp. Custer broke the treaty to dig for gold, the Army Corps is breaking the treaty over oil. DECEMBER: EVERY DAY IS A #NODAPL DAY OF ACTION. Below Adrieiuous, who is a man working as a front-line water protector, reports to dispel misinformation about what actually happened last Sunday Nov 20, 2016 and through the night into early morning of Monday, Nov. 21st … The interview originally aired 11-27-16 on radio at wolfspiritradio.com … The interview ends with suggested concrete tasks to help the NoDAPL citizen-led nonviolent direct action campaign, things that people can provide to the water protectors who are actually in the several camps on and near Standing Rock and so forth.”
e2247 writes—Water Protector Legal Collective (formerly Red Owl) National Lawyers Guild class action filed 11-28: “Today, the Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC-formerly Red Owl), an initiative of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), filed suit in US District Court against Morton County, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirschmeier, and other law enforcement agencies for using excessive force against peaceful Water Protectors on the night of November 20, 2016. The class action suit, filed on behalf of persons who were injured on the night of November 20 and early morning of November 21, seeks an immediate injunction preventing the Morton County Sheriff’s Department and other law enforcement from using impact munitions such as rubber bullets and lead-filled ‘beanbags,’ water cannons and hoses, explosive teargas grenades and other chemical agents against protesters.”
BOHICA writes—The siege of NoDAPL has begun. Governor orders blockade of supplies and food. Up Date: Our Bad: “Well this is just getting better and better all the time. Governor Jack Dalrymple is laying siege to the Standing Rock camps, ordering all supplies blockaded including food. Update: We didn't really mean it. North Dakota state officials on Tuesday backed away from plans to block supplies from reaching protesters at a camp near the construction site of an oil pipeline project after the governor’s office said no such action was planned.”
rodwebber writes—Army Corps of Engineers to evict Standing Rock Dec 5th: “According to a letter sent to Dave Archambault II, the Water Protectors at Standing Rock Reservation are to be evicted Dec. 5th, and any and all people found north of Cannonball River (which is the big camp) will be arrest. Since great efforts to winterize the camp are being made, including many small permanent structures are being built, this is sure to cause great upset at the camp. For an added layer of uncertainty, a veterans group will be arriving Dec 4th., and I doubt they will be too happy about the decision either. The letter reads: Any person found to be on the Corps’ lands north of the Cannonball River after December 5, 2016, will be considered trespassing and may be subject to prosecution under federal, state, and local laws. Furthermore, any person who chooses to stay on these Corps’ lands north of the Cannonball River does so at their own risk, and assumes any and all corresponding liabilities for their unlawful presence and occupation of such lands.”
navajo writes—Army Corps of Engineers tells ND 'Water Protectors' it will close off their main camp Dec. 5: “After the militaristic forceful shutdown and raid of the Standing Rock North Camp on October 27, which I covered: Standing Rock Update: 100s arrested, video of mass pepper spraying, injuries from ‘non-lethal’ weapons, we can only dread what will be the eviction of the Oceti Sakowin Camp by the Army Corps of Engineers. [...] The Tribe’s statement [...] from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s Chairman, Dave Archambault II: ‘Today we were notified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that on Dec. 5th, they will close all lands north of the Cannonball River, which is where the Oceti Sakowin camp is located. The letter states that the lands will be closed to public access for safety concerns, and that they will allow for a ‘free speech zone’ south of the Cannonball River on Army Corps lands. Our Tribe is deeply disappointed in this decision by the United States, but our resolve to protect our water is stronger than ever. The best way to protect people during the winter, and reduce the risk of conflict between water protectors and militarized police, is to deny the easement for the Oahe crossing, and deny it now.’”
Greyhawk writes—My Message to Senator Warren asking for her to support the Water Protectors: “Message Subject: Please intervene on behalf of #NoDAPL water protectors. This isn't just a single or small topic. It touches upon health & safety, food (and water) security, tribal sovereignty, and domestic security. It also touches the Constitutional right to protest, and challenges Congress to actually honor & respect treaties - not only when it is convenient for them, but also when it's not. Americans are being injured, literally & severely, by corporate interests. Those interests are being protected and promoted through militarized police. Please get with Cory Booker and others to stand with the Native Americans and their many allies at Standing Rock. Please stand up and stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline. And please make a strong statement on this soon - this weekend would be ideal. [...]”
wmdrpa writes—Standing Rock Chair Archambault Rejects the Army Corps' Termination Policy: “Anyone who held out hope that the Army Corps would come down on the right side of this historic struggle, had those hopes dashed today when they announced that all camps north of the Cannonball River (Red Warrior and the largest camp, Oceti Sakowin) will be evicted on December 5th. Those who do not relocate to a "free speech zone" south of the Cannonball will face arrest, and likely, more violence. Couched in a benevolent tone, expressing concern for the public safety and the harsh winter weather, this Corps’ letter shouldn’t fool anyone. Response to the evacuation notice by Tribal Chair Dave Archambault II: Our Tribe is deeply disappointed in this decision by the United States, but our resolve to protect our water is stronger than ever. We ask that all everyone who can appeal to President Obama and the Army Corps of Engineers to consider the future of our people and rescind all permits and deny the easement to cross the Missouri River just north of our Reservation and straight through our treaty lands. When Dakota Access Pipeline chose this route, they did not consider our strong opposition. Our concerns were clearly articulated directly to them in a meeting on Sept. 30, 2014. We have released that audio recording from our council meeting where DAPL and the ND Public Service Commission came to us with this route.”
DaveStump writes—Standing with Standing Rock on Thanksgiving Day: “At noon on Thanksgiving Day, 300 people gathered at Bear Mountain State Park near Poughkeepsie, NY for a demonstration primarily intended to show solidarity with the Native American Water Keepers at Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. Protestors there are trying to block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline which would pass through their territory, desecrate an ancient sacred burial ground, and pose a risk their water supply. Many of the demonstrators also carried signs protesting pipeline constructions closer to home, including Spectra-AIM, a 42 inch high-pressure gas pipeline, which, if completed, would pass within 105 feet of critical structures at the Indian Point nuclear plant. Others protested the Pilgrim pipelines, two 170 mile long pipelines from Albany, NY to Linden, NJ running through scores of suburban residential communities in the New York, New Jersey, area. Still other signs protested the ‘bomb trains,’ trains of railroad tank cars carrying Bakken crude oil through the same communities.”
Professor ALI writes—Standing Alone at Standing Rock: “I wrote the following poem in solidarity with my family at Standing Rock: Standing Alone on Standing Rock?
Redirect the pipeline towards holy land; a pilgrimage towards pollution.
Irrigation upon faces, standing firm upon Rock; facing East in prayer, no ablution.
And ignorance loaded in gun chambers, wielded by ignorants are deemed solutions.
Hear the thunder, as the buffalo pound their fists into the earth causing your confusion.
Our clarity, is the eye of the storm, why not redirect the filthy pipe towards lily white fields?
Is it because White Privilege is your sacred cow; the golden bull before which you kneel?
So your holiness is to be protected, while ours demolished, while its hidden from view.
Indeed Plymouth Rock landed on us, now Standing Rock lands upon you.
What will you do?”
irawhite writes—Why This White Person Went to Standing Rock: “I went to Standing Rock because of many reasons. The one foremost in my mind was love: love for the earth and love for my children and grandchildren. The pipeline is a threat to all that live. That oil must stay in the ground to keep from overloading our atmosphere with CO2. It must not be transported through pipes to the refineries because the pipes leak as has been shown by the hundreds of leaks per year that spread millions of gallons of crude over the land. The oil that they want to transport through the Native American land is called Bakken Crude and it is more flammable than other oils. It contains a high amount of organic compounds such as Toluene, Xylene, Benzene, and Hexane—all Volatile Organic Compounds. In addition to being highly flammable, these compounds are also highly toxic. When the pipelines break, these chemicals, along with the toxic crude, are spread across the land and in the waters where the break occurs. Eventually, the spills that happen on land are washed into watersheds where they are moved downstream and eventually into our dying oceans.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Alonso del Arte writes—My palm oil hypocrisy: “For a while, I stopped buying Better Made potato chips and checking the ingredients list for other potato chips. I also started Change.org. I figured, if they don’t care about the orangutans, they care about people buying or not buying their potato chips.vAt around that same time, Honey Bee Market had started stocking the Better Made “Rainbow” chips, which look burnt and are, in my opinion, very delicious, much more so than “original.” (Why ‘original’ is not really original is a topic for another day).vFrom there, my slide down into full hypocrisy was slow but sure. I’m back to buying Better Made potato chips, both regular and dark. And even if I had kept up the boycott, I’m just one person.vThe guy who alerted me to the palm oil problem has either forgotten about it and moved on to other causes, or doesn’t care about potato chips. Maybe both explanations apply.”
skohayes writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging: Post Thanksgiving edition: “Good morning gardeners, and welcome to the post Thanksgiving edition of SMGB! Hope everyone had a wonderful and delicious Thanksgiving with family and friends and political discussions were kept to a minimum in the interest of world peace. :) Now it’s time to prepare for winter! The outdoor garden has been put to bed and I await the blooming of the orchids in January and February. Meanwhile my Christmas cactus, as always, manages to be in full bloom every Thanksgiving.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Spherical Aberration writes—Mining disasters and Trump's pick for Sec. of Transportation: “In 2001, Bush 43 selected his Secretary of Labor, a Taiwanese-American woman with a long history of involvement in conservative causes. Elaine Chao resigned her position in the Heritage Foundation to accept the cabinet role. She would be the only cabinet member to serve all 8 years of the Bush administration, and the longest-serving Secretary of Labor since FDR’s time. But not without controversy. [...] she’s a favored daughter of the coal industry, and she’s a huge fan of privatization of government functions. That’s always popular in TrumpLand. She also has a firmly established reputation as a ladder-climbing narcissist; when she was appointed to Bush’s cabinet, she had gold medallions made with her image and name on them, and hired an assistant to carry her purse around for her. That’s also always popular in TrumpLand.”
xaxnar writes—Want To Know How Trump's Infrastructure Plans Are Going To Work? “Krugman points out 1) There’s no need to bring in private investors when the government can borrow the money just as easily. 2) Private investors are only going to do projects where they can make money — which means there are lots of needed projects that will not get done. 3) Some of these projects would have been done anyway — but instead will become public assets converted into private gain. It’s a win for the rentier class. Short version: this is an elaborate wealth transfer scheme, from the public to the private. Critical infrastructure will end up in the hands of people with every incentive to cut corners and maximize profits — and limited accountability. What happens when these public-private deals go bad? It turns out the great state of Texas has a wonderful example of just how bad it can get. Via Katherine Blunt and the San Antonio Express-News, here’s a look at what happened when Texas decided to try a private-public partnership to build 41 miles of highway.”
MISCELLANY
Aji writes—A Lake for Lin: A Community Fundraiser for an Eco-Warrior In the Fight of Her Life: ”She is, in her way, a warrior too: one for Mother Earth, for the land and the air and, yes, the waters that she and I both hold sacred. She is sister and friend and force of nature. And like the earth she has fought so fiercely for decades to defend, she is in the fight of her life. For her life. Most know her by her username here: Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, or PDNC. I "knew" her by that name a decade and a half ago, before I knew her personally: another dark time for our world, one in which the spectres of war and torture and suffering loomed large. She fought against those, too.”
MTmofo writes—Sex Pistols memorabilia torched-in the name of green energy: “Well, I suppose they would have wanted it that way. Rare punk memorabilia worth millions of pounds has been torched in the middle of the River Thames. Joe Corre, the son of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and Dame Vivienne Westwood, burnt the items - said to be worth £5 million - alongside effigies of politicians loaded with fireworks. [...] Corre, 48, who founded lingerie company Agent Provocateur, hit out at ‘nostalgic’ celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of punk and called on people to take action against climate change.”
Webster Hubble Telescope writes—Geophysical Modeling of ENSO (El Niño) and QBO.
Mark Sumner writes—Turtle opposes any proposal for swamp draining: “Wetlands never get any love. Not even metaphorical wetlands. As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump pledged to oust special interests from government by promising to “drain the swamp” in Washington. These three words may make for a clever chant. But Trump’s key proposals — hiring freezes for the federal workforce, term limits for Congress and a few cosmetic lobbying bans —are to ending corruption what bloodletting and leeches are to healing the sick. They won’t work, and they only make matters worse. Sure, Trump’s swamp draining is actually more like trimming the grass around a water hazard, but even so, there are things in that swamp. Slow things. Old things. And they don't want to even pretend to move.”
