See Daily Bucket post here.
Many environmentally related posts appearing at Daily Kos each week don't attract the attention they deserve. To help get more eyeballs, Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) normally appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The most recent Wednesday Spotlight can be seen here. More than 22,030 environmentally oriented diaries have been rescued for inclusion in this weekly collection since 2006. Inclusion of a diary in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
The 2016 elections deserve probing questions from the press on a broken climate debate.—by
Pakalolo: "'
Arguing about the basic science gets us nowhere. Scientists are as certain that industrial activities are causing climate change as they are that smoking causes lung disease. They have robust estimates of how much heat industrial emissions are trapping in our atmosphere. It’s clear that recent climate change is not natural. So while asking politicians whether or not they accept those facts is certainly useful, the public also deserves to know what politicians are going to do about the consequences of climate change and how they want to shape our country’s energy mix.' So writes Aaron Huertas, in a riveting but overlooked piece on the Union of Concerned Scientists blog. In 2012, not one question regarding the civilization threatening issue of climate change was asked by moderators of the 3 major debates between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. This despite the fact that the Arctic was melting before our very eyes, droughts were occurring, temperatures were at record breaking levels and the Military had come out stating that climate change was a very dangerous threat to our national security. Heck even the CIA was scared to death of it at that time."
The Great Lakes Compact—by
Camargo1: "The protection and preservation of the largest surface water system in the world needs to be discussed as a campaign issue in 2016. This is not only important at the Presidential level, but in all of the open great lakes gubernatorial races, as well. Overwhelmingly passed by a bi-partisan majority in Congress, Signed by W, and endorsed by all 8 of the sitting Great Lakes governors (6 of which were Democrats at the time (Blagoyevich, Strickland, Granholm, Rendell, Doyle and Spitzer)) and their legislatures, climate change and budgetary constraints could possibly, I repeat possibly, put this great natural resource at risk."
You can find more rescued green diaries below the impressionist orange spiderweb.
Climate Chaos
Soonami Still Rages in Providence—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "The exposure of Willie Soon's fossil fuel funding continues to be a topic of interest, particularly in the Providence Journal. Because Rhode Island is home to one of the senators who sent letters of inquiry to major energy companies and their think tank front groups, the paper has run a number of opinion pieces on the issue lately. First was an editorial that criticizes Whitehouse for daring to try to discover whether corporations are paying scientists to represent their interests to Congress. The editorial contends that asking for funding disclosure is tantamount to 'intimidating scientists' and argues it is important to foster an environment of scientific freedom because this is how 'scientists who distort data may be discredited.' While this is true, it completely ignores the fact that these scientists have been frequently discredited, and yet somehow keep getting called to testify on the Hill by Republicans who continue to cite their discredited science. Senator Whitehouse responded with a letter to the editor explaining that, 'No one is saying the industry 'scientists' should be silenced, just that the public should know how they’re paid.' Whitehouse also presciently points out that the Journal is 'a persistent mouthpiece for climate denial front groups,' like Cato's Chip Knappenberger, so 'it is perhaps unsurprising that [the Journal] should presume that industry-funded climate denial is legitimate science, and not a fraudulent enterprise.'"
Cruzing for a Fact-Check Bruising—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has announced he's running for President in 2016. This means it's going to be a busy campaign season for fact checkers, who have already started the Sisyphean task of correcting Cruz. [...] Chris Mooney demonstrated one way for journalists to deal with presidential climate claims by contacting a climate scientist, who made it clear that Cruz was cherry-picking. Michelle Ye Hee Lee examined the satellite comment for WaPo's Fact Checker column, giving Cruz 'Three Pinnochios' for his misleading statements. Philip Bump took a critical look at Cruz's comparison of deniers to Galileo and other comments, stating, 'There's not much Cruz got right.' Most amusing (and original) would be Mooney's column on Cruz's Galileo defense. Mooney points out that, first and foremost, Cruz botched the history, saying, "Galileo was branded a denier," for not accepting that the Earth was flat. This is just plain wrong, because Galileo's ordeal was about whether the Earth orbited the Sun. Going further, Mooney contacted some historians, who made it clear that when it comes to the Galileo comparison, deniers are off base. One science historian pointed out that Galileo wasn't attacked by scientists (as Cruz suggests) but by "the power structure of his day.' And in modern times, 'Climate contrarians are on the side of, and are supported by, the power structure of our day, which is the Republican Party and the carbon-combustion complex.'"
A podcast for your cousin Jerry—by MisterbadExample: "James Lawrence Powell is a PhD in biochemistry and widely respected in his work. He served on the National Science Board for both President Reagan and Bush I. He's used his time in retirement to compile all the papers written on climate that either support AGW theory or dismiss it. His table on the years 1991-2012 indicate that only 24 papers published in those years rejected AGW climate change out of the 13,950 on the topic. See? He's done the rest of us the added favor of listing the 24 papers that rejected AGW theory and listed how many (actually how few) times those papers were cited in other peer-reviewed articles."
Getting to Net Zero: Cambridge, MA—by gmoke: "For the past year, the Cambridge, MA city government has had a Getting to Net Zero Task Force studying the implications of a net zero energy building requirement. They finished the draft report on March 16, 2015 and will have an open forum to introduce the study to the public on Wednesday, April 8. The Task Force defined net zero as 'an annual balance of zero greenhouse gas emissions from building operations citywide, achieved through improved energy efficiency and carbon-free energy production,' applying it to the net zero target at the community level (citywide). Net zero new construction (at the building level as opposed to citywide) is defined as 'developments that achieve net zero emissions from their operations, through energy efficient design, onsite renewable energy, renewable energy infrastructure such as district energy, and, if appropriate, the limited purchase of RECs [Renewable Energy Credits] and GHG [Greenhouse Gas] offsets.'"
Critters & the Great Outdoors
Recreational Ocean Salmon Fishing Season Will Open April 4—by Dan Bacher: "The recreational salmon fishing season is slated to begin in the Fort Bragg, San Francisco and Monterey South regions of the California Coast on Saturday, April 4, 2015. In spite of the record drought, the outlook for this year's season is promising, due to an abundance of both Sacramento and Klamath River Chinook salmon. Charter boat captains and private boaters will depart in the early morning hours of opening day from a multitude of ports and landings, stretching from Shelter Cove in Humboldt County to Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, in pursuit of the iconic silvery fish, weather permitting."
The Daily Bucket: Nesting Time at the Zoo—by Lenny Flank: "Now that spring has sprung, the hearts of little birdies everywhere are turning to love. So a little while ago, while visiting the local zoo, I set myself the task of finding as many nesting birds as i could--and not all of them were in exhibits. The Yellow-Billed Storks just finished building their nest."
The Daily Bucket - Eagle Family—by Wood Gas: "I have chronicled the resident pair of Bald Eagles that share my property in comments in several diaries here at the Bucket. This diary is I hope, a continuation of their story. [...] There were two Adults, one left before I could get the camera out. I've always heard that Eagles are on there own after their first year, and that survival rates were very low for first year Bald Eagles. These two were apparently being looked over by two adult eagles. Have I been mistaken? Does parental care last much longer than the time it takes for the youngsters to learn to fly? ( I've always believed it didn't) Or do they go on their own after the parents start nesting again?"
30 new insect species discovered in Los Angeles—by
Walter Einenkel: "On April 15, 2015, researchers from the first-ever urban biodiversity survey will publish a paper describing 30 new species of insect found in the wilds of Los Angeles, California.
The discoveries come from researchers in the BioSCAN project (Biodiversity Science: City and Nature) at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM). The BioSCAN project is a three-year investigation of patterns of biodiversity in and around urban Los Angeles, based on sampling the world's most diverse fauna: insects. Local residents participate in the study by hosting one of the 30 sampling sites, each of which has a continuously operating insect trap and a microclimate weather station. Every household's set of samples yielded at least one of the 30 new species, prompting the researchers to name each species after the resident in whose back yard the species was found."
Energy
Monitoring of Rice Produced in Fukushima Prefecture Since the Nuclear Power Plant Meltdowns—by MarineChemist: "This diary reports on a recently published study of the levels of radiocesium contamination in rice grown in Fukushima Prefecture since the triple reactor meltdowns in March 2011. It is the most recent in an ongoing effort to report the results of peer reviewed, scientific research into the impacts of the disaster on the environment. An impressive monitoring/screening program has been put in place by the Japanese authorities to verify the safety of agricultural and fisheries products after the disaster under their Nuclear Disaster Act. Rice is the most culturally and economically important agricultural product in Fukushima Prefecture. Therefore, post accident inspections on rice were a focus of this monitoring program. The proportion of bags of rice with radiocesium concentrations exceeding the more stringent 100 Bq/kg limit put in place after the disaster was 0.8% in 2011, a mere 0.0007% (71 bags out of 10,338,000) in 2012 and 0.0003% (28 bags out of 11,001,000) in 2013. Not a single bag tested out of the more than 10,000,000 bags screened in 2014 exceeded the safety limit. This screening program has likely dramatically limited the exposure of the public to radionuclides deposited over the Japanese territory as a result of the disaster."
Tesla's Elon Musk simplifies how dumb our oil dependency is—by Walter Einenkel: "Tesla's founder and resident genius Elon Musk explained the idiocy of fossil fuels that even a climate change denier can't rebut: 'If we don't find a solution to burning oil for transport, when we then run out of oil, the economy will collapse and society will come to an end,' Musk said this week during a conversation with astrophysicist and Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson. 'If we know we have to get off oil no matter what, we know that is an inescapable outcome, why run this crazy experiment of changing the chemical composition of the atmosphere and oceans by adding enormous amounts of CO2 that have been buried since the Precambrian Era?' he added. 'That's crazy. That's the dumbest experiment in history, by far.' [bold my emphasis]"
Fracking
#ME-GOV Paul LePage: “Every Single Fracking Operation In The Country Does Not Pollute”—by maineprogressiveswarehouse: "At last week's town hall meeting in Presque Isle, Maine Governor Paul LePage closed out the event with a jaw-dropping claim that using '2015 mining technology,' aka fracking, doesn't pollute. Here is the exchange, as reported by the questioner, Ms. Shelley 'Chicky' Mountain: LePage: 'There is a billion dollars worth of gold in this county.' Me: 'It will cost more than that to clean up the pollution they leave behind.' LePage: 'Maybe if you are using 1955 mining technology, but not with 2015 technology. There is no pollution with modern technology.' Me: 'Do you know of any mines using 2015 technology that have not polluted?' LePage: 'Yes.' Me: 'Where? What mine?' LePage: 'Fracking. Every single fracking operation in this country does not pollute.' The governor’s ignorance about the environmental impacts fracking is scary. Fracking uses enormous quantities of clean water, adding chemicals to make it 'slippery.' Once used for fracking, the water is unfit for anything else. It must be treated or injected underground for our children and grandchildren to drink."
Pushing back on Fracking—by Jamess: "Maryland is no longer buying the 'Just Trust Us' arguments, when it comes to Fracking in their state. Fracking moratorium, strict liability standards bills pass in Maryland. Both chambers of the Maryland legislature passed bills that would rein in hydraulic fracturing in the state. The House of Delegates passed a three-year moratorium on fracking, while the Senate approved strict liability standards for oil and gas drillers."
Eco-Action & Eco Justice
More Than 200 Rally for Clean Energy in Oregon—by Mary Anne Hitt: "On Tuesday, more than 200 leaders from the public health, academic, business, and environmental community traveled to Salem, Oregon, to rally and hold lobby meetings with legislators on this session's top environmental bills as part of the Oregon Conservation Network's Clean Green Lobby Machine lobby day. Before the meetings, the crowd marched to the State Capitol and then held a lively rally right there on the steps of the building that included a fun coal vs. clean energy tug of war (of course clean energy always wins!) The priority bill for the day was the Coal to Clean Energy legislation, Senate Bill 477 and House Bill 2729, which would move Oregon's electric utilities Pacific Power and PGE off of coal by 2025 and onto more local clean, renewable energy. A recent poll showed that 71 percent of Oregon voters support legislation to transition from coal to clean energy."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
Monsanto’s “Discredit Bureau” Swings into Action—by occupystephanie: "Reuters is reporting that Monsanto is demanding a sit-down with members of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This international scientific body is being called on the carpet for reporting that Monsanto’s most widely sold herbicide, which is inextricably linked to the majority of their genetically engineered products, is probably carcinogenic to humans.
In a DO-YOU-KNOW-WHO-WE-ARE moment, Monsanto’s vice president of global regulatory affairs Philip Miller said the following in interview: 'We question the quality of the assessment. The WHO has something to explain.' Evidence for the carcinogenicity of Glyphosate comes from a peer-reviewed study published in March of 2015 in the respected journal The Lancet Oncology."
Monsanto slapped with $600K fine for not reporting toxic chemicals released in Idaho—by FaithGardner: "Surprise, surprise—turns out Monsanto didn’t report toxic chemical releases that occurred between 2006 and 2009 at a phosphate plant in eastern Idaho, where phosphate ore is mined to make totally healthy stuff like herbicides and fire retardants. Chemicals released over that three-year period include mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrogen cyanide. This week Monsanto reached an agreement with the EPA and Department of Justice to pay a $600,000 fine, and they’re really very super-duper sorry about the toxic chemicals. 'The protection of our employees, public health and the environment is always our No. 1 priority,' said Roger Gibson, P4's [Monsanto subsidiary] vice president of operations. "As a long-time neighbor within the Soda Springs community, we care deeply about public health and the quality of our air, land and water, and we are committed to complying fully and transparently with all applicable laws and regulations.' Oh really?"
Sustainable Retirement #12: The Community Orchard and Garden (with photos)—by LeftOfYou: "We are performing a sustainable rehab on a historic home in St. Louis, where we will live in retirement after the work is complete. [...] Our new community is a mix of about 40% single family homes with 60% multi-family, mostly 2 family flats with some fourplexes and a handful of larger buildings. Almost all of the homes are over 100 years old and most are in good condition, many are in excellent condition and some others are as pictured, but there are ever fewer and fewer of those. The kind of dilapidation pictured happens when a landlord gives up and walks away because spending money on the maintenance required to keep the property habitable for tenants becomes too inconvenient. Eventually, the landlord who privatized the profits, as usual, gets to socialize the risks and consequences, because the city must sooner or later take a hand in clearing away the debris and ruins. Which is just what happened. We have a strong neighborhood association and, squeaky wheels getting the most grease, the heavy equipment showed up and took on the dirty work."
Saturday Morning Garden Blogging, Vol. 11.41: Spring Clean-up Begins!—by estreya: "Everyone who grows grass knows that mowing a wet lawn can be an exercise in futility. Wheels slip, clumps form, blades are choked, and the mower defiantly shuts down. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the forecast for the last week of March was rain, rain, and ever more rain. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to give the mower a rest and turn my attention to other Spring chores in the garden. While Weeds might have made Mary-Louise Parker a small fortune, to me, they're nothing more than an annoyance (i might feel differently about them if they were the same kind of weed featured in the Showtime series). Getting a little weeding done seemed like the perfect place to begin, and the first area I tackled was the herb bed (again, not that kind of herb)."
Eco-Essays and Eco-Philosophy
Climate change psychology—by Cassiodorus: "The starting point of this piece is a short commentary in the online Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail, suggesting that 'To confront climate change, we must turn fear into empathy.' Now, Peter Martin is an astrophysicist, and so his piece is not so much a commentary on climate change science (yeah, I know, Freeman Dyson—this is better stuff) as it is a commentary on what a scientist sees in the climate change situation. It's also important that Martin comes from Canada. Canada is a pivotal country in the fight to mitigate climate change, as Canada is the site of vast reserves of oil and tar sands which must at some point be allowed to remain in the ground if a proactive solution to the climate change crisis is to be attempted. Martin's piece has a literary tenor and meanders a bit, but what I thought was valuable about it was that it suggests a psychology of abrupt climate change. His conclusion is an exhortation to develop more proactive attitudes toward climate change: This silent spring we should pause to cry for our beloved planet but not let future generations become the inheritors of our fear. It is time to reject the scourge of irrationality, resist the opiates that so distract us, and redirect the power of persuasion that has produced so cynically such a socially pre-Copernican century of self. Alongside evidenced-based policymaking we must 'give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space' and so close the empathy gap. Martin's idea, then, is that there is something wrong with the way the public is internalizing news about climate change. The title given to Martin's short rant oversimplifies the matter, though—as Martin himself recognizes, it's not just about fear. Here, briefly, I will suggest some other possible psychologies of abrupt climate change, besides fear."
What are we going to do?—by Myrddnn: "Today, mankind numbers well over six billion, a number larger than the cumulative population prior to the twentieth century of our recorded history. We are naturally social beings, coming together in communities, states and nations for our mutual protection. We formulate governments, creating a class of specialists to handle the functions of those governments, from kings to parliaments and all of the civil servants needed for the myriad of tasks involved. We do this seeking to better our lives, provide for not only our mutual safety, but to improve conditions for all. From enabling us to safely grow enough food for the entire community to providing roads, police and fire brigades, and making sure our water and food production is safe and secure, government has many responsibilities that are necessary and appropriate. Neglecting these functions hurts us all, especially those most vulnerable. As our understanding and technologies improve, there are more and more things that government needs to regulate in order to prevent the few from taking advantage of the many."
Oceans, Water & Drought
Activists 'Shut Down' Nestlé Water Bottling Plant in Sacramento—by Dan Bacher: "Environmental and human rights activists, holding plastic 'torches' and 'pitchforks,' formed human barricades at both entrances to the Nestlé Waters bottling plant in Sacramento at 5:00 a.m. on Friday March 20, effectively shutting down the company's operations for the day. Members of the 'Crunch Nestlé Alliance' shouted out a number of chants, including 'We got to fight for our right to water,' 'Nestlé, Stop It, Water Not For Profit,' and 'Agua Para Quien? Para Nuestra Gente!' The protesters stayed until about 1 pm, but there were no arrests. [...] Representatives of the alliance said the company is draining up to 80 million gallons of water a year from Sacramento aquifers during a record drought. They claim Sacramento City Hall has made it possible through a 'corporate welfare giveaway.'"
Westlands Water District hires Rep. Nunes' chief of staff—by Dan Bacher: "In yet another example of the revolving door between government, corporations and water contractors that defines California politics, the powerful Westlands Water District today announced that Johnny Amaral will join Westlands’ staff as Deputy General Manager for External Affairs, effective May 1, 2015. Mr. Amaral is currently the Chief of Staff for Representative Devin Nunes, who represents California’s 22nd Congressional District and is best known for is sponsoring legislation to increase pumping Delta water to corporate agribusiness and to eviscerate Endangered Species Act protections for Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt and other species. 'His service as a congressional chief of staff provides him with a wealth of experience in the fields of government, public affairs, and communications,' according to a statement from Westlands."
DC, State & Local Eco-Politics
Arkansas governor wants to ban California wine because of their egg-laying law—by Walter Einenkel: "The Arkansas House voted a bill up to their Senate today. The House voted 57-19 to advance to the Senate a bill that outlaws wine imports from any state that imposes a 'substantial burden' on the Arkansas agriculture industry. The Secretary of the Arkansas Agriculture Department would determine what is burdensome under the bill. The Director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division would be able to sanction or revoke a license of a business that broke the law. Republican Rep. Dan 'I'm none too bright' Douglas of Bentonville, Arkansas, believes that California's 2008 egg-laying law is a slight to Arkansasians. As a result he wants Arkansas to ban Californian wine—you know, like retribution. 'It's eggs today. Is it chickens tomorrow or cattle on down the road? Is it air quality restrictions?' Douglas said. 'This could be just the beginning.'"
Miscellany
The Daily Bucket In Rory Bory Alice Land the winter's dark and bleak—by Wood Gas: "I stole the title from Robt. Service, 'While the Bannock Bakes' no offense intended to the worthy Bucket contributor of the same name."
American skyscrapers are creating a phenomenon called 'Thundersnow'—by
Walter Einenkel: "Gizmodo points out an interesting new phenomenon happening as a result of our major cities' penchant for building up into the sky—'Thundersnow.' Based on a recent paper, published in the journal of Geophysical Research, about thundersnow happening during the 2011 Chicago blizzard:
The National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) recorded 282 flashes comprised of 1153 events which were >96% negative polarity. Hopes of imaging winter sprites associated with energetic positive cloud-to-ground events that sometimes accompany such winter storms did not materialize. However, the lack of lightning over the Great Lakes waters, plus media reports of numerous thundersnow events in downtown Chicago, prompted a detailed analysis of the NLDN data. This revealed that >93% of all lightning in the snow band was likely or possibly associated with self-initiated upward lightning (SIUL) events from a variety of tall, and some not so tall, structures. In addition to 43 events from two Chicago skyscrapers, many shorter structures were involved, including wind turbines (13.1% of the total) and transmission line towers (6.7%)."
TPP, T-TIP and You—by prettymeadow: "Is this enough to get Americans up off the couch and into the street? No probably not. Would allowing corporations to pollute your water, land and air be enough? NO? How about having to pay, not only the clean up costs of the pollution that corporations wreaking havoc on the environment will cost taxpayers, but also if legislation goes through to prevent any more damage, that those same taxpayers will also have to come up with the cash for "lost revenue" of those same corporations?"