Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.
Beneath the fold you will find news, announcements, today's eco-diary roundup, a letter from WarrenS (he has many), and our environmental pic of the day.
You can also follow us on Twitter!
Editor: patrickz
Today's news item: Lizards in Peril from Climate Change
Our distant, cold blooded relatives are not doing so well. Amphibians have thus far taken the brunt of humanity's assault on biodiversity. Habitat loss, atrazine pollution, invasive species, and the Chytrid fungus are taking their toll, causing 30% of amphibians to be included on the IUCN's red list of threatened species. Scientists now believe that lizards face mass extinction due to climate change.
From the National Geographic article:
As temperatures inch upward, the reptiles rest more and hunt less. As a result, 20 percent of lizard species could go extinct by 2080, a new study says.
No matter what we do to fight global warming, at least 6 percent of lizard species will go extinct by then, due to the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, the study says.
"We've committed ourselves to 6 percent," said lead study author Barry Sinervo, a herpetologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "That's our fault, and there's nothing we can do."
By Vicki's Nature
6%, 20%, what number will it take for the public to realize the damage we are inflicting to biodiversity? Scientists are predicting the loss of hundreds of lizard species in 70 years, primarily due to climate change. But lizards are not alone in their plight. 10% of all described vertebrates are listed as threatened, with many species yet to be evaluated.
Even worse, lizard die-offs are already happening:
The study team calculated extinction risks for more than a thousand lizard species around the globe for their study, to be published in the journal Science tomorrow.
The research was prompted by the discovery that 50 percent or more of the local populations of certain species had gone extinct in parts of Mexico and Europe.
The team suspected global warming was to blame, because the lizard-population crashes had generally occurred in areas with the warmest springs—when lizards reproduce.
Announcements:
"Singing for the Planet"
If you haven't heard, WarrenS (whose climate letters we sometimes post in the Earthship) has organized a concert to benefit 350.org to be held on Saturday, June 12 at 7:00 pm. The location will be Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. For more details, check out this diary by WarrenS!
eKos time slot has moved to M-W-F-Su @ 10:30-11 Eastern!
Eco-series line-up:
(All times Eastern!)
Today's eKos diaries:
Author | Diary | Time | Tags |
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CathodeRay | Insanity: Shell given the OK to drill in Arctic | 05/14/10 12:04AM Eastern | offshore drilling, oil, Shell Oil, oilpocalypse 2010, Alaska |
Ellinorianne | Lily the California Gray Whale Returns, She's Young and Struggling for Life | 05/14/10 12:40AM Eastern | Gray whale, Whales, California, Ecology, Environmental |
palantir | Overnight News Digest -- The Sci Tech | 05/14/10 12:59AM Eastern | Overnight News Digest, OND, group diary, community, science |
8ackgr0und N015e | Enjoy the Florida beaches while you can. | 05/14/10 01:05AM Eastern | deepwater horizon, environmental castrophe, habitat destruction, BP, corporate criminals |
Meteor Blades | Green diary rescue & open thread: oil on the brain | 05/14/10 01:08AM Eastern | green diary rescue, BP, oil, environment, eKos |
Regina in a Sears Kit House | This I would like to see | 05/14/10 01:15AM Eastern | Oil spill, experts, engineers, solutions, fluid |
shpilk | The potential human price of the BP Gulf oil disaster .. | 05/14/10 02:18AM Eastern | environment, oil, BP, health, eKos |
Unenergy | The Earth is our Grandma, Fossil Fuels her death panel | 05/14/10 04:27AM Eastern | On Deadly Ground, In deadly oceans, eKos, DK GreenRoots |
jamess | Deep Water Engineer explains how to Stop the Gushers -- Updated with BP plans | 05/14/10 07:55AM Eastern | Recommended, Diane Rehm, NPR, Engineering, Riser Pipe |
Crashing Vor | A Biologist's View of the Spill | 05/14/10 09:39AM Eastern | New Orleans, Louisiana, oil spill, eKos, marine biology |
Steven D | We Know Why Safety Was Job Last | 05/14/10 10:08AM Eastern | Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Oil Spill, BP, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Dick Cheney |
Something the Dog Said | Is MMS Criminally Negligent? | 05/14/10 10:21AM Eastern | BP Oil Disaster, BP, Transocean, Halliburton, Minerals Management Service |
Nhavey | 5 Senators Who Need to Get in the Climate Legislation Game | 05/14/10 11:36AM Eastern | Clean Energy, Climate Bill, Climate Change, Common Sense Nms, Nathan Havey |
Devilstower | Live Q&A;: Erich Pica, President Friends of the Earth | 05/14/10 02:00PM Eastern | Environment, Energy, Ecology, Climate Change, eKos |
Adept2u | Provocative Thinking Dispatched to the Gulf Region | 05/14/10 03:09PM Eastern | ekos, BP, Halliburton, Transocean, oil spill |
Jed Lewison | Obama slams oil company bickering, pledges tougher Federal oversight | 05/14/10 03:10PM Eastern | BP oil leak, Energy, eKos, Barack Obama |
innereye | Oilpacalypse -- Gas Leak Creating a Deep-Water Dead Zone | 05/14/10 04:01PM Eastern | oilpacalypse, ekos, deep water, dead zone, gulf of mexico |
vc2 | Obama lashes out at oil industry over BP spill | 05/14/10 04:11PM Eastern | BP, Barack Obama, oil spill, ekos |
slinkerwink | Why President Obama Should Ban Offshore Drilling | 05/14/10 04:13PM Eastern | oil spill, Gulf of Mexico, Deepwater Horizon, eKos, dk greenroots |
RLMiller | SeaScum Murkowski Hates EPA, Hearts Big Oil | 05/14/10 05:22PM Eastern | Lisa Murkowski, SeaScum, Oilpocalypse, eKos |
Skylewalker | NE-02: Lee Terry Declares War On Science In Omaha Schools | 05/14/10 06:02PM Eastern | NE-02, Lee Terry, Tom White, Energy, Education |
Matt Osborne | Stop The BP Bailout! | 05/14/10 06:05PM Eastern | oil slick, Gulf of Mexico, Deepwater Horizon, oil politics, offshore drilling |
RustyCannon | The First Eleven Deaths From the Deepwater Horizon Updated with link to video | 05/14/10 06:18PM Eastern | oil, disaster, spill, deepwater horizon, halliburton |
mark louis | Alternative Energy Round-Up | 05/14/10 06:21PM Eastern | Alternative Energy Round-Up, solar energy, wind energy, American Power Act, EPA |
politik | Who is BP? | 05/14/10 07:03PM Eastern | BP, Gulf Oil Spill, Deepwater Horizon, eKos |
eKos | eKos Earthship: Mass Lizard Extinctions Expected Due to Global Warming | 05/14/10 11:46PM Eastern | eKos, environment, climate change, coal, oil |
Yesterday's eKos diaries:
Author | Diary | Time | Tags |
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Crashing Vor | Tell Me Why We Shouldn't Nationalize BP's Well | 05/13/10 12:59AM Eastern | New Orleans, Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico, personal, oil spill |
Meteor Blades | Open Thread for Night Owls: John Kerry on Climate Bill | 05/13/10 01:00AM Eastern | Opend Thread for Night Owls, John Kerry, American Power Act, eKos |
longislandny | Renewable Energy, who should do it? | 05/13/10 09:43AM Eastern | Energy, BP, Windfarms, home energy, construction |
MadScientist | Venezuelan Natural Gas Exploration Rig Falls Over and Sinks | 05/13/10 10:08AM Eastern | Offshore drilling, Oil industry, energy, current events, eKos |
A Siegel | The Contrasts are Stark: We need to help people see ... | 05/13/10 10:19AM Eastern | energy, ekos, energy efficiency, oil, videos |
rperks | Justin Townes Earle Joins 'Music Saves Mountains' | 05/13/10 10:28AM Eastern | appalachia, justin townes earle, mountaintop mining, mountaintop removal, MTR |
Kaid at NRDC | Village Green: New Metro Area Commuting Data Reveal Best & Worst Environmental Performers | 05/13/10 11:59AM Eastern | environment, cities, transportation, commuting, public transportation |
lowkell | Conference Call With John Kerry on American Power Act | 05/13/10 12:12PM Eastern | John Kerry, Energy, Environment, Global Warming, Climate Change |
WarrenS | "Singing For The Planet" — MA Climate Action (06/12/10) | 05/13/10 12:59PM Eastern | climate action, 350, dk greenroots, ekos, music |
BSmojo | Before the Tar Balls Come | 05/13/10 01:18PM Eastern | gulf oil spill, tar balls, off shore drilling, eKos |
jgkojak | BREAKING: Superman to fix BP leak (UPDATED) | 05/13/10 01:33PM Eastern | snark, BP, oil leak, Superman, eKos |
jamesboyce | Evidently You Should Put A Cork In It. | 05/13/10 01:35PM Eastern | sustainability, eKos |
My EV World | Drill Baby, Drill! | 05/13/10 02:05PM Eastern | Palin, geothermal, deep, oil, drill |
Bruce Nilles | Exposing the Financers of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining | 05/13/10 02:41PM Eastern | eKos, Sierra Club, coal, mountaintop removal coal mining, corporate accountability |
Britethorn | Spill Baby, Spill! NEW BP Commerical | 05/13/10 03:03PM Eastern | ekos, BP, British Petroleum, Oil Spill, Gulf |
LaughingPlanet | How Big is the Oilpocalypse? Perspective. (Updated x2) | 05/13/10 03:27PM Eastern | Oilpocalypse, eKos, BP, environment, Recommended |
Devilstower | Live Q & A: Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune | 05/13/10 04:00PM Eastern | ekos, DKGreenroots, Energy, Climate, Economy |
Adept2u | BP's Oil Top Hat Has Failed? | 05/13/10 04:26PM Eastern | BP, Halliburton, Transocean, ekos, oil spill |
MsGrin | WH says: First Recovery Act Electric Vehicle Delivered Today | 05/13/10 06:39PM Eastern | white house, electric vehicles, Navistar, Wakarusa, eKos |
jamess | It's basically a giant Experiment: Corexit 9500, Oil, just Add Water Column | 05/13/10 06:44PM Eastern | Corexit 9500, Dispersant, Trade Secret, Ecosystem, Pollution |
ybruti | BP diagrams were flawed | 05/13/10 07:22PM Eastern | blowout preventer, McClatchy, BP, Transocean, eKos |
RLMiller | Climate Bill Offshore Oil Compromise Won't Work: Case Study | 05/13/10 09:13PM Eastern | climate change, American Power Act, eKos, Oilpocalypse, John Kerry (D-MA) |
Tyto Alba | oil leak volume estimates are dramatically low, analysis suggests | 05/13/10 09:32PM Eastern | oil catastrophe, Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, eKos |
Kristina40 | Can we stop repeating their lies for them? Updated w/ Congressional Inquiry | 05/13/10 09:42PM Eastern | Representative Joe Barton, TransOcean, BP, Environmental Disaster, eKos |
jovie131 | EPA enacts rule to regulate greenhouse gases! | 05/13/10 09:44PM Eastern | EPA rules!, eKos |
Shaviv | Gulf Coast Oilpocalypse "at least ten times worse" than previously estimated: NPR | 05/13/10 09:48PM Eastern | oilpocalypse, Gulf of Mexico, oil, BP, Transocean |
veritas curat | Poetry, the last refuge of the broken heart | 05/13/10 10:09PM Eastern | poetry, environment, activism, BP oil spill, seeking peace |
FishOutofWater | "Oil Could Gush for Years": DK Greenroots | 05/13/10 10:46PM Eastern | DK Greenroots, environment, ekos, oil, Gulf oil spill |
don mikulecky | What about the "Clean Air" bill? | 05/13/10 10:54PM Eastern | CREDO ACTION, clean air, global warming, congress, petition |
patrickz | What is eKos? (and an unofficial eKos Earthship) | 05/13/10 11:48PM Eastern | ekos, environment, climate change, coal, oil |
A Letter from WarrenS:
WarrenS made a New Year's Resolution to write a letter advocating climate action every day. The result is over one hundred letters to congresspeople, newspapers, President Obama, and more. Warren has even been published in the New York Times and the Boston Globe.
Before we get to today's piece, Warren has an important message:
To anyone who feels like writing a letter...
...please (please!) visit my site. Find a letter or letters that suit your taste. There's music, too, not to mention India photoblogging and a bunch of other good stuff (like a funny piece about hippies).
Rearrange the sentences, reverse the order of the clauses, substitute some synonyms, tweak some analogies and call it yours.
That's how I write mine; the actual work of finding and presenting the information is done for the most part by e-kossacks like A Siegel, RL Miller, Patrickz, DWG and many others. I steal their stuff, mess with it a little bit, and sign my name to it.
As Brahms said, "Mediocre composers plagiarize. Great composers steal." Dare to be great! Steal my stuff!
In today's letter, WarrenS has a brief but powerful note to the NYT on corporate spin and legislative responsibility:
We discover with depressing regularity that corporations are adept at minimizing, denying or shirking their responsibilities. B.P.’s unwillingness to engage scientific specialists in measuring the size of its oily underwater volcano is an indication that their PR department is making policy decisions — always a bad strategy. Drill, baby, drill; spill, baby, spill; spin, baby, spin! Meanwhile, the Senate is considering a climate and energy bill that does nothing to stop offshore drilling in the Arctic, where Shell Oil is getting ready to begin "exploratory drilling" within two months. Needless to say, weather and oceanic conditions in the Arctic are considerably harsher than in the Gulf of Mexico. Can anyone say, "disaster waiting to happen"? How many Deepwater Horizons is it going to take before we come to our collective senses? The catastrophe in the Gulf is a wake-up call: we must eliminate fossil fuels from our energy diet.
WarrenS
Environmental Pic of the Day:
Today we don't have a picture, but an underwater video of the Gulf Oil Gusher. You've probably already seen it, but I think it warrants another look. "Volcano of oil" indeed.
About eKos
The Idea
This project was inspired by the Earth Day @ DKos Blogathon. In case you missed it, we had 31 participating environmental diaries, all of which were linked to in the Mothership. During the event we had several requests for an eco-mothership diary series in the mould of the Earth Day effort.
The Mission
eKos is all about promoting community eco-diaries. Daily Kos already showcases several series, but sometimes the work of dedicated green diarists pass off the recent diary list hardly noticed. Our goal is to make these diaries more accessible. In the process we hope to build community and bring in a broader audience to the exceptional environmental writing here at DK.
eKos Schedule
For now, look for us M-W-F-Su in the AM.
How eKos Works
If you want a diary included in the list, please let us know by leaving a comment. We'll do our best to search out green diaries, but are bound to miss a few. For eKos to live up to it's full potential, eco-diarists will need to post a link to the mothership at the end of their diary. This will provide readers with easy access to other recent environmental diaries.
Requirements
eKos is meant to be inclusive, but we will have standards for quality and content of listed diaries. (As long as you don't violate site rules and have a modicum of relevant, original content, you should be fine.)
'eKos' tag
If your diary gets listed, we'll ask you to add the eKos tag to your diary.
Contact
You can follow us on Twitter
If you are interested in becoming an eco-ranger for eKos, or just want some more info, e-mail ekos350atgmaildotcom
eKos Rangers
In no particular order:
Regina in a Sears Kit House
boatsie
Hopeful Skeptic
RLMiller
patrikz
Earthfire
A Siegel
dRefractor
SolarMom
Please give them some mojo if you see them, they deserve it!
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