Many environmentally related posts appearing at Daily Kos each week don't attract the attention they deserve. To help get more eyeballs, Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) normally appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The most recent Saturday Spotlight can be seen here. More than
21,970 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.
Global Wave of New Coal Plants is Going Bust, New Report Finds—by
Mary Anne Hitt and Nicole Ghio: "Today, the Sierra Club and CoalSwarm, keeper of the global coal plant tracker database, released a comprehensive report on the global coal pipeline—and the news is big. The global boom in coal-fired power plant construction is going bust. Since 2010, for every coal plant completed worldwide, two proposed coal plants have been shelved or cancelled. We have known for a while that the coal industry was facing serious headwinds—even banks like Citi and Goldman Sachs have been warning of coal’s impending decline—but the scale of project failure should be a wake-up call to anyone who still thinks the coal industry's salvation lies in a 21st century global coal boom. Globally, in 2014, for the first time ever, carbon emissions were flat as the world economy grew, largely due to reduced coal use and the expansion of clean energy. Even as coal use continues its rapid decline in the United States with 187 coal plants announced for retirement since 2010, thanks in large part to widespread grassroots pressure from communities demanding an end to deadly pollution, the U.S. coal industry was counting on a booming exports business to keep it afloat. But today’s report shows this is simply not going to happen."
The Earth is Set for Rapid Warming—by
New Minas: "In February 2012, renowned climate scientist James Hansen gave a TED talk. In it he shocked the world by explaining how global warming was heating planet Earth on a scale that was equal to 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs every day! However, recent work by several scientists has shown that his estimates were significantly understated. And the heat rate is going up much faster than we thought! As the Earth catches up to the emissions and China reduces its pollution, we will see the summer sea ice continue to collapse. In the West—This will lead to even WORSE regional drought effects and heatwaves. It is likely that we will see SEVERE restrictions in water resources in ALL western states and may begin to see massive climate refugee crises from the sun belt region within the next 10 years. In addition, the loss of summer sea ice will produce significant additional warming in the arctic. This jump in temperatures during the late summer months is not modeled under current permafrost feedback analyses."
Another cool thing: Raptors Away!—by annieli: "More cool things in the world. Eagle With Camera Dives From World's Tallest Skyscraper. Darshan was equipped with a tiny Sony Action Cam Mini for his big expedition. The flight was organized by the Freedom Conservation group to raise awareness for endangered birds of prey and encourage conservation; in the past, the group has recorded eagles taking off from landmarks across Europe, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris and St. Paul's Cathedral in London."
You can find more rescued green diaries below the orange garden layout.
Eco-Essays and Eco-Philosophy
Some Thoughts on Fukushima, Conspiracy Theorists and Science Communication—by MarineChemist: "The earthquake, tsunami and nuclear triple disaster that struck Japan in March 2011 led to the release of massive amounts of radioactive isotopes into the environment. I began outreach and education efforts in the interest of the common good given questions and fear about the disaster among family, friends and members of the public and in response to poor quality, misinformation in the public domain. Examples of this outreach are the blog I maintain at the DailyKos and the monitoring project I head up that was funded by the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response network a Canadian federal Centre of Excellence. Through some of the response to my efforts I have learned much about conspiracy theories and the pitfalls of risk communication and science education. The purpose of this diary is to provide some examples of conspiracy theorists thoughts, whether it matters if someone holds such theories, and some initial thoughts of what scientists might do to better communicate with the public about their work."
Daily Squirrel—by Let Them Eat Cake, 21st Century Style?: "I recently watched a PBS series called 'Earth - The New Wild' which concerned itself with the relationship humans have with the modern environment. In a segment abut the rain forests and potential desertification, the blame for the current rape of the planet's resources is pretty well laid at the feet of the big money interests and the desire for more—more money and control, mostly. Greed is the basic premise for all this, but the underlying factor is more personal. The program's narrative posits that the reason may be greed, but the people responsible for getting the money will do whatever they want, whatever it takes to get it. And no matter what happens to the planet, or the rest of the humans and other life on it, they JUST DON'T CARE!"
A Global War on Nature—by William deBuys: via TomDispatch: "Maybe baby steps will help, but the world needs a lot more than either the United States or China is offering to combat the illegal traffic in wildlife, a nearly $20-billion-a-year business that adds up to a global war against nature. As the headlines tell us, the trade has pushed various rhinoceros species to the point of extinction and motivated poachers to kill more than 100,000 elephants since 2010. Last month China announced that it would ban ivory imports for a year, while it 'evaluates' the effectiveness of the ban in reducing internal demand for ivory carvings on the current slaughter of approximately 100 African elephants per day. The promise, however, rings hollow following a report in November (hotly denied by China) that Chinese diplomats used President Xi Jinping’s presidential plane to smuggle thousands of pounds of poached elephant tusks out of Tanzania. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has launched its own well-meaning but distinctly inadequate initiative to curb the trade. Even if you missed the roll-out of that policy, you probably know that current trends are leading us toward a planetary animal dystopia, a most un-Disneyesque world in which the great forests and savannahs of the planet will bid farewell to the species earlier generations referred to as their 'royalty.' No more King of the Jungle, while Dorothy’s 'Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!' will truly be over the rainbow. And that’s just for starters."
Ridley Attacks Renewables, Defends Fossil Fuels—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "Matt Ridley has a long essay in the WSJ, in which he attempts to convince the reader that "Fossil fuels will save the world (really)." Now anyone familiar with Ridley—and his nearly $6 million in annual revenue from the coal mine on his family estate—won't be surprised by the thesis of Ridley's argument: fossil fuels = good, renewables = bad. Ridley certainly takes his time making this point, though, as the piece clocks in at 2,421 words. While that's a bit too long for us to debunk here, a nice concise takedown is up at the Huffington Post. In essence, Ridley uses the development of the 20th century as a template for the 21st, as though technology doesn't progress and the developing world is required to use the same technology now as developed countries did in the past. Ridley's recommendation that developing countries rely on fossil fuels not only ignores the public health costs of fossil fuel use, but is blind to the fact that these countries are increasingly turning to renewables to light their world. It's as though Ridley thinks developing countries should invest in telegraphs, while they're already busy buying cell phones."
The Dawning of "the Environment"—by GregWright: "The argument behind the need for a global political strategy is simple. As globalization rates increase so to do resource extraction, deforestation, species extinction and green house gas emission rates. Conversely, when globalization rates decrease the other activities decrease as well. Many prominent figures agree that globalization inherently creates environmental impacts and increases the ability of the impacts to become widespread (Christoff & Eckersley). Without a global response to the actions global solutions may be impossible, but for now we are still coming to terms with the need for any response, much less a global one. Let’s examine how the need for a global response became evident and then the significance of these changes."
Climate Chaos
"Stable" East Antarctica's Totten Glacier being melted by 2 sea floor troughs of warm water—by Pakalolo: "Following on the heels of the devastating news on the cracking up of West Antarctica's Larsen C Ice shelf, there is a new NASA study that shows the discovery of 2 seafloor troughs that bring in warm ocean water to the base of the Totten Glacier. The result, published in the journal Nature Geoscience today, March 16, has global implications because the ice flowing through Totten Glacier alone is equivalent to the entire volume of the more widely studied West Antarctic Ice Sheet. If Totten Glacier were to collapse completely, global sea levels would rise by at least 11 feet (3.3 meters). As in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, complete collapse of Totten Glacier may take centuries, although the timing of retreat in both places is the subject of intensive research."
The Totten Glacier Catchment (outlined in blue) is a collection basin for ice and snow that flows into the ocean through Totten Glacier alone. The catchment is estimated to contain enough frozen water to raise global sea level by at least 11 feet (3.3 meters).
Cruz Criticized for his Criticism of NASA's Climate Concern—by
ClimateDenierRoundup: "In a Senate hearing on Thursday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)—chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness—confirmed fears that he would be hostile to NASA's Earth-focused work. When talking with NASA administrator, Charles Bolden, Sen. Cruz expressed his concern that NASA has 'lost its full focus' on its 'core mission' of space exploration. During the hearing, Cruz criticized NASA's focus on Earth sciences (i.e. climate change) using a chart of NASA's budget as a prop. He pointed to the 41% increase in budget for Earth sciences and the 7.6% decline in funding for exploration and space operations. Bolden pushed back with two hard-hitting points. First Bolden mentioned how the decrease in space costs 'was somewhat intentional because we were trying to get the cost of exploration down,' specifically mentioning the now-defunct space shuttle program. He then hit Cruz with the snappier retort: 'We can't go anywhere if the Kennedy Space Center goes underwater and we don't know it—and that's understanding our environment.' As a result of the confrontation, the American Geophysical Union quickly sent Cruz a letter explaining the importance of Earth sciences in 'understanding natural hazards, weather forecasting, air quality, and water availability, among other concerns' like 'flood prediction, earthquake response and severe storm tracking.'"
Climate scientists have feelings too: Watch them talk about their fears for the future—by VL Baker: "Grist brings us news of the More Than Scientists Project, a Seattle non-profit, which is chronicling the emotions of climate scientists as they work on the greatest challenge of their (and our!) lifetimes. It's a collection of more than 200 videos of climate scientists expressing their feelings and fears about our future."
Reports from Sendai: Disaster Risk Reduction #Action2015—by boatsie: "UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, speaking at the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in Sendai, Japan, yesterday emphasized the need to 'embed Disaster Risk Reduction into the very DNA of our sustainable development framework.' 'Sustainability starts in Sendai,' he said. 'Disaster Risk Reduction can be a front line against climate change.' Ten years after the India Ocean Tsunami and the implementation of Hyogo Framework for Action, the WCDRR kicks off an ambitious 2015 agenda which includes: July's third high level conference on global finances and sustainable development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; the September UN Special Summit to implement the Sustainable Development Goals as part of the Post-2015 Agenda; and the December UN Climate Talks (COP21), where world leaders have committed to reaching an international agreement in curtailing GHG emissions by 2020."
Letter from climate researchers says pace of Global Warming is accelerating published in Nature—by Lefty Coaster: "The rate of Global Warming is accelerating at a faster pace and will continue to warm for decades to come. That is the alarming conclusion in a letter written by climate researchers to the scientific journal Nature last April and just published after being reviewed for accuracy by the editors. This means the planet's climate has probably passed the dreaded 'Tipping Point' scientists have warned us about for many years. Positive feedback loops are becoming the dominant driver of Global Warming, surpassing human inputs from our GHG emissions.Near-term acceleration in the rate of temperature change (By Steven J. Smith, James Edmond, Corinne A. Hartin, Anupriya Mundra & Katherine Calvin): Anthropogenically driven climate changes, which are expected to impact human and natural systems, are often expressed in terms of global-mean temperature1. The rate of climate change over multi-decadal scales is also important, with faster rates of change resulting in less time for human and natural systems to adapt2. We find that present trends in greenhouse-gas and aerosol emissions are now moving the Earth system into a regime in terms of multi-decadal rates of change that are unprecedented for at least the past 1,000 years. The rate of global-mean temperature increase in the CMIP5 (ref. 3) archive over 40-year periods increases to 0.25 ± 0.05 °C (1σ) per decade by 2020, an average greater than peak rates of change during the previous one to two millennia. Regional rates of change in Europe, North America and the Arctic are higher than the global average. Research on the impacts of such near-term rates of change is urgently needed."
Significant News: Massive East Antarctica Ice Sheet Thinning Increasing Due to Climate Change—by Steven D: "The Totten glacier already releases the most water of any glacier in Antarctica with an yearly amount of ice melt 'equivalent to 100 times the volume of Sydney Harbour every year.' As Pakaloo's diary noted yesterday NASA and the University of Texas published a study in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Geoscience that "shows shows the discovery of 2 seafloor troughs that bring in warm ocean water to the base of the Totten Glacier. [...] Should the Totten ice shelf break away or the glacier collapse, it would release enough water to raise the oceans an average of 11 feet. This risk is on top of the studies published last year that showed that melting from major ice shelves in West Antarctica has accelerated as well, and for the same reasons: 'Warmer ocean waters are pushing up from below and bathing the base of the ice sheet.' The rate of melting of those ice shelves in West Antarctica has dramatically accelerated over the last twenty-three years."
Reclaiming the climate debate from political extremes—by Cassiodorus: "Perhaps there is a technofix for abrupt climate change. I think that, given the time frames involved, someone, some human nation-state or other agency, is likely to try a climate-change technofix at some point. Myself I'm expecting the construction of a giant space block, hung up in Earth orbit, to reflect back some of the sun's rays. But I don't expect some of Lynas' technofix ideas will work because I don't think capitalism does what Lynas wants it to do. Capitalism, specifically, doesn't work to benefit the consumer, as Ludwig von Mises proudly proclaimed in his 1956 volume The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality—rather, the happily-consuming public is a necessary product of the capitalist system only to the extent to which profits can be made off of sales, and no further."
Watch what happens when second grade minds collide—by Mike Stark: "[T]he background is that my kids had a snow day. Instead of skipping work, I brought them with me to the job. That day the job happened to be covering CPAC. When we arrived, CPAC's awesome (no—really!) comms director (his name is Ian) credentialed not just me, but the two cub reporters trailing me. The result was that my daughter Antigone, 9, and my son Aaron, 7, found themselves the youngest credited media of the event. Antigone decided she prefers to remain out of the spotlight, so she chose to be a print reporter. Aaron couldn't wait to get in front of the camera. The other thing you need to know is that much of my work has centered on the politics of climate change, so for a couple of years now, my kids have been exposed to all sorts of podcasts, television shows and movies, and discussions covering the topic. They have a solid grounding in what's at stake, who the good guys and bad guys are, and what makes someone good or bad."
Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena
Entire Island Nation Devastated by "Monster Cyclone" Amplified by Global Warming—by Lefty Coaster: "For the first time an intense enormous storm that Global Warming has contributed to devastated an entire island nation. Aid officials expressed shock at the levels of the destruction. Aid Workers: Vanuatu Faces Lack of Food, Disease Outbreak Relief workers said Monday the conditions in Vanuatu in the wake of Cyclone Pam are among the worst they have ever seen and the environment is rife for spreading disease. 'I don't think there has ever been destruction on this scale in one place,' said Aurelia Balpe, head of the Pacific Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. I witnessed firsthand the devastation left in the wake of the super typhoon that tore a swath through the Philippines in late 2013. It was a harrowing sight to see. Forests with all the limbs ripped off the few trees that managed to remain standing. The debris of peoples homes and lives scattered everywhere in the areas where people had lived."
Geomagnetic Storm!!! - Watch the Skies Tonight!—by xaxnar: "The Earth is currently being impacted by a stream of charged particles from the Sun (Raise shields, ensign!) and their interaction with the Earth's magnetic field has already produced visible auroras (Northern and Southern Lights) seen as far south as Northern Tier states in the U.S. Depending on how much longer the storm lasts, auroras may be visible tonight where the skies are both clear and dark."
Critters & the Great Outdoors
Daily Bucket: Egrets? I've Had a Few....—by Lenny Flank: "A photo gallery of Egrets and Herons I have known."
A Gallows for Nature—by
DarkScholar82: "A day or two ago, I read a highly disturbing essay by William deBuys on the TomDispatch blog. The author traveled to Laos in order to track down an extremely rare animal, the saola, journeying into a remote forest in order to find it. deBuys and his companions found they were not alone in this isolated forest, as poachers had decimated the local wildlife. The most disturbing sight he encountered was a dead monkey that had been caught in a poacher's snare line. Poachers have adopted industrial methods to harvest wildlife, constructing kilometer long snare lines with loops every few feet to entrap animals, who were forced to walk into the traps by hedges constructed by the poachers. It is essentially the land based equivalent of a drift net."
2015 Backyard Science Yardbird Race Tally #3—by bwren: "Welcome to the 2015 Daily Kos Backyard Science Yardbird Race! This is the third tally for 2015, and is the official place to post your sightings, ask for help, and brag some if you wish. Here's what the race is all about: The Daily Kos Backyard Science Yardbird Race is a birding competition where, over the course of one year, participants strive to identify the most bird species - by sight and/or by sound - from the confines of their yards. Everyone is welcome—new birders, experienced birders, and anyone in between. We're a very supportive group and will help as much as we can. If you're not sure about an ID, just do your best to give us a good written description. Images, even mediocre ones, can be a great help, too."
Dawn Chorus: Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly—by
lineatus: "In honor of martyc35's birthday, it's an Ospreyfest!"
Damian Aspinall Kills His Gorillas—by DarkScholar82: "A report on 60 Minutes this evening described the plight of British aristocrat Damian Aspinall, whose father raised a private menagerie of lowland gorillas. After his father died, he came to the conclusion that keeping wild animals in a zoo was wrong and cruel to animals. To rectify his father's error, he decided to send gorillas that had been raised in Britain to Gabon in West Africa. Among those he sent were a troop of eleven gorillas whom had trained in a "gorilla school" to prepare them for the wild. Five out of the eleven died within a month of being released. As a British news article described: It is thought they were mauled by an adult male gorilla, but others have suggested poachers or saboteurs could have been to blame. The bloodbath has wiped out almost half of the family of 11, which is headed by 30-year-old Djala. The victims include four of his 'wives'—Tamki, 25, Kishi, 16, Mumba, 27 and Kibi, 22—and one of his five offspring, a three-year-old called Akou. My Gut Reaction: Did anyone with half a brain not think this was going to happen?"
The Daily Bucket - raven & crab—by OceanDiver: "Windy day recently at the beach. The pair of ravens who live around here circled and kronked by the side of the road...one landed while the other glided into a nearby fir tree. What was the other doing, working at something in the blowing sand? I watched from a distance."
Energy
more explosions, more deaths, more oil sucked out & put into storage, less rigs, lower oil prices—by rjsigmund: "it's starting to seem like the news from the oil patch each week is a repeat of the news from the week before, with just some minor changes in the numbers and the places ... like last week and two weeks before, this past week saw another oil train derailment and explosion, and like every week over the past two months, oil production rose, oil inventories rose, and the count of active drilling rigs fell...about the only thing that changed substantially this week was the price of oil, which had stagnated between $50 and $55 a barrel for the past month and a half, but fell more than 9% this week, and ended the week below $45 a barrel for the first time since January..."
Coal-funded Lawyer Laurence Tribe's Anti-EPA Hyperbole—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "The House Subcommittee on Energy and Power met yesterday to discuss the Clean Power Plan, and (unsurprisingly) a lawyer for coal giant Peabody Energy railed against the plan. Laurence Tribe, who, before being described as Obama's law professor, was best known for representing Gore in the 2000 election fight is now on the dole for Peabody Energy, the biggest private-sector coal company in the world. Tribe's testimony was filled with passionate rhetoric and hyperbole, leading to headlines like, 'Obama Law School Prof: EPA Is "Burning The Constitution"' and 'EPA is on a 'constitutionally reckless mission,' Obama's law professor testifies.' Marianne Lavelle at the Daily Climate points out that Tribe has a history of defending various industries, representing cattle producers, Nike and GE. Apparently his argument here is similar to the one he used for GE when he argued that the EPA's authority to force hazardous waste cleanup was unconstitutional. Peabody should be concerned, though, because that was a losing argument."
Emissions Control
Obama Admin to Consider Massive Alaska LNG Project with At Least 50 Million Metric Tons CO2 Impact—by Lake Superior: "You heard it here first on Daily Kos, and the only reason you're hearing this today instead of yesterday is that I just got around to looking at the Federal Register index for Friday. President Obama's Department of Energy—Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is beginning the scoping process considering a project with likely over twice or more the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions impact of the KXL Pipeline net emission increase. The following entities, Alaska Gasline Development Corporation; BP Alaska LNG, LLC; Conoco Phillips Alaska LNG Company; ExxonMobil Alaska LNG, LLC; TransCanada Alaska Midstream, LP, are planning the Alaska LNG project which features an 800 mile twin pipeline to the original Alaska pipeline from the north slope down to Nikiski, Alaska where liquifaction, storage and marine shipments would occur on the Cook Inlet."
Renewables & Conservation
Zombie Attacks on Rooftop Solar—by Michael Brune: "You might not like zombies, but you can't really blame them for being that way. It's not like they chose to join the walking dead. In a way, zombies are victims. You can't say the same for fossil fuel corporations and big utilities, though. In the face of urgency to act on climate and despite exciting clean energy options, too often they are choosing the dark side—or at least obsolescence—of their own volition. The latest round of fossil fuel zombie attacks is coming from big utilities that want to stop the spread of rooftop solar. Just like a zombie horde, they use tactics that are clumsy, somewhat brainless, and yet potentially effective. Here's how it works: Utilities (and the fossil fuel corporations from which they buy dirty fuels like coal and gas) convince a 'friendly' legislator to introduce a bill to hit solar customers with an extra tax or fee to make solar more expensive. These bills are usually based on a template written by the Koch brothers-backed American Legislative Council (ALEC). An alternate tactic is to go to the state utility commission and try to convince the regulators there to add the extra fees. The usual claim is that customers who have solar panels are "freeloading" by taking advantage of the grid infrastructure—even though they might not be buying much electricity. If they get their way, the zombies—who don't know they're already dead—win a temporary victory."
Spawn of Monsanto—by Robocop: "Loblolly sounds as though it’s a name of a quaint little village in Ireland, but it’s actually an important tree species in the U.S., and is being considered as a major player in the biofuel industry. Currently, 80% of pine plantations in the country are devoted to the loblolly pine. The USDA and the Obama administration definitely support the production of the tree as a biofuel source and have given the green light to the biotech firm, ArborGen, to genetically modify the tree to increase its usefulness. This particular decision by the U.S. government has created an international uproar, and it would seem that there’s good reason for these protests, the major ones being that no government or public oversight was allowed, nor was any assessment of environmental risk conducted. Risks do abound however; some known and others potential. The Global Justice Ecology Project points out that the loblolly pine naturally produces terpene, which is already being used to produce biofuels. ArborGen is working on genetically altering the pine to produce up to 20% more terpene. One of the known risks of allowing this genetic alteration is that terpene is highly flammable, and with global warming and droughts on the rise, along with a probable increase in the number of loblolly plantations, conditions could be set for major firestorms. I would consider that possibility to be enough to derail the project. Dr. Rachel Smolker of Biofuelwatch adds that 'if these GE loblolly pines are released on a large scale in the U.S., there will be no way to stop them from cross-contaminating native loblolly pines."
Keystone XL & Other Fossil Fuel Transportation
Goodbye Oil Trains: The 20% Solution—by GearheadGrrrl: "If you've been following the press of late, you've noted the considerable angst generated by the unit oil trains that seem to be taking over the land. The 'Chicken Little Caucus' has been running around so mindlessly predicting imminent immolation that they might as well have had they're heads cut off. Their allies the 'deep environmentalists' who've grown out of eco-terrorist groups like Earth First to run mainstream environmental groups are partners in this crime against science, egging them on in hopes they can confine all the oil in the ground, the trillion or so people that would starve as a result of such "cold turkey" measures be damned. With their pet politicians and legions of Facebook followers, they've built their fortifications on the left side of the canyon. On the right side Koch funded contingents of the Flat Earth Society, south Florida real estate hacks, and big oil have built their own fortifications, determined to ignore global warming until the oceans rise and drown them."
DC, State & Local Eco-Politics
FL DEP Employee Suspended and Forced to Obtain Medical Release for Mentioning Climate Change—by Jabooby: "It's been well-reported that Florida Governor Rick Scott has told state employees that they are not permitted to use the phrase 'climate change' or 'global warming.' It's also public knowledge that other states, notably Pennsylvania and North Carolina, have gagged their employees in a similar manner. Not to be outdone, it seems that Florida has now taken its policy to a new level, by suspending a Department of Environmental Protection employee for mentioning climate change in the official notes of a public meeting. And just to make sure that message is clear, the employee is also being forced to obtain a medical release related to his 'behavior' before returning to work."
Which House Democrats Joined the GOP's Latest Attack on the EPA?—by Liberty Equality Fraternity and Trees: "Today, the House passed the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015, a bill to increase industry power over the EPA: Under this bill, the EPA would be required to select members for the SAB that represent a 'balanced' view of scientific issues, regardless of the legitimacy of those views – exposing the Board to potentially politically motivated beliefs not grounded in actual science. Additionally, the bill would allow up to 90% of SAB members to be private-sector scientists with direct ties to the industries—opening the door for corporations to hold powerful influence over its decisions and recommendations to the EPA. [...] The bill passed 236 to 181. It was a mostly party line vote. One Republican--Chris Gibson (NY-19)—broke party lines to vote against it. Two Democrats—Brad Ashford (NE-02) and Collin Peterson (MN-07)--broke party lines to vote for it."
Looks like whoever wins in 2016 we're going to be f#cked; I mean fracked—by VL Baker: "It looks like whoever wins in 2016 we're going to be fucked because we're going to be fracked. [...] As far as the republican candidates we can be sure that whoever they put forward will be a fracking champion. Forget about the far right loonies even their so called moderate candidates such as Jeb Bush will not deviate from their support of all things business and private such as support for fracking while at the same time profiting from it. So let's look at our side: Hillary Clinton. Is there anyone else? Seriously, she's taken the oxygen out of the room and is left standing alone. So let's look at Hillary's fracking credentials; she's a mega supporter of fracking, and in fact, her State Department sold fracking to the world. Her lips are sealed on Keystone XL pipeline. Why? Could it be she wants to remain above the fray, or just wants her options open? So where does this leave our planet?"
Eco-Action & Eco Justice
Pacific Northwest Opposition to Fossil Fuel Ports Has Impact!—by ActOnClimateNow: "What great turn out for the Port Commission Hearings to show opposition to Seattle becoming a home base for Shell's Arctic Oil Drilling! The national press has now noticed what's going on in the Northwest: Oil Stirs Revolt in Green Seattle, New York Times. The story quotes Councilman Mike O'Brien: 'Hosting the Arctic drilling fleet in the city of Seattle is an activity that, if successful in drilling and extracting oil from the Arctic, will almost certainly mean that all of the industrial land in Seattle will be under water, and is completely inconsistent with the region’s and even the port’s goals.' Groups have come together in the Coalition for Port Accountability and a law suit has been filed over the process followed by the Port Commissioners in approving the lease. Local coverage of last week's hearing in the Stranger 'Protesters Forced Seattle's Arctic Drilling Deal Onto the Port Commission Agenda Yesterday' captures the impact of local activists!"
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
Opposing GMOs is not automatically antiscientific [see edit note]—by FinchJ: "The same way that livestock do not automatically degrade the environment, opposing GMOs does not automatically equate to an antiscience position. Quite frankly, the sheer number of absolutist positions on this website is beginning to drive me away. I will admit that in the past, I was opposed to GMOs entirely, without equivocation. I even peddled my fair share of fear mongering anti-GMO memes. In the past year or so, I have moderated my position. I no longer oppose all GMOs. I would rather see that each proposed genetically modified organism be properly assessed for its impact on our health and the environment. That said, I still oppose almost every GMO in food production or forestry."
The Daily Bucket - State of The Yard - Photo Heavy—by enhydra lutris: "Weeds (these will continue popping up all over for months to come)."
Transportation & Infrastructure
Amtrak bill heads to Senate, and Amtrak heads back to the Circuit Court—by terrypinder: "The funny thing about Amtrak (well, there are a lot of funny things but we’ll perhaps get to that) is it generally has bipartisan support. There’s always been an effort to kill it, almost from the beginning, but the most 'anti' votes Amtrak has received, at least in the last 15 years, is 171. Enough Republicans either like Amtrak or see its benefit to keep the railroad in operation. As far as bills go, even from a somewhat hostile House of Representatives, it’s not exactly terrible. It doesn’t zero out Amtrak’s funding. It allows passengers to bring their pets. It allows people to bring their bikes. It keeps the Northeast Corridor’s profits in the Northeast Corridor—a corridor with significant and very expensive needs. It finally eliminates the food-service punching bag of the GOP’s, although not to (in my opinion) passenger benefit."
Obama Admin Does Oil Industry Bidding on Oil Trains—by Justin Mikulka: "I live in Albany, NY which is where approximately 25% of the Bakken oil that is produced arrives by trains, just like the one that exploded in Lac-Megantic. As local people began to become very concerned about these 'bomb trains' coming to our city, they began asking questions. The local emergency response manager had a meeting with the oil companies and after the meeting he reassured the public that these trains were 'safer than your car in your driveway.' And then a few more of the trains crashed and exploded. And it became clear to anyone with basic common sense that if four trains full of Bakken oil crashed and all four exploded in massive fires that burned for days, then perhaps it was the Bakken oil that was exploding. The 'mystery explosive theory' that arose after Lac-Megantic could be put to rest. However, the American Petroleum Institute did not agree. They said they had studies and that Bakken oil was no different than any other oils. The CEO of the American Petroleum Institute stated their position last year: 'It is essential to separate fact from fiction as we work to enhance the safe transportation of crude oil. Multiple studies have now debunked the idea that Bakken crude is meaningfully different than other crudes.'"
Future of Railroads Conference, Richmond CA—by menlo park: "I live in Davis CA, where crude by rail could rumble through our community on its way to refineries in Benicia or San Luis Obispo County. Davis community activists, through Yolano Climate Action and Yolo MoveOn and other groups, have organized letter writing campaigns to both jurisdictions, commenting on their flawed Draft Environmental Impact Reports. We've written letters to our local paper, gone to rallies, attended hearings in Benicia and when San Luis Obispo County sets a date for their Planning Commission hearing, some of us are planning on attending. Our Davis City Council, Yolo County Supervisors and SACOG (Sacramento Area Council of Governments) have all sent critical letters to those two jurisdictions. So we care about crude by rail. We also care about Amtrak, as we are fortunate enough to still have a very active passenger train station. Yesterday, Saturday March 14, I attended the Future of Railroads Conference in Richmond CA sponsored by Railroad Workers United. This conference was created to bring together railroad workers with environmental and community activists to find where we have common ground. And we do have common ground."
Sustainability & Extinction
Another author talks about mass extinction and the end of Homo sapiens.—by don mikulecky: "The list is growing. When our book came out in November 2012 we were among a small group. A lot has happened in those two years and some months. Most of it is along the lines of accelerating effects of global warming and tipping points being passed. This author, science writer Michael Tennesen, has written The Last Species: The Future of Evolution in the Aftermath of Man and talks about it in an interview in Salon by Lindsay Abrams. We had some exciting news this week when it was announced that carbon dioxide emissions had leveled off in 2014. I am afraid that that is not near enough to help us much and given the low level of understanding out there it may actually lull some more people into inaction."
Mardie Murie's words still resonate today.—by akmk: "After years of traveling and studying the biology, ecology, and possible areas to be set aside for wilderness protection in Alaska with her husband Olaus, the Margaret and Olaus Murie celebrated over tears of joy news by telegram the designation of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on December 6, 1960 by Secretary of Interior Seaton. After Olaus' death from cancer in 1963, Margaret carried on as author, speaker, and wilderness advocate. In 1990, Mardy Murie, was invited to address a conference sponsored by the Alaska Humanities Forum on 'Alaskan Lifestyle.' Her words resonate today. 'How much of Alaska for change, for development, for profits, for jobs, for more populations? How much for the land itself as it now is, with all its potential gifts of subsistence living, of scientific discoveries, of healthful recreation, of inspiration? On this point do we have to split and declare war? I plead for a plan under which there will always be room for a healthy economy, for a healthy population, with a great deal of Alaska left alone. I think my main thought is this: that perhaps Man is going to be overwhelmed by his own cleverness; that he many even destroy himself by this same cleverness; and I firmly believe that one of the very few hopes left for Man is the preservation of the wilderness we now have left; and the greatest reservoir of that medicine for mankind lies here in Alaska.'"
Oceans, Water & Drought
California has about one year of water left. Will you ration now?—by unapologeticliberal777 : "Jay Famiglietti is the senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech in Pasadena, California, as well as a professor of Earth system science at UC Irvine. Famiglietti wrote an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times that was published on Thursday, March 12, 2015 in which he stated that the state of California has about one year of water supply left in its reservoirs, and our strategic backup supply, groundwater, is rapidly disappearing. As the 'wet' season draws to a close, it is clear that the paltry rain and snowfall have done almost nothing to alleviate epic drought conditions throughout the state, with the month of January coming in as the driest in California since record-keeping began in 1895. Famiglietti states that water storage across the state is well below normal and has been dropping since 2011, with two-thirds of these losses coming from agricultural irrigation."
Fishermen and Delta leaders say water exporters are destroying Delta smelt—by Dan Bacher: "The Delta smelt, once the most abundant fish in the entire Bay Delta Estuary, may already be extinct, according to UC Davis fish biologist and author Peter Moyle, as quoted on Capital Public Radio. 'Prepare for the extinction of the Delta Smelt in the wild,' Moyle told a group of scientists with the Delta Stewardship Council. The latest trawl survey by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) found just six smelt to date. That survey follows the fall midwater trawl survey, when biologists recorded the lowest number of smelt ever documented, 8, at a total of 100 sites sampled from September through December."
Water coalition to hold press conference regarding shutdown of Nestlé Plant—by Dan Bacher: "Nestlé Water Bottling Plant in Sacramento is the target of a major press conference here Tuesday by a water coalition that says the company is draining up to 80 million gallons of water a year from Sacramento aquifers—during a record drought—and City Hall has made it by possible by through a 'corporate welfare giveaway.' The press conference is set for Tuesday/March 17 at 5 p.m. at new Sacramento City Hall by a coalition of environmentalists, Native Americans and other concerned citizens. The coalition will release details of a protest on Friday, March 20, at the South Sacramento Nestlé plant designed to "shut down" the facility. The coalition is calling on Nestlé to pay rates commensurate with their enormous profit, or voluntarily close down. The coalition is protesting Nestlé's virtually unlimited use of water—up to 80 million gallons a year drawn from local aquifers—while Sacramentans (like other Californians) who use a mere 7 to 10 percent of total water used in the State of California, have had severe restrictions and limitations forced upon them."