The Eco-Diary Rescue has moved to yet a new location and day. If you haven’t been paying close attention, you might not believe that there have been any Eco-Diaries to rescue amid all the candidate Diaries. But the place is crawling with them.
Sick as a dog and still posting, jillian compiled a list of stories in Breaking!....the Earth (Walking Pneumonia Version): "Parts of Sound could rise 2 feet. So do you buy that little beachfront vacation house at Ocean Shores, or will it be a foot under water in 40 more years? A new study gives updated projections for how much sea level is expected to change over the century because of global warming. Seattle Post-Intelligencer."
POLITICOS
Thanks to Desmogblog, we learned that Romney Tied to Global Warming Denier Group: "Aides and staffers of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are listed among the principals of a new Astroturf group set up last fall to deny the science of global warming. The new group advertises itself as the American Environmental Coalition – "working to keep America beautiful, strong and prosperous." But the sole focus of its expensive Web site is to question the science of climate change. As for its outreach activities, the AEC seems intent only on attacking Romney's presidential competitor John McCain, the Republican candidate with the best record on responding to climate change."
George Bush's House Is Greener Than Al Gore's was a headline certain to raise the average green Kossack’s blood pressure, but the Diary by bernardpliers explained: "A conservative told me that George Bush's house is extremely energy efficient. Of course, he also said that Al Gore heats his house with whale oil, flies in his personal UFO, and mutilates cattle. But I checked out the story about Bush's energy efficient house built with local materials, and it's true. It's got geothermal heating and cooling, rain and waste water recycling, recycled materials, and takes advantage of breezes and shade. He's ready for peak oil, drought, and global warming with a sturdy home that is nearly off the grid. Of course, the irony is that W has nothing to promote similar building practices in the rest of America while he's looking out for Numero Uno."
The Senator from Illinois got a boost from Steven R in Obama is Six Shades of Green: "In an attempt to elevate the discourse in our community, I'm going to discuss possibly the single most important Issue among Democrats: Who is really really Green. First, I'd point you in the direction of an exceptionally excellent and fully objective website here, where each candidate is scored on their being Green: http://www.lcv.org/... For purposes of this diary, we will exclude the Republicans from our discussion and focus on our Four Green Democrats: Obama, Clinton, Edwards and Kucinich."
But cleanairfrank had another take in The Obama coal connection: Nevada adviser is big coal promoter: "Presidential candidate Barack Obama caused a commotion last year by promoting the controversial idea of turning coal into liquid fuel. The idea was controversial because the process could produce more global warming pollution. Obama appeared to back off somewhat following criticism that liquid coal would undermine his own position (shared by Hillary Clinton and John Edwards) that global warming pollution should be reduced. Many of us wrote it off as a rookie mistake. But now, with the Nevada caucuses looming, the Obama-coal connection has resurfaced."
Meanwhile, ebb lenkin reported that Edwards says he is opposed to new nuclear power plants!: "It is great that John Edwards thinks for himself independent of the nuclear and coal lobbyists. As an environmental scientist, I can attest that there is no sane reason to keep pursuing these inefficient and dangerous to the atmosphere and environment sources of energies. John Edwards plan on new energy sources is right on the money, well thought out and clearly the safest and best plan of all the candidates for president."
edgery also took note of that stance in "I Do Not Favor Nuclear Energy" - John Edwards: "In last night's Democratic debate, John Edwards distinguished himself from the other two candidates with his strong position in opposition to nuclear power as the answer to global climate change and/or energy independence. Yes, there are those who think this is the way to go but John Edwards and millions of other Americans don't agree."
FishOutofWater Hillary Clinton Panders Yucca Mt. Hysteria As Yucca Project Shuts Down: "Hillary Clinton's position on Yucca Mountain is belied by the fact that the repository development work for disposal of high level nuclear waste want forward for all eight years of Bill Clinton's administration. Her words are also belied by the facts on nuclear waste transport. ... Quite simply: If it were easy for terrorists to steal nuclear waste and make a dirty bomb, it would have already happened. Spent fuel has been shipped for over 35 years. As for the consultants' claim about spent fuel casks irradiating casinos: The claims are ridiculous. Building materials emit so much radiation that spent fuel casks' radiation would be less than the background noise in the building's radiation. The casks' hypothetical radiation would be immeasurable."
The Big E gave us a peek at a Peak oil event in Minneapolis "About 75 people braved the arctic temperatures to attend a presentation by John Kaufmann of the Oregon Department of Energy and Daniel Lerch of the Post Carbon Cities on peak oil. Rep. Bill Hilty (DFL-Finlayson) had invited them to testify before his Energy Committee and Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-60) and Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-60B) brought them to Minneapolis on this miserable Friday night. ‘Peak oil is the biggest problem that nobody has ever heard of,’ began Kaufmann. Our demand outstripped our capacity years ago, discovery of new oil supplies peaked in the 1930s and our production peaked in 1971. Production has exceeded discovery since 1983. Or in other words, we're ****ed if we don't do something soon."
TRANSPORTATION
nclefty ponders a way to help the economy with his Rail: Stimulus where we need it: "The outbreak of huffing and puffing about economic stimulus in the face of recession should surprise no one, and of course the President's plan is nothing but tax breaks. (Can we take a guess who they'll benefit?) Depressingly, Democrats are chirping in with "me too!" when there's very sound alternative means of providing stimulus that could, you know, improve the country in addition to just getting out the economic defibrillator. Lots of things to chose from here, but I want to focus on one. It's an option that could help people move about the country better, shore up the collapsing manufacturing sector, and decrease our carbon emissions all in one swoop. I'm talking about our union's rail infrastructure."
samizdat thought The New York Times recent look at an persuasive study would interest others as much as it did him, as he wrote in 21st Century Green Transport: "The full article is here if you prefer to dive right in. The New York Times resurrected it recently (a public service); their piece on it is here. From the intro to the paper: We envision a transport system producing zero emissions and sparing the surface landscape, while people on average range hundreds of kilometers daily. We believe this prospect of 'green mobility' is consistent in general principles with historical evolution. We lay out these general principles, extracted from widespread observations of human behavior over long periods, and use them to explain past transport and to project the next 50 to 100 years."
dwcal found more bad news for the backward American car industry in Prius Outsells Explorer for 2007: "This from the Financial Times earlier this week: Americans bought more Toyota Prius hybrid petrol-electric hatchbacks last year than Ford Explorer sports utility vehicles, the top-selling SUV for more than a decade. The change of fortune, buried in US vehicle sales data for 2007 and unthinkable a few years ago, will find an echo at this year's Detroit auto show, which starts on Sunday. By itself, this story is just symbolic because the car market is bigger than just the Explorer or Prius. Still, it's a sign of the times. It's about time that the idea of truck-based SUV as family car gets consigned to the dustbin of history."
ENERGY
Coach Jay thinks we need a Nuclear power discussion, and he wrote us up one: "A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when
Bush acknowledges peak oil: "This is a pretty stunning admission, during his press conference in Saudi Arabia: I hope that OPEC, if possible, understands that if they could put more supply on the market it would be helpful. But a lot of these economies are going -- a lot of these oil-producing countries are full out. There are various definitions of peak oil - the ‘hard’ one being actually declining production, with a ‘soft’ version being production unable to catch up with latent demand and prices increasing instead. Then you can measure it for oil alone, or for oil plus various liquid substitutes that we are increasingly using (ethanol, processed tar sands, coal-to-liquids, etc...). With the above quotes (repeated again below), Bush is clearly into ‘soft’ territory, and could be argued to be in ‘hard’ territory."
But, as lowkell pointed out, there are naysayers still. CERA Says: Oil Forever, Party On!: "The Wall Street Journal reports on an optimistic new study of world oil supplies, courtesy of the respected Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA). According to the WSJ article, CERA argues ‘that their assessment supports a generally rosy view of the [oil] industry's future, given that new projects in the works will make up for the decline.’ Set for release today, the study, based on data from 811 fields around the world, takes aim at a growing school of thought that the world's oil production may soon hit its peak just as demand is surging in Asia and the Middle East. In other words, oil forever (party on, dudes!), and really not a lot to worry about in general. There are just a few problems with this study."
As usual, the prolific A Siegel had several entries last week, including Energy COOL: Making green by helping others go Green:: "In my office building, when leaving late in the evening, a few minute walk, clicking a switch here, pushing a button there, and the off-hour electrical load might be cut by a few to ten thousand watts. Over a three day weekend and I might have successfully conducted a carbon offset for my entire household's monthly electricity use, 100s of kilowatt hours of avoided electrical use. Sadly, turning off that computer is just too exhausting an act for many. A computer here, a million there, it can add up. Of 104 million office PCs in the US, over 30 million are left on all night. Turning off every US work computer at night would cut CO2 emissions equivalent to taking every car in Maryland off the road. Shutting computers down each night can save a 10,000 PC enterprise more than $165,000 a year in energy costs. Across the US, this adds up to more than $1.72 billion dollars and almost 15 million tons of CO2."
And there was his exciting and optimistic Gusting Wind: Good news in renewable power: "2007 saw a real gust of wind, with wind power faceplate installations increasing by 45 percent. With 5244 megaawatts (mw) of installation, US installed wind power capacity is nearing 17 gigawatts, with installations in 34 states. In 2008, for the first time, the United States should have over 1 percent of its electricity come from wind power.
One percent, doesn't sound like all that much, but 45 percent growth? If we were extend that growth rate, 45 percent per annum, out into the future, by 2020, wind power would provide 85% of today's electricity demand with a faceplate capacity of 1,452,748 megawatts (Jan 2020, 2.1 terrawatt 31 Dec). Okay, a 45% per annum growth rate does seem extreme and the 1.45 terrawatts of wind capacity seems a bit much to expect by 2020, but wind power has been growing strong, as long as there is good government policy ... can we have policy that might maximize wind's contribution to our energy supply?"
Jerome a Paris also looked at 2007: record year for US wind industry: "Shattering all its previous records, the U.S. wind energy industry installed 5,244 megawatts (MW) in 2007, expanding the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 45% in a single calendar year and injecting an investment of over $9 billion into the economy, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced yesterday. This was widely expected to be an excellent year, after an already good year in 2006, when more than 2,500MW were installed in the US. hopes were that 3,000, or even 3,500MW would be installed in 2007. With more than 5,000 MW built and connected to the grid, the record for any country is shattered (the previous one was Germany with 3244 MW in 2002). And 2008 is looking good too."
Stranded Wind offered A Modest (Geoengineering) Proposal: "We here at the Stranded Wind initiative have a fairly simple rule in fitting with our bias for action - if we can't buy something off the shelf today it simply doesn't exist. We're not against research, mind you, but snake oil will never replace crude oil as an energy source and there is a great deal of that sort of thing in the market these days. Today we set aside our bias for action and explore the far reaching proposals of Dr. Homer Wang, a thinker on the global scale who has inspired and guided portions of our real world work with wind to ammonia projects. We believe knowledge of Dr. Wang's thoughts will allow activists to derail sulfate aerosol based geoengineering and perhaps his plan may even be implemented in some form when the Arctic is inevitably developed."
SW gave us a look a wind project in Wind Week Interview #2: Al Zeitz/Iowa Lakes Community College(rescued): "Iowa Lakes Community College runs a Wind Energy Operations and Maintenance (O+M) training program already recognized as the best in the country and it may very well be the best in the world. Last week we caught up with the unassuming retired Marine behind this program, Al Zeitz, and got the inside story on how ILCC came to be the only wind energy program in the country operating their own full sized turbine."
Author Michael Shellenberger suggested that the downward spiraling economy could be boosted a great deal in the long run with a nationwide green approach. Democrats Should Fight for "Stimulus" in Clean Energy: "The highest priority of the stimulus should be clean energy. The key is not so much R&D but the widespread commercialization of clean energy technologies. To bring down the price of clean energy, and increase the number of jobs (and thus stimulus) it creates, we need to get existing clean energy technologies into the hands of as many customers as quickly possible. If done right, clean energy investments will do more than ‘stimulate’ – they'll grow the economy in the short and long-term. How could it be done? There are at least three ways."
fbihop was happy to see NM: Gov Richardson Temporarily Halts Controversial Drilling: "Governor Bill Richardson has ordered a six-month moratorium on drilling in the Galisteo Basin. The drilling operations in the Galisteo Basin, in the Santa Fe area, have been controversial. Oil company Tecton wishes to drill in the area, but the public has loudly opposed the drilling. Johnny Micou started a blog, Drilling Santa Fe, ‘to protect the cultural, environmental, and economic resources of Santa Fe County from the adverse impacts of oil and gas exploration and production within the County.’"
Energy Independent by 2016? was Finn MacCool’s deadline: "That date is pulled out of my a**, like much of what a Bush White House Press Secretary says. But certainly it's possible when one considers the confluence of science and industry: all we need is a president with the will to make it happen by building us a national power grid. The confluence I'm talking about is the viability (and affordability) of solar thermal energy combined with electric cars like the forthcoming Chevy Volt that gets you 40 miles per charge."
Proving that two seeming impossibles can happen at once (if only modestly) Assaf opened a window on the Grassroots in Action: Renewable Electricity in Palestine: "The headlines: this week, Israeli activists, working in collaboration with local Palestinian activists and international sponsorship, have successfully installed a combined wind+solar electricity-generation point in a Palestinian hamlet in the South Hebron Hills. This modest start (roughly half a kilowatt) will serve basic needs of a couple of extended families."
markthshark gave us one more example of a long-running story, Bush's War on Science Continues: New Rules for Environmental Data: "An integral part to the Bush regime’s plans for an oligarchical-type society in America is the overall control and manipulation of science. Without science, all forms of truth and reality in this country lie exposed; vulnerable to neocon-inspired perversions of truth – not the least of which is the environment. Climate change isn’t the epochal concern of the Bushies’ ... It's ours alone."
Outside the box innovation was on One Citizen’s mind in Possible Progressive Way to "Green Up" the Coal-Fired Power Plant Pollution Problem?: "I live in West Virginia. I consider myself a progressive Democrat. But I also realize that the production of coal has long been extremely important to the local economy all across Appalachia. According to the West Virginia Coal Association, coal produced here accounts for the production of up to 50% of America's electricity. What folks don't realize is in the county of Kanawha, where my state capitol is located, Elkem Metals at Alloy once refined silicon for half of the world's computer chips. Silicon has also long been used to produce low-cost solar/ electric arrays. The technology of converting co2 to clean hydrogen synfuel developed by NASA using solar powered electric arrays is well established. So converting co2 from coal fired power plants into synfuel should be very viable for West Virginia but only if real leaders are willing to promote it."
noneed4thneed pointed out that Strong Action Needed in Iowa to Cut Energy Use, but there are obstacles: "Iowa Governor Chet Culver has been a proponent of renewable energy, creating the Iowa Power Fund, the Iowa Office of Energy Independence, and saying he wants Iowa to become the renewable energy capital of the world. Culver has made a goal for Iowa to produce enough wind energy by 2015 to power 500,000 homes and cut carbon emissions by more than 7 billion tons per year. It seems that a program like the one in Maryland would help Culver and Iowans reach this goal. Instead there are plans to build coal-fired power plants in Marshalltown and Waterloo that would emit more carbon into the air."
NNadir discussed Wood Burning and Particulate Pollution In Europe: "One of the major pollutants associated with biomass burning is the production of fine particulate matter. Is this just a third world matter that we can safely ignore in the Western world in the manner in which we sweep all of our pollutants under the rug?"
For roseeriter, Garbage Fuel-A Superduper Idea!: "Killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. I am delighted that this is REALLY happening as America is renown for its stock piling of garbage. Now, however, maybe , we can be proud of that. General Motors Corp. is planning on making biofuel with garbage at a cost of less than a dollar a gallon, the company's chief has said. The US automaker has entered into a partnership with Illinois-based Coskata Inc. which has developed a way to make ethanol from practically any renewable source, including old tires and plant waste."
juliewolf wasn’t happy about Entergy trying to blackmail Vermont into keeping its Nuclear power plant open longer: From a story in the Brattleboro (Vermont) Reformer: "If Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is closed in 2012, an Entergy spokesman said, it will be at least a decade after that before the decommissioning fund reaches the level necessary to pay for cleanup of the site. But if it closes in 2032, the fund will have grown to the point that cleanup could start right away. In fact, there would be so much money left over after cleanup that every household in Vermont would get a refund check. In other words, if you let us stay open we'll be able to pay for closing the plant, but if you don't, you'll be stuck with the bill. Now here's the thing: it's not that Entergy doesn't necessarily have the money for this cleanup. It's that they don't have it in their allocated fund."
Pluto reprised us with James Kunstler’s Ten Ways to Prepare for a Post-Oil Society: "What follows is a brief review and quotes from an article from James Howard Kunstler, dealing with ideas about a post-oil society. I'm certain it's been Diaried before. You can read the entire article at The Canadian. In fact, I suggest you do read the article. I'm publishing only brief clips of his ideas here. There are actually many sources, but I thought for those who need a break from campaign diaries, this would serve."
The most important energy related letter I've written to a Congress person was something Roger Fox thoughtfully shared with us: "Here is the short and sweet: In light of world crude production declining since may of 2005, and the Climate Crisis the planet needs a form of energy to replace oil. 400 years ago the Dutch used wind as a work multiplier, wind power drove the Dutch Empire. Just as coal did for the British Empire, and oil for the American Empire. I have been following the story of the late Dr Bussard and Polywell fusion for about a year. Polywell fusion differs from Tokamak fusion in Polywell's simplicity, spherical shape and elegance compared to the Tokamak's donut shape, high temperature, high pressure, & high radioactivity. Dr Bussards research was defunded in 2005 and recently refunded just before his death in Oct. 2007. The new device was first fired up recently at low power and the results were very encouraging. I await the completion of all the test runs later this summer, with my fingers crossed. ..."
GLOBAL WARMING
If you’re looking for good news in this category, you might want to skip ahead a few decades.
bernardpliers reported that Antarctic Melting Faster, Global Warming Hits South Pole: "A favorite rant of the climate change skeptics is that ‘Antarctic ice is increasing, not decreasing.’ That’s yesterday’s news. [From the Washington Post]: Climatic changes appear to be destabilizing vast ice sheets of western Antarctica that had previously seemed relatively protected from global warming, researchers reported yesterday, raising the prospect of faster sea-level rise than current estimates..."
A Siegel reported on a little-noticed phenomenon that had nothing to do with tears or alleged shenanigans at the polls in his Diary, Rs vote Global Warming? NH? Michigan?: "Of the Republican pack fighting over the scraps for the Republican nomination for President, only John McCain chose to speak about Global Warming in New Hampshire. And, according to Time Magazine, Global Warming was one of eight keys to New Hampshire, with that being the only substantive issue. And, it seems quite possible that hot weather (and Global Warming) was a key to John McCain's victory in New Hampshire's Republican primary last week. In two days, Michigan will be voting and it looks like Global Warming might again be key. In this case, it could assure that John McCain does not come out on top in the voting. NOTE OF CAUTION: Reading this, John McCain might sound good re Global Warming. He is, actually, just least worst of the Republican Presidential hopefuls. That he (dimly) recognizes reality does not mean that he has good policies to deal with it."
He also linked us to a great little tool for CALCUL DES EMISSIONS DE CO2: Calculating your travel CO2 emissions: "The French rail system (SNCF) has added a calculator for travel carbon emissions, offering up the ability to compare prices and carbon loads for travel by rail, air, or personal vehicle. L'EcoComparateur enables one to know how long the trip will take and the consequences: for the pocket and the climate for that trip. Will you be willing to take a few hours longer in travel to save $50? How about if that will also cut your travel emissions load by 200 lbs or more?"
GreyHawk looked at Quintessential Climate Change: A Call For Action: "So, to truly address ‘climate change’ in today's world, should we not address both functional definitions -- namely, not just the meteorological but also the social/political? ... What we lack -- at least, in my perception -- is a ‘Reality Wiki’ or forum where we can have a way to watch the several topics and discuss strategies of how to effectively address the organized propaganda machine of the misinformed and malicious organizations that oppose developing a responsible, ethical and sustainable future for our planet."
Yeah, yeah, I know this was on the Front Page and hardly needs to be rescued, but in case you missed it, I had a bit to say about the politics of global warming in Blast from the Past – James Hansen, 1988: "James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, testified at a congressional hearing that he was convinced the earth’s atmosphere was warming up, that the warming was caused by human activity, and that severe shocks would result. A three-scenario graph accompanying his testimony sent a clarion warning. The smears and propaganda began almost immediately from contrarians such as Patrick Michaels and a snake-oil salesman named S. Fred Singer. Eventually, it became known that both men (and others) were part of a well-financed campaign on the part of fossil-fuel companies to persuade Americans (and politicians) that global warming was a hoax and that Hansen and other scientists sounding the alarm were fools or worse."
Anybody who thought these propagandists aren’t still having an effect got educated by UncommonSense’s Diary, Global warming deniers silence Nobel laureate: "The forces of ignorance and Big Oil have conspired to deny high school students in one Montana town the opportunity to hear from a world-class, Nobel laureate expert on climate change. Professor Steven Running, a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, was scheduled to speak to high schoolers in Choteau, Montana. Running was a lead author of the panel's global warming report. But some residents of Choteau complained to the school board that Running's presentation would not include an opposing view, so board members pressured the superintendent to cancel it."
Fossil-fuel lobbyists never give up on a good thing, as A Siegel reported in Coal: $35 million of Astroturf: "According to Washington Post reporting, the coal industry is using an Astroturf organization, the Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, to wage a $35 million effort to gain traction in the 2008 Presidential campaign for a more polluting future for America and the Globe. (Note, this is not how the Post described it, but lets face facts ...)"
LakeSuperior wonders why NASA and NOAA Warming Statements Conflict: "Two prestigious U.S. Government federal agencies on the global warming issue -- The National Climactic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NCDC-NOAA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA-Goddard) -- release conflicting statements about year 2007 global warming ranking." One group found that 2007 tied with 1998 for Earth’s second warmest year in a century, the other that "the global land and ocean surface temperature was the fifth warmest on record. Separately, the global land surface temperature was warmest on record while the global ocean temperature was 9th warmest since records began in 1880."
ACTIVISM
Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse informed us about Mining Industry Revenge On MTR Lawsuit Victors: "The mining industry is having a temper tantrum because the Kroger grocery chain is allowing an environmental group to participate in a gift-card program as a fundraising measure. The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC) has a good track record pulverizing mountaintop removal (MTR) mining in court. After the MTR rape has killed and injured people, destroyed communities and culture, clear-cut biodiversity hotspot forests, decapitated ancient mountain ranges, and suffocated streams and ecosystems, the mining industry is upset that Kroger is allowing the public to support environmental programs. Greed knows no bounds as now the mining industry wants to prevent OVEC from reaping 5% donations from a $20 gift card."
In FL Kossacks: act today for a sustainable future!, davidkc warned that "Time is running out to get an amendment on the November ballot that would be an important step forward in creating a sustainable Florida. Yesterday the Florida Secretary of State announced that the Hometown Democracy initiative, a grassroots citizen-backed effort to require local referenda for changes to local land use plans, is about 110,000 signatures short. Business groups and developers are using every dirty trick in the book to keep the initiative off the ballot, and we only have until Feb. 1 to gain the 611,009 signatures it needs."
GREEN PHILOSOPHY & MISCELLANY
Eddie C admitted that China Declares War against Plastic Bags: "...isn’t exactly hot off the presses but perhaps you haven’t heard that the Chinese government has taken a real step toward green living by banning flimsy plastic bags and creating a mandatory charge for better quality plastic bags.That nation that was presented to us by our government as evil communist back when it served as a method for the military industrial complex to bilk the taxpayers out of some serious bucks and is now fondly known as a single party government by our leadership since becoming willing participants in supporting our very plastic economy, China, not the U.S.A. is thinking of their people’s future? Perhaps the media isn’t so anxious to cover this proactive step because it’s just downright embarrassing."
iSenseChange wrote Cookie's Lament: How Green is Coming and Nobody Can Stop It: "Far Right blowhards like to make all these claims about how damaging it would be to the Economy to do anything whatsoever to fight what I’ve taken to calling Human Climate Abuse or even rein in industrial pollution in any way shape or form, but the essential irony of it all, that the Honeybees have quietly but firmly proven, is that it is in fact that Economy that will force us all to respect and save the environment. One hopes it won’t be too late, if it isn’t already."
boran2 reported that Agency Evades Environmental Concerns/Redacts Documents: "The continuing Bushco assault on the environment (in favor of industry) knows no bounds. In this go-round, the Interior Department, after only a limited review, intends to go ahead with an oil and gas lease sale despite the indeterminate status of the polar bear as endangered by the very same agency."
sarahnity talks about retiring in Frugal Fridays: Take This Job and Shove It: "Most of us look forward to the day when we can stop working. Maybe your fantasy doesn't extend as far as telling off your boss in no uncertain terms and striding out the door no longer a wage slave, but you probably still envision a time when you never again need to rise to that alarm and spend most of your day away from your friends, family, hobbies and leisure pursuits (such as blogging). Follow me below the fold for a discussion of how to plan for that day."
ANIMALS
Mark H gives us a beautiful story with beautiful photos in Marine Life Series: Anatomy of a Snail Shell: "All snails belong to the phylum Gastropoda (literally "stomach-footed"). Nearly all are covered with a single spiral shell. Given that there are around 75,000 species around the world, plus several thousand more extinct forms known from their fossils, there is obviously going to be quite a bit of variation in this group of univalves. Including some that are completely shell-less, such as land and sea slugs, and others whose shells are so rudimentary that they are barely noticeable."
It wasn’t football, but it had a score, Greenpeace 1, Japan's whaling fleet 0, as noted by quaoar: "With all the shitty environmental news going on in the world -- polar bears drowning, the ice caps melting, Bush thwarting the listing of endangered species -- here is some good news. Greenpeace has disrupted Japan's whale huntin the Antarctic."
In fact, whales got a lot of ink...er...pixels here last week:
DelicateMonster wrote A Few Words About Greenpeace and Saving the Whales: Hillary, Edwards, Obama: "Now that I have your attention, let's talk about something incredibly more important than Obama, Hillary or Edwards. Don't worry, they'll still be there, warts and all when you finish this. So what's so important? Whales. That's right. We've stopped exterminating them, but the Japanese apparently haven't."
As did tunney from Australia in Labor's first big Test: Japanese Whalers: "The Federal Court of Australia has just ruled that the killing of whales in Australia’s territorial waters is illegal, since the area was deemed a sanctuary in 2000 and that the Japanese company ‘Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd’ is in breach of Australian domestic law protecting the animals. The Court acknowledge that unless the ship docked at an Australian port, it would be hard, if not impossible for civilian authorities to act on this decision and prosecute the whalers, saying that "it is up to the Federal Government" to act in a proactive manner, and go after the whalers, with a military type intervention. Australians are now waiting to see whether the new Labor Government will enforce the Federal Court's ruling against the Japanese whalers, and send the Australian Navy to arrest them. Greenpeace is tracking the whalers as they try to kill. They have been trying to relay the information to the Australian Government, which has to this point refused to take the information."
Closer to home, CrazyDrumGuy reported on more crap from the Oval Office in his Diary, Save the Whales! (From George W. Bush): "Under the Coastal Zone Management Act, a decision of the California Coastal Commission (a state agency), and a federal court judge's ruling, the U.S. Navy must: create a 12-nautical-mile, no-sonar zone along the California coast and to post trained lookouts to watch for marine mammals before and during exercises. Sonar would have to be shut down when mammals are spotted within 2,200 yards, under the order. This isn't an unreasonable order, since evidence from a number of groups show that sonar hurts whales. But George Bush doesn't like it. The Navy needs to do exercises at this exact place, regardless of the presence of marine life in the area, or the terrorists win. So the government is using the courts in the way they were designed by appealing the federal judge's ruling."
heartofblue looked at the same story in Environment vs. Nat. Security: W overrules the courts.
Philip Munger had some strong words about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin Hearts Polar Bears - NOT!: "People have been debating global warming, ANWR oil development and the fate of the Polar Bear as separate issues and in various intermixtures, for years. Alaskans can expect a lot more talk about Polar Bears during 2008 than in any previous year. The Palin administration appears to be making major efforts, not only to keep the bears moved from vulnerable to endangered status, but to make it difficult for academics like UAA's Prof. Rick Steiner from gaining access to vital information about research done in Alaska on Polar Bears."
FoundingFatherDAR explored animal emotions with a personal twist in his Diary highlighting When Elephants Weep: "The book When Elephants Weep, by Jefrey Mouissaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy, explores the question of whether animals have true emotions, as opposed to reacting only on instinct. Do they feel joy at the birth of their babies? Do they feel loss at the death or separation of a relative or other close animal? Elephants are known to be communal-type creatures that guard and help raise each other’s babies. Herds visit the bones of elephants they knew who have long since died. As is so often the case, elephants offer examples that are uncannily similar to human feelings. ...mother elephants who appear in perfect health but become lethargic for many days after a calf dies and trail behind the rest of the family."
LAND & DEVELOPMENT
In four Diaries seaturtles pointed us toward a squabble over development. The fight over Jekyll Island State Park, Developers 1 (or, about $500 million), Georgia citizens O, Jekyll Island needs to be RESPONSIBLY improved, and Truth about development on Jekyll Island: "What happens when cronies of a Governor get appointed by the Governor himself to an authority that oversees a public park which happens to be an island developers have coveted for years? You get the fight over the direction of the development of Jekyll Island that’s going on now. ...The majority of people who took part in a survey done by savejekyllisland.org strongly disapprove of any plan that consists of big-scale NEW development- the citizens who own the park would rather see steady re-development that stays within existing footprints."
But holden97 had a different point of view in Jekyll Island needs to be improved: "A lot has been said on this Web site and others about Jekyll Island and the pending development. Unfortunately, most of what has been written comes from passion not from facts. I respect everyone’s opinions but do not believe it’s fair to publish knowingly wrong statements in an attempt to win support for a cause. And for the most part, the arguments that have been written online so far are not reality-based. It’s important for everyone to understand that Georgia's Jekyll Island is a state park. It is not a nature preserve – although three state laws do protect 75 percent of this island from development -- so some development is allowed."
MarkthShark warned that Alaska's Emerald Isle is Losing its Soul: "Alaska’s Kodiak Island is one of North America’s premiere, pristine habitats. Famous for its huge burley bears, world-class salmon fishing, and a multitude of magnificent shades of misty green that blanket the entire island in the summer time – hence its charming appellative: Alaska's Emerald Isle. Kodiak Island’s 13,900 citizens and 3,000 bears never asked to be home to a rocket launcher facility. In fact, the people (if not the bears) organized and fought tooth and nail against the project; insisting that putting a rocket launcher facility on their lustrous island would severely impact their fishing and tourist industry and environment in general. But they eventually relented when the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation (AADC) promised them that the brand spankin’ new Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) would not cause any significant damage, and have little or no overall impact on the island’s habitat."
FOOD & AGRICULTURE
davidseth wrote about NAFTA and Corn: Destroying Mexico: "NAFTA is no ‘win win.’ It's really a disaster for Mexican subsistence farmers, US immigration policy, and bio diversity. The only winner is US agribusiness."
OrangeClouds115, who we don’t see around here often enough, reported onVMD: Sleazy Monsanto Tactics ... Coming Soon to a State Near You!: "I hate to repeat the same old topics in these diaries but this is a case where I feel forced to. In New Jersey, a flurry of emails from citizens defeated the all-powerful Monsanto. We need a big push of emails to do the same in Pennsylvania. If Monsanto gets their way in one state, that will help embolden them to come after YOUR state. The particular Monsanto goal we're fighting: banning "hormone-free" and "rBGH-free" labels in Pennsylvania (and ultimately other states too). We need your help even if you don't live in PA."
She wasn’t the only Diarist to hit the issue. shirah did it, too, in Got rBST? The Campaign Behind / Before the Campaign to Censor PA Milk Labels: "Suddenly, it's all over the place - Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio - at almost the same time and using similar tactics - planning to ban milk labels that tell the public whether the milk we buy was produced using Monsanto's Posilac - that is, whether it was produced with recombinant bovine somatatrophin or recombinant bovine growth hormone - rBST / rBGH. An amazing coincidence?" And she followed up with Got rBST? More on The Stealth Campaign Behind the Milk Labeling Bans.
Save the Earth: Go Vegetarian was Tetris’s take: "The government makes its own laws to protect the environment the best they can; but ultimately, it is our duty as citizens of the Earth to do make lifestyle choices that keep our planet safe and clean. My College Democrats chapter acted on this principle last spring when we promoted CFL lightbulbs, bike riding, and awareness about global warming. Lacking in our dialogue-- as well as other mainstream dialogue including An Inconvenient Truth -- is a call to adopt a vegetarian diet."
Rachel Griffiths worried that a big story wasn’t getting the attention it deserves in Egos/Whining Seriously. ... FDA approves cloned meat and dairy for our food Supply: "I only wish that 1/100th of the folks who comment on satire or whining or candidate diaries would have made a call. Cloned meat & dairy: FDA may be set to allow cloned animals into food system, ACTION needed. Please take a short break from promoting your favorite candidate to learn about and act on this issue regarding your New Year's grocery list."
Chaoslillith chimed in on the subject with her FDA officially approves sale of cloned meat and milk: "Not only does the FDA approve the sale of cloned meat but says it does not have to be labeled either."
So did wry twinger in Cloned Meat and Cows on Steroids: Can What You Don't Know Hurt You?: "Many have probably heard about the latest decision to allow the Frankenstein animals of the farm world, clones, into the food supply without any warnings or labeling. Dairy farmers are also allowed to give their cows rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) to increase milk production. Can what you don't know hurt you?"
And Rose Rosetree also took on the issue in a series of Diaries that a lot of people had trouble with because hers was not exactly a scientific approach, as can be seen in The Scary Aura of Cloned Beef: "In my line of work, I read plenty of scary auras, people who are crazy or cruel or downright evil. But nothing scares me more than the aura of cloned beef and milk. Yesterday, the FDA announced that cloned beef is fine, just fine." Her other Diaries on subject can be found here and here.