Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the December 28 Green Spotlight. More than 26,200 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
Sher Watts Spooner writes—Solar now cheapest new form of energy in nearly 60 countries: “Donald Trump and the climate deniers and fossil fuel company backers he’s nominated for his cabinet don’t realize it—or refuse to believe it—but the world is starting to pass them by when it comes to developing new sources of power. In the developing world, solar power is becoming the most cost-effective new source of electricity. In nearly 60 lower-income countries, the average price of solar energy has dropped to $1.65 million per megawatt in 2016, just below wind at $1.66 million per megawatt. That means new energy development projects will focus on solar energy rather than wind power. ‘Unsubsidized solar is beginning to outcompete coal and natural gas on a larger scale, and notably, new solar projects in emerging markets are costing less to build than wind projects,’ says a report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a research and analysis organization for those investing in the energy industry.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - hobbling at the ocean: “The coastline of Washington gets 10 feet of rain a year, most of it in winter. It is usually gray and wet when we visit. One day we drove over to Rialto Beach and I hobbled far enough into the driftwood to find a safe comfortable seat to watch the waves from there. Usually we hike a couple of miles down Rialto beach, but this time we just sat. I watched the waves crashing relentlessly onto this steep beach. The wind blew spray sideways off the tops of breaking waves. That always make me think of the manes of horses galloping onto the shore. Watching driftlogs being tossed in the surf is very meditative. Once, for a few moments, diffuse sunlight leaked through the cloud deck turning the water pearly. Then it was gone. Because I was watching, I saw that ephemeral effect.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--The Soul of a Tree: A recounting of the cutting of a double-trunked blue spruce tree. “But in some fashion, the Blue Spruce lives on. I spread its 3000 lbs. of sequestered carbon onto the garden to suppress weeds and add nutrients. They did not grind up the Blue Spruce stump, it sits near an underground electrical line. I kept looking at the stump’s grain. I had to sand it down. Sand a wet, living stump? Not recommended. I could not resist. My sanding revealed the independent growth of each trunk, and soon you could count the rings on this 40-year-old tree. The north trunk seemed diseased at about age 10; you can see the misplaced, brown cambium that grew around the lower (north) trunk three decades ago.”
enhydra lutris writes—The Daily Bucket - December Yard Report: Photo Diary. “So here we go: We've had unseasonal amounts of rain and the weeds, mostly oxalis have taken over. Few things other than salvias are blooming, either. Then, since these photos, unseasonable cold, many nights of freezing temps, so we will see in a week or two how we did with that.”
roberb7 writes—Sea Shepherd and the Mexican Navy team up to catch illegal poachers; fishermen arrested: “On December 12, 2016, Sea Shepherd’s M/V Farley Mowat located poachers on radar before confirming their identities with binoculars. The six fishing boats were working together, using forbidden nets to catch the endangered totoaba bass inside a marine reserve in Mexico’s Gulf of California. The totoaba is a rare fish native to the Gulf which can measure up to 6 feet in length and weigh as much as 220 lbs. Fishing for totoaba has been banned by the Mexican government since 1975, but it continues to be hunted by poachers solely for its swim bladder, which is sold on the black market in China for more than $20,000 per kilo. When spotted by the Farley Mowat crew, the poachers began retrieving their nets as fast as they could, while others fled the scene immediately. The Farley Mowat tracked these boats, even while some of them tried to slow it down by maneuvering around the Sea Shepherd vessel.”
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--The Solstice Heron: “Herons have visited my backyard ponds and eaten my goldfish, with my eventual approval, for over ten years. I’ve taken backyard heron pictures since 2010. I noticed the herons would drop in right on Winter Solstice, among other times. My photo record helped assemble a record of heron visits. For a critter with a 6 foot wing span, they swoop with stealth, and I’m sure I haven’t recorded 1/10th of their visits. I often find oily patches in the pond water; herons’ feathers shed protective oils when they plunged into my ponds to gobble a careless goldfish.”
Dan Bacher writes—Delta Smelt remains on edge of extinction, according to fall survey: “The Delta smelt has not yet become extinct, but the numbers of fish collected in the fall 2016 midwater trawl survey conducted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) remain alarmingly low. This is in spite of improved precipitation last winter and spring, followed by a wet fall that should have resulted in much higher numbers of smelt surviving. The Delta smelt index, a relative measure of abundance, in the latest survey was 8, the second lowest in history. Seven Delta smelt were collected in November – and none were collected in September, October, or December, according to a memo from James White, environmental scientist for the CDFW’s Bay Delta Region, to Scott Wilson, Regional Manager of the Bay Delta Region. (www.dfg.ca.gov/...) The small 2 to 3 inch fish, found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, is an indicator species that demonstrates the relative health of the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas. The species is listed under both the state and federal Endangered Species Acts. When the numbers of Delta smelt are so low, it reveals that the estuary, as we know it, is just as close to extinction as the fish themselves.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Do anadromous fish dream of Ubering home? ”Salmon imprint on their home using magnetism and scent as they swim downstream to the ocean. Years later, this imprint guides anadromous fish back to where they hatched as they travel inland from the ocean to their spawning grounds. Their arduous journey against strong currents and rapids can cover hundreds of miles up many thousand feet in elevation. Traditional salmon survived the upstream migration for millennia but humans have added obstacles. Contemporary salmon living in a human-dominated landscape might begin life in hatcheries and travel to the ocean in trucks, thus missing the chance to learn the imprint of home. Biologists wonder how many trucked salmon will swim upstream and find natural spawning grounds or reach the hatcheries. In the past few years, this question was especially pertinent when drought conditions meant all hatchery salmon migrated inside the steel climate-controlled tank trucks. Salmon have been evicted from their historic homes and lifestyles as we dammed major rivers, cleared riparian habitats, built levees to control flooding, and diverted water for agriculture. In California, dams block access to 90 percent of salmon spawning habitat. To compensate, wildlife officials truck about half of the Sacramento River basin hatchery salmon to the ocean in a normal year. The other hatchery-spawned salmon are released to migrate down rivers to the ocean.”
7th term is small writes—The Superior Hiking Trail (photo diary): “As winter strengthens its icy grip here on the upper Midwest (or ‘The North’ as some of our branding agents prefer) I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to the warm summers on the Superior Hiking Trail. The Superior Hiking Trail runs from the Canadian border to the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. It is well over 300 miles long and is a wonderful trail for day hikes and backpacking. The trail is managed by the Superior Hiking Trail Association, and you can find its website here. The trail crosses national forest, state parks, state, county and municipal properties as well as private land. Negotiating use-agreements with all those entities is a constant work in progress, in part because the trail keeps getting longer and in part because some hikers occasionally forget how to behave when crossing private land.”
Kestrel writes—Dawn Chorus: New Year's Resolutions and Open Thread: “I decided to start this off patriotically by posting my three favorite bird photos I’ve taken this year in order — red, white and blue. I also thought we might use this open thread to not only share birding experiences and photos, but to also relate New Year’s Resolutions if anyone still does that. I don’t, but I guess I do have one over-riding resolution, if you can call it that, for this year and the next four — to do anything and everything I can do to resist and thwart Trump. I suspect I’m not alone in dedication to this singular goal.”
belinda ridgewood writes—The Inoculation Project 1/1/2017: Michigan Monarchs! ”Welcome to The Inoculation Project! This week, we're helping a Michigan elementary school improve their efforts to preserve native butterflies. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, an organization founded in 2000 and highly rated by both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau. If you’re short on cash, don’t worry — we’re glad to see you anyway! And your tips, recs, shares, and so on are a good free way to help, by helping us get on the rec list and catch more eyes. Join us below for all the fun!”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: D is For... “Happy New Year from the Backyard Science group. This is the fourth in the Daily Bucket Alphabet Series. Today’s Bucket is brought to you by the letter ‘D’.”
Brett Wilkins writes—DxE Open Rescue: Working Toward 'Total Animal Liberation': “It was a busy year at Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), the Berkeley-based animal rights group working to save animals from suffering and slaughter around the world and to raise awareness among our own species of the inherent cruelty of animal agriculture. This past year saw DxE expand into a truly global organization, with actions and campaigns big and small in far-flung corners of the globe. The group staged the first successful infiltration and rescues from suppliers of the notorious Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China, exposed the horrific lives and deaths of factory-farmed animals sold at some of America’s leading supermarkets, rescued dozens of animals from unimaginable cruelty and inevitable slaughter on factory farms throughout North America, and much more. DxE activists spoke constant truth to power and were a thorn in the side of everyone from presidential candidates to baseball players. DxE focuses its efforts in service of ‘total animal liberation’ in three main areas — movement building, nonviolent direct action and open rescue.”
Lenny Flank writes—Florida's Invaders: The Monk Parakeet: “The Monk Parakeet, also known as the Quaker Parrot, is colorful, sociable, and highly intelligent, which makes it a popular part of the pet trade. And that is how it came to Florida. [...] The Monk Parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus, is one of the smaller members of the parrot family. Standing about a foot tall, these parrots are a bright electric green with splashes of yellow and blue, and greyish on the chest. They look very similar to the introduced Nanday Parakeet, but lack that bird's distinctive black head. In the wild, they are found in dry areas in Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Argentina. The birds form gregarious flocks that live in large communal nests. Unlike most parrots, which eat mostly seeds, the Monks also eat large amounts of fruit and berries, as well as insects. As the pampas grassland areas in South America were planted with fruit orchards by humans, the birds found perfect habitat and moved in, becoming a serious agricultural pest. In some areas up to 40% of a fruit orchard's yield may be lost to the marauding parrots. In the 1960s, the Monk Parakeet became enormously popular in the exotic bird trade, prized for its small size, its intelligence, and its skill in learning to talk. By 1968 some 16,000 birds were being taken from the wild and imported to the US each year. By the time the trade in wild birds was restricted, some 65,000 Monk Parakeets had been brought in.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Grab your binocs! There's a birding festival near you: “Birding festivals are an opportunity to share your interest in and to learn more about wild birds. I wrote about the upcoming Snow Goose Festival in the Sacramento Valley wetlands and now U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, who manage the National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) systems have assembled a list of noteworthy Birding Festivals of 2017. Winter festivals focus on overwintering wetlands in the main flyways of the U.S. such as Festival of the Cranes at Wheeler NWR (Alabama) in the Mississippi Flyway. Another featuring waterfowl is the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls (Oregon) in the Pacific Flyway. This festival includes several NWRs and a national park. The four-day festival offers visitors the chance to visit nearby Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Crater Lake National Park and other Klamath Basin birding hotspots. Later in spring, the Attwater Prairie Chicken Festival (Texas) honors the endangered Attwater’s prairie-chicken in its coastal prairie habitat. You can see the bird’s elaborate courtship display.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Lefty Coaster writes—Scott Walker's Department of Natural Resources scrubbs any mention of "Climate Change" from website: “As an obedient servant of of the Koch Brothers Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is on a mission to banish modern climate science from his state’s government. So the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources scrupulously scrubbed any mention of ‘Climate Change’ from its website, and in good Stalinist/G.O.P. fashion replaced it with deceptive bureaucratic doubletalk. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources recently scrubbed language from an agency web page on the Great Lakes that said humans and greenhouse gases are the main cause of climate change. [...] The department made the changes on Dec. 21, striking out whole sentences attributing global warming to human activities and rising levels of carbon dioxide. [...] In the latest changes, the DNR says of climate change, ‘as it has done throughout the centuries, the earth is going through a change. The reasons for this change at this particular time in the earth’s long history are being debated and researched by academic entities outside the Department of Natural Resources.’
robinmessing writes—How To Get Donald Trump To Honor The Paris Climate Change Agreement: “Those who try to convince Trump to keep our commitment to the Paris Climate Change Agreement because an overwhelming number of scientists believe human induced climate change poses a dire threat to the world are barking up the wrong tree. Seventeen intelligence agencies state that Russia was behind the hacking of the DNC emails, yet Trump refuses to believe them. Trump claimed that he knew more about ISIS than the generals do. Donald Trump is not easily persuaded by facts and expertise if he wants to believe something that would be called into question by facts and expertise. It seems like Trump's decision making is guided mainly by two questions: 1) Can it help me politically? 2) Can I make a buck off of it? Therefore, trying to convince Trump with EVIDENCE of human induced climate change is hopeless. I suggest we try a different approach. I propose that we assume in our arguments that human-made climate change is either unlikely or an outright hoax. We need to argue that EVEN IF CLIMATE CHANGE IS UNLIKELY OR A HOAX, it still pays to honor our commitment to the agreement. There are four arguments that support this strategy.”
agelbert writes—2017: An Ice Free Summer in the North Pole plus the End of Liberty in the USA.
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—New Year, New List, Same Old Tricks: “There’s a new blog post at the fair and balanced named blog NoTricksZone claiming the consensus on climate change is ‘crumbling’ because there were 500 peer-reviewed papers published in 2016 that support the skeptical position. Now, if one takes the time to look at the papers, as others have done with similar lists in the past, you might find that a lot of the papers are not actually supportive of the skeptical position, or are weakly suggestive but far from providing a conclusion, dealing with very specific details or otherwise unconvincing. This is why they’re published as blog posts, and not as peer-reviewed papers. Let’s be charitable though, and take them at their word. Would 500 papers over the course of a year really destroy the consensus? It sounds like a whole lot of studies! But over the course of a whole year, how many supporting the fossil fuel-climate change link are published? For reference, google scholar returns 3,550 results for ‘climate change’ studies published since 2017. (As of 1/2/2017.) Suddenly those 500 papers over the course of an entire year don’t seem so many.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Curry Climbs Down Ivory Tower: “Anyone interested in a tenure-track climate science position at Georgia Tech? Because Judith Curry has decided to retire a few years early, turning her attention to her company instead and resigning from the university as of Jan 1. Her decision is detailed in her latest post, one of the first in a while to consist of original writing and not just commentary of other papers. She writes that she’s done with academia, in no small part due to the fact that she has run out of advice for students on ‘how to navigate the CRAZINESS in the field of climate science.’ In justifying her shift in focus to her short-term climate and weather prediction company CFAN, Curry claims that “the private sector seems like a more ‘honest’ place for a scientist working in a politicized field than universities or government labs—at least when you are your own boss.’ This, of course, flies in the face of all sorts of studies and reporting that show private funding biases studies much more than the ones funded publicly (perhaps unsurprising to see her reject this consensus too.)”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Michael Kal writes—A Diminishing Resource vs. Special Interests: “ Let’s face it, most of the problems facing us have to do with political expediency which over rides common sense, and undermines what should be straight line goals. When the Democratic Party splits and some defect to serve special interests and short sighted ends, it allows the advancement of detrimental agendas. This recently happened with a midnight rider attached to a water bill. Though it is now water under the bridge (passed and signed), it illustrates the problems of solving real needs when special interests are placed ahead of the environment. President Obama signed the Water Resources Development Act. This law will fund dozens of new, and necessary, water infrastructure projects around the nation including funds to help install safe water pipelines in Flint, Michigan. The bill generated great controversy last week when it was hijacked by Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) who added a last-minute, special-interest “rider” to the bill at the request of agricultural interests in the San Joaquin Valley. This is not a new story in California. The state’s water history is filled with mistakes that have forever changed the face of California, generally for the worse.”
daverypatz1 writes—Wisconsin's Water Problem: “Senator Fitzgerald says his caucus will revisit the issue of high capacity wells. Wisconsin Administrative Code defines a high capacity well system as one or more wells, drill holes or mine shafts on a property that have a combined approved pump capacity of 70 or more gallons per minute. Wisconsin DNR also requires prior approval before the ownership of a high capacity well. This is also true if ownership of a well is transferred from one person to another. Fox 11 news reported that produce growers in Waushara county have 21 high capacity wells on over 2,000 acres. These wells can draw around 100,000 gallons of water each day. There is a passion between farmers and lakefront owners over how these wells are regulated. Fox also reported that a resident of nearby Adams county is worried about the expansion of high capacity wells. The problem is the de-regulation of them. Take the Little Plover River for example. It is drying up from these wells. Same with Long Lake in Waushara County. It used to be a lake with Bass and Pike now it's a marsh. Geologist Ken Bradbury told Wisconsin Public Radio that ‘Wisconsin either needs fewer wells or wells in different places.’”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Mark Sumner writes—China provides a glimpse into an EPA-free future: “Why is there a Clean Air Act? Why are their EPA regulations? They’re not there because government bureaucrats just love to hurt profits and get in the way of healthy commerce. The regulations we now have for protecting the air we breathe come from a long history of what happens when you don't provide that protection. [St. Louis] city dwellers woke up on Nov. 28, 1939, in a thick fog of acrid coal smoke. Suburbanites heading to work saw a low dome of darkness covering neighborhoods east of Kingshighway. In a streetcar downtown at 8 a.m., a commuter told the driver, ‘Let me off at 13th and Washington - if you can find it.’ Motorists drove slowly with headlights on. Streetlights, still on, made ghostly glows. It took a decade before St. Louis passed regulations against burning coal without first treating it to decrease smoke. The law was called ‘a treasonable act’ by Illinois mine workers. There was nothing magic about the coal being burned in the Midwest in 1939. It was the same kind of coal mined in the Illinois Basin or the Appalachians today. The same kind of coal burned in much of China. Major cities across northern China choked Monday under a blanket of smog so thick that industries were ordered shut down and air and ground traffic was disrupted.”
Dan Bacher writes—Group Blasts Brown's Appointment of 'Oil Industry Loyalist' to Public Utilities Commission: “While many mainstream media outlets have fawningly depicted Governor Jerry Brown as ‘the Resistance’ to incoming President Donald Trump, an appointment of a Big Oil-friendly regulator to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today appears to further taint the Governor’s already controversial environmental legacy. Governor Jerry Brown today appointed two Brown administration staffers, Clifford Rechtschaffen and Martha Guzman Aceves, to the scandal-ridden CPUC. They will replace Catherine Sandoval and Michael Florio. whose six-year terms expire on January 1, 2017. The Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog condemned Brown’s appointment of Rechtschaffen as ‘stacking the CPUC with a confidante who did wet work in firing tough oil well regulators’ in California. The consumer group also criticized the appointments for giving ‘Brown power for the next two years over the CPUC, even though he will leave office in two.’”
indycam writes—ex epa head on trumping the environment: “Ex-EPA head: Trump team asking for lists of climate policy staffers ‘scares me.’ The Trump team’s request for the Energy Department to name climate change experts sends a chilling message, ex-EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman told DW. She also detailed her concerns about Trump’s Russia stance.”
Hunter writes—Senate Democrats ask Trump's EPA nominee to disclose his ties to the industries he'd be regulating: “As is the case with so many other Trump nominations so far, the choice of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency seems something done on a dare. Pruitt is known as a stalwart opponent of environmental protection; until now, the thing he has been most known for on the national stage has been his use of his public office to disseminate industry-written legal arguments copypasted onto his government office's own letterhead. Oh, and his Republican ‘Rule of Law Defense Fund’ project also just happens to rake in cash from an unknown set of corporate sponsors to pursue a conspicuously similar public agenda. Yes, go figure. So now six of the Democrats on the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee are politely inquiring as to what the hell might be up with that.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Meteor Blades writes—President Obama designates two more nat'l monuments, infuriating right wingers in Utah and elsewhere: “With just three weeks left in his second term, under the Antiquities Act of 1906, President Barack Obama added two national monuments in Utah and Nevada Wednesday to the 25 new ones and expansions of three old ones that he has already designated over the past eight years. With that status these federal lands gain new protections from exploitation. However, some foes of the designations hope to reverse them when the Trump regime takes office in January. They argue that Obama has abused the executive authority granted by the act. What they mean is they don’t like the law because it limits where and how private parties can make big bucks off public land. No president ever has retracted a monument designated by a predecessor, and the courts have several times backed up executive authority in the matter, beginning with the case of Cameron vs. United States in 1920. But given the kind of renegade reinterpretation a Trumpian judiciary could take, there’s no certainty that stare decisis will keep an existing presidentially declared monument from being unproclaimed.”
MTmofo writes—Selling off public lands. The House rule change that went unnoticed: “House Republicans on Tuesday changed the way Congress calculates the cost of transferring federal lands to the states and other entities, a move that will make it easier for members of the new Congress to cede federal control of public lands. [...] Under current Congressional Budget Office accounting rules, any transfer of federal land that generates revenue for the U.S. Treasury — whether through energy extraction, logging, grazing or other activities — has a cost. If lawmakers wanted to give such land to a state, local government or tribe, they would have to account for that loss in expected cash flow. Bishop authored language in the new rules package that would overturn that requirment, saying any such transfers ‘shall not be considered as providing new budget authority, decreasing revenues, increasing mandatory spending, or increasing outlays.’”
BYPRODUCTS, TRASH, TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Chaoslillith writes—HUD and EPA Failures, Lead Contamination in Indiana. Videos down below. Worse than Flint: “Okay all, we know about Flint, now Jordan has gone to Indiana and is exposing lead in Indiana Minority and low income areas. Here is the FB Live Vid (it’s done, you can watch in on rewatch as I am doing now) with residents he just posted. Here is the youtube playlist ( I have not watched all of them yet) Different setup than Flint, this is a decades long issue that the citizens just found out about. I am watching the live vid now. The water is so bad they are being told to not use it. AGAIN!! Apparently the EPA has been turning a blind eye somehow as well. Watch the vids for more info. This will become a banner issue for 2018, trust me. This is what the Dems need to work on taking control of, fighting for these people. HUD and EPA allowed housing complexes to be built on what used to be an iron smelt, there’s a paint factory down the road and one complex had to have people evicted because of lead levels 215 times higher than allowable, in the walls apparently.”
ENERGY
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Blogger John writes—Petition Apple to Save Solar from the Trump Administration and Ignite the Solar Revolution: “Finance Large Scale Solar Projects In a Non-Trivial Way. In 2016, Apple announced ‘our 4 gigawatts of clean energy projects around the world will avoid more than 30 million metric tons of carbon pollution by 2020.’ This commitment is impressive, but these projects fail to qualify Apple as a leader in solar financing: In 2016, DE Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), the subsidiary of a much smaller company than Apple, had 1.3 gigawatts of projects, or projects equivalent to 1/3 of Apple’s projects. Because DERI’s parent, DE Shaw, is 1/10th the size of Apple, if Apple were to have DE Shaw’s commitment to wind and solar, Apple commensurate portfolio would have to be 13 gigawatts, or more than four times the size of Apple’s present effort. (DESRI’s investments also include the politically difficult Block Island Wind Project, which has no analogue in Apple’s clean energy portfolio.) In 2017, and the next few years, Apple can help solar and the climate in a manner that goes beyond covering the carbon footprint of ‘operations.’”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
rogerray writes—Sioux at Standing Rock Remain Encamped Against DAPL: “Winter in North Dakota is, at best, harsh, and Christmas week it has been literally life threatening. Driving into a blizzard is an experience worthy of having your life insurance canceled and even when the snow dies down, the wind blows a shallow river of snow over highways disguising the layer of glistening ice on the road that makes use of your brakes either a hazard or an insult. In short, I am glad to be alive to write this report on the Standing Rock Sioux camp because prospects for surviving the trip were frequently dubious. Representatives of many tribes of American Indians have joined the Sioux who remain in the three protest camps at the site of the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. I even met indigenous peoples from Norway and Palestinians who have come to join the cause to protect the water. The stated intent of the camp is to both welcome all who wish to come and to run the camp based on shared community leadership. This is both a wonderful opportunity to build a diverse and inclusive community around the cause of protecting water and First Nation sovereignty but it is also an opportunity for criminals and predators who have created serious security concerns. Looting is common and sexual assault allegations seem to be credible.”
igualdad writes—#NoDAPL Protestors Hang Huge DIVEST Banner at Vikings Football Game: “Protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline hung a massive sign from the rafters of U.S. Bank Stadium Sunday, during an NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears. Two protesters climbed the rafters of the stadium and hung a sign reading “Divest #NoDAPL,” according to a press release sent by the organizers to reporters at the stadium. Stadium officials cleared fans from the seats below the rafters, Minneapolis Patch reported. The protesters are urging U.S. Bank to divest from the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been protested because it would cross important Native American sites. Last month, the Army Corps of Engineers denied the final permits and said it would instead conduct an environmental impact review of the 1,170-mile pipeline project.”
rebel ga writes—Sabal Trail Pipeline: “This pipeline will span more than 500 miles; across Albam, Georgia and Florida. It will run right by the Crystal River, a crucial sanctuary for the endangered manatees and the Wuwannee River, also home to several endangered species. Not only that, but the pipeline’s construction could also damage the fragile limestone which surrounds the Florida Aquifer, one of the biggest freshwater aquifers in the world.”
ECO-ACTION & ECO JUSTICE
boatsie writes—Climate Change. Ecojustice. Zero Hunger: Through the lens of the Global Goals: “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is seventeen ‘Global Goals’ which are also referred to as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are 169 targets identified within the framework of this ambitious agenda. To look at the world through the lens of the Global Goals is a revelatory, heart warming, and hopeful experience. Here are 17 victorious examples of accomplishments which champion the resilience and strength which is possible when we aim high.”
certainot writes—When the Gulf Stream stops and Europe freezes will 88 universities stop supporting GW denial? ”Scientists tell us the Gulf Stream is slowing down due to melting ice. If the Gulf Stream stops it is predicted that temperatures in Europe could drop dramatically. US inaction on global warming will get much of the blame. Americans, not Republicans, will get the blame. There is no excuse for 88 universities to continue to help 257 Limbaugh stations deny global warming across the country. What if those stations, emboldened by a Trump ‘presidency’, drop the ‘subtlety’ of excusing racism on a daily basis and go full out KKK? Would that be enough? Those schools have no excuse not to begin looking for apolitical alternatives to broadcast sports on. The university enters a contract with a licensing company, the licensing company takes money from or pays the station so the station can broadcast games, and the licensing company pays the university. The radio stations uses the university’s community credibility and visibility to attract advertisers to pay for the global warming denial on behalf of the Kochs, Putin, Exxon, etc. The radio broadcasting part of those licensing revenues is minor compared with TV. What’s so hard about telling the licensing company to look for apolitical alternatives?”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
skohayes writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging: It's Seed Catalog Season! ”Good morning, and Happy New Years Eve, gardeners! Days have started getting a bit longer, and our thoughts turn away from dark December to a new year and new seed catalogs! I love going through seed catalogs, even though I start very few plants from seed. It gives me ideas for new plants, new color combinations and investigating if any new plant or flower I like will be able to take the hot dry summers we have around here. I also like going back through my old summer photos to see what I had success with and what did best in the full sun, what was planted alongside, etc. I admit to being a bit of a throw it out there and see if it grows kind of seed gardener, which is great for plants like sunflowers, cosmos, coreopsis, and other bee and butterfly friendly flowers.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
terrypinder writes—TransportationKos: If you want to know what’s going on, do these things: “What I’m suggesting is people need to get involved and learn. Example: Your local government holds public meetings as required by law. Frequently, few from the public show up and increasingly, the local media doesn’t bother sending anyone to report on the meeting (unless there’s a contentious item). So, show up if you can. If you can’t, get the meeting minutes. By local government, I mean your regional planning commissions, your school boards, and your municipal meetings, and more. I’m sure people can think of something. Local government varies from state to state. Example: Federal rules and regulations are published daily in the Federal Register. Sign up for this service and skim it every day---all rules and regulations changes have open comment periods. Also, I think you’ll get an appreciation for the background apparatus of government, something that will probably keep lumbering on even in the Trump era. Most states have something similar to the Federal Register as well. Find it and subscribe.”
meta ghost writes—Oil Folks Looking to End Electric Car Subsidies: “It’s happening quickly. The rationalizations for upcoming policy changes being publicized in advance by various interested parties. Today, I came across two groups interested in stopping the current $7,500 tax break for electric cars. Yes indeed, in reality it has benefited some folks who are a bit better off than others, but in addition to Teslas, there have been quite a few Leaf, Sparks, Rava4, Kia (and others) sold. The industry is nascent — particularly in the States. The first group is reported on in the Weekly Standard: A new group called the Energy Equality Coalition launched on Thursday. The group's goal is to ‘end taxpayer subsidies and ensure a level playing field for middle-class American energy consumers.’ For now, the group is starting with a focus on electric cars, but sources close to the group tell THE WEEKLY STANDARD that the group could expand its focus to other subsidies, particularly ones that disproportionately benefit the wealthy.”
MISCELLANY
cbruno writes—Pennsylvania Backyard Hunting. Are We Safe? “The Pennsylvania Conservation Committee boasts a record year in hunting safety stating there were only 29 incidents, the lowest ever recorded in Pennsylvania. These statistics do not include the hundreds of domestic animals mistakenly killed in traps or tree stand falls associated with costly emergency care, catastrophic brain and spinal cord injuries, permanent disability, and death. Recently, my pet was victimized by a rusty limb trap in my neighbors yard. This sobering incident was my introduction to Pennsylvania's hunting laws. Upon investigation, a Conservation Officer discovered a trap violating the Safety Zone Regulation. The same neighbor was previously caught trespassing with a rifle, waiting for deer to visit another neighbor's salt lick. When confronted, he joked ‘Why bother going to the Game Lands when I can shoot ‘em right here?’ Aside from being unethical and irresponsible, he broke several hunting laws, violating several neighbors safety zones, and did not care that an Elementary School playground sits 300 yards away. In both instances, no disciplinary action was taken.”