Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the January 4 Green Spotlight. More than 26,220 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
Chaoslillith writes—What Life Is Like When You Don't Have H20: Flint Citizens Having to Lug Cases Of Water to Live. Still: ”This is a 22 min vid, going very in depth as to how people in Flint are having to live. They are not getting water delivered to their houses, they have to go to one of 9 distributions center, that are open weekdays from 9-5, to pick up your water. People are having to use bottled water to shower, clean, cook and drink. There are senior citizens and other people that don’t own cars that are having to lug water on public transport or find some way to go get water. Let’s also talk about how many of these plastic bottles are not being recycled and how much money the water bottle companies (Anyone say Nestle?) is making as the state is paying for this. The gentleman Jordan interviews goes very in depth as to what the problem is, who is responsible for what and how much corruption is involved here. Once again, these are topics that should be front and center with Dems and they should be doing whatever they can to pound Republicans to death on this scenario. Every damn day. Do you think these people care about Trump’s tweets when they have no running water?”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--They Creep Forth After Dark: “I’ve endlessly witnessed the daytime visitors to my backyard; juncos, robins, flickers, rushes, and those thrilling moments when a hummingbird, heron, or hawk swing by. I know much less about who visits after dark; raccoons, skunks, and pooties (cats) are pretty sure bets. The snow often dusts northwest Oregon during its winters, leaving some short-lived evidence of the nocturnal animals that track through my yard.”
Attack Gardener writes—The Daily Bucket - Mother Nature, Red in Tooth and Claw (and Beak): “Since the woods were cleared, we’ve noticed a change in the birds we attract. There are more individual birds but fewer species, especially of the native sparrows. It’s now an event to see a white-throated sparrow though we have house sparrows by the truckload. I haven’t seen a white-crowned sparrow since 2015. Certain birds, we attract more of than before — cardinals, titmice and juncos. This past weekend we had an entire conclave of cardinals. I counted 3 females and at least 5 males, gorgeous creatures. We also seem to have more downy woodpeckers, though I’m pretty sure they are last summer’s chicks still hanging out with the parents. Given the increase in warm bodies, if not different species, it’s hardly surprising we’ve also seen an increase in predator activity. We have a new feral cat wandering the property that looks just like the black and white kitty we brought indoors a few years ago. I only hope he’s as good at catching voles as Emily was.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
xaxnar writes—About that Global Warming Pause...”Perhaps you heard about the global ‘pause’ in warming in the first years of this century? There’s more evidence that the pause was an artifact from a change in the way data was being gathered. Matt McGrath at the BBC has the story.The idea of a pause had gained support in recent years with even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reporting in 2013 that the global surface temperature "has shown a much smaller increasing linear trend over the past 15 years than over the past 30 to 60 years". But that consensus was brought into question by a number of studies, of which a report by the the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) published in Science last year was the most significant. Researchers from Noaa suggested that the temperatures of the oceans were being consistently underestimated by the main global climate models.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Day After Tomorrow Actually Perhaps Only A Few (Hundred) Years Away: “The idea that melting ice from Greenland will disrupt the flow of water around the Atlantic is something that, thanks to The Day After Tomorrow, most people are aware of. But while the movie was (obviously) a Hollywood dramatization in which the effects happened at super-speed, the core idea is increasingly looking possible. Case in point: a new study found that models are underestimating the risk of a slowdown and eventual stop of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The paper is discussed in depth at RealClimate by AMOC expert Stefan Rahmstorf, who is uniquely qualified to talk about it as his past work was the starting point for this new study. That said, the paper is also dismissed out of hand by WUWT and Steve Milloy, whose qualifications include ... blog posts and getting kicked off Fox News for shilling for tobacco, respectively. Anyway, there are two main factors at play in the science of AMOC—mixing and melting.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Pakalolo writes—White Nationalists deployed the elements tested on climate scientists 7 years ago to win election: “Eco Watch reported on the threats to climate scientists in 2014. According to a new book by veteran environmentalist George Marshall, thousands of abusive emails—including demands that he commit suicide or be “shot, quartered and fed to the pigs, along with your family”—were received by climate scientist Michael Mann, director of Pennsylvania State University’s Earth System Science Centre, who drew and published the ‘hockey stick graph’ that charts a steep rise in global average temperatures. [...] Other scientists are trusted and respected. But the way climate scientists are now treated, Marshall argues, is without parallel in the history of science: ‘They have been set up to play that role in a climate storyline that, it would seem, cannot refute climate change without demonising the people who warn us about it.’”
LakeSuperior writes—U.S. House Passes Bill to Allow One Step Trashing of Multiple Obama Administration Federal Rules: “Reuters is reporting that the republican-dominated U.S. House of Representative has passed legislation that was introduced yesterday [without the text being previously available on congress.gov] that allows the Congress to eliminate multiple Obama Administration federal rules enacted during the last year of President Obama’s Administration in a future one step procedure: ‘As disapproving each regulation separately could span days, Republicans would like to simply vote once to end a variety of new rules on energy, the environment, transportation, banking, finance, education and media ownership.’ (emphasis added). At 4:48 PM today, the House passed H.R. 21, the so-called “Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2017” that was only introduced yesterday by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA-49) and 13 co-sponsors who were all republicans except for Rep. Colin Peterson (D-MN-7) [he should get some grief about this].”
Kerry Eleveld writes—North Carolina's environmental chief ensures new Democratic governor can't remove him from agency: “In another installment of "The North Carolina GOP will stop at nothing to obstruct Roy Cooper," the state's lead environmental official demoted himself over the holidays to a staff post at the agency, which will insulate him from removal by the incoming Democratic governor. Samantha Page writes: Donald van der Vaart, former Secretary of the North Carolina State Department of Environmental Quality, will be an environmental program manager, the News and Record (Greensboro, NC) reported, a position that enjoys normal employee protections and is not subject to gubernatorial appointment. [...] Under Van der Vaart and (outgoing Gov. Pat) McCrory, the agency has been criticized for protecting Duke Energy, the state’s largest utility, where McCrory spent decades of his career. Duke has numerous environmental violation for its storage of coal ash, including ongoing leaks, a massive 2014 spill, and drinking water contamination. The News and Record noted that Van der Vaart had been informed he would not be kept in his position. A DEQ spokeswoman said the former agency head would now be in charge of the air quality division. That should be great, right where he can continue being a shill for polluters.”
Hunter writes—Trump's promise to gut environmental regulations may be a more difficult road than he thinks: “America's new kleptocrat may find gutting American pollution and climate change policies to be a more difficult task than he presumes. Under federal law, reversing major regulations requires a time-consuming process that can drag on for months and sometimes years. And even after new rules are issued, they can be challenged in court — something environmental groups are already vowing to do. [...] ‘Some actions they will be able to do in relatively short order. Other major rules will take time to meet the burden of regulatory process,’ said Scott Segal, a lobbyist at Bracewell who represents numerous energy companies. There's also another problem, which is that regardless of what Trump tries or doesn't try to do, his team's fantasy version of events simply isn't going to come to pass. Coal isn't coming back. The problems associated with fracking will continue to be problems, no matter how frequently a designated Trump lackey goes on television to deny them. Clean power continues to get cheaper. Protecting public lands is publicly popular. None of that is to say that Trump's team won't try, of course.”
Marco Canepari writes—Just How Devastating Will Scott Pruitt Be for the EPA? ”President-elect Trump recently selected Scott Pruitt to be head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), causing many environmentalists to grow concerned about the future of the agency, as well as the future of our environment in general. Then again, the EPA is a complex organization with a long history and ardent supporters, so Pruitt’s power may be somewhat limited. So just how devastating will this appointment be for the EPA? First, we need to look at Pruitt’s history and current position on a number of environmental issues. For starters, Pruitt is an avid climate change denier; earlier in 2016, he wrote in the National Review, ‘Scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind. That debate should be encouraged — in classrooms, public forums, and the halls of Congress. It should not be silenced with threats of prosecution. Dissent is not a crime.’ He has also been a pivotal figure in building a legal case against the Obama Administration’s new policies on climate change. Pruitt also holds strong favoritism toward American businesses. He’s gone on record saying one of his biggest responsibilities as head of the EPA will be ensuring that less money is spent and freedom for businesses and corporations is preserved. Though non-specific, this position undermines the importance of true environmental protection.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Jen Hayden writes—Republicans took a huge step forward to give away National Parks and public lands for private profit: “The House of Representatives wasted no time and went straight for our public lands, a longtime goal of Republicans and the greedy billionaires they represent. They’ve been frothing at the bit to mine the uranium deposits near the Grand Canyon. To mow down our national forests. To squeeze every last dollar of profit out of our public lands. They took the first step day one: A new rule, written by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT), establishes as fact that any legislation to dispose of public lands and natural resources would cost taxpayers exactly $0. This paves the way for the new Congress to get rid of vast swaths of public lands — all at the expense of the American taxpayer. Under Congressional Budget Office accounting rules, the House is required to account for the cost of any legislation it considers. Now, the House does not need to even estimate any financial losses from giving away public land. Bills to dispose of public land will skip several steps in the normal legislative process, coming up for a vote without any discussion of the costs and benefits. The House approved the rules change by a vote of 234 to 193 on Tuesday. Democratic Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03) is leading the resistance on the issue, calling the rules change ‘outrageous.’”
ENERGY
Nuclear
Keith Pickering writes—Fossil fuel company bribed top Cuomo aide to win nuclear plant closure: “From Environmental Progress comes a shocker: according to an indictment filed by the US Attorney in Manhattan last September 22, Todd Howe, a top aide to New York governor Andrew Cuomo, received bribes from Competitive Power Ventures (CPV), a natural gas company, aimed at gaining a rapid closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant. CPV, which stands to reap a windfall from its planned CVP Valley Energy Center if Indian Point closes, has also donated heavily to Cuomo’s campaign. Yesterday, the New York TImes cited anonymous sources saying that Indian Point owner Entergy, under heavy pressure from Cuomo, had agreed to shut down the plant. The indictment suggests that Competitive Power Ventures and the Cuomo administration both recognized that if Indian Point were taken off line, it would be replaced by natural gas, not imported hydro and wind. Replacing Indian Point with natural gas would increase CO2 emissions from New York’s power sector by a whopping 30%, just as Putin’s Poodle is poised to pounce on President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.”
Fossil Fuels
Partisan Hack writes—Global Government Of, By and For Big Oil, Courtesy of Pickup Truck Politics: “I don’t want to add to people’s misery as they grieve for a nation being consumed by Trumpism, but this nutty situation has been long in the making — and fueled by our unwillingness to come to grips with “progress” in the U.S. having its own kind of fuel: oil. You see, the links between Trump, Russia, and major oil companies are about as thick and clear as the $180 million retirement package that Exxon just earmarked for its former CEO Rex Tillerson, our incoming Secretary of State. That’s sad and true enough. But what’s sadder is how our nation’s oil addiction has fueled the politics for decades, an addiction that now threatens democracy itself. This is a disaster that has been long in the making — and at its heart is a nation that is fundamentally scared of dealing with the negative consequences of the American Dream- a dream fueled in good part by the economic promises of progressivism that require cheap energy.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Mark Sumner writes—Solar prepares to dislodge coal as the cheapest source of energy: “Just seven years ago, even commercial scale solar was six times more costly for producing electricity than coal (excepting, of course, the external costs which the coal industry gets to cheerfully ignore). However, that has been rapidly changing. Since 2009, solar prices are down 62 percent, with every part of the supply chain trimming costs. That’s help cut risk premiums on bank loans, and pushed manufacturing capacity to record levels. By 2025, solar may be cheaper than using coal on average globally, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. And we’re getting very close to something that, only a few years ago, many skeptics predicted would never happen. Solar power is now cheaper than coal in some parts of the world. In less than a decade, it’s likely to be the lowest-cost option almost everywhere.”
DarkSyde writes—Tesla's gigafactory lights up: “In the high desert outside of Reno, Nevada, a place of dry gulches and coyotes before the rise of man, Tesla’s new giant battery factory is now officially up and running: The Gigafactory is being built in phases so that Tesla, Panasonic, and other partners can begin manufacturing immediately inside the finished sections and continue to expand thereafter. Our phased approach also allows us to learn and continuously improve our construction and operational techniques as we continue to drive down the cost of energy storage. Already, the current structure has a footprint of 1.9 million square feet, which houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space across several floors. And we are still less than 30 percent done. Once complete, we expect the Gigafactory to be the biggest building in the world. This is being seen as a BFD for the electric vehicle market and alternative energy in general. Prior to the gigafactory, battery production has been dominated by foreign producers.”
m2c4 writes—Fossil Fuel Friendly Oligarchy In Trump's Cabinet Won't Stop Rise Of Renewable Energies: “In 2016, for the first time ever, solar and wind energy is now cheaper than coal and is responsible for most of the new power generation created in the US and globally over the last couple of years. The price of solar, especially, keeps on dropping exponentially. Every time the capacity of solar power doubles, the costs drop 25%. By the middle of the next decade, solar power will become the cheapest option for energy globally. In spite of this unstoppable trend, the Trump administration is geared up to do the bidding of the oil and coal industry. With Rex Tillerson from Exxon leading the way to help Russia drill more oil and evade sanctions to Scott Pruitt at the EPA letting the oil and coal companies foul our air and water to the GOP Congress opening up federal lands to oil, coal, and gas degradation, the Trump administration is clearly looking backward rather than forward.”
gmoke writes—Turn Red States Blue with Green Energy: “Look at the electoral map of the 2016 Presidential campaign and you’ll see the center of the USA and the South went for Donald J Trump. Overlay that with a map of USA solar, in the South and Southwest, and wind resources, through the Plains States and some political, economic, and social opportunities may jump out. An October 2016 Pew survey showed that 89% of Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, support more solar in the USA. [...] According to the Solar Foundation’s 2015 National Solar Jobs Census , in 2015, the USA solar energy industry employed 209,000 people a 20 percent job growth rate in 2015, a job-creation rate 12 times higher than employment growth in the overall economy, and the third year in a row that saw 20% annual job growth. Since 2010, The Solar Foundation’s Census series reports that solar employment has grown by 123%, an increase of 115,000 solar jobs. USA wind industry now employs over 88,000 people, about 21,000 of those are Rust Belt manufacturing jobs, which rose by 10% in 2014, 38,000 are blue collar jobs, and 8,800 of those are wind tech jobs, climbing the towers to maintain the turbines, the fastest growing job in the USA according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics These are local jobs in red state America, like Texas with over 24,000 wind energy workers, Oklahoma with 7,000, Iowa with over 6,000, and Kansas with 5,000. There are low-income rural counties in red states where wind means jobs and money (if not lower energy bills).”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
Lakota Peoples Law Project writes—DAPL Resistance Remains Steady Amid Uncertain Victory: “Fireworks illuminated the joyful tears of water protectors at the Oceti Sakowin camp on Dec. 4 when President Obama denied the easement needed for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to cross Lake Oahe. Mainstream media reported that very evening that Standing Rock had won. They were wrong. Later that night, Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline’s developer, released a statement condemning the decision and announcing their plan to complete construction. ‘Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way,’ reads the statement. Despite brutal sub-zero conditions about one thousand water protectors remain at the Standing Rock encampments. Among them are hundreds of veterans from across the country, like Kellan Moore, who was so outraged at the treatment of water protectors by law enforcement that he drove from Chicago to stay at camp. ‘These men [law enforcement] have been committing acts of domestic terrorism against an unarmed populace, women, children, old people, to protect the money of a large oil company,’ said Moore, adding that the veterans are prepared to stay if Donald Trump attempts to reverse the Dec. 4 decision.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
mahdahgal writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging: Polar Vortex Chaos: “Gardening in north central Texas is like no other place in the country. We experience 100+ degree heat and relentless sun in the summer, ice storms and hard freezes in most winters, tornadoes and floods in spring, and autumn’s mixed bag of drought/heat/wind/cold. My pocketbook has learned the hard way to plant Texas natives and other vegetation like bearded iris and peonies which can withstand the onslaught of variables. 100% perennials. I can name hundreds of plants which will NOT grow here for more than one season. Your area of the country will have its own native plant species to check out. You’ll probably be surprised by the variety.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
terrypinder writes—TransportationKos: If you want to know what’s going on, do these things: “Many people don’t bother getting involved at the local level for a variety of reasons. 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.”