This is the 635th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the March 7 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
sugarmagnolia writes—Climate Change is Changing Archeology: “Climate change is having a dramatic effect on many scientific fields, including archaeology. Glaciers are melting worldwide and in the process are unearthing many artifacts of the past. In Norway, a 1,500 year old arrow head in pristine condition was recently unearthed from the melting Jotunheimen glacier in southern Norway. The team of scientists have uncovered over 200 relics that date back to the Germanic Ice Age (5th-9th centuries CE) from the massive but melting glacier. The arrow head, measuring approximately 7 inches in length and weighing just under an ounce, is assumed to be from a Viking hunter. Forged from iron, it was found with its shaft and even a feather from its flight. A 1,300 year old wooden ski was also uncovered. According to Norway Today, the warm weather of 2018 resulted in Norwegian glaciers retreating an average of 33 meters (roughly 108 feet) that season. It was the worst decline since they have been keeping records. The melting of glaciers is a double edged sword for archaeologists as it uncovers items that would not otherwise be discovered but if left out in the elements too long, these priceless artifacts can be damaged or destroyed before they are discovered.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Walter Einenkel writes—New evidence suggests that blue whales are making a comeback: “Before humans began hunting whales, scientists believe that there were around 250,000 blue whales in the Southern Hemisphere. By 1967, when a ban on hunting the blue whale was introduced, that number was down to around 1,500. This ban followed similar bans on whaling of humpback whales, gray whales, right whales, and bowhead whales. Since then, the blue whale was rarely seen. In 1997, official estimates of the blue whale population hovered just north of 2,000. But in February 2020, British Antarctic Survey biologist Dr. Jennifer Jackson reported that the largest mammal to ever grace the planet might be making a big comeback. Spending almost a month surveying whales in the South Georgia waters, Dr. Jackson and her team were pleasantly surprised to have “very regularly detected” Antarctic blue whales while sighting them on 36 occasions. They estimate having seen 55 blue whales. The team took skin samples from 10 blues and hope this will help them to track their genetic diversity and lineage. All of these things are important to determining population estimates.”
David Neiwart writes—Endangered orcas relegated to predictable erasure in federal dam agencies' environmental statement: “The endangered Southern Resident killer whale population in Washington state barely even exists in the eyes of the federal authorities who hold their fate in their hands, it seems. At least, that’s the impression created by the draft Environmental Impact Statement just released by the federal agencies overseeing the fate of the four Lower Snake River dams, concluding predictably that the dams should remain in place. The whales (whose numbers declined to 72 this winter) depend on the salmon runs being destroyed by those same dams, but only two sentences in the entire section of the EIS on its effects on wildlife are dedicated to addressing their plight—or rather, abjectly failing to. The three agencies involved in the EIS—the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bonneville Power Administration—are dam-centric authorities well-known for guarding their bureaucratic turf, and they have always been hostile to environmentalists’ pleadings to remove the dams for the sake of the salmon, whose runs are also highly endangered. So the EIS’s conclusions were not a surprise to anyone. Orca Network founder Howard Garrett predicted the outcome last fall, warning that the EIS “absolutely will not recommend breaching the dams.”
Rufous hummingbird in the long wait for an almost spring bud to open.
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - hunkering down, watching spring emerge: “Not going far from my house right now but there’s plenty to see in nature anyway as spring continues to emerge.”
Dan Bacher writes—Fishing and environmental groups ask federal court to block Trump's salmon-killing plan: “The Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA) and allied groups have asked a federal court to immediately block a new Trump water diversion and pumping plan because of the imminent harm it threatens salmon with. The groups filed a motion for preliminary injunction on March 5, according to a news release from the GSSA. ‘The Trump plan calls for boosting water diversions from salmon rivers in northern California and the Delta by 600,000 to 1 million acre feet at a time when the state and multiple scientific agencies have documented the need to reduce such diversions and leave more water in the rivers to maintain salmon and other native wildlife,’ according to GSSA.”
CaptBLI writes—The Daily Bucket - The best and worst road trip: “Friday (Mar. 6th) my brother called and told me our Dad passed away. I packed a bag and began the 12-hour road trip from Mississippi to North Carolina. That is the worst part of this story and better told another time. Since I don’t grieve gracefully or publicly, I find ways to enrich and enhance my life until a balance is met within my soul. I’d rather share the best of my story with you. [...] I pulled into my brother’s driveway before he (and his brood) had returned from “the business” (funeral arrangements, lawyer meetings, etc). I introduced myself to an angry, mangy looking cat that occupied his porch. The cat rejected my greeting with malice. I walked around with my camera instead and was able to get this video of a female Hairy Woodpecker preening while ignoring the rudeness of the feline gargoyle.”
Lenny Flank writes—Photo Diary: Sawgrass Lake Park, St Pete FL: “Back when I lived in St Pete I came to this park at least once every week—it was just a few miles away from my apartment. Though small (there’s about a mile of boardwalk) it covers several different habitats, so on any given day throughout the year you’re pretty much guaranteed to see some critters. Some photos from a day at the park.”
Gopher Tortoise
Lenny Flank writes—Wild Florida: The Gopher Tortoise: “Florida’s only tortoise species is a relic of our desert past. It lives in deep burrows which are a key ecological factor for other species. There are five tortoise species living in North America, though fossils show that there have been around 25 previous species dating back to at least 60 million years ago (about the time that the dinosaurs died out). Four species—the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), the Texas Tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), the Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus), and the Sonoran Desert Tortoise (Gopherus morafkai)—are native to the desert southwest. The Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is the only one found in the east, ranging from Florida up into Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. It somewhat resembles a Box Turtle but is much larger, and the tortoise is entirely terrestrial and never enters water. Historically, their favored habitat was the extensive Longleaf Pine forests that once blanketed much of the southeast. This habitat provided the deep dry sandy soil that the Tortoises like, and also an understory of grasses, cactus, blackberries, and other vegetation upon which the turtles feed.”
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--Twisted! “Many edible plants grow in Oregon, including nut trees such as filbert or hazelnut. Our overlords, the squirrels, have commanded us to plant a variety of filbert nut trees in our suburban yard in NW Oregon. These versions of filberts are rated ‘invasive.’ This means they are so tough that I haven’t killed them yet, despite years of neglect.”
American Crow
Kestrel writes—Dawn Chorus: Something to Crow About: “Here’s a question for you: What do you suppose is the most commonly recognized bird by the average American? From my point of view, I’d say it’s a tossup between the pigeon and ‘seagull.’ But I’m guessing that the crow wouldn’t be far behind. Since common birds are ubiquitous, we tend to pay them less attention than other birds that draw our gaze because they’re infrequent or seasonal visitors. Crows (in this case the American Crow) are very common and are found nearly everywhere in the continental United States. And, for the most part, we pay them little attention. As you can see from the range map below, crows are in nearly every state in the lower 48 in part or in full, outside of the southwestern deserts.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
AndySchmookler writes—Why Doesn't the Insurance Industry Trumpet the Perils of Climate Change? “We can assume that the insurance companies know the truth about climate change, because their business requires them to understand that properties they insure can fall victim to rising seas, that more intense hurricanes can cause great damage to insured properties, and that an increase in extreme weather — including massive rainfall — can mean rivers flooding higher than in the past. (And indeed, insurance companies have been raising rates in many areas because of just such calculations.) Not only must they know the truth about climate change, it would seem that it would be in their own corporate interest to minimize the disruption of the climate, in order to minimize the amount of damage they’ll have to cover. I.e. to have American policy engage seriously with climate change.”
macknacat58 writes—Some more proof that we really can do immediate and dramatic steps to mitigate the climate crisis: “As I suggested in an earlier Diary www.dailykos.com/… the dramatic fall of air pollution over the Wuhan area of China demonstrates that yes- we humans do indeed have the wherewithal to impact anthropogenic climate change…. and ,as I have often said- the issue is “merely” systemic- not technical. The Italian C-19 restrictions reiterate that same point: earther.gizmodo.com/… Before and after imagery from Santiago Gassó, a NASA atmospheric science researcher, shows the stark difference from before the covid-19 outbreak and after. The images at the top of the page show nitrogen dioxide emissions on March 7 and February 7, respectively. Santiago tweeted that the data still needed more formal verification, but he told Earther in an email that “in the last 48 hours, colleagues have been posting similar trends from other sensors, and even this morning ESA came out with a video confirming what I pointed out. So indeed the trend seems real.” I’m getting more serious with my suggestion from that last Diary: Don’t suppose the world could ever try just stopping everything on an regular basis now could it? Like maybe 4 weeks on , then 2 weeks off. Rotate it around like shift work ….. make sure the trillions in stashed “wealth” gets used to feed folk through the ‘off’ times? [before, ya know, it gets “lost” in a stock market crash] Teach people how to take a break without losing their shit? Or does it always have to be a damn apocalypse?”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Lists of Deniers: You’re Hitler If You Create One, But Stalin If You Destroy One: “A month ago, Roger Pielke Jr. published a wild-eyed and tin-foiled Forbes post describing SkepticalScience’s list of Climate Misinformers as a “blacklist.” The Forbes post triggered a flood of follow-on posts spinning up the conspiracy theory that alarmists with lists are keeping deniers from getting hired (as opposed to the fact that universities tend not to want to hire people who have repeatedly and knowingly said things that are false). [...] This isn’t the first time deniers have fretted about being blacklisted. For example, they complained about, and threatened to sue over, a Nature paper on false balance and climate science that included, buried in an appendix, the list of contrarians used to compare media hits to mainstream climate scientists. A decade ago they were worried about something similar, when Anthony Watts compared a list of deniers used for a paper to Hitler’s treatment of the Jews: ‘What next? Will we have to wear yellow badges to climate science conferences?’”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—16 Meters of Denial: Treasure Trove Of Documents Reveal Funding Behind Early European Denier: “The more things change, the more they stay the same. Recent public relations moves by the fossil fuel industry to try and present itself as part of the solution are not only insincere, they’re not even new. A recent Dutch investigation exposed how a coalition of industry groups funded a Dutch denier, Frits Böttcher, in the 90s, until companies like Shell got worried about the public perception of funding a denier and instead asked him to make it look like he was doing more Earth-friendly research. Based on what is described as “15.9 meters of documents” that Böttcher left to an archive, the investigation delves into his ‘Global Institute for the study of natural resources,’ an industry front group for which Shell was its ‘number one’ sponsor – in Böttcher’s words, a “godfather, so to speak.” Other sponsors included a variety of Dutch companies and other industry giants, like Texaco and Bayer, who paid for Böttcher to undertake the same sort of denial campaign that we’ve seen in the US and elsewhere, opposing “the CO2 witch hunt’.”
macknacat58 writes—Welp- turns out there is a Reality based solution for the Climate Crisis after all...”Whadayaknow…. With a pissing contest between the House of Saud and Mr ‘No Corva 19 here’ Putin and then the quarantine in ‘Yes we do have Corva 19’ China, [and now Italy] the Planet got a much needed breath of fresh air recently. Here’s a quick take on Chinese emissions: ‘It is an unprecedentedly dramatic drop in emissions,’ says Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, who tallied the reductions. ‘I've definitely spoken to people in Shanghai who said that it's been some of the most pristine blue skies that they remember over the winter.’ Myllyvirta estimates that China's carbon emissions have dropped by a quarter over the same period. [...] The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) updated its oil market forecast on Monday, and it projects that global oil demand will continue in a downward pattern this year due to the virus.”
greenandblue writes—Fires Burned 20% of Australian Forests in One Season: “Recent rains have finally brought the Australian fire season to a close. Between September, 2019 and January, 2020, an estimated 20% of Austalian forests burned. Fires are natural, but the scale of latest fire season was off the charts. Australia's annual average forest loss to wild fires is typically well below 2 percent. Fires in New South Wales were not contained until February 13th, and not completely extinguished until March. Many species have evolved adaptations that allow them to survive fires and outcompete neighboring species subjected to burning. Noteworthy here are the eucalyptus forests of Australia. They have faced periodic burning in dry Australian climates for many millennia. The strategies they have evolved to survive these fire prone conditions include production of leaves covered by a thick layer of waxes that grow vertically to reduce prolonged drying in direct sunlight, high leaf oil concentrations that make fires burn more rapidly, thick barks to insulate internal tissues, and proliferation of seedlings and leaf buds upon exposure to fire. So, burned Australian forests did not simply die. Regeneration has already begun.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Scholten4Iowa2020 writes—The real life impacts of the climate crisis: “A year ago today, Governor Kim Reynolds signed an emergency disaster proclamation as a result of the horrific flooding across our state. With record levels of water due to heavy snow and rainfall, warmer temperatures, frozen soil, and over-saturated grounds, significant damage was caused across our state. Crops were ruined, soil weakened for future growing seasons, resulting in $1.6 billion of damage. Despite all of these serious impacts, little action has been taken to change course and protect us from future occurrences like this. We need to be taking steps in Congress to address the climate crisis right in front of us. This is just one of the reasons why I’m running to serve Iowa’s 4th congressional district. Congress needs to get to work and make sure we’re prepared for climate change-caused natural disasters like this. ”
ENERGY
Fossil Fuels & Emissions Controls
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Honolulu Files Suit Against Big Oil As Industry Bizarrely Argues The Case is Already Lost: “On Monday, the city of Honolulu, Hawaii filed a lawsuit against eight major oil companies: Aloha Petroleum, BHP Group, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, and Shell. This lawsuit, like others, alleges that Big Oil ‘had actual knowledge that their products were defective and dangerous and were and are causing and contributing to the nuisance complained of, and acted with conscious disregard for the probable dangerous consequences of their conduct's and products' foreseeable impact upon the rights of others, including the City and its residents.’ With flooding already regularly impacting businesses, and sea level rise posing an additional $19 billion in costs to the city if/when seas rise by 3 feet, and threatening to flood the houses of 20,000 people, someone is going to have to pay for the damages. As Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said in a statement: ‘The people of Oahu and people everywhere deserve to see that a portion of the massive profits these corporations have raked in now help pay for the damages that they have caused to our island.’ The fossil fuel industry, of course, does not think it should be the one to clean up the mess it made.”
Walter Einenkel writes—After coronavirus crashes crude markets, Trump considers bailing out Big Oil billionaires: “It has become very clear to most people that the Trump administration’s slow response to the growing coronavirus pandemic is not only alarming, but also potentially deadly. The Washington Post is reporting that instead of behind-the-scenes scrambling to speed up testing and containment of the COVID-19 virus, the Trump administration is taking lots of calls from the oil and natural gas industry—specifically from shale industry billionaires who have been running deeply in-debt dying business models. According to the Post, as fears of the coronavirus consume the global economy, the largest one-day drop in almost 30 years in oil prices has led to a real panic. They fear that the corporate welfare already buoying many of the Republican Party’s shale company buddies will not be enough to keep them from bankruptcy. To this end, the administration is trying to figure out ways to prop up those companies. Sources in the White House tell the Post that the plan is “likely to take the form of low-interest government loans’.”
Angmar writes—"Coronavirus could cause fall in global CO2 emissions:Changes can have impact": “Coronavirus could cause fall in global CO2 emissions.Responses to outbreak also show how government policy and behavioural changes can have impact. ‘Governments should act with the same urgency on climate as on the coronavirus, leading campaigners say, as evidence mounts that the health crisis is reducing carbon emissions more than any policy. The deadly virus outbreak, which has killed more than 4,000 people and infected more than 116,000, has caused alarm around the world. However, unlike the response to global heating, it has shown how political and corporate leaders can take radical emergency action on the advice of scientists to protect human wellbeing’ www.theguardian.com/…”
Angmar writes—"Air is cleaner than before the Industrial Revolution’:A best case scenario for the climate in 2050": “The Future We Choose, a new book by the architects of the Paris climate accords, offers contrasting visions for how the world might look in thirty years (read the worst case scenario here). ‘It is 2050. We have been successful at halving emissions every decade since 2020. We are heading for a world that will be no more than 1.5C warmer by 2100.’ In most places in the world, the air is moist and fresh, even in cities. It feels a lot like walking through a forest and very likely this is exactly what you are doing. The air is cleaner than it has been since before the Industrial Revolution. We have trees to thank for that. They are everywhere. It wasn’t the single solution we required, but the proliferation of trees bought us the time we needed to vanquish carbon emissions. When we started, it was purely practical, a tactic to combat climate crisis by relocating the carbon: the trees took carbon dioxide out of the air, released oxygen and put the carbon back where it belongs, in the soil. This, of course, helped to diminish climate crisis, but the benefits were even greater. On every sensory level, the ambient feeling of living on what has again become a green planet has been transformative, especially in cities.”
Meteor Blades writes—Wednesday night owls: Cheap oil could boost greenhouse emissions in post-coronavirus rebound: “As the global economy shudders in reaction to the coronavirus, lessons are emerging about what that response can—and cannot—tell us about fighting climate change. Economists and policy analysts say they are most concerned about how the current financial disruption could harm the efforts of countries, international organizations and companies to reduce emissions. They think any drop in emissions tied to the virus will be short-lived, while the continuing drop in oil prices could encourage more consumption and hurt demand for low- or no-carbon products like electric vehicles.”
mastergardener2k writes—Trump May Aid Oil Fracking Companies Facing Bankruptcy: “Two years ago the United States became the world’s largest petroleum producer due to oil extracted by fracking oil shale deposits. Monday, the oil fracking boom came to an end as petroleum prices plunged 30% when Russia and Saudi Arabia entered into a oil price war. www.nytimes.com/… Crude lost as much as a third of its value this week after Friday's meeting between OPEC and its allies, including Russia, ended in acrimony and led to scrapping all restrictions on output in a market already awash with oil. The price war is exacerbated by the developing coronavirus pandemic and the coming recession. The Trump administration wants to help the politically connected oil companies.”
ARodinFan writes—Did bin Salman and Putin conspire to kill the US Shale Oil industry and corner the market on oil? “The US has recently emerged as the world’s largest oil and gas producer due to expansion of fracking and production of shale oil. The rise of the US as the world’s leading producer of oil and gas has also threatened to undermine the economic power base of Vladimir Putin in Russia and Mohammad Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. Putin and Bin Salman are not the sort of men who tolerate threats to their power. But what could they do about the new kid on the block? Well, the US might be the biggest producer, but that production is decentralized among dozens of competing corporations and the costs of production are high, while Puin and bin Salman pretty much control the production in Russia and Saudi Arabia and the Saudi’s production costs are very very low. Modeling with big data allows those with access to that data the ability to do some amazing and frightening things. Hundreds of thousands of ‘what if’ simulations can be run in a matter of minutes. Including ones that ask things like ‘in a soft market for oil what would happen if the price suddenly dropped by 10% or 20% or 25%. Or like it did day before yesterday by 27%. The simulations would likely show that a 27% drop in oil prices overnight would bankrupt the US Shale Oil industry — stripping half or more of the value of the companies in that business.That is exactly what happened yesterday.”
DannyB writes—Putin dumps OPEC and starts oil war to kill U.S. oil production: “Russia left OPEC+ Saturday. The goal: to kill U.S. shale oil production. Already rattled U.S. markets are falling faster than a lead balloon in pre-market trading. Added to an inept Trump administration response to COVID-19 coronavirus and a new oil war, millions of American’s 401k’s and pension plans will suffer. Trump’s turned a blind eye to Russian election meddling and sucked up to Putin. What did he get for all that sucking up? Alexander Novak told his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman that Russia was unwilling to cut oil production further. The Kremlin had decided that propping up prices as the coronavirus ravaged energy demand would be a gift to the U.S. shale industry. The frackers had added millions of barrels of oil to the global market while Russian companies kept wells idle. Now it was time to squeeze the Americans. www.worldoil.com/... In retaliation for Russia’s move, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman slashed oil prices by a record amount and ordered an increase in production to further reduce oil prices to punish Russia, with oil being Russia’s primary source of revenue.”
Galtisalie writes—Texas-size “hoax”: Oil prices free-falling; frackers freaking; Ted Cruz in pjs: “Pretty soon the oil majors will be looking for a new round of corporate socialism. Last fall, in what for him were better times, Ted Cruz was going about his business: ‘We’re all wildly excited to have Senator Cruz join us for at OilComm,’ says Michael Conti, Show Director of OilComm 2019. ‘His discussion around the current state of the oil and gas industry and his vision of where we are headed will make for a compelling discussion for OilComm’s attendees.’ (www.accessintel.com/...) Yes, there might be some contradictions in his agenda: ‘Senator Cruz represents 28 million Texans in the U.S. Senate as a passionate fighter for limited government and economic growth.’ But suddenly Trump’s determination to gaslight science is running up against more than just global climate change and a real world pandemic: Now his financial proxies for Main Street are on 🔥, and not in a good way.”
annieli writes—global markets shudder as COVID-19 adds to oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia: “Trump’s incompetence is making the COVID19 response worse with some lack of confidence in financial demand. Recession looms. Invest in Chicken Nuggets. [...] Oil fell by the most since 1991 on Monday after Saudi Arabia started a price war with Russia by slashing its selling prices and pledging to unleash its pent-up supply onto a market reeling from falling demand because of the coronavirus outbreak. [...] Brent crude futures fell by as much as $14.25, or 31.5%, to $31.02 a barrel. That was the biggest percentage drop since Jan. 17, 1991, at the start of the first Gulf War and the lowest since Feb. 12, 2016. It was trading at $35.75 at 0114 GMT.”
jdanel3566 writes—Strategic Petroleum Reserve ripoff: “Yesterday and today, tRump claimed that filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a way to help with this virus control. That is pure BULLSHIT.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a huge way for oil companies to ripoff the taxpayers. Here is how it works: Oil companies pump oil out of oil wells and sells it to the government who then pumps it back down another oil well. That’s it — up one hole and down another. It is a shell game.
The government pays a huge amount of money to oil companies to play this shell game. Furthermore, there are major inefficiencies in playing out this silliness. You have the costs and inefficiencies of pumping it up, the costs, spills and losses in moving it around, and the costs, losses, and inefficiencies in pumping it back down. And you don’t get all of it back when you take it out of the reserve. All that is a terribly silly thing to do.”
Renewables, Efficiency, Energy Storage & Conservation
Meteor Blades writes—Along with lower emissions, offshore U.S. wind industry could create 83,000 more jobs by 2030: “The American Wind Energy Association, the nation’s leading wind industry trade group, issued a report this week scrutinizing the health of the offshore wind industry and forecasting that the installed capacity of offshore turbine farms will grow as much as a thousandfold between now and 2030. At that level, the industry would generate $87 billion in investment over the decade, as much as $25 billion in annual economic output, and create as many as 83,000 well-paid construction and operating jobs. That’s in addition to the 114,000 Americans working right now in all segments of the wind industry in the United States. But that steep rise starts from a low base against a now-fading background of opposition to offshore wind that has been a key factor in its delayed development in the United States. Europe now has about 75 times the offshore wind capacity installed as the U.S. does, with more in the pipeline. Although there are commitments and teases for more U.S. projects, only one offshore site is now operational in American coastal waters—the six-turbine, 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island. It has the capacity to power 17,000 average homes.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Monday: Further Canadian Oil Sands Disaster Averted: “Oil company scraps plan for massive oil sands project in Canada following public backlash. Teck Resources unilaterally decided to call off the project — presumably due to huge public pressure. The company planned to build and operate an open-pit mineof oil sands in northern Alberta, extracting an estimated 260,000barrels of bitumen oil per day. As you might expect, the project would have come at amassive environmental cost. It would have meant clearing out 24,000acres of boreal forest and releasing 4.1 megatons of climate-warmingemissions per year for the next four decades. That led to strong opposition from environmental groups.For several years, campaigns against the project have been opposed tothe project, culminating in Indigenous-led rail blockades and similartypes of civil disobedience.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Tuesday: Commenting on Proposed Federal Regulations: “We all need to comment on rollbacks of environmental protections from time to time. And on many other issues. Much more frequently in the time of Trump, of course. Let's look at why, some issues that need commenting on right now, and how to do it. Why? There are always business interests trying to get regulations gutted, but now there is a full-court press on from the President and all of his relevant minions. Renewable Friday: The Trump Pullout from the Paris Accords has Officially Started Renewable Friday: The Trump Effect. How? chloris creator Jan 13, 2020 at 08:23:35 AM Someone too shy to post sent me an interesting link to the federal register: Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. The tRump government is planning to weaken environmental regulations, but there is a comment period, lasting until March 10. We can all comment and make objections! However, I’ve never done this, so I thought I would throw this out first to our very well educated group and see if anyone has suggestions on how to go about it. So, is someone here good at this?”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Wednesday: Desert Tortoises do Better Under Solar Panels: “A desert solar farm can actually improve desert tortoise habitat — PV Magazine. With tortoise-sized openings at the bottom of the fence, and improved growth of plants vital to tortoise survival, a solar farm in Nevada can provide better habitat than the surrounding desert. First Solar found similar habitat gains in California. The plants that desert tortoises need for survival are growing well inside the fenced area. Creosote plants used by tortoises for cover continued to grow last winter inside the fence, but were inactive outside the fence. Juvenile tortoises depend on cover plants to hide from predators, and tortoises of all ages may use them for shade, explained Dr. Jennifer Wilkening, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who oversees the project’s habitat protection plan. The research team began its plant research by planting 90 nursery seedlings of cover plants on the solar site, and providing supplemental water for a 3-month period.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Thursday: Europe's Green Deal: “Decarbonizing Europe would go a long way toward saving the world, not only from Global Warming, but from Putin's oil and gas machinations. You may therefore expect to see wrenches thrown from afar. Oil and gas companies are not happy about it either. See Rachel Maddow's Blowout for essential background. European Commission announces €1tn Green Deal ambition. President Ursula von der Leyen has outlined plans to fund her Green Deal with a mix of EU, member state and private sector contributions. Now it is over to individual nations and the European Parliament. The European Commission has announced an ambition to generate €1 trillion to finance its European Green Deal. The commission threw down the gauntlet to EU member states and the European Parliament yesterday by emphasizing the urgency of pushing through the climate change funding arrangement as talks over the bloc’s next long-term budget near completion.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Friday: Spain's Plan to go Fully-Renewable: “Have you noticed how many countries I have told you about with plans to go fully renewable in electricity, all-electric in EVs, and carbon-neutral in everything else? Here is another, Spain, with its own plan independent of the EU's proposed trillion euro initiative. Spain is poised to go fully-renewable by 2050. Spain’s government has announced an ambitious plan: the country’s grid will go fully-renewable by 2050. This radical de-carbonization of its economy over the next 30 years will reduce its greenhouse emissions by a whopping 90% (as compared to 1990 levels). Poder verde [Green power] The plan comes as part of Spain’s draft climate change and energy transition law. The current government is committed to installing at least 3,000 megawatts of wind and solar energy, per year, for the next 10 years. It’s a monumental undertaking. Officials also stated that they’ll ban new licenses for fossil fuel drills, hydrocarbon exploitations, and fracking wells.”
NAT’L FORESTS, PARKS, MONUMENTS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Meteor Blades writes—Sen. Udall uses gov't report of 1000s of polluting mine sites to push reform of antique mining law: “Nearly a century and a half ago, as part of Washington’s effort to encourage settlement in the West, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the General Mining Act of 1872. This granted individuals (and corporations) the right to stake exclusive claims to mineral resources like gold, copper, zinc, cinnabar, and “other valuable resources” on public land, which today include uranium and platinum. Since then, it’s estimated that about $300 billion in minerals have been extracted with no royalty paid to the government. And the way federal land managers currently operate, preference is given to mining over all other land uses, including everything from recreation to protection of drinking water supplies. The price for acquiring federal land under the act until a moratorium imposed in 1994 was $2.50-$5 an acre and $100 of work annually. Not only are no royalties collected, but there was also originally no requirement to clean up the mess left behind when mined-out claims were abandoned. If those messes were confined to the sites themselves, cleanup might not be a big deal. But these old mines often pollute streams and rivers well beyond the boundaries of the claims despite reclamation law. Democratic Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, is determined to change that.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTION
Meteor Blades writes—Tuesday night owls: Dirty energy got 12 times as many meetings at Interior Dept. as renewables did: “An analysis finds that the department met 235 times with dirty energy executives and advocates compared with 19 meetings with conservation and renewable energy leaders. Executives from the oil, gas, electricity, coal and mining industries held 12 times as many meetings with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s top two officials over about two years as with conservation and renewable energy interests, a new report by Public Citizen and Documented Investigations finds. Public Citizen and Documented Investigations analyzed calendars of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and his top deputy Katharine MacGregor, both of whom are former lobbyists. The analysis identified 361 meetings listed on Bernhardt and MacGregor’s calendars from January 2017 through March 2019.”
POPULATION, EXTINCTION, SUSTAINABILITY
cjo30080 writes—Now is the time to drastically change our lifestyles. (RE: Coronavirus): “Effective immediately, I’ll be: • Telecommuting (I’m lucky to have an office job and a responsible employer.) • Picking up my daughter from school at the end of the school day instead of allowing her to participate in the after-school program and clubs. • Using grocery delivery services or pre-ordering and/or picking up selected and bagged food near the store entrance • Using restaurant drive-thru windows, deliveries, and/or carry out pre-orders. • Exercising at home instead of the gym. • Taking my young child to parks that do not have playgrounds (picnics, walking trails, and bike rides only). • Visiting with my elderly parents, siblings, and extended family via FaceTime only. • Canceling my plane, hotel, and registration for the relatively small conference in Baltimore I was planning to attend in a couple of weeks. • Canceling my reservations to an Orlando-area condo, reserved for our Disney trip during my daughter’s spring break in early April.I believe that, at this point, it’s our civic duty to take drastic measures, to the extent possible, to avoid contracting and spreading this Cornavirus. (I understand that everybody doesn’t have the ability to telecommute and/or keep children out of after-school programs.)”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Assaf writes—EV Tuesday: Top 10 Countries in the EV Revolution, 2019 Edition: “The lion’s share of credit for source data goes as usual, to Jose Pontes and his EV Sales Blog. The EU-sanctioned eafo.eu also helped a lot; guess who runs that site? (yup, the very sameJose). Some data arrives from insideevs.com,in particular its excellent US EV sales report card, and some from my own online sleuthing. Some numbers and percentages in Europe may look different from what you see elsewhere, because I’ve added light-commercial vehicle sales to numerator and denominator, to make the comparison with North America equitable – and also due to additional context-driven tweaks. [...] Aside from a few notable exceptions, in 2019 the global EV scene was in somewhat of a holding pattern. Global sales were up ~10% to 2.2million, while global EV share rose more strongly from 2.1% to 2.5%,thanks to falling ICE sales. Many Top 10 residents retained the same spot, and none moved more than 2-3 spots.”
B12love writes—Two growth models for the EV revolution: Robotaxi model vs. Replacement model. Which is happening? “The EV revolution can be one of your Good News sanctuaries, along with the Pootie diaries and GNR. There’s simply so much good news happening in the EV space that it’s hard to keep up, and sometimes it’s even hard to understand. This diary will look at the two models under which EV market share is expected to grow over the next ten years, and discuss the case for each. The range of forecasts for EV sales as a percentage of new car sales in the year 2030 begins on the low end with 10-20% by Wards Auto and BNEF, and reaches a high of 60% by Tony Seba, author of Clean Disruption. Notably, however, Mr. Seba expects those 60% of vehicles to drive 95% of the passenger vehicle miles (PVM) covered. The other 40% of vehicles sold will spend most of their time parked, same as most cars do today.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
beaky writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol 16.11: Orchid Extravaganza: “Hubby and I went to Philadelphia last weekend for the flower show and Longwood Garden’s Orchid Extravaganza. We were rather underwhelmed by the flower show. The theme was Riviera Holiday. The themed gardens all looked the same and while pretty they were very uninteresting. One stood out. It was called Cinque Terra. We finally found some interesting things in the home gardening section. Temple University had an exhibit about sustainable gardening. I really like the living roof.”
MISCELLANY
mettle fatigue writes—PG&E wildfire FEMA & California settlement nearly $3billion less in favor of survivors: “On Monday, PG&E amended its bankruptcy reorganization plan filed in February, saying the modifications assure the quickest way for fire victims and other claimants to receive payment. Its plan commits $13.5 billion to resolve claims from the wildfires, through a trust to which PG&E will transfer $6.75 billion in cash paid out over a period of time and $6.75 billion in stock. PG&E’s creditors are due to vote on the plan by May 15. ... the utility plans to hold a hearing to confirm the plan on May 27 — around a month before the June 30 deadline by which state law requires PG&E to exit bankruptcy in order to participate in California's wildfire insurance fund. Judge Montali has yet to approve the disclosure motion for the amended plan, expressing the view that its 71-page statement is far too verbose, repetitive and tortuous for creditors and victims to gain a good understanding of what would be voted on.creditors and victims to gain a good understanding of what would be voted on.”
giddy thing writes—Farewell My Idaho Home: “My 18-year run in Idaho is now in the rearview mirror. This past year, my husband and I put our retirement plan in motion; we sold our home in rural Salmon, Idaho and moved 200 miles north to Montana’s Mission Valley. Brighter prospects in the Big Sky State beckoned us: a milder climate; affordable land; and nearer to family, quality health care, an airport, and Missoula’s thriving cultural scene. One of the brighter lures was moving to a state that is at least acclimated to voting for Democratic governors and U.S. senators, unlike belligerently-red Idaho. My run in Idaho was wildly discordant. On one hand, I had a front row seat to Idaho’s extraordinary natural beauty and grandeur; wildness that evoked awe and splendor on a daily basis. On the other hand, I witnessed some god-awful, dark-underbelly conduct from its populace; enough for one lifetime, thank you. So I write this as part rant; part love letter. Despite my relief in leaving the socio-political desert of rural Idaho, I have deep feelings of grief in saying farewell to all the good that sustained me those 18 years.”