This is the 609th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the July 27 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
giddy thing writes—The Daily Bucket: Sweet, Sweet Huckleberry Season: “High summer ushers in the celebrated and fleeting huckleberry season in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest. Come mid-July, with the last of my precious huckleberry cache long gone, I’m eager to head to the mountains to gather this flavorful, sweet, tart, juicy, wild delicacy. Checking the timing of previous trips to my ‘secret patch’ in east-central Idaho, peak picking season is late July. Ever optimistic, I grabbed a couple of empty gallon jugs, my camera and binoculars, and headed to higher elevation to scope out this year’s crop. Huckleberries are members of the Heath family (Ericaceae), which also includes the highly edible blueberry and cranberry. Dozens of species of huckleberries (Vacciniumspp.) grow on mountain slopes, in forests, and around lake basins in mountainous areas of western North America. The most common species in my neck of the woods is the thinleaf huckleberry (V. membranaceum). Thinleaf is found in moist, deep, well-drained soils on moderate slopes and rocky hillsides, preferring north exposures beneath a partially-closed forest canopy or in sunny openings. The forest where I pick is a mix of Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, and lodgepole pine. Thinleaf huckleberry forms the dominant understory, with grouse whortleberry (V. scoparium) – a dwarf huckleberry – and common beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) part of the mix.”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Need More Wolves? Idaho DFG pays out biggest depredation claim ever - due to elk: “Cattle are not wolves’ preferred prey, they’d rather eat elk. And some parts of Idaho have so many elks that the state is paying $1.9 million for wildlife depredation in 2019, which includes the single largest claim every paid — $1.028 million by Don McFarland. McFarland reported that herds of up to 500 elk had eaten his organic Kamut wheat and organic potato crops, compacting the soil in the process, at his Little Camas Ranch farm in Elmore County. [...] In FY 2016 there were 32 claims, with IDFG paying out $359,100.01. In FY 2017 there were 58 claims, and IDFG paid out $708,287.44. In FY 2018 there were 59 claims filed, and IDFG paid a total of $754,833.83. “I think the reality is that there are more elk in the ag interface than there were 10 years ago,’ Toby Boudreau, IDFG wildlife bureau chief, said of the increasing number of claims and high payments. ‘Our dairy industry in Southern Idaho has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past decade, and their need for corn has grown with it.’ Maybe the problem really isn’t wolves or elk but how ranchers and farmers are using the land and not paying attention to existing natural situations. Different areas of Idaho have different relative levels of elk, wolves, ranchers, and farmers. But from the IDFG perspective, the problem lies in elk and wolves and the solution lies in human actions. But as always, when wildlife are seen as problems, it’s because they interact with human use of the land for profit.”
Mother Mags writes—Judge halts huge open-pit mine on sacred tribal lands in southern Arizona: “Some good green news for a change in southern Arizona, where Trump’s Interior Secretary, David Bernhardt, a former oil industry lobbyist and lawyer, has bent over backwards to help his mining and developer friends dig mines and build giant housing developments in sensitive ecological zones that are also sacred burial grounds for several tribes. A federal judge blocked construction of a giant copper mine in Arizona’s Coronado National Forest, overturning a decision by the federal government and handing a major victory to environmental groups and tribes that have been fighting plans for the mine. In early May I wrote about a Fish & Wildlife official who said higher-ups in the Department of Interior pressured him to reverse his agency’s decision to block a 70,000-person housing development that friends of Trump and Bernhardt wanted to build near the border, a giant stain on the desert that would kill the Southwest’s only remaining free-flowing river. That battle continues.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
AndySchmookler writes—Can the Endangered Species Act Require Action on Climate Change? “A recent article reported that a federal court—the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals—has revoked a permit for a pipeline across Virginia because that permit had been issued through a process that failed "to protect four endangered species: the rusty patch bumble bee, clubshell, Indiana Bat and Madison Cove Isopod." The Endangered Species Act has been helpful in such ways in the past. (Who can forget the endangered snail darter in the Clinch River back in the 1970s?) Meanwhile, a major scientific report was released in May of this year that warned that climate change is threatening upwards of one million species with extinction. (See here and here.) Which has led me to wonder: If the ESA can provide the legal oomph to halt reckless enterprises when the potential extinctions number no more than can be counted on one hand, could the ESA be utilized to compel action to combat climate change when the extinctions are many orders of magnitude larger?”
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Surfs up for pupfish in Death Valley: “The rarest fish species in the world had a surf-rockin’ time when the 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake hit a few weeks ago. The quake caused a seismic seiche with waves 10 feet high in the pupfish pool, the only place they live in the wild. The Devils Hole pool is 10 by 25 foot, 500 feet deep, and located in Death Valley, about 70 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter. About 136 pupfish live on a shallow underwater shelf in the geothermal pool, a drastic increase over their small population of 35 in 2013. Earthquakes as far away as Alaska and Papua New Guinea have agitated the water in Devils Hole, but the 7.1 Ridgecrest quake rocked it more than any other in recent memory. When the second, larger quake struck, video shows the inch-long iridescent-blue pupfish diving deeper into the 500-foot Devils Hole for safety.”
Austin Bailey writes—The Vaquitas' Last Summer: “Vaquitas are the smallest member of the porpoise family. They inhabit a small area of the upper Gulf of California. Their total estimated population is between 6 and 19 individuals. They are likely to become extinct in the next 12 months. Researchers from St. Andrews in Scotland, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Mexican government counted the vaquitas by listening for their echolocation clicks. It is easier to monitor the porpoises acoustically than visually. Since they began acoustic monitoring in 2011, the researchers have determined that the vaquita population has fallen by 98.6 percent. Despite effort by a number of government and non-government organizations the decline of vaquitas numbers has not been stabilized let alone reversed. That decline is due to the use of gillnets, large vertical nets that fishermen leave in the water to collect the totoaba whose bladders are important in traditional Chinese medicine… Mexico banned fishing with gillnets in 2015, but despite this, the practice has continued. The researchers found that the vaquita population declined by 48 percent in 2017 and 47 percent in 2018.”
Meteor Blades writes—Open thread for night owls: Liz Cheney: tribes, eco-groups want to 'destroy our Western way of life': “Proof that the bad apples definitely don’t fall far from the tree. From Native News OnLine:On a momentous day for Tribal Nations, Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY), the House Republican Conference Chairwoman, stated that the successful litigation by tribes and environmentalists to return the grizzly bear in Greater Yellowstone to the Endangered Species ACT (ESA) “was not based on science or facts” but motivated by plaintiffs ‘intent on destroying our Western way of life.’ One of the largest tribal-plaintiff alliances in recent memory prevailed in the landmark case, Crow Tribe et al v. Zinke last September, when US District Judge Dana Christensen ruled in favor of the tribes and environmental groups after finding that the Trump Administration’s US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had failed to abide by the ESA and exceeded its authority in attempting to remove federal protections from the grizzly. Tuesday, USFWS officially returned federal protections to the grizzly.Removing protections from the bear, revered as sacred to a multitude of tribes, would have left the grizzly vulnerable to high-dollar trophy hunts and lifted leasing restrictions on some 34,375 square miles. Extractive industry, livestock and logging interests are among those desirous of capitalizing on the area, a region comprised of tribal treaty, reserved rights and ceded lands.”
OceanDiver writes—Dawn Chorus: Road Risk Redux, Goslings: “Last week I shared some observations of Killdeer chicks dealing with the road along my local shorelines, a major hazard for young birds who can’t fly yet but who need to go back and forth from the fields to the beach. Actually I was planning to describe two different ground-nesters but when Kestrel couldn’t host last week (she’s moving, and snowed under with tons of logistics) I decided to split up the two stories and run the second one this week. Which also gives me a good excuse to post a bunch more photos than originally intended, lol. Hope your packing project is going smoothly Kestrel, and we’ll see you again when you get everything sorted out after your move. This is basically a photodiary of a common-as-dirt type of bird we all know, but looking at them in this narrow breeding season window, in a very particular setting. Since Canada geese are abundant and widespread, I’d be very interested to hear what other folks are seeing in how geese manage this time of year, especially in other settings.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - a clever siskin: “Pacific Northwest. Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus) are tiny busy finches with sharp little beaks. Their size belies their boldness and enterprise. If you’ve ever seen one displace a bird twice its size at a birdfeeder, by flapping and lunging vigorously, you know what I mean. I saw a couple on the driveway gleaning minuscule seeds there one day. Then one performed an acrobatic that would have been like me leaping onto a giant artichoke stem, wrestling it to the ground and turning it into dinner, all in a few seconds. It looked up, leapt onto a dandelion stem, used its weight to bow it to the ground and stood on it while dispatching the individual seeds, flicking away the parachutes one after the next. Keep in mind this bird weighs about half an ounce. Pretty impressive!”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - one-eyed otter: “Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest. Maybe it’s temporary, I hope so. The river otter I saw a couple of weeks ago rolling in the sand is still around I think — I’ve seen one otter in the same bay a couple times since then and he still isn’t seeing out of his right eye. Based on a little reading I’ve done it doesn’t appear to be a dealbreaker for an otter. A wildlife cam project run by an ecological survey group in Scotland tracked several one-eye otters and found they were surviving well, one a female who reared a cub, another a male who looked well-fed and healthy. They speculated on the possible causes of the eye damage, thinking it was unlikely due to fighting with another otter as they tend to go for the groin area. Perhaps tangling with barbed wire or other debris, or dog attack, or getting hit by a car, or even disease. Any of those are possible here too.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
e2247 writes—Climate Lobbying with some latest science and legislation backing you up: “SENIOR CLIMATE SCIENTIST at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) today writes “My Written Testimony on Transportation Infrastructure and Climate Change.” [...] Dahl provides links to her full testimony to Congress and to this scarifying interactive map series, “Property at Risk from Rising Seas, by Congressional District” a great device that should help as you go down to the nearest District Office [with a friend or two for your own comfortable moral support] to meet or ask to meet with your Senator or Representative as your single most effective action to fight climate chaos legislatively. You can bring along for your Senator and Representatives this new July, 2019 report, “Killer Heat in the United States; Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days.”
Marissa Higgins writes—16-year-old Swedish climate activist will sail from the U.K. to New York for zero-emission travel: “Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist who has inspired tens of thousands of students across Europe to cut class and protest for action against climate change, recently announced that she’s coming to the United States. What makes her trip particularly interesting is her solution to a problem that meshes with Thunberg’s cause: Planes are terrible for the environment (albeit convenient) and cruise ships are also notoriously bad. How else to cross the Atlantic? Thunberg’s solution: a high-tech racing yacht. Thunberg tweeted about her decision to cross the Atlantic via boat and shared her planning. She spent months trying to figure out the best travel route that didn’t go against her beliefs, according to CBS.”
LokiMom writes—New Concept (for me) Deep Adaptation-Implications of societal collapse due to climate change crisis: “I was looking for some information today on climate anxiety coping and I came across this paper ...which led me to the concept of Deep Adaptation. It was started by Professor Jem Bendell, here is the quote from their Forum website: deepadaptation.ning.com/... Welcome to the Deep Adaptation Forum: an international space to connect and collaborate with other professionals who are exploring implications of a near-term societal collapse due to climate change. There is no need to wait for your fellow professionals to wake up to our predicament. Through this free forum you can join regular webinars, seek advice and co-create shared resources for your field of expertise. Only together might we extend the glide and soften the fall. If you are starting on integrating your awareness of likely near-term collapse into your personal, professional and political life, then this forum is for you. - Professor Jem Bendell, originator of the Deep Adaptation concept. This Forum is the place for professional collaboration. If you simply want to see latest posts from professionals in this field, join our LinkedIn Group. If you have a general interest but dont work on it, then join our Positive Deep Adaptation group on Facebook.”
Pakalolo writes—The thawing tundra is collapsing and 'a sign of abrupt and accelerating climate change': “FYI. Another sign of abrupt climate change in the far north. The heatwaves in the Arctic are having terrible impacts on the Arctic eco-systems in recent years. Heather Goldstone and Elsa Partan write in WCAI: A team of scientists and students with Woods Hole Research Center’s Polaris Project are just back from a trip to the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta to study climate impacts. Lead scientist Sue Natali says she’s never seen anything like it in her years of Arctic research and warns it is a sign of abrupt and accelerating climate change. As part of their research, Natali and her team installed temperature sensors down to a meter at what should have been permafrost. What they discovered was thawing, which in turn created ground collapse at a level she’d never seen before. It begs the question, is this just one extreme year, or is this the result of climate change?”
Pakalolo writes—Alaskan marine-terminating glacier melting 100 times faster than current models predict: “We found that melt rates are significantly higher than expected across the whole underwater face of the glacier – in some places 100 times higher than theory would predict.” – Rebecca Jackson. Trouble with tidewater glaciers. The American Association for the Advancement of Science writes: The newly observed melt rates are up to two orders of magnitude greater than those calculated by some current predictive models. The findings, published in the July 26 issue of Science, are the first based on direct subsurface measurements of a tidewater glacier and suggest that similar glaciers worldwide may be in far "hotter water" than previously known.”
Pakalolo writes—Climate Emergency: Jaw-dropping visuals out of Greenland: “
Mark Sumner writes—Talking about the climate crisis helps people understand the science behind the climate crisis: “That headline may seem like the most obvious thing in the world—when you talk about something, people understanding it better. However, in the light of multiple studies showing that convincing people of something they don’t believe is often all but impossible, no matter how much evidence is placed in front of them, this study in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science is something of a relief. But there’s something more here. When this study means ‘talking about’ it doesn’t mean watching the news on television, or posting something on Twitter. It means talking. As in, to another person. Scientists at Yale and Cambridge looked at the role of interpersonal discussion in convincing people of the science behind the climate crisis and the need to take steps to address it. What they found was that ‘discussing global warming with friends and family leads people to learn influential facts, such as the scientific consensus that human-caused global warming is happening.’ That conversation helped not just with basic understanding of the issue, but helped to support the idea that steps have to be taken to address this crisis. And the more such conversations people had, the more engaged their family and friends became.”
Mark Sumner writes—Fire at the top of the world: Earth's largest forest is burning, and it won't be coming back soon: “The beleaguered Amazon rain forest gets, deservedly, a good deal of media attention. So do some hardwood forests closer to home. But the world’s largest forest is one that rarely gets a mention—it’s the globe-girdling taiga; the great boreal forest that wraps around the Arctic. Ranging across Canada, Alaska, Siberia, and Scandinavia, the taiga is not just the world’s largest forest, but the world’s largest biome of any sort. It’s home to billions of pine, spruce, larch, and birch trees which eek out a fingernail’s worth of growth in the region’s brief summers. This incredible, frozen forest covers almost 12% of the Earth’s surface. And it’s on fire. Those fires have hit large areas of Alaska and Canada. Even nearly treeless Greenland is seeing large scale fires. But what’s happened in those regions is almost minuscule compared to what’s happening in Russia. On Monday, an incredible 7.9 million acres of northern Siberian forest was in flames. And that was just one of 11 areas. Not only are those fires not contained, but their sheer presence is making things worse.Because the reason that more of the taiga is burning is that the region is warmer and drier than it has ever been in human history.”
dpinzow writes—Every nation with open space should do what Ethiopia just did yesterday. 353 million trees planted: “If the 50 biggest nations did this twice per year, that is over 35 billion trees planted a year, and reforestation with deciduous, carbon-capturing trees could put a dent in the carbon dioxide/climate crisis. Smithsonian magazine article. Jason Daley in the Smithsonian writes: Reforestation has been in the news a lot lately, mainly because a paper published in Science earlier this month mapped out the millions of square miles on Earth that could be reforested. If all that land was filled with trees, the researchers estimated, it could drop carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere by 25 percent. Other scientists pushed back, saying the estimates were overly generous, and that the climate benefits of reforestation are little studied, highly variable and restoring so much land would be politically and technically difficult.”
Nonlinear writes—Planning for the worst. How to increase your odds of surviving climate catastrophe: “I was asked a fascinating question by several posters in my diary on probabilities. They wanted to know if I thought there was anyway to increase your odds of surviving the looming climate catastrophe. I had to think about that for quite a while before trying to answer. i think there are a number of questions embedded in that single query. For example, how complete will the destruction be? This in turn begs the question how likely are politicians to do anything? The corollary is how successful are they with that action or if you like, is it the right answer? Do we end up with pockets of civilization intact or do we go full Mad Max or some combination of the two? Possibly a new type of politics and a new type of politician emerges. How likely is that? How about a new/old economic system like barter, will barter-able assets replace a fiat currency? Then there are pragmatic implications to be considered. Does wealth give you any advantage? Does savagery? Does education? Does the ability to cooperate, to communicate. What about pragmatic skills.”
NHlib writes—Greta is coming to New York in style: “I had figured the solution to getting her to New York without flying would somehow involve a sailboat but I was thinking of something more sedate. This will be quite the adventure. Those racing boats are not built for comfort but the Malizia II can make this crossing in two weeks. But the most important thing is that she is sticking to her principles. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, has announced that she will travel to the United States by sailing boat in mid-August to kick off her travels across the Americas. Upon arrival in North America, Greta will join large-scale climate demonstrations on September 20 and 27 and speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, hosted by Secretary General António Guterres in New York City on September 23. She will also be visiting other events in the Americas. Greta has taken off a year from school to focus on climate events.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Lomborg, A Vegetarian, Tells USA Today Readers Not To Bother Ditching Meat for the Climate: "Career contrarian Bjorn Lomborg is at it again. This time, he’s got an op-ed in USA Today that claims the climate benefits from going vegetarian are overblown and should be ignored.You know what should be ignored? Everything Lomborg says and writes. This president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center (which, incidentally, isn’t located in Denmark and has nothing to do with consensus) has a long history of cherry-picking data to come up with bogus arguments against climate solutions like choosing an electric vehicle or cutting fossil fuel use to appease their conservative funders. In this recent piece, Lomborg argues that emissions from food are a small part of a person’s carbon footprint.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Christianity Has Some Crude (Oil) History, But The Future Of Faith is Climate-Friendly: “Earlier this month, Darren Dochuk, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, wrote in the Washington Post about the historical intersection of crude oil and Christianity. In the 1970s and 1980s, several important Evangelical ministers in Texas became independent oilers, and found a way to combine this with their faith. Specifically, these ministers ‘heralded church autonomy and gospel teachings about prosperity and end times, a message that anticipated the violent disruptions of the oil age and the need to save souls and reap God’s — and the earth’s — riches before the world’s end.’ Fast forward a couple decades, and those in the Trump administration are following in this tradition. At an event in Texas back in April, Vice President Pence talked about the “vast natural God-given resources” in the area--and he wasn’t talking about wind and solar. Even our old friend Scott Pruitt used this rhetoric in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network when he was still the head of the EPA. Pruitt said his environmental views were influenced by a ‘biblical worldview,’ and that ‘we have a responsibility to manage and cultivate, harvest the natural resources’.”
occupystephanie writes—Climate Change Anxiety Support Group: "Preserving Sanity and Hope Under Climate Crisis": “Intellectually, it is possible to accept the scientific evidence of climate change while still managing to deny any sense of a personal threat. Analogous to receiving a cancer diagnosis, the mind is faced with this death threat and reacts to cocoon the self with comforting counter arguments. Yes, I have cancer, but the technological advances made by medicine will save me. I have a memory of my father, cigarette in hand, making exactly that case less than twenty years before he died of lung cancer helped by no miracle. It was in this conditional way that I accepted the science of climate change as a general threat but without the adrenalin rush of impending doom. I rationalized that other places would flood or burn but not here. By mentally setting aside this threat, which was after all in the future, I was able to go about my business as usual. Perhaps others would die but not me nor mine. Safety intact. David Wallace-Wells broke through my cocoon of comforting lies with the publication of his New York Times opinion editorial laying out the findings of his book, The Uninhabitable Earth. ”
prophet writes—The Basics of the Earth’s Climate and Climate Change: “I’m not going to talk about how to fix climate change because: • Fixing climate change is a debate among various economic portfolio theories. • There exists no consensus on: how bad climate change is, how to fix it or the technology to fix it. There is currently no technology advanced and widespread enough to fix it. [...] A majority of Americans believe, or are unsure, that climate change is real. The remaining number of Americans don’t believe in, and doubt, climate change. At the very least, many people doubt climate change is the result of human activity. The high percentage of doubters is most likely because the onset of climate change is slow and insidious rather than acute and catastrophic—although acute and catastrophic is becoming more common.”
John Feffer via Tom Dispatch writes—How to Decide the Fate of the Planet: “The international community has tried, in a roughly democratic fashion, to avoid the apocalypse. In 2015, the countries of the world came together in Paris and negotiated a non-binding climate accord that was a victory for compromise but a failure for shrinking the planet’s actual carbon footprint. In a number of countries around the world, democratic elections subsequently brought climate-change deniers like Donald Trump to power, further compromising that accord. In this way, the planet risks following the first lifeboat scenario: talking ourselves to death. The second lifeboat option -- think of it as eco-authoritarianism -- seems to better fit the temper of the times. The current climate emergency coincides with a profound disillusionment with the liberal world order. Authoritarianism has become significantly more popular these days, even in otherwise democratic societies like India, Brazil, and the United States.”
Jen Hayden writes—Shocking video from Greenland, where an estimated 12 billion tons of ice melted in a single day: “Mother Nature is sounding the alarm on climate change. Images of Greenland’s historic ice melt are going viral after Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Laurie Garrett shared video on Twitter of flooding waters in Greenland, where extreme high temperatures are being recorded this summer. Watch this video after the fold below, and see what climate scientists are saying about the severe climate change happening before our very eyes. Climate scientist and glaciologist Ruth Mottram, who studies Greenland and the Arctic, noted Greenland has lost 11 gigatonnes of ice. That is 24,250,848,840,336, or 24 quadrillion pounds of ice.
The last of the American Dream writes—Republican Lies Endanger The Entire Planet: Scientists And Brooks Are Paid Off: “Next up: Antarctic ice melt is the big one. The threat most people don’t bother to read about, or if they do, refuse to believe. In this article no words are minced; the world sea level rise is at its highest potential here. The Paris Agreement is proved a joke when Antarctica is seriously discussed. Here we find that global warming is heating seawater, which has the property of retaining heat. Even as currents drive it to the south, it is warm enough that it melts glacial ice from beneath; this is nowhere more apparent than in West Antarctica, which has seen large sections of the Larsen Ice Shelf break away. In 2017, Larsen C formed an iceberg and took to the currents to slowly melt. The Antarctic peninsula is most at risk. Now the Thwaites glacier is the next biggest endangered section of West Antarctica, having lost billions of tonnes of mass already, and since seawater does flow beneath it, not so much can be done to stop it. It’s not just air temperature. It never was. Here there is potential to substantially raise sea levels. An estimate for the entire Antarctic continental is to melt has been set at 150 years. That’s every square inch of ice. I believe this estimate is fairly accurate, but don’t believe for a second that’s a comfort. In the meantime, and of course already happening, sea levels rise and storms intensify.”
Angmar writes—"If you act now you can maybe avoid the worst of climate change.But you know you're not going to": First Dog on the Moon.
ENERGY
Green New Deal & 100% Clean Energy
Rezwan writes—Climate Solvers: Show Us Your First Gigawatt Down: “Hello All! Here’s the deal. I’ve just uploaded a video. If you care about the climate crisis, you must watch it. It’s a game changer. Literally. #RacetoZeroCarbon. It’s about the “First Gigawatt Down” — the one concept everyone needs to understand if we’re going to have any chance to solve the climate crisis. There’s a lot of confusion and magical thinking out there. This video will cut through that noise. Watch! Discuss! Check my math. #FirstGWDown. Bonus points: this is a great way to discuss climate solutions with people who love football. A surprisingly effective metaphor for the trouble we place.”
Fossil Fuels
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—California Group Fighting Natural Gas Bans Totally Isn’t Influenced By Gas Company That Founded It: “If you see a group that supports fossil fuels, odds are you’re looking at a group that’s supported by fossil fuels. As the Guardian revealed Friday, that’s exactly the case for Californians for Balanced Energy Solutions (C4Bes), which was created and paid for by SoCalGas, a subsidiary of natural gas provider Sempra Energy. Documents prove that SoCalGas funded the launch of the organization, paid consultants to establish its messages and strategy, and recruited board members. But C4Bes refutes the Sierra Club’s Matt Vespa’s characterization of it as ‘an astroturf or utility front group,” even though “these terms refer to exactly what is at issue here: entities who hide their sponsorship to appear independent.’ That’s why the Sierra Club is asking the state to prevent C4Bes from pretending to be a consumer coalition instead of the utility’s lobby in state negotiations on decarbonization, because SoCalGas would be doubly represented.”
Marissa Higgins writes—Unpaid coal miners block train tracks in protest for over 24-hours: 'No pay, we stay': “Tuesday marked the second day that coal miners in Kentucky participated in a peaceful protest. As reported by CNN, miners blocked the tracks of a coal train in protest after Blackjewel, a coal company filing for bankruptcy, left almost 400 workers in a lurch. Basically: no work, no pay, no 401(k) contributions, and no health benefits—for an entire month. There was no warning prior to the bankruptcy announcement. On Monday, the situation escalated. Someone noticed a train headed to go and pick up the coal. Word spread fast, and people showed up to block the tracks. Angry (and understandably so) that they’ve gone unpaid for their labor, only to see the coal be sold, the miners began what turned into a more than 24-hour protest. ‘We're doing without money, food and everything else before our kids are starting back to school. We can't even get clothes or nothing else for them, so it was like a kick in the face,’ Chris Rowe explained to CNN affiliate WYMT. ‘That's basically what it was’.“
Leslie Salzillo writes—Texas wind power beats out coal usage for the first time in history: “Wind energy has always trailed behind coal energy in Texas. In 2003 wind power generated .08% while coal-generated 40% of the state’s electrical usage. That has now changed—substantially. Earlier this month The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) released a report showing wind power generating 22% of the state’s electrical needs to 25 million people—with coal trailing behind at 21%. This is a first time history—and a positive sign for Texas and the country as Texas is the largest producer of consumer of energy in the United States. A new report was released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) stated more statistics.”
Renewables, Efficiency, Energy Storage & Conservation
Mokurai writes—Renewable Friday: Kayfabe in the Presidential Debate: “Why is CNN trying to turn discussions of Global Warming and other issues at their "debate" into kayfabe? Fakety-fake pro wrestling sagas full of heroes (faces) and villains (heels) and their supposedly bitter rivalries. Charlie Pierce at Esquire nailed it. Mayor Pete Beat Up CNN as Decisively as Warren Beat Up Delaney. These debates have all the competitive legitimacy of a low-rent wrestling show in a legion hall in upper Michigan. There wasn't a single moment that you couldn't see coming from Hamtramck. Presidential candidates were forced to become action figures in Jeff Zucker's toybox. Meanwhile, the climate crisis was barely given a drive-by… Well, that's where this Diary comes in. tl;dr Bring back the League of Women Voters. Call it Global Warming. The candidates are squabbling over some of the components of actual solutions, but pretending that only government can implement them. No, the markets have spoken, as readers of this series know well. Government mainly needs to get out of the way, for example by repealing fossil fuel subsidies. What can and should a President do about Global Warming? First, know what is actually going on. The candidates try to keep up with public opinion on this and other questions, but there are few ‘policy wonks’ in politics who know much more than that about anything. CNN certainly doesn't. Their moderators were focused on gotcha questions and Republican talking points, not on policy.”
gmoke writes—The Current Price of Solar Electricity: “The Portuguese energy secretariat has secured 1.15 GW of solar development at an average cost of €20.33 ($22.53 per megawatt-hour), representing an investment of about €800 million or $887 million. That's solar electricity at 2.253¢/kWh. One of the bids was made at €14.76/MWh ($16.44/MWh), which was declared a new world record for low solar bidding, according to Portugal’s Journal Económico. The secretariat had placed a €45/kWh ceiling on bidding. That's 1.644¢/kWh for solar. https://cleantechnica.com/2019/08/01/portugal-bags-lowest-cost-solar-bid/, But, please, correct me if my math is wrong.”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Profit from Pipelines: “Last week, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) hit another small setback. A judge once again extended a stay on the developer's request to use a specific proceeding within eminent domain called a “quick take.” A “quick take” proceeding is what it sounds like: it allows for developers to take people’s property before an eminent domain hearing is had, and therefore doesn't require immediate compensation to the landowners. Now considering how those on the right love to talk about property rights, you’d think this practice would be immediately decried. (Although at this point, if you think the right privileges being ideological consistency over getting their way, then we don’t know what to tell you.) Earlier this week, Republican Senator Steve Daines from Montana introduced a measure in the Senate condemning socialism, and claiming that “socialist policies such as the Green New Deal and socialized medicine would... eliminate the private property rights of all people of the United States.” That’s clearly ridiculous, but it's also hypocritical. Daines has been an outspoken supporter of the Keystone XL Pipeline for years, and even urged President Trump at the end of 2018 to try and move the project forward. This project has actually threatened people’s property rights, with ranchers in Daine’s own state having spoken out against the practice, but sure, the Green New Deal is the problem.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
cheesehead77 writes—Road Tripping in a Tesla - a different plan from gas powered cars: “My family knows I am an Electric Vehicle enthusiast. I was caught by surprise by my son’s comment that he was not considering a Tesla (Model Y) in his future due to his concerns about running out of electricity on the road and the long recharge stops he would need to take for road trips. The “running out of electricity” is a common concern that is called range anxiety. I had it before I owned a Tesla. This is no longer a concern of mine. Because of my son’s comments, I thought I would write this quick blog about owning and driving a Tesla in case anyone else out there is considering a Tesla and has these typical anxieties. [...] This is a natural fear. There are not charging stations every few miles everywhere you go. If I did not own a Tesla I would possibly still have range anxiety as I believe that charging on other networks may not be as reliable (and certainly not as fast) as charging on the Tesla supercharger network.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Walter Einenkel writes—All of Mississippi's 21 Gulf Coast beaches have been closed due to algae bloom: ‘’Mississippi is feeling some of the effects of our changing climate running up against our reliance on pollutants to control our environments. All 21 beaches along the Mississippi gulf coast have been closed due to an enormous blue-green harmful algal bloom (HAB). On Sunday, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announced the closure of the last two beaches, Pascagoula Beach East and Pascagoula Beach West. MDEQ advises people, and their pets, to avoid water contact such as swimming or wading because exposure to the blue-green HAB can be harmful. The closures refer to water contact and does not prohibit use of the sand portion of a beach. The algae can cause rashes, stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. MDEQ advises that those exposed wash with soap and water and to not eat fish or any other seafood taken from affected areas. According to experts, the algae bloom is due to the excessive amount of rain that hit the eastern United States this spring, in tandem with an overuse of fertilizer.”
Austin Bailey writes—Buried by Our Trash in the Middle of the Ocean: “In 2012 supported by the United Kingdom government and with financial assistance from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Pitcairn Islanders worked to create a massive marine sanctuary. While supporting that effort a closer look at Henderson Island revealed an ugly truth in the age of plastic. … filmmaker Jon Slayer visited the island as part of an expedition to support efforts to create an enormous marine sanctuary in the island group. The images he captured - of fishing nets and buoys, plastic water bottles, helmets, and crates scattered over more than two kilometres of beach - were uploaded to Google Earth. Five years later: An analysis, published in 2017, estimated 18 tonnes of plastic lay on the faraway shores. The island was said to have "the highest density of plastic debris" recorded anywhere, with 3500 new items washing up each day. And this year: Henderson Island lies in the world's third-largest marine protected area - an 830,000 square kilometre "no-take zone". Fishing, aside from some traditional, and non-commercial catch, is illegal, as is seafloor mining. Yet of the six tonnes of garbage collected on a June science and conservation expedition, an estimated 60 per cent appeared to be associated with industrial fishing.”
Dan Bacher writes—Draft Agenda for SWP Contract Amendment for Delta Tunnel Meeting Released: “As the Delta smelt continues to get closer and closer to extinction after decades of water exports from the Delta to corporate agribusiness and Southern California water agencies, the State Water Project (SWP) Contract Amendment for Delta Conveyance (the Delta Tunnel) will be held on Wednesday, July 31. The meeting will be held at the Courtyard Sacramento Midtown, 4422 Y Street, Sacramento, CA 95818 starting at 10:00 a.m. NOTE: Parking will be validated and there will be no fee. Attendees need to pull a ticket and bring it with them to the meeting for validation.”
Dan Bacher writes—Court Halts Westlands Water District's Participation in Plan to Raise Shasta Dam: “On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Dennis J. Buckley granted a preliminary injunction halting Westlands Water District's participation in a Bureau of Reclamation project to raise Shasta Dam. The injunction enjoins Westlands from ‘taking any action that constitutes planning for or construction of’ the Shasta Dam raise. ‘The court has stopped Westlands Water District from moving forward with a project that would hurt the people and environment in our state,’ said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a statement. ‘Maybe others believe they’re above the law and can get away with it. But, in California, we’re prepared to prove otherwise.’ Attorney General Becerra filed the lawsuit on May 13, 2019 to block Westlands from taking an unlawful action to assist in the planning and construction of a project to raise the height of the Shasta Dam, a project that is strongly opposed by the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, fishing groups and environmental organizations.
Dan Bacher writes—Yurok Tribe and Commercial Fishing Group PCFFA File Lawsuit to Save Klamath River Salmon! “The Yurok Tribe, the largest Indian Tribe in California, and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA) this afternoon filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Reclamation and the National Marine Fisheries Service in response to low flows and high salmon disease rates under the federal agency’s new management plan for the Klamath River. The groups are represented by the environmental law firm Earthjustice. ‘The recently implemented Klamath Biological Opinion (BiOp) created environmental conditions that worsened an outbreak of the lethal pathogen Ceratonova shasta (C. shasta), infecting an observed majority of this year’s juvenile salmon,’ according to a joint press release from the Tribe and PCFFA. ‘The Biological Opinion, issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service, is intended to ensure that the Bureau’s operations plan for the 225,000-acre Klamath Irrigation Project does not jeopardize the survival of federally listed fish and mammal species, such as coho salmon and southern resident killer whales.’ ‘However, for several days in May, the Biological Opinion had the river flows for salmon at or near drought minimum at the same time Upper Klamath Lake was within one half of an inch of flooding. These conditions occurred at the same time a serious fish disease outbreak was occurring in the river, but with no water made available under the new BiOp to remediate the outbreak,’ the release stated.”
Meteor Blades writes—Open thread for night owls: As climate crisis grows, fastest pace of home building is in flood zones: “In many coastal states, flood-prone areas have seen the highest rates of home construction since 2010, a study found, suggesting that the risks of climate change have yet to fundamentally change people’s behavior. The study, by Climate Central, a New Jersey research group, looked at the 10-year flood risk zone the area with a 10 percent chance of flooding in any given year—and estimated the zone’s size in 2050. Then the group counted up homes built there since 2010, using data from Zillow, a real estate company. For eight states, including Connecticut, Rhode Island, Mississippi and South Carolina, the percentage increase in homes built in the flood zone exceeded the rate of increase in the rest of the state. [...]”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Lefty Coaster writes—Jay Inslee Has a Plan that includes all of us: "Today, Americans face two great crises: the escalating impact of climate change and a widening gulf of inequality. For too long, policymakers have treated these crises as separate – considering economic justice and environmental concerns with little regard for one another. But America’s climate crisis and structural inequality crisis are deeply interrelated, and they demand integrated community-driven solutions. The facts are clear: climate change and pollution disproportionately harm low-income communities and communities of color, and are major contributors to ongoing economic and racial inequality. For decades, corporate polluters have used lower-income communities as dumping grounds, and these communities now face an enormous and unequal burden from the costs of pollution and climate change.”
slience writes—Passing a county resolution for a Climate Debate: “One of the tools we have for getting the DNC to host a climate debate is to ask county and state parties to pass resolutions calling on the DNC to do so. Several weeks ago, Roxanne Bohren introduced this resolution calling on the DNC to host a climate debate. Having gotten wind of it, I joined the local South Bay Sunrise group and the San Jose Youth Climate Strike, to come in and speak in favor before the vote. We met outside for pizza, did a little bit of role play on how to talk with people, and then went down to the basement cafeteria where the county Democrats meet each month. We spoke with assorted local Democrats and asked for their vote while waiting for the meeting to start, then sat through several earlier agenda items. Finally, Roxanne Bohren got up and introduced the resolution calling for a climate debate, and Sunrise members got a few minutes to speak. Video wasn’t allowed under party rules, but several people spoke, and, unlike more contentious measures, the resolution calling for a climate debate came to a vote a few minutes.”
Angmar writes—With his five-part climate proposal, Inslee has generated a fully fleshed-out Green New Deal: On Monday, the Jay Inslee campaign released the fifth part of its comprehensive climate policy agenda. Cumulatively, the package of policies, called the ‘Climate Mission Agenda,’ is close to 170 pages. Here are the five parts, all together: • ‘100 percent Clean Energy for America’ — a plan to get to 100 percent clean energy in electricity, new cars, and new buildings. (I covered it here.) • ‘Evergreen Economy’— a 10-year, $9 trillion investment plan. (I covered it here.) • ‘Global Climate Mobilization’ — a plan for reshaping foreign policy around climate change. • ‘Freedom From Fossil Fuels’ — a plan to phase out US fossil fuel production. (I covered it here.) • ‘Community Climate Justice’ — a plan for a just transition to a clean economy. Let’s take a look at this latest piece, the climate justice plan. This is the premise: ‘Governor Inslee is committed to ensuring that every American working family and community is included, and none are left behind, as the U.S. transitions off of fossil fuels and builds a 21st century clean energy economy’.”
Lefty Coaster writes—Jay Inslee contrasts his Climate Plan w Biden's: "We cannot work it out. - Our house is on fire": “Transcript: Night 2 of the second Democratic debate. BASH: Let's now turn to the issue of the climate crisis. The United Nations says the world needs to cut all carbon emissions by 2050 or risk facing disastrous consequences. Governor Inslee, many of your fellow democratic candidates say that climate change is the biggest existential threat facing the country. You, though, are calling it the number one priority in your campaign. What do you know that the others don't?INSLEE: Well, I know the firsthand terrific impact of climate change on Americans across the country already. The family who I saw, with their aluminum home now, just a pile of molten aluminum, they lost everything in the paradise of fires; the non-profit in Davenport that was washed away in the floods. We have to act now. Look, climate change is not a singular issue, it is all the issue that we Democrats care about. It is health. It is national security. It is our economy. And we know this; middle ground solutions, like the vice president has proposed, or sort of middling average-sized things, are not going to save us. Too little, too late is too dangerous. And we have to have a bold plan, and mine has been called the ‘gold standard.’ Now, we also need to embed environmental justice. I was in zip code 48217 in the Detroit neighborhood the other day, right next to an oil refinery, where the kids have asthma and they have cancer clusters.”
occupystephanie writes—Why Jay Inslee Calling Biden Out on Climate is Important: “Biden leads with his half a million charging stations as if this is the premier idea of his plan. Governor Inslee’s Washington State already has 42,000 EV charging stations with a goal of 50,000 by 2020. Jay Inslee is talking about survival; Joe Biden is talking incremental progress. BASH: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Just to clarify, would there be any place for fossil fuels, including coal and fracking, in a Biden administration? BIDEN: No, we would -- we would work it out. We would make sure it's eliminated and no more subsidies for either one of those, either -- any fossil fuel. INSLEE: We can't… BASH: Thank you, sir. INSLEE: We cannot work it out. We cannot work this out. The time is up. Our house is on fire. We have to stop using coal in 10 years, and we need a president to do it or it won't get done. Get off coal. Save this country and the planet. That's what I'm for.“Work it out” is code to moderates and the fossil fuel corporations that they possess veto power over any plan to curtail the insanely damaging industry that enriches them.“Work it out” is used in the context of political reality which, in this case, is divorced from scientific reality.”
Pakalolo writes—MSNBC to host climate forum with 2020 Presidential Candidates: “The Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics) at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy and Our Daily Planet, an independent environmental news organization, today announced MSNBC as the media partner for ‘Climate Forum 2020,’ a two-day forum featuring 2020 Presidential candidates in conversation with young voters on the issue of climate change. Chris Hayes, host of MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” and Ali Velshi, host of ‘MSNBC Live,’ will moderate the forum. The event will be streamed live on NBC News Now and featured over two nights of special coverage on ‘All In with Chris Hayes,’ which airs weeknights at 8 pm ET.”
Mark Sumner writes—Flurry of bipartisan bills introduced to address climate crisis, because voters are demanding action: “At least four bills supporting a tax on carbon released into the atmosphere are set to be introduced into Congress this week. What’s most surprising isn't the mechanisms the bills propose, but the names associated with these bills. Because these bills are being sponsored by some of the senators and representatives who have previously been the least friendly to any sort of legislation to address the climate crisis. These bills are appearing at this point for the same reason that Democrats are going to be holding a single-topic town hall to deal with climate-related issues: An increasing percentage of the public sees the climate crisis as a real, important, and urgent issue. All of these bills represent an effort to show that legislators on both sides of the aisle are making at least some move toward addressing the issue in advance of the 2020 election. The texts of several of these bills are not yet available. But Roll Call shows that there’s pretty wide variation in the proposed solutions.”
Mark Sumner writes—Democratic candidates will have a climate crisis town hall after all: “In an instance of persistence and broad support winning out over the entrenched opinion of party leadership, there is going to be a town hall for Democratic candidates focused entirely on the climate crisis. The idea of a single-topic debate or town hall was heavily resisted by Democratic National Committee leadership, but the popularity of the idea, and the critical nature of the issue, overwhelmed that resistance. CNN will host the town hall on Sept. 4, and has invited any candidate who meets the qualifications for the September debates to appear. So far, eight candidates have passed that threshold and could potentially take part in the town hall. They include Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren, all of whom have produced extensive plans for addressing the climate crisis or have expressed support for the Green New Deal. It also includes Amy Klobuchar, who signed on as a sponsor of the Green New Deal legislation, but has said she finds it ‘aspirational rather than prescriptive.’ She has also said she would not ban fracking and supports ‘clean coal technologies’.”
Mark Sumner writes—Trump's 2016 'America First' energy speech was edited and preapproved by UAE and Saudi Arabia: “During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump was set to do a speech on energy in which he was going to start pitching the phrase “America First,” but before he went onstage to talk about his plans for American energy production, one of Trump’s advisers ran the speech past officials from the United Arab Emirates. And then copies were sent to Saudi Arabia. So it was America first—so long as the UAE and Saudis are okay with that. When he finally got around to sharing the speech with Americans, some of the language in Trump’s “America First” speech actually came from the UAE. According to ABC News, it was Trump adviser Thomas Barrack who arranged to give representatives from the UAE a preview of the speech two weeks before Trump delivered it. An associate of Barrack’s provided the speech to both Saudi and UAE representatives, still before Trump had delivered it to Americans. Finally, Barrack worked with Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort to insert revisions made by the UAE into the speech that Trump actually delivered. Manafort wrote back to Barrack confirming that the final version of the speech included the language requested by the UAE. Why is this coming to light now? Because investigators for the House Oversight Committee—the committee chaired by Rep. Elijah Cummings—have unearthed a trove of communications featuring Manafort, Barrack, and representatives from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”
Angmar writes—GreenRevolution: A Direct Action Environmental Protest group "We have little time left": “Now, it’s a ‘global indigenous movement.’ Positive results: Judge halts huge open-pit mine on sacred tribal lands in southern Arizona Some good green news for a change in southern Arizona, where Trump’s Interior Secretary, David Bernhardt, a former oil industry lobbyist and lawyer, has bent over backwards to help his mining and developer friends dig mines and build giant housing developments in sensitive ecological zones that are also sacred burial grounds for several tribes. A federal judge blocked construction of a giant copper mine in Arizona’s Coronado National Forest, overturning a decision by the federal government and handing a major victory to environmental groups and tribes that have been fighting plans for the mine.”
Angmar writes—NYTimes:"Why Climate Activists Packed the Streets Outside the Democratic Debate": “Thousands of environmental activists, calling for the Democratic Party to embrace far-reaching plans to curb climate change and address social injustice, gathered for a hard-to-miss rally in Detroit on Tuesday afternoon, hours before the first of two presidential primary debates here. The rally was organized by a coalition of progressive groups called Frontline Detroit, and included the Sunrise Movement, the climate advocacy group seeking to harness the political power of young people to push for the Green New Deal. That proposal, which sets out a broad vision for significantly reducing planet-warming pollution by 2030 while also guaranteeing millions of new jobs, has become a litmus test in the Democratic primary race. Sunrise activists joined with several local liberal groups, chanting and singing as they marched from a central downtown park to the Fox Theater, the site of the debates.”
Chris Reeves writes—
DNC to consider the creation of an Environmental Crisis Council: “Democratic candidates at all levels are being confronted with existential questions about life as we know it on our planet. The global environmental crisis continues, and faced with tons of compelling data, the time to act is now. Conservatives, especially fundamentalist Christians, continue to adopt the viewpoint that even if we accept a climate crisis, that it is a moment to abdicate our role and, well, ask for God to intervene. From
The Washington Post:
‘As a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us,’ Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) told constituents last week at a town hall in Coldwater, Mich. “And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.” Among conservative evangelicals, that is not an unusual opinion. Nearly all evangelicals — 88 percent, according to the Pew Research Center on Religion & Public Life — believe in miracles, suggesting a faith in a proactive God. And only 28 percent of evangelicals believe human activity is causing climate change. Confidence that God will intervene to prevent people from destroying the world is one of the strongest barriers to gaining conservative evangelical support for environmental pacts like the Paris agreement.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Michael Brune writes—The Saddest Park in America: “Have you heard the one about the billionaire real estate developer who couldn't get permission to bulldoze 436 acres of woodlands in upstate New York for two “’uxury’ golf courses? When he couldn’t find another developer to take the parcel off his hands, he gave it to New York State, which in 2006 ill-advisedly named it: Donald J. Trump State Park. By all accounts, it's a sad, neglected place that really should have been called the Donald J. Trump Gigantic (and Possibly Illegal) Tax Write-off. Donald Trump's namesake park perfectly represents his vision for public lands: If you can't squeeze a profit (or at least a tax deduction) out of them, then what good are they? No American president has done less to protect our public lands and more to destroy them. Trump has the distinction of being the only president to see the amount of protected public lands actually decrease during his term.And no other administration has come close to matching his for its ruthless fixation on managing our public lands for private profits. So, as we head toward 2020, the question isn't ‘who would be a better steward for our public lands than Donald Trump?”
sgtaotahto writes—The end of and era. Goodbye to American Public Lands: “In November 2016, 1 week after the Bundy's not guilty verdict, Donald Trump was elected President. The fate of our Public Lands was now sealed. Not because Trump has a philosophy concerning these lands, he likely has none beyond equating the word ‘public’ with .communist.’ But because those who do have an agenda saw him as a vehicle. Just as those whose passions and political philosophies are in other areas: civil liberties; guns; economics; war, etc , saw him as a vehicle. Unlike the Democrats, the vehicle for their ideas did not have to be perfect, eloquent, or for that matter even capable of intelligent thought. He had merely to be sentient and able to hold a pen. As to our Public Lands, an era is now over. And will never return. Unlike other areas of public policy when the lands are gone, they are gone forever. Healthinsurance/healthcare policy, for example, can be changed and wrongs undone. Thousands or even millions may die in the interim but in time policies can be changed. When the land is gone, it is gone forever. When the blade falls and the land is scraped away, covered with asphalt, houses, strip malls, Walmart’s, and airports or klieg lights, drilling rigs, fences, and retention ponds it can never be undone. A quarter century ago Cliven Bundy was a crank voice in the ‘Sagebrush Rebellion.’ His lawyer, Karen Budd (now Karen Budd-Falen) was ‘...the hired gun of choice for ranchers facing court action from federal agencies’.”
BYPRODUCTS, TRASH, TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Walter Einenkel writes—Teenager wins $50,000 award for extracting 87% of microplastics from water using magnetic liquid: “A teenager from an island off of southern Ireland, inspired by the remnants of an oil spill, has come up with a novel way to use NASA-invented magnetic liquid to extract microplastics from water. Eighteen-year-old Fionn Ferreira hypothesized that he could pull out about 85% of the microplastics in his experiment. As Business Insider explains, NASA engineer Steve Papell, in trying to magnetize rocket fuel in 1963 to combat zero-gravity conditions in space, created the first ferrofluid. Ferreira created his own ferrofluid using a combination of oil and magnetite powder. He added the ferrofluid into water containing microplastics and then, after those plastics attached themselves to the fluid, he extracted them using a magnet. According to Forbes, Ferreira ran 1,000 tests and was able to show that his “method was 87% effective in removing microplastics of all sorts from water.’ On Monday, Ferreira won and received Google Science Fair's $50,000 grand prize. The Irish Times writes that Ferreira has won 12 science awards over the past few years and “has a minor planet named after him by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory in recognition of his achievement at the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair’.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
Meteor Blades writes—Wyden puts hold on Trump nominee for solicitor general at Dept. of Interior, asserting he may have lied: “Chris D’Angelo reports that Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon has put a hold on the nomination of Daniel Jorjani for solicitor general of the Department of Interior. Wyden is also calling for the Justice Department to add to its ongoing investigation of Jorjani’s ethics whether he perjured himself at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in May. Jorjani is now deputy solicitor general and has been acting solicitor since 2017.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Missys Brother writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blog V. 15.31: South Africa's Kirstenbosch Garden with a Tree Canopy Walkway: “I previously posted a four-part series this year on countries that P and I visited while on a month-long trip in Africa. (links to those diaries are further below). This diary will only cover an afternoon at the world famous Kirstenbosch Gardens located in Cape Town, South Africa. It is internationally acclaimed as one of the seven most magnificent botanical gardens in the world. When Kirstenbosch was founded in 1913 to preserve the flora native to the South Africa’s territory, it was the first botanical garden in the world with this ethos, at a time when invasive species were not considered an ecological and environmental problem. This garden visit was the last part of an all day tour we took to the Cape of Good Hope, New Cape Point Lighthouse, Boulder’s African Penguins and ended here at Kirstenbosch. Regretfully, we did not have the time to explore the entire gardens as you would probably need more than a full day. Also several trails go to the top of Table Mountain.”
MISCELLANY
mettle fatigue writes—"A Boston Hospital With a Farm on Its Roof Seeks to Inspire Others": “...In 2017, Boston Medical Center (BMC) began operating a 2658-square-foot farm on a roof terrace… [growing] over 25 crop varieties and ... honey from two beehives [with] one full-time farmer, one part-time assistant, a beekeeper and hospital volunteers to help run the farm. In its first season, the farm grew more than 5200 pounds of produce, including leafy greens, herbs and vegetables, researchers found when they evaluated the farm's operation.”
annieli writes—Anti-Capitalist Meet-Up: integrating economy and ecology: “We are either at the forefront of the struggle to protect the earth as a place of human habitation (and as a home for innumerable species) or we are on the side of the system's creative exterminism of the Earth system as we know it. Steve Keen has ‘developed the first explanation of production in which energy plays an essential role, opening up the possibility to finally integrate economics and ecology.’ As I have mentioned in an earlier diarythere are microfoundations for Keen’s macroeconomic research enterprise, understanding that the microeconomic, spatial econometric models for regional political economy need to be built on geographic models that appreciate such analytic possibilities. Commons are by social necessity, local, like governmentality. If all politics are local, then perhaps all political ecologies ensure the institutional importance of a local state.”
hay seed writes—The Mud Hut Mansion (Sustainable housing): “I have a plan to build a very small house. I have only made the barest start by digging the foundation. This will be an experimental project to find out if some of my ideas will hold up. I wont get to technical. Here is a list of material, old car tires stacked and filled with dirt for the foundation, along with some recycled rebar and fence post. The floor will be dirt, sealed with tung oil. A wood fired ‘’rocket’’ stove with the exhaust pipe running along under the floor. Recycled wood for door and window boxes. I will need lots of other stuff like metal roofing a little wiring and lots of other stuff but the main components will be dirt and hay. The building will be made of cobs. This is an old process of using a mix of straw and mud. Basic stuff, get a small amount of straw, ( or in my case hay because I have plenty on hand ) just enough to easily wrap your hand around ,scoop up some stiff clay mud and squeeze it into the straw. Once the entire length is covered set that aside and do it again until it's as much as can be comfortably carried.”
Aldous J Pennyfarthing writes—Trump offers Russia (not California) help in battling wildfires: “If only our pr*sident loved the state of California this much. At least we know he cares about Putin, though, if not the 40 million people who live in our largest state. CNN: US President Donald Trump offered Russian President Vladimir Putin assistance in fighting vast wildfires in Siberia during a phone call on Wednesday, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin saw the gesture as a step towards warmer relations between both countries, the Kremlin wrote. "The president of Russia praised this move by the President of the United States as a guarantee that in the future it will be possible to restore full-fledged relations between the two countries," it said. Contrast that with this:
Get your rakes out, Californians. You’re on your own. I guess this is what Trump means by ‘America first’.”
Austin Bailey writes—5 Things: I'm Melting, Chemical Soup, Boys From Brazil, Decades of Drought, Mice Get High: “Brazilian president Bolsonaro has already declared that Brazil owns the Amazon and will do with the vast area called the ‘lungs of the planet’ as he (Bolsonaro) pleases. After years of dedicated conservation efforts and routine battles with farming and mining interests, the Amazon rain forest has been turning over to industrial development by an administration that believes that they are doing God’s work. Every minutes an area of rain forest equal to three football fields is being destroyed.”
Austin Bailey writes—5 Things: Green Army, Food Waste, Denial Is a River of Oil, 350M Trees, Tigers: “This is good news - a 30% increase in the wild tiger population in India in the last four years. India has set aside 50 sanctuaries distributed across the country to provide protected habitats that will provide some safety for the tigers. India’s wild tiger population has increased by more than 30 percent in just four years, according to a new census released Monday, raising hopes for the survival of the endangered species. The census found 2,967 tigers in the wild across the country, up from 2,226 four years ago in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed as a “historic achievement”. Population numbers in the nation have risen steadily since falling to its lowest-recorded figure of 1,411 in 2006.”
Austin Bailey writes—5 Things: Corruption, Swimming with Garbage, Rhino Calf, Big Trucks vs Big Trains, Joshua Trees: “Why do so many people from Honduras and El Salvador risk the dangerous journey across Mexico to try and get into the United States? Gangs, violence and corrupt governments are certainly part of the problem, but climate change is also a major factor. Climate change and exploitation by corporations looking to take advantage of those corrupt governments. Golden beaches once helped transform this fishing community on the Gulf of Fonseca into a thriving tourist destination. Nowadays, however, there are barely a few metres of sand left, and rising water levels and tidal surges have wiped out roads, homes and businesses. Locals estimate that around a metre of ground is lost every year – which means this entire community will soon be under water. ”
Austin Bailey writes—5 Things: EPA Ash Holes, Hackers, Frog Salad, WV Trades Coal for Natural Gas, Infrastructure Weak: “Coal ash is the waste left over from the burning of coal in power plants. Its loaded with chemicals like arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium and other potentially toxic material. Coal fired power plants generate 140 million tons of the stuff ever year. They load up hazardous waste storage areas with it, but the EPA rules also allow coal ash to be used as replacement soil and in public landfills as a cover material. The Obama EPA placed limit on the amount of coal ash that could be used in this manner. The Trump EPA is pulling the plug on those limits. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed lifting some regulations on coal ash, the residue left after burning coal, which is filled with hazardous substances that can leach into the water supply and cause health problems. ‘I can say without hesitation that this is an extremely dangerous proposal that will do lasting harm to communities near coal ash reuse sites and coal ash waste piles,’ said Lisa Evans, senior counsel with Earthjustice. Coal ash is used in a variety of ways, largely as a replacement for soil. It can be used to create level ground for construction projects or sprinkled over landfills as a protective cover.”
Angmar writes—From baboon raps to Extinction Gongs can Climate Art save the world?(An EcoArt Project DK- Fri.8/2): “Artists have long struggled to make environmental activism cool.A new wave of culture could make a difference: In 2015, the United Nations feared that the climate crisis was reaching a point of no return, threatening our very existence. With the Paris summit round the corner and a rare opportunity to get world leaders to commit to meaningful change, it needed a way to get the message out to every citizen in order to save the world from global catastrophe. But in the past few years, as the climate crisis has become a political emergency, artists have discovered a crucial role for themselves, making an issue that sometimes seems abstract instead feel emotional and urgent. But the bigger impact can be felt in how climate activists have engaged with, and pushed back at, popular culture. Extinction Rebellion did not exist a year ago; it is now the fastest-growing activist group in the world. It has understood how art, advertising and popular culture pushes people to consume and waste more – and how it can be exploited to make a quick and permanent change.’ www.theguardian.com/...”