This is the 533rd edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) usually appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the Nov. 18 Green Spotlight. More than 28,070 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - stormy seashorebirds: “It’s winter, which means stormy weather in the Pacific Northwest — windy and wet. Prevailing westerly winds blast onshore, curling around the Olympic mountains, funneling through our narrow waterways, building waves that break on our usually quiet protected beaches. Gulls, an eagle and a redtail hawk soared above on this day, wheeling in the wind. In the surf, gulls danced from wavetop to wavetop. Down on the beach a mixed flock of shorebirds hopped around on the driftwood and seawrack, dodging waves, hunting down aquatic bugs and periwinkles stirred up by the surf. [...] It isn’t just carelessness by me or bad luck that all the flying birds in these photos — and many of the perched ones — are facing away from us, so we’re looking at their backs. There’s a reason for it, and birds are smart. They know that they get much better lift when flying into the wind. The wind is blowing straight at us on this day. It takes less energy for one of these guys to jump up off the driftwood into the wind and be flying. I note they turn into the wind when they land too, for better control.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
UpNorthLady writes—The Daily Bucket: Keeping Warm On A Cold Winter's Morning: “If ever there is a time when I am most content with my thoughts, it is the time spent in predawn inaction - not fully awake to the constant struggles of a chaotic nation filled with sensationalism, frustration, distrust. Daily disruptions will certainly gain momentum with the rising sun, but until sunlight peaks gently over the horizon, earthly affairs have little importance as I sit alone enjoying my first cup of early morning coffee. It is these moments - this stillness of time - that I treasure. Before the constant blare of daily rush hour traffic signals my day has officially begun, I spend a few minutes sitting alone looking out the window watching silhouetted shadows concealed in darkness come into view. Robins no longer stop by my backyard searching for their early morning breakfast. Backyard grackles . . . red-wings, cowbirds, and catbirds, too . . . have all disappeared from their nesting perches hidden high within clusters of maple leaves.”
NickEngelfried writes—The Tax Bill is Now a Bill to Destroy the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: “In early 2005 I was a student at Portland Community College, taking my first college-level political science class. One day we had a guest speaker come to class: Chief Evon Peter of the Gwich’in people of the Arctic. Peter spoke about what was at that time perhaps the hottest environmental debate in the halls of national government: the fight over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I remember being captivated and inspired by Peter’s description of the Refuge’s cultural importance to his people. Lest we think protecting the Arctic is only about caribou and polar bears, this remote piece of North America has been inhabited by people for thousands of years. [...] Today the Arctic Refuge is again under threat, and the danger may be even greater than in 2005. As of yesterday, the Republican tax bill moving through the Senate is officially also a bill to open up the Refuge to drilling—something Republicans and oil industry lobbyists have been dreaming about for decades. The drilling provision has been wrapped into the tax legislation under the guise of providing a new source of tax revenue. The fate of one of the last largely intact ecosystems in North America hangs in the balance.”
ban nock writes—2017 Wisconsin Deer Season One of the Safest On Record: “Contrary to what you might have read here of late Wisconsin had no firearm hunting related fatalities again this year during the 9 day gun deer hunting season. There were 7 people shot, 5 self inflicted, 2 to strangers. Not counted is the 1 death from falling out of a tree stand, and two suicides. The much maligned youth deer program had zero accidents. So yes, kids are safe to hunt in the woods. Wisconsin (which Hillary Clinton lost contributing to her loss of the Presidency) is a big deer hunting state, roughly 600,000 firearm hunters, and 200,000 harvested deer.”
6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--Breaking; Bucephala Albeola spotted at 45.6187 N, 123.1143 W; photographic proof!! “Every Fall, water fowl migrate along the Pacific Coast. Egrets, Cormorants, grebes, and other ducks, including the pictured Bufflehead (buffies) ducks, arrive at the golf course where I work, near Banks Oregon. The golf course’s four multi-acre ponds are about 40 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. I went out, determined to take a picture of the buffies. They are skittish and I knew it would take scores of shots, so I bought a new memory card for the camera. I needed it. According to Cornell, Buffies overwinter in NW Oregon, although there is a vague blob on Cornell’s map where they hang year-round, nearby, maybe south and west of Banks. The Buffies are very active on these fresh water ponds, splashing and posing. They flock with the mallards and wigeons, and avoid the ill-tempered coots. The Buffies aren’t patronizing the one pond with fish.”
Ojibwa writes—Public Lands: The Boardwalk at South Beach State Park: “South Beach State Park is situated next to the Yaquina Bay Bridge at the south edge of Newport, Oregon. The park stretches for several miles down the Oregon coast. The park has a fairly extensive campground with 227 sites with electric, 60 tent sites, and 27 yurts. One of the features of the park is an interpretive boardwalk leading to the beach which explains how the current beach was created when jetties were built to facilitate boat traffic.”
Lenny Flank writes—Photo Diary: Osceola National Forest, FL.
CLIMATE CHAOS
Craig Hunter writes—Rising seas threaten to inundate 13,000 historic sites along the eastern seaboard by 2100: “If your future loved ones plan to take a weekend trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the Lincoln Memorial 80 years from now, they may have to think again. A new study suggests that 13,000 historic and archaeological sites along the east coast may be underwater by 2100, even if only modest sea level rise increases are realized. ‘There are going to be a lot of cultural sites lost and the record of humanity’s history will be put at risk,’ said David Anderson, a University of Tennessee anthropologist who led the published research. ‘Some sites will be destroyed, some buried in marshes. We may be able to relocate some. In some places it will be devastating. We need to properly understand the magnitude of this.’ The study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, found that the Eastern Seaboard is at particular risk from sea level rise and in some locations, like New Jersey and Virginia, the problem is compounded by subsiding land. Government estimates made this year predict that seas could rise by 1 to 4 feet by 2100, with as much as 8 feet possible.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Explaining Reality and Denial’s Polar Opposite View on Polar Bears: “A new (open access) paper published yesterday in Oxford’s Bioscience looks at the difference between how denial blogs and science blogs write about polar bears. One of the authors, Bart Verheggen, has a concise write-up of the paper on his blog. Over at the Guardian, Dana Nuccitelli uses his regular column to explain an interesting aspect of the study: the “keystone domino” denial strategy. The research in the Bioscience paper examined the differences between how 45 regular science blogs and 45 denial blogs talk about the risk polar bears face from a changing climate--specifically, risks from the melting Arctic sea ice. The results are clear: peer-reviewed science shows a melting Arctic presents a huge risk for polar bears, while denier blogs deny that risk. A key finding from the study is that in contrast to the generally peer-reviewed-paper-based science blogs, around 80 percent of the denier blogs researchers examined used Susan Crockford’s blog Polar Bear Science as the single source for their arguments. The paper notes that “as of this writing, Crockford has neither conducted any original research nor published any articles in the peer-reviewed literature on polar bears.” Crockford has published plenty for other denier shops like GWPF, but for some reason can’t seem to break into the peer-reviewed literature. (We wonder why.)”
Pakalolo writes—Breaking: YouTube terminates largest Climate Science channel in the World: “Here we go again, after YouTube just last February took down the Climate State channel, and now again. The Climate State channel had close to 18.000 subscribers and 6.5 million views, the biggest climate change focused channel. If visitors now try to access the channel, a highlighted message reads: This account has been terminated due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s policy against spam, deceptive practices, and misleading content or other Terms of Service violations. Back in February it took several days before the channel was enabled again – and nobody provided any explanation.”
Pakalolo writes—Puerto Rico's Recovery Hinders Farm Businesses' Seed Research. No One Listened to PR About Climate: “Besides the devastation to Puerto Rico’s farms after Hurricane Maria barreled over the island at 155 mph, the Global seed business took a major hit as well. For over 400 years Puerto Rico’s economy has been based on agriculture, but prior to the storm the island still imported 85% of it’s food. The hot winter days and warm nights conditions fed the island with certain crops such as sugar cane, coffee, bananas, plantains, pineapples, tomatoes, avocados, cacao, spices, corn, mango, beans, peppers, yams and others. What you probably did not know is that for 30 years, research and development of up to 85 percent of the commercial corn, soybean and other hybrid seeds grown in the U.S. are grown on the Caribbean island, according to the Puerto Rico Agricultural Biotechnology Industry Association.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Besame writes—Never used new Oroville spillway is cracked but DWR says no problem, trust us: “The 180,000 people downstream of Lake Oroville are once again asked to trust the state water agency and federal regulators. Residents fled with barely time to put on shoes last February when first-time use of the emergency spillway, claimed to be safe, resulted in erosion that threatened to undercut the slope and release a wall of water. Now they are being asked to trust the same water officials’ statements that the $500 million newly constructed spillway at Lake Oroville is safe. The spillway’s safety, however, had been questioned even before construction reached its November 1st completion deadline. In early October, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asked California Department of Water Resources to explain cracks in sections of the 2,270 foot long newly rebuilt spillway. When concrete curing coverings were removed from the new concrete slabs, small cracks in the surface were discovered. FERC’s letter outlined the problem and requested four actions be accomplished by November 2nd. [...] DWR’s response was five days late. Their November 7th cover letter to a classified memorandum the public cannot read states that it’s no problem, just part of ‘the design elements included to restrain the slabs and produce a robust and durable structure.’ They also asserted that cracking ‘was anticipated and is not expected to affect the integrity of the slabs.’ In a November 21 response letter FERC said okay, we looked over your classified assessment and agree the cracks ‘do not warrant repair at this time.’ But keep an eye on it, okay? ”
Dan Bacher writes—Delta legislators to hold town hall on financial feasibility of Delta Tunnels project: “Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Assemblymember Jim Frazier (D-Discovery Bay), the co-chairs of the Delta Caucus, will hold a town hall in Walnut Grove on Thursday, November 30 to examine the financial feasibility of Governor Jerry Brown's controversial Delta Tunnels project and discuss related concerns, including recent findings by the State Auditor. [...] ‘Ensuring a vibrant and sustainable Delta is absolutely essential for our region and our entire state,” said Senator Dodd. “I encourage Delta residents to join us and hear from the State Auditor’s Office regarding their recent findings. The Delta Caucus is working to educate the public and fighting to protect the Delta for our residents, visitors and wildlife.’”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—The 44 Koch Cronies Staffing 45’s Administration: “The web is wide and diverse: at the EPA, we’re talking about Pruitt, who’s worked in concert with the Kochs, Samantha Dravis, who was counsel for Koch’s Freedom Partners, Charles Munoz, who was a field organizer for the Koch’s Americans for Prosperity, and more. Meanwhile, over at Interior, Koch ties manifest in the background of people like Freedom Partners’s Gary Lawkowski, the Charles Koch Institute’s Daniel Jorjani and Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Doug Domenech (and their employee, Kathleen Hartnett White, who is likely to soon be confirmed as chair of the Council on Environmental Quality). At DoE, it’s Koch-donation-receiving Rick Perry, Koch lobbyist Mark Menezes, and people employed by Koch-funded groups like Travis Fisher, Doug Matheny and Alex Fitzsimmons. And it’s not just the Pruitts and Perrys at EPA and DOE, where we would expect to find people to advance oily Koch interests. The Koch network has also installed operatives at the Department of Education to carry out the Kochs’ longtime agenda against public education under the guise of promoting charter schools.”
Dan Bacher writes—Climate justice activists to protest Governor's appearance at New York Times ClimateTech Summit: “Governor Jerry Brown and columnist Thomas L. Friedman today will discuss California’s ‘climate leadership’ in San Francisco at the New York Times ClimateTECH summit — just after climate and anti-fracking activists hold a protest against Brown’s support of fracking and pollution trading. According to a news advisory from Brown’s Office, the summit ‘brings together policymakers and leaders from key industries to examine the technology, innovation and financing needed to help keep the increase in global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius.’ The Governor’s Office said the event “is open to registered guests and credentialed media only.” Before he speaks, climate justice activists will hold their protest against Brown from 4:30-6 pm at the Mission Street entrance to the Metreon. Daniel Gustavo Ilario, a member of Idle No More SF Bay—an indigenous, women-led climate justice organization that confronted Brown on his false climate policies in Bonn—will speak at the demonstration. While in Bonn, Germany for the United Nations climate talks, Brown was challenged by indigenous and frontline community advocates to keep fossil fuels in the ground, to which he responded, ‘Let’s put you in the ground.’”
ENERGY
DisabledSnarker writes—A Proposal for Rural Americans who Hate Government: End Rural Electrification: “So, people in rural America hate government intervention in private industry, be they taxes, worker safety regulations, consumer protections, etc. Every good thing that has happened in the last 100 years, they have some philosophical grievance with. So you know what, fine. Let's end a BIG example of interference in the poor oppressed private industry by the big bad government: Rural electrification. Back in the 30's, there was almost zero interest on the part of power companies in bringing electricity to small-town America. It was simply too expensive. The few places that got electricity got it at exorbitant prices until the Federal government stepped in. But by the logic of today's rural Americans, they never should have for the following reasons: 1. Providing electricity to rural America is totally expensive. It's more expensive than bringing electricity to urban areas. How dare the Feds tell the poor oppressed power companies how to spend their money. The power companies have the God-given right to choose whether they bring electricity to rural America or not and how much they charge. Damn those Federales for taking that freedom away!
2. There's nothing in the exact text of the Constitution that says the government can make power companies provide rural America with affordable electricity. [...]”
Fossil Fuels
Lefty Coaster writes—Washington Energy Council gives thumbs down on building Bakken oil export terminal on Columbia River: “Over the past decade the Pacific Northwest has been the object of a lot of interest from the fossil fuel industry for locating export terminals with a number of projects being proposed. Most have fallen by the wayside in a series of victories for local environmental activists in some instances, and in others the business cases no longer supported their financing and construction. The Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council in Olympia voted to reject a proposed $210 million oil terminal in Vancouver, Washington, on Tuesday. The terminal—which was supported by the oil and rail industries, and opposed by tribes, environmentalists, and Vancouver voters—would move 360,000 barrels of oil from the Bakken Shale fields in North Dakota and Montana to West Coast refineries, where it could then be shipped overseas to more lucrative energy markets. The terminal would occupy nearly 50 acres along the Columbia River, and opponents have been (rightly) concerned about potential derailments and explosion. Crude oil from the Bakken shale is especially flammable, and the trains that transport it, sometimes called "bomb trains," have been involved in high profile accidents, including a 2013 derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 and destroyed the town center.”
Dan Bacher writes—Western States Petroleum Association expands in-house lobbying team with newest staff addition: “Oil industry money ranked #1-3 among all California lobbyist spending from January through June 2017, with Chevron spending $7,130,322, WSPA $3,916,353 and Tesoro $2,452,913. As a result of this gusher of Big Oil lobbying money, every bill opposed by the oil industry with the exception of one has failed to pass out of the Legislature over the past three years. The oil industry used this money to pass Governor Jerry Brown’s cap-and-trade bill, AB 398, controversial legislation was based on a Big Oil wish list and was opposed by over 65 environmental justice, conservation and consumer organizations. They also spent their millions to defeat Senate Bill 188, a bill authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) to prohibit new pipelines or other infrastructure needed to support new federal oil and gas development.”
Skibird writes—Now we know Murkowski's price: barrels of oil: “Senator Elizabeth Warren just tweeted out that the GOP tax scam includes a rider aimed directly at buying Senator Murkowski’s vote: opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. I found more details here on Vox. When Senate Republicans set up ‘budget reconciliation,’ special legislative procedure that would allow the tax bill to advance with only 51 votes instead of the usual 60, they added a special rider that would appeal to Murkowski and her Alaska colleague Sen. Dan Sullivan. The provision would open sections of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and natural gas drilling — achieving a dream that Murkowski has been working on for the better part of a decade, a pursuit she picked up from her father Sen. Frank Murkowski. Murkowski, whose top campaign donors include oil and gas companies, made it one pillar of an ambitious energy plan she released in 2015.”
Emissions Controls & Carbon Taxes
Meteor Blades writes—Open thread for night owls: EPA held its only hearing on Clean Power Plan in West Virginia Tuesday: “’The EPA is having this hearing here because they think everyone in West Virginia opposes the Clean Power Plan,’ Bill Price, an organizer for the Sierra Club in West Virginia, told The New Republic. ‘We're going to show them differently.’ Repealing the Clean Power Plan (CPP)—a program designed to slash emissions from coal-fired power plans—has long been on EPA chief Scott Pruitt's extensive pro-fossil fuel to-do list. In October, the EPA publicly unveiled its official proposal to roll back the CPP, a move green groups vowed to fight in court and in the streets. On Tuesday, environmentalists took their fight straight to the EPA, arguing that contrary to Big Oil talking points, the CPP is vital for safeguarding public health and spurring job growth and innovation. ‘We can have both’ good jobs and a clean environment, David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council argued in his testimony. ‘We can—and we must—protect Americans' health and preserve the stability of our climate’.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Walter Einenkel writes—Wind power gusts past coal to become second largest electricity source in Texas: “As Republicans continue to lie about the the future of coal in the world, the Lone Star state reached a milestone on renewable electricity this past month. According to Chron 4, Texas’s wind power capacity surpassed coal for the first time. When a 155-megawatt wind farm in West Texas began commercial operation this month, it pushed the state's wind power capacity to more than 20,000 megawatts, surpassing 19,800 megawatts of capacity from coal-fired power plants, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees 90 percent of the state's grid. One megawatt is enough to power 200 homes on a hot Texas day. There is no need to fret for the “economically anxious,” as natural gas and coal still generate the majority of the state’s power—for now. America’s getting made great again, haven’t you heard?”
Walter Einenkel writes—There are 5,500 schools in the U.S. using solar power and that number is growing: “Schools from Virginia to California have been installing and relying on clean energy methods like solar in increasing numbers. It is being used as a learning tool for students and is being driven by the dropping costs of solar power. That mixed with the penny-pinching that federal and state budgets force upon our schools systems has been one silver-lining. Inside Climate News reports that just around 5 percent of all K-12 schools in the United States are using solar power. The nearly 5,500 schools using solar power today have a total of 910 megawatts of solar capacity, enough to power 190,000 homes, according to the study. The biggest reason for the surge is the economic benefits of solar energy. Drastic declines in price have made it financially viable for schools. Both public and private schools are reducing their electricity bills with solar, leaving them more money to spend on educational programs, according to the research. Many are also incorporating renewable energy into their science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) lessons. The states that have the most solar-powered schools are the same as the states that have the most residential solar power, with California accounting for a little over a third of all US schools using solar.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS, OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Meteor Blades writes—Trump to visit Utah Monday to announce shrinking of nat'l monuments. Tribes plan immediate lawsuit: “Anonymous sources have told reporters that Pr*@%!^#t Trump will visit Utah Monday to announce how many hundreds of thousands of acres he plans to chop from two national monuments in Utah. He doesn’t plan to visit the monuments, and he doesn’t plan to stay in Salt Lake City overnight even though he could easily get in nine holes at The Country Club. He probably won’t even still be in town when the first lawsuit is filed, something lawyers for the five tribes involved in getting Bears Ears National Monument approved say will happen the same day as his shrinkage announcement. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, a leading advocate of Bears Ears, has announced a rally and protest Saturday at the Utah Capitol. Juliet Eilperin reports: ‘This illegal action will cement Trump’s legacy as one of the worst presidents in modern history,’ said Randi Spivak, public lands program director at the advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity. ‘Trump has no clue how much people love these sacred and irreplaceable landscapes, but he’s about to find out. He’s shown his blatant disregard for public lands, Native Americans and the law. We look forward to seeing him in court.’”
Meteor Blades writes—Documents: Trump plans to announce a 50% cut in one Utah nat'l monument, an 85% cut in another: “As previously noted, Donald Trump will briefly visit Salt Lake City Monday to announce cuts in the size of two national monuments in Utah. Juliet Eilperin reported Thursday that the size of those cuts will be gigantic: President Trump plans to shrink Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent and reduce Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument nearly by half, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post that show the Utah sites would be cut even more than administration officials previously signaled. [...] The new proclamations, which also will split up both monuments into several smaller ones, would cut the overall size of Bears Ears from 1.35 million acres to 201,397 acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante from nearly 1.9 million acres to 997,490 acres.”
MISCELLANY
terrypinder writes—Will 2018 be "The Year Of The Earthquake?" “Earthquakes cannot be predicted. That right there is a fact you can take to the bank, and one that will remain good for probably a very long time. There are a lot of reasons why, but the main one is every earthquake starts the same, whether it’s a tiny one or it grows to be a big one. There’s really no way to tell which one will stay tiny and which one will grow to be a monster, and that’s probably not going to change anytime soon, if ever. But we can forecast them and we can observe they follow some rules. If an earthquake has happened in a place before, it’ll likely happen again. If industry is injecting fluids (of any type, from plain water for geothermal to toxic waste to salt brine to frackfluid for disposal) into certain geologic strata, it’ll likely cause an earthquake. Drain a quarry? Could cause an earthquake. Fill a quarry? Same thing. Build a big reservoir, yep, can induce a quake too. There are so many mining earthquakes (because of the use of explosives) that USGS doesn't post them on their realtime maps. Incidentally, it is very, very easy to artificially create an earthquake if the conditions are right-- which they are over much of the Earth’s surface.”