This is the 625th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the Dec. 28 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
Luna Reyna writes—Louisiana activists’ life or death battle against environmental racism: “In the Mississippi River parishes between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, many Black families have owned land for years that was once lush with rich soil and new opportunity. Now, the same 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River is known as ‘Death Alley’ due to the effects of the more than 150 plants and refineries that line the area. In 2017 alone, there were a reported 173 accidents where harsh chemicals like trichloroethylene and ethylene were released. The chemicals can cause headaches, liver damage, and even death if a person is exposed to high levels. Outside of the inevitable accidents that these plants have, they regularly emit pollutants like benzene, another carcinogen linked to aplastic anemia, acute leukemia, bone marrow failure, and cardiovascular disease. They also emit butadiene, a carcinogen linked to stomach and blood cancers. Other chemicals like chloroprene, emitted by Denka Performance Elastomer plant in St. John, causes everything from headaches to gastrointestinal disorders and is considered a ‘likely carcinogen’ according to the 2016 EPA’s National Air Toxics Assessment. This assessment is one of the many devastating revelations that led Louisiana residents to create the activist groups that now make up the Coalition Against Death Alley (CADA).”
Pakalolo writes—Half a billion animals incinerated in Australia: “Don’t worry, I won’t be sharing photos or videos of wildlife killed by the unprecedented heat and bushfires over the past few months in Australia. They turn my stomach into knots, but we do need to know how these climate change enhanced wildfires are killing wildlife from soil microbes to Koalas. And, it is not just mammals, but insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and marine life have all been affected. From the New Zealand Herald: There are real concerns entire species of plants and animals have been wiped out by bushfires following revelations almost 500 million animals have died since the crisis began. Ecologists from the University of Sydney now estimate 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have been lost since September. That figure is likely to soar following the devastating fires which have ripped through Victoria and the NSW South Coast over the past couple of days, leaving several people dead or unaccounted for, razing scores of homes and leaving thousands stranded, Harrowing scenes of kangaroos fleeing walls of fire, charred bodies of koalas and cockatoos falling dead out of trees have horrified the world as it tries to take in the scale of the unfolding disaster.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - New Year's open nature thread: “January 1, 2020. Pacific Northwest. First day of the calendar new year is windy out of the west, with a few patches of blue sky after a wet blustery night here in the Pacific Northwest. All day yesterday the wind was blowing rain sideways in a gusty 20+ knot wind. It’s quite warm, around 50°F. Snow level 7000’ but should be dropping later today. Even though New Year’s Day is an arbitrary marker of time, using our standard calendar, it can be a time to think about what we hope for in the coming year. In the world of nature, these are some of who I hope to cross paths with again in 2020.”
OceanDiver writes—BackyardBirdRace/Daily Bucket combo: End-of-year conclusions, 2019: “My personal report: Backyard general locale is coastal northwest Washington state, a mix of habitats from shrubs to woods to roadside to beach overlook. New birds this month: 0 with a Grand total for me this year: 77 Grand total for 2018, in same observing area: 76. What I found by comparing these years: • Similar number of species (and checklists submitted to eBird, which is how I’m tracking my observations) • Fewer waterbird species this year (geese, ducks, grebes) • More forest species (eg wrens, varied thrush, waxwing, rc kinglet).”
PHScott writes—The Daily Bucket: Winter Colors from the Florida Panhandle: “Howdy — here’s a bunch of photos taken over the last week of 2019. It’s more like fall in the Panhandle and we’ve yet to have a freeze so there is a mix of late fall and early winter wildflowers. And other random colorful shots from my woodsy hill. Enjoy!!”
kestrel writes—Dawn Chorus: Owl I Wanna Say is Happy New Year! “Owls are such unmistakable and fascinating creatures. Just as I think of hummingbirds as being at one end of the spectrum of “birds that aren’t like regular birds,” owls are at the other end. They are a world apart from the other perching (passerine) birds of which they are a part even though I’m contradicting myself with this statement. Owls are just — different. There are nineteen different species of owls in North America. They range in size from the Great Gray Owl, with a wingspan of more than four feet, to the tiny Elf Owl, which is not much bigger than a sparrow. I’ve only seen a few owls and chances are, you’ve had the same experience unless you’ve lived in a number of different places, as owls don’t stray much from their ranges.”
Lenny Flank writes—Photo Diary: Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, FL: “Now that it’s finally stopped raining in Ft Myers, I was able to spend a day on Sanibel Island. Very nice. :) Spent most of the day at the Ding Darling NWR, but there are also other trails on the island (and lots of bicycles everywhere). So here are some photos from a day spent wandering around the island.”
Lenny Flank writes—Photo Diary: Shell Museum, Sanibel Island FL: “I had a great time here. Although it’s not a very large museum, it is more than just looking at seashells—there are hands-on displays and talks that teach an awful lot about mollusk biology (and they are in the process of expanding to add a bunch of live-animal exhibits).”
Dan Bacher writes—Zero Delta Smelt Found in CA Department of Fish and Wildlife Survey Two Years in a Row: “The Delta smelt, once the most populous species on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, continues its long slide towards extinction. For the second year in a row, the CDFW in its annual fall midwater trawl survey in 2019 found zero Delta smelt during the months of September, October, November and December. Found only in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, the smelt is an indicator species that shows the health of the ecosystem. Decades of water exports and environmental degradation under the state and federal governments have brought the smelt to the edge of extinction. In spite of portraying their administrations as ‘green,’ Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom did nothing to reverse the slide towards extinction. Meanwhile, the Trump administration recently finalized a plan that threatens the Delta smelt, salmon and other fish species even more than they already are by maximizing Delta water exports to corporate agribusiness interests in the San Joaquin Valley.”
RonK writes—The Daily Bucket: Polypore Fungi take on Honey Bee viruses and Colony Collapse Disorder: “I’ve become interested in fungi over the past few years and am both enamored and overwhelmed by them. They are so amazing. The other domains of life almost can’t live without fungi but then in some cases, we almost can’t live with certain of them. As is the case for most living things, they have both beneficial and detrimental qualities. Here I will focus on the more positive and salutary aspects of these critters, at least for us. And they are almost critters as fungi are evolutionary-wise considered closer to the animal kingdom than to the plant kingdom. Because of my interest in fungi, I recently viewed a documentary film: ‘Fantastic Fungi.’ The documentary was fantastic both for its content as well as its incredible cinematography (e.g. time lapse growth) and graphics. That was great in itself but the documentary also proposed a fascinating idea - that some of these fungi might have therapeutic properties useful in combating the significant problems of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that is killing pollinating bees and compromising much of our agriculture. For major film Reviews here. To view the Trailer, here, you’ll see what I mean.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Pakalolo writes—Thousands celebrating New Years Eve in Australia flee into the ocean to escape raging bushfires: “Climate change, it’s here. Perhaps it is time that the world helps Australia in their moment of need. It is like Armageddon in many areas of the continent. Yesterday, over 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate a huge swath of land in Victoria state, known as Gippsland, as soaring temperatures sparked dry lightening creating apocalyptic wildfires. Today, thousands are trapped on a beach in the town of Mallacoota as a massive firewall of over 65 feet bears down on them. [...] The out-of-control fire reached the town in the morning and about 4,000 people fled to the coastline, with Country Fire Authority members working to protect them. The town had not been told to evacuate on Sunday when the rest of East Gippsland was, and authorities decided it was too dangerous to move them on Monday. People reported hearing gas bottles explode as the fire front reached the town, and the sound of sirens telling people to get in the water.”
Pakalolo writes—Australian Navy begins to evacuate the stranded in Malacoota; Morris faces the restless natives: “A mass evacuation is underway in Mallacoota where more than 4,000 locals and holidaymakers have been stranded since the devastating bushfires on New Year's Eve. There are a lot of dramatic photos at the link. A mass evacuation is underway in Mallacoota where more than 4,000 locals and holidaymakers have been stranded since the devastating bushfires on New Year's Eve. The first evacuees boarded the Navy ship, the MV Sycamore, from the fire ravaged coastal town at 8.40am on Friday - just 24 hours before catastrophic weather conditions are forecast to whip up more blazes. About 100 people, including families with small children, were seen wearing masks and carrying just a few personal items as they were escorted by military personnel to the wharf early in the morning. Some even managed to save their pets, which were along for the journey too. The voyage to Western Port in southern Victoria, which is expected to take 20 hours, comes after thousands of people spent four days in limbo after being told it was too dangerous to leave the seaside town following the bushfires on Tuesday.”
Pakalolo writes—Fire and heat conditions in Australia 'may not be survivable' for those 'too late' to escape in time: “The firestorms continue unabated in smoldering Australia. If you are a praying person, now would be the time as extreme conditions threaten the lives of thousands of our brothers and sisters down under. From Huffington Post Australia, authorities warn that fire conditions may not be survivable as it is for many, too late to leave. Richard Flanagan writes in the NY Times: Since 1996 successive conservative Australian governments have successfully fought to subvert international agreements on climate change in defense of the country’s fossil fuel industries. Today, Australia is the world’s largest exporter of both coal and gas. It recently was ranked 57th out of 57 countries on climate-change action. In no small part Mr. Morrison owes his narrow election victory earlier this year to the coal-mining oligarch Clive Palmer, who formed a puppet party to keep the Labor Party — which had been committed to limited but real climate-change action — out of government. Mr. Palmer’s advertising budget for the campaign was more than double that of the two major parties combined. Mr. Palmer subsequently announced plans to build the biggest coal mine in Australia.”
Mark Sumner writes—Australia welcomes in 2020, and shows the world the devastating effects of the climate crisis: “All along the southeastern coast of Australia, hundreds of thousands are standing under red skies all too familiar to those in California and elsewhere who have experienced unprecedented wildfires over the last few years. As with other locations where people are seeing their hillsides burn, the driving factor in the abrupt increase in fires is the climate crisis. Changing periods of rain, and prolonged periods of drought, are driving a cycle that creates a tinderbox of brush. In just the last two years, that’s led to the burning of millions of hectares of wildlife habit, as well as the destruction of numerous towns. And a big part of the way the climate crisis is affecting Australia is also the most straightforward: It’s simply getting hotter. On Monday, every single state in Australia topped 40° C (104° F). Accompanied by stiff, bone-dry winds, the high temperatures are directing fires from inland and sending them roaring toward the coasts to engulf the areas where most Australians live.”
Mark Sumner writes—Fires in Australia driving their own hellish weather of 'pyro' clouds and dry lightning storms: “Images and stories from 2018 and 2019 fires in California introduced Americans to terms like ‘fire tornado’ and ‘pyrocumulonimbus.’ Now the fires in Australia, which have already burned an area many times greater than the worst year in California in just the last two months, are taking fire-created weather to the next level. As Reuters reports, the widespread fires are bringing their own fire-driven weather systems, including fire-thunderstorms that don’t produce rain, but do produce abundant dry lightning. That lightning in turn sparks more fires. These storms help spread the fire more quickly, generate new fires from both lightning and widely distributed embers, and produce unpredictable winds that make fighting the fires much more dangerous. And if some of the fire tornadoes pictured in U.S. fires have seemed more akin to dust devils than to anything that would be measured on the Fujita scale, that is absolutely not the case for a storm that killed a firefighter on Monday. As a soaring pyrocumulonimbus cloud collapsed, it generated a tightening spiral, ultimately forming a fire tornado powerful enough to flip a ten ton fire truck.”
Liberal Thinking writes—Australian Humanitarian Crisis: “This is a very simple post to point to coverage of the fires in Australia, which as the Daily Mail says, means ‘Australian towns teeter on brink of a humanitarian crisis.’ I encourage you to click through to their extensive coverage of the Australian brush fires. Particularly frightening are the ground-level pictures of firefighters battling the fires and the satellite photos showing their extent. I have been horrified by the wildfires in California (where I lived 25 years) over the last few years, both by their ferocity and extent. At times, it seemed like the whole state was burning. But an entire continent … Words fail me.”
Rei writes—Exxon-Mobil Australia does their best to win a "Tone-Deaf Tweet of the Year" award: “In the middle of unprecedented bushfires, a wave that’s a direct result of global warming, which have been casting blood-red skies over major cities, destroying homes, taking people’s lives, and killed huge numbers of wildlife, including up to 30% of the koala population in New South Wales... Exxon-Mobil decided to tweet this:
Seriously… the country is on fire a a result of climate change from CO2 emissions, and you, who’ve been aware for half a century that your product would cause this future, yet spent the time up to now funding climate-denialism think tanks, thought now would be a good time to tell people to ‘have fun this new year’? The responses have been racking up:
AKALib writes—Climate Science, Global Warming and Australian Bushfires: “By now, everyone is familiar with the apocalyptic scenes of bushfires that have been ravaging Australia for several months in 2019, destroying forests, wildlife and homes. The scenes from Eastern Australia this week have been especially horrific, with entire town beings evacuated to beaches, some people taking refuge in lakes and ocean waters. Bushfires are not new to Australia, but the intensity and extent of the current bushfires is unprecedented. What are the underlying causes of these intense bushfires in Australia and elsewhere? In this diary, we take a deeper look at some of the climate and weather forecasting science for Australia and the factors that influence weather and bushfires in the Australasia region. We also examine some connections between bushfires and global warming. Please note that I am not a climate scientist; most of this information is culled from articles written by climate experts and weather organizations.”
AKALib writes—Mr. Morrison goes to town and gets an earful from Angry Australians: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is not a popular figure in these days of apocalyptic bushfires. You could say he gets no respect from the victims of the fires, even when goes to town to console them and lend them a sympathetic ear. Instead he got an earful himself from angry residents who lost their homes and livelihoods in days of relentless fires; he got peppered with expletives and had to force reluctant residents to shake hands with him in front of the TV cameras. Take a look at this video (you might want to ask the kids to leave the room, these Aussies are rather colorful with their language, when they get angry) -
Meteor Blades writes—Deniers still say 'hoax,' but Oxford Dictionaries made 'climate emergency' its Word of the Year: “Over at the Oxford Languages HQ, however, they—plural—couldn’t keep their choice for the year contained in a single word: ‘climate emergency.’ Too bad they have no way to get the print media to ensure that all-too-accurate expression appears always in boldface caps. The company publishes the authoritative Oxford English Dictionary among other language-oriented publications. Oxford said, ‘Our research reveals a demonstrable escalation in the language people are using to articulate information and ideas concerning the climate. This is most clearly encapsulated by the rise of climate emergency in 2019.’ Even last year, people usually picked ‘emergency’ when talking about health issues, hospital trips, and other family situations requiring immediate action, Oxford stated in a post on its website. ‘With climate emergency, we see something new, an extension of emergency to the global level, transcending these more typical uses.’ Climate is now three times more likely to be heard in the context of ‘emergency’ than health.”
Mark Sumner writes—The last decade gave us a preview of the climate crisis ahead, and it's definitely a horror show: “As The Washington Post reports, what we saw in the last decade gives us a preview of what that world will be like, and what we can expect as the climate crisis brings us a planet rapidly shifting away from the one we have known. One of the things that the Post’s study shows is that while the world has in fact seen a net semi-regular increase in temperatures, as researchers have been predicting for decades, how that change applies to any given area in any given year varies widely. Alaska has seen huge, steady increases in temperature that have left areas of the coastline free of ice for the first time in millennia, sent glaciers roaring into reverse, and turned areas of permafrost into far-from-permanent seas of mud. Meanwhile, the middle of the North American continent has seen a kind of tick-tock progression, with years of well-above-average temperatures followed by regular dips that fall below even the 20th-century average. Those cycles are closely connected to ocean currents that are being heavily rerouted by the growing heat stored deep in the sea, and to polar circulations that are being destabilized by growing warmth at the top of the world. [...] What does the climate crisis look like? It looks like fires in Australia that are driving both people and an ecosystem to the brink. It looks like floods in the Midwest that are washing away crops, and farms, and whole towns. It looks like tent cities on the borders of Syria, and desperately overloaded boats trying to reach a Europe determined to push them away. It looks like tired people leading their children along highways toward a walled-off United States. It looks like Brexit. It looks like Trump. And it gets worse from here.”
Joan McCarter writes—Al Gore is still trying to save the earth, and he's got some very good ideas: “The new President we have in January 2021 should do one key thing in her first 100 days: talk to former Vice President Al Gore. Maybe even make him her Climate Czar. Here's just one reason for doing so—he's looking for solutions. In this case, carbon farming. Or, basically, farming like people farmed for thousands of years before the use of petrochemicals and monoculture. It's regenerative farming that makes the most of what healthy topsoil does: grow food while sucking up and storing carbon, more than three times as much as forests. Instead of being a carbon emitter (now it creates about 14% of the greenhouse gas emissions going into the atmosphere) to being a net absorber, actually capturing and storing carbon from the atmosphere. Gore has been working on this at his 400-acre farm in Carthage, Tennessee, where he also has a training program for climate activists and a carbon farming demonstration project.”
Helenoftrouble writes—David Roberts at Vox Reports Global Temperatures Will Rise Past Paris Target: “Today, David Roberts at Vox reported that it will not be possible to limit global warming to 1.5˚C. I must admit I did not see it until Kevin Drum at Mother Jones pointed it out. Climate scientists don’t always admit how dire things are because they don’t want people to give up. If we had peaked and begun steadily reducing emissions 20 years ago, the necessary pace of reductions would have been around 3 percent a year, which is ... well, “realistic” is too strong — it still would have required rapid, coordinated action of a kind never seen before in human history — but it was at least possible to envision. Now, to hit 1.5˚C, emissions would need to fall off a cliff, falling by 15 percent a year every year, starting in 2020, until they hit net zero. That’s probably not going to happen. Temperature is almost certainly going to rise more than 1.5˚C. A lot of climate activists are extremely averse to saying so. In fact, many of them will be angry with me for saying so, because they believe that admitting to this looming probability carries with it all sorts of dire consequences and implications. Lots of people in the climate world — not just activists and politicians, but scientists, journalists, and everyday concerned citizens — have talked themselves into a kind of forced public-facing optimism, despite the fears that dog their private thoughts. They believe that without that public optimism, the fragile effort to battle climate change will collapse completely.”
annieli writes—Anti-Capitalist Meet-Up: The Big and Small of addressing the Climate Crisis: “With the current electoral politics, the most likely outcome in 2020 could be some form of “Big Structural Change” where in the US, the Green New Deal (GND) is only a start. In a de facto binary contest the other option will be more of the same looting of the national economy with the threat of global economic chaos. Capitalists’ response to this is to maintain their wealth by bureaucratic means beyond capturing the administrative state by manipulating law and economics no differently than how 25% of US federal judgeships will be occupied by Trumpists. In international policy, the path to the emergency is focused only on trade profit, with no expectation of altering environmental policies. Rather, four years of continued rollback of existing regulatory policies might hasten multiple tipping points. Public policy canons depend on Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) bandaged by sensitivity analysis, and symptomatic of the limitations on neoliberal methodologies. CBA is always limited by scale and in a case of global crisis no reliance on policies constrained by CBA will solve a climate crisis.”
CompassionateEarther writes—You probably Won't Like this piece on Climate Change: “I’m not gonna talk about how many parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere is safe. I’m not gonna talk about cap and trade legislation or whether nuclear energy is part of the solution. I’m not gonna talk about mass extinction. Others are more qualified to address those points. It’s just me, the non-scientist non-statistician talking to you about how we can do more in our own lives. I am continually dismayed at how most people, even those who profess to care about climate change, do so little in their own lives to combat it. I’m amazed how few people bring reusable bags to the grocery store. I’m amazed how many people don’t turn out lights when they leave a room. I’m amazed how many people buy bottled water and use plastic straws just for convenience. I could go on. I’ve heard all the excuses. I’ve made them myself. I can’t remember to put the bags in the car before I shop. My drink comes with a straw already in it. Bottled water is how I get my family to drink water. I’m too busy to sacrifice convenience. Here are some suggestions.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Friday: Glaciers, Sea Ice, Permafrost Melting Much Faster Than Predicted: “Denialists always claim that the scientific climate models are necessarily wrong, because Global Warming is a hoax. Unfortunately, the models are always wrong. The reality turns out to be worse each time. And here we are again. One of the world's thickest mountain glaciers is melting because of global warming. The Taku Glacier north of Juneau, Alaska, has started to retreat as temperatures rise, said Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College in Massachusetts. Up until now, of the 250 glaciers he has studied, all had retreated except one: Taku Glacier. But an analysis shows Taku has lost mass and joined the rest of the retreating glaciers. Canada's glaciers are fast melting and exposing 40,000-year-old-lands. May 23, 2019—It has been nearly 120,000 years since Earth was this warm, and 40,000 years since some ice-swathed Arctic lands have seen the sun.”
Angmar writes—Climate Crisis: 'Planet is at stake' Global figures react: “Queen's Christmas Day Speech 2019 Praises Environmental Campaigners. The Queen has been ‘struck’ by the “sense of purpose” younger generations have shown in tackling issues like climate change, she said in her Christmas Day message. Her comments follow a year which has seen young people inspired to become environmental campaigners by the example of schoolgirl activist Greta Thunberg The Queen said in her message: ‘The challenges many people face today may be different to those once faced by my generation, but I have been struck by how new generations have brought a similar sense of purpose to issues such as protecting our environment and our climate’.”
joedemocrat writes—What Would Our World Be Like Today If Exxon Had Told The Truth? A Case Of Failed Leadership: “How would our world be different today if Exxon had decided to act like leaders, tell the public what it knew, partner with governments to transition off fossil fuels, and become a clean energy company? Would other fossil fuel companies have followed Exxon’s lead? Would so many Americans today believe climate change is a hoax? Would climate change have been a bipartisan issue? Would the world face a climate emergency? Would we have millions of climate refugees? Would scientists be talking about humanity entering the sixth mass extinction? Would climate scientists such as Dr. James Hansen be saying former fossil fuel executives should be put on trial for crimes against humanity? Or would we have solved or be well on our way to solving the problem? Would transitioning to a clean energy economy allowed us to create millions of jobs and solve our economic inequality problem with the same dollars? I continue to favor a Green New Deal.”
ECO-ACTION & ECO JUSTICE
e2247 writes—Greta's news on 12-30-19 is worth listening to: “Greta Thunberg edits this news we don’t get in the U.S. Here's her wide-ranging BBC 4 Radio program 12-30-19. At 1:31:30 Greta’s father, Svante, discusses causes and consequences for her family fully supporting Greta’s work. Listen (has control button to jump, rewind, or fast forward) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000cn3h. Greta’s Ice-themed edit 1st hour Features: At 15:42 airline impacts on climate chaos; At 43:00 the sleeping giant at the bottom of the world that’s awakening; At 49:45 interviewing Kevin Anderson, Energy and Climate Change prof., School of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering, Manchester U. & former Director, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (9-20-19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na1aHtv0OKI) who engages widely across all tiers of government on issues of shale gas, aviation & shipping to the role of climate modeling (IAMs), carbon budgets & so-called ‘negative emission technologies; At 54:55 Biodiversity impact of Climate chaos.”
certainot writes—Australia's burning, the reefs are dying, and 87 American universities support global warming denial: “It really is that simple. By not beginning to look for apolitical alternatives to broadcast sports on radio at the 87 universities listed below, they continue to attract community credibility and advertising revenue to help fund global warming denial on 260 major Republican talk radio stations featuring Limbaugh, reaching tens of millions of Americans every day. When the radio talkers on those stations are not actually denying the impending climate catastrophe and attacking activists like Greta Thunberg they are working to elect and reelect Republicans and delay action. I lived in Australia for 5 years and camped and dove on the Great Barrier Reef. It is really fucked up that these universities continue to allow themselves to be used to support global warming denial. And it is really fucked up for the major environmental organizations to keep taking donations but do nothing about this idiocy. They’re wasting resources by ignoring it.”
ENERGY
Fossil Fuels & Emissions Controls
K S LaVida writes—Stupid carbon virtue signaling: The return of Reddy Kilowatt: “Some of you may remember when the electric industry was promoting itself rather aggressively. Reddy Kilowatt was their mascot, created in the 1920s by Alabama Power. [...] Reddy’s new incarnation is virtue-signaling laws that prohibit new houses from having any heating or cooking fuel except electricity. The idea is that it is possible to generate electricity from renewable wind and solar, so therefore all energy should be electric. Some cities and towns have already passed these laws. Brookline, Mass., for instance, just did, and its fellow limousine-liberal neighbor Newton is talking about it too. [...] If you use gas-fired electricity to heat water or cook, you’re wasting about half the power. The power plant itself has inherent inefficiencies (ah, physics, the laws that even Congress can’t change). Then there are losses in the transmission and distribution network. So gas-fired electric stoves put around twice as much carbon into the atmosphere as gas stoves. Same with dryers. Heating with electricity is not so bad any more because of heat pumps, which are far more efficient than the old resistive heaters. But it still usually costs more than gas, which suggests a higher net carbon use. At least that one part of the equation comes close to break even when electrified, and the best heat pumps might actually come out ahead.But we are literally decades away from having a grid that doesn’t use carbon to generate electricity.”
Galtisalie writes—It’s the oil too: wagging dog also expands Brent-WTI spread, benefitting US oil companies: “As Trump undoubtedly wags the dog through fomenting war with Iran (m.dailykos.com/...), he also is expanding the Brent-WTI spread (www.thebalance.com/...: ‘Brent refers to oil that is produced in the Brent oil fields and other sites in the North Sea. ... Its oil price is the benchmark for African, European, and Middle Eastern crude. The pricing mechanism for Brent dictates the value for roughly two-thirds of the world's crude oil production.’), benefiting US oil companies. This is a matter of geography and economics. The Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran, connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil chokepoint because of the large volumes of oil that flow through the strait. (www.eia.gov/...) US oil companies are hurt by relative lack of hostilities. This past summer, it was observed: Oil prices in August: Last weekend, the talks ended positively between the West and Iran. If the talks are successful, there could be more weakness in oil prices early in August. The security issues for tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz added upside in oil.”
Renewables, Efficiency, Energy Storage & Conservation
Meteor Blades writes—Cities, counties, and states commit to 100% renewables, which ought to be our national goal: “While the signatories to the Paris agreement are supposed to arrive at COP26 in Glasgow next year with upgraded pledges of emission cuts, almost none of them is on a trajectory to fulfill their existing pledges, which everyone agrees aren’t nearly strong enough. Depressing as this is, there are glimmers of hope. Focusing activism on local leaders, climate hawks can ratchet those glimmers into beacons. That sometimes will mean being ‘in the streets’ to put the pressure on and also mean getting out the vote to elect the right people to office. The right people are neither climate science deniers nor climate policy delayers. The right people like these: An unprecedented coalition of U.S. states, cities, businesses, communities of faith, universities, health care and cultural institutions, and other organizations are now acting to fulfill America’s climate pledge to the world. This commitment is reflected in the large number of American actors continuing to back the Paris Agreement, including members of the We Are Still In network, U.S. Climate Alliance, Climate Mayors, We Mean Business, and many others.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Tuesday: New Year's Eve Open Thread: “I'm in the hospital for some mild issues, so today I'm going to let you, the readers, do most of the writing in preparation for New Year's Eve. Here, to get you started: Top 10 Most Exciting Environmental Stories From 2019 Raise Hope for An Eco-Friendly Year Ahead. With countless businesses, individuals, governments, and organizations joining in on the fight against climate change, these ten headlines from 2019 show that we have made more than a few notable strides in saving the world. 10. Dutch Company Unveiled the World’s First Long-Range Solar Car: The 4-Passenger Lightyear One. It can charge directly from the sun, but also can be plugged in. The roof and hood are comprised of five square meters of integrated solar cells in safety glass so strong that a fully-grown adult can walk on them without causing dents.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Wednesday: Fire Drill Fridays with Jane Fonda and Code Pink: “Protestors Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Ted Danson, Catherine Keener, Diane Lane, Sam Waterston, Sally Field, Rev. William Barber, Dolores Huerta, Taylor Schilling, Kyra Sedgwick, maybe Don Cheadle and Mark Ruffalo…I'll watch that movie. Fire Drill Fridays /CODEPINK: We celebrate Jane Fonda's inspiring Fire Drill Fridays and invite you to Join her in raising awareness about the urgent need for climate justice. [...] This hasn't changed. The Right has never forgiven our Jane for…well, anything. I'm actually surprised not to see worse on Twitter. (Don't tell me where I can find it, please.)”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Thursday: Fracking is a Ponzi Scheme: “When Wall Street tells you and your customers and banks you are running a Ponzi scheme, in so many words, you and they should pay attention. Fracking has been promising unbeatable profits to banks and investors for decades, and has nothing to show for it but looming bankruptcies. Divest. But don't take my word for it. Analysts have been telling anyone who will listen for years. Wall Street Tells Frackers to Stop Counting Barrels, Start Making Profits. In the past decade, the shale-fracking revolution has made the U.S. the world’s largest oil-and-gas producer and reshaped markets. Yet shale has been a lousy bet for most investors. Since 2007, shares in an index of U.S. producers have fallen 31%, according to data provider FactSet, while the S&P 500 rose 80%. Energy companies in that time have spent $280 billion more than they generated from operations on shale investments, according to advisory firm Evercore ISI. Divest. Get an electric car, too. They cost less than gas guzzlers.”
RoyMorrison writes—Renewable Energy Transition Market Rules Strategy: “It's time to overcome the crisis of the imagination that constrains our ability to do what must be done to avert climate catastrophe, or even have serious discussions in the midst of ever deepening ecological crisis. By taking some or all of the clear steps considered here that are clearly within our ability to build, regulate and legislate, we will potentiate and quickly accelerate an ecological turn. They represent our ability to develop an effective mixture of carrots and sticks to rapidly accelerate renewable development. 1. Cap and Replace. Imposing a mandatory and progressive annual reduction in fossil fuel production, starting at 5% annually, increasing to 10% annually, and reaching 100% in 20 years unless carbon is removed before or during combustion, or carbon dioxide captured after combustion. [...] 2. SustainabilityCredits (SCs) to Monetize Carbon Displacement & Produce $Trillions to Invest in Renewable Transformation. [...] ”
Magnifico writes—Overnight News Digest: 47% of Denmark Powered by Wind: “Denmark Sets New Record for Wind Energy, Putting Us All to Shame. Denmark hit a major renewable energy milestone in 2019, producing nearly half of its electricity from wind wind alone. State-run energy operator Energinet announced its new wind record on Twitter Thursday. The renewable energy source now makes up 47 percent of the country’s energy consumption, heating the previous record set in 2017 of 43 percent. This boost is, in large part, due to the launch of the country’s largest offshore wind farm in the North Sea this year. The Horns Rev 3 wind farm generates enough energy to power about 425,000 Danish homes. The country has been quickly transitioning toward wind energy due to its location on the gusty North Sea. The sea’s bountiful winds are also key to UK clean energy aspirations. The country went live with the world’s largest offshore wind farm last year.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Mokurai writes—EV Tuesday: Electric Cars are NormalNow: "You know what's weird? People who pretend that there is something weird and wrong about electric cars. The NormalNow Web site explodes the persistent negative myths about electric cars. They have become normal cars with normal costs and range driven by normal people. [...] ELECTRIC CARS. THEY'RE NORMAL NOW. [...] New technology always seems weird at first. Take electric cars. They may seem a little different. But with faster recharging times, longer vehicle ranges, and lots of models to choose from, they’re just like driving a typical gas-powered car. So, come back to the twenty-first century. Scroll down to learn how electric cars are normal now."
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Governor releases water portfolio including voluntary agreements, Delta Tunnel and Sites Reservoir: “The Gavin Newsom Administration yesterday released a controversial draft water resilience portfolio with a ‘suite of recommended actions to help California cope with more extreme droughts and floods, rising temperatures, declining fish populations, aging infrastructure and other challenges.’ Salmon advocates criticized the portfolio for supporting agribusiness-promoted voluntary agreements for the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems, promoting a single-tunnel conveyance project and fast tracking the Sites Reservoir, arguing that these actions could equal ‘death for salmon.’ The California Natural Resources Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Food and Agriculture said they developed the draft to fulfill Governor Gavin Newsom’s April 29 executive order calling for a portfolio of actions ‘to ensure the state’s long-term water resilience and ecosystem health,’ according to a press release from the California Department of Water Resources.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
Mark Sumner writes—EPA's own Trump-appointed board scolds it for actions that ignore science: “Since the day he moved into the White House, Donald Trump has done everything possible to reduce the effectiveness of the EPA. That not only included turning the whole agency over to lobbyists, and removing regulations, but dismissing scientists by the score. However, there is still a Scientific Advisory Board which was established along with the agency in 1978. That board is now dominated by members, several of them non-scientists, who were appointed to their positions by Trump. Last week that board posted a set of draft reports about how EPA’s recent actions align with scientific data. Spoiler alert: They don’t. What the drafts show is that the actions taken the Trump EPA—and in particular the reclassification of waterways that rolls back the “Waters of the United States” definition made under Barack Obama—don’t just weaken regulations in a way that represents a threat to the public and environment. Perhaps even more importantly, the board loaded with Trump appointees repeatedly made it clear that the regulations weren’t just bad, but they were directly counter to the best scientific information.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Mokurai writes—Renewable Monday: The Terraton/IndigoAg Initiative to Sequester a Teraton of CO2: “We have to sequester a teraton of CO2 ASAP in order to restore the atmosphere and oceans, and start to drive global temperatures downward. Among several methods being tried, today's idea is paying farmers to get more carbon in their soils using regenerative agriculture. A carbon removal subsidy rather than a tax. The Terraton Initiative: Agriculture is the most advanced technology for addressing climate change. Scalable, affordable & immediate: Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen dramatically over the past century. Our goal is to remove 1 trillion tons of it and bring the concentration back to pre-Industrial Revolution levels. To accomplish that we have to both cut our emissions and draw down the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While climate change can seem insurmountable, agriculture presents a scalable solution that we can act on right now, starting with the soil beneath our feet.”
ninkasi23 writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blog: v16.01: A New Year, A New Garden Journal: “Good morning SMGB regulars and newcomers alike and welcome to the new year of Saturday Morning Garden Blogging! Along with resolutions, starting a new journal or planner at the beginning of the calendar year is pretty popular if not traditional. While there’s not much happening out in the garden it is the perfect time to tend to the planning and dreaming. While I’ve had attempts at keeping a garden journal here and there over the years I only recently managed to keep it up for over a year. What really got me started was receiving this beautiful garden journal as a gift. One of my fondest memories of my Great-Aunt is how she had stacks and stacks of steno notebooks tucked away in her desk that were daily weather observations going back years. I remember how she would have her current one sitting on her side table with a pen, the Old Farmer’s Almanac, and a copy of Llewellyn’s Moon Sign book for the year. Every day she would note the temperature, humidity, wind, etc. in her steno notebooks. It was a fascinating glimpse into a lifetime of observations of the local climate. Even though we have apps and technology to track those little daily details now I wanted to start my own ‘almanac’ so to speak. I love how stopping and taking a moment to physically write and observe is a reminder to pay attention to the world right outside our window.”
MISCELLANY
Alan Singer writes—Humanity is Destroying the Environment – A Bad Omen for 2020: “I am sorry for starting my 2020 posts this way, but we cannot wait. As Greta Thunberg so powerful put it at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last January, ‘Our house is on fire.’ According to the latest science, ‘we are less than 12 years away from not being able to undo our mistakes,’ and that was a year ago. India and China burn coal. Brazil and Indonesia burn rainforests. Trump’s U.S. and Australia just burn. The Earth warms. Storms surge. Cities choke. Findings in a recently released United Nations Environment Program report are ‘bleak’. [...] Even if every country honored its current carbon reduction pledge, average global temperature will still reach 8⁰F higher than it was in the pre-industrial era. In response to the report, Alden Meyer, director of policy and strategy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, pleaded ‘We are sleepwalking toward a climate catastrophe and need to wake up and take urgent action.’ A big cause of additional pollution in the United States is the increased use of fuel-wasting SUVs and small trucks. Even countries like Canada and Norway, which pursue environmentally friendly policies at home, contribute to global warming by expanding fossil fuel extraction and sales in other countries.”