Three tropical cyclones churned the waters around Australia on March 11, 2015,
including Pam, one of the strongest storms ever in the region. See FishOutofWater's post
here
Many environmentally related posts appearing at Daily Kos each week don't attract the attention they deserve. To help get more eyeballs, Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) normally appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The most recent Wednesday Spotlight can be seen here. More than
22,400 environmentally oriented diaries have been rescued for inclusion in this weekly collection since 2006. Inclusion of a diary in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
Super El Nino Likely as Huge Warm Water Wave Hits West Coast, Extreme Marine Die Off Developing—by
FishOutofWater: "In early March, the strongest wave of tropical convection ever measured (known as the Madden Julian Oscillation) by modern meteorology moved into the western Pacific from Indonesian waters bringing an outbreak of 3 tropical cyclones, including deadly category 5 Pam which ravaged the south Pacific islands of Vanuatu. This extreme outburst of tropical storms and organized thunderstorms pulled strong westerly winds across the equator, unleashing a huge surge of warm water below the ocean surface. Normally, trade winds blow warm water across the Pacific from the Americas to Australia and Indonesia, pushing up sea level in the west Pacific. When the trade winds suddenly reversed to strong westerlies, it was as if a dam burst, but on the scale of the earth's largest ocean, the Pacific. The front edge of that massive equatorial wave, called a Kelvin wave, is now coming ashore on the Americas. [...] The forecast of a strong El Nino brings good news to California. NOAA's CFSv2 model is forecasting above well above normal precipitation for October through December, 2015. Because models are forecasting El Nino conditions to continue through January 2016 there is a good chance that heavy winter rains will break the California drought. The downside will be massive landslides and flooding in areas that have been affected by recent wild fires."
New Oil Drilling in West Scarred Land, Harmed Ecosystems, Used Water = 3 Lake Superiors—by
Steven D: "A recent study published in the prestigious journal Science shows that the fragile ecosystems of the West have suffered extensive damage as a result of increased drilling for oil and gas. This damage resulted from the complete removal of all native trees, shrubs and grasses on land used used for new (not existing) drilling operations conducted during the years of 2000-2012. How large is the affected area? It's huge. From Scientific American:
New research shows that an area larger than the land area of Maryland—more than 11,500 square miles—was completely stripped of trees, grasses and shrubs to make way for more than 50,000 new oil and gas wells that were developed each year between 2000 and 2012. Such broad industrialization may harm the ability of some regions to recover from drought and damage the ability of the land to store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As this graphic from the research paper, 'Ecosystem services lost to oil and gas in North America,' published on April 24, 2015, shows, most of this new drilling occurred in the Rocky Mountain and Northern Plains region of the US and Canada."
You can find more rescued green diaries below the orange garden layout.
"The kids aren't all right"—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "New polling of young adults from the Harvard Public Opinion Project is getting deniers excited about the future. It found that 18 to 20-year-olds were the group least inclined to agree with the statement, 'Global warming is a proven fact and is mostly caused by emissions from cars and industrial facilities such as power plants.' The polling also showed that only around a third of those surveyed agreed the government should do more on climate at the expense of economic growth. Again, the youngest group was also the most conservative, flying in the face of conventional wisdom. Chris Mooney at WaPo looks at the survey, noting the 'somewhat odd question setup' that splits the 'global warming is a proven fact' option into man-made and natural-caused. As a result, respondents were divided about the cause of warming, with 20% thinking the causes are natural and 55% knowing its human-caused. Mooney notes that this is about equal to the general public, leading to the conclusion (and headline) that millennials aren't that different from their parents, at least on climate."
Dear Bill Gates, Will you lead on climate change?—by VL Baker: "We've tried everything else, it's time to ask a member of our own oligarchy if he will lead us in humanities greatest challenge. The Gates Foundation has done many good things including helping to tackle polio, HIV, malaria, sanitation, and much more. The Guardian's Keep It In The Ground campaign is calling on Bill Gates to lead by pulling out of fossil fuel investment and investing in renewable energy."
"Lest We Forget Those Who Denied"—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "As a tribute to six of the UK's leading climate change deniers, Anglia Ruskin University student Ian Wolter created a masterpiece. This 'oil painting'/ sculpture won the school's annual Sustainability Art Prize and is now officially our new favorite work of art. Elegant in its simplicity, the work is a seven-foot tall black faux-stone slab, with an inscription of the six deniers' names beneath the words, "Lest We Forget Those Who Denied.' Flowing over the words is a continuous stream of motor oil. Among those immortalized are "journalists" Melanie Phillips, James Delingpole and Chirstopher Booker and politicians Nigel Lawson, Christopher Monckton and Owen Paterson. Delingpole, being entirely devoid of any normal sense of shame, glows over having 'been celebrated and immortalised' by the installation."
Jon Stewart and his wife bought a farm, plan to create an animal sanctuary—by Jen Hayden: "Jon Stewart is preparing for life after The Daily Show. Jon and his wife, Tracey, have long been involved in animal charities and they appear to be ready to get even more hands-on after he wraps up his duties at Comedy Central: The Stewarts’ efforts to spread compassion for farm animals don’t stop there. The couple recently bought a farm in New Jersey with the intention of providing a home for farm animals rescued from cruelty, and in November, Tracey purchased Adopt a Farm Animal sponsorships for all of their Thanksgiving guests. Even their children are living the Farm Sanctuary life, with Tracey noting that 'promises of animal shelter visits in exchange for completed homework are the norm in the Stewart household.'"
Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus)
The Daily Bucket: Wild Florida--The Southern Black Racer—by
Lenny Flank: "Florida's tropical habitat makes it well-suited for reptiles and a population center for turtles and snakes. Most of our snakes are secretive and nocturnal, and despite their numbers are not often seen. One exception, however, is the Black Racer.[...] The Racers, all in the species Coluber constrictor, are a group of snakes that are unique to the Americas. Also sometimes known locally as 'Runners,' the Racers get their name from their active lifestyle and their habit of escaping danger by speeding off into the underbrush. Unlike most snakes, which are nocturnal and sedentary, Racers are diurnal and active during the day, where they are fast and agile hunters. Not only can they move rapidly along the ground, but they are also efficient swimmers as well as climbers. Their large eyes give them excellent vision, though they lack color receptors and see mostly in black and white, hunting by detecting motion. While hunting, they will often raise their heads high off the ground for a good look around. The scientific name is a misnomer. The Racer snakes do not wrap their bodies around prey and constrict it like a python, though they may use their body to press their prey to the ground to hold it. Because they feed on animals like frogs, small lizards, nestling birds or baby mammals that are not capable of defending themselves, Racers will often simply seize their prey and swallow it alive."
Wind energy association's first-quarter report offers reasons for optimism—by Meteor Blades: "The American Wind Energy Association has released its report for the first quarter of 2015, and it's quite encouraging. Indeed, for those of us who have followed renewable energy for several frustrating decades, it's fantastic. The nation's 48,000 wind turbines now provide enough electricity to power the equivalent of 16.7 million homes. And the report gives us hard statistics that make believable the Department of Energy's new Wind Vision study. That document says today’s wind-generated electricity could more than double to 10 percent by 2020, double again to 20 percent by 2030 and reach 35 percent by 2050. That's not actually enough or soon enough. But with more aggressive government policies at the state and federal level, the 2030 and 2050 Wind Vision scenarios, which would have seemed laughable at the turn of the 21st Century, can be surpassed and their timetables beaten. The same policies, plus others, can make for similar gains in solar. Getting those policies in place, however, will require beating the fossil fuel marionettes in Congress."
Victory! Fracking defeated in Florida!—by VL Baker: "I've been working on this Florida issue, so happy to spread the news that even in Florida with enough work and fantastic allies we can accomplish the almost impossible. How we did it was with allies like Food and Water Watch. Food and Water Watch did massive ground work necessary in this victory. Support them if you can, I do. [...] Today, Florida state legislators responded to the growing movement of Florida voters who are standing up against fracking and the oil and gas industry. By killing two pro-fracking bills that would have allowed new dirty forms of fracking in Florida, and would have also barred local communities from enacting their own local fracking bans, legislators have protected Florida from the public health and environmental risks associated with drilling and fracking."
Baltimore riots flared up in a poisonous, toxic environment. Literally.—by VL Baker: "The Baltimore riots need to be dissected to the root causes. The Media seems to be portraying the rioters in a strictly stereotypical negative cast which neglects any study into why it is that repressed anger and hostility existed in such volume that eruption was inevitable. The environment in Baltimore didn't become environmentally toxic overnight. There is a deep history of the most polluting industries flowing into the lower income minority neighborhoods because the residents didn't have the power or resources to resist. The blight and pollution created a tinder box ready to explode with little provocation. Some of the youth in the area that erupted have been conscious of the negativity of their physical environment and have become activists for peaceful change.
Governor will discuss revised tunnel plan Thursday—by Dan Bacher: "Governor Jerry Brown will join federal and state officials today in Oakland to discuss 'Delta habitat restoration and water infrastructure,' according to a media advisory from the Governor's Office. The event to discuss the revised Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build the twin tunnels, open only to "credentialed media," will take place on Thursday, April 30, 2015 at approx. 11:00 a.m., at the Elihu M. Harris Building, Auditorium, 1515 Clay Street Oakland, CA 94612. As usual, the public, which overwhelmingly opposes the tunnels, is not invited."
Tunnel opponents to respond to Governor Brown's "BDNoCP" Fiasco—by Dan Bacher: "Restore the Delta expects Gov. Brown to roll out the latest iteration of his Delta tunnels project as soon as tomorrow. They will be there to respond."
Tunnel opponents blast Governor's revised Bay Delta Conservation Plan—by Dan Bacher: "On April 30 at a press conference in Oakland, Governor Jerry Brown and federal officials unveiled controversial plans that they claim "accelerate restoration of the Delta's ecosystem" and "fix the state's aging water infrastructure" by building two massive underground tunnels. Environmental groups and Delta advocates responded that the updated Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) is nothing more than a 'slightly revised' water grab for corporate agribusiness interests - and is 'more unfair than ever' for the majority of Californians during the record drought. One of the key differences between the previous version of the BDCP and the latest incarnation is that it now calls for only "restoring" 30,000 acres for wetland and wildlife habitat—down from the 100,000 acres originally proposed. The other major difference is that the BDCP has been split into two components—The 'California Water Fix' component for the tunnels and the "California Eco Restore" component for the habitat 'restoration' component."
North Coast Film Night to Expose Threats to Rivers—by Dan Bacher: "The Shasta Dam raise proposed by the federal government threatens over 40 of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe's sacred sites and would harm salmon, steelhead and other imperiled fish populations on the Sacramento River. At the same time, water from the Trinity Reservoir on the Trinity River and Shasta Reservoir on the Sacramento is exported hundreds of miles to benefit California’s agriculture industry, which continues to use 80% of California’s water on water intensive crops such as almonds during the record drought. Want to find out more about this water grab and how you can help stop it in order to restore the Klamath/Trinity and Sacramento River systems? Then check out a film night hosted by North Coast activists in Arcata, California on Friday, May 8th to discuss the threats to Northern California's rivers."
KVIE will broadcast episode one, Pilgrims and Tourists, May 2, 11 pm—by Dan Bacher: "Standing on Sacred Ground, a four-part documentary series, eight years in the making, on Indigenous struggles over sacred sites, enjoys its national broadcast premiere on The WORLD Channel, Sunday, May 17 at 9 PM (ET) (check local listings). The next three episodes will run weekly through June 7, 2015. In addition, public television stations nationwide will have access to the programming via the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA), which has also accepted the series for broadcast distribution beginning in April 2015. The WORLD Channel delivers the best of public television’s nonfiction, news and documentary programming to U.S. audiences through local public television stations and streaming online. WORLD reached 35 million unique viewers 18+ last year."
Congressional Scouting Report Reveals Who's Hitting Homeruns, Striking Out for Clean Air—by
Mary Anne Hitt: "Spring time means baseball season for so many - a nice evening out at the ballpark with a hot dog, peanuts, and a cold beverage. We all love a homerun, except when it's against our team, of course. So we here at the Sierra Club decided to mix baseball and politics to make it clear just who's playing on the polluters' team and who's on the side of clean air and clean water protections.In 'Scouting the 114th Congress: Polluters Are Out Of Their League,' we scout the best in Congress. We've even made individual baseball cards [PDF] for the Senators featured in the report, to make it clear which team they’re playing for. The season in Washington is young, but we've already seen way too many attacks on our clean air and clean water, as big polluter-backed politicians are throwing beanballs at critically important public health safeguards meant to protect our families and our communities. After all, poll after poll show that Americans from both red and blue states didn't vote for dirty air, dirty water, or dirty energy last November. Unfortunately, since then Members of Congress have cast lots of votes that could threaten our air, water, and climate—so we’re breaking down the box scores with this new report."