This is the 638th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is last week’s April 4 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
BrownsBay writes—The Daily Bucket: Padilla Bay Variety Pack: “This is a bucket variety pack from a short walk. Last week was my birthday, kind of a milestone birthday. I usually go for a hike on my birthday. My older son and I share the same birthday and we usually take a ski trip together this time of year. This year, circumstances changed the usual routines. So, I loaded my two dogs into the back of mein wagen and drove north to the Skagit Valley. No plan, no destination, just driving, looking at the fields of daffodils; tulips not yet blooming. Just happened to drive by the Padilla Bay Shore Trail parking lot and pulled in. The trail is two miles in length, along a dike that separates Padilla Bay and its mudflats from farm fields. We walked a there-and-back for a total of four miles of easy strolling on a wide crushed gravel path. The mudflats, at least nearshore, are literally paved with these horn snail shells. They are the Japanese mud snail (Batillaria attramentaria), an invasive species introduced into North America in the 1920s to 1930s. They feast on benthic diatoms and they host a parasite; a trematode, which is a fluke or flatworm. An example of a trematode parasite you probably don’t want in your body is the liver fluke.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Senor Unoball writes—Dawn Chorus: Cranes and Geese at Merced NWR: “Every year, in the time between autumn and spring, we’ll take day trips to go birding at many of the fantastic National Wildlife Refuges in California’s Central Valley. There are so many choices from November to April. (Well, they are nice year-round, but are mostly full of birds when fall migration brings birds south, and then through spring migration when they head north.) Among the places we have loved visiting are: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge; Colusa National Wildlife Refuge; Delevan National Wildlife Refuge; San Luis National Wildlife Refuge; Merced National Wildlife Refuge. Sacramento, Colusa, and Delevan are a couple of hours, maybe three hours, north of us, so they are a bit of a drive. A little closer and more convenient are San Luis and Merced, which are part of the same NWR complex. They are about 90 minutes from our home, to the southeast past the small city of Los Banos. [...] So it is those two we visit most often, and where we spent a day in late February looking for our target birds, the Greater and Lesser Sandhill Cranes. My wife got on the refuge mailing list, and was informed of a crane tour to be given by a naturalist ranger. I usually like going with guides, who would better know the birds and where they might be found. So off we went to what, it turned out, would be the last guided event of the season, as the cranes would be flying north at any day.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - crows' gifts: “March 30, 2020. Salish Sea, PNW. Birds are pairing up these days. There are all sorts of ways they show that, and their dedication to mating success. Some hang out together foraging or resting, evidently reaffirming old or new partnerships. Others demonstrate overtly with gifts, as it appeared one crow was doing the other day. There’s a good size flock of Northwestern crows that comes and goes as a group on my nearby beaches. Mostly they are hunting or scavenging for food, sometimes loitering around gulls and oystercatchers watching for leftovers. They are especially busy foraging when the tide is low. As crows, they are omnivorous, but these live only along the shoreline so much of their food becomes exposed as the beaches do. Their other common name is Beach Crow. What drew my attention this time wasn’t that a crow had dug up a clam — they do that frequently. But this time it called another crow over and offered it the clam. That’s unusual. While they socialize readily, they generally feed independently.”
lostintheozarks writes—The Daily Bucket: Glade Top Trail National Forest Scenic Byway: “On the morning of Tuesday, April 7th, the weather forecast was showing the possibility of sunshine and temperatures in the low 70’s here in Douglas County, Missouri. My husband had promised me that we could take the short 25 mile ride to Ava, Missouri, take care of business in town and then head south on MO-5 to do our springtime drive through Glade Top Trail. My camera battery was fully charged and ready to take upwards of 300 photos. I didn’t check his battery, but he doesn’t use his camera often, so he’ll be OK. Then I looked outside and saw dark clouds, and the temperature reading was only in the high 50’s. We grabbed our jackets, our cameras and some snacks in case the convenience stores in town weren’t allowing customers. I took my purse along, which holds everything I might need on a trip to town — wallet, keys, cell phone, checkbook, and a galaxy of mystery items that over time have ended up in the deep recesses of my purse. This is actually a good thing, because HE didn’t even remember to bring his wallet, which we discovered when we stopped in Ava for gas. After our errands were done we headed south on MO-5, turned right on Hwy-A then turned left at the sign for Glade Top Trail.”
lostintheozarks writes—The Daily Bucket: All Nature Sings - Are You Listening? “No, it isn’t just the birds, although they seem to be pretty happy right now. It isn’t just the fact that all the rain we had recently has resulted in an explosion of growth: from the tiniest wildflowers to the tallest trees; from the tiniest insects, fish and amphibians to some of the largest bird species we have around here (Turkeys & Vultures — no eagles recently). By mid-March it was bluets, bittercress, toothwort, deadnettle, shepherd’s purse and other assorted tiny wildflowers.”
CaptBLI writes—The Daily Bucket : A Mississippi April Day: “After a week or two of home isolation, a normally active person will find things to occupy himself. His shop was organized, small duties finished and there was still time to fill, so, grabbing the camera and pointing it toward things during this Mississippi Spring is what Hayseed did. Here are some items he captured around his place during the last week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. There was so much material, that I compressed the photos into pairs. I decided to keep similar things together. Let’s start off with amphibians. The air has a hum from these jumpers, dusk to dawn. These two are high pitched chirpers. The brown one lives up hill near the house. The dark one lives down by the creek.”
CaptBLI writes—The Daily Bucket - Mississippi mixed wildlife videos: “With the huge variety of things to photograph here, and an interest in many things, it is hard to stay focused on one subject. I force myself to study birds. Hayseed looks at the total environment and it shows in his photography. Here is a mix of different things that cross his path or share his yard.”
Dan Bacher writes—California Fish and Game Commission meeting that exploded in chaos rescheduled for next week: “Reporter Ryan Sabalow also described the chaos that erupted during the meeting in his article in the Sacramento Bee: The California Fish and Game Commission abruptly canceled a teleconference Thursday morning amid cries of 'make fishing great again!' and 'fascists!' before it could consider authorizing a limited ban on sportfishing in some areas. Earlier this week, a group of conservative politicians, sheriffs and media outlets told their followers that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration was planning to outright cancel the fishing season statewide because of COVID-19. Some rural communities fear too many out-of-town anglers would import the new coronavirus and infect residents. About 1 million licensed anglers regularly fish California’s waterways through the year, making the state one of the country’s most active fishing state. The intent of the state’s proposed order was more limited, however. The Fish and Game Commission’s teleconference meeting Thursday was supposed to decide whether to give emergency powers to Charlton Bonham, Newsom’s appointee overseeing the Department of Fish and Wildlife, so he could close fishing season in certain areas at the request of local officials.”
Citrine2 writes—MOTHER NATURE IS SENDING US A POWERFUL MESSAGE AND WE SHOULD LISTEN! “What governments are ignoring is where viruses come from in the first place and not stopping the deadly practices that are allowing new viruses to get into populations. The biggest offenders are called wet markets. There are wet markets all over Asia, with many in Africa, South America and some even in Europe. A wet market is set up kind of like a farmers market where you can pick out what vegetables you want, the farmer bags them, you pay and move on. A wet market sells animals instead. The animals are all alive. They are animals like ducks, chicklens or other foul, plus small and sometimes larger animals. These animals are often wildlife that has been illegally trafficked like the Pangolin, an endangered wild, animal whose scales and meat are highly prized. Nearly all the animals are in filthy cages stacked on top of one another. You pick which animal you want, the vendor killls the animal, removes the feathers, often in a filthy machine, or skins it, and guts it. [...] Governments know the markets are an abomination but they allow them anyway because they make millions of dollars in taxes. In China it’s billions.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
ken melvin writes—The Anthropocene and Global Warming: “The roles of Population and Consumption in bringing on Global Warming are abundantly clear. But, what role, if any, did Economic Policiesthemselves play in bringing on Global Warming? Consumerism and Growth are much a part of the 'Capitalism' economic model to which theUnited States and most of the rest of the Western World, subscribe. Was there a 'Capitalistocene' within the Anthropocene? Western Capitalism, in its modern form, as an Economic Model, came to be with the Industrial Age. In part, it appears, as a way of explaining the dynamics of the Industrial Age. In part, perhaps, as a way of rationalizing, legitimizing, the Economics, the Social Consequences, of the Industrial Age. In part, perhaps, as a way of justifying the inequities that came along with the Age. And, perhaps, to some at least, as a new deity?”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Did The Trump Admin Give Industry A Back-Channel Way To Influence Policy? Did It Need to? “Public comments on proposed policies aren’t the most glamorous way to participate in this great democracy these days. You can’t pose with your comments for a selfie, no one’s retweeting links to comment pages, and you don’t get a fun sticker. But that doesn’t mean comments aren’t important. They are! They’re a way for you to tell your government what you want. Federal agencies are legally required to read them, and then respond to indicate why they either are or aren’t changing the proposed regulation in response to the comment. They provide a public back-and-forth between those concerned about a regulation and the government, one that can be crucial when it comes time to challenge a rule in court. After all, they can be used to prove that the government ignored a concern, or that it acted in accordance with expert judgement. And if you’re still not convinced they’re all that important, consider this. Despite the fact that the Trump administration is stocked with former lobbyists, BloombergEnvironment’s Stephen Lee reported yesterday that the White House provided a special back-channel for industry to submit their comments directly and privately, instead of using the standard submission form.”
Meteor Blades writes—Thursday night owls: All those years of climate science denial led to denial of COVID-19 pandemic: “American science denialism, deployed for years against climate change and, most recently, the coronavirus, can be traced back to the early 1950s during the fight over smog in Los Angeles. When a Cal-Tech biochemist fingered nitrogen oxide emissions and uncombusted hydrocarbons from automobiles and refineries as the cause of the thick smog that often blanketed the city, the American Petroleum Institute counter-attacked by highlighting the alleged uncertainty of his science. The tactic was a test run for the fossil fuel industry's assault 40 years later on climate science. Decades of climate denial now appear to have paved the way for denial of Covid-19 by many on the right, according to experts on climate politics. After the fossil fuel industry spent hundreds of millions of dollars attacking climate scientists and accentuating the supposed uncertainty of climate science, it isn't hard to understand how that happened.”
AmericaAdapts writes—PODCAST: Christiana Figueres: The Future We Choose, Coronavirus and Climate Change and more...”In episode 109 of America Adapts, Doug Parsons hosts climate legend Christiana Figueres, head of Global Optimism and Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Doug and Christiana talk about the coronavirus and what lessons the climate movement can learn from the pandemic response; what’s next for the Paris Climate Accords; can the US jump back in after the election; Christiana’s political family history in Costa Rica and much more!”
linkage writes—Earth Emotions | On Glenn A. Albrecht's Creation Of New Words About Climate Change - 1 of 2. #004: “I first felt a hint of solastalgia when visiting my old home in El Sobrante, California where I grew up in the 60’s. (El Sobrante is a unincorporated area 26 miles east of San Francisco.) I had been away for for about 20 years and all the natural hills and valleys that adjoined my home had been replaced by housing. As I looked out on the change I felt something that I had no words for. An unease, a loss, a feeling that part of me was missing. But, I never had a word for it until now. It was the book by Glenn A. Albrecht called Earth Emotions that brought this new word to me. I bought the book because of the sub-title New Words for a New World. I had no idea what the book was about until I opened it up and started reading. It was my interest in language and the science of linguistic framing that attracted me to buying the book because words are the only tools We The People have to try and direct America on a course to save what we can of life on earth. I say a hint of solastalgia because as I read Albrecht’s book I was exposed to his life story that motivated him to create the word. His personal experience of solastalgia was a thousand times more intense than mine. But, as I learned while reading his book the word was intended to apply both to local and global environmental change. So, I think it is OK to apply it to my situation as long as I qualify and understand my emotional experience to be mild and trivial to the experience of Albrecht.”
Victor Menotti writes—Oil Oligarchs' Dilemma: Crude Conflict or Climate Justice: “While COVID-19 keeps consumers withdrawn, ensuing economic turmoil was made much worse by the outbreak of an epic global conflict between today’s top three oil-producing nations: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America. Yet as we isolate ourselves physically, it is important to recognize real opportunities to convert the current crisis into a viable transition toward social, economic, and climate justice globally. The crude conflict between the three countries exposes how energy can be an economic weapon of war. Consequently, control over oil—and hence over today’s economy as well as the amount of carbon emitted in our atmosphere—is now evermore concentrated in the hands of three autocrats whose political survival depends on our continuing to burn as much oil as possible before being banned by surging climate concerns.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Dan Bacher writes—Newsom addresses anglers about fishing seasons and opportunities in his daily COVID-19 address: “Here is the transcript of that section of the [California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s] address: I also want to just want to make a point to others that are anxious on another topic about the delay of the fishing season in the state of California. I may have lost half of you, but if I was watching, I’d start paying attention right now. I’m passionate about fishing myself. And I am getting inundated by people who are concerned that we’ve canceled the fishing season. That is not the case. We are not canceling the fishing season in the state of California. We just want to delay, not deny that season. But here’s why and I hope it makes some sense. At least from our perspective it does. I hope I can extend a capacity of understanding at least on the way we are thinking about this. We had two small counties call us up that have some of the greatest fishing in the world. Quite literally in the world, not just the United States. Mono and Inyo county. And they have fishing season coming up and they’re just worried about being overwhelmed by everybody that has a little cabin fever that wants to get out and get on those streams.”
ENERGY
Fossil Fuels & Emissions Controls
bluewill writes—Expert Dan Fine discusses future of oil, natural gas amid low prices and the coronavirus: “President Donald Trump expressed hopes that Saudi Arabia and Russia may reduce oil production, which would help the industry. Fine said Russia, which has been frustrated by some of the U.S. foreign policies including moves to sell oil to Belarus, is prepared to go six months to a year at the current low prices. And Saudi Arabia previously tried a similar tactic of flooding the market with oil in 2014. ‘This is a second chance for them,’ he said. ‘They’re not going to easily give this up’.”
Meteor Blades writes—Methane emissions took a big leap in 2019, and scientists have yet to figure out exactly why: “Madeleine Stone cites Andrea Dutton, a climate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who says: “In terms of direct, physical impacts, yes we’re seeing a slowdown in some emissions. But of course, what really matters is cumulative emissions. If it’s short lived, it’s not really touching the tip of the iceberg.” And while U.S. emissions fell last year, global methane emissions rose sharply for reasons that scientists are still trying to suss out. While methane doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide does, over a 20-year period, its greenhouse potential is 86 times stronger than CO2, 34 times stronger over a century. Eric Roston and Naureen S Malik at Bloomberg report, ‘Last year’s jump in methane is one of the biggest we’ve seen over the past 20 years,’ according to Rob Jackson, professor of Earth system science at Stanford University and chair of the Global Carbon Project. ‘It’s too early to say why, but increases from both agriculture and natural gas use are likely. Natural gas consumption surged more than 2% last year’.”
Pakalolo writes—US ethanol industry collapse, due to COVID, results in a lack of refrigerants for meat industry: “Yet another blow to our food supply delivery system. From Reuters: A slew of U.S. ethanol plants have shut down as fuel demand has collapsed during the coronavirus outbreak, and meatpackers have been hit by a worrying side-effect: less carbon dioxide is now available to chill beef, poultry and pork. ‘We’re headed for a train wreck in terms of the CO2 market,’ said Geoff Cooper, president of the Renewable Fuels Association industry group. The RFA said 29 of the 45 U.S. ethanol plants that sell carbon dioxide, or CO2, have idled or cut rates. The U.S. ethanol sector is the top supplier of commercial carbon dioxide to the food industry, accounting for around 40% of the market, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. That has put the U.S. meat industry on high-alert. It uses carbon dioxide as a refrigerant and preservative for meat, and also uses the gas to stun animals before slaughter.”
Dan Bacher writes—Coalition criticizes CA for approving 24 new fracking permits after a nearly six-month moratorium: “The State Department of Conservation on Friday, April 3 approved 24 new fracking permits in Kern County, the center of the oil industry in California, during the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic and after a nearly six-month moratorium on new fracking operations The California Geologic Energy Management Division (Cal-GEM) issued the fracking permits to Aera Energy, formed in June 1997 and jointly owned by affiliates of Shell and ExxonMobil. Environmental justice advocates, conservationists and public health advocates were very disappointed by the approval of environmentally destructive fracking operations as coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths increase daily, although less than in other states due to Governor Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order and other emergency measures. ‘The permits are the first to be issued in more than six months, following a moratorium that was placed on the practice announced by Governor Gavin Newsom last November, which established a new third-party review by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,’ according to a statement from the Last Chance Alliance, a coalition of over 700 health, environmental justice, climate and labor organizations.”
Renewables, Efficiency, Energy Storage & Conservation
Mokurai writes—Renewable Monday: Clean Energy Rebellion during Pandemic: “OK, you know what the Jackanapes-in-Office thinks he is trying to do. However, 1. The Energy Department is promoting offshore energy, especially wind. 2. We have yet more alliances of state and local governments for 100% clean energy. 3. BWAHAHAHAHA!!! 4. Yes, covid-19 initially hurt solar panel and wind turbine production and installations, but it also put a massive dent in pollution, including CO2, and the industry has already started to come roaring back. Virus Or Not, US States Foment 100% Renewable Energy Rebellion — CleanTechnica If fossil fuel stakeholders hoped for the COVID-19 crisis to give them a little breathing room, they may have to do some re-hoping. The US Energy Department dropped yet another one of its renewable energy truth bombs earlier this week, and now a coalition of economically powerful US states has followed up with a new initiative aimed at accelerating 100% clean energy goals across the country. That’s not just a state-level thing, either. The new initiative aims at municipalities, corporations, utilities, and other stakeholders, too. We don't even have room to list all of what is going on. We will have to be content with short takes, today, to be followed up on future Renewable Days with Ys in Them.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Tuesday: TVA Pushing a Bit of Decentralized Renewable Generation: “The Tennessee Valley Authority has shut down money-losing coal power plants. Now it is taking another tentative step forward by offering to let some of its customer companies generate some renewable energy on their own. Cue screaming from the Right. Note that TVA, which is publicly owned, is required to sell power to these private companies for them to make profits on, and cannot have its own distribution network for users. [...] The Tennessee Valley Authority(TVA) is seeking public input on a draft Environmental Assessment that considers the environmental impacts of enabling local power companies (LPCs) generate a portion of their load to meet customer needs. [...] TVA says it already has nearly 60% carbon-free energy generation and increasing local generation provides opportunity to improve the region’s carbon position.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Wednesday: Energy Storage Key in East Africa: “Eventually I will get a chance to cover many more countries individually, but today it is an energy alliance in East Africa. Renewables are growing fast there, but there are major grid problems that mean that storage is a key factor in all of these countries. We will start with an overview, and then highlight plans in each country. Energy Storage is the key to energy access in East Africa.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Thursday: KS Supreme Court Victory for Home Solar: “Starting in 1896, we used to ask What's the Matter with Kansas? But now the state has recovered from Gov. Brownback's Tea Party economic superstition, and is getting in touch with reality on renewable energy, too. Read it and weep, Charles Koch. Read the KS Supreme Court decision. Kansas Supreme Court: Utilities can’t discriminate against customers with solar panels. Utilities cannot charge customers who produce some of their own energy more than other customers, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday in a decision that strikes down proposed rates from two companies. The state’s highest court found the proposals by Westar and Kansas Gas and Electric constitute price discrimination against residential customers who use solar panels or windmills to generate some or all of their electricity. Westar is now known as Evergy after merging with Kansas City Power & Light. The opinion, written by Justice Caleb Stegall, said such price discrimination undermines the policy preferences of the Legislature. It notes lawmakers codified into state law the goal of incentivizing renewable energy production by private parties.”
Mokurai writes—Renewable Friday: Covid-19 vs. Renewable: “The COVID-19 virus severely cut solar panel production. But that was last month's news. Now the virus has radically decreased electricity demand as factories closed. Skies are clearer worldwide, too. The Himalayas are visible from India again. We have bad news and good news, and bad forecasts and good forecasts, and data and unsupported opinion, and hey, elections to break Blue. Putting Denialism aside for today.The Virus Is Bending Most Markets. Will Renewable Energy Break? — Bloomberg.”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
Angmar writes—Big Oil is using the coronavirus pandemic to push through the Keystone XL pipeline-Bill McKibben: “Kentucky, South Dakota and West Virginia approved new laws meant to discourage Dakota Access-style protests. First came Kentucky. On March 16, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed legislation that designated ‘natural gas or petroleum pipelines’ as ‘key infrastructure assets’ and made ‘tampering with, impeding, or inhibiting operations of a key infrastructure asset’ a ‘criminal mischief in the first degree.’Two days later, it was South Dakota. On March 18, Gov. Kristi Noem (R) signed a bill that expanded the definition of ‘critical infrastructure’ to include virtually any oil, gas or utility equipment, and raised the charges for causing ‘substantial interruption or impairment’ of such facilities to felonies. Five days later, on March 23, the governor approved a second measure defining a felony ‘riot’ as ‘intentional use of force or violence by three or more persons’ that causes ‘any damage to property.’ On Wednesday, West Virginia followed suit.”
FORESTS, PARKS & PUBLIC LANDS
RonK writes—The Daily Bucket: A Forest is Much More Than an Assemblage of Trees: “Trees seem to be gregarious as most tend to live and thrive in communities that we call forests. Some forests are mostly of a single species while others are mixed with a variety of species. In either case, they tend to live in various partnerships interacting and supporting one another on many levels. Many of these intra and interspecies relationships are known today while many more are yet to be discovered. In this and in a subsequent post I will describe and illustrate a few such partnerships that I see on a regular basis on my walks in the woods knowing full well that I observe only the most obvious ones. A caveat is in order here: I am a rank amateur at forestry as a science or a profession. But the more I see and learn the more I appreciate the importance of trees, forests and their various relationships that contribute to their centrality in the great scheme of life on earth. I hope to learn even more from the bucketeers who are indeed forest scientists.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTION
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—BLM Moving HQ To Oil and Gas Building Where Sen. Gardner Joined Fossil Fuel Cheerleader: “Yesterday, we noticed WUWT had a post up on the Bureau of Land Management’s move from DC to Colorado. The Government Accountability Office strongly criticized BLM for failing to account for the costs of the move, among other issues, and the move comes as the agency is heavily tilting interests in favor of polluters over the public. The WUWT post featured an excerpt from the Koch partnered and funded RealClear website, with a headline about ‘taming federal bureaucrats.’ Looking at the byline, however, we were pleasantly surprised! Turns out its author, Vince Bielski, is a former Bloomberg reporter with Mother Jones bylines, and he wrote a similar piece for the Sierra Club back in February. Reading the two side-by-side offers some perspective into how RealClear’s editors insert a conservative bias into the story. The RealClear story had a general framing that’s a little more favorable of the move and less critical of BLM head William Pendley’s long career at odds with the department, and it heavily favored quotes from energy industry spokespeople over environmentalists.”
Dan Bacher writes—
Experts Warn Interior Department Needs More Oversight to Prevent Corruption Amid a Crisis: “This morning, the Project on Government Oversight warned that the US Department of Interior under Trump’s Interior Secretary David Bernhardt urgently needs more oversight to prevent corruption amid the coronavirus pandemic crisis. The analysis also calls attention to efforts by the oil and gas industry to extract lucrative tax-payer funded bailouts and concessions that allow the industry to break revenue sharing agreements regarding the extraction of resources on publicly-owned lands. The Project on Government Oversight also documents the long-standing conflicts of interest amongst key leaders in the Department of Interior.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
xaxnar writes—Cabin Fever Craft Project #2 - Getting America Back on Track, and saving the planet too: “The picture above is a paper model of an electric locomotive. I got it in the mail from the Rail Passengers Association a few weeks ago. It came as the card you see in the photo above, just the right size to fit in an envelope. I scanned it and printed it on card stock to make [a] larger version. [...]While this project is for fun, what’s behind it is serious. The RPA is working to defend and improve America’s passenger rail system. They have a hard fight at the best of times, which these are not. Amtrak is cutting back its service and seeing a big drop in ridership because of the pandemic. This is cutting into Amtrak revenue. While airlines and cruise ships are looking for big bailouts, we cannot forget America’s rail systems too. There will be more bills going forward to address the pandemic, and infrastructure will be part of it, so let’s not forget about trains. (RPA membership info here.) Rail is more important that most people realize.”
Mokurai writes—EV Tuesday: Consumer Auto Media EV Coverage: “The MSM tries to ignore the Electric Vehicle revolution, but the auto and truck magazines and other consumer magazines can't. Meanwhile coverage is exploding on teh Intertoobz. The century-old wonders of the ICE Age are coming to an inevitable and ultimately inglorious end. As are car magazines themselves. The Last Days of the Print Car Magazine. TEN Publishing Is Shuttering 19 Car Magazines. Automobile, Lowrider and Truck Trend will be discontinued, among others, according to a memo to MotorTrend Group staffers. But while they last, we can look at how they are covering the transition to electric cars and other EVs, according to their estimations of the tastes and pocketbooks of their readers. And then, on other Tuesdays, we can look at the motorcycle and truck media, and the proliferating YouTube and other EV channels.”
Meteor Blades writes—Report projects 43% fewer EV sales, but critic asserts rebound will be sharper than for other cars: “In a stunning but unsurprising report, Wood-Mackenzie consultants on Wednesday forecast that global electric vehicle sales will drop 43% in 2020 as a consequence of the economic response to the spread of the novel coronavirus. But Stan Cross at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy argues there’s no reason to believe the EV market will be hurt worse than the car market overall and adds that the EV rebound likely will outpace that for vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. At Wood Mackenzie, Ram Chandrasekaran and Gavin Montgomery point out that the uncertainty of the course of the pandemic and the timing of removal of the lockdown measures, makes any prediction of how quickly there will be a bounceback educated guesswork at best. If their analysis is correct, global sales of 2.2 million electric vehicles last year will fall to 1.3 million this year. While the virus has caused the automakers to shut down, there’s plenty of evidence that the two biggest U.S. makers—General Motors and Ford—are not so keen on aggressive manufacturing of EVs.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—State Water Board Issues Klamath River Dam Removal Permit: “California today reached a major milestone in the long campaign by Tribes, fishermen and conservationists to remove four Klamath River dams. The Water Resources Control Board issued key documents that move the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) ‘significantly closer’ to removing four dams and re-opening 360 miles of the Klamath River and its tributaries to imperiled salmon and steelhead. ‘The board issued a Final Water Quality Certification permit and Final Environmental Impact Report,’ the board stated in a press release. ‘The permit conditions will become part of the broader Lower Klamath Project License Surrender Order that must be issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) before the dams can be decommissioned and removed.’ One of the largest dam-removal efforts in U.S. history, the project primarily consists of removing three dams in northern California (Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate) and one in southern Oregon (J.C. Boyle), according to the board.”
Dan Bacher writes—McCarthy Letter Urges Newsom to Back-off and Support the Trump Water Grab: “Corporate agribusiness interests and the Congressional allies are taking advantage of the current COVID-19 pandemic to promote the Trump administration plan to take more water from Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Six Congressional Representatives sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, April 7 expressing their ‘disappointment and serious concerns with the new Incidental Take Permit (ITP) for the Long-Term Operation of the State Water Project that your administration recently issued.’ ‘At issue is how much water the State Water Project will pump to wealthy farm interests in the Southern San Joaquin Valley,’ according to a press release from Restore the Delta (RTD). ‘The water buffalos of California seem upset that the universally criticized ITP would save ANY flows through the Delta to protect Delta water quality or endangered species of native fish on the brink of extinction. Ag-friendly politicians would prefer the state obey standards created by the Trump administration despite the sham science required to get results favorable to Westlands’.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
gmoke writes—COVID19: Food and Agriculture Resources: “COVID-19 Municipal food access policies. [T]he Healthy Food Policy Project’s COVID-19 municipal food access policy index provides examples of policy solutions that keep communities fed and nourished during the pandemic. I hope you find it useful, and encourage you to share it widely. We will continue to build out the index over the next few weeks. If you have examples of other municipal emergency food access policies (ordinances, resolutions, codified laws, and administrative policies passed by city and county governments) that the Healthy Food Policy Project team should consider including, please submit them through the ‘suggest a policy’ button on the page linked above. The Healthy Food Policy Project (https://healthyfoodpolicyproject.org) is a collaborative effort by the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School, UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, and the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. The Project is funded by the National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.”
dot farmer writes—Another ordinary farm day near Dot: “It’s becoming a regular thing on my morning farm circle for Bridge to parallel me on the other side of the fence, hoping to make an observation of one of the coyotes who lay claim to all the territory beyond Bridge’s and my own pee-mail markers. This morning didn’t disappoint. When Bridge spotted coyote, he simply lay down very close to the ground and observed. Coyote alternately did the same thing or stood up to register a very loud vocal complaint. I crossed my line fence into the bean stubble field to better get a photo of them both in the same frame, having to sit down on the ground to do it. Once seated, I sat a spell to see how long the face off would continue. It went on like this for about ten minutes, with neither advancing or retreating. Once I got back to my feet and continued walking along the fence line, coyote headed back over the horizon. When I crossed the fence back to my farm, I noticed a first calf heifer still lingering in the back field after the rest of the herd had already headed into the front field for the day. When I got to where she was, I found the calf nearby, laying down at the edge of the pine thicket. The mother was heading off to join the rest of the herd and did not appear to have been nursed recently. Not thinking it was wise of her to leave her calf cached so far from the day’s grazing territory with coyotes about, I tried to solicit her to come back with my best imitation of her calf’s voice. She looked back, gave me a puzzled look, then continued walking away.”
wigwam writes—Renewable diet: “Here is a news story that claims that: ‘If Everyone Ate Beans Instead of Beef … the U.S. could almost meet greenhouse-gas emission goals.’ Recently [Helen] Harwatt and a team of scientists from Oregon State University, Bard College, and Loma Linda University calculated just what would happen if every American made one dietary change: substituting beans for beef. They found that if everyone were willing and able to do that—hypothetically—the U.S. could still come close to meeting its 2020 greenhouse-gas emission goals, pledged by President Barack Obama in 2009. Note that Loma Linda is a well-respected medical school run by Seventh Day Adventists, a vegetarian fundamentalist religion.(I have many friends who are or were raised in the SDA religion, and I very much respect them and their opinions.)”
Ojibwa writes—Public Lands: Oregon Garden (photo diary): “The Oregon Garden in Silverton is an 80-acre botanical garden which features more than 20 specialty gardens.”
Downheah Mississippi writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging, Vol. 16.15: Playing Catch Up: “Good morning Gardeners! It’s a beautiful Saturday Morning downheah; I hope y’all are comfortably sheltered, well provisioned, and adequately entertained…. As all you “regulars” at SMGB know, I am the resident Tomato and Pepper freak here. Other than old and tired, that’s all I grow….But, at the moment, I am behind the 8 ball and playing catch up. These seedlings are way past time when they should have been planted out, but my ridiculous work schedule and a nagging injury has put a damper on things. [...] I did manage to get a few things planted out this week, just in time for the coming cool spell. Big Beef in the ground, and Hinkelhatz and Prairie Spice peppers in their pots, but that’s about it. [...] Big Beef and Roman Warrior, both nematode resistant hybrids, are the only two tomato varieties that I will be planting in the ground this year. All other varieties will be planted in 5 gal buckets using a mix consisting of compost/manure, topsoil, and ProMix. [...] My plan this year is to keep the three cages in the back row for Big Beef and Roman Warrior, and construct two trellises along the two front rows to support the bucket tomatoes. I elevated cages 1 and 2 to get more vertical support for the Big Beef; Roman Warrior is a “semi-determinate” variety, so a 5 ft cage will suffice. ”
MISCELLANY
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—COVID-19 Lockdown Pushback Ramps Up With Dehumanization And Denial: “Welcome to a brand new week of quarantine, everyone! We hope you’re all faring well, because deniers are…not. Whether it’s the fiscal pressure evidenced by the layoffs at API and Heartland, or the ideological assault of a government actually doing something in the face of a crisis, deniers seem to be moving from a somewhat passive skepticism of coronavirus measures to actively advocating against them, and they’re using a familiar strategy. We’ve already talked about the campaign against public health officials waged by former smoking shills turned climate deniers, like Steve Milloy. Now deniers like Marc Morano have started questioning if it’s really so bad, saying Trump is ‘being held captive by “public health” officials’.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Deniers Clutch Pearls At Eating Insects...But Here’s The Thing: You Already Eat Bugs All The Time: “Last week the Guardian’s Daniel Boffey reported that the EU’s food safety body is moving to allow the sale of insects as food. The practice is banned in some European countries, but has the potential to replace more environmentally-intensive sources of protein like beef. Breitbart lazily excerpted the story, which was then picked up by Eric Worrall at WUWT. Although usually it’s Breitbart that’s laundering white nationalism into the mainstream, this time it was WUWT’s turn to insert some casual racism. In addition to excerpting Boffey’s story, Worrall added that he thinks the rule change ‘is just rubber stamping an already widespread practice, going by some of the dodgy late night kebabs I’ve been served…’ Worrall suggests that ‘upmarket restaurants’ that want to ‘utilise this daring new foodstuff’ could always just “hire a few chefs from North Korea’ where ‘climate leaders have decades of experience with living low carbon lifestyles, and can provide expert advice on cooking insects, giant rabbits, and anything else remotely edible which they can fit into their stew pot’. He then concludes by reiterating the totally-not-thinly-vieled-racist point about ‘the highly experienced insect protein chefs who run a late night kebab shop’.”
GlastoSara writes—Study: pollution boosts Covid-19 death rate: “Environment matters. The Trump (mal)administration’s continuing efforts to reduce air pollution regulations (as has often been reported on DKos, including in the past week) will only add to the dangers of coronavirus. The Guardian reports on a “statistically significant and robust” Harvard study that found: … even a tiny, single-unit increase in particle pollution levels in the years before the pandemic is associated with a 15% increase in the death rate. The research … calculates that slightly cleaner air in Manhattan in the past could have saved hundreds of lives. Medical scientists warned in mid-March that air pollution exposure could make Covid-19 worse. Did Trump and his minions listen? (Rhetorical question.) Do they care? Only if it affects their ratings.”
Donate writes—About Coronavirus and Smog Reduction: Yes, smog reduction is notable; it's also saved lives. BUT...: “China’s coronavirus lockdown likely saved tens of thousands of lives by slashing air pollution from factories and vehicles, according to a new analysis by a Stanford University scientist. Earth Systems Professor Marshall Burke used data from U.S. government sensors in four Chinese cities to measure levels of PM2.5, the tiny particulate matter considered the primary cause of death from air pollution. He averaged the drop in pollution levels and calculated the subsequent effect on mortality nationwide. Two months of pollution reduction “likely has saved the lives of 4,000 kids under 5 and 73,000 adults over 70 in China,” he writes on G-Feed, a blog maintained by seven scientists working on Global Food, Environment and Economic Dynamics. (source: Forbes Magazine).”