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Spotlight on DK climate and eco-diaries (8/7-13/23) [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Daily Kos Staff Emeritus']

Date: 2023-08-13  

The Spotlight is a weekly compilation of links and excerpts from DK environmentally related posts. Any posts that are included in the collection do not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of them. Because of the interconnectedness of the subject matter, some of these posts could be placed in more than one category.

CLIMATE

Deniers Bug Out Over Biden Calling Climate Change An 'Existential Threat by ClimateDenierRoundup. The Weather Channel broadcast an interview with the President of The United States of America yesterday from the Grand Canyon, during which the Commander and Chief said he'd "practically" declared a National Climate Emergency, and called climate "the existential threat to humanity." Now obviously fossil-fuel funded, partisan media isn't going to just uncritically carry that message, and nor should they, because "practically" declaring and actually declaring a national emergency are two very different things! “ Biden Brushes Bug Off Meteorologist's Chest ,” blared the Daily Caller headline for Brianna Lyman's story, complete with a picture of the apparently newsworthy moment. They even added a red circle to the image, apparently worried their readers wouldn't otherwise know where to look.

Passive Aggression: Regulations Don't Find Enemies And Climate Didn't Politicize Itself by ClimateDenierRoundup. Ever since Radley Balko's 2014 column on " the curious grammar of police shootings ," the phrase "officer-involved shooting" has become the most obvious example of why journalists are taught to avoid passive voice, particularly the "past exonerative" tense that excuses misdeeds without acknowledging responsibility. McSweeney's even did a satirical guide on " how to use the past exonerative tense to uphold white supremacy ." By contrast, active voice ensures that the actors responsible are properly identified and described. We see examples of passive voice far too often in climate media, particularly in headlines. For example, last Friday a Guardian story explained " how electric cars became a battleground in the culture wars." They "became a battleground"? Are electric cars also Transformers, capable of changing into a culture wars battleground? Obviously not!

State of Emergency declared after glacial outburst flood from an icefield above Juneau, Alaska by Pakalolo. Jökulhlaup is an Icelandic term that means a glacial outburst flood. Due to global warming, the melt from alpine glaciers accumulates under the ice stream and is occasionally discharged. Once the meltwater builds, the ice above is lifted, and the water either moves outwards from pressure or becomes an underwater lake. Thinning ice rivers are repeatedly raised first and may result in the meltwater moving up the glacier until a channel forms and will burst with the release of water flowing downstream in raging torrents. This phenomenon most recently occurred at the Mendenhall Glacier, which sits high above sea level elevation in the City of Juneau. Flooding from the glacier has been happening every summer since 2011, but this weekend’s overflow smashed previous water-level records by nearly three feet. “It really exceeded our expectations,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Park, adding that it is “pretty devastating for the community.” Video.

Climate Brief:Climate crisis- Air conditioning: the benefits, problems and alternatives Guardian UK by Angmar. Amid record-breaking heat, increased access to air conditioning could save lives – but AC units are damaging the environment. Are there other options? record for most 110F (43.3C) days. California’s Death Valley had its highest temperature ever. An airport in coastal Iran saw a heat index of 152F, while Beijing saw a record stretch of 95F days. Oppressive heatwaves have become more frequent and more severe as a result of the climate crisis – a trend that’s expected to continue, and could worsen in proportion to how quickly we can transition from fossil fuels. Many are working to make air conditioners more affordable and to improve the reliability of electricity grids. Yet there is another problem: air conditioners warm the Earth.

Ex-president Trump and the Climate by Marc Blasband. I live in Belgium and watch with interest the evolution of the many cases against your ex-president Trump. The ex-president Sarkozy ofFrance faced the same situation. (He has been sentenced to a year injail, but is appealing). From my perspective, the major crime he committed was against the climate. He denied the reality of the climate crises and reduced the climate protection actions that Obama introduced. We now see the consequences of his position. [...] For the sake of the whole world, I ask you to insist on [calling this a] crime against humanity, even if no court of law will support it.

CRITTERS & THE GREAT OUTDOORS

A coral reef

PWB Peeps Open Thread: Reefs and Their Denizens by strawbale. Sometimes called rainforests of the sea, shallow coral reefs form some of Earth's most diverse ecosystems. They occupy less than 0.1% of the world's ocean area, about half the area of France, yet they provide a home for at least 25% of all marine species including fish, mollusks, worms, crustaceans, echinoderms, sponges, tunicates and other cnidarians.

Otter mom and two babies

The Daily Bucket - otter family in late July by OceanDiver. A couple of months ago I posted a Bucket report on a mating encounter between two River Otters in my local bay. That incident took place in late April, a typical time for our local otters. About a week ago I happened upon a family of otters in the very same bay, but this time with two very young otterlings. Almost certainly these are the youngsters who had been recently born by the female otter, hidden away in her den in the thicket onshore, while she and her partner mated nearby. The otterlings would be about three+ months old by late July. All these otters looked very healthy and “full of beans”. They were swimming in the bay, as otters mostly do, playing, diving, and it was only after they climbed out onto a low rock that I could see how small two of them were.

Daily Bucket - Research Station creatures by CaptBLI. I have written about my favorite place to find Dragonflies (the University of Mississippi’s Field Station Center for Water and Wetlands Resources). There is one section of the Research area that is a swamp. I like sitting there for the interesting animals that come by. Here’s a 59-second video of a swimming water mocassin.

American Coot

Backyard Bird Race and Daily Bucket: July Reports by 2n10. There are no “rules” for the Bird Race beyond what you set for yourself. Some ideas for information that you might share here as part of the conversation, any combinations of:

A total list or count of birds you have seen: monthly, year to date, life

New birds you have seen, since the last tally

Interesting behavior you have seen

Any patterns or changes in patterns

General location in the country

Type of habitat

Bird ID sites or articles you have found helpful, general or bird family specific

Equipment you use, how you use it, why you got it, where you got it, how to maintain and care for it

Photo processing tips and storage/display sites

Next bird race is September 9, 2023.

’Dawn Chorus - Howard Marsh Metropark by clickadee. My birding pal and I discovered Howard Marsh last year when we were at Magee Marsh and heard that Black-necked Stilts had been spotted at Howard. These endearing shorebirds are still unusual in this area, although they have been nesting at Howard Marsh and Pointe Mouillee (southeast Michigan along Lake Erie) for at least a couple years. As excited as I get about the spring Warbler migration at Magee Marsh, I’m enjoying Howard’s continuing birding bonanza through the summer and fall. What started as an if-we-have-time-stop on our way back from Magee and Ottawa, is now a destination.

Most birds should think twice before trying to chase any Swallow. Here, the Barn Swallow turned the tables and outflanked the Stilt. Zoom

Sturgeon perished as algae bloom hit San Francisco Bay and Delta water exports amped up by Dan Bacher. The first reports of dead white sturgeon, apparently resulting from a red tide algae bloom and oxygen depletion on San Francisco Bay, began to come in on August 4, when five white dead sturgeon off Point Molate were reported by naturalist Damon Tighe in a Facebook post. Fortunately, Tighe noted on August 8 that the bay’s recent Heterosigma algae bloom “appears to be subsiding.” “We are still 2 weeks away from the peak bloom during the 2022 event, but it is somewhat comforting to see the recent event not continuing to grow...What is eye opening is how quickly a bloom can take place; in just a matter of 3 days a bloom can grow to impactful levels.” Last summer, many thousands of fish, including hundreds of white sturgeon and some endangered green sturgeon, perished as a similar bloom spread throughout the bay. A total of 13 dead white sturgeon have been reported to the inaturalist.org website to date.

RENEWABLES & NUCLEAR

Renewable Tuesday: Got 'em by the Short Numbers by Mokurai. The Fossil Fools are still trying to gaslight us, lying that we can’t AFFORD cheaper and cleaner energy, saving Real MoneyTM, real lives, and the only available real planet. But we have them by the short numbers—many trillions of dollars short. Big Renewable Energy Spending, Big Benefits for These ETFs. A recently published study by Dartmouth College indicates that from 1992 to 2013, global GDP was sapped to the tune of $16 trillion due to extreme temperatures. It’s just one example, but it paints a picture as to why the renewable energy investment theme has long-term legs. For investors, the runway for renewable energy investing is expansive. So are the choices, but stock-picking in this arena is difficult. That underscores the benefits of exchange traded funds, of which there are plenty providing access to clean technology and green energy equities. Renewable energy ETFs [exchange-traded funds] could be the ideal avenues for advisors and investors looking to tap themes such as increased clean energy adoption and increases in government spending [investment] . Data confirm both catalysts are afoot and growing.

Some Good News in Energy Transition by Rusty Robot. Some news about good stuff happening in the US of A regarding energy transition. Some of these items are small and some are huge but all are important steps forward. I’m looking at places that have been very anti-transition for the past decades and are now showing big signs of getting onboard with renewables and a low carbon future. The first clean wind power generated by the Vineyard Wind 1 project is expected to flow onto the regional grid by mid-October and the first-in-the-nation offshore wind project should be fully operational by this time next year, project officials said Wednesday during a boat tour of the construction. Project developers have maintained for years that the $4 billion project they are building about 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard would start to generate cleaner energy by the end of 2023, but they told a group of state lawmakers, clean energy advocates, organized labor representatives and others Wednesday that the target is now mid-October, or just over two months from now.

First Utility Scale Wave Power Test Site Starts Construction by FarWestGirl. Just heard from my State Rep, Dave Gomberg; construction of the first utility grade, grid connected wave energy testing site will begin next week in Oregon! Excerpts from his press release: [G]ood work of global consequence is happening every day at the research hub south of Newport. If we are going to address the climate challenge, ocean warming, acidification, fishing and energy, those advances will come from Hatfield, the Marine Science Center, NOAA and PacWave. [...] PacWaveSouth will be the first utility-scale, grid-connected wave energy test site in the U.S. When completed, PacWave will offer wave energy developers the opportunity to try different technologies for harnessing the power of ocean waves and transmitting that energy to the local electrical grid. The ocean test site will be on a sandy-bottomed stretch of the Pacific Ocean away from popular commercial and recreational fishing reefs about seven miles off the coast of Newport. The site will have four test berths, which combined can accommodate up to 20 wave energy devices at any one time.

Do we really want to sacrifice the world's largest Biome for consumer electronics? by Pakalolo. Land-based minerals and metals are necessary for making our electronics, such as phones, television, and computer components. But there is a big problem for the overpopulated world population whose voracious appetite for consumer goods is depleting rare raw materials that build these items. The United Nations decides whether to authorize the first industrial excavation project in the deep sea. The deep sea biome has escaped the terrestrial and shallow ocean excavation and exploitation of ecological systems critical to the survival of biodiversity, and we are paying a horrible price. We know very little of how the deep depths function, the lifeforms that live there, and the role they play in the climate system. The animals are the cleanup crew disposing of the lifeforms that have passed and sunk to the bottom; what would that mean if they disappeared? Many of us do not want to risk these once pristine (plastics have been found in the deepest ocean trenches) ) and invaluable ecosystems all for a buck.

BBC on Climate by gmoke. I stumbled on a BBC documentary called "South Africa: On the edge of darkness" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofwx-kyxHq4) a week or so ago. It was a hard look at the South African energy and climate situation where coal provides 85% of the electricity while the customers endure frequent load shedding (power failures, brownouts, blackouts) and rooftop solar is taking off* as the country attempts to meet its climate pledges, against vehement and entrenched opposition. The stakes are so high that André De Ruyter, the anti-corruption CEO who took over ESKOM, the South African utility, in 2019, was poisoned the day after he announced his resignation in December 2022. South Africa rooftop solar installations increased from 1MW to 4.4MW in 14 month as the unreliability of the energy sector seems to be driving a transition to independent power. (https://www.eskom.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Weekly_System_Status_Report_2023_w28.pdf)

FOSSIL FUELS & EMISSIONS

Every elected Democrat should be talking like this ... and acting on it by Meteor Blades. Here’s a video and link to a transcript of Al Gore’s recent TED Talk: “What the Fossil Fuel Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.” Too bad Gore isn’t the senior senator from West Virginia instead of the guy who is. As good and direct and urgent as his talk is, I wish its missing piece wasn’t how specifically to get the fossil fuel lobbyists out of the way of what must be done if we are going to avoid some of the worst impacts of climate change. We need a new strategy and right now we seem to be stuck on tactics. The fact that the COP28 in November-December is being chaired by the Abu Dhabi oil executive ought to provide evidence enough that our current strategy is not up to the difficult task ahead. Every Democratic candidate in the coming elections should be asked what policy that does not now exist would they initiate or support to address the situation Gore describes in order to deal with the climate crisis. Any candidate who doesn’t have a ready answer should sure as hell get one.

It seems Mike Pence doesn't know how to pump gas by Walter Einenkel. Former Vice President Mike Pence released a new campaign video that is supposed to lay out his plan for energy independence. So what does it consist of? Pence filling up his gas-guzzling truck with … gas. If you enjoy the experience of cringing for an entire minute, this is the ad for you! The video begins with Pence exiting his seemingly brand-new, cherry-red pickup truck while wearing a light-blue button-down shirt, sans a matching red tie. He has a lavalier microphone taped to the center of his chest. (The point of a lavalier microphone is to be able to wear it discreetly, so as to not have a microphone taped to the center of your chest.) Pence introduces himself to the camera while he grabs the fuel nozzle out of the pump and sticks it into his gas tank, then asks the audience, “Remember $2-a-gallon gas? I do.” One of the more magical things about this ad is that the former vice president has clearly found the one pump in America that doesn’t ask for money, doesn’t need you to choose your octane level, and most importantly, doesn’t need you to press the trigger to release the gas into your vehicle!

PUBLIC LANDS

Utah's attempts to overturn national monuments rejected in court by MorrellWI1983. In an outcome that is not surprising, but still good news, Utah’s attempts to overturn President Biden’s October 2021 moves to return Bears Ears and Grand staircase Escalante to pre-Trump size have been shot down by a federal district court. Biden undid Trump’s December 2017 reductions, restoring Bears Ears from 200000 acres to 1.35 million acres, then retained Trump’s addition of 11000 acres and brought Grand Staircase Escalante back from 1 million acres to 1.87 million. the judge held that Biden’s decision was a valid use of his authority , and not subject to judicial review. this is the second time Utah has tried to overturn Grand Staircase Escalante, following 2004s Utah Association of counties v Bush, which upheld Clinton’s initial designation of 1.7 million acres as a valid use of his authority. This is very good news.

EXTREME WEATHER

Lāhainā Maui, Hawaii, is incinerated by brushfire; residents flee into the safety of the ocean by Pakalolo. There is no safe place to be any more to escape the impacts of global warming. On the island of Maui, a brush fire ignited (the exact cause is yet to be determined), dry, brittle tinder, and powerful winds from Hurricane Dora spread embers across the island. The hurricane passed to the south of the Hawaiian Islands. Lahaina was once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The fires are not contained, and the worst disaster since Hurricane Iniki barreled over Kauai in 1992. First responders describe the scene on Maui as apocalyptic.

Update: Lāhainā Maui, Hawaii, is incinerated by brushfire; cremains found by Pakalolo. There is no safe place to be any more to escape the impacts of global warming. On the island of Maui, a brush fire ignited (the exact cause is yet to be determined), dry, brittle tinder, and powerful winds from Hurricane Dora spread embers across the island. The hurricane passed to the south of the Hawaiian Islands. Lahaina was once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The fires are not contained, and the worst disaster since Hurricane Iniki barreled over Kauai in 1992. First responders describe the scene on Maui as apocalyptic.

Hawaiian Electric did not deploy a “public power shutoff plan” when advised to do so by Pakalolo. Footage from Lahaina shows power wires stressed by high winds, where 93 people are confirmed to have died from burns, heat, and smoke inhalation. Buildings still have not been searched as mass mortality search and rescue teams have arrived with cadaver dogs will search the rubble for victims. Fears remain a body count of 1000 is possible. Only three percent of Lahaina has been searched to locate victims. Fires are still flaring up near Lahaina and the Haleakala slope, West Maui. Meanwhile, the water is toxic and unsafe to drink in Upslope and Lahaina. [...] Four days before fast-moving brush fires engulfed parts of Maui, weather forecasters warned authorities that powerful wind gusts would trigger dangerous fire conditions across much of the island and Hawaii. The state’s electric utility responded with some preemptive steps but did not use what is widely regarded as the most aggressive but effective safety measure: shutting down the power.

You can see how widespread the Maui fire was from this aerial photograph taken August 9.

Images from Hawaii's wildfire devastation by Walter Einenkel. The Washington Post reports that a confluence of events—stronger tropical storms and potentially drier foliage due to climate change mixed with “the spread of flammable nonnative grasses across abandoned farm fields and a failure to manage the vegetation and harden communities against fire”—contributed to how fast and devastating these fires have been.

Typhoon hits Siberia, kills at least three. And yes, climate change is involved by Lincoln green. Although it hasn’t been reported much in the western press, the remnants of Typhoon Khanun hit Siberia this week, causing floods in several districts. The storm left left at least three people dead in Russia's far eastern region of Primorye, the part of Siberia that is closest to North Korea. RFE/RL’s Siberian Realities reported today (in Russian) that a woman drowned in Ussuriysk, and that two children, aged 10 and 12, disappeared near the Bolshaya Ussurska river in the Khorolsky District and were later found dead. According to today’s Moscow Times, the independent news outlet Govorit NeMoskva reported that animals were panic-stricken. One shelter housing 700 animals was reported sinking, with volunteers trying to save them since official rescue workers were nowhere to be found. A prison in Ussuriysk was inundated, with inmates being forced to haul prison guards away on horse carriages, reportedly “so that so that their feet wouldn’t get wet”.

Maui, No Ka Oi (maybe, or not so much anymore) by Pule4Puna. Maui, no ka oi, which means in Hawaiian, “Maui is the best!” Maui is the second largest Island in the Hawaii Archipelago, home to 165,000 full-time residents. Maui is also facing tremendous loss. Climate change is definitely real and it is coming to a place near you. It is imperative we educate government officials to the deadly and devastating effects caused by our own doing. What is equally sad is the Maui officials used social media to alert people rather than activating emergency sirens: In the hours before a wildfire engulfed the town of Lahaina, Maui County officials failed to activate sirens that would have warned the entire population of the approaching flames and instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts…. abcnews.go.com The actions or lack of the required response is criminal and at the very least negligent. What were they doing on social media, checking their ʻxʻ feed, instagram, tixtok or Facebook! Not everyone has a smart phone or uses social media. The standard procedure was ignored and because of their dereliction of duty 80 human beings (Fridayʻs body count) are dead with hundreds of people still missing. Who knows how many beloved pets perished.

AGRICULTURE, GARDENING, FOOD

Unsere Garten (Our Garden) in Vienna

Saturday Morning Garden Blogging - Vol. 19.32. - from Austria to Romania by Missys Brother. I recently traveled with a friend, Suzanne, for almost a month from Austria to Romania including stops between in the countries of Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria. Along the way, I’ll show you flowers, plants and highlights of the areas. It was my first time being in Vienna known as the “City of Waltzes” plus the birthplace of Sachertorte! All I can say is “WOW”. Truly a magical mouth-dropping place. The clock displayed the correct time in the Unsere Garten (Our Garden). The clock numbers were done with succulents.

Climate Resilience: Wicking Garden Bed by Gardening Toad. A wicking bed is a kind of self-watering planter built so a water reservoir in the bottom provides a constant source of moisture which is wicked up into the soil. This is supposed to reduce the amount of water needed for irrigation. I made the bed pictured above from an old plastic storage tub and some extra plumbing bits. I partially buried it in an existing raised bed and covered it with rocks to improve the appearance and help with moderating the soil temperature. Currently growing in the bed are Oregano, Basil, Bunching Onions, Longevity Spinach, two varieties of Brazilian Spinach, and a few salad greens. So far it seems to be working well. I will probably make more wicking beds from other old tubs and containers.

When a Lot of People do a Little, A Little Becomes a Lot! by coolspring. These are some tips to help people become proactive in reducing carbon emissions. Planting trees and bushes help quite a bit. Currant bushes, when you plant two you plant a hedge. When a currant bush limb touches the ground, the branch will root and grow another bush. Currant will just about grow anywhere south of the artic circle and not in the desert. Alpine Strawberrys although small have more flavor in them than the strawberries found at the grocer. These plants will send roots for starts everywhere. Again, plant two and watch the area fill up with strawberry plants. There are many bushes and berry plants out there that will handily reproduce without much human help after planting. Birds and deer etc. like them also. One of my favorite tree solutions is why buy a fake Christmas tree or a dead cut Christmas tree. Buy a tree with a root ball and around May sometime beginning after the last frost, plant the tree. Many state and Federal parks welcome the donation. But it is a good idea to ask first.

ACTION

Looking for ways to support Maui relief efforts? Here are five groups providing services right now by TealBomb. Daily Kos has partnered with the Maui Community Power Recovery Fund to raise money to help disaster relief and recovery efforts. The organization supports immediate relief efforts to house, feed, and support displaced families and dedicates resources for long-term efforts to rebuild and advance structural change in Maui and Hawai’i. [...] Please donate $5 to the Maui Community Power Recovery Fund. One-hunded percent of your contribution will go directly to providing critical aid to the people of Hawai'i.

PDA Endorses the March to #EndFossilFuels by Progressive Democrats of America. As you may know, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres is holding a Climate Ambition Summit this September. He has challenged world leaders to commit to an all-hands-on-deck Acceleration Agenda at the Ambition Summit in advance of the upcoming 28th Conference of Parties in Dubai, UAE this coming November/December. The March to #EndFossilFuels campaign is focused on pushing President Biden to commit the U.S. to these goals and more. On Sunday, September 17th, days before the U.N. meets, we will be marching in the streets of New York City to show support for Secretary General Guterres' challenge. We will be marching to assure President Biden that the citizens of the U.S. know that we are in the midst of a devastating Climate Emergency that demands he make this commitment on behalf of the U.S. We will be marching because the President has the emergency executive powers at his disposal to make such a commitment.

Sign the petition: We need climate accountability and consumer protection in the airline industry by rrbrown2. The climate crisis is not a problem for future generations to solve—it's wreaking havoc right now, it's affecting us all, and it’s only going to get worse. Americans from all over are feeling the sting of intensifying climate-related storms. They're stranded in overcrowded airports, missing out on precious moments with loved ones, grappling with skyrocketing fares, and left in a state of uncertainty as airlines, woefully understaffed due to their own mismanagement, struggle to manage the ensuing chaos. Airlines aren't obligated to compensate for climate-related delays, nor do they adequately pay their employees. This neglect of consumer and employee welfare is a pressing issue that can't be ignored. Sign the petition: Push for climate responsibility in the aviation sector.

The fossil fuel industry has advanced lies, deceit, and the climate crisis for too long by Erin Tulley. Fossil fuel companies have known about the threat of the climate crisis since the 1970s, when the industry predicted global warming with incredible accuracy, even if its corporate leaders didn’t share it publicly. Still, these corporations have spent billions to spread doubt and misinformation about the dangers of fossil fuels and elect climate deniers at all levels of government—robbing a generation’s worth of time to transition our economy to renewable energy and reverse the devastating impacts we’re currently experiencing. Fossil fuel companies knew that their decisions were advancing the climate crisis, but they ignored the science and lied to the general public. We must hold the fossil fuel industry accountable. Sign the petition: The fossil fuel industry broke the law with their lies. Hold them accountable!

The Inoculation Project 8/6/2023: Library Books and Environmental Science by belinda ridgewood. This week, we’re helping a new school library project in Alabama, and continuing with an environmental science project for a Milwaukee high school. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help by sharing or supporting our featured projects. PROJECT #2. Exploring Our Environment. Resources: Help Mr. Allen give his students the equipment to study their environment and the impact of human activities. Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households. Location: Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Total: $916.13. Still Needed: $ 567.16 $462.16

[Note: The climate strike action began at San Francisco City Hall in 2019. The following entries are excerpts from letters that were issued each week of the action.]

Climate Strike -- Delta Tunnel (week 46) by birches. As we’ve seen over and over again in California, rerouting water to the desert destroys whole ecosystems, causing irreparable harm.1, 2, 3, 4 Doing something this damaging is criminal; doing it in an era of rapid climate change, during a mass extinction event, is suicidal. And doing it to the Delta is dangerous to San Francisco. That’s why this week’s letter is about the DELTA TUNNEL. What’s the problem? The Delta Tunnel, a plan to pull more water out of the delta to ship south, is yet another attempt to “solve” a problem created by decades of treating California’s biosphere like a plumbing problem. A biosphere is not a plumbing project. Living systems cannot be buried, dammed, split, laid in concrete, or diverted without enormous losses to biodiversity, life, and resilience.

Climate Strike -- Covid-19 (week 47) by birches. Though Covid-19 is expensive, ecocide is more expensive. That’s what this week’s letter is on WHY WE NEED ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION NOW. • Extreme weather driven by climate change alone has cost the U.S. at least $240 billion/yr for over a decade. • More than 500,000 Californians and $150 billion in property are at risk from the coastal flooding forecast in modest ocean level rise estimates. And those estimates are based on a steady rate of sea level increase that is not happening; instead, the rate of sea level rise is accelerating. • Since 2000, 20% of the earth’s vegetated surface has become less productive, at great economic cost.

Climate Strike -- Green New Deal (week 48) by birches. This week’s topic is A GREEN NEW DEAL NOW. What is a Green New Deal? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal has five goals with a 10-year timeline (as of 2019). The goals are: • Net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers. • Good, high-wage jobs that ensure prosperity and economic security for Americans. • Investment in sustainable infrastructure and industry for the 21st century. • Securing for all generations to come clean water and air, climate and community resiliency, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment. • Justice and equity for now and the future for all frontline and vulnerable communities.

Climate Strike -- Basic Tenets (week 49) by birches. Basic Tenet One: San Francisco must act to survive. According to the Preamble of the Charter of San Francisco, this city exists: to improve the quality of urban life; to enable municipal government to meet the needs of the people effectively and efficiently; to foster social harmony and cohesion; and to assure equality of opportunity for every resident. Climate chaos and mass extinction are: degrading and destroying the quality of urban life on this peninsula; negating the ability of municipal government to meet the needs of the people in any way whatsoever; fostering social strife and breakdown; and assuring ever increasing amounts of inequality for all residents. Clearly, climate chaos and mass extinction threaten to destroy San Francisco. Not acting is assisting in the guaranteed destruction of the city.

Climate Strike -- Keep Your Eyes On The Prize (week 50) by birches. This is what’s coming that we’re not ready for. land loss from flooding, high tide events, massive storm surges, and liquefaction;massive, decades-long drought; massive pollution events (air, water, soil, general environmental); climate refugees; food shortages and food supply problems; lack of medical equipment, drugs, and facilities; heat events; the very real likelihood of having two or more disasters occur simultaneously (akin to what will be starting very soon in the midwest where COVID-19 will coincide with massive spring flooding).So we have some infrastructure for dealing with emergencies and experience in planning for them: Use them now!

Climate Strike -- The Price Is Right (week 51) by birches. We need to stop the pirates now! Waiting until there’s a disaster is what Trump does. Planning and acting to prevent disasters from happening or from becoming worst-case scenarios is what we do.

So where is our: SF native tree urban forest; countywide black water recycling; all electric and clean energy transportation; no-plastics county; all local carbon-neutral or carbon-negative energy, and; resilience and self-sufficiency?

MISCELLANY

Mike Huckabee

Earth Matters: Mike Huckabee pushes climate BS on kids; garden at former Texas coal mine feeds 2,000 by Meteor Blades. Mike Huckabee—the evangelical minister, former governor of Arkansas, two-time presidential contender in the Republican primaries, and religio-political commentator—co-founded and runs Ever Bright, a company that markets so-called “Kids Guides” on various subjects, mostly to families who home school their children, although some public school teachers are using them too. Ever Bright has paid millions to Fox News to run ads for the guides, and it also pays for ads on Facebook. They run the gamut of subject matter, but in an excellent article at Inside Climate News, Keerti Gopal takes special aim at “The Kids Guide to the Truth About Climate Change.” As you might suspect when encountering “the truth about” in a headline on a product from a right-winger who in 2015 said climate change was like “a sunburn,” there are a lot of half-truths and untruths in the guide.

Just when you thought Florida's educational system couldn't get any worse … by Laura Clawson. Florida has banned a lot of books, movies, and ideas under Gov. Ron DeSantis. Here’s something it hasn’t banned: historically inaccurate, frankly racist videos from far-right advocacy group PragerU. This is explicitly right-wing content from an organization founded by a right-wing talk radio host that has promoted climate denial and, in defense of the Electoral College, the line, “pure democracies do not work.” [...] PragerU doesn’t just concern itself with downplaying slavery, though. It also does climate denial. […] Yes, rolling coal is just like fighting the Nazis.

Big Oil Exploits Ukrainian Refugees For PR, Puts Them To Work For The Industry Funding The War by ClimateDenierRoundup. Not content to merely exploit those whose futures will be ruined by their profits, the fossil fuel industry is also exploiting people whose present lives have been destroyed by fossil-fueled profits. Last Sunday, the AP ran with this headline: “ Ukrainians move to North Dakota for oil field jobs to help families facing war back home .” Sounds like a heartwarming news story, but like so many others , the feel-good sheen covers a sinister reality. As part of the U.S. government’s Uniting for Ukraine program to provide citizenship to Ukranians escaping Russia’s invasion, the North Dakota Petroleum Council’s Bakken Global Recruitment of Oilfield Workers program is graciously inviting refugees to fill the oil jobs that the industry is otherwise struggling to fill because the industry is dirty and work incredibly dangerous .

Solidarity Works by The Carbon-Based Life. The Republicans prefer to pass a law at midnight and then let the courts fight it out where opinions aren’t quite so fickle. When the Republicans used the courts to overthrow Reproductive freedom. I knew that it was one toke over the line, sweet Jesus. What will Republicans fundraise on now? “Won’t you help save those poor whittle babies! We hate anyway!” Why, building a toxic waste dump near town means Jobs, Jobs, jobs! And helps to attract new industry!I recently heard a discussion on how Green energy was damaging the environment by the usual suspects. Wind turbines were killing billions with a B, billions of birds. And offshore wind turbines were causing whales to lose their way. Beaching themselves by the hundreds with an H. How odd it was, I thought, to hear Republicans suddenly so concerned for the environment and animal welfare. Machiavelli says, “oh, I see.”

Kitchen Table Kibitzing Friday: cynicism and my carbon footprint by annieli. I decided to measure my carbon footprint again, partially to chastise myself about being cynical, but also to reflect on not going to an out-of-state event this week with people I genuinely like. I likely didn’t want to reveal how paranoid I am getting, even as it was about trying to reconcile my anxieties about whether I do the right things / make good choices. I did save about 30 gallons of gasoline by not going, so that’s something. As a related note, I do interact with more vegans, and while I have minimized my bad carbon food choices, I confess to occasionally surrendering to the carbonara.

Overnight News Digest: This ain’t no disco by Magnifico. Pew Research Center: As the Earth’s temperature continues to rise, fueling more intense storms and extreme weather, scientists are calling for immediate action to address climate change. However, climate change remains a lower priority for some Americans, and a subset of the public rejects that it’s happening at all. […] Overall, 46% of Americans say human activity is the primary reason why the Earth is warming. By contrast, 26% say warming is mostly caused by natural patterns in the environment and another 14% do not believe there’s evidence the Earth is warming at all. […] A common explanation across interviews was that any changes to Earth’s climate are a natural part of the planet’s cycles that humans cannot control. Extreme weather was explained in a similar way, with many saying these events are natural occurrences that have not become more frequent and severe because of climate change.

Overnight News Digest - Saturday Science - Deep-sea mining, JWST, Dimorphos residue, C.H. Turner by Rise above the swamp. Topics in tonight’s digest include: • Deep-sea mining — right or wrong? • Using ‘recycled plastic’ in construction materials not such a great idea • This Black zoologist’s insights were a century ahead of their time • The case for “dusking.” From The Guardian: In an exclusive interview with Guardian Seascape last Saturday, James Cameron argued that it is “less wrong” to mine the deep sea than mining on land. “I’ve seen an awful lot of seafloor,” said the Titanic director and accomplished deep-sea explorer. “And while there are some amazing creatures, they tend to be clustered in small habitats. What you mostly have is miles and miles of nothing but clay.” His view, which he conceded made him “something of an outlier”, is disputed by scientists and environmentalists who claim the opposite: that the ocean floor is a richer and more biodiverse place than previously thought, with new species uncovered each time they look. Deep-sea mining, said one, would result in “extinction on a vast timescale”.

Recent Spotlights:

Spotlight on the latest DK climate and other eco-diaries (8/6/2013)

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