NASA Reports:
[T]he U.S. Embassy in Beijing reports their measurements hourly in a Twitter feed. On the morning of January 10, PM2.5 measurements were off the scale, though by afternoon they had dropped to moderate levels. The Beijing Environmental Bureau will start releasing PM2.5 measurements sometime before January 23, the Chinese New Year.
Friday, January 13, 2012
NASA Images: Winter Haze over China
by NASA/Jan 10, 2012
---------------------
Fog and haze blanketed the North China Plain on January 10, 2012, making travel difficult. The Beijing airport cancelled 43 flights and delayed 80 more in the morning hours, when visibility dropped to 200 meters, according to state news reports. Provinces across the plain reported low visibility.
The haze decreased visibility in satellite images too. A milky, gray pall entirely blocks the ground from view in the top image, taken in the early afternoon by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. Patches of white fog or low cloud hang below the gray haze. Winds had already begun to push the haze out of Beijing in the north, but the rest of the North China Plain still suffered from poor air quality. By the next day, when Aqua MODIS acquired the lower image, skies were mostly clear across the region.
To see the images and read more about this story, click here
---------------------
Fog and haze blanketed the North China Plain on January 10, 2012, making travel difficult. The Beijing airport cancelled 43 flights and delayed 80 more in the morning hours, when visibility dropped to 200 meters, according to state news reports. Provinces across the plain reported low visibility.
The haze decreased visibility in satellite images too. A milky, gray pall entirely blocks the ground from view in the top image, taken in the early afternoon by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. Patches of white fog or low cloud hang below the gray haze. Winds had already begun to push the haze out of Beijing in the north, but the rest of the North China Plain still suffered from poor air quality. By the next day, when Aqua MODIS acquired the lower image, skies were mostly clear across the region.
To see the images and read more about this story, click here
Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline is Not a Jobs Plan, But an Oil Export Plan
by Danielle Droitsch/Climate Progress/Cross Posted From NRDC’s Switchboard/Jan 13, 2012
--------------------------------------
The Oil Goes to China, the Permanent Jobs Go to Canada, We Get the Spills, and the World Gets Warmer
You’ll hear the GOP, the American Petroleum Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce make wild claims about the job creation potential of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Don’t be fooled. The pipeline company itself admits only “a few hundred permanent jobs” are created by Keystone XL.
The debate over whether Keystone XL creates jobs is a convenient diversion from something oil company backers don’t want you to know: this is an export pipeline to help them access foreign markets and bypass the United States. Oil companies will make bigger profits and oil prices for Americans will increase. That’s not a project that helps Americans. It’s a project that helps Big Oil.
CNN posted this interview with a TransCanada executive who admits that permanent jobs would only number “in the hundreds, certainly not in the thousands” from Montana down to Houston:....
The oil industry is pulling a bait and switch scam with Keystone XL – offering it as a path to economic and national security when the pipeline is mostly meant for export. According to the State Department, only 20 permanent jobs will be created by the pipeline. Even the pipeline company acknowledged that only “a few hundred permanent jobs’ will be created. Claims the pipeline will created 100,000 jobs are false. The U.S. State Department estimates no more than 6,000 temporary construction jobs will be created over the two years. We need better from Republicans when it comes to a jobs plan than a single project with jobs that won’t last.
Read more at Climate Progress
--------------------------------------
The Oil Goes to China, the Permanent Jobs Go to Canada, We Get the Spills, and the World Gets Warmer
You’ll hear the GOP, the American Petroleum Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce make wild claims about the job creation potential of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Don’t be fooled. The pipeline company itself admits only “a few hundred permanent jobs” are created by Keystone XL.
The debate over whether Keystone XL creates jobs is a convenient diversion from something oil company backers don’t want you to know: this is an export pipeline to help them access foreign markets and bypass the United States. Oil companies will make bigger profits and oil prices for Americans will increase. That’s not a project that helps Americans. It’s a project that helps Big Oil.
CNN posted this interview with a TransCanada executive who admits that permanent jobs would only number “in the hundreds, certainly not in the thousands” from Montana down to Houston:....
The oil industry is pulling a bait and switch scam with Keystone XL – offering it as a path to economic and national security when the pipeline is mostly meant for export. According to the State Department, only 20 permanent jobs will be created by the pipeline. Even the pipeline company acknowledged that only “a few hundred permanent jobs’ will be created. Claims the pipeline will created 100,000 jobs are false. The U.S. State Department estimates no more than 6,000 temporary construction jobs will be created over the two years. We need better from Republicans when it comes to a jobs plan than a single project with jobs that won’t last.
Read more at Climate Progress
Updated Drought Statement for Austin & San Antonio
DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
110 PM CST THU JAN 12 2012
..ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...THE HILL COUNTRY AND RIO
GRANDE PLAINS REMAIN IN MODERATE TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
STATUS...
SYNOPSIS...
DROUGHT CONTINUES TO PLAGUE ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...
BUT SMALL IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN SEEN. DECEMBER SAW ABOVE
NORMAL RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH AND THIS WAS ONLY THE SECOND
MONTH TO RECORD ABOVE AVERAGE RAINFALL SINCE OCTOBER 2010.
JANUARY TO DATE HAS SEEN ONLY ONE RAINFALL EVENT AND AMOUNTS
VARIED FROM LESS THAN ONE-TENTH OF AN INCH TO NEARLY 4 INCHES
IN A FEW LOCATIONS ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAINS. ANY RAINFALL WE
GET IS EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL FOR THE ENTIRE REGION. FOR US TO
SEE MORE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE LONG TERM DROUGHT
IMPACTS SUCH AS FILLING LAKES AND RESERVOIRS...MORE FREQUENT
AND WIDESPREAD RAINFALL EVENTS OVER SEVERAL MONTHS WILL BE
NECESSARY.
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) IS FORECASTING THE LA NINA
PATTERN TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE EQUATORIAL PACIFIC THROUGH THE
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER (DEC...JAN AND FEB). THIS USUALLY
MEANS BELOW AVERAGE RAINFALL AND WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
DURING THE WINTER ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. THIS DOES NOT MEAN
THAT WE WILL NOT SEE RAINFALL EVENTS AND THAT COLD OUTBREAKS
WILL NOT OCCUR.
THE US DROUGHT MONITOR (USDM) VALID JANUARY 10TH AND ISSUED ON
JANUARY 12TH...SHOWED ALL OF THE HILL COUNTRY AND SOUTH CENTRAL
TEXAS IN MODERATE (D1) TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4) CONDITIONS.
MODERATE (D1) AND SEVERE DROUGHT (D2) CONDITIONS WERE PRESENT
OVER SOUTHERN VAL VERDE...MAVERICK AND PORTIONS OF DIMMIT AND
ZAVALA COUNTIES. ANOTHER SMALL AREA OF MODERATE (D1) AND SEVERE
DROUGHT (D2) CONDITIONS WERE NOTED OVER NORTHEASTERN LLANO
AND NORTHWESTERN BURNET COUNTIES.
EXTREME DROUGHT (D3) TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4) CONDITIONS
PREVAIL ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.
MOST OF THE STATE IS CURRENTLY IN MODERATE DROUGHT (D1) TO
EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4). SIXTY-TWO PERCENT OF THE STATE IS
CURRENTLY IN EXTREME (D3) TO EXCEPTIONAL (D4) DROUGHT STATUS
AND TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE STATE IS IN EXCEPTIONAL (D4)
DROUGHT STATUS. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVERAL MONTHS ONE PERCENT
OF THE STATE IS CURRENTLY CLASSIFIED AS NO DROUGHT CONDITIONS D0.
THESE AREAS WERE LOCATED ACROSS NORTH TEXAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE
RED RIVER. THESE NUMBERS WILL CONTINUE TO DECREASE AS ADDITIONAL
RAINFALL IS OBSERVED ACROSS THE STATE.
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...
FIRE DANGER IMPACTS...
FIRE DANGER IS CURRENTLY MODERATE TO HIGH DUE TO THE RECENT LACK
OF RAINFALL AND GUSTY WINDS. AS OF JANUARY 12TH...BURN BANS WERE
IN EFFECT FOR 14 COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. THE COUNTIES
WITH ESTABLISHED OUTDOOR BURN BANS INCLUDE BEXAR...DEWITT...
DIMMIT...EDWARDS...FRIO...KARNES...KERR...KINNEY...MAVERICK...
MEDINA...REAL...UVALDE...VAL VERDE AND ZAVALA COUNTIES.
CURRENTLY ATASCOSA...BANDERA...BASTROP...BLANCO...BURNET...
CALDWELL...COMAL...FAYETTE...GILLESPIE...GONZALES...
GUDALUPE...HAYS...KENDALL...LAVACA...LEE...LLANO...
TRAVIS...WILLIAMSON AND WILSON COUNTIES HAVE LIFTED THEIR
BURN BANS.
RESIDENTS IN ALL COUNTIES SHOULD CONTACT THEIR LOCAL COUNTY
JUDGE`S OFFICE OR FIRE MARSHALL BEFORE DECIDING TO CONDUCT
ANY TYPE OF OUTDOOR BURNING.
THE JANUARY 12TH KEETCH-BYRAM DROUGHT INDEX (KBDI) SHOWED KBDI
VALUES RANGED FROM 200 TO 400 ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND EASTERN
PORTIONS OF THE HILL COUNTRY AND ALONG I-35 AS WELL AS THE
SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS. VALUES OF 500 TO
700 WERE NOTED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
TEXAS AND THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS AND
WESTERN PARTS OF THE HILL COUNTRY.
THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE USES THE KBDI AS A MEANS FOR RELATING
CURRENT AND RECENT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO POTENTIAL OR EXPECTED
FIRE BEHAVIOR. THE KBDI IS A NUMERICAL INDEX CALCULATED DAILY
FOR EACH COUNTY. EACH NUMBER IS AN ESTIMATE OF THE AMOUNT OF
PRECIPITATION...IN HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH... NEEDED TO BRING THE
SOIL BACK TO SATURATION. THE INDEX RANGES FROM ZERO TO 800...
WITH ZERO REPRESENTING A SATURATED SOIL AND 800 A COMPLETELY
DRY SOIL. REMEMBER...THAT FIRE DANGER CAN CHANGE QUICKLY FROM
ONE DAY TO ANOTHER AS WINDS AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY VARY.
AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS...
THE TEXAS CROP AND WEATHER REPORT ISSUED BY TEXAS
A AND M AGRICULTURAL INDICATED MOISTURE FROM RECENT RAINS WAS
ALREADY DRYING UP. EARLIER GREEN-UP TURNED BROWN WITH LACK OF
CONTINUED RAINFALL AND FREEZING TEMPERATURES. WITH LITTLE OR NO
STANDING CROP OF NATIVE GRASSES...LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS CONTINUED
TO PROVIDE HEAVY SUPPLEMENTAL FEED FOR CATTLE. SOME LARGER
RANCHES SOLD OFF MORE CATTLE DUE TO PROJECTIONS OF CONTINUED
DROUGHT.
CLIMATE SUMMARY...
SO FAR RAINFALL FOR MOST LOCATIONS IN JANUARY HAS BEEN BELOW
NORMAL. THE MONTH IS YOUNG AND THESE TOTALS WILL CONTINUE TO
CHANGE AND BE UPDATED.
PRECIPITATION FROM JANUARY 1, 2012 TO MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11, 2012
AND DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL:
2012 NORMAL DEPARTURE PERCENT
RAINFALL TO DATE FROM NORMAL OF NORMAL
AUSTIN MABRY 0.92 0.81 +0.11 114%
AUSTIN BERGSTROM 0.63 0.82 -0.19 77%
SAN ANTONIO 0.12 0.59 -0.47 20%
DEL RIO 0.07 0.25 -0.18 28%
THROUGH MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11TH...DEL RIO HAS RECEIVED 0.07 OF
AN INCH OF RAINFALL. THIS IS 0.18 OF AN INCH BELOW THE NORMAL
OF 0.25 OF AN INCH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY TO DATE
IS 51.9 DEGREES. THIS IS 0.5 OF A DEGREE ABOVE THE NORMAL OF
51.4 DEGREES.
THROUGH MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11TH...SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT HAS RECEIVED 0.12 OF AN INCH OF RAIN. THIS IS 0.47 OF AN
INCH BELOW THE NORMAL OF 0.59 OF AN INCH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
AT THE SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR JANUARY TO DATE IS
55.3 DEGREES. THIS IS 4.3 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL 51.0 DEGREES.
THROUGH MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11TH...AUSTIN MABRY HAS RECEIVED 0.92
OF AN INCH OF RAIN. THIS IS 0.11 OF AN INCH ABOVE THE NORMAL OF
0.81 OF AN INCH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY TO DATE AT
AUSTIN MABRY IS 54.3 DEGREES. THIS IS 3.3 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
OF 51.0 DEGREES.
THROUGH MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11TH...AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT HAS RECEIVED 0.63 OF AN INCH OF RAIN. THIS IS 0.19 OF AN
INCH BELOW THE NORMAL OF 0.82 OF AN INCH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
FOR JANUARY TO DATE AT THE AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
IS 51.0 DEGREES. THIS IS 2.0 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 49.0
DEGREES.
PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...
DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...THERE WILL BE AT LEAST ONE CHANCE
FOR LIGHT RAIN BEFORE A DRIER PATTERN RETURNS. MAINLY LIGHT
RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO
REMAIN BELOW NORMAL FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS BEFORE CLIMBING BACK TO
NEAR NORMAL MID JANUARY VALUES.
THE LATEST CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK
ISSUED ON JANUARY 11TH AND VALID JANUARY 19TH THROUGH JANUARY
25TH 2012 IS CALLING FOR GREATER CHANCES FOR ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES AND GREATER CHANCES FOR BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL.
THE LONGER RANGE OUTLOOK FOR FEBRUARY 2012 THROUGH APRIL
2012...CREATED ON DECEMBER 15TH IS CALLING FOR GREATER CHANCES
FOR ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND GREATER CHANCES FOR BELOW
NORMAL RAINFALL.
HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...
DUE TO THE LACK OF SOIL MOISTURE MANY LAKES AND RESERVOIRS HAVE
SEEN LITTLE OR NO INCREASE DESPITE THE ABOVE NORMAL DECEMBER
RAINFALL. MOST OF THE RIVERS...CREEKS AND STREAMS REMAIN DRY OR
HAVE VERY LOW FLOWS AND THE WATER IS NOT RUNNING OFF TO HELP
REPLENISH THE LEVELS IN THE LAKES AND RESERVOIRS.
THE MAIN DROUGHT CONCERNS ARE CURRENTLY LONG TERM HYDROLOGIC
IMPACTS ACROSS THE REGION. MANY STOCK TANKS REMAIN EXTREMELY
LOW OR DRY. IF THE WETTER THAN AVERAGE CONDITIONS CONTINUE THEN
THE LONG TERM HYDROLOGIC IMPACTS WILL BEGIN TO LESSEN.
THE 7 DAY STREAM FLOW AVERAGE IS IN THE 25 TO 75 PERCENT
(NORMAL) RANGE TO LESS THAN 10 PERCENT (MUCH BELOW) FOR
BASINS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS.
RESERVOIR CONDITIONS AS OF JANUARY 12TH...
AREA LAKES...RIVERS AND RESERVOIRS REMAIN WELL BELOW NORMAL
POOL ELEVATIONS. MOST LEVELS CONTINUE TO FALL OR REMAIN STEADY
EVEN WITH THE RECENT RAINFALL. A FEW LOCATIONS HAVE SEEN SMALL
INCREASES.
BELOW IS A LIST OF RESERVOIRS WITH THE LATEST ELEVATIONS AND
NORMAL POOLS.
NORMAL POOL (FT) LATEST ELEVATION (FT)
MEDINA LAKE 1064.2 1012.89
CANYON LAKE 909 898.50
LAKE TRAVIS 681 626.32
LAKE BUCHANAN 1020 988.36
LAKE GEORGETOWN 791 772.68
LAKE AMISTAD 1117 1107.70
RESTRICTIONS...
THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM (SAWS) IS CURRENTLY BACK IN
STAGE 1 WATER RESTRICTIONS. THE MANDATORY RESTRICTIONS AND
THE MORE FREQUENT RAIN EVENTS HAVE HELPED TO KEEP THE
EDWARDS AQUIFER LEVEL FROM FALLING BELOW 650 FEET.
THE EDWARDS AQUIFER IS CURRENTLY READING 652.4 FEET AS OF
JANUARY 12TH. THIS IS 17.6 FEET BELOW THE HISTORICAL MONTHLY
AVERAGE FOR JANUARY WHICH IS 670.0 FEET. THE AQUIFER LEVEL
IS 26.8 FEET BELOW THE LEVEL OBSERVED ON THIS DATE IN
JANUARY 2011.
ONCE NEW RESTRICTIONS ARE IN PLACE THEY WILL REMAIN IN PLACE
FOR 30 DAYS AFTER RISING ABOVE THE TRIGGER LEVEL. AFTER 30
DAYS...IF THE AQUIFER LEVEL REMAINS ABOVE THE TRIGGER LEVEL
THEN RESTRICTIONS WILL BE UPDATED.
MANY COMMUNITIES ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS HAVE IMPLEMENTED
THE FIRST...SECOND...THIRD AND FOURTH STAGES OF WATER
RESTRICTIONS DUE TO THE LONG TERM DRY CONDITIONS AND
DECREASING WATER SUPPLIES.
THE BARTON SPRINGS REMAIN IN CRITICAL STAGE 3 WITH A TEN DAY
AVERAGE FLOW OF 22.2 CUBIC FEET PER MINUTE. THE FLOW RATES
REMAIN VERY LOW DESPITE ABOVE-AVERAGE RAINFALL IN DECEMBER
2010. THE RAINS DID PROVIDE SOME RECHARGE...BUT THE BENEFITS
WILL BE TEMPORARY UNLESS SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL IS OBSERVED
OVER THE NEXT 6 MONTHS.
AUSTIN REMAINS IN STAGE 2 WATER RESTRICTIONS...SAN MARCOS
IS IN STAGE 1 WATER RESTRICTIONS AND THE CITY OF
KERRVILLE REMAINS IN STAGE 4 WATER RESTRICTIONS.
LOCATIONS THAT DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE MANDATORY RESTRICTIONS
CONTINUE TO STRONGLY PROMOTE YEAR ROUND WATER CONSERVATION.
NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...
THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AROUND JANUARY 27, 2012 OR
SOONER IF NECESSARY.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
110 PM CST THU JAN 12 2012
..ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...THE HILL COUNTRY AND RIO
GRANDE PLAINS REMAIN IN MODERATE TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
STATUS...
SYNOPSIS...
DROUGHT CONTINUES TO PLAGUE ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...
BUT SMALL IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN SEEN. DECEMBER SAW ABOVE
NORMAL RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH AND THIS WAS ONLY THE SECOND
MONTH TO RECORD ABOVE AVERAGE RAINFALL SINCE OCTOBER 2010.
JANUARY TO DATE HAS SEEN ONLY ONE RAINFALL EVENT AND AMOUNTS
VARIED FROM LESS THAN ONE-TENTH OF AN INCH TO NEARLY 4 INCHES
IN A FEW LOCATIONS ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAINS. ANY RAINFALL WE
GET IS EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL FOR THE ENTIRE REGION. FOR US TO
SEE MORE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE LONG TERM DROUGHT
IMPACTS SUCH AS FILLING LAKES AND RESERVOIRS...MORE FREQUENT
AND WIDESPREAD RAINFALL EVENTS OVER SEVERAL MONTHS WILL BE
NECESSARY.
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) IS FORECASTING THE LA NINA
PATTERN TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE EQUATORIAL PACIFIC THROUGH THE
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER (DEC...JAN AND FEB). THIS USUALLY
MEANS BELOW AVERAGE RAINFALL AND WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
DURING THE WINTER ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. THIS DOES NOT MEAN
THAT WE WILL NOT SEE RAINFALL EVENTS AND THAT COLD OUTBREAKS
WILL NOT OCCUR.
THE US DROUGHT MONITOR (USDM) VALID JANUARY 10TH AND ISSUED ON
JANUARY 12TH...SHOWED ALL OF THE HILL COUNTRY AND SOUTH CENTRAL
TEXAS IN MODERATE (D1) TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4) CONDITIONS.
MODERATE (D1) AND SEVERE DROUGHT (D2) CONDITIONS WERE PRESENT
OVER SOUTHERN VAL VERDE...MAVERICK AND PORTIONS OF DIMMIT AND
ZAVALA COUNTIES. ANOTHER SMALL AREA OF MODERATE (D1) AND SEVERE
DROUGHT (D2) CONDITIONS WERE NOTED OVER NORTHEASTERN LLANO
AND NORTHWESTERN BURNET COUNTIES.
EXTREME DROUGHT (D3) TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4) CONDITIONS
PREVAIL ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.
MOST OF THE STATE IS CURRENTLY IN MODERATE DROUGHT (D1) TO
EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4). SIXTY-TWO PERCENT OF THE STATE IS
CURRENTLY IN EXTREME (D3) TO EXCEPTIONAL (D4) DROUGHT STATUS
AND TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE STATE IS IN EXCEPTIONAL (D4)
DROUGHT STATUS. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVERAL MONTHS ONE PERCENT
OF THE STATE IS CURRENTLY CLASSIFIED AS NO DROUGHT CONDITIONS D0.
THESE AREAS WERE LOCATED ACROSS NORTH TEXAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE
RED RIVER. THESE NUMBERS WILL CONTINUE TO DECREASE AS ADDITIONAL
RAINFALL IS OBSERVED ACROSS THE STATE.
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...
FIRE DANGER IMPACTS...
FIRE DANGER IS CURRENTLY MODERATE TO HIGH DUE TO THE RECENT LACK
OF RAINFALL AND GUSTY WINDS. AS OF JANUARY 12TH...BURN BANS WERE
IN EFFECT FOR 14 COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. THE COUNTIES
WITH ESTABLISHED OUTDOOR BURN BANS INCLUDE BEXAR...DEWITT...
DIMMIT...EDWARDS...FRIO...KARNES...KERR...KINNEY...MAVERICK...
MEDINA...REAL...UVALDE...VAL VERDE AND ZAVALA COUNTIES.
CURRENTLY ATASCOSA...BANDERA...BASTROP...BLANCO...BURNET...
CALDWELL...COMAL...FAYETTE...GILLESPIE...GONZALES...
GUDALUPE...HAYS...KENDALL...LAVACA...LEE...LLANO...
TRAVIS...WILLIAMSON AND WILSON COUNTIES HAVE LIFTED THEIR
BURN BANS.
RESIDENTS IN ALL COUNTIES SHOULD CONTACT THEIR LOCAL COUNTY
JUDGE`S OFFICE OR FIRE MARSHALL BEFORE DECIDING TO CONDUCT
ANY TYPE OF OUTDOOR BURNING.
THE JANUARY 12TH KEETCH-BYRAM DROUGHT INDEX (KBDI) SHOWED KBDI
VALUES RANGED FROM 200 TO 400 ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND EASTERN
PORTIONS OF THE HILL COUNTRY AND ALONG I-35 AS WELL AS THE
SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS. VALUES OF 500 TO
700 WERE NOTED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
TEXAS AND THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS AND
WESTERN PARTS OF THE HILL COUNTRY.
THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE USES THE KBDI AS A MEANS FOR RELATING
CURRENT AND RECENT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO POTENTIAL OR EXPECTED
FIRE BEHAVIOR. THE KBDI IS A NUMERICAL INDEX CALCULATED DAILY
FOR EACH COUNTY. EACH NUMBER IS AN ESTIMATE OF THE AMOUNT OF
PRECIPITATION...IN HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH... NEEDED TO BRING THE
SOIL BACK TO SATURATION. THE INDEX RANGES FROM ZERO TO 800...
WITH ZERO REPRESENTING A SATURATED SOIL AND 800 A COMPLETELY
DRY SOIL. REMEMBER...THAT FIRE DANGER CAN CHANGE QUICKLY FROM
ONE DAY TO ANOTHER AS WINDS AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY VARY.
AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS...
THE TEXAS CROP AND WEATHER REPORT ISSUED BY TEXAS
A AND M AGRICULTURAL INDICATED MOISTURE FROM RECENT RAINS WAS
ALREADY DRYING UP. EARLIER GREEN-UP TURNED BROWN WITH LACK OF
CONTINUED RAINFALL AND FREEZING TEMPERATURES. WITH LITTLE OR NO
STANDING CROP OF NATIVE GRASSES...LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS CONTINUED
TO PROVIDE HEAVY SUPPLEMENTAL FEED FOR CATTLE. SOME LARGER
RANCHES SOLD OFF MORE CATTLE DUE TO PROJECTIONS OF CONTINUED
DROUGHT.
CLIMATE SUMMARY...
SO FAR RAINFALL FOR MOST LOCATIONS IN JANUARY HAS BEEN BELOW
NORMAL. THE MONTH IS YOUNG AND THESE TOTALS WILL CONTINUE TO
CHANGE AND BE UPDATED.
PRECIPITATION FROM JANUARY 1, 2012 TO MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11, 2012
AND DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL:
2012 NORMAL DEPARTURE PERCENT
RAINFALL TO DATE FROM NORMAL OF NORMAL
AUSTIN MABRY 0.92 0.81 +0.11 114%
AUSTIN BERGSTROM 0.63 0.82 -0.19 77%
SAN ANTONIO 0.12 0.59 -0.47 20%
DEL RIO 0.07 0.25 -0.18 28%
THROUGH MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11TH...DEL RIO HAS RECEIVED 0.07 OF
AN INCH OF RAINFALL. THIS IS 0.18 OF AN INCH BELOW THE NORMAL
OF 0.25 OF AN INCH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY TO DATE
IS 51.9 DEGREES. THIS IS 0.5 OF A DEGREE ABOVE THE NORMAL OF
51.4 DEGREES.
THROUGH MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11TH...SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT HAS RECEIVED 0.12 OF AN INCH OF RAIN. THIS IS 0.47 OF AN
INCH BELOW THE NORMAL OF 0.59 OF AN INCH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
AT THE SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR JANUARY TO DATE IS
55.3 DEGREES. THIS IS 4.3 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL 51.0 DEGREES.
THROUGH MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11TH...AUSTIN MABRY HAS RECEIVED 0.92
OF AN INCH OF RAIN. THIS IS 0.11 OF AN INCH ABOVE THE NORMAL OF
0.81 OF AN INCH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY TO DATE AT
AUSTIN MABRY IS 54.3 DEGREES. THIS IS 3.3 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
OF 51.0 DEGREES.
THROUGH MIDNIGHT JANUARY 11TH...AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT HAS RECEIVED 0.63 OF AN INCH OF RAIN. THIS IS 0.19 OF AN
INCH BELOW THE NORMAL OF 0.82 OF AN INCH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
FOR JANUARY TO DATE AT THE AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
IS 51.0 DEGREES. THIS IS 2.0 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 49.0
DEGREES.
PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...
DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...THERE WILL BE AT LEAST ONE CHANCE
FOR LIGHT RAIN BEFORE A DRIER PATTERN RETURNS. MAINLY LIGHT
RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO
REMAIN BELOW NORMAL FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS BEFORE CLIMBING BACK TO
NEAR NORMAL MID JANUARY VALUES.
THE LATEST CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK
ISSUED ON JANUARY 11TH AND VALID JANUARY 19TH THROUGH JANUARY
25TH 2012 IS CALLING FOR GREATER CHANCES FOR ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES AND GREATER CHANCES FOR BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL.
THE LONGER RANGE OUTLOOK FOR FEBRUARY 2012 THROUGH APRIL
2012...CREATED ON DECEMBER 15TH IS CALLING FOR GREATER CHANCES
FOR ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND GREATER CHANCES FOR BELOW
NORMAL RAINFALL.
HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...
DUE TO THE LACK OF SOIL MOISTURE MANY LAKES AND RESERVOIRS HAVE
SEEN LITTLE OR NO INCREASE DESPITE THE ABOVE NORMAL DECEMBER
RAINFALL. MOST OF THE RIVERS...CREEKS AND STREAMS REMAIN DRY OR
HAVE VERY LOW FLOWS AND THE WATER IS NOT RUNNING OFF TO HELP
REPLENISH THE LEVELS IN THE LAKES AND RESERVOIRS.
THE MAIN DROUGHT CONCERNS ARE CURRENTLY LONG TERM HYDROLOGIC
IMPACTS ACROSS THE REGION. MANY STOCK TANKS REMAIN EXTREMELY
LOW OR DRY. IF THE WETTER THAN AVERAGE CONDITIONS CONTINUE THEN
THE LONG TERM HYDROLOGIC IMPACTS WILL BEGIN TO LESSEN.
THE 7 DAY STREAM FLOW AVERAGE IS IN THE 25 TO 75 PERCENT
(NORMAL) RANGE TO LESS THAN 10 PERCENT (MUCH BELOW) FOR
BASINS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS.
RESERVOIR CONDITIONS AS OF JANUARY 12TH...
AREA LAKES...RIVERS AND RESERVOIRS REMAIN WELL BELOW NORMAL
POOL ELEVATIONS. MOST LEVELS CONTINUE TO FALL OR REMAIN STEADY
EVEN WITH THE RECENT RAINFALL. A FEW LOCATIONS HAVE SEEN SMALL
INCREASES.
BELOW IS A LIST OF RESERVOIRS WITH THE LATEST ELEVATIONS AND
NORMAL POOLS.
NORMAL POOL (FT) LATEST ELEVATION (FT)
MEDINA LAKE 1064.2 1012.89
CANYON LAKE 909 898.50
LAKE TRAVIS 681 626.32
LAKE BUCHANAN 1020 988.36
LAKE GEORGETOWN 791 772.68
LAKE AMISTAD 1117 1107.70
RESTRICTIONS...
THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM (SAWS) IS CURRENTLY BACK IN
STAGE 1 WATER RESTRICTIONS. THE MANDATORY RESTRICTIONS AND
THE MORE FREQUENT RAIN EVENTS HAVE HELPED TO KEEP THE
EDWARDS AQUIFER LEVEL FROM FALLING BELOW 650 FEET.
THE EDWARDS AQUIFER IS CURRENTLY READING 652.4 FEET AS OF
JANUARY 12TH. THIS IS 17.6 FEET BELOW THE HISTORICAL MONTHLY
AVERAGE FOR JANUARY WHICH IS 670.0 FEET. THE AQUIFER LEVEL
IS 26.8 FEET BELOW THE LEVEL OBSERVED ON THIS DATE IN
JANUARY 2011.
ONCE NEW RESTRICTIONS ARE IN PLACE THEY WILL REMAIN IN PLACE
FOR 30 DAYS AFTER RISING ABOVE THE TRIGGER LEVEL. AFTER 30
DAYS...IF THE AQUIFER LEVEL REMAINS ABOVE THE TRIGGER LEVEL
THEN RESTRICTIONS WILL BE UPDATED.
MANY COMMUNITIES ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS HAVE IMPLEMENTED
THE FIRST...SECOND...THIRD AND FOURTH STAGES OF WATER
RESTRICTIONS DUE TO THE LONG TERM DRY CONDITIONS AND
DECREASING WATER SUPPLIES.
THE BARTON SPRINGS REMAIN IN CRITICAL STAGE 3 WITH A TEN DAY
AVERAGE FLOW OF 22.2 CUBIC FEET PER MINUTE. THE FLOW RATES
REMAIN VERY LOW DESPITE ABOVE-AVERAGE RAINFALL IN DECEMBER
2010. THE RAINS DID PROVIDE SOME RECHARGE...BUT THE BENEFITS
WILL BE TEMPORARY UNLESS SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL IS OBSERVED
OVER THE NEXT 6 MONTHS.
AUSTIN REMAINS IN STAGE 2 WATER RESTRICTIONS...SAN MARCOS
IS IN STAGE 1 WATER RESTRICTIONS AND THE CITY OF
KERRVILLE REMAINS IN STAGE 4 WATER RESTRICTIONS.
LOCATIONS THAT DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE MANDATORY RESTRICTIONS
CONTINUE TO STRONGLY PROMOTE YEAR ROUND WATER CONSERVATION.
NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...
THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AROUND JANUARY 27, 2012 OR
SOONER IF NECESSARY.
Marc Morano Encourages Threats of Violence by Publishing Private Email Addresses of Climate Scientists
by Brian Angliss/Scholars and Rogues/Jan 13, 2012
--------------------------------------
Marc Morano abets emailed threats of violence
Marc Morano, former environmental communications director to Senator Jim Inhofe and the Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, recently published on his Climate Depot website the email address of conservative MIT climate scientist and hurricane expert Kerry Emanuel. As a result, Emanuel was deluged with hate mail that not only threatened his life but also threatened his wife. (MotherJones has the full story.) Other climate scientists and their family members have been threatened with torture, rape, and murder in the past, so it’s likely that similar threats were involved here.
I’m not a lawyer, but I thought threats of violence, if deemed credible, are crimes. Not only that, but given that most emails cross state borders, credible threats via email would thus be federal crimes. I my understanding is correct, Morano could be abetting the commission of a federal crime every time he publishes a climate scientist’s email. And this isn’t the first time Morano has published private email addresses, nor the first time such publications led to threats of violence. Morano has done this repeatedly in the past,....
Read more at Scholars and Rogues
--------------------------------------
Marc Morano abets emailed threats of violence
Marc Morano, former environmental communications director to Senator Jim Inhofe and the Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, recently published on his Climate Depot website the email address of conservative MIT climate scientist and hurricane expert Kerry Emanuel. As a result, Emanuel was deluged with hate mail that not only threatened his life but also threatened his wife. (MotherJones has the full story.) Other climate scientists and their family members have been threatened with torture, rape, and murder in the past, so it’s likely that similar threats were involved here.
I’m not a lawyer, but I thought threats of violence, if deemed credible, are crimes. Not only that, but given that most emails cross state borders, credible threats via email would thus be federal crimes. I my understanding is correct, Morano could be abetting the commission of a federal crime every time he publishes a climate scientist’s email. And this isn’t the first time Morano has published private email addresses, nor the first time such publications led to threats of violence. Morano has done this repeatedly in the past,....
Read more at Scholars and Rogues
MIT Climate Scientist's Wife Threatened In A "Frenzy of Hate"
by James West/Mother Jones/Jan 13, 2012
----------------------------
----------------------------
Emails contained "veiled threats against my wife," and other "tangible threats," Emanuel, a highly-regarded atmospheric scientist and director of M.I.T.'s Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate program, said in an interview. "They were vile, these emails. They were the kind of emails nobody would like to receive."
"What was a little bit new about it was dragging family members into it and feeling that my family might be under threat, so naturally I didn't feel very good about that at all," Emanuel said. "I thought it was low to drag somebody's spouse into arguments like this."
Climate Desk has seen a sample of the emails and can confirm they are laced with menacing language, expletives and contain personal threats of violence.
Emanuel began receiving emails "almost immediately" after the video was posted on January 5, and the volume peaked at four or five emails a day. The threats have now petered off.
Threats are nothing new in the world of climate science. But Emanuel was surprised by the viciousness of the emails. "I think most of my colleagues and I have received a fair bit of email here and there that you might classify as ‘hate mail', but nothing like what I've got in the last few days."
...In June 2011, top Australian climate scientists said they had been targeted by death threats and menacing phone calls, including threats of sexual attacks on family members. Australian National University in Canberra reacted by tightening security, and the police began investigating. US researchers received a torrent of hate mail in the wake of "Climategate," in which a trove of emails were stolen and released at the University of East Anglia in the UK.
Read more at Mother Jones
Astroturfing Exploits behind EthicalOil.org
by Deep Climate/Jan 1, 2012
------------------------------------------
Ethical Oil political connections, part 1: Conservatives “go newclear”
.... it turns out there are other interesting ties behind the scenes. An examination of the web server hosting EthicalOil.org reveals a network of fifty or so websites, mainly on behalf of right-wing causes and politicians. The latter include two Conservative cabinet ministers, Velshi’s old boss immigration minister Jason Kenney and – wait for it – that scourge of foreign billionaire socialists himself, Joe Oliver. And it also points to the key involvement of Go Newclear Productions, a somewhat mysterious “full service digital agency with a focus on public affairs and politics”.
Go Newclear is headed up by none other than political wunderkind Hamish Marshall, already a veteran of both the PMO and the Conservative federal council – and husband of hapless Ethical Oil spokesperson Kathryn Marshall. The other Go Newclear directors /officers (and presumed principals) are linked to the Conservative PR machine known as the Conservative Resources Group; radio and TV advertising specialist Brendan Jones left the CRG in 2009, while developer Travis Freeman, astonishingly enough, is still with the group. Not only that, but the Ethical Oil cluster of websites and Joe Oliver.ca form a distinct sub-group within the Go Newclear network, with unmistakeable signs of common development and a deployment seemingly aimed at obfuscating the link to Newclear team. So there is more than just common ideology tying EthicalOil.org to the Conservative PR machine; they also share digital service providers – and a lack of transparency.
Read more at Deep Climate
------------------------------------------
Ethical Oil political connections, part 1: Conservatives “go newclear”
.... it turns out there are other interesting ties behind the scenes. An examination of the web server hosting EthicalOil.org reveals a network of fifty or so websites, mainly on behalf of right-wing causes and politicians. The latter include two Conservative cabinet ministers, Velshi’s old boss immigration minister Jason Kenney and – wait for it – that scourge of foreign billionaire socialists himself, Joe Oliver. And it also points to the key involvement of Go Newclear Productions, a somewhat mysterious “full service digital agency with a focus on public affairs and politics”.
Go Newclear is headed up by none other than political wunderkind Hamish Marshall, already a veteran of both the PMO and the Conservative federal council – and husband of hapless Ethical Oil spokesperson Kathryn Marshall. The other Go Newclear directors /officers (and presumed principals) are linked to the Conservative PR machine known as the Conservative Resources Group; radio and TV advertising specialist Brendan Jones left the CRG in 2009, while developer Travis Freeman, astonishingly enough, is still with the group. Not only that, but the Ethical Oil cluster of websites and Joe Oliver.ca form a distinct sub-group within the Go Newclear network, with unmistakeable signs of common development and a deployment seemingly aimed at obfuscating the link to Newclear team. So there is more than just common ideology tying EthicalOil.org to the Conservative PR machine; they also share digital service providers – and a lack of transparency.
Read more at Deep Climate
Why Environmentalists and Scientists Have Failed to Convince the Public That Climate Change Is Real
by Pandango/Jan 13, 2012
---------------------------
Broken down simply and briefly...
1. Lack of effective communication - The environmental and science communities have failed to reach the people that can make a difference. Our legislators and policy makers are deniers of climate change. This is a tremendous failure. The conservative talk shows reach a larger audience than the liberal talk shows. The conservative talk shows discuss climate change more than the liberal talk shows. Our presidents, including the current one, have not been a good soundboard for convincing the public of the dangers of global warming.
2. Lack of lobbying - Lobbying wins the day in Washington. Environmentalists and scientists do not have the money to lobby against powerful oil and energy lobbies that deny climate change and buy politicians.
3. The wrong politicians are in office - The public has overwhelmingly elected denying politicians at a time when we should have elected politicians who are willing to fight climate change head on. The doubting/denying/contrarian politicians need to be voted out of office.
4. Propaganda of all types - Propaganda of all types has been funnelled through the government and media with effective talking points easily understood and supported by the public, even though the information is false. The public is unaware of how media propaganda impacts their thinking and views. Public is unaware of astroturfing, opposition research, push polls and other methods used to muddy the waters and confuse the issue. The companies and industries that develop this propaganda have the best of the best working for them to effectively counter any opposing arguments coming from legitimate sources.
5. The public is distracted - Distracted by war, the economy and whatever issues the media pushes through the newspapers, magazines, news agencies and internet sites.
6. Education - The propaganda has reached the schools. Children are being taught that climate change is not real or important. The rise in Christian private education has children doubting science altogether.
7. Demonization - It's an all-or-nothing game. You're either for us or against us. Those who have differing views are immediately demonized, hated and neutralized (let's not forget about what happened to Gabrielle Giffords). Even evangelical Christians who are typically pro-Republican are demonized if their message is different. Example being, the treatment of Dr. Hayhoe by Rush Limbaugh and Marc Morano. It is a take no prisoners battle. The realities of climate change is a threat to conservative/laissez faire/libertarian/Frederick Seitz ideals for how life should work.
8. No Plan - A greater effort should have been made to come up with a more concrete plan on how to fight against denialism. The plan should have included several things: how to reach a greater audience, win elections, choosing spokespeople, finding the funding, convincing liberal media to talk more about climate change. Winning elections should have been the key plan. Educate and win elections with politicians who take action on global warming.
9. Honesty - Scientists must be honest, but it has worked against them. The lies are heard more than the facts. There is nothing wrong with honesty, but I'm just saying that it has worked against the movement to convince people of the realities. When you play a game with people who have no scruples or morals and are willing to lie to win - then you are at a disadvantage.
10. Money - The environmental movement has been outspent. The ability of Big Oil and Big Energy to spend their way into government (lobbying) and media (commercials, astroturfing, educational materials, websites, polling) has been a major victory for the denialists.
---------------------------
Broken down simply and briefly...
1. Lack of effective communication - The environmental and science communities have failed to reach the people that can make a difference. Our legislators and policy makers are deniers of climate change. This is a tremendous failure. The conservative talk shows reach a larger audience than the liberal talk shows. The conservative talk shows discuss climate change more than the liberal talk shows. Our presidents, including the current one, have not been a good soundboard for convincing the public of the dangers of global warming.
2. Lack of lobbying - Lobbying wins the day in Washington. Environmentalists and scientists do not have the money to lobby against powerful oil and energy lobbies that deny climate change and buy politicians.
3. The wrong politicians are in office - The public has overwhelmingly elected denying politicians at a time when we should have elected politicians who are willing to fight climate change head on. The doubting/denying/contrarian politicians need to be voted out of office.
4. Propaganda of all types - Propaganda of all types has been funnelled through the government and media with effective talking points easily understood and supported by the public, even though the information is false. The public is unaware of how media propaganda impacts their thinking and views. Public is unaware of astroturfing, opposition research, push polls and other methods used to muddy the waters and confuse the issue. The companies and industries that develop this propaganda have the best of the best working for them to effectively counter any opposing arguments coming from legitimate sources.
5. The public is distracted - Distracted by war, the economy and whatever issues the media pushes through the newspapers, magazines, news agencies and internet sites.
6. Education - The propaganda has reached the schools. Children are being taught that climate change is not real or important. The rise in Christian private education has children doubting science altogether.
7. Demonization - It's an all-or-nothing game. You're either for us or against us. Those who have differing views are immediately demonized, hated and neutralized (let's not forget about what happened to Gabrielle Giffords). Even evangelical Christians who are typically pro-Republican are demonized if their message is different. Example being, the treatment of Dr. Hayhoe by Rush Limbaugh and Marc Morano. It is a take no prisoners battle. The realities of climate change is a threat to conservative/laissez faire/libertarian/Frederick Seitz ideals for how life should work.
8. No Plan - A greater effort should have been made to come up with a more concrete plan on how to fight against denialism. The plan should have included several things: how to reach a greater audience, win elections, choosing spokespeople, finding the funding, convincing liberal media to talk more about climate change. Winning elections should have been the key plan. Educate and win elections with politicians who take action on global warming.
9. Honesty - Scientists must be honest, but it has worked against them. The lies are heard more than the facts. There is nothing wrong with honesty, but I'm just saying that it has worked against the movement to convince people of the realities. When you play a game with people who have no scruples or morals and are willing to lie to win - then you are at a disadvantage.
10. Money - The environmental movement has been outspent. The ability of Big Oil and Big Energy to spend their way into government (lobbying) and media (commercials, astroturfing, educational materials, websites, polling) has been a major victory for the denialists.
Rush Limbaugh Smears Dr. Hayhoe's Reputation. Marc Morano Posts Her Email Address Incites Hate and Bullying
by Kate Sheppard/Mother Jones/Jan 6, 2012
-------------------------------
The trouble for Hayhoe seems to have started in earnest when Limbaugh used his radio show to talk about the chapter from Hayhoe, whom he referred to as a "climate babe." Limbaugh's guest for the day was Marc Morano, the former staffer to Senate climate-denier-in-chief James Inhofe (R-Okla.) who now runs the blog Climate Depot. Morano has posted numerous attacks on Hayhoe in the past month and provided her email address so his readers could contact her. (Media Matters has tracked those attacks as well.) She's been receiving loads of hate mail ever since.
"It's just really sad that people would feel they have to go out of their way to say really nasty, mean things to somebody that they've never met," she says.
But the denial crowd has picked a tough opponent in Hayhoe. Her credentials are impeccable: a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Illinois and a long list of fellowships, awards, and publications. She was an expert reviewer for the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4th Assessment Report.
Yet she approaches climate science from an interesting point of view. She's an evangelical Christian, a mother, and the wife of a pastor. In 2009, Hayhoe and her husband coauthored the book A Climate for Change, a book about "global warming facts for faith-based decisions." She spends a lot of her time talking to people of faith about why they should care about climate change. She currently lives in Lubbock, Texas, but she's originally from Canada and doesn't vote in the United States—and she's pretty glad not to have to deal with American politics too much, anyway.
Read more at Mother Jones
-------------------------------
The trouble for Hayhoe seems to have started in earnest when Limbaugh used his radio show to talk about the chapter from Hayhoe, whom he referred to as a "climate babe." Limbaugh's guest for the day was Marc Morano, the former staffer to Senate climate-denier-in-chief James Inhofe (R-Okla.) who now runs the blog Climate Depot. Morano has posted numerous attacks on Hayhoe in the past month and provided her email address so his readers could contact her. (Media Matters has tracked those attacks as well.) She's been receiving loads of hate mail ever since.
"It's just really sad that people would feel they have to go out of their way to say really nasty, mean things to somebody that they've never met," she says.
But the denial crowd has picked a tough opponent in Hayhoe. Her credentials are impeccable: a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Illinois and a long list of fellowships, awards, and publications. She was an expert reviewer for the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4th Assessment Report.
Yet she approaches climate science from an interesting point of view. She's an evangelical Christian, a mother, and the wife of a pastor. In 2009, Hayhoe and her husband coauthored the book A Climate for Change, a book about "global warming facts for faith-based decisions." She spends a lot of her time talking to people of faith about why they should care about climate change. She currently lives in Lubbock, Texas, but she's originally from Canada and doesn't vote in the United States—and she's pretty glad not to have to deal with American politics too much, anyway.
Read more at Mother Jones
Wikipedia Favorite: Black Propaganda
Black propaganda is false information and material that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. It is typically used to vilify, embarrass or misrepresent the enemy.[1] Black propaganda contrasts with grey propaganda, the source of which is not identified, and white propaganda, in which the real source is declared and usually more accurate information is given, albeit slanted, distorted and omissive.
It is covert in nature in that its aims, identity, significance, and sources are hidden. The major characterist of black propaganda is that the people are not aware that someone is trying to influence them, and do not feel that they are being pushed in a certain direction.[2]
Black propaganda purports to emanate from a source other than the true source. This type of propaganda is associated with covert psychological operations.[3] Sometimes the source is concealed or credited to a false authority and spreads lies, fabrications, and deceptions. Black propaganda is the "big lie," including all types of creative deceit.[4]
Ultimately, black propaganda relies on the willingness of the receiver to accept the credibility of the source. If the creators or senders of the black propaganda message do not adequately understand their intended audience, the message may be misunderstood, seem suspicious, or fail altogether.[4]
Governments will generally conduct black propaganda operations for two different reasons. First, by using black propaganda a government is more likely to succeed in convincing their target audience that the information that they are seeking to influence them with is disguised and that its motivations are not apparent. Second, there are diplomatic reasons behind the use of black propaganda. Black propaganda is necessary to obfuscate a government's involvement in activities that may be detrimental to its foreign policies.[5]
Read more at Wikipedia
It is covert in nature in that its aims, identity, significance, and sources are hidden. The major characterist of black propaganda is that the people are not aware that someone is trying to influence them, and do not feel that they are being pushed in a certain direction.[2]
Black propaganda purports to emanate from a source other than the true source. This type of propaganda is associated with covert psychological operations.[3] Sometimes the source is concealed or credited to a false authority and spreads lies, fabrications, and deceptions. Black propaganda is the "big lie," including all types of creative deceit.[4]
Ultimately, black propaganda relies on the willingness of the receiver to accept the credibility of the source. If the creators or senders of the black propaganda message do not adequately understand their intended audience, the message may be misunderstood, seem suspicious, or fail altogether.[4]
Governments will generally conduct black propaganda operations for two different reasons. First, by using black propaganda a government is more likely to succeed in convincing their target audience that the information that they are seeking to influence them with is disguised and that its motivations are not apparent. Second, there are diplomatic reasons behind the use of black propaganda. Black propaganda is necessary to obfuscate a government's involvement in activities that may be detrimental to its foreign policies.[5]
Read more at Wikipedia
Dramatic Links Found Between Climate Change, Elk, Plants, and Birds
by Good German/Disinfo.com/Jan 13, 2012
----------------------------
Via ScienceDaily:
----------------------------
Via ScienceDaily:
Climate change in the form of reduced snowfall in mountains is causing powerful and cascading shifts in mountainous plant and bird communities through the increased ability of elk to stay at high elevations over winter and consume plants, according to a groundbreaking study in Nature Climate Change.Read more at Disinfo.com
The U.S. Geological Survey and University of Montana study not only showed that the abundance of deciduous trees and their associated songbirds in mountainous Arizona have declined over the last 22 years as snowpack has declined, but it also experimentally demonstrated that declining snowfall indirectly affects plants and birds by enabling more winter browsing by elk....
Thursday, January 12, 2012
No air is safe in Beijing: Unhealthy levels, even indoors
by Louis Lim/NPR's Morning Edition/Dec 7, 2011
--------------------------
On the way to school, my kids and I play a guessing game: How polluted is the air today? We use an app linked to the air pollution monitor at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and we try to guess the day's exact level on the Air Quality Index, and whether the air is dangerous.
These days, chances are that it could well be. For more than half of the past 60 days, the air pollution has hit levels hazardous to human health. Experts estimate long-term exposure to such pollution could reduce life expectancy by as much as five years. But I don't tell the kids that.
Living inside the pollution zone, those daily measurements determine how my family spends its days. Whenever the levels hit "very unhealthy," we keep the kids indoors and refuse to let them take part in outdoor activities, no matter how much whining might ensue. When to wear a pollution mask, when to stay indoors, it's all become crucial knowledge, even for our 4-year-old.
Listen or read this story at NPR
--------------------------
On the way to school, my kids and I play a guessing game: How polluted is the air today? We use an app linked to the air pollution monitor at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and we try to guess the day's exact level on the Air Quality Index, and whether the air is dangerous.
These days, chances are that it could well be. For more than half of the past 60 days, the air pollution has hit levels hazardous to human health. Experts estimate long-term exposure to such pollution could reduce life expectancy by as much as five years. But I don't tell the kids that.
Living inside the pollution zone, those daily measurements determine how my family spends its days. Whenever the levels hit "very unhealthy," we keep the kids indoors and refuse to let them take part in outdoor activities, no matter how much whining might ensue. When to wear a pollution mask, when to stay indoors, it's all become crucial knowledge, even for our 4-year-old.
Listen or read this story at NPR
Wikipedia Favorite: Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of propaganda whose techniques usually consist of a few people attempting to give the impression that mass numbers of enthusiasts advocate some specific cause. In the UK this technique is better known as "rent-a-crowd" after the successful "rent-a-crate" business.[citation needed]
US Senator Lloyd Bentsen, believed to have coined the term, was quoted by the Washington Post in 1985 using it to describe a "mountain of cards and letters" sent to his Senate office to promote insurance industry interests, which Bentsen dismissed as "generated mail."[4]
The National Smokers Alliance, an early astroturf group created by Burson-Marsteller on behalf of tobacco giant Philip Morris,[5] worked to influence Federal legislation in 1995 by organizing mailings and running a phone-bank urging people to call or write to politicians expressing their opposition to laws aimed at discouraging teens from starting to smoke.[6]
In 1998, a combination of television ads and phone-banks were used to simulate "grassroots" opposition to a bill aimed at discouraging teenage smoking. According to The New York Times, "Those smokers who are reached by phone banks sponsored by cigarette makers, or who call the 800 number shown in television ads, are patched through to the senator of their choice."[7]
In 2003, apparent "grass-roots" letters favouring Republican Party policies appearing in local newspapers around the US were denounced as "astroturf" when Google searches revealed that identical letters were printed with different (local) signatures. The signers were electronically submitting pre-written letters from a political website that offered five "GOPoints" for sending one of their letters to a local paper plus an additional two "GOPoints" if the letter was published.[8] A similar automated emailer employed by MoveOn.org in 2004 to support Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 film resulted in at least 22 form letters appearing in local papers.[9][10] Such letter-writing campaigns have long been employed for many causes.[11] [12][13]
Black propaganda is information that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. Most astroturfing is black propaganda in that the identity of the source is falsified. However, the ostensible source of the evidence planted is usually not a grassroots organization. When black propaganda uses the same means as astroturfing, the distinction is less clear, as in the case of forged letters being sent to congressman Tom Perriello by a Washington lobbying firm working against 2009 clean energy legislation.
Journalist Ben Smith of The Politico has observed, "Interest groups across the spectrum have grown expert at locating, enraging and turning out authentic Americans. And the operatives behind the crowds say there's nothing wrong with a practice as old as American politics."[14] Regarding the 2009 health care debate, author and blogger Ryan Sager has argued in a New York Times editorial: "Organizing isn't cheating. Doing everything in your power to get your people to show up is basic politics."[15]
In business, astroturfing is one form of stealth marketing, which can include the manipulation of viral marketing. Several examples are described as "undercover marketing" in the documentary The Corporation.[16]
The term "astroturfing" is also used to describe public relations activities aimed at "falsely creating the impression of independent, popular support by means of an orchestrated and disguised public relations exercise....designed to give the impression of spontaneous support for an idea/product/company/service," according to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Social Media Guidelines,[17] which cautions members that an astroturfing campaign is "self-evidently likely to contradict the CIPR Code."
It has become easier to structure a commercial astroturfing campaign in the electronic era because the cost and effort to send an e-mail (especially a pre-written, sign-your-name-at-the-bottom e-mail) is so low. Companies may use a boiler room full of telephones and computers where hired activists locate people and groups who create enthusiasm for the specified cause. Also, the use of psychographics allows hired supporters to persuade their targeted audience.
For several years, the People's Republic of China has employed paid "astroturfing bloggers", known as "red vests", "red vanguard", or the "50 Cent Party", the last being a reference to the ¥0.5 they are paid for each supportive post.[18][19] (Cf. Amazon Mechanical Turk.)
Read more at Wikipedia
US Senator Lloyd Bentsen, believed to have coined the term, was quoted by the Washington Post in 1985 using it to describe a "mountain of cards and letters" sent to his Senate office to promote insurance industry interests, which Bentsen dismissed as "generated mail."[4]
The National Smokers Alliance, an early astroturf group created by Burson-Marsteller on behalf of tobacco giant Philip Morris,[5] worked to influence Federal legislation in 1995 by organizing mailings and running a phone-bank urging people to call or write to politicians expressing their opposition to laws aimed at discouraging teens from starting to smoke.[6]
In 1998, a combination of television ads and phone-banks were used to simulate "grassroots" opposition to a bill aimed at discouraging teenage smoking. According to The New York Times, "Those smokers who are reached by phone banks sponsored by cigarette makers, or who call the 800 number shown in television ads, are patched through to the senator of their choice."[7]
In 2003, apparent "grass-roots" letters favouring Republican Party policies appearing in local newspapers around the US were denounced as "astroturf" when Google searches revealed that identical letters were printed with different (local) signatures. The signers were electronically submitting pre-written letters from a political website that offered five "GOPoints" for sending one of their letters to a local paper plus an additional two "GOPoints" if the letter was published.[8] A similar automated emailer employed by MoveOn.org in 2004 to support Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 film resulted in at least 22 form letters appearing in local papers.[9][10] Such letter-writing campaigns have long been employed for many causes.[11] [12][13]
Black propaganda is information that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. Most astroturfing is black propaganda in that the identity of the source is falsified. However, the ostensible source of the evidence planted is usually not a grassroots organization. When black propaganda uses the same means as astroturfing, the distinction is less clear, as in the case of forged letters being sent to congressman Tom Perriello by a Washington lobbying firm working against 2009 clean energy legislation.
Journalist Ben Smith of The Politico has observed, "Interest groups across the spectrum have grown expert at locating, enraging and turning out authentic Americans. And the operatives behind the crowds say there's nothing wrong with a practice as old as American politics."[14] Regarding the 2009 health care debate, author and blogger Ryan Sager has argued in a New York Times editorial: "Organizing isn't cheating. Doing everything in your power to get your people to show up is basic politics."[15]
In business, astroturfing is one form of stealth marketing, which can include the manipulation of viral marketing. Several examples are described as "undercover marketing" in the documentary The Corporation.[16]
The term "astroturfing" is also used to describe public relations activities aimed at "falsely creating the impression of independent, popular support by means of an orchestrated and disguised public relations exercise....designed to give the impression of spontaneous support for an idea/product/company/service," according to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Social Media Guidelines,[17] which cautions members that an astroturfing campaign is "self-evidently likely to contradict the CIPR Code."
It has become easier to structure a commercial astroturfing campaign in the electronic era because the cost and effort to send an e-mail (especially a pre-written, sign-your-name-at-the-bottom e-mail) is so low. Companies may use a boiler room full of telephones and computers where hired activists locate people and groups who create enthusiasm for the specified cause. Also, the use of psychographics allows hired supporters to persuade their targeted audience.
For several years, the People's Republic of China has employed paid "astroturfing bloggers", known as "red vests", "red vanguard", or the "50 Cent Party", the last being a reference to the ¥0.5 they are paid for each supportive post.[18][19] (Cf. Amazon Mechanical Turk.)
Read more at Wikipedia
Texas leads U.S. in greenhouse gas emissions
by Matthew Tresaugue/HOUSTON CHRONICLE/Jan 10, 2012
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Texas, as the nation's light switch and gas pump, releases far more greenhouse gases into the air than any other state, according to federal data released Wednesday.
Texas' coal-fired power plants and oil refineries generated 294 million tons of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in 2010, more than the next two states – Pennsylvania and Florida – combined, the data show.
See the Houston-area's top producers.
Read more at the Houston Chronicle
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Texas, as the nation's light switch and gas pump, releases far more greenhouse gases into the air than any other state, according to federal data released Wednesday.
Texas' coal-fired power plants and oil refineries generated 294 million tons of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in 2010, more than the next two states – Pennsylvania and Florida – combined, the data show.
See the Houston-area's top producers.
Read more at the Houston Chronicle
Heavy Lobbying Before Keystone Oil Pipeline Decision
by Kevin Brady/NPR's All Things Considered/Jan 12, 2012
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The oil industry and environmentalists are fighting over the Keystone XL pipeline, and in this election year, President Obama is caught in the middle.
The industry says the pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, would create jobs. Environmentalists worry it will lead to more pollution. Obama has until next month to make a decision, and that has both sides lobbying heavily.
The 1,700-mile pipeline would bring oil from Alberta's tar sands down through the middle of the U.S. to Gulf Coast refineries. When the company behind the pipeline, TransCanada, proposed it, executives had no idea it would be so hotly debated.
"The Keystone XL pipeline will be a presidential election issue and will likely play out much broader," observed Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, at a recent industry event in Washington, D.C.
Gerard predicts the pipeline issue will even show up in local political races. As if to ensure that, his group started running a TV ad this week in Midwestern states. It encourages people to call or write Obama, and tell him to approve the pipeline.
Listen or read this story at NPR
------------------------------
The oil industry and environmentalists are fighting over the Keystone XL pipeline, and in this election year, President Obama is caught in the middle.
The industry says the pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, would create jobs. Environmentalists worry it will lead to more pollution. Obama has until next month to make a decision, and that has both sides lobbying heavily.
The 1,700-mile pipeline would bring oil from Alberta's tar sands down through the middle of the U.S. to Gulf Coast refineries. When the company behind the pipeline, TransCanada, proposed it, executives had no idea it would be so hotly debated.
"The Keystone XL pipeline will be a presidential election issue and will likely play out much broader," observed Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, at a recent industry event in Washington, D.C.
Gerard predicts the pipeline issue will even show up in local political races. As if to ensure that, his group started running a TV ad this week in Midwestern states. It encourages people to call or write Obama, and tell him to approve the pipeline.
Listen or read this story at NPR
Owner of S. Korean tanker fined $1.15M for dumping oily waste in waters off Hawaii
by Gordon Y.K. Pang/Star Advertiser/Jan 10, 2012
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The owner of a South Korean oil tanker was sentenced in federal court in Honolulu Tuesday to pay more than $1 million for knowingly dumping oily waste in U.S. waters off Hawaii.
Keoje Marine Co. and two of its engineers from M/T Keoje Tiger pleaded guilty to the environmental crimes charges, which were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Keoje Marine was sentenced to pay a $1.15 million fine, of which $250,000 will go toward the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation's efforts to improve Hawaii's coral reefs, the U.S. Attorney's office said.
Read more at Star Advertiser
New EPA-approved fracking fluid 100% Green
by PennEnergy/Jan 10, 2012
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Source: Platinum Rainmakers, LLC
SteriFrac is the first eco-friendly biocide that will not harm ground water, area land or jeopardize the health of workers during the fracking process. Traditionally the fracking process pumps a mix of water, sand, and toxic chemicals (a biocide) into a well at high pressure in order to create fractures in the shale allowing the gas and oil to escape. There is a concern that the chemicals presently used in the fracking process may pollute the area ground water or soil where as SteriFrac as an effective non-toxic, non-combustible and non-corrosive biocide cannot harm the environment.
“SteriFrac is the finest biocide I’ve seen in the 32 years that I have worked in the oil field,” notes Max Duncan, President of Integrity Industries, a division of Weatherford International, NYSE-WFT. “Our customers have replaced their traditional biocides with SteriFrac due to its lasting impact, odor-killing capabilities and eco-friendly nature.”
Read more at PennEnergy
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Source: Platinum Rainmakers, LLC
SteriFrac is the first eco-friendly biocide that will not harm ground water, area land or jeopardize the health of workers during the fracking process. Traditionally the fracking process pumps a mix of water, sand, and toxic chemicals (a biocide) into a well at high pressure in order to create fractures in the shale allowing the gas and oil to escape. There is a concern that the chemicals presently used in the fracking process may pollute the area ground water or soil where as SteriFrac as an effective non-toxic, non-combustible and non-corrosive biocide cannot harm the environment.
“SteriFrac is the finest biocide I’ve seen in the 32 years that I have worked in the oil field,” notes Max Duncan, President of Integrity Industries, a division of Weatherford International, NYSE-WFT. “Our customers have replaced their traditional biocides with SteriFrac due to its lasting impact, odor-killing capabilities and eco-friendly nature.”
Read more at PennEnergy
Whither Environmentalism
by Good German/Disinfo.com/Jan 12, 2012
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Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez writes at Common Dreams:
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Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez writes at Common Dreams:
In the latest issue of Orion Magazine, environmental activists Derrick Jensen and Paul Kingsnorth both express their frustrations with the current environmental movement.Read more at Disinfo.com
Jensen takes movement organizers to task for their drift towards actions that are “fun and sexy.” ”The fact that so many people routinely call for environmentalism to be more fun and more sexy reveals not only the weakness of our movement but also the utter lack of seriousness with which even many activists approach the problems we face,” he says bitterly. “When it comes to stopping the murder of the planet, too many environmentalists act more like they’re planning a party than building a movement.”
Polar bears starving on shoreline waiting hopelessly for ice to form
Pandango: We are witnessing firsthand the extinction of the polar bear. It's just a matter of time.
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by Melissa Martin and Kevin Rollason/Winnipeg Free Press/Jan 11, 2012
Ice Posing Polar Problems
Warmer weather means bears can't hunt properly: scientist
Even though the ice came early to Hudson Bay, it took too long for that ice to stay — and experts say its slow formation sent some of Canada’s polar bears to the brink of starvation.
Polar bears weren’t able to get onto the ice to hunt seals until early December this winter, which observers say is becoming the norm.
“Those bears are all lining up along the coast line waiting for the ice to form,” said David Barber, who holds the Canada research chair in Arctic science at the University of Manitoba. “They’re basically all starving. They are really at their limit biologically.”
Read more at Winniepeg Free Press
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by Melissa Martin and Kevin Rollason/Winnipeg Free Press/Jan 11, 2012
Ice Posing Polar Problems
Warmer weather means bears can't hunt properly: scientist
Even though the ice came early to Hudson Bay, it took too long for that ice to stay — and experts say its slow formation sent some of Canada’s polar bears to the brink of starvation.
Polar bears weren’t able to get onto the ice to hunt seals until early December this winter, which observers say is becoming the norm.
“Those bears are all lining up along the coast line waiting for the ice to form,” said David Barber, who holds the Canada research chair in Arctic science at the University of Manitoba. “They’re basically all starving. They are really at their limit biologically.”
Read more at Winniepeg Free Press
AFL-CIO Head Rich Trumka: ‘Congress Is Effectively Controlled By Climate Change Deniers’
by Brad Johnson/Think Progress/Jan 12, 2012
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Speaking at the 2012 United Nations Investor Summit on Climate Risk & Energy Solutions, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka blasted climate deniers in Congress for threatening the free enterprise system and the future of civilization. Trumka began his speech laying out the stark challenge of global warming: a “stable climate is the foundation of our global civilization,” and thus “the prerequisite for a profitable investment environment”:
Read more at Think Progress
---------------------------------
Speaking at the 2012 United Nations Investor Summit on Climate Risk & Energy Solutions, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka blasted climate deniers in Congress for threatening the free enterprise system and the future of civilization. Trumka began his speech laying out the stark challenge of global warming: a “stable climate is the foundation of our global civilization,” and thus “the prerequisite for a profitable investment environment”:
Today, as we meet together, scientists tell us we are headed ever more swiftly toward irreversible climate change—with catastrophic consequences for human civilization. We must have a stable climate to feed the planet, to ensure there is drinking water for our cities but not floodwaters at our doors. A stable climate is the foundation of our global civilization, of our global economy—the prerequisite for a profitable investment environment.Because “Congress is effectively controlled by climate change deniers,” crucial national policy to fight greenhouse pollution has been killed, but we “must take action ourselves,” Trumka said. The AFL-CIO has worked with other unions to build a green jobs infrastructure:
Read more at Think Progress
Canadian climate scientist finds fame, hate mail in U.S.
by Tu Thanh Ha/The Globe and Mail/Jan 10, 2012
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She once was a science-minded undergrad who spent her nights minding the telescopes on the top floors of the University of Toronto’s McLennan building.
Katharine Hayhoe is now a figure of some fame and controversy in the United States, for her sin is that she is an evangelical Christian who is also a climate scientist trying to convince skeptics that climate change is for real.
Dr. Hayhoe made headlines after the Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich came under pressure and dropped plans to have her write an opening chapter on climate change for his upcoming book.
Now, her teaching duties at Texas Tech University have resumed and the sting from the Gingrich snub is fading. But the hate mail is still pouring in, dozens of insulting e-mails every morning.
Read more at The Globe and Mail
-----------------------------------
She once was a science-minded undergrad who spent her nights minding the telescopes on the top floors of the University of Toronto’s McLennan building.
Katharine Hayhoe is now a figure of some fame and controversy in the United States, for her sin is that she is an evangelical Christian who is also a climate scientist trying to convince skeptics that climate change is for real.
Dr. Hayhoe made headlines after the Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich came under pressure and dropped plans to have her write an opening chapter on climate change for his upcoming book.
Now, her teaching duties at Texas Tech University have resumed and the sting from the Gingrich snub is fading. But the hate mail is still pouring in, dozens of insulting e-mails every morning.
Read more at The Globe and Mail
Debunking the Myths of Tom Donohue and the U.S. Chamber of Pollution
by Jorge Madrid and Arpita Bhattacharyya/Climate Progress/Jan 12, 2012
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From the EPA to the Keystone pipeline, the Chamber of Commerce has left no stone unturned in their quest to pit economic growth against the environment and public health. This morning’s “State of American Business Address” by the Chamber of Commerce’s President and CEO, Thomas J. Donohue, will likely repeat the barrage of misleading statements.
Here are five pieces of misleading rhetoric to listen for and the facts that prove them wrong.
1. Environmental regulations hurt businesses’ bottom line.
“We wholeheartedly share this and previous administrations’ goals of protecting public health and the environment, but the rushed implementation of this rule could undermine the nation’s economic recovery.” (Tom Donohue, 12/22/11, on EPA Utility MACT)
FACT: Illness and missed days of work are bad for business productivity and overall bottom line, particularly for small businesses and entrepreneurs with fewer than 20 employees. We know from the EPA’s peer-reviewed analysis that U.S. clean air protections from particulates and smog alone prevented 13 million missed work days IN 2010, and are projected to prevent 17 million lost days of productivity in 2020. This increased productivity does not include the benefits from the Cross State and Air Toxics Reductions rules that will lower smog, acid rain, and toxic pollution from power plants. It also does not take into account the added healthcare costs that clean air regulations have prevented (in the ballpark of $2 trillion by 2020).
Read more at Climate Progress
------------------------------
From the EPA to the Keystone pipeline, the Chamber of Commerce has left no stone unturned in their quest to pit economic growth against the environment and public health. This morning’s “State of American Business Address” by the Chamber of Commerce’s President and CEO, Thomas J. Donohue, will likely repeat the barrage of misleading statements.
Here are five pieces of misleading rhetoric to listen for and the facts that prove them wrong.
1. Environmental regulations hurt businesses’ bottom line.
“We wholeheartedly share this and previous administrations’ goals of protecting public health and the environment, but the rushed implementation of this rule could undermine the nation’s economic recovery.” (Tom Donohue, 12/22/11, on EPA Utility MACT)
FACT: Illness and missed days of work are bad for business productivity and overall bottom line, particularly for small businesses and entrepreneurs with fewer than 20 employees. We know from the EPA’s peer-reviewed analysis that U.S. clean air protections from particulates and smog alone prevented 13 million missed work days IN 2010, and are projected to prevent 17 million lost days of productivity in 2020. This increased productivity does not include the benefits from the Cross State and Air Toxics Reductions rules that will lower smog, acid rain, and toxic pollution from power plants. It also does not take into account the added healthcare costs that clean air regulations have prevented (in the ballpark of $2 trillion by 2020).
Read more at Climate Progress
Texas Power Plant Ranks 4th in the Nation as Heaviest CO2 Polluter
Pandango: The EPA 2011 Gas Inventory Report reveals that Martin Lake Power Plant in Tatum, Texas is the 4th largest emitter of CO2 in the nation at 18,701,286 metric tons of GHG pollution each year.
The EPA just recently announced to the public that "This information can be used to help businesses track emissions and identify cost– and fuel–saving efficiencies, identify industry leaders, inform policy at the state and local levels, and provide important information to the finance and investment communities."
San Antonio also has some large CO2 polluters as well. The EPA website lays bare all the information that we might have suspected, but now know is true - power plants are the largest emitters of CO2 that we have in our country.
The EPA just recently announced to the public that "This information can be used to help businesses track emissions and identify cost– and fuel–saving efficiencies, identify industry leaders, inform policy at the state and local levels, and provide important information to the finance and investment communities."
San Antonio also has some large CO2 polluters as well. The EPA website lays bare all the information that we might have suspected, but now know is true - power plants are the largest emitters of CO2 that we have in our country.
EPA Report Reveals Top Ten Greenhouse Gas Emitting Power Plants in U.S.
by Jackie Weidman/Climate Progress/Jan 12, 2012
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For the first time, Americans have access to comprehensive data from industrial sources that are responsible for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution.
This pollution data highlights the nation’s top climate polluters, including the number one emitting power plant in the United States: Georgia’s Scherer coal-fired power station. Owned by Southern Company, Scherer pumped out nearly 23 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2010.
Two other plants operated by Southern Company in the Southeastern U.S. — the Bowen plant in Bowen, Georgia and the James H. Miller, Jr. plant in Quinton, Alabama — were the second and third largest polluters in America.
The EPA database includes 80 percent of total U.S. global warming pollution, including emissions from over 6,700 of the largest industrial sources of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The EPA defines these emitters as “big emissions sources,” contributing a minimum of 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Some of the major data highlights include:
Read more at Climate Progess
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For the first time, Americans have access to comprehensive data from industrial sources that are responsible for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution.
This pollution data highlights the nation’s top climate polluters, including the number one emitting power plant in the United States: Georgia’s Scherer coal-fired power station. Owned by Southern Company, Scherer pumped out nearly 23 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2010.
Two other plants operated by Southern Company in the Southeastern U.S. — the Bowen plant in Bowen, Georgia and the James H. Miller, Jr. plant in Quinton, Alabama — were the second and third largest polluters in America.
The EPA database includes 80 percent of total U.S. global warming pollution, including emissions from over 6,700 of the largest industrial sources of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The EPA defines these emitters as “big emissions sources,” contributing a minimum of 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Some of the major data highlights include:
- Power plants are responsible for 72 percent of greenhouse gases from large emitters (which do not include cars and buildings), pumping 2.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution into the atmosphere each year.
- 100 facilities, 96 of which are power plants, reported annual emissions over 7 million metric tons.
- Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana are the top five dirtiest states respectively, responsible for 30 percent of the nation’s annual power plant emissions.
Read more at Climate Progess
Americans and the Environmental State In The 1970s
by Jacob Sloan/Disinfo.com/Jan 10, 2012
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Via the Atlantic, a snippet of the EPA’s DOCUMERICA project, which involved the taking of thousands of beautiful, fascinating, sometimes harrowing photos of how Americans lived and how they interacted with the environment (expanding the definition of “environment” beyond what we usually think of):
Read more at Disinfo.com
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Via the Atlantic, a snippet of the EPA’s DOCUMERICA project, which involved the taking of thousands of beautiful, fascinating, sometimes harrowing photos of how Americans lived and how they interacted with the environment (expanding the definition of “environment” beyond what we usually think of):
Read more at Disinfo.com
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
More Pictures of Life Without the EPA
Pandango: As we listen to the insanity of our politicians telling us that life would be better without the EPA and its regulations, let's take a look at what industry can do to people and the environment when not properly monitored or regulated. Let's take a look at what industry can do to people when the EPA is blocked on all sides by the "job creating" politicians who take the side of business over people. I don't want this to be my world. I don't think you want this to be your world either.
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Click here to see the terrible industrial disaster that happened in 2010 to a small town in Hungary
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Click here to see the terrible industrial disaster that happened in 2010 to a small town in Hungary
Education Can Save Us from a Right Leaning Nation
by Michael Lerner/Tikkun/Jan 10, 2012
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Educators and Academics: Educate Yourselves as Americans Turn to the Right
As Americans increasingly buy into political notions that prioritize budget cuts over the provision of necessary human services, educational institutions across the country find themselves facing severe economic crises. Teachers face layoffs. College professors witness their students increasingly distracted by economic fears. Classes at all levels are overpacked, making individual attention to students’ needs increasingly difficult to supply. From kindergarten to graduate and professional schools, the threat of online or computerized teaching replacing face-to-face teaching puts the very future of the education profession in doubt. The resulting economic insecurity pervades teachers’ consciousness.
And yet, educators and academics in some ways helped to create this crisis by failing to introduce students to a different worldview that would have protected education and prioritized caring for others over maximizing the bottom line and looking out for number one.
Few of us have any ability to offset the massive indoctrination toward materialism and selfishness offered by the mass media. The call to maximize self-interest at the expense of others and the belief that success is measured by how much money or power you can accumulate, how many consumer items you possess, how much fame you garner, how many sexual conquests you can boast about, or how much your looks conform to popular images of beauty—these are drummed into our heads by the media in subtle but persistent ways, day in and day out.
There’s only one group in society that has similar access and ability to shape the worldviews and belief structures of most Americans: teachers and academics. . .
Read more of this story at Tikkun
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Educators and Academics: Educate Yourselves as Americans Turn to the Right
As Americans increasingly buy into political notions that prioritize budget cuts over the provision of necessary human services, educational institutions across the country find themselves facing severe economic crises. Teachers face layoffs. College professors witness their students increasingly distracted by economic fears. Classes at all levels are overpacked, making individual attention to students’ needs increasingly difficult to supply. From kindergarten to graduate and professional schools, the threat of online or computerized teaching replacing face-to-face teaching puts the very future of the education profession in doubt. The resulting economic insecurity pervades teachers’ consciousness.
And yet, educators and academics in some ways helped to create this crisis by failing to introduce students to a different worldview that would have protected education and prioritized caring for others over maximizing the bottom line and looking out for number one.
Few of us have any ability to offset the massive indoctrination toward materialism and selfishness offered by the mass media. The call to maximize self-interest at the expense of others and the belief that success is measured by how much money or power you can accumulate, how many consumer items you possess, how much fame you garner, how many sexual conquests you can boast about, or how much your looks conform to popular images of beauty—these are drummed into our heads by the media in subtle but persistent ways, day in and day out.
There’s only one group in society that has similar access and ability to shape the worldviews and belief structures of most Americans: teachers and academics. . .
Read more of this story at Tikkun
NOAA stunner: Climate change “largely irreversible for 1000 years,” with permanent Dust Bowls in Southwest and around the globe
by Joe Romm/Climate Progress/Jan 26, 2009
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Important new research led by NOAA scientists, “Irreversible climate change because of carbon dioxide emissions,” finds:
The Proceedings of the National Academies of Science paper gives the lie to the notion that it is a moral choice not to do everything humanly possible to prevent this tragedy, a lie to the notion that we can “adapt” to climate change, unless by “adapt” you mean “force the next 50 generations to endure endless misery because we were too damn greedy to give up 0.1% of our GDP each year” (see, for instance, McKinsey: Stabilizing at 450 ppm has a net cost near zero or the 2007 IPCC report).
Read more at Climate Progress
----------------------------
Important new research led by NOAA scientists, “Irreversible climate change because of carbon dioxide emissions,” finds:
…the climate change that is taking place because of increases in carbon dioxide concentration is largely irreversible for 1,000 years after emissions stop…. Among illustrative irreversible impacts that should be expected if atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase from current levels near 385 parts per million by volume (ppmv) to a peak of 450-600 ppmv over the coming century are irreversible dry-season rainfall reductions in several regions comparable to those of the ”dust bowl” era and inexorable sea level rise.I guess this is what President Obama meant when he warned today of “irreversible catastrophe” from climate change. The NOAA press release is here. An excellent video interview of the lead author is here.
The Proceedings of the National Academies of Science paper gives the lie to the notion that it is a moral choice not to do everything humanly possible to prevent this tragedy, a lie to the notion that we can “adapt” to climate change, unless by “adapt” you mean “force the next 50 generations to endure endless misery because we were too damn greedy to give up 0.1% of our GDP each year” (see, for instance, McKinsey: Stabilizing at 450 ppm has a net cost near zero or the 2007 IPCC report).
Read more at Climate Progress
EPA Releases Data Showing Worst CO2 Polluters in the U.S.
2010 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data from Large Facilities Now Available / First release of data through the national GHG reporting program
Release Date: 01/11/2012
Contact Information: Cathy Milbourn (News Media Only), Milbourn.cathy@epa.gov, 202-564-7849, 202-564-4355
WASHINGTON – For the first time, comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) data reported directly from large facilities and suppliers across the country are now easily accessible to the public through EPA’s GHG Reporting Program. The 2010 GHG data released today includes public information from facilities in nine industry groups that directly emit large quantities of GHGs, as well as suppliers of certain fossil fuels.
“Thanks to strong collaboration and feedback from industry, states and other organizations, today we have a transparent, powerful data resource available to the public,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “The GHG Reporting Program data provides a critical tool for businesses and other innovators to find cost- and fuel-saving efficiencies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and foster technologies to protect public health and the environment.”
EPA’s online data publication tool allows users to view and sort GHG data for calendar year 2010 from over 6,700 facilities in a variety of ways—including by facility, location, industrial sector, and the type of GHG emitted. This information can be used by communities to identify nearby sources of GHGs, help businesses compare and track emissions, and provide information to state and local governments.
GHG data for direct emitters show that in 2010:
•Power plants were the largest stationary sources of direct emissions with 2,324 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mmtCO2e), followed by petroleum refineries with emissions of 183 mmtCO2e.
•CO2 accounted for the largest share of direct GHG emissions with 95 percent, followed by methane with 4 percent, and nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases accounting for the remaining 1 percent.
•100 facilities each reported emissions over 7 mmtCO2e, including 96 power plants, two iron and steel mills and two refineries.
Mandated by the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, EPA launched the GHG Reporting Program in October 2009, requiring the reporting of GHG data from large emission sources across a range of industry sectors, as well as suppliers of products that would emit GHGs if released or combusted. Most reporting entities submitted data for calendar year 2010. However, an additional 12 source categories will begin reporting their 2011 GHG data this year.
Access EPA’s GHG Reporting Program Data and Data Publication Tool: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgdata/
Information on the GHG Reporting Program: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html
Information on the U.S. Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Sources and Sinks: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html
EPA: Power Plants Main Global Warming Culprits
by Dina Cappiello/Associated Press/Jan 11, 2012
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The most detailed data yet on emissions of heat-trapping gases show that U.S. power plants are responsible for the bulk of the pollution blamed for global warming.
Power plants released 72 percent of the greenhouse gases reported to the Environmental Protection Agency for 2010, according to information released Wednesday that was the first catalog of global warming pollution by facility. The data include more than 6,700 of the largest industrial sources of greenhouse gases, or about 80 percent of total U.S. emissions.
According to an Associated Press analysis of the data, 20 mostly coal-fired power plants in 15 states account for the top-releasing facilities.
Read more of this story by Associated Press
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The most detailed data yet on emissions of heat-trapping gases show that U.S. power plants are responsible for the bulk of the pollution blamed for global warming.
Power plants released 72 percent of the greenhouse gases reported to the Environmental Protection Agency for 2010, according to information released Wednesday that was the first catalog of global warming pollution by facility. The data include more than 6,700 of the largest industrial sources of greenhouse gases, or about 80 percent of total U.S. emissions.
According to an Associated Press analysis of the data, 20 mostly coal-fired power plants in 15 states account for the top-releasing facilities.
Read more of this story by Associated Press
RealClimate Is Alarmed by Arctic Methane, Should You Be?
by Joe Romm/Climate Progress/Jan 12, 2012
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....Whether or not you should be alarmed by Arctic methane depends on your definition of “alarmed.” And it depends on how much you follow the other areas of climate science, many of which are, for me, considerably more “alarming” (see “An Illustrated Guide to the Science of Global Warming Impacts: How We Know Inaction Is the Gravest Threat Humanity Faces“):
....But much more rapid ice loss in the Arctic than expected, accompanied by rapid permafrost warming, has convinced leading experts now say that frozen carbon is likely to start being released at a large-scale in the next few decades – some of it in the form of methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 — causing 2.5 times the warming of deforestation. That would complicate any efforts by humanity to reduce emissions and avert multiple, simultaneous catastrophes (see below). This largely unmodeled amplifying carbon-cycle feedback is, obviously, worrisome and even alarming.
An another aside, the do-little crowd and their enablers/stenographers — you know who they are — have two big tricks to poo-pooh “alarmists.” First, they attack alarmists as predicting “certain doom,” pointing out that the models are filled with uncertainty and predict a large range of impacts. But they don’t tell you that their preferred course of action — doing very little — cuts out most of the uncertainty, sharply narrows the impact range, and thus dramatically increases the probability of the catastrophe....
Read more at Climate Progress
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....Whether or not you should be alarmed by Arctic methane depends on your definition of “alarmed.” And it depends on how much you follow the other areas of climate science, many of which are, for me, considerably more “alarming” (see “An Illustrated Guide to the Science of Global Warming Impacts: How We Know Inaction Is the Gravest Threat Humanity Faces“):
....But much more rapid ice loss in the Arctic than expected, accompanied by rapid permafrost warming, has convinced leading experts now say that frozen carbon is likely to start being released at a large-scale in the next few decades – some of it in the form of methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 — causing 2.5 times the warming of deforestation. That would complicate any efforts by humanity to reduce emissions and avert multiple, simultaneous catastrophes (see below). This largely unmodeled amplifying carbon-cycle feedback is, obviously, worrisome and even alarming.
An another aside, the do-little crowd and their enablers/stenographers — you know who they are — have two big tricks to poo-pooh “alarmists.” First, they attack alarmists as predicting “certain doom,” pointing out that the models are filled with uncertainty and predict a large range of impacts. But they don’t tell you that their preferred course of action — doing very little — cuts out most of the uncertainty, sharply narrows the impact range, and thus dramatically increases the probability of the catastrophe....
Read more at Climate Progress
Wikipedia Favorite: Caesium 137
Caesium-137 (137
55Cs, Cs-137) is a radioactive isotope of caesium which is formed as a fission product by nuclear fission.
It has a half-life of about 30.17 years,[4] and decays by beta emission to a metastable nuclear isomer of barium-137: barium-137m (137mBa, Ba-137m). (About 95 percent of the nuclear decay leads to this isomer. The other 5.0 percent directly populates the ground state, which is stable.) Ba-137m has a half-life of about 153 seconds, and it is responsible for all of the emissions of gamma rays. One gram of caesium-137 has an activity of 3.215 terabecquerel (TBq).[5]
The photon energy of Ba-137m is 662 keV. These photons can be useful in food irradiation and in the radiotherapy of cancer. Caesium-137 is not widely-used for industrial radiography because it is quite chemically reactive, and hence, difficult to handle. Also the salts of caesium are very soluble in water, and this complicates the safe handling of caesium. Cobalt-60, 60
27Co, is preferred for radiography, since it is chemically a rather nonreactive metal offering higher energy gamma-ray photons. Caesium-137 can be found in some moisture and density gauges, flow meters, and related sensors.
Read more at Wikipedia
55Cs, Cs-137) is a radioactive isotope of caesium which is formed as a fission product by nuclear fission.
It has a half-life of about 30.17 years,[4] and decays by beta emission to a metastable nuclear isomer of barium-137: barium-137m (137mBa, Ba-137m). (About 95 percent of the nuclear decay leads to this isomer. The other 5.0 percent directly populates the ground state, which is stable.) Ba-137m has a half-life of about 153 seconds, and it is responsible for all of the emissions of gamma rays. One gram of caesium-137 has an activity of 3.215 terabecquerel (TBq).[5]
The photon energy of Ba-137m is 662 keV. These photons can be useful in food irradiation and in the radiotherapy of cancer. Caesium-137 is not widely-used for industrial radiography because it is quite chemically reactive, and hence, difficult to handle. Also the salts of caesium are very soluble in water, and this complicates the safe handling of caesium. Cobalt-60, 60
27Co, is preferred for radiography, since it is chemically a rather nonreactive metal offering higher energy gamma-ray photons. Caesium-137 can be found in some moisture and density gauges, flow meters, and related sensors.
Read more at Wikipedia
(video) Terrible Cost Of Nuclear Energy Gone Wrong: A Look at Fukishima
Nuclear Physicist Michio qoted on the danger of exposure to caesium 137:
If you're exposed to caesium 137 because you're an atomic worker, even after you're long dead and buried, you're grandkids can come with Geiger counters and see that great granddaddy still has radiation at his gravesite.
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If you're exposed to caesium 137 because you're an atomic worker, even after you're long dead and buried, you're grandkids can come with Geiger counters and see that great granddaddy still has radiation at his gravesite.
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Obama Defends EPA
by Associated Press/Jan 11, 2012
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( Susan Walsh / Associated Press ) - President Barack Obama talks with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson at the EPA in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012.
“That is a false debate. We don’t have to choose between dirty air and dirty water or a growing economy. We can make sure that we are doing right by our environment and in fact putting people back to work all across America,” Obama told about 800 EPA employees gathered at headquarters in Washington, reminding them that before Republican President Richard Nixon created the agency in 1970, rivers caught fire and were devoid of life.
“When I hear folks grumbling about environmental policy, you almost want to do a ‘Back to the Future’ reminder of folks of what happened when we didn’t have a strong EPA,” Obama said, adding, “You have a president who is grateful for your work and will stand with you every inch of the way.”
Read more about this story at the Washington Post
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( Susan Walsh / Associated Press ) - President Barack Obama talks with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson at the EPA in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012.
“When I hear folks grumbling about environmental policy, you almost want to do a ‘Back to the Future’ reminder of folks of what happened when we didn’t have a strong EPA,” Obama said, adding, “You have a president who is grateful for your work and will stand with you every inch of the way.”
Read more about this story at the Washington Post
Nigeria's Oil Disaster Met by Silence
by Michael Keating/Common Dreams/Jan 9, 2012
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The global media have had little to say on Nigeria's latest oil spill and the hundreds of others that have destroyed so many lives.
In 2010 the world watched in horror as the Gulf of Mexico filled with 5m barrels of oil from an undersea leak caused by the careless handling of equipment on the part of BP and its partner Halliburton. Shocking images of uncontrolled spillage erupting from the ocean floor traveled around the world for weeks, sparking a media frenzy, a range of stern governmental responses and a huge amount of public outrage. BP has spent millions on the clean-up and millions more on a public relations campaign, all in an effort to repair the damage it caused to the Gulf but also to its image and, perhaps more importantly for BP, to its share price.
Last month, on the other side of the Atlantic, the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell's operation caused from 1m to 2m gallons of oil to spill into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria, also as the result of an industrial accident. It was the worst spill in Nigeria in 13 years in a part of that country where the oil and gas industry has been despoiling the environment for more than 50 years, on a scale that dwarfs the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico by a wide margin. Shell claims it has completely cleaned up the mess, but villages counterclaim the oil has been washing up on their coastline. The world's media seem to be uninterested in checking the facts.
Read more about this story at Common Dreams
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The global media have had little to say on Nigeria's latest oil spill and the hundreds of others that have destroyed so many lives.
In 2010 the world watched in horror as the Gulf of Mexico filled with 5m barrels of oil from an undersea leak caused by the careless handling of equipment on the part of BP and its partner Halliburton. Shocking images of uncontrolled spillage erupting from the ocean floor traveled around the world for weeks, sparking a media frenzy, a range of stern governmental responses and a huge amount of public outrage. BP has spent millions on the clean-up and millions more on a public relations campaign, all in an effort to repair the damage it caused to the Gulf but also to its image and, perhaps more importantly for BP, to its share price.
Last month, on the other side of the Atlantic, the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell's operation caused from 1m to 2m gallons of oil to spill into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria, also as the result of an industrial accident. It was the worst spill in Nigeria in 13 years in a part of that country where the oil and gas industry has been despoiling the environment for more than 50 years, on a scale that dwarfs the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico by a wide margin. Shell claims it has completely cleaned up the mess, but villages counterclaim the oil has been washing up on their coastline. The world's media seem to be uninterested in checking the facts.
Read more about this story at Common Dreams
Nigeria: Oil Spills & Bilge Dumping
by SkyTruth/Dec 27, 2011
Oil Pollution off Nigeria - Other Sources?
Oil Pollution off Nigeria - Other Sources?
After flying journalists over the remnants of the Bonga FPSO oil spill off Nigeria,Shell pointed out that they are not the only polluters in this part of the world, and will clean up another small spill in the area not related to any of their operations.
That certainly doesn't excuse their (much larger) mess but they are correct: satellite images of the west coast of Africa, like some other coastal regions around the world, routinely show signs of oil pollution from other sources, especially bilge-dumping by vessels large and small. We don't know if it's legal in this area; it is not legal in US or Canadian waters. Radar satellite imagery is an excellent tool for detecting bilge-dumping.
Read more at Sky Truth
That certainly doesn't excuse their (much larger) mess but they are correct: satellite images of the west coast of Africa, like some other coastal regions around the world, routinely show signs of oil pollution from other sources, especially bilge-dumping by vessels large and small. We don't know if it's legal in this area; it is not legal in US or Canadian waters. Radar satellite imagery is an excellent tool for detecting bilge-dumping.
Read more at Sky Truth
The Terrible Consequences of Drilling in the Arctic
by Sky Truth/Jan 6, 2012
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Black Ice is Never a Good Thing
The recent oil spill by Shell off Nigeria's coast briefly brought to light the some of the most insidious consequences of the world's addiction to fossil fuels.
As our thirst for oil grows, companies are stretching the limits of depth and technology to drill wherever and however. Shell has recently received conditional approval to begin exploratory drilling in one of the world's most environmentally sensitive and valuable ecosystems - the Arctic Ocean. Drilling will begin this summer in northern Alaska's Chukchi Sea, leading many to wonder if this is such a good idea.
What would happen if Shell caused a spill, like last month's event in Nigeria, in the waters of Alaska hundreds of miles away from any Coast Guard station or port? We superimposed the resulting 350-square-mile Nigeria oil slick on the Chukchi Sea in the area where Shell will be drilling:
See images and read more about this story at Sky Truth
---------------------
Black Ice is Never a Good Thing
The recent oil spill by Shell off Nigeria's coast briefly brought to light the some of the most insidious consequences of the world's addiction to fossil fuels.
As our thirst for oil grows, companies are stretching the limits of depth and technology to drill wherever and however. Shell has recently received conditional approval to begin exploratory drilling in one of the world's most environmentally sensitive and valuable ecosystems - the Arctic Ocean. Drilling will begin this summer in northern Alaska's Chukchi Sea, leading many to wonder if this is such a good idea.
What would happen if Shell caused a spill, like last month's event in Nigeria, in the waters of Alaska hundreds of miles away from any Coast Guard station or port? We superimposed the resulting 350-square-mile Nigeria oil slick on the Chukchi Sea in the area where Shell will be drilling:
See images and read more about this story at Sky Truth
Mike Lofgren: Republican Party 'Full of Lunatics'
by Mike Comer/qnotes/Sep 5, 2011
Veteran GOP staffer calls it quits on part 'full of lunatics'
A veteran GOP congressional staffer has called it quits on the Republican Party. Writing at Truth Out over the weekend, Mike Lofgren says the modern Republican Party has become “full of lunatics.” A 28-year veteran staffer, Lofgren served 16 years as a professional staff member of the House and Senate Budget Committees.
Lofgren cites two North Carolina Republicans, the 10th District’s Patrick McHenry and 5th District’s Virginia Foxx, in a list of GOP congresscritters who have made the jump from fringe to mainstream:
“To those millions of Americans who have finally begun paying attention to politics and watched with exasperation the tragicomedy of the debt ceiling extension, it may have come as a shock that the Republican Party is so full of lunatics,” he writes. “To be sure, the party, like any political party on earth, has always had its share of crackpots, like Robert K. Dornan or William E. Dannemeyer. But the crackpot outliers of two decades ago have become the vital center today: Steve King, Michele Bachman (now a leading presidential candidate as well), Paul Broun, Patrick McHenry, Virginia Foxx, Louie Gohmert, Allen West. The Congressional directory now reads like a casebook of lunacy.”
Lofgren, whose piece runs more than 6,000 words, saves some commentary for Democrats, as well, but the overall piece is decidedly bent toward criticism of the “Republican Party of 2011.” What party is this? Lofgren obliges, outlining what he sees as the modern-day GOP’s three key tenets (“The rest of their platform,” he says, “one may safely dismiss as window dressing”): (1) At all costs, play to the rich; (2) Invade and conquer; and (3) Placate radical and fundamentalist, right-wing religion.
Read more about this story at qnotes
Veteran GOP staffer calls it quits on part 'full of lunatics'
A veteran GOP congressional staffer has called it quits on the Republican Party. Writing at Truth Out over the weekend, Mike Lofgren says the modern Republican Party has become “full of lunatics.” A 28-year veteran staffer, Lofgren served 16 years as a professional staff member of the House and Senate Budget Committees.
Lofgren cites two North Carolina Republicans, the 10th District’s Patrick McHenry and 5th District’s Virginia Foxx, in a list of GOP congresscritters who have made the jump from fringe to mainstream:
“To those millions of Americans who have finally begun paying attention to politics and watched with exasperation the tragicomedy of the debt ceiling extension, it may have come as a shock that the Republican Party is so full of lunatics,” he writes. “To be sure, the party, like any political party on earth, has always had its share of crackpots, like Robert K. Dornan or William E. Dannemeyer. But the crackpot outliers of two decades ago have become the vital center today: Steve King, Michele Bachman (now a leading presidential candidate as well), Paul Broun, Patrick McHenry, Virginia Foxx, Louie Gohmert, Allen West. The Congressional directory now reads like a casebook of lunacy.”
Lofgren, whose piece runs more than 6,000 words, saves some commentary for Democrats, as well, but the overall piece is decidedly bent toward criticism of the “Republican Party of 2011.” What party is this? Lofgren obliges, outlining what he sees as the modern-day GOP’s three key tenets (“The rest of their platform,” he says, “one may safely dismiss as window dressing”): (1) At all costs, play to the rich; (2) Invade and conquer; and (3) Placate radical and fundamentalist, right-wing religion.
Read more about this story at qnotes
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