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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Rick Santorum knows science better than “some people” (“some people” who are actually scientists); Grand Canyon is safe — at least for awhile; Obama Administration’s historic move to protect the nation’s fisheries; No snow in Colorado; Too much snow in Alaska; PLUS: Republican presidential climate deniers visit a very warm New Hampshire … All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
Green News Report
with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen
1/10/2012
‘Green News Report’ – January 10, 2012 | With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen... · · · · · ‘Green News Report’ – January 10, 2012 | With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): BP Oil Spill: Oil is more toxic than previously thought; Oil prices rise on Iran tensions, supply crunch; Nigerians protest rise in oil prices; Your car helps cause tornadoes; US coal plant wants new pollution rules; OH decides to stop fracking; Canada minister calls opponents of tar sands “foes of Canada”; Ducks doomed by global warming … PLUS: Big Ag freaks out over tighter limits on toxic dioxin in food … and much, MUCH more! …
STORIES DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…
- Anti-Science Republican Candidates Descend On a Very Warm NH:
- VIDEO: Santorum: Why Have We Decided That Carbon Dioxide Is ‘That Tip Of The Tail That Wags The Entire Dog?’ (Think Progress Green):
- Okay, Romney, Now You’re Just Lying About Solar: The Industry Needs to Hold Candidates Accountable (Climate Progress)
- GOP Senate Staff Play Bizarre Office Pool on Wildfires (Climate Progress)
- The Grand Canyon Is Safe — At Least For Awhile:
- VIDEO: Sec. Salazar announces decision to protect 1 million acres of federal land near the Grand Canyon (Dept. of Interior)
- Top 5 Winners and Losers of Secretary Salazar’s Decision to Protect 1 Million Acres Around the Grand Canyon (Climate Progress)
- Interior Secretary Signs Grand Canyon Mining Ban (NYT Green):
The move, which has been opposed by the mining industry and a majority of Republican politicians in Arizona, comes after more than two years of study. It reverses a decision by the George W. Bush administration to allow new leasing in the buffer zone around the canyon.
- New Mining Near Grand Canyon Banned for 20 Years by Salazar (BusinessWeek):
Previously approved mining, and new projects on claims and sites with existing rights will be allowed, and may lead to the development of as many as 11 uranium mines over the next two decades, according to the statement. Mineral leasing and geothermal leasing will continue, the Interior Department said.
The ban will help protect drinking water for 25 million people, as well as the Grand Canyon’s $687 million tourism industry, Washington-based Pew Environment Group said in an e- mailed statement.
- Salazar imposes ban on uranium mining near Grand Canyon (UT Deseret News):
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah: “It is unconscionable that the administration has once again caved to political pressure from radical special interest groups rather than standing up for the American people…”
- First-Ever, Historic Catch Limits Prevent Overfishing in US Fisheries:
- U.S. tightens fishing policy, setting 2012 catch limits for all managed species (Washington Post):
In an effort to sustain commercial and recreational fishing for the next several decades, the United States this year will become the first country to impose catch limits for every species it manages, from Alaskan pollock to Caribbean queen conch.
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Until recently the nation’s regional management councils, which write the rules for the 528 fish stocks under the federal government’s jurisdiction, regularly flouted scientific advice and authorized more fishing than could could be sustained, according to scientists. - U.S. becomes first country on Earth to limit catch size for all fish (Grist)
- US sets 2012 catch limits for all managed fish species: 528 FISH STOCKS: Goal is to keep populations at healthy levels. (Anchorage Daily News):
In an effort to sustain commercial and recreational fishing for the next several decades, the United States this year will become the first country to impose catch limits for every species it manages, from Alaskan pollock to Caribbean queen conch.
…
Until recently, the nation’s regional management councils, which write the rules for the 528 fish stocks under the federal government’s jurisdiction, regularly flouted scientific advice and authorized more fishing than could be sustained, according to scientists. - LISTEN: New Catch Limits to Preserve U.S. Fisheries (Diane Rehm Show)
- Record Snow, Ice Bury Alaskan Towns:
- A New Race of Mercy to Nome, This Time Without Sled Dogs (NY Times):
In the winter of 1925, long after this Gold Rush boomtown on the Bering Sea had gone bust, diphtheria swept through its population of 1,400. Medicine ran dangerously low, and there was no easy way to get more.
..
Parents still read books to their children about what happened next: Balto, Togo, Fritz and dozens more sled dogs sprinted through subzero temperatures across 674 miles of sea ice and tundra in what became known as the Great Race of Mercy. The medicine made it, Nome was saved and the Siberian huskies became American heroes.Eighty-seven years later, Nome is again locked in a dark and frigid winter “” a record cold spell has pushed temperatures to minus 40 degrees, cracked hotel pipes and even reduced turnout at the Mighty Musk Oxen’s pickup hockey games. And now another historic rescue effort is under way across the frozen sea.
- Alaska Towns Deal With Cruel Grip Of Winter (NPR)
- Record-Setting Snowfalls Bury Towns In Southeast Alaska (Think Progress Green)
- NO SNOW in Colorado Could Mean Drought This Summer:
- Snow drought forces Colorado to face frightening new climate-change reality (Colorado Independent):
Ski industry woes pale compared to wildfire risk, looming water shortages
Just a year after record snowfall throughout much of the Rocky Mountain West, the region is locked in a snow drought not seen since Jimmy Carter surrendered the White House to Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s.
- Colorado Sees Worst Snow Drought Since Early 1980s, Foreshadowing Water Shortages And Potential Wildfires (Think Progress Green) [emphasis added]:
“For the first time in 30 years, a lack of snow has not allowed us to open the back bowls in Vail as of January 6, 2012, and, for the first time since the late 1800s, it did not snow at all in Tahoe in December,” said Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz.- Ski Season Seeking Snow (CNN)
- Extreme Weather Whiplash: Winter 2012 Extremely Warm & Dry, 2011 Extremely Not:
- Record Heat Floods America With Temperatures 40 Degrees Above Normal (Think Progress Green)
- Masters: “It Is Very Likely That This Has Been the Driest First Week of January in U.S. Recorded History” (Weather Underground):
Flowers are sprouting in January in New Hampshire, the Sierra Mountains in California are nearly snow-free, and lakes in much of Michigan still have not frozen. It’s 2012, and the new year is ringing in another ridiculously wacky winter for the U.S. In Fargo, North Dakota yesterday, the mercury soared to 55°F, breaking a 1908 record for warmest January day in recorded history. More than 99% of North Dakota had no snow on the ground this morning.
- Record heat in the Dakotas poses fire danger, threatens crops
- Record-Breaking Warmth in the Midwest (Weather Channel)
- Record high temperatures hit the Northern Plains (ABC News)
- Southern California heat spell snaps more daily records (San Jose Mercury News)
- Mother Nature is Just Getting Warmed Up: December Heat Records Exceed Cold By 80%, Annual Ratio Hits 2.8-to-1 (Climate Progress):
“Climate change is making itself felt in terms of day-to-day weather in the United States,” says Gerald Meehl, the lead author and a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). “The ways these records are being broken show how our climate is already shifting.”
- Insurance payouts point to climate change: A three-decade trend shows a steady global increase in weather and climate related disasters: (Science News):
Natural disasters in 2011 exerted the costliest toll in history – a whopping $380 billion worth of losses from earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis and more. Only a third of those costs were covered by insurance.
‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…
- BP Oil Spill: Oil is more toxic than previously thought, study finds (LA Times):
Bad news for the Gulf of Mexico: a study released this week sheds new light on the toxicity of oil in aquatic environments, and shows that environmental impact studies currently in use may be inadequate. The report is to be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
- Your car commute helps cause tornadoes (Grist):
According to a new study, tornadoes and hailstorms are less likely to occur on a Saturday or Sunday. That’s because hail and tornadoes thrive on pollution, which is higher towards the middle of the week.
The study looked at summertime storm activity and found above-average rates of storms midweek and below-average rates on weekends. It turns out that this is because moisture likes pollutants: Water particles cling to those dirty little suckers, float up higher in the atmosphere, and create hail.
- A Coal-Fired Plant That Is Eager for U.S. Pollution Rules (NY Times) [emphasis added]:
The company, Constellation Energy, says it is an issue of fairness.
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Having invested the $885 million “” nearly as much as it cost to build the two generating units in 1984 and 1991 “” Constellation argues that laggard plants should also have to comply with the emission limits or shut down. Otherwise, it argues, the utility will be operating at a big disadvantage: simply running the retrofitted plant requires 40 megawatts of electricity, enough to keep a small town humming. - Benchmark oil price rises above $102 per barrel (AP)
- EU ministers plan Iran oil embargo, IAEA team to visit (Reuters):
Japan took precautions in case it joins an international embargo on buying Iranian crude by asking Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help it make up any shortfall. Anxiety about the Iranian nuclear program helped push up oil prices, and Brent February crude rose 92 cents to $113.37 a barrel by 12:48 p.m. EST.
- Nigerians Protest Rise in Oil Prices (NY Times):
Tens of thousands of Nigerians took to the streets in cities across the country on Monday to protest a sudden sharp rise in oil prices after the government abruptly ended fuel subsidies. At the same time, a national strike over the oil price increase shut down much of the country.
- After Earthquakes, Ohio Decides To Stop Fracking Process To ‘Help Stop The Ground From Shaking’ (Think Progress Green)
- Canada Minister: Opponents To Tar Sands Are Foes Of Canada (Think Progress Green)
- Fox News Raises Solyndra Red Herring To Deflect Attention From Romney’s Record (Media Matters)
- Canada: Ducks doomed by earlier snow melts brought on by global warming, study finds (CBC):
Scientists long puzzled by the rapid decline in millions of Canadian boreal ducks since the 1970s think they may finally have the cause: global warming. “Because of climate change, the ducks don’t have the food that they need when they need it,” Stuart Slattery, a research scientist with Ducks Unlimited Canada, told CBC News on Friday.
- Live and let dioxin: Big Ag is worried about scaring us off meat and milk (Grist) [emphasis added]:
It doesn’t take much for the food industry to freak out over potential government action, but this latest corporate outcry is especially galling and self-serving. This month, after more than 20 years of “assessment,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to finally release limits for safe exposure to dioxins, nasty industrial pollutants that cause cancer, among other health harms [PDF]. You may have heard of dioxin as the military herbicide Agent Orange used in Vietnam, where it earned its distinction as “the most toxic compound synthesized by man.”
- Fracking: Is there really 100 years’ worth of natural gas beneath the United States? [NO.] (Slate)
- The End of Real Maple Syrup?: Acid rain’s blind spot (Toledo Blade):
University of Michigan researchers say future generations of sugar maple trees are at risk unless soft spots in the federal Clean Air Act are strengthened to address an old nemesis: acid rain.
Precipitation that is highly acidic from burned fossil fuels has been largely under control since the early 1990s. In 1989, the federal government adopted a system to control acid rain through large reductions of sulfur dioxide. Electricity-producing coal-fired power plants were allowed to meet tougher limits through swaps of so-called emission credits.
- Keystone Inspector Alleges Shoddy Work on Original Pipeline (Canadian Press)
- HSBC Report: Future Of Global Climate Deal Dependent On 2012 Election (Think Progress
Green) [emphasis in original]:“[The] prospects for a new global climate deal in 2015 depend considerably on the election of a pro-climate action president. The election of a President opposed to climate action will not only damage growth prospects for low-carbon solutions in the USA itself, but will make the hard task of negotiating a new global agreement by 2015 almost impossible. If Obama is re-elected with support in both houses, we expect modest measures to introduce a federal clean energy standard for electricity; a stripped down cap and trade programme could re-emerge building on the regional scheme on the West and East coasts.”
- Essential Climate Science Findings:
- VIDEO ANIMATION: Time history of atmospheric CO2 (NOAA Carbon Tracker YouTube channel):
- Skeptical Science: Get the FULL DEBUNKING of All Climate Science Denier Arguments
- Part 1: The brutal logic of climate change (David Roberts, Grist) [emphasis added]:
It’s simple: If there is to be any hope of avoiding civilization-threatening climate disruption, the U.S. and other nations must act immediately and aggressively on an unprecedented scale. That means moving to emergency footing. War footing. “Hitler is on the march and our survival is at stake” footing. That simply won’t be possible unless a critical mass of people are on board. It’s not the kind of thing you can sneak in incrementally.
It is unpleasant to talk like this. People don’t want to hear it.
- Part 2: The brutal logic of climate change mitigation (David Roberts, Grist)
- World headed for irreversible climate change in five years, IEA warns: If fossil fuel infrastructure is not rapidly changed, the world will ‘lose for ever’ the chance to avoid dangerous climate change (Guardian UK) [emphasis added]:
The world is likely to build so many fossil-fuelled power stations, energy-guzzling factories and inefficient buildings in the next five years that it will become impossible to hold global warming to safe levels, and the last chance of combating dangerous climate change will be “lost for ever”, according to the most thorough analysis yet of world energy infrastructure.
…
“The door is closing,” Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, said. “I am very worried – if we don’t change direction now on how we use energy, we will end up beyond what scientists tell us is the minimum [for safety]. The door will be closed forever.”- Concise Overview: The IPCC report on extreme climate and weather events (Real Climate)
- READ the IPCC Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
- The Real Global Warming Signal (Tamino)
- No, global warming hasn’t stopped (New Scientist)
- Top UN Climate Official Blasts U.S. Climate Policy: Americans Must Realize “This Is Their Future They’re Compromising” (Think Progress Green)
- VIDEO: Climate Scientists Michael Mann on “A Look Into Our Climate: Past To Present To Future” (TEDx, YouTube)
- Heads in the Sand: Warning: “Climate change is occurring … and poses significant risks to humans and the environment,” reports the National Academy of Sciences. As climate-change science moves in one direction, Republicans in Congress are moving in another. Why?
(National Journal) [emphasis added]:Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, says there’s no question that the influence of his group and others like it has been instrumental in the rise of Republican candidates who question or deny climate science. “If you look at where the situation was three years ago and where it is today, there’s been a dramatic turnaround. Most of these candidates have figured out that the science has become political,” he said.
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Reader Comments on
‘Green News Report’ – January 10, 2012
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- Colorado Sees Worst Snow Drought Since Early 1980s, Foreshadowing Water Shortages And Potential Wildfires (Think Progress Green) [emphasis added]:
For Santorum, “some people” = those pesky climate scientists and their fact-based reality.
That is almost as absurd as Marc Morano’s claim that global warming data is based on “biased thermometers.”