‘Green News Report’ – March 6, 2014

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Record fine for Big Coal company for 6,000 violations over 7 years; Opportunistic rightwingers push nonsense on Keystone XL; Colorado’s Republican US Senate candidates pass climate denier litmus test; PLUS: Keystone XL loses another key supporter … All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): China declares war – on pollution; Innovation: Transparent colorful solar cells have arrived; Federal Reserve sees severe weather impact throughout US economy; Americans have no idea how much water they waste; US infrastructure, landmarks threatened by rising sea levels; Britain’s cars could run on rubbish… PLUS: Drought: California will learn what Texas did: by the time politicians and residents wake up to their wasteful ways, it’s too late … and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• CO: GOP Candidates for US Senate Pass Climate Denial Litmus Test:
• VIDEO: Watch Six Colorado Senate Candidates Deny Climate Change Exists In 18 Seconds (Climate Progress):
  Just how many climate change deniers plan to run for Senate in Colorado? At the moment, the answer is at least seven Republicans vying for Sen. Mark Udall’s (D-CO) seat. Six of the candidates came out at a Tuesday debate saying they do not believe that global warming is a real thing.
• Big Fine for Big Coal:
• Federal Settlement Finds ‘Big Coal’ Company Polluted Water 6,000 Times in 7 Years (The BRAD BLOG)

Heavy metals said discharged directly into rivers, streams by Alpha Natural Resources Inc.

• Coal firm to pay record fine for water pollution (Dina Cappiello, AP):
  One of the nation’s largest coal producers will pay a $27.5 million fine and spend $200 million to reduce illegal toxic discharges into hundreds of waterways across five Appalachian states, according to a proposed settlement Wednesday.
• VIDEO: Leading coal producer agrees to pay record fine to clean polluted waters across Appalachia (PBS NewsHour)
• NC Coal Ash Spill: Duke Energy receives 5 more citations weeks after coal ash spill (LA Times):
  The agency “knew about these violations yet took no action until after the spill, the federal criminal grand jury and intense press scrutiny.’’
• More corroded metal pipes found at Duke coal ash sites (WRAL Raleigh-Durham, NC):
  The stormwater pipe in Eden was supposed to have been made of concrete, but the spill revealed that only the visible ends of the pipe were concrete and that cheaper corrugated metal had been used for the underground section of the conduit.
• Reversal: MSNBC Host Ed Scultz Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline:
• VIDEO: Keystone Supporter Ed Schultz Now Opposes The Pipeline, Tells President Obama To Go To Nebraska (Climate Progress):
  It’s an absolute. It will leak. … I’m talking about irreversible damage. This isn’t something the oil companies will be able to come in and fix the aquifer. No. When that oil, if and when it does get in there, now what are we going to do? You are going to make void the farm economy in this part of the country. That’s the risk.



• Did the State Department Manipulate Facts to Support Keystone XL? (Price Of Oil blog)
• Keystone XL: Public Comment Period Ends Friday, March 7th:
• CLICK HERE for info on making a Public Comment on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline: 30-day public comment period ENDS March 7, 2014 (State Dept.gov):
  Comments can be submitted via Regulations.gov and by mail to the address indicated above.
• Rightwingers Opportunistically Push Keystone XL, Experts Say ‘Nonsense’:
• VIDEO: Fox Uses Ukraine Crisis In “Absurd” Push For Keystone XL Pipeline (Media Matters)
• An Energy Weapon vs. Russia? (Council on Foreign Relations) [emphasis added]:
  Senator: US should use oil and gas as strategic weapon in world politics (Fuel Fix)
• Why the US should not export oil: (Smart Planet) [emphasis added]:
  Lifting the moratorium on exporting crude oil would benefit producers in the short term, but at the cost of America’s long-term energy security. The U.S. oil industry has a very tricky needle to thread right now: It must convince the American public that exporting crude oil is in its best interest, when it is not.
• VIDEO: Chris Hayes debunks the “absurd” claim that more fracking will weaken Putin (Media Matters)

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

• Transparent Colorful Solar Cells Have Arrived! (Solar Feeds):
  “I think this offers a very different way of utilizing solar technology rather than concentrating it in a small area,” he said. “Today, solar panels are black and the only place you can put them on a building is the rooftop. And the rooftop of a typical high-rise is so tiny. “We think we can make solar panels more beautiful—any color a designer wants. And we can vastly deploy these panels, even indoors.”
• America’s Axis of Drought (Daily Beast): California will learn what Texas did when the water runs out: by the time politicians and residents wake up to their wasteful ways, it’s too late.
• Americans use twice as much water as they think they do, study says (LA Times):
  Americans use twice the amount of water they think they do, and appear to be particularly oblivious about how much H2O they flush down the toilet on a daily basis, according to new research.
• UN climate chief: extreme weather reminds us we must act on climate change – video (Guardian UK)
• Infrastructure Threatened by Climate Change Poses a National Crisis (Scientific American): Whether it’s water or communication systems, infrastructure is ill prepared to keep functioning under changing climate conditions/
• More Extreme Weather Records: East Coast Cities Plunge to Record-Low Temperatures (Atlantic Cities)
• Clarifying the Discussion about California Drought and Climate Change (Peter Gleick, Science Blogs):
  The confusion stems from the failure of some scientists, bloggers, reporters, and others to distinguish among three separate questions. All three questions are scientifically interesting. But the three are different in their nuance, their importance to policy, and their interest to politicians and water managers. Here are the three different questions:
• China is so bad at conservation that it had to launch the most impressive water-pipeline project ever (Quartz):
  Wang Shucheng, a former minister of water resources, predicted that if groundwater extraction in the north continues at current rates, in 15 years there will be none left.
• China Declares War on Pollution as Smog Spreads (Bloomberg):
  Pollution is ‘‘nature’s red-light warning against the model of inefficient and blind development,’’ Li said today in his work report at the start of this year’s National People’s Congress in Beijing. ‘‘Fostering a sound ecological environment is vital for people’s lives and the future of our nation.”
• Federal Reserve: Severe weather impact seen throughout US economy (CNBC)
• How Money Changes Climate Debate (Scientific American): Why have conservative groups been so successful in casting doubt on global warming?
• Biofuels made from rubbish ‘could power 16% of EU road transport’ (Guardian UK): Study finds huge potential for sustainable advanced biofuels to cut emissions and fossil fuel imports
• BP chief executive’s pay triples in 2013 (Guardian UK): Mixture of salary, bonus and share awards for Bob Dudley worth $8.7m (£5.2m) in 2013, compared with $2.6m for the previous year
• Would Free Public Transport Improve a Country’s Economy? (VICE):
  Firstly, we should ask whose economy it would be beneficial to. Economics is politics—its rules aren’t natural. The core of the issue isn’t about public transport being free, but the ethical and political conviction that people’s needs and well-being must be placed above all else, ensuring their access to public transport. A better-living society with no fear of tomorrow is a healthier, more innovative, smarter one.
• Northern Rivers Are Melting Arctic Ice (Science Magazine) [emphasis added]:
  Warm water flowing into the Arctic Ocean may be speeding the melting of sea ice, according to a new analysis of NASA satellite images.
  …Presuming that the runoff from the 72 major rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean has an average temperature of 5°C, the amount of energy transported to the sea each and every year is equivalent to the amount of electric power used by the entire state of California in 50 years at today’s usage rates, the researchers estimate.
• 6 Creative Ways To Repurpose Your Dryer Lint (Huffington Post Green)
• Apple’s Renewable Energy ‘Controversy’ Underscores Need for Government Mandates (The BRAD BLOG):
  The fact is, even well-meaning corporate directors can have a very difficult time, and face huge legal obstacles, towards doing the right thing for society and for their corporate shareholders without a government that sets clear and strong standards requiring them to do so.
• Energy CEO: Climate change is real, driven by humans (Fuel Fix) [emphasis added]:
  Speaking to energy industry leaders at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Mackenzie, a geologist by training, said evidence of the climate trend is clear and compelling.

  “You can’t argue with a rock,” Mackenzie said, noting geological signs of the change.

  Mackenzie – whose Australia-based company produces oil, gas, coal and uranium – also advocated for the creation of a carbon pricing system that would enable the market “to identify the most cost-effective methods of cutting emissions.”

• The scary new evidence on BPA-free plastics: (Mother Jones):
  Environmentalists may have won a victory convincing manufacturers to remove the estrogen-mimicking chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from products like babies’ sippy cups — but lab results are showing that the chemicals replacing them are as bad or worse.
• US farmers report widespread GM crop contamination: (Inter Press Service):
  A third of U.S. organic farmers have experienced problems in their fields due to the nearby use of genetically modified crops, and over half of those growers have had loads of grain rejected because of unwitting GMO contamination.
• Acidic Waters Kill 10 Million Scallops Off Vancouver (Climate Progress) [emphasis added]:
  A mass die-off of scallops near Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island is being linked to the increasingly acidic waters that are threatening marine life and aquatic industries along the West Coast. Rob Saunders, CEO of Island Scallops, estimates his company has lost three years worth of scallops and $10 million dollars.“I’m not sure we are going to stay alive and I’m not sure the oyster industry is going to stay alive,” Saunders told The Parksville Qualicum Beach NEWS. “It’s that dramatic.”
• Global Shift to Clean Energy No Longer ‘Theoretical’ (The Tyee):
  These days the data tell a powerful story. Recent price declines for solar energy have been “massive,” [Ethan Zindler, Bloomberg New Energy Finance] explained, while merely “substantial” for wind, meaning that a global shift away from fossil fuels is no longer “theoretical.”

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FOR MORE on Climate Science and Climate Change, go to our Green News Report: Essential Background Page

• Skeptical Science: Database with FULL DEBUNKING of ALL Climate Science Denier Myths
• Warning: Even in the best-case scenario, climate change will kick our asses (Grist)
• NASA Video: Warming over the last 130 years, and into the next 100 years:
• Video Proof That Global Warming is a ‘Hoax’!: NASA Temperature Data 1888-2011 (The BRAD BLOG):



• NASA climate change video: This is the U.S. in 2100 (NASA).