‘Green News Report’ – September 20, 2016

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Massive gasoline pipeline spill in Alabama; Court grants temporary reprieve for Dakota Access pipeline construction; U.N. Secretary General trying to ‘Trump proof’ landmark climate pact; PLUS: Leonardo DiCaprio wants you to watch over the oceans… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Los Angeles City Council backs planning for 100 percent renewable energy; Canada Will Impose Nationwide Carbon Price: Minister; Most States On Track To Meet Emissions Targets They Call Burden; Tesla Wins Massive Contract to Help Power the California Grid; Seven charts show new renewables outpacing rising demand for first time; China seen investing too much in power plants that burn coal; In Louisiana, only one Senate candidate among 8 thinks climate change a priority… PLUS: Past California Droughts Have Lasted Hundreds of Years… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Gasoline pipeline rupture in Alabama sparks fuel shortages:
• Weekend Terror Attacks in NY, NJ, MN; Massive Gasoline Pipeline Spill in AL: ‘BradCast’ 9/19/2016 (The BradCast):
  Guest: Alabama Media Group’s natural resources reporter Dennis Pillion…
• Alabama gasoline pipeline projected to restart Wednesday, 12 days after leak found (Dennis Pillion, AL.com)
• Traces of gasoline from Alabama pipeline leak detected in second pond (Dennis Pillion, AL.com)
• Pipeline rupture in Alabama threatens fuel shortages across the U.S. (Guardian UK):
  The line runs from Houston to the New York harbor, and experts say the line’s owner, Colonial Pipeline, was extraordinarily lucky: the spill happened 500ft from the retention pond for a mining company, and all the fuel flowed into it. That spared the Cahaba river system, one of the most biologically diverse spots in the country, prized by scientists for its concentration of endangered species.
• Live blog: The Latest: QuikTrip: Charlotte, Atlanta hit by gas shortage (Washington Post)
• Spill problems all down the line for Colonial: Company hit with record fine (Online Athens, 9/26/2004) [emphasis added]:
  In 2003, Colonial agreed to pay a $34 million fine and an estimated $30 million for increased inspections, maintenance and monitoring along its pipelines to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It was the largest civil fine in EPA history, the agency said. The EPA lawsuit, filed in 2001, said there had been “at least 194” Colonial spills in 12 states between 1966 and 1994, and “numerous” spills in following years.
• Dakota Access pipeline reprieve:
• Dakota Access work freeze ‘brief reprieve’ for opponents (E&E News):
  In the wake of a federal court’s decision Friday to pause construction on part of the Dakota Access pipeline, observers are stressing that the order is only temporary.
• Court halts construction of another section of protested Dakota Access oil pipeline (Chicago Tribune)
• The big fight over the Dakota Access Pipeline, explained (Washington Post):
  Traditional tactics don’t work like they used to.
• Inside the camp that’s fighting to stop the Dakota Access pipeline (Grist)
• Iowa: 40 Arrested at Construction Site of Dakota Access Pipeline (Democracy Now!)
• Our Oceans Conference: Leo DiCaprio wants YOU to help watch over the oceans:
• GlobalFishingWatch.org (Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation):
  Global Fishing Watch allows anyone with an internet connection to see fishing activity anywhere in the ocean in near real-time — for free.
• DiCaprio unveils free technology to spy on global fishing (AFP):
  American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio has today (September 15) unveiled a new, free technology that allows users to spy on global fishing practices, in a bid to curb illegal activity in the oceans…Overfishing is also a growing problem worldwide, with about two-thirds of fish stocks in the high seas either over exploited or depleted, said the FAO. Some of the planet’s largest fish, including tuna and swordfish, are below 10 percent of their historical level.
• VIDEO: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Remarks at 2016 “Our Ocean” Conference (U.S. State Dept.)
• Transcript: Remarks of Leonardo DiCaprio at the Our Oceans Conference (U.S. State Dept.)
• Our Oceans Conference: Five nations announce plastic bag bans:
• VIDEO: 2016 Our Ocean Conference: Closing Remarks by Secretary Kerry (U.S. State Dept.)
• Transcript: Sec. of State John Kerry’s Remarks at the Closing Session of Our Ocean Conference (U.S. State Dept.)
• $5.3B Pledged for Marine Conservation at US Summit (Voice of America)
• England’s plastic bag usage drops 85% since 5p charge introduced (Guardian UK)
• UN: Ban Ki-Moon speeding up attempt to ‘Trump proof’ historic Paris Climate Agreement:
• With U.S. Election in Sight, Ban Ki-moon Seeks Quick Action on Climate Accord (NY Times)
• 3 Ways Trump Could Abandon the Paris Climate Pact (Climate Central):
  Legal experts, however, say a Trump administration would have several options for abandoning the agreement during its first term, which would severely jeopardize its potential to succeed…The vulnerability of the climate pact shows efforts to curb warming’s impacts remain beholden to the whims of elections and personalities.
• UN: 20 more countries ready to ratify Paris climate deal (Carbon Brief)
• EU Leaders Pledge Quick Ratification of Paris Climate Accord (Bloomberg):
  The climate deal will be enacted 30 days after the ratification thresholds have been reached. If they’re triggered by Oct. 7, the first meeting of the parties to the agreement, known in the climate jargon as CMA, could take place during the nearest annual United Nations climate conference, scheduled to start in Morocco on Nov. 7.
• Obama designates the first-ever marine monument off the East Coast, in New England (Washington Post)

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

• Los Angeles City Council backs planning for 100 percent renewable energy (Climate Progress):
  The Council directed the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to develop a plan for going 100 percent renewable, including looking at where, when, and how the city should allocate resources to achieve that goal.
• Past California Droughts Have Lasted Hundreds of Years (Washington Post):
  New research “suggests that massive long-term droughts can hit the region in conjunction with cycles of ocean warming and cooling — and that if these patterns continue to hold, another megadrought could lie in the future.
• Canada Will Impose Nationwide Carbon Price: Minister (Reuters):
  Canada will impose a carbon price on provinces that do not adequately regulate emissions by themselves, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said on Sunday without giving details on how the Liberal government will do so.
• Most States On Track To Meet Emissions Targets They Call Burden (Reuters):
  The 27 states challenging Obama’s Clean Power Plan in court say the lower emissions levels it would impose are an undue burden. But most are likely to hit them anyway.
• Tesla Wins Massive Contract to Help Power the California Grid (Bloomberg)
• Seven charts show new renewables outpacing rising demand for first time (Carbon Brief)
• China seen investing too much in power plants that burn coal (Bloomberg)
• In Louisiana, only one Senate candidate among 8 thinks climate change a priority (Houma Today)
• Wind, solar and electric cars are booming. Too bad that’s not enough to stop climate change (Washington Post):
  [I]t’s worth thinking about a new report on global patterns of energy investment — $1.8 trillion worth in 2015 — just released by the International Energy Agency. Because what that report essentially says is that although there’s clear progress, we’re also missing some things. Some very big things.
• Environmental records shattered as climate change ‘plays out before us’ (Guardian UK):
  Temperatures, sea levels and carbon dioxide all hit milestones amid extreme weather in 2015, major international ‘state of the climate’ report finds.

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

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