‘Green News Report’ – April 19, 2018

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Puerto Rico’s fragile electric grid hit by another island-wide blackout; New studies warn the Gulf Stream current is slowing down; Earth Day 2018 focused on ending plastic pollution; PLUS: Oil industry slapped with two new climate liability lawsuits… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): You can turn red states green when you tell people the scientific consensus on climate change; GOP scrambles to keep ‘Dark Lord Of Coal Country’ from WV Senate nomination; EPA’s Pruitt under spending probe; Second death reported with OK wildfires, threat ‘historic’; U.S. food waste has staggering environmental footprint; Destructive nutria swamp rodents are knocking on CA’s door; Trump’s EPA quietly revamps rules for air pollution; Why Australia’s autumn has felt more like summer; Study reveals new Antarctic process contributing to sea level rise and climate change; GOP maneuver could roll back decades of regulation… PLUS: What Earth Day means when humans possess planet-shaping powers… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Puerto Rico hit by another island-wide blackout:
• Puerto Rico Is Once Again Hit by an Islandwide Blackout (NY Times):
  It was only a few hours later that an excavator working near a fallen 140-foot transmission tower on the southern part of the island got too close to a high-voltage line. The resulting electrical fault knocked out power to nearly every home and business across the storm-battered American territory, authorities said, a catastrophic failure that could take up to 36 hours to restore.
• Power restored to 70 percent of Puerto Rico customers after total blackout (USA Today)
• Contractor involved in island-wide Puerto Rico blackout canned (AP):
  Goverment officials said a company hired by Cobra Energy known as Dgrimm was involved in both incidents that led to the power outages. Dgrimm had been asked to change its security protocols after the first incident, and it has since been terminated.
• 2018 Hurricane Season Will Bring Another Battery Of Storms (NPR)
• In Puerto Rico, Stadium Lights Glow, Homes Do Not (NY Times)
• Six Months After Maria, It’s Clear Puerto Rico’s Terrible Grid Will Be a Lasting Legacy (Earther)
• Why Can’t We Fix Puerto Rico’s Power Grid? (Wired)
• New studies warn Gulf Stream current is slowing down:
• The oceans’ circulation hasn’t been this sluggish in 1,000 years. That’s bad news. (Washington Post)
• VIDEO: Stronger evidence for a weaker Atlantic overturning (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)
• Gulf Stream current at its weakest in 1,600 years, studies show (Guardian UK):
  Warm current that has historically caused dramatic changes in climate is experiencing an unprecedented slowdown and may be less stable than thought – with potentially severe consequences.
• Avoid Gulf stream disruption at all costs, scientists warn (Guardian UK):
  How close the world is to a catastrophic collapse of giant ocean currents is unknown, making halting global warming more critical than ever, scientists say.
• Ocean circulation is changing, and we need to know why (Op-ed, Nature)
• Florida teens sue Gov. Rick Scott for failing to act on climate:
• Active State Legal Actions: Florida (Our Children’s Trust)
• Kids are suing Gov. Rick Scott to force Florida to take action on climate change (Miami Herald):
  Eight young Florida residents – the youngest is 10, the oldest is 20, and one is a University of Miami marine science student- are the named plaintiffs in a lawsuit that seeks to force a state extremely vulnerable to climate-driven sea rise to start work on a court-ordered, science-based “Climate Recovery Plan.”
• Florida Kids Sue Gov. Scott Over Climate Change: You Have ‘Moral Obligation’ to Protect Us (Inside Climate News):
  The case, connected to the federal Our Children’s Trust climate lawsuit, is one of nine pressuring states to take action on global warming and fossil fuels.
• AUDIO: ‘The Most Upsetting Thing Anyone Can Imagine:’ Kids Sue Florida Over Climate Change (WLRN Miami)
• Boulder, CO communities sue oil industry over climate damages:
• Boulder Sues Exxon Over Climate Change: Wildfires, Droughts and Water Are a Few Reasons Why (Inside Climate News):
  The lawsuit makes clear that the plaintiffs aren’t asking for the court to stop fossil fuel production in Colorado, or elsewhere, and they aren’t asking for emissions regulations. Instead they want compensation for a wide range of past and future damages related to climate change, ranging from the cost of fighting wildfires to flood control measures, health care expenses and the loss of land value.
• Colorado Communities File Lawsuit Against Oil Giants for Climate Change Costs (City of Boulder):
  Cost of climate change impacts estimates to top one hundred million dollars by 2050… The communities have demanded that these companies pay their fair share of the costs associated with climate change impacts, so that the costs do not fall disproportionately on taxpayers.
• VIDEO: Boulder climate change suit could be destined for federal court (Boulder Daily Camera)
• Boulder becomes first landlocked city to sue companies over climate change (Climate Progress)
• Earth Day 2018 focused on eliminating plastic pollution:
• End Plastic Pollution: Earth Day 2018 Campaign (Earth Day Network):
  Earth Day Network, the organization that leads Earth Day worldwide, today announced that Earth Day 2018 will focus on mobilizing the world to End Plastic Pollution, including creating support for a global effort to eliminate single-use plastics along with global regulation for the disposal of plastics.
• Earth Day 2018 – ‘End Plastic Pollution’ (Digital Journal):
  From poisoning and injuring marine life and seabirds to disrupting human hormones, from littering our beaches, roadways, and landscape, to clogging our rivers and streams – Plastics are now threatening the very survival of our planet.
• Commentary: On Earth Day 2018, demand actions from our lawmakers (Austin American-Statesmen)
• How Earth Day grew to empower 1 billion people worldwide to preserve our planet’s health (AccuWeather)

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

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page

• What Earth Day means when humans possess planet-shaping powers (The Conversation)
• Here’s what happens when you tell people the scientific consensus on climate change: You can turn red states green (Climate Progress)
• GOP Scrambles To Keep ‘Dark Lord Of Coal Country’ From WV Senate Nomination (Talking Points Memo)
• EPA’s Pruitt Under Spending Probe; Senators Urge His Ouster (Reuters)
• Second Death Reported With Wildfires, Threat ‘Historic’ On Tuesday (The Oklahoman)
• U.S. Food Waste Has Staggering Environmental Footprint (Washington Post)
• Destructive Nutria Swamp Rodents Are Knocking On The Delta’s Door (Sacramento Bee)
• Trump’s EPA Quietly Revamps Rules For Air Pollution (The Hill)
• Judge Nixes Greens’ Suit Over EPA Delay Of Power Plant Toxics Rule (Cleveland Plain-Dealer)
• 40C degrees in April: Why Australia’s autumn has felt more like summer (ABC Australia)
• Study reveals new Antarctic process contributing to sea level rise and climate change (Science Daily)
• GOP maneuver could roll back decades of regulation (Politico)
• Chairman Conaway’s Farm Bill Would Increase Food Insecurity and Hardship (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
• With new carbon farming project, Boulder County could become massive greenhouse gas sponge (Boulder Weekly)
• Italy’s in Love With Electric Cars and Enel CEO Sees an Opening (Bloomberg)
• Limiting global warming to 1.5C would have ‘significant economic benefits’ (Carbon Brief)
• AUDIO: An Inconvenient ‘BradCast’ with Al Gore (The BRAD BLOG):
  Guest Host Angie Coiro’s exclusive interview with the former Vice President on elections, pollution, persuasion, activism, and hope…
• The Climate Risks We Face (NY Times):
  To stabilize global temperature, net carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero. The window of time is rapidly closing to reduce emissions and limit warming to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the goal set in the Paris climate accord. The further we push the climate system beyond historical conditions, the greater the risks of potentially unforeseen and even catastrophic changes to the climate – so every reduction in emissions helps.
• The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):
  Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak – sooner than you think.
• A beginner’s guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it’s possible for the whole world to run on renewables – we merely lack the “political will.” So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.
• No country on Earth is taking the 2 degree climate target seriously (Vox):
  If we mean what we say, no more new fossil fuels, anywhere.

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).