‘Green News Report’ – June 26, 2018

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Double whammy – extreme rain and floods delay cleanup of massive tar sands oil spill in Iowa; CDC says diseases caused by ticks and mosquitoes have tripled in the U.S., thanks to global warming; If it seems like we’re getting more torrential downpours and floods, it’s because we are; PLUS: A new ad on Fox News, aimed at one person, hopes to stop a new bridge for Detroit… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Federal judge dismisses cities’ climate liability lawsuit seeking over costs of climate change; U.S. natural gas industry has a major leak problem; Big oil and Bush-era lobbyists are teaming up to … support a carbon tax; Trump Admin tightens media access for federal scientists; Banned pesticide killed 13 bald eagles at Maryland farm; How the land conservation fund helped sink Trump’s budget-trimming efforts; NY agencies ask FERC to cut pipeline risks near nuclear plant; Warming drives spread of toxic algae in the U.S.; China may be mystery source of growth in illegal CFCs … PLUS: Rising seas could lead to a population boom for Arizona… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Double whammy: Floodwaters delay cleanup of massive tar sands spill in Iowa
• VIDEO: Gov. Reynolds tours flood, oil spill (Des Moines Register)
• BNSF estimates 230,000 gallons of oil spilled into Little Rock River (Sioux City Journal):
  “They’re working diligently to get that done,” Reynolds said of efforts to get a temporary road built, “so that equipment can reach the site to pull out the piled-up train cars and advance the cleanup.”
• Live updates: Cleanup of oil from derailment in Iowa begins (AP)
• Iowa train derailment: Hazmat team on scene after oil leaks into river (Des Moines Register):
  “We don’t know how much is leaking or how bad it is”, Vander Stoep said. “We’ve got some stuff out on the water now to soak it up, but the whole area is blocked off.”
• Rock Valley residents evacuate, fight second flood in four years (Sioux City Journal)
• It’s not your imagination: Torrential downpours increasing in frequency, intensity in U.S.:
• Immense rains are causing more flash flooding, and experts say it’s getting worse (Washington Post):
  Things are definitely getting more extreme,” said Andreas ­Prein, an atmospheric scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. “You just have to look at the records. All areas of the continental U.S. have seen increases in peak rainfall rates in the past 50 years. And there is a chance that we are underestimating the risk, actually.” …And the area covered by each storm also is getting larger, Prein said, another major factor in the increased precipitation.
• The Midwest Is Getting Drenched, And It’s Causing Big Problems (Five Thirty-Eight):
  One of the more dramatic changes is the increasing number of “mega-rain” events: rainstorms during which at least 6 inches of rain falls over at least 1,000 square miles and the center of the storm drops more than 8 inches of rain. Minnesota has had 11 mega-rains since 1973, and eight of them have come since 2000.
• Heavy Rainfall Has Increased by Up to 70 Percent in Parts of the U.S. Since the 1950s, and It Will Only Get Worse, Experts Say (Weather Channel)
• CDC: Diseases caused by ticks and mosquitoes in the U.S. tripled since 2004:
• VIDEO: Summer campers face deadly ticks and mosquitoes (CNN)
• Vital Signs: Trends in Reported Vectorborne Disease Cases — United States and Territories, 2004–2016 (Centers for Disease Control)
• Tick and Mosquito Infections Spreading Rapidly, C.D.C. Finds (NY Times):
  Warmer weather is an important cause of the surge, according to the lead author of a study published in the C.D.C.’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. But the author, Dr. Lyle R. Petersen, the agency’s director of vector-borne diseases, declined to link the increase to the politically fraught issue of climate change, and the report does not mention climate change or global warming.
• US cases of disease carried by ticks, mosquitoes and other bugs tripled from 2004 to 2016 (Washington Post):
  Increased climate fluctuations, largely due to human activity, can also affect how vector-borne diseases spread. Warmer climates may allow mosquitoes to survive in areas previously too cold to support them.
• MI: Wealthy family’s new ad, aimed at Trump, tries to stop new bridge for Detroit:
• Ambassador Bridge owner urges Trump to revoke Gordie Howe permit; ad called ‘misleading’ (Detroit News):
  Michigan officials said the ad is not based in fact. “Most importantly, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will be jointly owned by Canada and Michigan,” MDOT’s Fischer said. Canada is supplying Michigan’s $550 million share of costs for the new span, and that amount will be repaid to Canada through bridge tolls. The ad also “falsely” suggests that steel used to build the Gordie Howe bridge will come from overseas, Fischer said… The bridge’s construction will employ both Michigan and other American workers, Fischer stressed.
• Moroun TV ad asks Trump to ‘pick America’, reject Gordie Howe bridge (Detroit Free Press):
  For years, the Moroun family which owns and operates Detroit’s Ambassador Bridge, has been battling — in court, in ballot referendums, in the Statehouse and the U.S. Capitol — arguing that a Canadian-built, Canadian-financed rival bridge makes no economic sense, violates the law and will unfairly hurt its business. Now, the Morouns have a new argument — patriotism — and they’re taking their plea to the top amid a budding trade war and open animosity between the U.S. and its northern ally.
• A new image for the Morouns? New bridge TV ad demolishes that fantasy (Detroit Free Press)
• VIDEO: Moroun family launches ad asking President Trump to stop new Gordie Howe Bridge (WXYZ-TV Detroit)
• VIDEO: Ambassador Bridge Ad Asks President To Kill ‘Buy American’ Exemption For Gordie Howe Span (Full ad, AM800 CKLW, Canada)

‘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

• Federal Judge Dismisses Cities’ Suit Against Oil Companies Over Costs of Climate Change (NY Times)
• The Natural Gas Industry Has a Leak Problem (NY Times)
• Big oil and Bush-era lobbyists are teaming up to … support a carbon tax? (Vox)
• Rising Seas Could Swell Arizona’s Population (Climate Central)
• Trump Admin Tightens Media Access For Federal Scientists: Report (The Hill)
• Banned Pesticide Killed 13 Bald Eagles at Maryland Farm (Washington Post)
• How a conservation fund helped sink Trump’s budget-trimming efforts (Washington Post)
• EPA commissions a challenge coin to congratulate its response to 2017 natural disasters, including the hurricanes that ravaged Texas and Puerto Rico (CNN)
• Antarctic ice is melting faster. Coastal cities need to prepare — now. (Washington Post)
• A red state goes green: How Texas became a pioneer in wind energy (CBS News)
• Pruitt Faces Another Probe For Employee Retaliation Allegations (Politico)
• EPA Chief Pruitt Encouraged Oil Executives To Apply For Top Agency Jobs (Buzzfeed)
• NY Agencies Urge FERC To Cut Pipeline Risks Near Indian Point Nuke Plant (Reuters)
• Warming Drives Spread Of Toxic Algae in US, Researchers Say (AP)
• In a High-Stakes Environmental Whodunit, Many Clues Point to China (NY Times)
• Too Hot To Handle: Politics Of Warming Part Of Culture Wars (AP)
• Enviros Sue For Report On How Gulf Drilling Affects Endangered Species (AP)
• Looming Cybersecurity Battle: Who Protects U.S. Pipelines? (Bloomberg)
• Dr. James Hansen: Global warming cooks up “a different world” over 3 decades (AP)
• The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. (Politico)
• The world’s bleak climate situation, in 3 charts: We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. (Vox)
• 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).