‘Green News Report’ – August 7, 2018

Follow @GreenNewsReport…

(Or use “Click here to listen…” link below.)

IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Northern California wildfire now largest in state history; Toxic algae blooms wreaking havoc in Florida; Europe’s heat wave has made Sweden shorter, endangered nuclear plant operations; PLUS: North Carolina jury awards nearly half a billion dollars in damages against hog farms… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Even if emission reduction targets are met, Earth still heading towards ‘hothouse’ state; Trump admin sees grim climate outcome in car rule; A megadrought destroyed the Mayan civilization. We’re next; Destructive flood risk in U.S. West could triple if climate change left unchecked; Power worth less than zero spreads as green energy floods the grid; To kill climate rule, Trump EPA wants to redefine danger of soot; Chile accuses fishery of damaging environment after salmon escape; Designing the death of a plastic: Scientists are creating a material that self-destructs or breaks down for reuse on command; Trump administration lifts GMO crop ban for U.S. wildlife refuges… PLUS: Flood Thy Neighbor: Who stays dry and who decides? … and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Northern California fire becomes largest in state history:
• VIDEO: CA Gov. Jerry Gov. Brown, Officials Hold Press Conference On Emergency Response To California Wildfires (CapRadio)
• Mendocino fire becomes biggest in modern California history as weary firefighters brace for more (LA Times)
• Gov. Jerry Brown warns ‘new normal’ of wildfires could bring fiscal stress for California (CNBC):
  California Gov. Jerry Brown said the state has sufficient funds to pay for firefighting costs from the more than dozen large wildfires raging in the state.
  But the governor cautioned a downturn in the economy is inevitable at some point and could change the state’s fiscal situation and require borrowing for such emergencies.
• Trump administration approves disaster declaration for Carr Fire (KGO-San Francisco)
• 143-mph ‘fire tornado’ that cut a path of destruction is an ominous sign of the future (LA Times)
• California fires rage, and Gov. Jerry Brown offers grim view of fiery future (LA Times)
• Evacuation orders can’t keep up as fires get faster – with deadly results (LA Times)
• How destructive wildfires create their own weather (Accuweather)
• Scientists mock Trump’s bizarre tweet on California’s fires:
• Scientists mock Trump’s tweet on wildfires as ‘comedically ill-informed’ and ‘unmitigated crap’ (Climate Progress)
• Why Trump Is Blaming California’s Wildfires on Water (New Republic):
  The president’s tweets are baffling experts. Here’s a theory about which “bad environmental laws” he’s talking about.
• Trump Inaccurately Claims California Is Wasting Water as Fires Burn (NY Times):
  California does not lack water to fight the Carr Fire and others burning across the state, officials said.
• Scorching Summer in Europe Signals Long-Term Climate Changes (NY Times)
• Sweden’s tallest peak shrinks as extreme heat wave bakes Europe (NBC):
  ‘Ridiculously warm’ weather resulted in 13 feet of a mountaintop glacier melting in July.
• Europe’s heatwave is forcing nuclear power plants to shut down (Quartz):
  Nuclear power is one of the world’s biggest sources of carbon-free electricity. But it has an Achilles’ heel: it needs lots of water to operate…Worse still, scientists warn that thermal power interruptions will worsen because of climate change-not just because of heatwaves but also droughts.
• Highest-ever recorded temperatures forecast for Europe (Deustche-Welle)
• Europe heatwave: Thousands of fish die in Swiss Rhine (BBC)
• Europe’s heat wave uncovers a hidden past (CNN)
• Toxic algae blooms wreak havoc in Florida:
• Toxic red tide is making Floridians sick – and angry (NBC News):
  Red tides in the Gulf of Mexico and toxic blue-green algae in inland waters are killing animals and stoking outrage in South Florida.
• Dead fish, birds, manatees, even a whale shark. Toll from worst red tide in decade grows. (Miami Herald):
  Florida’s southwest coast, a ribbon of inlets and barrier islands normally brimming with wildlife, has become a red tide slaughterhouse this summer.
• Florida’s algae crisis draws fire from activists and lawmakers (Climate Progress)
• North Carolina jury awards $470 million in damage to hog farm neighbors:
• Jury awards hog farm neighbors their biggest verdict yet (Charlotte News-Observer):
  A federal jury on Friday awarded more than $470 million to six neighbors of a hog farm in Pender County who complained of excessive noise, odor, flies, buzzards and other disruptions to their quality of life.
• Smithfield Foods hit with $473.5M nuisance verdict (Food Dive):
  Some of Smithfield’s problems in North Carolina stem from its practice of collecting liquid excrement from hog operations in open-air pits, then spraying it on agricultural land. According to The Associated Press, that method of waste disposal was banned for new livestock operations in 1997, but Smithfield continues to do it because it’s cheaper than other methods and helps keep pork production costs lower than in China.
• Activists float dialogue over hog farm nuisance lawsuits (AP)
• Nuisance lawsuits now threaten all farmers (Southeast Farm Press):
  North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler: “When they don’t like it, they’re biting the hand that feeds them. That’s what I really don’t understand. To put the word agriculture and nuisance in the same sentence is just ridiculous and quite frankly makes me madder than hell.”
• Hog farmers win new protections as lawmakers override Roy Cooper’s veto (Charlotte News-Observer):
  When Cooper vetoed the bill he said “while agriculture is vital to North Carolina’s economy,” so are “property rights” that “are vital to people’s homes and other businesses.”…Our laws must balance the needs of businesses versus property rights. Giving one industry special treatment at the expense of its neighbors is unfair.”
• Hog industry doesn’t want nuisance suits? Try not being a nuisance (Charlotte News-Observer)
• Fact-checking the allegations lodged about hog farms at the National Ag Leaders Roundtable (Progressive Pulse)

‘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

• Even If Emission Reduction Targets Are Met, Earth Still Heading Towards ‘Hothouse’ State (Reuters)
• Trump admin sees grim climate outcome in car rule (E&E News)
• A megadrought destroyed the Mayan civilization. We’re next. (Climate Progress)
• Destructive Flood Risk in U.S. West Could Triple if Climate Change Left Unchecked (Inside Climate News)
• Power Worth Less Than Zero Spreads as Green Energy Floods the Grid (Bloomberg)
• Flood Thy Neighbor: Who Stays Dry and Who Decides? (Pro Publica)
• To kill climate rule, EPA wants to redefine danger of soot (E&E News)
• Chile Accuses Fishery Of Damaging Environment After Salmon Escape (Reuters)
• Designing the Death of a Plastic: scientists are creating a material that self-destructs or breaks down for reuse on command (NY Times)
• Trump Administration Lifts GMO Crop Ban For U.S. Wildlife Refuges (Reuters)
• Indiana Steel Mill Emits 18,000 Pounds Of Lead A Year Near Chicago (Chicago Tribune)
• Maryland launches community solar program, creating new green energy opportunities — but also potential conflicts (Baltimore Sun)
• World’s Hottest Rain Fell in California, Setting New Record (Newsweek)
• Murray Energy backs opposition to offshore Ohio wind farm (Climate Progress)
• Despair and anxiety: Puerto Rico’s ‘living emergency’ as a mental health crisis unfolds (Guardian UK)
• Softball-sized hail injures 14 people, kills 2 animals at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado (USA Today)
• An Optimist’s Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)
• 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).