CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS

The Monolith

foresterbob writes—I have not posted a diary of any kind in three months. When I’m on the go 8 to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, there is not much time for outside activities. Y’all know that I’m still alive and kicking because I’ve posted the occasional comment and picture. The northeastern corner of Oregon is a bit off the beaten path. Interstate 84 runs through the city of La Grande, but it takes a bit of effort to find your way to the towns of Wallowa, Lostine, Enterprise, and Joseph. The towns sit in the larger valleys. To the south lie the Wallowa Mountains whose tallest peaks are over 9,000 feet in elevation. To the north is a plateau with an elevation half that of the Wallowas. Canyons large and small have etched the plateau, to the point where I’ve joked that the terrain is either flat, or vertical.Here are some pictures from this year’s wanderings in the area.”

PHScott writes—The Daily Bucket: Spring Canyon and Fall Wildflowers: “It was supposed to be another volunteer day looking for the dying and endemic Florida Torreya tree. But after driving the 40 miles across Gadsden county I find out that 2 couldn't make it leaving just 2 to cover 200' of steep and heavily forested slope in the 90º heat of summer, and to which I said, Nah, I'd rather wander around Spring Canyon and look at wildflowers. So here we go but not a lot to say since it's already 11 and we need a bucket for the day. The cover photo is known as Blue Curls; it may be the Forked species. Had no idea ants were working it till I saw the photo.”

OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - spiker waiting for pears: “He’s a spiker Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), a type of mule deer. He’s wandering my neighborhood alone, which is pretty typical. I see deer often, we have a high density due to a lack of predators. They are habituated to people, as you can see. Our deer are also small compared to those on the mainland, possibly because of finite range hence forage, and no predation pressure eliminating the small and slow. Aside from a few killed by hunters in season, most of our deer die as roadkill. Dangerous for cars/drivers too. But a boon of meat for our scavengers like eagles, ravens, vulture, crows, raccoons. He’s scouting out my gate, where I’ve been dumping buckets of windfall pears. No matter how many gallons I leave out there, they are gone by the next day.”

Besame writes—Daily Bucket: 45 years of data confirm my butterfly observations: “I was fascinated to read research confirming my butterfly abundance/diversity observations, although I’d rather have been wrong about the drought reducing butterfly populations. But the findings were more complex than just fewer butterflies in my area. I’ve commented many times about seeing few or no butterflies during California’s 2011-2015 drought years and speculated it might be due to the lack of rain limiting host and nectar plant growth. The fascinating part isn’t that my anecdotal info and maybe my speculative cause were scientifically validated. It’s that I didn’t see many butterflies because of where I was looking in the Sierra Nevada foothills. If I’d traveled downslope to the lowlands, I’d have seen more than were usually present. At low elevations, butterfly population numbers have been decreasing since the 1990s, but the drought and record-high temperatures brought a temporary increase. Surprisingly the data also showed the relatively stable montane populations decreased during 2011-2015. Another interesting point is that what happened to these butterfly populations was the opposite of what biologists guesstimated.”

Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Millions marvel as LA has first rainfall in a millennium: “In Los Angeles area last night, people were stunned when water mysteriously fell from the sky and darkness was shattered by bright flashes of heavenly light. The hashtag #LArain trended on Twitter.

x It has legit been so long since there's been a semi storm of #LARain that I forgot what "lightning" was called- it's happened like 5 times in the last ten minutes and in my mind I was calling it "bright sky flashing" Ã¢ÂÂ Ã°ÂÂ¤Â·Ã°ÂÂÂ½Ã¢ÂÂÃ¢ÂÂÃ¯Â¸Â kiki Ã°ÂÂ¤Â¦Ã°ÂÂÂ½Ã¢ÂÂÃ¢ÂÂÃ¯Â¸Â (@heyjdey) October 13, 2018

An October rain storm with thunder and lightning is uncommon in general, but this year was exceptionally hot and dry. This last rainfall season (2017-2018) was the driest for Los Angeles since 2006-2007 and the third driest since rainfall records began being kept in 1877.”

committed writes—teachers to police the schools but refuge managers have their guns/training yanked by trump/gop: “The Trump administration is abruptly ending a decades-long program that trained national wildlife refuge managers with law enforcement capabilities to police often remote spots of public land. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced to employees on Sept. 21 that refuge managers who were also trained to police the area would no longer be able to act in any enforcement capacity and would be stripped of their firearm, according to an internal FWS email shared with The Hill. Sources said the decision came as a shock to many of the people who have worked in the position, known as dual-function officers, including retirees who had spent decades in the role at their respective refuges. Critics argued it would lead to new violations in the refuges.”

matching mole writes—Dawn Chorus: A Helluva Bird: “Part the Second: Because the first part wasn’t very birdy here are a few videos of actual birds digging (or using burrows they have already excavated). We don’t tend to think about birds digging but quite a few of them do it. It is particularly common in sea birds. No diamond mountains but still pretty impressive for animals with wings rather than front legs.”

x YouTube Video

Dan Bacher writes—Winnemem Wintu Fight for Restoration of Winter Chinook Salmon to McCloud River above Shasta Dam: “Anglers are seeing greatly improved fishing in the stretch of the Sacramento River from Pittsburg to the Sacramento metropolitan area this year as the fall run of Chinook salmon moves upriver to spawn. In the short time that I was waiting at Discovery Park for participants in the Winnemem Wintu’s Run4Salmon to board the boat making the journey from Sacramento to Colusa on the morning of September 22, anglers in two boats arrived back at the dock with their one fish limits of salmon. For example, Larry Mabalot, Benny Tayag and Oliver Pascual came in with three bright salmon up to 18 pounds. They landed their fish while trolling with Kwifkifsh and Silvertron spinners around the I Street Bridge. ‘It was epic,’ said Mabalot. ‘We landed our three fish in 30 minutes of fishing. It’s the best day we’ve had yet this year.’ While the salmon fishing on the Sacramento River from Pittsburg to the Sacramento area has been much better than expected, the salmon are still in deep trouble.”

OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - autumn yellow: “Windy day yesterday, leaves and needles blowing off trees. Fall has arrived in the Northwest. Up in my local town for errands I saw the last of our bright yellow lining the main street. These are non native trees, and there was some controversy about planting them for that reason, but everybody seems to like them now. I sure do, especially during these couple of weeks in their fall color. I forget what kind of tree this is — any of you folks know? Some of our native trees turn yellow too, if not quite so brightly, like willows and alders. The alders are bare already and the willows haven’t turned yet. But our native bitter cherry trees (Prunus emarginata) are a pretty shade right now.”

Autumn leaves on the move

OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - early October days in my neighborhood: Photo diary.

OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - Marsh Wren: “Marsh Wrens are described as a bird “more often heard than seen” and that’s the truth! I got lucky yesterday afternoon, was able to catch some partial views of one that was hopping around in a thicket between the road and a wetland. The wetland beyond remains wet throughout the summer, with several small pools of standing water. [...] I heard it first, a musical trilling. Not quite as spectacularly musical as they are in spring, but even now in the off season more so than most birds. When I walked near its calling it stopped, and then started up again when I stood very still for a while. It sounded like there were two. Books say they make these calls to warn off interlopers in their territories, however loose they are in winter. Marsh Wrens eat insects most of the year, supplemented with plant material in winter when insects become scarce. They don’t migrate around here.”

OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - maples in fall, BigLeaf Maple dieback: “We have three native maples in the Northwest, here in coniferland. Maples are among our few deciduous trees, and here as elsewhere, their foliage is turning color and dropping now. One of our maples, our largest and most important ecologically, has recently begun dying across the region. No one knows why exactly but clues are emerging, and it doesn’t look good. Let’s take a look at the Northwest native maples, what they’re doing in my home area right now and what’s on the horizon. Douglas Maple (Acer glabrum). Elsewhere these are called Rocky Mountain maple, likely because they do well in cold temps and dry soil, but here we call them Douglas maples. They are fairly common where I live in the San Juans due to our very low annual precip compared to most of maritime Washington. These are moderately small trees. Foliage turns shades of orange and red. They are at the end of their leafy stage right now. Another couple of big windstorms and they will be bare until next spring.”

Not a moth, but ya gotta love that symmetry

sandbear75 writes—Daily Bucket-Mothley Crew: “We call it a monsoon, but that’s not technically correct. Our wind pattern shift is only about 140 degrees, as opposed to the definition of 180 degrees, but it brings up plenty of tropical moisture from Mexico. And it’s like pouring gasoline on a fire. With the rains, life explodes here. Every morning, there’s a story at the front door of the museum that I’m building. We have a crime light that stays on at night. And when I get to work, the drama is just winding down. We don’t spray for bugs, so life is abundant here. The actors come and go, worse than The Game of Thrones. The theme seems to be that everything is food for other food. The vast majority of the survivors are moths. The smallest of which are hanging around past sun up. Our monster Sphinx and Gypsy moths have gone home to sleep. But the variety is impressive. One morning I counted 14 varieties that made it through the night. There is usually a desert toad poo on the side walk. Now we know where most the bodies went. The Praying Mantis are hanging around too, sometimes up to five of them. By their size, you can tell their well fed.”

Amanita muscaria var. guessowii, Yellow Orange Amanita just emerging from the earth. There are edible amanitas but this isn’t one of them!

Attack Gardener writes—The Daily Bucket - Wildcrafting Herbs: “This is the second in a series that I am writing on herbs . You can find the first one here: Tea from Fresh Herbs. This Bucket deals with collecting material from the wild and the responsibilities and hazards that go along with it. [...] There is nothing like a nice wander through the woods and fields, along the streams and rivers, to thoroughly relax mind and body. It re-establishes our connection to nature and the larger world. It reminds us that, yeah, that traffic jam this morning was awful and, yeah, your boss really is as big a jerk as you think, but look at this sweet little mushroom. It looks like an alien life form and how cool is that?? [...] There are many reasons one would collect herbs in the wild. Most important, for me, is availability. Some herbs simply can’t be gotten any other way. One herb I have become fond of is New England Aster, a lovely dark purple, yellow centered flower that blooms in the fall. No one carries this as a dried herb even though it is helpful for treating coughs and asthma. The only way to get it is to harvest my own. Bee balm is another one you can’t purchase but the wild version is not common in my area so I grow it in my garden.”

6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--I Import an Invasive Species into the Frog Mitigation Area: “Meet the fathead minnow. As part of my decades long effort to create a paradise in my backyard for local bugs and critters, I’ve imported invasive ‘fathead’ minnows. According to Wiki, these are native to the Midwest and almost everywhere east of the Rockies. I purchased over 100 rosy red hybrid fatheads for my backyard ponds to provide feeder fish for my recently introduced sunfish. I felt a little bad, noticing how the numbers of minnows fell rapidly from over 100 to a tight school of 30, as the sunfish preyed on them. These minnows have a unique evolutionary property; when they are attacked, they send out chemical signals that a predator has assaulted them. This signal warns other minnows to take shelter, and it also summons a second predator, in the hope that the two predators will begin bickering and the minnow can escape.”

6412093 writes—The Daily Bucket--The Serial Killer Hops down the Dark Suburban Streets: “At dusk, Arkan jr. arises. The moon rises as the sun sets. Perhaps the moon’s gravity helps pull Arkan up from her hiding place in the reeds and cattails. The ducks squawk, the bullfrogs croak, and it’s hard to sleep any longer. A combination of wanderlust and a hunger for the kill move Arkan out onto the flatlands. She looks around her hiding place by the pond of ‘recycled’ waste water used now to water a golf course. The aeration fountain powers water 10 feet into the air. Arkan hops downhill, dodging the tree removal equipment. In this neighborhood, they are removing 100-foot pines, firs and cedars that are dying in their failed efforts to survive in suburban yards. She dodges the dogs and cats, and slips into my backyard pond to wait for prey. For several autumns. juvenile bullfrogs, 4 inches long, have abruptly appeared in my backyard pond that is favored by the native chorus frogs for mating. If she stays, She’ll eat every small chorus frog that happens by. She’s here again. I’ve asked her to leave. I’m draining the pond today to drive her out.”

CLIMATE CHAOS

Meteor Blades writes—Trump regime says 7°F temperature rise inevitable, so fuel-efficiency rules are useless: “Tucked away in a draft environmental statement issued in July is a projection that without a drastic cutback in greenhouse gas emissions, Earth’s temperatures will rise nearly 4 degrees Celsius by 2100. That’s 7 degrees Fahrenheit. The average tally of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by then would have soared to 789 parts per million compared with the current level of 410 ppm. To put it mildly, the impacts would be catastrophic. Officials of the Trump regime effectively shrugged this off. Or rather, in their bottomless perversity, they claimed the disastrous temperature rise and all its accompanying effects are already baked into future climate change to bolster their rationale for freezing Obama-era fuel-efficiency standards. Quite the twist for a federal government brim full of climate science deniers to admit climate change is real. The numbers are not something new from climate scientists. For the past six or seven years, a 3- to 4-degree rise or even worse is what many of them have viewed as likely if nothing is done to curb emissions. The Paris climate agreement is meant to do exactly that, holding the temperature rise to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F). But everyone agrees that existing pledges of emissions cutbacks under the agreement aren’t enough to meet that goal, much less the aspirational goal of 1.5 degrees C.”

ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Let’s IPCC What Deniers Are Doing With The 1.5 Report: “The UN IPCC report on the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C target was published this week, and gee whiz did deniers notice. While mainstream news coverage wasn’t quite as wall-to-wall as some thought it should be --especially considering it’s a story on the impending demise of the human race--the news still broke through the climate ‘bubble’ and out to the mainstream . Some of the right’s culture-warriors noticed the report and felt compelled to react. Responses range from alt-right idiots peddling that ‘ Climate change is a hoax invented by neo-Marxists ,’ to the right’s never-Trump, ‘ cool-kid’s philosopher’ Ben Shapiro dosing out common sense as pseudo-wisdom about uncertainty. (Shapiro points out that the more specific a statement the IPCC makes, the less certain they claim to be of it. Which should be self-evident. Scientists are certain that CO2 causes warming, but exactly how much at what time is harder to nail down. Apparently that’s the sort of incisive thinking that earns you a position as a leading thinker on the right.) .”

Pakalolo writes—With 7.6 billion lives at stake, Trump drags us full steam ahead—to hell on Earth: “Donald Trump's history of spewing climate denial, extreme paranoia and white nationalism on the international stage is telling. Matt Taibbi, in a must-read article in Rolling Stone, writes about Trump’s narcissism, which may just kill us all. ‘(O)bese and rotting, close enough to the physical end himself (and long ago spiritually dead),’ he speaks to his know-nothing cheering cult that ‘America was doomed anyway, so we might as well stop worrying and floor it to the end.; Trump’s nonsense is what passes for “winning” in this surreal period that we are all collectively experiencing, much like passengers in a pleasure boat on the Niagara River when the engine stops. [...] In a short exchange between Anthony Hobley (CEO Carbon Tracker) and Professor Michael Mann, Mann offered this: ‘2018 is the year where climate change really showed its face. The impacts are no longer subtle. We see this now play[s] out on our TV screens, our newspaper headlines. This onslaught of heatwaves, droughts, and superstorms that we have seen in recent months has finally awakened the public imagination and attention’.”

Dan Bacher writes—Sierra Club on IPCC Report: Humanity Cannot Afford to Sleep Through This Wake-up Call: “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last night released its major report on the effects climate change is and will have on the world if immediate action is not taken. Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune responded to the report this morning, stating, ‘Humanity cannot afford to sleep through this wake-up call.’ The report - based on three years of scientific research - projects that catastrophic effects of the climate crisis such as food shortages and droughts could occur by 2040, within the lifetime of much of the world’s population. Furthermore, the vital threshold of 1.5 degrees celsius temperature increase could be breached in just 12 years, according to the report. ‘Keeping temperature increases under 1.5 degrees celsius could avert the most devastating effects of the climate crisis,’ according to a Sierra Club press release. ‘The report projects significant sea-level rise, intensified droughts, increasing wildfires, and the spread of disease and poverty could reach an expected cost of $54 trillion, a figure that increases in temperature.’”

nancyjones writes—Hey Democrats, please learn how to talk about climate change: “Here’s what you should say when it comes to climate change. ‘Democrats want good environmental policy so that people don’t get displaced and don’t have to migrate if they don’t want to.’ [...] It’s really important that Democrats learn to talk about why this is important and stop saying, “If you believe in climate change, we’re gonna take away your cars and your jobs.” (I know it’s not all Dems, but the ones who were on TV today and Katy Tur’s questioning, oh my God, clueless. This is no time for clueless.)”

douglassmyth writes—Climate Change, White House and Necessary Changes: “So, how can we transform our economy to renewables and start sequestering every bit of CO2 emitted from vehicles, industry, whatever? Obviously, a start would be to convert to electric vehicles, since you can’t sequester what comes out of a tail pipe. But to do that, electric charging stations with quick charges have to be installed everywhere. It’s especially damaging that the Administration is proposing to slash regulations on auto emissions, as well as undoing whatever positive attempts at regulating and minimizing emissions from other sources, like power plants. And encouraging fossil fuel production and use. If a Democratic administration is elected in 2020, and attempts to mitigate climate change begin again, the amount of change necessary will be huge, and difficult, but necessary, unless we want to consign humans on the planet to widespread misery and death.”

Pakalolo writes—Supreme Court plunges dagger deep into the heart of climate fight as Antarctica stares down collapse: “In a welcome basket yesterday, the majority of the Supreme Court rebuffed an appeal of its newest member Brett Kavanaugh’s ruling yesterday, while he was on the DC Circuit court where he previously served. They cavalierly tossed out a rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama that regulates the potent greenhouse gas — hydrofluorocarbons. This insanely dangerous move by the nations highest court follows a dire report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on Monday that warned the world has exactly 12 years to stop 45% of carbon dioxide emissions and just 32 years to reach zero emissions. That stunning requirement of decarbonization presents our last opportunity to prevent cataclysmic effects of climate change by keeping temperature rise limited to 1.5C. The consortium of the world’s top climate scientists warned governmental leaders that the Paris accord is nowhere near enough to prevent a civilization-ending apocalypse.”

Mystic54 writes—Remember When Governor Rick Scott Banned The Words “Climate Change” in Florida? “As Rick Scott runs for the Senate in Florida, another “once in 100 years” hurricane makes its way toward Florida. This is the governor who banned the use of the words “climate change” in state reports and correspondence back in 2015. 2015 Washington Post Article-Florida Bans Climate Change. As oceans heat up through climate warming, there will be more storms with increasing intensity. The clouds hold more moisture because of ocean warming and move more slowly causing the storms to linger over land mass dumping billions of gallons of rain water. Because of residential development on lands that were formerly marsh land, the water has no where to go. The people of Florida haven’t been adequately prepared for these intensified storms because their state government essentially told them climate change doesn’t exist. The state has not made the necessary infrastructure enhancements to help mitigate the catastrophic damage these super storms bring with them.”

nela 1872 writes—What Price Climate Change? “The GOP knew. It just didn’t care. They didn’t realize you can’t really buy your way out of a climate change. That the climate is changing now was brought home last night. My husband took me for a ride and we stopped at an ice cream stand. It was 87 degrees last night. In Ohio. In OCTOBER. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord; continues to deny the climate is changing; and tore up President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. Our climate is changing before our eyes. Longer, drier droughts. Wildfires every year; some states, more than that. More natural disasters. Disastrous hurricanes used to be every 10 years or so. Now it’s every year; and Hurricane Michael has just been upgraded to Category 4. It hasn’t even made landfall yet, and they’re predicting winds of up to 130 mph. It’s on track to hit the Florida Panhandle.”

Roy Morrison writes—Trump Administration: China as Opponent Not Climate Partner: “The U.S. is now making the demand that China abandon its “Made inChina 2025” program for China to become a major global player in cutting age 21st century technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence,advanced vehicles, genomics and medicine. This is not just talk. The 2019 National DefenseAuthorization Act mandates the Treasury and Commerce Depts. to draft regulations over the next 18 months limiting China's ability to access U.S. companies to obtain technology, data, infrastructure deemed to be of national security significance. U.S. national security under the Trump administration has now come to mean limiting the ability of China to develop new high technology products that supposedly represent a security threat to the United States and its global influence. There are a number of things that are deeply wrong and counterproductive about this stance. First, while Donald Trump is likely unaware, China has become global leader in a number of high technology fields, not the follower. China is now global leader in quantum computing, having successfully transmitted quantum data signals from a Chinese satellite. China has emerged as global leader in super computing in terms of both speed and number of machines. China is global leader in development and production of lithium battery technology. China, by good fortune, has the world's largest deposits of lithium and other trace metals important for high technologies. China, of course, is global leader in solar photovoltaic and wind machine production and cost.”

bobburnett writes—Global Climate Change Comes Home: “In California, we take climate change very seriously and a strong majority believes that climate change was a factor in our fires. A recent Public Policy Poll ( http://www.ppic.org/publication/californians-views-on-climate-change/) found that 80 percent of Californians view climate change as a serious "threat to the state’s future economy and quality of life." (California Democrats and Independents view climate change more seriously than do Republicans -- only 22 percent of Trump's Party see it is a threat; they're more worried about Taylor Swift.) Californians have to take climate change seriously; a recent report indicated that the frequency of major fires will increase by 77 percent by the end of the century. In California we're taking a variety of actions to stem the tide of climate change -- such as limiting our carbon emissions -- because we understand that we don't have a choice. Meanwhile, the October 8th IPCC report indicates that the world is rapidly reaching the point of no return: "We are on track to cross a key threshold of danger —1.5 degrees C or 2.7 degrees F—much earlier than anticipated: 2040."

AmericaAdapts writes—A People’s History of Climate Adaptation: Women + LGBT + People of Color adapt to Climate Change: “In episode 75 of America Adapts, Doug Parsons takes a journey with the Freedom to Breath bus tour on location in New Orleans. During his visit, Doug attends a town hall on women and minority groups talking about climate resilience; a visit to Africatown to learn about the legacy of racism and environmental pollution and a visit to a protest community that is also serving as a gateway for refugees fleeing storm events and climate change. Women, tribal members, people of color and members of the LGBT community talk about how climate uniquely impacts them and what steps they are taking to adapt to climate change. It’s an exciting episode, with interviews with minority voices on the front lines of climate change.”

Extreme Weather & Natural Phenomena

Pakalolo writes—Rick Scott insists Trump's response to Puerto Rico hurricane recovery has been flawless: “On September 22, 2018, two days after the one year anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s landfall—which leveled parts of the Caribbean, including the American territory of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands—busloads of Floridian protesters from Miami, Broward, Kissimmee, and Orlando stepped into the scorching sun in West Palm Beach. At the same time, in the act of defiance, dozens of vehicles drove past Mar-A-Lago, honking horns and blasting salsa and reggaeton music at Trump’s Palm Beach palace. People were furious at Donald Trump’s cruel and cold-hearted treatment of hurricane victims. People lined up at the rally in W. Palm Beach to have photos of themselves giving the Trump Baby balloon the finger. People chanted “Today we mourn but tomorrow we vote,” as speakers, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Senator Bill Nelson, took the stage. Adding fuel to the fire, Donald Trump had earlier disputed a George Washington University report estimating that 2,975 people died because of the storm and its aftermath. He tweeted: 3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000........This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!”

The black and grey tones in this infrared image of hurricane Michael from October 9 indicate extremely cold cloud top temperatures approaching -80 Celsius. These clouds which were then pushing up the stratosphere indicate rapid intensification of Michael was continuing.

FishOutofWater writes—Cat 3 Hurricane Michael is Rapidly Intensifying: Panama City FL in Extreme Danger: “Hurricane Michael is rapidly intensifying and will soon be an exceedingly dangerous category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 miles per hour. Michael’s central pressure has dropped rapidly to 947mb and winds on the weak side were apparently just measured at 110knots — the top of category 3. The Panama city region of Florida is in extreme danger as Michael is intensifying to a more powerful storm than forecast. National Hurricane center forecasters have been carefully using the best models to make their forecasts, but predicting the intensity of hurricanes continues to be a challenge. Evacuations need to be expedited because this storm may be significantly more destructive than models have predicted. If you are in an evacuation zone you should have left by now. If you are near the margin of an evacuation zone I recommend you leave as quickly as you can in the dead of night because you won’t have time to leave if officials expand the evacuation zone later. People have died stuck in traffic in a hurricane so what ever you do, find shelter on high ground before the storm hits.”

terrypinder writes—Hurricane Michael now Category 4, still intensifying, landfall this afternoon on Florida Panhandle: “Ok, so it’s October. Why is Michael so strong? • The Gulf is hot. And mostly untouched this year. • Michael is a small hurricane • Conditions are perfect for it • Climate Change (yeah, it’s real) and the hurricane has taken advantage. Air Force and NOAA reconnaissance indicates a cyclone that continues to deepen this morning (flight level winds in the eastern eyewall are screaming at 176mph—that’s about 30,000 feet off the ground, but indicative of an extremely intense hurricane), and a run at Category 5 is not out of the question before landfall this afternoon. The time for leaving the coast is done, by the way, and if anyone is reading this, good luck. I’d also ask if we’d perhaps chill with political implications right now. As far as I can tell, the strongest hurricane to strike this region of the Florida Panhandle in living memory was Kate on Thanksgiving, 1985. Hundreds of thousands of people in the Panhandle (like Tallahassee—which has never seen a storm of this strength), parts of Georgia, and Alabama are about to experience one of the most terrifying days and evenings of their lives and I don’t know what the coastal towns will look like in the morning after Michael has passed. Let’s have just a little empathy for them.”

Angmar writes—Updates:Hurricane Michael Florida Panhandle's Strongest Landfall in 13 Years(& Evacuation zones). Tuesday updates.

Seashells writes—Florida's Eastern Panhandle (Mexico Beach) Demolished, Underwater Due To Hurricane Michael: “It looks really bad and there’s reports of people not leaving. Added video Jennifer Hayden found of new construction getting lifted up by wind/water. Thanks to Rick Scott for allowing the re-institution of weaker building codes.”

x New construction just collapsed in front of me in Panama City Beach from #hurricanemichael!!! It is going bad fast! pic.twitter.com/CG5R8jcUuf Ã¢ÂÂ Marc Weinberg (@MarcWeinbergWX) October 10, 2018

ebhunt writes—Too Big to Ignore, Unless You are a Science Denier: “Because Republican leaders get money from corporations that benefit from ignoring science, like the cigarette makers did for decades, or because they actually own or own stock in those corporations, they pretend not to believe the overwhelming evidence for climate change. It would cost a lot of money to protect cities and states from climate change and the corporations hate that. It also costs a lot of money when hurricanes or other weather events kill people and destroy wide swaths of cities and states, but that is not their problem. The politicians could not do this unless the citizens allowed it. Strangely, it is the citizens of the very states most vulnerable to the increasing storms who most often elect and support politicians who are the most outspoken climate deniers. It is a wonder that a state like Florida, which will get pummeled by Michael, could vote for someone that denies climate change. Think of how backwards the situation is – the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has reportedly been banned from using the terms ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming.’ This policy reportedly went into effect when Florida elected a science denier, Rick Scott, to governor.”

OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT

Dan Bacher writes—Consumer Watchdog Calls For Audit Of Tainted Process In Search For New LADWP Ratepayer Advocate: “Consumer Watchdog today called the process of picking a new ratepayer advocate to head the Office of Public Accountability at the LA Department of Water and Power biased and called for an immediate investigation by the LA City Controller. ‘We write with evidence of misconduct in the selection of a new Ratepayer Advocate and call upon Controller Galperin to investigate immediately,’ Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court and Liza Tucker wrote in a letter to Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Controller Mark Galperin. ‘Rumors have circulated, Mr. Mayor, that your office has sought to retain Fred Pickel, current executive director of the Office of Public Accountability at the LADWP, at all costs. As you know, we have reported that Pickel has turned a blind eye to financial impropriety at the Department and City that another ratepayer advocate would not.’ For the letter, see here.”

Dan Bacher writes—Restore the Delta critiques Prop. 3 as agribusiness dumps Big Money into campaign: “As billionaire agribusiness tycoons Stewart and Lynda Resnick and other agribusiness interests continue to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into Jerry Meral’s Yes on Proposition 3 campaign, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta, offers her analysis of the controversial water bond. Her critique points out three major flaws of the water bond: (1) the percentage of money allocated in the $8.9 billion dollars to help with environmental justice water community needs is a “pittance”; (2) The money in Prop 3 marked for Delta restoration is tied to the construction of the Delta tunnels; and (3) Taxpayers should not be on the hook for the needed $700 million in repairs to fix and expand the Friant-Kern Canal as earmarked in Prop 3.”

Pakalolo writes—Red tide spreads from the Gulf Coast to Florida's densely populated southeast Atlantic coast: “Red tide, which has been plaguing most of Florida’s Gulf Coast since 2017’s Hurricane Irma, has now been detected in several counties in the southeastern coastal waters, north of the Florida Keys. The neurotoxin has been officially confirmed along Atlantic Ocean beaches in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties. The algae level from the blooms is lower than found on the Gulf Coast, but nevertheless, these new blooms only exacerbate an ecological and economic crisis for a state that has long been battling the algae crisis on its west coast and panhandle, in addition to the nightmare that is the annual freshwater blue-green algae bloom found during Florida’s rainy season, at the nutrient-laden St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and Lake Okeechobee.”

AIR POLLUTION

mettle fatigue writes—More Evidence Links Air Pollution to Dementia: “Alongside mounting research connecting air pollution with catastrophically increasing rates of bodily diseases besides respiratory and cardiovascular ills (e.g., diabetes and obesity), evidence has also grown that it impacts cognition. According to a study of 130,978 adults aged 50–79 (BMJ Open, September 18, 2018), older patients across London (UK) living in areas with higher air pollution were more likely to be diagnosed with dementia in subsequent years. A Canadian study (Lancet, 2017) involving 6.6 million adults aged 20 to 85, found that living close to major roadways heavily traveled was associated with a higher incidence of dementia. Four years following more than 25,000 individuals in China identified a correlation between worse air quality and cognitive decline (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Aug 27, 2018).”

WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS

pines of rome writes—Want some good news? The National Monuments destruction case will be heard in D.C., not Utah: “Good news for all lovers of the outdoors. The Federal Judge made the right call in this case to keep it in D.C. due to its national significance. I’m attaching information I received in an email about this from SUWA (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance), so there is no link to any article available, just to a SUWA donation page that was contained within this email. I am a member of SUWA, but not otherwise affiliated with them. Here’s the primary content of the email I received: Earlier this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion to transfer the cases from federal district court in Washington, D.C. to the federal court in Utah. Trump's DOJ argued that these cases dealt largely with local issues whose impacts would principally be felt locally and thus should be heard and decided in Utah. But Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected those arguments and decided that the cases address issues of national interest and importance, and thus should remain in D.C. We believe this is the correct decision, since the lands in question belong to all Americans, and the Tribes of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (who are also challenging Trump's actions) have a government-to-government relationship with the United States.”

BYPRODUCTS, TRASH, TOXIC & RADIOACTIVE WASTE

TXL writes—Trump's Texas fundraising co-chair lobbyist now pushing for big Texas toxic waste dump: “A Texas-based federal government lobbyist who served as Donald Trump’s Texas fundraising committee co-chair has signed on to push for a controversial South Texas garbage dump which, if approved, would house toxic waste imported under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) from neighboring Mexico. According to a tipster, Gaylord Hughey is now pushing for the development, which is the pet project of wealthy local landowner C. Y. Benavides, a major figure in Laredo who has tangled with local law enforcement in the context of domestic abuse allegations. The Hill reported in 2016 that Hughey was ‘a lawyer and lobbyist in Tyler, Texas, that occasionally lobbies the federal government/ and that he had “donated $1,000 to the Trump Victory Fund.’ The Hill further noted that ‘[Hughey] serves as the co-chair of Trump’s fundraising efforts in Texas...’ ”

Okk00235 writes—Radiation: Good. Regulation: Bad: “It’s not just the fact that they’re attempting to deregulate radiation, that’s par for the course with these guys, but the reason that they are putting forward. It’s… novel, to say the least. The lunatics with an armory full of axes to grind this time are Steven J. Milloy and Edward J. Calabrese, and they are pushing a concept called radiation hormesis. The concept is broadly that a small dose of some types of radiation is actually good for you! If you think that this sounds suspiciously like homeopathy, you’re not wrong. It also has about as much scientific ‘evidence’ going for it. Inevitably in the hands of the professional know-nothings of this administration this leads to “Radiation is good for you! Let’s deregulate radiation!” You may also recognize the concept as the one pushed by Ann Coulter when she opined that the Fukujima reactor meltdown was an actual boon for the Japanese locals. The Japanese, having had some small experience with radiation poisoning, beg to differ.”

Mark Sumner writes—The EPA is set to expose Americans to more radiation and more mercury based on a killer quack theory: “Last week, the EPA under Donald Trump and Andrew Wheeler moved to significantly weaken regulations on mercury. As the New York Times reports, the proposed new rule doesn’t eliminate all mercury regulation … yet. It just significantly weakens the standards and allows Trump to completely kill what remains whenever he feels like it. It’s a major victory for coal-burning power plants that are the major source of mercury pollution. And it was at the top of the wish list coal baron and squirrel-whisperer Bob Murray gave to Trump when he took office. [...] But just removing all checks on a neurotoxin that’s particularly harmful to children isn’t enough of an accomplishment. Because three days after all but eliminating the regulations on mercury, the EPA is back again to propose a signification weakening of regulations around radiation. Read that again. The EPA is now moving to significantly weaken regulations around exposure to radiation. Now, add on this—they’re saying that it’s good for you.”

Tammoyroy writes—The Trump Administration’s Scientific Illiteracy Is Killing Us: “By far one of the most reprehensible things that the Trump administration has yet tried to do while it’s been in power is the reduction of radiation regulations that could seriously jeopardize the lives of Americans. The current, decades-old guidance from the EPA that the U.S. government officially pushes to the masses accurately notes that exposure to harmful radiation can be life-threatening, even in small cases. There’s an indisputable cancer risk associated with exposure to harmful radiation, but the Trump administration evidently doesn’t care.”

ENERGY

ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Trump Nominates Political Hack To FERC, Further Politicizing The Otherwise Nonpartisan Commission: “On Wednesday, Trump nominated former DOE official Bernard McNamee to replace outgoing commissioner Robert Powelson, and to quote Utility Dive’s headline , the “coal lobby [is] pleased.” According to our analysis , if McNamee successfully replaces Powelson, it will be the first time in over thirty years that there won’t be a single former state utility commissioner on FERC. And more importantly, it’s the first time since 1986 that a president has nominated someone for FERC that previously served in that president’s government. That’s a pretty big tell, as far as politicizing goes. But it gets worse! Powelson is a vocal critic of Trump’s coal and nuclear bailout plan (the one that will lead to 27,000 additional deaths and is opposed by a wide coalition of groups, including conservative ones .) McNamee, on the other hand, played a key role in designing and advocating for the plan as a Trump appointee to the DOE’s office of policy. Politico reported in August that support for the coal handout/bailout was a “litmus test” for nominations--seems to have worked in McNamee’s favor.”

Nuclear

ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Georgia Struggles To Build Nuclear Plant with $28 Billion. That Money Could Buy Twice As Much Solar: “Last week, the LA Times ran an op-ed arguing that if California is serious about meeting its new carbon-free goals, it must end its moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants so that new ones can be built. Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Georgia is proving that argument wrong. For nearly ten years, the state has been building the Vogtle nuclear power plant. After years of delays, the price tag has doubled to $28 billion, and it’s still unclear if it will ever actually provide electricity to the ratepayers picking up the tab. As Liam Denning at Bloomberg points out , assuming it does eventually get built, the current price tag (assuming it doesn’t grow further) would mean that the plant will produce power for $11,000 per kilowatt of capacity. Denning notes this is multiple times what gas or solar would cost. For comparison, utility-scale solar clocks in at $1,778 per kilowatt of capacity, based on 2018 capital expenditure rates. ”

Fossil Fuels

thought police writes—Up with Coal and Kavanaugh, Down with EPA Mercury Regulation -New York Times: “The Trump Tsunami shows no sign of receding as the coal lobbyists appointed by Trump to run his EPA are gearing up for mercury deregulation at the behest of a coal tycoon and miners under a friendly Kavanaugh court. Kavanaugh’s decisions have already supported the coal industry’s objections to regulation on economic grounds at the expense of potential damage to the nervous system of infants and children, and will support judicial relief for coal pollution over public health. ‘Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who is now the acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is expected in the coming days to send the proposal to the White House for approval,’ states The New York Times. Trump’s current target is the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which set limits on air pollutants like mercury, arsenic and metals. Murray Energy had sued the Environmental Protection Agency and won a major victory after the Supreme Court struck down the rule, in a decision confirming the D.C. Circuit.”

Mark Sumner writes—Trump Interior Department lifting rules to protect against another Deepwater Horizon: “When the Deepwater Horizon oil platform blew out in the Gulf of Mexico, it killed 11 people, more than 1 million sea birds, and massive amounts of marine life. It also spilled 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf, resulting in billions of dollars of damages to fishing and tourism while simply fouling the water and the lives of millions of people living dozens, or even hundreds of miles away. So, naturally, Trump wants to make it possible for exactly this kind of massive disaster to happen again. As the New York Times reports, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement—put in place after Deepwater Horizon to prevent just such an occurrence—has finalized a proposal aimed at getting rid of safety regulations that resulted from the disaster. As it has with so many regulations aimed at protecting worker safety or the environment, Trump’s team of swamp-dwelling lobbyists have concluded that the safety rules ‘created potentially unduly burdensome requirements.’ Not that the rules did generate such burdens—they certainly haven’t halted either exploration or production—just that they ‘potentially’ could.”

christinelarusso writes—Los Angeles: Is There an Oil Refinery in Your Backyard? ”In Signal Hill, an enclave city surrounded by the much larger city of Long Beach, there’s a plaque marking the discovery of oil (lots of it) in the area — on June 23, 1921, the Shell Oil Company’s Alamitos #1 Well erupted and the area of Long Beach would soon be known as one of the most productive oil areas in the world. In fact, nearby Wilmington is home to to the Phillips 66 oil refinery, the largest in California. By the 1950s, production had slowed, though many oil wells and extraction sites remained open. Petroleum company executives turned to dangerous and extreme methods of extraction, often using hazardous chemicals. Nearly all of these drill sites exist next to homes, schools, churches, parks, and other densely populated areas, and many of them have been camouflaged so residents don’t even know the dangers lurking in their own backyard. The sites are masked by palm trees and man-made waterfalls; or in the case of the Phillips 66 refinery, have the tanks painted around Halloween to look like pumpkins — a twisted and manipulative act, considering how much these refineries risk the lives of children. 77% of drill sites approved by current Governor Jerry Brown are in low-income or communities of color.”

Dan Bacher writes—Lawsuit Challenges New Oil Drilling Project in Arvin, Kern County: “Arvin, a small city of 19,304 located in Kern County 15 miles southeast of Bakersfield in the far southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, is a center of growing resistance to the powerful oil industry’s air and water pollution. On October 1, the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment (CRPE) joined the law firm of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, LLP in filing a lawsuit on behalf of the Committee for a Better Arvin (CBA) to stop Petro-Lud, Inc. from constructing and drilling four new oil wells adjacent to homes within Arvin city limits. Petro-Lud is a full-service drilling and service company operating primarily in California’s San Joaquin Valley. CRPE said the city, with a 2010 Latino population of 92.7% including many farmworkers, approved the project without conducting the environmental review required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Kern County features the heaviest concentration of oil drilling operations in California, as well as some of the largest corporate agribusiness corporations in the world, including Stewart and Lynda Resnick’s The Wonderful Company.”

Hydraulic Fracturing

EARTHWORKS writes—5 Lies The Fracking Industry Will Tell To Get In Your Backyard: “5. We need more oil and gas for energy independence. The US has such a big energy appetite that even with the rush to drill everywhere, we still rely on imports for more than half of what we consume. The energy boom isn’t about getting off foreign oil, as much as it’s about large, multinational corporations getting rich and finding new markets to buy their products. Often this financial frenzy is done on the backs of mostly poor, rural Americans. The more pipelines and export facilities built, the more we commit to exporting our natural resources and internalizing pollution.”

Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation

ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Breaking Wind News: Turbines Don’t Cause Climate Change: “A pair of studies on wind power published last week are proving irresistible to mainstream reporters and deniers alike because of a seemingly counterintuitive conclusions: widespread use of wind power will cause warming.But—and this will surely come as a shock-- this isn’t really all that true . Despite the headlines reflecting one of the press releases which claimed that ‘ US wind power would cause warming ,’ the obvious fact is wind power doesn’t cause climate change. What it might do, according to the study, is mix up the air around the turbine and cause some localized warming as the turbines pull warmer air down. Now, the study in question makes a ton of unrealistic assumptions, namely by modeling the impacts of what it would be like if 100% of US electricity is generated by wind. Considering that no one, anywhere, is calling for 100% wind, this is clearly not a ‘real-world’ sort of modeling exercise.”

gmoke writes—Personal Power Supply: Some examples of solar-powered gadgets worth having.