[Anonymous selections from recent correspondence]
"Some Good, Clean Green News." [EarthJustice] Excerpt:
[T]hree cheers for Maryland for passing two bills that will help increase statewide access to clean energy. These bills, if signed by Governor Larry Hogan, will make Maryland the 11th state to allow for the creation of community solar projects. These types of projects expand access to renewable energy by allowing multiple people to invest in or subscribe to one solar energy project and offset a portion of their electric bill through a credit from the energy created.
The bills create a three-year pilot program that will allow for the construction of community solar projects and will examine the impact of community solar in the state and best practices throughout the U.S. They will also lead to recommendations to the General Assembly on the merits of a permanent program. Earthjustice worked to secure the passage of the bills, and we hope to see Governor Hogan finalize the bills into law....
According to a United Nations report released last month ["Renewables re-energized: Green energy investments worldwide surge 17 percent to $270 billion in 2014 (UNEP)"], global investment in renewable energy grew by 17 percent last year. After a two-year decline in investment and the danger posed by much lower crude oil prices, this is particularly encouraging news.
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| "A Colossal Fracking Mess," Vanity Fair |
For the first time, the U.S. Geological Survey has unveiled a map of earthquakes thought to be triggered by human activity in the eastern and central United States.
Oklahoma is by far the worst-hit state recently, according to the USGS study released Thursday. The state last year had more earthquakes magnitude 3 or higher than California, part of a huge increase recorded in recent years....
Mark Petersen, chief of the USGS' National Seismic Hazard Project, said the pattern of increased quakes is troubling.
“These earthquakes are occurring at a higher rate than ever before, and pose a much greater risk and threat to people living nearby,” Petersen said.
The release of the map comes as officials are coming to terms with the idea that wastewater disposal following oil and gas extraction is causing more earthquakes. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves shooting a high-pressure mix of water, sand, and chemicals deep underground to extract oil and natural gas. The resulting wastewater is often forced underground as well, but can trigger earthquakes on faults that haven’t moved in a very long time.
New research released Wednesday suggests that the shaking from “the Big One,” the long-predicted major earthquake on the San Andreas fault, could trigger additional large temblors on nearby faults, intensifying the overall seismic impact.Nanosecond photo:
The study suggests that such a quake “could presage a flurry of ‘other Big Ones’ on other faults,” said USC earth sciences professor James Dolan, “as stresses related to the original San Andreas fault earthquake are redistributed on other faults throughout Southern California.”
'The Big One' Could Trigger More Large Quakes On Nearby Faults, Study Finds
Researchers also determined that quake faults can stop moving for thousands of years. However, at some point, the pent-up energy stored in rocks will release in a series of sizable earthquakes. Jua...
The study, presented by Dolan at a meeting of the Seismological Society of America in Pasadena, focuses on whether earthquakes are generated in “super cycles.” A super cycle refers to when a large number of quakes rupture on a single fault system in a relatively short period of time in seismic terms, over a matter of decades or a few centuries.
The concept of more than one Big One in a lifetime might feel outlandish to Californians today. But it wasn’t so long ago when this state had more powerful earthquakes more frequently. The San Andreas fault, for example, suffered two major ruptures in the 19th century: a quake of about magnitude 7.5 in 1812 and a much worse, 7.9 temblor in 1857.
The San Andreas fault in Southern California has been quiet since. And the region hasn’t had a true Big One — a quake greater than 7.7 — since 1857.
“This period of relative seismic quietude, during which we have been releasing in earthquakes far less energy than we have been storing from relative tectonic plate motions, cannot last forever,” Dolan said. “At some point, we will need to start releasing all of this pent-up energy stored in the rocks in a series of large earthquakes.”
Having a bad day?
We stand in the stream and we become part of the circulatory system of the planet — the rivulets, brooks, streams and rivers that pulse throughout our lands and connect the land to the sea, and those seas to other seas (and through water vapor and clouds, and migratory birds and fish, those seas back to the land). Through fishing, we can, for brief moments, achieve a kind of immortality when we step into this perpetual flow, and see our reflection in the water, and become part of it.However, note that it isn't necessary to fish (that is, to prey on animals) in order to "stand in a stream and we become part of the circulatory system of the planet," etc.
There was an article on local television last night about a "pig catch" in which two-person teams of young girls and/or boys chased loose pigs in a ring to catch and toss one into a burlap bag, then drag the pig in the bag to the finish line...all preparatory to a barbecue. I was dismayed and heart-sickened at the utter absence of any apparently sympathy or compassion for the animals being so roughly treated before having their lives ended without a thought.
One day after BP released a recent report saying the Gulf Coast is on the road to recovery, we took our own trip to the Louisiana Coast. We were deeply disturbed by what we saw, with our own eyes:
- A 25,000-pound tar mat.
- A mother dolphin attempting to resuscitate her dead calf. She was surrounded by a group of dolphins—all of them visibly in distress.
- A barren, shrunken, unrecognizable island that was once covered in thick mangroves and home to brown pelicans, roseate spoonbills, terns and gulls.
Too many bottlenose dolphins are sick. They have symptoms of oil exposure—unusual lung masses, problems with their immune systems, even teeth that are falling out. They are dying at four times the normal rate.
Do you remember the oil-covered birds? And turtles? And dolphins?
After Exxon Valdez, and after Deepwater Horizon, we were horrified. We watched as people gently scrubbed the slick brown oil from feathers and fins in vain, and we grieved for the thousands of creatures that didn’t make it.
These irreplaceable species and their beautiful habitats still haven’t recovered. And now, we’re about to go down this road again. Shell could start drilling in the Arctic as soon as this summer, and with the recent plan to open up the Atlantic as well, the question is not whether oil will be spilt—but when....
Five years ago today, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killed eleven workers, and caused 210 million gallons of crude oil to gush from the ocean floor, poisoning more than 1,000 miles of coastline.
Years later, we’re still seeing toxic oil blanketing the ocean floor, slowly making its way up the food chain. Our fragile coastal ecosystems, wildlife, and local economies are too dear to risk again.
16th & 17th of 18 Photos from The Smithsonian’s “Wilderness Forever” Photo Contest:
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| Peak Fall Colors, Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas [Image credits: Laura Vu] |
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| American Alligator, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Florida [Image credits: Jenna Van Kley] |
THE Justice Department recently analyzed eight years of shootings by Philadelphia police officers. Its report contained two sobering statistics: Fifteen percent of those shot were unarmed; and in half of these cases, an officer reportedly misidentified a “nonthreatening object (e.g., a cellphone) or movement (e.g., tugging at the waistband)” as a weapon....I'm so sorry about the California and other states' water shortages! It can happen to all of us and that's for sure. I've always been a turn-the-water-off-in-between shower taker. It makes sense to me. And, especially after now reading John Grisham's novel Gray Mountain myself, I realize that when I turn off lights and other things electrical when I don't need them, I am not just using less electricity, I am using less fossil fuels that are burned to produce electricity....
...there is a lesser-known psychological phenomenon that might also explain some of these shootings. It’s called “affective realism”: the tendency of your feelings to influence what you see — not what you think you see, but the actual content of your perceptual experience....
...The brain is a predictive organ. A majority of your brain activity consists of predictions about the world — thousands of them at a time — based on your past experience. These predictions are not deliberate prognostications like “the Red Sox will win the World Series,” but unconscious anticipations of every sight, sound and other sensation you might encounter in every instant. These neural “guesses” largely shape what you see, hear and otherwise perceive.
In every moment, your brain consults its vast stores of knowledge and asks, “The last time I was in a similar situation, what sensations did I encounter and how did I act?” If you’re in a produce section, your brain is already predicting that an apple is nearby. If you are in a part of town with a high crime rate, your brain may well predict a weapon. Only after the fact does your brain check the world to see if its prediction was right....
In a dangerous, high-pressure situation such as a possible crime scene, it’s conceivable that some police shooters actually see a weapon when none is present. Other research from our lab (done by Professor Wormwood in collaboration with the psychologist David DeSteno) supports this possibility. In a set of five studies published in 2010 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, we asked test subjects to identify whether individuals were holding guns or harmless objects like wallets and cellphones. Our subjects reported more weapons when they were feeling angry, regardless of what the individuals were actually holding.
During the day at our house I never need any lights on and I love that! My Mum & Pa always taught us to turn off lights when we weren't using em and we've grown up with that practice in place.
Darn, I wish I had turned out the kitchen light before I sat down!
I try to remember to catch the water trying to make it hot. Takes a while in my bathroom. I use it to water some plants. Get almost a gallon. Also in [our community] we were asked to follow the jingle, "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down." I've been doing that.
Daddy did the get-wet, turn-off-the-water thing, but I never have, although I take very fast showers.
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| World economic crisis 1929 |
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| Flowered fabric for flour sacks 1939 |
You can eat the box after you finish eating the chocolates inside:
Limerick of the week:
Well, about that young lady from Nachez,
whose apparel is always in patches,
someone has got her to own up
why all the need to be sewn up
is because when she itches she scratches.
| Copyright © 2015 by Morris Dean |
Thanks to the correspondence: Good news, bad news, next Big One in California, Audubon photography awards, bad days, Bingo, 50 shades of grey, trout fishing and other predations, cat bed, BP cover-up, wilderness photos, there's a reason we see guns (and other things) that aren't there, rationing water (and electricity), don't sleep with a drip, $100 buys this car, flour-sack shirts, chocolate box of chocolates, itchy young lady....
ReplyDeleteThe oil companies have been destroying the Gulf for as long as I can remember. This time it was large enough they couldn't hide it from view so they buried in under money. But not to those they hurt but money for those who make the laws.
ReplyDeleteRight, their bought henchmen and protectors in the United States Congress. Ed, have you read the Grisham novel referred to in another fish [Gray Mountain]? I know that you'd love it, and you'd appreciate Grisham's understanding of how the process you refer to works in the coal mining industry.
DeleteThat is not his new one is it. I think I saw a movie made from that book.
DeleteNo, it is his latest. No movie yet.
DeleteGreat articles, Moristotle! Saw a documentary not long ago on wind farms that you should take a look at. It's called "Windfall."
ReplyDeleteBTW, the reason I rarely visit Wordpress blogs is because I have one that is private (used to document something) and every time I try to comment on a WP blog, it wants me to sign in with it. I'm going to try being anonymous, but you know me ... Lesia Valentine.
Lesia, I tried to comment on a Wordpress blog the other day, but it required me to register first. I tried to register, but I don't think it took. Thanks for the lead to WIndfall. I found a description of it on Wikipedia:
Delete"Windfall is a 2010 documentary film directed by Laura Israel about the reaction of residents in rural Meredith, New York (in Delaware County, New York) to a proposal to place numerous wind turbines in their community to harness wind power.
"The film begins in 2004, when energy companies approached several property owners in Meredith, offering cash payments to allow the long-term placement of wind turbines standing over 400 feet tall on their land. The documentary portrays Meredith residents as deeply divided over the idea. Some believe the economic and energy benefits are worth investigating. Others are concerned about the towers being an eyesore, loss of property values, or posing a variety of hazards such as collapse, accumulation of ice which is then flung from the turbines in large chunks, or health problems attributed to low frequency noise. Residents of Lowville, New York are also interviewed, expressing regret at installing wind turbines in their community.
"After an often rancorous debate, officials in Meredith ultimately decided against authorizing the use of wind turbines.
"The film is composed mostly of interviews with Meredith residents. Also included are excerpts of news broadcasts, films of city council meetings, and computer-animated segments."
I'm concerned that wind turbines are hazardous to birds and bats. But I just googled this briefly and found a report on the website of the Union of Concerned Scientists that says, under the heading, "Wildlife and Habitat":
"The impact of wind turbines on wildlife, most notably on birds and bats, has been widely document and studied. A recent National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) review of peer-reviewed research found evidence of bird and bat deaths from collisions with wind turbines and due to changes in air pressure caused by the spinning turbines, as well as from habitat disruption. The NWCC concluded that these impacts are relatively low and do not pose a threat to species populations.
"Additionally, research into wildlife behavior and advances in wind turbine technology have helped to reduce bird and bat deaths. For example, wildlife biologists have found that bats are most active when wind speeds are low. Using this information, the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative concluded that keeping wind turbines motionless during times of low wind speeds could reduce bat deaths by more than half without significantly affecting power production. Other wildlife impacts can be mitigated through better siting of wind turbines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services has played a leadership role in this effort by convening an advisory group including representatives from industry, state and tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations that made comprehensive recommendations on appropriate wind farm siting and best management practices.
"Offshore wind turbines can have similar impacts on marine birds, but as with onshore wind turbines, the bird deaths associated with offshore wind are minimal. Wind farms located offshore will also impact fish and other marine wildlife. Some studies suggest that turbines may actually increase fish populations by acting as artificial reefs. The impact will vary from site to site, and therefore proper research and monitoring systems are needed for each offshore wind facility."