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Climate skeptic could run Down Under

by AlvinaiTyler Posted on April 5, 2013

Climate skeptic could run Down Under

By John Upton

Shutterstock /

Phillip Minnis

Tony Abbott.

Australians endured devastating bushfires, floods, and record-breaking heat waves during this year’s Southern Hemisphere summer. Per capita, Australia is one of the world’s biggest contributors to global warming — and it has also been among those hardest hit by its effects. But in recent years, the country has been doing more than most to rein in emissions and brace for climate change disaster.

Australians head to the polls this year, and unfortunately for them (and everyone), the main opposition candidate vying to defeat Julia Gillard in the race for prime minister happens to be a mug who reckons all this climate change talk is just a bunch of bull dust and whingeing. (The candidates are tied in early polls.)

Tony Abbott leads the Liberal Party, the opposition party which — because Australia is politically as well as geographically upside down — is actually the country’s conservative party. If elected, Abbott has pledged to kill a carbon tax that Gillard introduced despite angry handwringing by the resource-extraction-dominated business sector. Abbott now says that he would also sack the officials charged with preparing the nation for changes in the weather. And he recently went even further, saying he may kill a renewable energy target introduced back when über-conservative Liberal Party leader John Howard was prime minister.

From The Australian:

The Opposition Leader, who vows to remove the carbon tax if elected in September, said there would be no further need for the bureaucracy that supports it.

“When the carbon tax goes all of those bureaucracies will go and I think you’ll find that [Climate Commissioner Tim Flannery] will go with them,” Mr Abbott said.

Mr Abbott will consider dumping the Howard government’s renewable energy target, which he says is “significantly increasing the cost of power”.

Speaking to Sky News last night, he equivocated on his previous support for the scheme, which aims to ensure 20 per cent of electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed, Abbott went on that recent tirade at the same time as the publication of a new report that predicts worse days ahead for extreme-weather-weary Australians. From the Daily Telegraph:

The report from the Climate Commission says climate change is already increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather like heatwaves, fires, cyclones, heavy rainfall and drought.

The report entitled Critical Decade: Extreme Weather, released on Wednesday, says the global climate system is warmer and moister than 50 years ago, with the extra heat making extreme weather events more frequent and severe.

In response to the report, the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council warned that while they had experience combating extreme weather events, people cannot expect emergency crews to protect their communities from increasingly intense fires and floods.

Lucky for him, Abbott is a notorious vacillator. If smarter minds within his party prevail, maybe they can convince him to flip-flop on his imbecilic (and increasingly unfashionable) climate skepticism. Do Oz and everybody else a favor.

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

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16,000 dead pigs found in Chinese river, threatening Shanghai’s water supply

by Myrna Posted on April 3, 2013

Something is seriously wrong with China’s agricultural system. Over the past month, around 16,000 rotting pig carcasses (as well as a thousand ducks…) have been fished out of the Jiapingtang. Follow this link:   16,000 dead pigs found in Chinese river, threatening Shanghai’s water supply Related ArticlesCoal mining? No. Fertilizer production in ChinaStudent launches free cafe serving food gathered from dumpstersPhoto tour: healing the planet through agriculture

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Can San Jose’s green vision live up to its hype?

by donkorleone842 Posted on March 21, 2013

Can San Jose’s green vision live up to its hype?

By Susie Cagle

Clean technology is being developed in Silicon Valley, but we aren’t exactly looking to that low-rise beigey sprawl for leadership when it comes to green urban innovation. But maybe we should? And I don’t mean in a let’s-build-a-dense-tech-worker-utopia kind of way.

Sprawling San Jose, Calif.

San Jose, Calif., the valley’s largest city and the 10th biggest in the country, launched its 15-year green plan in 2007, and so far it’s coming along swimmingly. This past October, the first Clean Tech Index named the city No. 1 in the country for its clean green (mean?) innovations. From LED street lights to the soon-to-open CleanTech Demonstration Center to a goal of running entirely on renewable energy (it’s at 20 percent now), San Jose is thinking big when it’s thinking green, KQED reports.

“[The renewables goal is] going to mean radical changes, but this is a valley that does things in radical ways,” says Carl Guardino, president of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG), which represents hundreds of local businesses.

“Silicon Valley and San Jose Mayor [Chuck] Reed sets audacious goals,” adds Guardino. “If we fall a little short, just think of how far we would have come.”

San Jose has helped change national standards for LED street lights and is now saving thousands of dollars using efficient, dimmable street lights. Yet it’s only replaced 4% of its 62,000 lights.

Despite making progress, it’s been a tough road through the recession. Like most U.S. cities, San Jose has faced severe budget constraints and was forced to be innovative in funding its green vision.

The city has managed to leverage more than $100 million in federal tax credits and private and public funds to move forward.

“I said from the beginning that the key to being able to succeed with our green vision was to work with other people’s money,” says Mayor Reed, who is known for his pragmatism.

It’s easier to work with other people’s money when you’re surrounded by the multi-billion-dollar likes of Google, Facebook, etc. But environmental activist Megan Medeiros wishes San Jose were thinking smaller: retrofitting existing buildings, planting trees, and building bike paths.

If it did that, it could be attracting a lot of younger people who, Medeiros says, are “flocking to San Francisco” because it provides them with a better quality of life.

You’re still No. 1, San Jose, but getting the tech workers who commute many miles to your town every day to actually stay and live there could end up being the very best long-term clean-green strategy. Just because you build some light rail does not mean they will come. This doesn’t need to be utopia, though — I bet they’d be happy with some lofts, community gardens, and artisanal pubs. Oh, and bike lanes, obvs.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Can San Jose’s green vision live up to its hype?

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Watch: How Paper Gets Recycled

by bfys19 Posted on March 6, 2013

Paper makes up 29 percent of municipal solid waste in the U.S., according to the EPA, making it the most thrown away material in the country. At the same time, Americans recycle nearly 63 percent of used paper, evidence that people are getting the recycling message loud and clear.

But how is paper actually recycled? This video entry in Recyclebank’s “The Cycle” series pulls back the curtain on the complexities of the process:

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Amtrak is making a comeback, kinda

by grycjanekg Posted on March 4, 2013

Amtrak is making a comeback, kinda

By Susie Cagle

If you’ve been on an Amtrak train lately with crappy snacks, non-working power outlets, and faulty wifi, you might not agree with the claim that “American passenger rail is in the midst of a renaissance.” But that’s the word from the folks at the Brookings Institution, which has released a new report detailing how Amtrak is “well-positioned for the future” after seeing massive growth over the last 15 years. Growth in ridership, that is, not in service.

“Ridership grew by 55 percent since 1997 and is now at record levels, with over 31 million travelers annually,” according to Brookings. “That’s faster than other travel modes like aviation and far outpaces the growth in population and economic output during that time.” The study also found that 100 of the country’s biggest metro areas are responsible for almost 90 percent of Amtrak’s ridership, with 10 of those making up almost two-thirds of it.

Brookings has a sweet interactive map with data about Amtrak routes nationwide, with a focus on some of those most train-crazy big cities, and a look at which are the cheapest and most expensive rides in terms of operating costs. Here’s a static version:

Brookings Institution

Compare, though, Brookings’ map to this map showing how much the U.S. passenger rail network has shrunk since 1962, and that “renaissance” looks a little less golden.

Brookings’ takeaway is that passenger rail has grown in accordance with municipal and state partnerships:

States now share the operating costs for short-distance rail corridors that stretch 750 miles or less from end to end. Today, these routes are Amtrak’s high-performers, carrying around 85 percent of travelers.

Importantly, once they have “skin in the game,” states are motivated to target investments more precisely and develop plans more comprehensively, better tailoring maintenance needs and capital improvements to local demands. Some states have already adopted such strategies and offer innovative and replicable models. …

Building on this new federal-state alignment will require additional action. As the federal sequestration battle clearly illustrates, Washington isn’t putting any new money into Amtrak anytime soon. But partly because of the existing partnerships with 15 states, Amtrak has said it can weather the cuts easily enough.

So let’s extend that requirement for state support to routes longer than 750 miles. After all, our research shows that the long-distance routes carried only 15 percent of the travelers in 2012 but, combined, constitute 43 percent of Amtrak’s route-associated operating costs. This is not just a matter of offloading responsibility from the federal government to states. As seen in the short-distance routes that already enjoy state support, such a partnership results in a better sharing of risks and rewards.

Brookings says the goal is to “strengthen passenger rail in the United States by strengthening the federal-state partnership.” The U.S. would still have a long way to go before it became as train-crazy as many European countries, but this might be a start.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Northern California sees driest winter on record

by mirorita02 Posted on February 27, 2013

Northern California sees driest winter on record

By Susie Cagle

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Nearly 100 years ago, Dust Bowl refugees from the middle of the country sought new lives and livelihoods in the Golden State. Now California is fixing to become its own damn dust bowl. The last two months in the northern Sierra Nevada, normally the wettest time of the year, have shattered an all-time weather record as the driest January and February in recorded history.

From The Sacramento Bee:

The northern Sierra is crucial to statewide water supplies because it is where snowmelt accumulates to fill Shasta and Oroville reservoirs. These are the largest reservoirs in California and the primary storage points for state and federal water supply systems.

If February concludes without additional storms — and none are expected — the northern Sierra will have seen 2.2 inches of precipitation in January and February, the least since record-keeping began in the region in 1921.

That is well below the historical average of 17.1 inches.

Other spots throughout the state have also seen record dry conditions after November and December brought an epic atmospheric river to the West Coast, drenching the North Sierra in twice the average precipitation.

Another such Pineapple Express is unlikely in the months to come, though, and that reality has left residents dry and a bit itchy. Farmers are scaling back their plans to account for the lack of water. One water authority director laments that “there will be a lot of land fallowed” even though the state was “almost in flood-control conditions back in December.”

From feast to famine in just two months — quick work, California!

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Cities compete to win Bloomberg funds for innovative projects

by pitery Posted on February 27, 2013

Cities compete to win Bloomberg funds for innovative projects

By Susie Cagle

Last summer, New York mayor and soda-hating bazillionaire Michael Bloomberg’s charity launched “The Mayors Challenge” to award $9 million to five cities “that come up with bold ideas for solving major problems and improving city life.” The field has now been whittled down to 20 top concepts.

“From sustainability and public health, to education and economic development, cities are pioneering new policies and programs that are moving the country forward,” said Bloomberg in announcing the contest. “Historically, cities have seen each other as competitors in a zero-sum game, with neighbors pitted against each other in a battle to attract residents and businesses. But more and more, a new generation of mayors is recognizing the value of working together and the necessity of borrowing ideas from one another.”

Bloomberg seems to miss his own point, though, in setting up a battle for funds between cities, some of which have far more resources and innovation street cred than others (I’m looking at you, San Francisco). That’s part of why I want to give a special shout-out to Milwaukee’s entry for the city’s HOME GR/OWN project.

From Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, writing at The Huffington Post:

Imagine vacant lots becoming orchards, gardens, and small farms. Envision foreclosed houses repurposed as small-scale food processing centers and neighborhood nutrition education sites where people connect to prepare and share healthy food. Imagine neighborhoods where foreclosed properties become assets in a campaign to improve healthy food access and demand.

This kind of a project could turn land use on its head for cities struggling with foreclosures and poverty. Municipal governments are often notorious landholders, keeping a grip on more empty properties than even the biggest, baddest developers and banks.

The other 19 Mayors Challenge finalists have some cool ideas too, from a one-bin recycling system in Houston to a “smart energy neighborhood model” in Phoenix.

But I gotta root for the underdog here. Milwaukee’s population has shrunk by about 5 percent over the last 20 years and the city has been plagued by foreclosure, but Mayor Barrett has long pushed for sustainability. Give ‘em the cash, Bloomberg — they can put it to good use.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Farmers markets stand to benefit the poor the most

by Unacoomt Posted on February 21, 2013

Farmers markets stand to benefit the poor the most

By Susie Cagle

Farmers markets sometimes get a bad rap for catering to the moneyed set, as though only the well-to-do like to buy their produce in a pleasant, social, outdoor environment, direct from the source.

It turns out that’s all a bunch of compost. Low-income shoppers are actually the real farmers-market power users, buying bigger shares of their groceries at the markets than at other stores compared to middle- and high-income shoppers, according to a new report from the Project for Public Spaces.

The report looked at eight markets across the country in low-income neighborhoods with otherwise broad differences in demographic makeup. “[A]lmost 60% of farmers market shoppers in low-income neighborhoods believed their market had better prices than the grocery store,” the report states.

The main barrier to low-income shoppers patronizing farmers markets? Just basic information. Researchers found that shoppers often didn’t use their food-stamp benefits even though markets accept them, and shoppers didn’t know where markets were or when they were open.

If farmers markets embrace their low-income shoppers and just let them know what’s up, everyone could win.

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Could extreme weather save farmers from extreme weather?

by RubinkJoseph Posted on February 21, 2013

Could extreme weather save farmers from extreme weather?

By Susie Cagle

After a seriously dry run, some drought-stricken farmers have gotten a bit of a reprieve. Snow dumping this week on the country’s potential future dust bowl is great news for suffering, parched wheat crops.

larsongarden

Reuters reports:

Nearly a foot or more of snow fell across key growing areas in Oklahoma and Kansas in the last 24 hours, and more was coming.

“I feel a lot better this morning,” said Kansas wheat farmer Scott Van Allen, who has about 2,300 acres planted to winter wheat in south-central Kansas. “It snowed all night on us. I was getting very concerned with the lack of moisture we’ve had.”

Well, Scott, here are some scientists to rain on your parade (except without any actual rain, sorry). This extreme weather isn’t nearly extreme enough to make up for the other extreme weather.

“This is not going to put a big dent in the drought,” said [University of Nebraska Drought Mitigation Center climatologist Brian] Fuchs. “The moisture is welcomed, but is it a drought-buster? No it is not. We need several more storms like this to really start turning the tide.” …

Kansas is typically the top U.S. wheat producing state and Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Colorado are also top producers. But a nagging drought has plagued the region, leaving agricultural producers struggling. Without adequate soil moisture plants either die outright, or yield poorly, if at all.

The wheat crop will be emerging soon from winter dormancy and will require good soil moisture to grow.

A report issued Thursday by a consortium of state and federal climatologists said that as of Feb. 19 more than 82 percent of the High Plains region, which includes Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado, was suffering from “severe” or worse drought.

Fully 100 percent of Kansas was engulfed in severe drought or worse, the Drought Monitor report said.

In conclusion, poor Scott says he and other Kansas farmers will “keep our fingers crossed.” Go ahead; science can’t take that away from you.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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You have no idea what that fish you’re eating is, so don’t pretend

by Myrna Posted on February 21, 2013

You have no idea what that fish you’re eating is, so don’t pretend

By Philip Bump

Matthew Kenrick

This is, like, a swordfish or something.

“Man, Europe,” we think, shaking our heads with superiority. “Those weirdos are eating horse instead of beef. What a mixed-up, topsy-turvy continent.” Shrugging, we then pick up our fish sandwiches from McDonald’s or, if you’re fancy, throw a little snapper on the grill.

And that’s when the Fates play their little tricks. From The New York Times:

That tempting seafood delight glistening on the ice at the market, or sizzling at the restaurant table in its aromatic jacket of garlic and ginger? It may not be at all what you think, or indeed even close, according to a big new study of fish bought and genetically tested in 12 parts of the country — in restaurants, markets and sushi bars — by a nonprofit ocean protection group, Oceana.

In the 120 samples labeled red snapper and bought for testing nationwide, for example, 28 different species of fish were found, including 17 that were not even in the snapper family, according to the study, which was released Thursday.

The study also contained surprises about where consumers were most likely to be misled — sushi bars topped the list in every city studied — while grocery stores were most likely to be selling fish honestly. Restaurants ranked in the middle.

Oceana

This is not news in the sense that it is new. We’ve noted fish fraud a few times before. It is however news in the sense that 1) it is a new study conducted by Oceana (available here [PDF]) and 2) it considered new types of fish and 3) it was in the newspaper.

Not all of the mislabeling is willful. As the Times points out, “there are quite simply a lot of fish in the sea, and many of them look alike.” I can attest to this. But some of it is very much willful.

In the real world of perception and marketing, a fish called “slimehead” — a real name, by the way — is probably not going to fly off the menu. Far better to call it “orange roughy,” a distinction allowed by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. The government also allows Patagonian toothfish, real name, to be called Chilean sea bass, invented marketing name.

This is also not new news, but it’s worth reminding people that they eat a thing called “slimehead,” if only for the laughs.

Oceana

The deception can be dangerous. In one sample in New York, tilefish, a species that often contains unhealthy levels of mercury, was sold as snapper and halibut. And buying the wrong fish makes the already-tricky art of shopping sustainably that much harder.

At the end of its report [PDF] (which also has a city-by-city breakdown of its labeling survey), Oceana offers some recommendations that it hopes could fix the problem: improved traceability of fish from ocean to plate, better labeling requirements, increased legislation addressing the practice. Allow us to offer one additional recommendation, meant to help you save face with your European friends. If mocked by a companion from Franco-Spainia because the Filet-O-Fish you’re enjoying is of unclear provenance, simply respond as follows: “Yes, this may be tilefish instead of cod (or whatever) but at least in America, we can tell the difference between a horse and a cow.”

Then high-five an eagle.

Oceana

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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