This is the 578th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the October 27th edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
ARodinFan writes—Beans and Gas - issues that should be causing Red State Republican candidates pain at the midterms: “Beans and Gas are two issues in rural Red America that did not receive enough attention in these final weeks before the midterms. The President’s awful foreign policies and his stupid trade war are seriously hurting rural America, causing deep financial pain on heartland farms and in farming communities across the midwest. Red state farmers should be asking themselves — can they afford representatives in Washington who will continue to enable the pResident to pursue the sorts of questionable trade policies that threaten to bankrupt them? [...] At this time last year during a single week the grain elevator just south of Hillsboro, North Dakota filled three 110-car trainloads of soybeans, all headed to to the Pacific Northwest to meet orders from China. On July 6, in response to Trump’s tariffs on imported goods from China, China retaliated by imposing additional 25 percent tariffs on American soybeans — hundreds of millions of dollars worth of soybeans in North Dakota suddenly have no market. Those ‘Refugee Soybeans’ now lie in heaps on the ground with nowhere to go. The farmers who produced them are threatened with financial ruin.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Breaking the Spell of Heartland’s Witch Hunt and Climate Myth: “One of the rhetorical points deniers love to overuse is to compare modern day consensus climate science to the medieval witch hunts. For example, deniers claimed reports on and calls for transparency around Willie Soon’s fossil fuel funding was a witch hunt, and made the same accusation about investigations into ExxonMobil. Then there’s the more literal invocation of the term, as seen in petroleum geologist and Heartland hack Gregory Wrigtstone’s recent Heartland’s blog, where he suggests modern day climate alarmists are falsely blaming carbon dioxide in the same way villagers falsely blamed witches for their weather woes. This is the claim made by Gregory Wrightstone, a petroleum geologist and. His latest piece for the fossil fuel-funded front group begins by setting the reader in 15th century Europe, describing how cooler temperatures ruined crops and how authorities of the time blamed witches.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Walter Einenkel writes—The world's wildlife population has declined 60 percent since 1970, new report finds: “The Living Planet Report 2018, released on Monday by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), reports that since 1970, the earth has seen its wildlife populations decline, on average, by 60 percent. This includes mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. According to the report, the declines have been felt most drastically in South and Central America, where 89 percent of the wildlife has been wiped away. Also terrifying is the fact that freshwater ecosystems have seen an 83 percent reduction in their biodiversity during that time. Is it all just because of fossil fuels? No. Is it all just because of chemical pollutants? No. Is it all just because of deforestation, pesticides, climate change, fresh-water and air pollution, plastics, or general human waste? No. No, it is all of those things. WWF argues that the biggest issues that need to be dealt with in order to slow down this decline are habitat loss and overexploitation.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - foggy PNW rainforest along the Ent trail: “Olympic Peninsula, Pacific Northwest. A foggy day is the best possible time to wander down the Ent trail. It was pea soup conditions … perfect. For some reason, Entish trees have congregated in this area. The western side of the Olympic Peninsula is wet everywhere, with 12 feet of rain a year not uncommon, but the nature of the rainforest varies.I love greeting the Entish trees each year. Hello old friends.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - golden willow season: “Pacific Northwest. This is the season for the last of our Big Four native deciduous trees to turn color: willows. The alders are done, the maples and cottonwoods have peaked, and now the willows are the golden color we see against the dominant conifer green of the woods of the PNW. The winter windstorms have begun, so this foliage won’t last long. [...] Fall colors draw the eye right now, especially knowing how ephemeral they are as the winter windstorms start rolling in off the ocean.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - grebes playing in a kelp patch: “Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest. Horned grebes are the earliest waterfowl to return to my local bay from their summer breeding grounds, sometime in September. Ducks and mergansers follow in October, so it’s all Horned grebe action livening up the bay after a very quiet summer, waterfowlwise. This year I saw the first Horned grebes on September 6, which is about two weeks earlier than the past couple of years. They arrive in a good size flock of 20-30, then in winter dispersing. Right now I’m seeing them in groups of half a dozen or so. While Horned grebes prefer fairly shallow quiet waters, they are tiny birds and tend to stay a ways from the beach so I don’t often get great looks at them. That’s why I was so pleased to see a few the other day only about 30 feet away. Four were playing around a floating clump of bull kelp. I can’t think of any other description. They weren’t foraging or grooming or sleeping. At this time of year they haven’t embarked on mating displays (which are incredibly elaborate, like all grebes. I wish I could see that but they breed inland, likely the British Columbia interior). Perhaps some or all of these were youngsters, who look very much like adults in winter.”
RonK writes—The Daily Bucket - Arbor Day & Parks Reclamation project: “By Mayoral Proclamation, October 28th, 2018 became Arbor Day in Bellingham WA. Although Arbor Day is a worldwide event, each country, state, and city can designate which day to celebrate it depending on what date and season is best for planting in your area. Ours was late October, just before the Autumn and Winter rains hit. The City Parks Department and the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) jointly organized two restoration projects focused along creeks in Bellingham that support spawning salmon. It was truly a community effort attended by volunteers of all ages. Since they promote these Saturday work parties to all comers, young and old, they only schedule them from 9:00 to 12:00 which I thought was rather humane and works for me as my aged body can only go so long. At this site, Whatcom Falls Park, they checked in over 150 volunteers.”
enhydra lutris writes—The Daily Bucket - October 2018 Yard Report: “This is part of my ongoing project to document the changes in our yard from month to month. [...] As of October 29, 2018, most stuff is dormant or going there, so not too much to really report on. Looking south from back door.”
Kestrel writes—Dawn Chorus: The Sandhill Cranes Are Here: “It’s 3:40 am and I just woke up and remembered I had Dawn Chorus duty this morning. So I'm putting up a quick diary that you're welcome to use as an open thread as I go back to bed to return at a decent hour. Here in Northern California, the Sandhill Cranes have returned like clockwork. Next weekend is the 22nd Annual Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi, CA. If you're in the area, you may want to consider making the trek. Details here: www.cranefestival.com/…”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Meteor Blades writes—It's not just poverty and violence that are driving refugees to the U.S. border. It's climate change: “Many of the vile social conditions that spurred warfare a few decades ago are worse than ever. Tens of thousands of Central Americans are understandably fleeing. Not usually in caravans but alone, with their immediate family, or in small groups. It’s an incredibly difficult and dangerous trip, even more so for the many thousands of children who head north on their own. It’s not unusual for them to simply disappear along the way, fate unknown. And there is now a factor at work that is worsening poverty and violence and the desperate behavior they breed: climate change. That could ultimately mean millions will be headed to El Norte.”
Mark Sumner writes—Vote like the world depends on it. Because it really, really does: “ The few hundred families still a thousand miles away from the US border are absolutely no cause for alarm. The tens of millions who will be forced from their homes by climate change definitely are. On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported on new research showing that the climate change that has already taken place is worse than it may seem. While temperatures over land have already increased—severely in the case of areas near the Arctic Circle—even those changes appear to be deceptive. The world’s oceans have been soaking up far more excess heat in recent decades than scientists realized, suggesting that Earth could be set to warm even faster than predicted in the years ahead, according to new research published Wednesday. The numbers don’t appear to be off by 5 percent. Or 10 percent. The oceans have held onto 60 percent more heat than previously thought. It’s an amount of captured energy that could power civilization for a century … except that it appears set to power it to its conclusion.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Rowan Dean Spins DJ’s Video To Challenge Climate Change Consensus: “On Saturday, Australia’s Sky News ran a brief segment with “proudly climate sceptical” presenter Rowan Dean. It is perhaps one of the stupidest things ever put on Murdoch media. (Yes, we realize what a bold statement that is.) Because while Dean ends with a fairly standard level of stupid--that it’s the sun that’s causing global warming--he begins by presenting one of the most bogus bits of science-looking stupidity to ever go viral. The theory (to use the term very loosely) is that our solar system is actually a vortex or helix, with the planets ‘chasing the Sun, in a spiral’ according to Dean, planets trailing behind the Sun as it rockets through the galaxy. You’ve probably seen the video or a gif of it before, racking up over 5 million views as it’s spread unknowingly on social media. It’s neat-looking and goes viral pretty regularly, much to the dismay of astronomers and others who prefer reality to pretty myths.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Caravan Deniers, Bomb Deniers & Climate Deniers: Conspiracy Theories With Political Purposes: “New research from Cornell, published in PNAS this week, finds that the public vastly underestimates how concerned minority and low-income Americans are about climate change, likely due to the widespread stereotype of environmental concerns being something for wealthy white people who don’t have more pressing problems. But extreme events like Hurricanes Harvey and Maria have increasingly made it clear that those underserved communities are hit hardest by climate change, and their high level of concern reflects that reality. Importantly, the study found that when subjects were shown a mock-up photo of a diverse (hypothetical) green group, the perception gap between how much they thought people cared and how much people actually do care shrunk, offering yet more evidence that diversity is important to climate action. Moving from the lab to field work, Alex Harris at the Miami Herald reported Tuesday on Public Citizen’s new report, coproduced with an Emory University researcher and the Farmworker Association of Florida, showing that rising temperatures are putting more and more of Florida’s farm workers in danger.”
Sarahyi writes—California deserves leaders who will combat climate change: “I’ve cared about the environment ever since childhood, when the majority of my days were spent adventuring on the waves and rocks of Waikiki, Hawaii. In a few decades, my homeland might be under water because of sea-level rise. That’s terrifying enough. But climate change is already destroying my new home, right here in California. There’s a lot of things I can do to save this planet, and I’m realizing that one of the most important things is something a lot of us haven’t really thought about: voting. Today, I live with my grandparents in the vibrancy of Los Angeles’ Koreatown. But even as Los Angeles thrives, the city and the state of California as a whole are becoming increasingly vulnerable to drought. [...] I’ve been an environmental advocate for a while now. This year, I’m even more than that - I’m picking elected officials who will support pro-climate policies. If you care about the lives of present and future generations, one of the most vital things you can do is to do the same. Our world is counting on you.”
Pakalolo writes—Within a month, Pine Island Glacier experiences a massive calving event: “An iceberg the size of five Manhattans just broke off the massive Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica. This iceberg is the 6th largest to break from the glacier’s ice shelf since 2011. Live Science reports: Since spotting the crack in early October, Lhermitte had guessed that the icebergs would take weeks or months to calf, "but it turned out to be on the quick side," he told Live Science. [Photo Gallery: Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier Cracks] At 115 square miles (300 square kilometers), the enormous amount of ice that calved off the glacier's ice shelf is even larger than the mass that broke off last year, Lhermitte said. [...] One of the most disturbing trends with Pine Island Glacier is that the deep subsurface rifts in the ice shelf now appear to be forming in the center of the shelf instead of along the margins where breaks have occurred in the past.”
Elizabeth Burke via clydefitch writes—UN Report on Climate Change: Here Comes The Flood! “Is 20 years enough time to build an ark? Maybe we can use the one in the Bible Museum once the world floods. I’ve read the report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the news isn’t good. The world’s leading climate scientists warn that we have 12 years to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius before horrible things happen. Half a degree more will worsen the risk of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people. The report states that we’ve been underestimating the point at which the effects of man-made climate change can no longer be stopped. Overall, the report reads like the basis for the Mad Max franchise. It describes a world of ‘worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040, a period well within the lifetime of much of the global population’.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Dan Bacher writes—Delta Advocates at Public Hearing Say California WaterFix Is Inconsistent with Delta Plan: “Dozens of Delta advocates showed up for the public comments period of the Delta Stewardship Council on Friday, October 26 to testify how Governor Jerry Brown’s California WaterFix project is inconsistent with the Delta Plan. As usual, the hearing was held at 9 a.m. on a workday, forcing many of those who attended to take off time from work. At issue was the “consistency determination” for the California WaterFix that the California Department of Water Resources has filed with the Delta Stewardship Council. This ‘consistency determination’ is how DWR will get approval from the Delta Stewardship Council that the Delta Tunnels project is consistent with the Council’s Delta Plan. This process checks off a box to move forward with construction of the tunnels, a project that the Brown administration has been rushing to complete as much as possible before the Governor leaves office, despite strong opposition to the tunnels from Delta residents, Indian Tribes, environmental justice advocates, recreational and commercial fishermen, Delta farmers and elected officials.”
Dan Bacher writes—Legislators request info. on Trump and Brown administration negotiations over Delta Tunnels: “On Friday, November 2, Members of the California Legislature representing the Delta sent Governor Jerry Brown a letter inquiring about reports of conversations between Governor Brown's Administration and the Trump Administration regarding the future of the California WaterFix project. The project centers on two massive 35 mile long tunnels under the Delta that would divert water from the Sacramento River in the North Delta to the South Delta to facilitate the export of water to corporate agribusiness interests on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California water agencies. ‘Any conversations that exclude Delta communities are unacceptable and we are demanding answers,’ said Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman regarding the letter.”
Dan Bacher writes—Fishermen Petition Water Board to Control Pesticide Pollution on California's Gorgeous Smith River: “The Smith River, located in the redwood region of the far northwest corner of California near the Oregon border, is known as the state’s most pristine coastal river. The legendary river produces huge steelhead and king salmon for anglers fishing from shore and boats every year — and is home to the California state steelhead record of 27 pounds, 7 ounces, set back in 1976 by Robert Halley of Crescent City. Yet this gem is threatened by massive pesticide pollution from lily bulb farms in the river’s estuary. This estuary, along with other river estuaries up and down the coast, provides key habitat for juvenile salmon, steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout on their migration. To stop the decline of the Smith River’s precious fishery, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), Institute for Fisheries Resources, and Environmental Law Foundation today petitioned the State Water Resources Control Board today to regulate large scale pesticide pollution from lily bulb farms in the Smith River’s estuary. The Smith is the state’s last undammed and undiverted coastal river, but fishermen say pesticide pollution is killing salmon and impacting the fishing and recreational industry in this rural and economically depressed area.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
MBF4Congress writes—It's time for Florida to get serious on climate change: “In Florida, we’re no strangers to environmental crisis--and our state is the most vulnerable to climate change in the U.S. The past two decades of GOP leadership in Florida have led to relaxed environmental regulations and budget cuts for state agencies tasked with climate change prevention and mitigation. Enough is enough. It’s time for Florida to get serious on climate change. My name is Mary Barzee Flores, and I’m running for Congress as a Democrat in Florida’s 25th district. [...] Our state’s future depends on an immediate and comprehensive response. Mario Diaz-Balart is frankly a denier of scientific truth. He called global warming a money-making ‘bandwagon’ that will result in economy-killing policies. But in Florida, it’s environmental crises that are killing business, not regulations. Just ask our service workers, fishermen, hotel workers, and others within the tourism industry about how they were affected by this season’s disastrous red tide--a consequence of polluted runoff. Smart environmental policy goes hand-in-hand with a healthy economy.”
Stephen Wolf writes—These states are voting on 2018 ballot measures to fight climate change and protect the environment: “Not only have congressional Republicans refused to take any steps to protect the environment and address climate change, but under Trump, Republicans are actively exacerbating the problem and putting public health and geopolitical stability at risk. However, several states aren't waiting for the federal government to tackle environmental challenges, and 2018 will see a handful of important ballot measures go before voters, aimed at doing do what Congress won't. Most critical among these is Washington's Initiative 1631, which would make Washington the first state in the country to put a price on carbon via ballot initiative. Covering roughly 80 percent of carbon emissions, this measure would invest the $1 billion in annual revenue it would expect to bring in in programs to promote clean air, water, and energy, especially in low-income areas and communities of color that would be most at risk of the devastating effects of climate change and environmental contamination. Crucially, this proposal aims to succeed where others have failed by solving the thorny political economy issues of carbon regulation.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Margaret Crawford-Ryan via sempervirensfund writes—Celebrating the Coast Redwoods: Our Climate Guardians: “It seems that, lately, every day in the news we hear more dire predictions (and evidence) of the effects of climate change on our world. Sometimes I find it all very daunting, even paralyzing. But today, despite the fact that we have lots of pressing work to do to address climate change, I want to focus on the positive by celebrating some of our local climate guardians: the coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens). The coast redwoods are truly amazing beings. Their lives can span centuries, and some redwoods have lived more than 2,500 years! The coast redwood is also the tallest growing tree in the world. The tallest (known) living coast redwood is located in Redwood National Park rising over 379 feet. What’s more, the coast redwood forests that grow along a narrow strip of land along the northern California and southern Oregon coasts, are incredibly good at capturing and storing carbon dioxide, one of the heat-trapping gasses that is influencing climate change. This is why I think of these trees as climate guardians.”
MorrellWI1983 writes—Expanding the National Parks System - #43 Texas: “This is the forty-third diary in my expanding the National Parks series. I apologize for the delay, as dealing with the day-to-day assaults on basic norms by Trump and his cronies has pushed my diaries to the back burner, but now I’ve decided to continue. In my last diary I covered Tennessee, this one will cover Texas. Despite being the nation’s second largest state in area, only a small fraction of Texas is protected at the federal level , just 1.9%, tied with the far smaller Massachusetts for 39th in the nation. Currently, Texas has 2 national parks, 2 national monuments, 4 national forests, 21 wildlife refuges, and 14 historic sites and other NPS units. I will propose adding several other monuments to Texas’ tally. Previous diaries in the series are linked at the bottom of this diary.”
ENERGY
Nuclear
kernals writes—Nuclear Gaslighting: “According to conventional wisdom, the reason we don’t power everything with nuclear fission is because everybody freaked out after Three Mile Island. Some go on to claimthat this irrational fear is blocking us from a cheap solution to climate change. As the chart above shows, that interpretation is not backed up by any facts and is really a case of a lie being repeated frequently enough that it becomes the truth. We see that nuclear reactor construction peaked in 1976 and then plummeted 1 year later. We see that in 1979, the year of Three Mile Island, construction actually rose over the year before. We see a smooth linear decline from 1977 and 1990 irrespective of any accidents. Another thing to consider, if it’s irrational fear keeping us from nuclear power, why isn’t it super popular in countries where governments aren’t accountable to voters? Why do the Chinese only get 2% of their electricity from nukes? We are being gaslit into blaming evil environmentalists for excessive carbon emissions when the truth is simple economics. Nuclear reactors simply cannot pay their own way. Modern nuclear projects have been a disaster of delays, cost overruns, and cancellations.”
Fossil Fuels
Walter Einenkel writes—Oil spill leaking into Gulf of Mexico for 14 years creates enormous natural disaster: “On Sept. 15, 2004, Hurricane Ivan, traveling through the Gulf of Mexico, toppled a Taylor Energy Company oil platform into the water. As columnist Fred Grimm notes in a piece in the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the results of the collapse included ‘nine ... holes belching oil and gas’ that were ‘deemed too dangerous to plug.’ Taylor Energy has spent the last 14 years telling everyone that just a little bit of oil has been spilling into the Gulf since then. It wasn’t until 2015 that reports filtered out via an investigation by the Associated Press that exposed the extent of the growing environmental disaster. An Associated Press investigation has revealed evidence that the spill is far worse than what Taylor -- or the government -- have publicly reported during their secretive, and costly, effort to halt the leak. Presented with AP's findings, that the sheen recently averaged about 91 gallons of oil per day across eight square miles, the Coast Guard provided a new leak estimate that is about 20 times greater than one recently touted by the company.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Konstellation of Koch Groups Want Americans Buying More Gas, Support Trump’s CAFE Retreat: “Last week, the public comment period closed for the Trump administration’s proposed reversal of the hugely popular clean car standards and its parallel attack on the ability of California (and 17 other states representing nearly half of the US auto market) to set more protective standards. California officials held a press conference on Friday and publicly released their 400+ page response to the administration. Governor Jerry Brown called Trump a ‘one-man demolition derby,’ and said that the move ‘jeopardizes the health of millions.’ The formal CA response said the Trump admin’s modeling is ‘fundamentally inappropriate’ and does ‘not pass basic tests of mathematical and statistical rigor’ (not surprising, since most of the administration’s moves don’t pass basic logic tests). Trump’s proposed policy, with its ‘biased.. and probably wrong’ assumptions, would cost Americans up to $119 billion--not to mention, it would kill people and destroy 60,000 jobs in the auto industry. It’s clear the policy only really serves one group: the fossil fuel industry.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Big Oil Behaving Badly In the Real World, Online and By Mail: “On Tuesday, Bill McKibben had a great op-ed in the Washington Post about all the oil money polluting democracy. And since then, even more dirty dealings have come to light. For example, McKibben mentioned the Washington State ballot initiative to put a price on carbon, and the millions that fossil fuels are spending against it. But he didn’t mention the depth of their dirty dealings, as reported by Nathalie Graham at the Stranger. Because not only is big oil spending a record $30 million against the measure, it’s exploiting minority communities to do so. In apparent recognition of the intersectional coalition-building behind the campaign, those advocating against the measure sent out a mailer claiming a number of Latinx businesses oppose the initiative. The problem is, according to Graham, that ‘most of those businesses had no idea their names were on that list.’ This is hardly the only example of energy interests claiming unearned support. Remember back in May, when we talked about how a Louisiana power company appeared to have hired actors to push for a new power plant?”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
MTmofo writes—Interior's IG recommends further investigation to DOJ into Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke's activities: “The Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General has referred one of its ongoing probes into the conduct of Secretary Ryan Zinke to the Justice Department for further investigation, according to two individuals familiar with the matter. Interior Deputy Inspector General Mary L. Kendall, who is currently serving as acting inspector general, is conducting at least three probes that involve Zinke. These include his involvement in a Montana land deal and the decision not to grant two tribes approval to operate a casino in Connecticut. The individuals, who spoke of the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, did not specify which inquiry had been referred to the Justice Department. [...] A referral to the Justice Department means that prosecutors will explore whether a criminal investigation is warranted. While an agency’s inspector general regularly issues reports on the findings of its inquiries, it only refers cases to the Justice Department when it has determined that there could be potential criminal violations.”
Dan Bacher writes—Western Values Project Calls on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to Resign: “One environmental group is calling for embattled Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to resign, but another group isn’t so sure about whether his resignation would be a good thing, in light of the fact that his probable replacement, David Bernhardt, could be even worse. After The Hill broke the news that the Interior Department’s internal watchdog referred its investigation of Secretary Ryan Zinke to the Department of Justice just days before the attempted, and subsequently walked-back, replacement of the Interior Inspector General with a Trump political appointee, Executive Director of Western Values Project Chris Saeger issued the following statement: ‘It seems that either Secretary Zinke tried to interfere with an ongoing investigation or sought political retribution against Interior’s own watchdog. While we hope the Department of Justice runs a thoughtful and thorough investigation into Zinke’s conduct, the Secretary has violated the public’s trust one too many times. It’s time for Secretary Zinke to resign and allow the Department to move past his troubled tenure and focus on fulfilling its vital mission’.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Madalgal writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blog V 14: 44 - Rain and Weeds: “From a distance my garden looks great — lush green mounds, color and variety in the Fall blooming season. However, on closer inspection, there are weeds, nut sedge, invading bermuda and mushrooms everywhere! It’s been raining for two months (September and October had a total of 28.3 inches). Everything is going/growing wild. Weeding has been impossible in the incessant rain. [...] I weeded all day Monday and Tuesday — the first dry days in weeks. It rained on Wednesday. Thursday the grass was so mushy the weeding stool sank into the ground, tipping me over into the sopping lawn. My dignity got embarrassingly wet and cold. The yard crew is scheduled to start the dig-out process of the three weediest backyard beds next week. There are now so many weed seeds in those beds it’s easier to replace with weed-free organic bedding mix/compost/top soil (and mulch) and send the crappy soil to the dump. After much arguing, the crew has agreed not to use Roundup.”
MISCELLANY
Dan Bacher writes—Bolsonaro's election poses huge challenges for democracy, human rights & environment in Brazil: “After Bolsonaro was elected, President Trump happily tweeted about his conversation with Bolsonaro: ‘Had a very good conversation with the newly elected President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who won his race by a substantial margin. We agreed that Brazil and the United States will work closely together on Trade, Military and everything else! Excellent call, wished him congrats!’ Human rights, indigenous and environmental justice have a much different opinion of Bolsonaro. ‘The election of Bolsonaro to the Brazilian presidency hands the extreme right-wing politician a mandate to enact a series of sweeping changes to the country’s political, economic, social, and environmental order,’ according to a statement from Amazon Watch. Responding to the news, Brazil’s diverse social movements are mounting resistance to the president’s regressive agenda. Thousands of organizations recently united to repudiate his assertion that he ‘will put an end to all activism in Brazil,’ while the National Indigenous Movement issued a statement, ‘In Defense of Democracy and Our Rights,’ according to the group.”