Beautiful animals are seeking survival in the United States

By Blaine Friedlander, Cornell Chronicle, February 13, 2024

Bobcats, like this one photographed in Otego, New York on Jan. 30, 2024, remain critically low in population, according to Cornell biologists.

With thousands of strategically placed cameras covering more than 27,000 square miles in central and western New York, biologists have evidence that bobcat populations remain critically low in those regions.

White-tailed deer flourish, red fox and coyote populations remain abundant and stable, and eastern wild turkey and gray fox numbers remain low, according to research based on years of observation by Cornell and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). Their latest report was published in February in Biological Conservation.

Cornell impacting New York State ~
“Bobcats probably displayed one of the more concerning trends that we saw,” said lead author Joshua Twining, a postdoctoral researcher in the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (NYCFWRU), a U.S. Geological Survey unit on campus led by Angela Fuller, professor in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).

In statistical scrutiny, occupancy probabilities – important for managing wildlife species and conservation – can range from zero to one. Numbers closer to one mean that a species likely occurs in an area; zero is certainty of its absence.

From 2014 to 2021, the estimated mean predicted probability of occupancy for historically extirpated bobcats in central and western New York ranged from a low of 0.02 in 2015 to a high of 0.12 in 2019, and then back down to 0.05 in 2021, according to motion-tripped photographic data.

Due to the very low occupancy observed, “it would be impossible for us to detect a decline in bobcat occupancy in this region without the species being extirpated,” Twining said.

Easily more than twice the size of a large house cat, bobcats are prized for their soft pelts, according to the NYSDEC. The bobcats all have large paws; the males can be 3 feet long and weigh more than 30 pounds. Females are a few inches shorter.

“Bobcats are an important predator in northeastern ecosystems, eating rodents, squirrels, snowshoe hare, rabbits and deer,” Fuller said. “In addition, bobcats are valued by hunters and trappers, photographers and wildlife enthusiasts. There is also an existence value, or ‘non-use’ value, for bobcats. People like to know that they live on the landscape.”

Twining said New York has variable hunting and trapping seasons for bobcats, depending on the region. Some areas surveyed were not open to bobcat hunting or trapping; areas along the New York-Pennsylvania border have been open to bobcat harvest since 2013.

While gray fox numbers were low, the population was stable, the paper said. In all years, the eastern wild turkey’s occupancy was low, ranging from 0.07 to 0.25.

The motion-activated, camera-trap research originally sought to estimate occupancy trends and abundance of fishers, which are carnivorous weasels. The first survey was conducted in 2014 at 608 sites and repeated in 2015 at 599 sites. Subsequently, the biologists conducted surveys in 2019 (584 sites), 2020 (603) and 2021 (601) in the same areas.

“Through the establishment of a robust quantitative monitoring program,” said Fuller who is a faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, “we provide critical empirical data on the population trends and the drivers of occupancy and abundance on a landscape scale for a variety of species in New York – a method that can be used to inform species management and conservation into the future.”

In addition to Fuller and Twining, the co-authors of “Landscape-Scale Population Trends in the Occurrence and Abundance of Wildlife Populations Using Long Term Camera-Trapping Data” were David Kramer of NYSDEC and Kelly Perkins, research associate with the NYCFWRU and a doctoral student in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (CALS).

Funding was provided by NYSDEC, from a Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Grant (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

The Union of Concerned Scientists is a Very Unique Organization!

The Staff of the Union of Concerned Scientists Work Overtime!

Year-End 1:1 Match for Science. … Deadline: 11:59 p.m., Sunday 12/31.

UCS members power the science-based advocacy needed to protect our planet from corporate polluters and the deadly consequences of climate change.

In the coming year, our community needs to be stronger than ever to ensure we are able to hold ground when the attacks on climate-forward and science-based policy come. Recognizing this urgent, high stakes moment, a dedicated group of UCS supporters is challenging us to match $1 million in giving for science. To help meet this match challenge, we need you to pitch in before the deadline on December 31.

Help us reach our year-end goal by renewing your UCS membership with a 1:1 MATCH gift today.

Select Gift Type ~ Giving monthly is the best way you can support science-based solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future. ~ One-Time ~ Monthly ~ Select Gift Amount

Learning and Sharing Information are Essential Early Steps

Multiple maintenance crews are working overtime to purge out the water

From an Article by Jarett Lewis, WV Metro News, November 21, 2023

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said the city is “keeping its foot on the gas” until every resident on Charleston’s West Side has their gas service restored.

As of Monday evening, at least 825 customers of Mountaineer Gas have had their service turned back on by one of the 51 crews that Mountaineer Gas has working in the area. There has also been countless contractors hired to replace damaged furnaces, stoves and hot water tanks.

“This is not the time to stop doing what we’ve been doing,” Mayor Goodwin said Monday following their City Council meeting. “We need to continue our efforts as it has been since day one.”

Day one was Friday, November 10, when a high-pressure water main break from West Virginia American Water Company punctured a hole in a line from Mountaineer Gas.

The utility said they have approximately 200 holes dug on the West Side and about 80% of the 46 miles that were filled with water drained. Mountaineer Gas Senior Vice President Moses Skaff believes that could become 100% sometime this week, but the real issue now is replacing the appliances in peoples homes that were affected by the water. The company says full restoration of its main line is a few days away.

Hundreds of people are still without gas in a time where colder weather could be rolling in sometime this month, and the Thanksgiving holiday is right around the corner.

“Yes it’s Thanksgiving but I don’t care about that. I care that there is a senior in a home that doesn’t have hot water and heat,” said Goodwin.

West Side Council Member Larry Moore is also one without hot water or heat at his residence. He said the city is doing all it can

“I’m going to give a lot of kudos to the gas company and the mayor and the staff of the city because they have been on top of it,” Moore said. Crews that are working long hours to resolve the outage are working ever harder.

“They (Mountaineer Gas) have crews working all hours of the night and first thing in the morning,” said Moore. “They’re doing the best they can and they’ve been very responsive to people’s needs.”

The amount of support coming in from people and organizations who are making donations and delivering food and water and other essentials is no surprise to Moore. “That’s how it is on the West Side. We take care of each other,” he said.

Once every person that’s without gas has their service kicked back on, Mayor Goodwin said the next step will be figuring out how something like this never happens again. She commended the work and communication between each department, city officials, and crews on the scene.

“People’s needs are being met, but the conversation is going to change quickly to ‘how did this happen,’” she said.

West Virginia American Water Company said in a statement last week that it would be premature to blame them for what happened until there’s an investigation done. Area resident Howard Swint spoke at Monday’s council meeting and said the water company is not abiding to water pressure standards.

“I know it’s premature to draw a conclusion as to what happened with the gas crisis, but anything that can push water up pipelines 46 miles is more than likely in excess of industry standard pressure,” Swint said. He has filed a complaint against the water company with the state Public Service Commission.

“We will fully cooperate with the Public Service Commission, local officials, and our community agencies in any investigation to determine a cause,” West Virginia American Water spokesperson Megan Hannah said last week.

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PSC launches investigation of water line break, natural gas outage in Charleston From WSAZ News Staff, November 16, 2023

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The Public Service Commission of West Virginia has launched a general investigation of the water line break and natural gas outage that occurred in Charleston on November 10, 2023.

A natural gas outage on Charleston’s West Side has stretched into a seventh day, prompting a State of Emergency by Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday. Hundreds of families were impacted by the widespread natural gas on the West Side of Charleston.

Also, on or about November 10, 2023, there were several water main breaks on West Virginia-American Water Company (WVAWC) lines in the same area. The water main breaks caused outages for a relatively large number of customers and boil water advisories, officials say.

The investigation order from the PSC states ‘one of the purposes for the Legislature’s creation of the Commission is to provide for the availability of adequate, economical and reliable utility services throughout the State.’

‘The Commission has determined that it should initiate an investigation to determine the cause and/or causes of these specific water main breaks and natural gas outage,” the order states.

The Commission investigation will focus on measures, policies and/or practices that should be implemented or expanded by both utilities to minimize widespread loss of service for customers, both in geographical scope and in the duration, when water line breaks and gas outages occur.

West Virginia-American Water Company and Mountaineer Gas Company are named respondents in the case.

Photo posted to Twitter by Senator Joe Manchin

RE: Docket #CP16-10 – Mountain Valley Pipeline, 11/16/23

Dear Ms. Bose and Others Whom It May Concern:

This request is for the builders of Mountain Valley Pipeline. You claim that you want to be a ‘Good Neighbor”. Here is a chance for you to be a good neighbor and also show regard to your own workers. Next week is “Thanksgiving Week” In Appalachia this is a very sacred week. It starts the “Holiday Season” which extends from the weekend before Thanksgiving until the Day after News Years day. It is a time when many families join together to “eat drink and be merry” Thanks giving week is a time when many families join together to go deer hunting.

The hunting tradition is especially super important to our Native American residents. It is a time to reconnect with the land that has been sacred to them for many millennia.
Deer Hunting is a really big deal to many people in Appalachia.

It is time that both young and old get out in the wood and share a tradition that is as old as these mountains. A good neighbor respects this tradition and I request that MVP acknowledge the importance of this tradition and cease all construction from November 18th until November 26th to allow family, friends and neighbor to enjoy their farms and favorite hunting grounds. I know many people who only get to the Jefferson National Forest in Monroe and Giles Counties and the MVP construction activities will spoil that enjoyment of the forest. The same holds true for people’s special hunting places across WV and VA.

This may be the last year that some of these people get to join this time honored tradition and I am sure that MVP would not want to be known as the “Bad Neighbor” that took this away from the residents and hunter who enjoy this time together.
I know for a fact that Senator Joe Manchin is an avid hunter and would not want anyone disrupting his time in the wood with his family and friends. So even if you don’t care about the people whose lands you are building on, out of respect to Senator Joe Manchin, please let the people in Appalachia and your own workers enjoy this special tme of the year.

If you don’t believe me just ask Senator Manchin for yourself.

Senator Joe Manchin on X: “Happy first day of buck firearm hunting season, West Virginia! Wishing all hunters a safe & successful hunt. https://t.co/YuWo8JsG3K” / X (twitter.com)

Sincerely, Maury Johnson, 3227 Ellison Rdg, Greenville, WV 24945

Report from the Union of Concerned Scientists is comprehensive & very timely

From the Report of Steve Clemmer, et al., UCSUSA, November 16, 2023

How the US Can Meet its Climate Goals While Delivering Public Health and Economic Benefits.

A transformative clean energy transition is both feasible and hugely beneficial to the economy, climate, and public health — but will require concerted action. We examined the tremendous opportunities — and challenges — for the United States as it seeks to reduce its heat-trapping emissions in line with science-informed goals.

Specifically, we analyzed four scenarios for changing the US energy system, including two “Net Zero” scenarios for decarbonizing the US economy by 2050, as well as two reference cases with and without the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

By rapidly phasing out fossil fuels and transitioning to clean energy, the United States can meet its climate targets with lower near-term energy costs and only modest long-term costs. We also found enormous economic, health, and climate benefits to transforming the energy system — including more than $800 billion in annual public health savings, and nearly $1.3 trillion in avoided climate damages by 2050.

Downloads

1. Executive summary, 4 pages
2. White paper, 34 pages
3. Technical appendix, 10 pages
4. Supplemental results, options

Citation ~ Clemmer, Steve, Rachel Cleetus, Jeremy Martin, Maria Cecilia Pinto de Moura, Paul Arbaje, Maria Chavez, and Sandra Settler. 2023 Accelerating Clean Energy Ambition: How the United States Can Meet Its Climate Goals While Delivering Public Health and Economic Benefits. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists. https://doi.org/10.47923/2023.15253

Graphic from the Report of the Union of Concerned Scientists

The Governor should issue a ban on open burning, but has not so far ….

From an Article by Chris Lawrence, WV Metro News, November 6, 2023

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The low humidity, warmer temperatures, and the steady wind in recent days has turned the West Virginia forest and the new leaf litter on the forest floor into a potential tinder box.

As of Monday, the West Virginia Division of Forestry reported more than 100 forest fires in the state and Deputy State Forester Tony Evans believed the number was well beyond.

“Over the weekend we’ve had so many fires that have popped up, we definitively know we have more than that,” said Evans. Some of the fires were large in scale.

“We have several big fires. One down in McDowell County is several hundred acres. Raleigh County’s got a big fire Kanawha has a couple. Boone County has several fires that are going to be several hundred acres, same thing with Mingo County,” he explained.

According to Evans, the Southern West Virginia topography lends itself well to a wildfire and they tend to get out of control faster in the steep hills of the coalfields than in other parts of the state. The terrain also makes them more difficult to put out.

The fires are so widespread, Evans said they are asking people to stop calling 911 with just reports of seeing or smelling smoke. Since those kind of reports are too vague to help pinpoint a fire. “Unless they see an actual fire or a big column of smoke coming up from a specific place, don’t call 911 just if they are seeing or smelling smoke in the air,” he explained..

The Kanawha County Commission penned a letter to the Division of Forestry asking for a total burning ban until some measurable rainfall comes. Evans said that decision would have to come from the Governor’s office.

The fall forest fire rules are in effect, meaning that any outdoor burning must be done between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. However, under the present conditions, Evans said use common sense.

“You know if it’s dry and windy, wait until we get some moisture. It doesn’t take very much for the wind to pick up an ember and put it out into the woods or dry grass and we have a forest fire,” he said.

Some barriers have been installed at Fairmont Brine Plant

From Article by Esteban Fernandez, Times West Virginian, October 26, 2023

FAIRMONT — It might be time to retire the Chernobyl moniker from the Fairmont Brine Processing Plant, according to officials of West Virginia’s environment protection profession.

Speaking at the Marion County Commission meeting Wednesday were:

3. Marion County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency Director Chris McIntire

They spoke to commissioners about what steps their respective departments are taking with regards to the site. There was also a member from W.Va. Department of Environmental Protection present, but they did not address the council.

“I’m very happy to work with these folks and I’m very glad that they’re up front with everything and showing us what’s happening in the community,” McIntire said. “We will have a solution for this problem and we’re working very hard to get there and reaffirm to our public here in Marion County that we don’t have a Chernobyl in Marion County.”

Although attention grabbing, the name conjures an inaccurate picture of what is actually going on at the site, according to Frame.

The situations are different because a Chernobyl-like situation deals with fusion products, which involve high activity, short lived isotopes, typically from Uranium. The Fairmont Brine Processing Plant involves low activity, long lived isotopes, which refers to how much radiation an isotope emits as it decays, meaning how many particles it shoots off in a set amount of time.

The more particles it decays per unit of time the more active it is. That’s why the concern at the plant is over material that takes a long time to decay but consistently emits radiation over that long period of time. At Chernobyl, the opposite was true. Radioactive material shot more particles off but over a shorter period of time..

He emphasized that all agencies involved are not downplaying the seriousness of the plant’s contamination, but that the nature of the contaminants is one of the things shaping the agencies’ response.

“When you’re talking about a reactor, which is what Chernobyl was, a reactor accident, you’re dealing with very high activity, short-lived fusion products that are capable of acute radiation injuries,” Frame said. “What we’re dealing with at Fairmont Brine is a naturally occurring low level of radioactivity which presents a long term health threat. A more accurate description of what the agencies involved are doing is making sure that the long term health threat is ultimately remediated.”

However, family medicine specialist Dr. Kenneth Hilsbos, of Fairmont, raised some concerns over the term that Frame and Wagner used to describe the isotopes, namely the phrase “naturally occurring.” Hilsbos said. that the second highest source of radioactivity in the U.S. outside of the nuclear energy industry is oil and gas drilling.

“These have not been changed by a technological process, but they have been concentrated by a technological press and by the passage of time,” Hilsbos said to the commissioners. “So, it’s not really the same as what’s in the Earth.”

Hilsbos later said in a phone call that he doesn’t have a major problem with the TENORM acronym which the agencies are using. It stands for Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material that the environmental agencies are using. However, the issue that he does have is that it’s industry jargon, that despite whatever the agencies’ intentions, it may not be immediately clear to a layperson how dangerous the radioactive contamination on site is. Another issue is the use of the word “normal” within the acronym, which obscures the human role in concentrating this material.

“Coal inside a coal mine is normal in that sense, but it’s not normal to it settling in people’s lungs where it causes harm,” he said. “I think it’s not really normal as soon as you start messing with it.”

Hilsbos was clear in saying that he didn’t think the agencies were trying to use “normal” in the colloquial sense, however the presence of the word carries an implication that it’s normal and not a big deal. He’d rather see the material be called what it is, which he said is concentrated radioactive stuff.

Yori Gorby, lead scientist at the Athens, Ohio-based FreshWater Accountability Project, is encouraged that the EPA is working on the plant. Gorby worked at a nuclear facility in Washington state for about 20 years and his expertise is in the transport of heavy metals and radionuclides. He agreed that the situation in Fairmont is different from Chernobyl since the contamination isn’t due to any kind of nuclear reaction process. That said, the contamination he sees is reminiscent of the type found at other department of energy sites where nuclear material has been produced.

“This is one of the hottest sites that I’ve been on in terms of field contamination,” Gorby said to commissioners. “I’ve worked in Los Alamos and Oak Ridge National Lab. This for me represents a really serious topic. It should not be dismissed or diminished in any way by saying that these are naturally occurring. This is a disaster at that site. I am happy that we do have experts now stepping up to address it and I do thank you for your efforts.”

Commission president Ernie VanGilder functioned as the public’s agent to the officials from the EPA, DEP, DHHR and Homeland Security, asking directly when the site would be secured. Wagner said the bidding process will close Thursday. She said she’ll be able to report what the results are by next week.

In other commission business, Mike Rohaly finally received funding from the Marion County Commission. The commission voted to provide $5,000 for his mine simulator. It’s a big step for Rohaly, who said the neighboring county commissions have been in a holding pattern, waiting to see if MCC will open its coffers for his project. It’s been roughly four months since he began the process with Marion County. He hopes this will start a domino effect.

The commission also provided roughly $31,000 to the Ministers Run Water Association out of the county’s ARPA funds. The next meeting is November 8, 2023.

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SEE ALSO: Fairmont Brine Processing Plant ~ EPA begins sealing off what’s been dubbed ‘Fairmont’s Chernobyl’ ~ Esteban Fernandez | Times West Virginian, October 20, 2023

Flaring natural gas is routine in the Bakken region of North Dakota

From an Article by Brett Wilkins, Commons Dreams, October 11, 2023

The IEA report “discredits any attempt to use methane reduction efforts as an excuse to further permit fossil fuel expansion.”

The IEA report states that “immediate reductions in methane emissions are needed to limit warming to 1.5°C,” the more ambitious objective of the Paris agreement.

As the International Energy Agency released a report warning that immediate cuts to methane gas pollution caused by fossil fuel production are critical for averting climate catastrophe, an environmental advocacy group on Wednesday said the IEA publication gives U.S. President Joe Biden “sufficient justification to declare a climate emergency.”

Methane — which has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere — is emitted during the production and transportation of oil, gas, and coal, as well as from municipal landfills and livestock.

The report continues: Rapid cuts in methane emissions from fossil fuels through targeted abatement measures — alongside deep cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions — are essential to achieve global climate targets. Without targeted action on methane, even with deep reductions in fossil fuel use, the increase in the global average surface temperature will likely exceed 1.6°C by 2050.

Responding to the report, Lauren Pagel, policy director at Earthworks, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental nonprofit, said in a statement that “the IEA says what Earthworks has long known: Preventing climate catastrophe requires the world to stop fossil fuel expansion and to do everything we can right now to cut methane gas pollution.”

“In order to right historical injustices for those who have disproportionately experienced the harms of extraction — Indigenous and Black and Latino and poorer white communities in the U.S., specifically — we must aggressively and immediately cut pollution and manage the decline of the fossil fuel industry,” she continued.

“This report discredits any attempt to use methane reduction efforts as an excuse to further permit fossil fuel expansion,” Pagel added. “It also gives President Biden sufficient justification to declare a climate emergency and steer the U.S. toward a sustainable, just energy future.”

Declaring a climate emergency unlocks certain executive powers that the Biden administration could use the battle the crisis without congressional action. While Biden said in August that he has “practically” declared a climate emergency, campaigners note that his administration has approved more new permits for fossil fuel drilling on public lands during his first two years in office than former President Donald Trump did in 2017 and 2018.

The Biden administration has also held a massive fossil fuel lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, approved the highly controversial Willow project and Mountain Valley Pipeline, and increased liquefied natural gas production and export.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have also urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen and expand a draft rule on methane reduction. The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by Biden last year provides hundreds of millions of dollars for reducing methane emissions.

On Wednesday, climate activists confronted U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his department’s approval of the Sea Port and GulfLink oil terminals along the Texas Gulf Coast.

According to the new IEA report, the good news is that “more than 75% of methane emissions from oil and gas operations and half of emissions from coal today can be abated with existing technology, often at low cost. The oil and gas sector has the greatest share of ready-to-implement and cost-effective technical opportunities to reduce methane emissions.”

However, as the IEA’s Global Methane Tracker shows, the energy industry worldwide spewed 135 million tons of the potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere last year, just short of a record set in 2019.

“Reducing methane emissions from the energy sector is one of the best — and most affordable — opportunities to limit global warming in the near term,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement. “Early actions by governments and industry to drive down methane emissions need to go hand-in-hand with reductions in fossil fuel demand and CO2 emissions.”

Carbon capture is bad climate policy

From the Article by Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch, September 1, 2023

White House officials and Democratic lawmakers spent weeks celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, a legislative package that has been dubbed the most ambitious climate legislation of all time. While that is technically correct — it’s a low bar to meet — the political and practical benefits of the law are hard to spot. In addition, there will be more trouble ahead due to an over-reliance on so-called ‘carbon capture’ technologies.

Recent polls show the public knows very little about the Inflation Reduction Act, and President Biden gets low marks on climate — an issue he has repeatedly called an existential threat. Beyond sheer partisanship, there are some possible explanations for the muted public reaction; the law’s clunky name does not exactly create a sense of bold action, and the mixed messages sent by the administration undermines any sense of urgency. Lastly, a brutal summer of heat waves and extreme weather are yet another reminder that things are, to put it mildly, not going well.

Perceptions of the law might be difficult to change for some fundamental reasons; the majority of the funding goes towards tax credits that will matter a great deal to some businesses and households, but will mean little to those not enjoying the benefits firsthand. The clean energy industry appears poised to grow in the years to come, but whether the public connects that to changes in the tax code will depend on the administration’s political skills.

Meanwhile, those who pay close attention to climate policy — especially young activists — remain frustrated by the Biden administration’s real world record. The White House has approved several major new fossil fuel projects, including the massive WIllow oil drilling scheme in Alaska. These critics argue that creating substantial new sources of climate pollution undercuts the projected emissions reductions that might come from the growth in clean energy sources.

This tension is not going away anytime soon. Bowing to demands from fossil fuel-friendly Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the Inflation Reduction Act actually requires the government to lease oil and gas drilling rights on public lands and waters alongside the approval of wind and solar projects — an absurd and self-defeating ‘balancing act.’

So how will the Inflation Reduction Act aim to live up to the climate hype? Some of its impact rests on major corporate tax giveaways for capturing carbon emissions from power plants and other industrial facilities. On its face, this sounds ingenuous; who wouldn’t want to eliminate pollution before it enters the atmosphere?

In reality, though, carbon capture has proven to be a massive failure. The vision of equipping coal and fracked gas power plants with capture technology has more or less disappeared after billions of dollars and precious years were wasted. There are a small handful of projects which re-use the carbon to extract more oil from existing wells — hardly a climate solution.

It is not a surprise, then, that polluting industries have been relatively happy with the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s a classic ‘heads, we win, tails you lose’ proposition: Industries can rake in billions of dollars while their core business model remains basically unaffected. There is precious little public information about how existing carbon capture tax credits work; the federal government will not publicly identify the recipients, and there appears to be little accountability for actually demonstrating the effectiveness of storing the carbon waste.

The Biden administration’s embrace of carbon capture goes beyond the Inflation Reduction Act; in May, the Environmental Protection Agency announced draft power plant rules that would essentially require capture technology at many coal and gas facilities. After years of industry touting the benefits of carbon capture, major utility companies are now complaining that the technology is simply not feasible. And they might have a point.

When he was running for office, President Biden made bold climate declarations — including an unambiguous promise to stop fracking on public lands. Unfortunately, there has been little follow through on those pledges. If the White House wants to show it means what it says about the climate crisis — and attract young, highly motivated voters willing to fight to protect a livable future — then it must do more than rely on market mechanisms and failed techno fixes.

>> Wenonah Hauter is the founder and executive director of the national advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

It’s shocking that all the records are being broken in this decade!

From the Article by Scott Dance, Washington Post, September 15, 2023

There’s now a greater than 93 percent chance 2023 will surpass 2016 as the planet’s warmest year. After a record-hot stretch around the globe this summer, it appears all but certain: 2023 will surpass 2016 as Earth’s warmest year on record.

Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calculate that there’s a 93.42 percent chance that 2023 will become the hottest year according to a monthly climate report released Thursday. That percentage is nearly double what was estimated a month earlier (46.82 percent) and a whopping 86 percentage points higher than the beginning of the year projection (6.9 percent).

The calculation — with four months remaining in the year — underscores how dramatically observations of global air and ocean temperatures and ice extent have diverged from anything scientists have previously witnessed, or that they would have predicted at the start of the year.

Signs of unusual warmth began to appear in early spring, and the trend has not wavered since. July was the planet’s hottest single month on record, with possibly its most extreme sustained warmth in 125,000 years.

The three months from June through August were the globe’s hottest in 174 years of record keeping, 0.43 degrees (0.24 degrees Celsius) above the previous record and 2.07 degrees (1.15 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century average for Northern Hemisphere summer, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

That affirms estimates European Union scientists released last week, declaring a record-warm summer “by a large margin.” Deke Arndt, the NOAA centers’ director, shared the report on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) with an unusual declaration. “I’m rarely stunned by our findings,” he wrote. “Yesterday when the climate monitoring team briefed this, it took me five minutes just to process the magnitude.”

A new global temperature record began to appear possible when the climate pattern El Niño emerged in June — but scientists thought it would come in 2024. El Niño is associated with warmer-than-normal surface waters in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, and is known for heating up the planet and fueling extreme weather.

A strong El Niño pattern that formed in 2015 and lasted into 2016 helped push the planet to record average warmth in 2016. But this year’s warming pattern has differed from the heat of 2016, said Robert Rohde, lead scientist for Berkeley Earth.

“Most of the time when you are building towards a new record, the weather is warm from the very start,” Rohde said in an email.” But this year, extreme temperatures did not emerge until June.

“That path towards record warmth is quite unusual,” Rohde said. Rohde and Berkeley Earth calculate there’s greater than a 99 percent chance that 2023 will be the warmest, a huge leap since the beginning of the year when they placed the odds at just 14 percent.

While El Niño may to some degree be responsible for the onset of this year’s warming, oceans are record-hot far beyond the epicenter of the El Niño pattern in the Pacific.

Heat in the Atlantic basin caused disastrous bleaching of Florida coral reefs and has aided the rapid intensification of hurricanes. Around Antarctica, during Southern Hemisphere winter, sea ice cover reached a maximum far smaller than any scientists have observed before.

Arndt noted that while some might seek to dismiss new extremes in a record book that goes back 174 years as “a blip in geological time,” he stressed they are nonetheless exceptional.

“Fact is, they are the most important, vital 174 yrs in the history of humanity’s relationship with the Earth system, when almost everything we know about agriculture and infrastructure was found or refined,” he wrote on X.

>>> Scott Dance is a reporter for The Washington Post covering extreme weather news and the intersections between weather, climate, society and the environment.

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Extreme Weather, September 14, 2023

What this month’s deadly floods tell us about our global climate future. The globe’s remarkable warmth — especially of its oceans, most of which have been running several degrees warmer than normal for months — served as a backdrop for all of the floods.

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NOTE ~ This Year 2023 Likely to be Hottest Year on Record. Phys.org

The average global temperature in June, July and August was 16.77 degrees Celsius, smashing the previous 2019 record. 2023 is likely to be the hottest year in human history, and global temperatures during the Northern Hemisphere summer were the warmest on record, the EU climate monitor said on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.