The Catalyst
~Stirring the pot to cook up change
Transition Fidalgo & Friends E-Newsletter March 2014
Thought for the month: "We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives, so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption that what is good for the world will be good for us." Wendell Berry
CLIMATE CHANGE
Ocean Acidification off B.C. Coast May Be Causing Massive Shellfish Die-off: As oceans take up more and more carbon dioxide, their acidic level rises, making it difficult for marine organisms to form shells. Local oyster farms such as Taylor's Shellfish are already dealing with the problem; now it's happening to the north, although the cause there is still unknown. But ocean acidification is the main suspect. The Vancouver Aquarium has been tracking the "souring" of the water, and its records show a rising acidity in Vancouver’s harbor. The CEO of Island Scallops, whose business has lost 10 million scallops over the past two years, has tracked pH levels closely and is convinced an increasingly acidic ocean is the cause. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/mystery-surrounds-massive-die-off-of-oysters-and-scallops-off-bc-coast/article17156108/
Climate Change Document Lays It Out Clearly: Experts know that human activity is changing the global climate, even though they don't fully understand every detail of that process, according to a new report by two of the world's leading scientific bodies. Climate Change: Evidence and Causes, from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the U.K.'s Royal Society, is easy to read (in fact, a "breakthrough in readability") and heavily illustrated to explain what you need to know about climate change. The bulk of the document is a 20-part series of questions that range from the basic "Is the climate warming?" – Answer: Yes – to the thornier "Does the recent slowdown of warming mean that climate change is no longer happening?" – Answer: No, blame the slowdown on interactions between the ocean and atmosphere, quiet solar activity and an increase in sunlight-reflecting particles. Read it here: http://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/events/a-discussion-on-climate-change-evidence-and-causes
Volcanoes Contribute to Global Warming Slowdown: Volcanic eruptions help explain a hiatus in global warming this century by dimming sunlight and stalling a record-high rise in heat-trapping emissions, according to a recent study in the journal Nature GeoScience. Eruptions of at least 17 volcanoes since 2000 ejected sulfur, which had a sun-blocking effect largely ignored by scientists until now. (A study by the IPCC last year suggested that an extra uptake of heat by the oceans also helps explain the warming slowdown.) http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/volcanoes-contributing-to-hiatus-in-global-warming-study-20140224-33b3h.html#ixzz2uHhFjsDU
Fungus Affects Carbon Content of Soil: Most of the planet’s carbon isn't in the forests or the atmosphere but in the soil under our feet. Just how much is stored there is determined largely by what sort of fungi live in the roots of plants and trees. Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and Boston University report in the journal Nature that carbon storage in soils is influenced by the mycorrhizal fungi that live in symbiotic relationships with plants. http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/2014/01/fungus-governs-soils-carbon-content/
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Renewable Energy Provided 99% of New U.S. Power Generation in January: That's according to new data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Solar energy crushed all competitors with 287 MW installed in January. Geothermal steam projects accounted for 30 MW, while wind came in third at 4 MW. Coal, natural gas, nuclear and oil combined for zero units and zero installed capacity. http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/24/renewable-energy-99-percent
Wind Power: Mark Jacobson, an engineer at Stanford University, presented his study, "We Can Run the World's Energy on Wind Power," at the AAAS 2014 Annual Meeting. Jacobson and his team at The Solutions Project think it's feasible to run the U.S. completely on wind, water, and solar, and have created interactive energy maps for each state which can be accessed at http://thesolutionsproject.org. Aside from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Jacobson notes that offshore wind turbines could dissipate the impacts of a hurricane by reducing up to 80% of the storm surge.
Wave Power: Constantly churning oceans offer an inexhaustible source of clean energy. The world's largest wave-energy project off Australia's coast will use buoys to convert the sea's waves into enough energy to power 10,000 homes, according to partners Lockheed Martin and Victorian Wave Partners Ltd. But the Aussie buoys are just a drop in the ocean for wave power potential. The amount of recoverable energy embedded along the U.S. continental shelf, for example, amounts to almost a third of all the electricity the country uses in one year, according to estimates from the Electric Power Research Institute. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/02/140220-five-striking-wave-and-tidal-energy-concepts/
FOSSIL FUEL-ISH
Landowners Fight - and Win - Eminent Domain Case, Stopping Keystone Pipeline in Nebraska: A recent ruling by a judge in Lincoln, Nebraska found unconstitutional a law signed by Gov. Heineman amending state pipeline laws to clear the way for the Keystone XL pipeline by the power of eminent domain. Three Nebraska landowners challenged that law. The judge ruled that Heineman lacked the authority to approve a route through the state, which he did in January, and issued a permanent injunction preventing any further action to authorize or advance the Keystone XL. Striking approval to let the controversial pipeline stretch across Nebraska may postpone the ultimate decision on the project for months or years. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2014/0220/Did-go-slow-approach-on-Keystone-XL-pipeline-just-get-slower-video
"Power Shouldn't Be Poisonous": On Feb. 20, the Environment America Research & Policy Center and its state affiliates delivered letters from over 1000 doctors, nurses and other health professionals to President Obama and state decision-makers urging a halt to fracking, due to the overwhelming threats to public health. Fracking is expanding rapidly across the country, and there is a growing number of documented cases of people suffering acute and chronic health effects while living near fracking operations, including nausea, rashes, dizziness, headaches and nose bleeds. “Fracking harms health in many ways: releasing toxic gases, contaminating huge amounts of water, and contributing heavily to climate change. As a nation, we should develop clean renewable energy instead,” said Dr. Catherine Thomasson, director of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “Generating electricity shouldn’t be a source of illness; power shouldn’t be poisonous.” http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/20/health-professionals-call-obama-halt-fracking/
TAKE ACTION!
Speak Out on Keystone Pipeline: According to the U.S. State Department, a 30-day comment period on its environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline ends March 7. Right now, corporate front groups are "robocalling" thousands of Americans, using pre-recorded, misleading talking points to solicit comments supporting the pipeline. This is one of those times where numbers are critical to counter the onslaught. A flood of comments is needed to show the President that there’s a huge risk, politically and scientifically, to approving the pipeline. Go to act.350.org/letter/kxl-feis/ to comment. You could even quote the President, who has said, “Frankly [climate change] has to affect all of our decisions at this stage, because the science is irrefutable. We are already seeing severe weather patterns increase. It has consequences for our businesses, for our jobs, for our families, for safety and security. It has the potential of displacing people in ways that we cannot currently fully anticipate.”
Support EPA Regulation of Power Plants: Most people don't know that carbon pollution from power plants is entirely unregulated and it's costing us dearly. The EPA is currently collecting public comments on their carbon pollution standards for new power plants and needs to hear that the public supports strong carbon pollution regs and the rule to limit carbon pollution from new power plants. Go to http://forms.climaterealityproject.org/page/s/make-carbon-history-for-children?utm_source=EPAemail3&utm_campaign=PeopleVsCarbon&utm_medium=Email
DEPT. OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Energy Visionary Amory Lovins Sees a Renewable Revolution: Last year energy analyst Lovins harvested from his small garden more than 30 pounds of bananas, along with guava, mango, papaya, loquat, passion and other exotic fruit. Nothing remarkable in that, except that the chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) doesn't live in the tropics but in an unheated house 6500 feet up a mountain near Aspen, Colorado, where the temperature falls to -44C. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/17/amory-lovins-renewable-energy
Seven Inspiring Interviews of 2013: Learn more about the folks who are leading the efforts to protect our planet. Check out these not-to-be-missed interviews of 2013 for inspiration in the days ahead. http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/26/best-interviews-2013/
Transition Fidalgo & Friends
Growing a resilient community with a reduced reliance on fossil fuels
transitionfidalgo.org
Find us on Facebook
~Stirring the pot to cook up change
Transition Fidalgo & Friends E-Newsletter March 2014
Thought for the month: "We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives, so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption that what is good for the world will be good for us." Wendell Berry
CLIMATE CHANGE
Ocean Acidification off B.C. Coast May Be Causing Massive Shellfish Die-off: As oceans take up more and more carbon dioxide, their acidic level rises, making it difficult for marine organisms to form shells. Local oyster farms such as Taylor's Shellfish are already dealing with the problem; now it's happening to the north, although the cause there is still unknown. But ocean acidification is the main suspect. The Vancouver Aquarium has been tracking the "souring" of the water, and its records show a rising acidity in Vancouver’s harbor. The CEO of Island Scallops, whose business has lost 10 million scallops over the past two years, has tracked pH levels closely and is convinced an increasingly acidic ocean is the cause. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/mystery-surrounds-massive-die-off-of-oysters-and-scallops-off-bc-coast/article17156108/
Climate Change Document Lays It Out Clearly: Experts know that human activity is changing the global climate, even though they don't fully understand every detail of that process, according to a new report by two of the world's leading scientific bodies. Climate Change: Evidence and Causes, from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the U.K.'s Royal Society, is easy to read (in fact, a "breakthrough in readability") and heavily illustrated to explain what you need to know about climate change. The bulk of the document is a 20-part series of questions that range from the basic "Is the climate warming?" – Answer: Yes – to the thornier "Does the recent slowdown of warming mean that climate change is no longer happening?" – Answer: No, blame the slowdown on interactions between the ocean and atmosphere, quiet solar activity and an increase in sunlight-reflecting particles. Read it here: http://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/events/a-discussion-on-climate-change-evidence-and-causes
Volcanoes Contribute to Global Warming Slowdown: Volcanic eruptions help explain a hiatus in global warming this century by dimming sunlight and stalling a record-high rise in heat-trapping emissions, according to a recent study in the journal Nature GeoScience. Eruptions of at least 17 volcanoes since 2000 ejected sulfur, which had a sun-blocking effect largely ignored by scientists until now. (A study by the IPCC last year suggested that an extra uptake of heat by the oceans also helps explain the warming slowdown.) http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/volcanoes-contributing-to-hiatus-in-global-warming-study-20140224-33b3h.html#ixzz2uHhFjsDU
Fungus Affects Carbon Content of Soil: Most of the planet’s carbon isn't in the forests or the atmosphere but in the soil under our feet. Just how much is stored there is determined largely by what sort of fungi live in the roots of plants and trees. Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and Boston University report in the journal Nature that carbon storage in soils is influenced by the mycorrhizal fungi that live in symbiotic relationships with plants. http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/2014/01/fungus-governs-soils-carbon-content/
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Renewable Energy Provided 99% of New U.S. Power Generation in January: That's according to new data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Solar energy crushed all competitors with 287 MW installed in January. Geothermal steam projects accounted for 30 MW, while wind came in third at 4 MW. Coal, natural gas, nuclear and oil combined for zero units and zero installed capacity. http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/24/renewable-energy-99-percent
Wind Power: Mark Jacobson, an engineer at Stanford University, presented his study, "We Can Run the World's Energy on Wind Power," at the AAAS 2014 Annual Meeting. Jacobson and his team at The Solutions Project think it's feasible to run the U.S. completely on wind, water, and solar, and have created interactive energy maps for each state which can be accessed at http://thesolutionsproject.org. Aside from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Jacobson notes that offshore wind turbines could dissipate the impacts of a hurricane by reducing up to 80% of the storm surge.
Wave Power: Constantly churning oceans offer an inexhaustible source of clean energy. The world's largest wave-energy project off Australia's coast will use buoys to convert the sea's waves into enough energy to power 10,000 homes, according to partners Lockheed Martin and Victorian Wave Partners Ltd. But the Aussie buoys are just a drop in the ocean for wave power potential. The amount of recoverable energy embedded along the U.S. continental shelf, for example, amounts to almost a third of all the electricity the country uses in one year, according to estimates from the Electric Power Research Institute. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/02/140220-five-striking-wave-and-tidal-energy-concepts/
FOSSIL FUEL-ISH
Landowners Fight - and Win - Eminent Domain Case, Stopping Keystone Pipeline in Nebraska: A recent ruling by a judge in Lincoln, Nebraska found unconstitutional a law signed by Gov. Heineman amending state pipeline laws to clear the way for the Keystone XL pipeline by the power of eminent domain. Three Nebraska landowners challenged that law. The judge ruled that Heineman lacked the authority to approve a route through the state, which he did in January, and issued a permanent injunction preventing any further action to authorize or advance the Keystone XL. Striking approval to let the controversial pipeline stretch across Nebraska may postpone the ultimate decision on the project for months or years. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2014/0220/Did-go-slow-approach-on-Keystone-XL-pipeline-just-get-slower-video
"Power Shouldn't Be Poisonous": On Feb. 20, the Environment America Research & Policy Center and its state affiliates delivered letters from over 1000 doctors, nurses and other health professionals to President Obama and state decision-makers urging a halt to fracking, due to the overwhelming threats to public health. Fracking is expanding rapidly across the country, and there is a growing number of documented cases of people suffering acute and chronic health effects while living near fracking operations, including nausea, rashes, dizziness, headaches and nose bleeds. “Fracking harms health in many ways: releasing toxic gases, contaminating huge amounts of water, and contributing heavily to climate change. As a nation, we should develop clean renewable energy instead,” said Dr. Catherine Thomasson, director of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “Generating electricity shouldn’t be a source of illness; power shouldn’t be poisonous.” http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/20/health-professionals-call-obama-halt-fracking/
TAKE ACTION!
Speak Out on Keystone Pipeline: According to the U.S. State Department, a 30-day comment period on its environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline ends March 7. Right now, corporate front groups are "robocalling" thousands of Americans, using pre-recorded, misleading talking points to solicit comments supporting the pipeline. This is one of those times where numbers are critical to counter the onslaught. A flood of comments is needed to show the President that there’s a huge risk, politically and scientifically, to approving the pipeline. Go to act.350.org/letter/kxl-feis/ to comment. You could even quote the President, who has said, “Frankly [climate change] has to affect all of our decisions at this stage, because the science is irrefutable. We are already seeing severe weather patterns increase. It has consequences for our businesses, for our jobs, for our families, for safety and security. It has the potential of displacing people in ways that we cannot currently fully anticipate.”
Support EPA Regulation of Power Plants: Most people don't know that carbon pollution from power plants is entirely unregulated and it's costing us dearly. The EPA is currently collecting public comments on their carbon pollution standards for new power plants and needs to hear that the public supports strong carbon pollution regs and the rule to limit carbon pollution from new power plants. Go to http://forms.climaterealityproject.org/page/s/make-carbon-history-for-children?utm_source=EPAemail3&utm_campaign=PeopleVsCarbon&utm_medium=Email
DEPT. OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Energy Visionary Amory Lovins Sees a Renewable Revolution: Last year energy analyst Lovins harvested from his small garden more than 30 pounds of bananas, along with guava, mango, papaya, loquat, passion and other exotic fruit. Nothing remarkable in that, except that the chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) doesn't live in the tropics but in an unheated house 6500 feet up a mountain near Aspen, Colorado, where the temperature falls to -44C. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/17/amory-lovins-renewable-energy
Seven Inspiring Interviews of 2013: Learn more about the folks who are leading the efforts to protect our planet. Check out these not-to-be-missed interviews of 2013 for inspiration in the days ahead. http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/26/best-interviews-2013/
Transition Fidalgo & Friends
Growing a resilient community with a reduced reliance on fossil fuels
transitionfidalgo.org
Find us on Facebook
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