Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) usually appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the December 14 Green Spotlight. More than 26,140 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
Lefty Coaster writes—I just returned about a meeting about water the Navy contaminated in MY NEIGHBORHOOD: “I just returned about a meeting about water the Navy contaminated in MY NEIGHBORHOOD. The meeting held at the Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship near Coupeville was filled to overflowing Fortunately for me my community well happens to test negative for PFAs. The Navy is doing everything to it can to keep this out of the news, only disclosing the information at a little attended public meeting supposedly about restoration. All so more people don’t ask to have their wells tested. You see the Navy wants to expand operations at their Outlying Field (the one contaminated site of 340 possible contamination sites the Navy has identified here on my island), along with expanding the earsplitting noise their flights inflict on my neighborhood. The Navy is determined to go ahead with the expanded operations despite the vocal opposition from many of the field’s neighbors, who came together to form CORE.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
The author’s favorite rock pile
fll7612 writes—The Daily Bucket: Gentle shades of umber: “The granitic rock formations in the photograph began life underground as molten magma. Eventually horizontal and vertical cracks developed, groundwater weathered the edges of the granite blocks and eventually eroded much of the surface soil, leaving formations like these for people like me to gawk at. Geologic wonders are commonplace in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains of California, where the photograph above was taken. I fell in love with these mountains many years ago, they became my retreat when life in Los Angeles was just too stressful. Just a fifteen or twenty minute drive from Palm Desert and you could achieve complete tranquility.”
Owktree writes—Daily Bucket: A Walk Along Wrightsville Beach: “A quick weekend visit was made to the Wilmington, NC area. Since we were staying right on Wrightsville Beach my brother and I took a walk along part of it on Saturday morning. Weather was about 35F outside, but fairly calm in terms of wind and waves. On the east side is the beach directly on the Atlantic Ocean since this is a barrier island. As you go around the northern end the sand converts over to mud and the west side of the island is a salt marsh. Most of the northern end is cordoned off as a wildlife forage and refuge area by the local township.Lots of gulls about. Readily identified some Ring-bills and also Laughing Gulls. The latter are a little harder to ID when not in breeding plumage with the black head.”
Angmar writes—The Daily Bucket: Autumn in California and Anza-Borrego desert state park: Photo Diary.
CLIMATE CHAOS
Tsultrim writes—AZ Scientist Gives Planet 10 Years: What to do now: “Guy McPherson, biology professor emeritus from the University of Arizona, predicts that humans will largely be gone in ten years. Putting together all the different aspects of global warming—methane wells, melting ice, acidification of oceans, soil microbe change, temperature changes, sea rise, CO2 pollution, and so on—McPherson believes the planet won’t sustain human life much longer, possibly less than ten years, in fact. Here’s a link to an interview (video interview is at the bottom of the article) with him at Newshub in, I believe, Australia: What to do? Many scientists assert we should not stop trying to ameliorate the effects of global warming saying that anything we can do will be better than nothing. McPherson is taking the approach that we are so far gone into mass extinction and warming that we should spend our time doing what we love, loving others, and generally appreciating life to the fullest the best we can. He counsels not to get caught up in hope and fear, hope being the most insidious as it will lead to dashed expectations and disappointment.”
Pakalolo writes—E Antarctica ice shelves are very sensitive to climate change-Mystery crater indicates vulnerability: “Researchers from the KU Leuven or University of Leuven, a Dutch-speaking university in Leuven, Flanders, Belgium, have concluded that East Antarctica is now considered vulnerable to climate change. What they discovered is that the East Antarctic ice sheet once thought to be highly stable, now melts due to a strong wind that brings warm air and blows away the snow leaving dark blue ice to absorb more solar heat and melting the ice sheet surface. Ku Leuven University reports: Through a unique combination of field work, satellite data and a climate model, the researchers were able to explain why some parts of the East Antarctica ice shelves are melting so rapidly. This is because the strong and persistent wind transports warm, dry air to the region, and blows away the snow. This darkens the surface, which subsequently absorbs more of the sun’s heat. The result is a local warmer microclimate with a few literal ‘hotspots’. Because the ice shelf is floating in the ocean, its melting does not immediately contribute to sea level rise. However, the ice shelves around Antarctica are extremely important for ice sheet stability, because they hold back the land ice. If the ice shelves collapse, this land ice ends up in the ocean and consequently sea level will rise.”
m2c4 writes—Climate Scientists Desperately Try To Preserve Data From Trump's Climate Change Deniers: “Climate scientists, already unnerved by the election of Donald Trump, have only had their paranoia about the future increase during the Trump transition. Trump's proposed cabinet is full of climate change-denying big oil plutocrats and his transition team has asked for the names of the people in the Energy Department who had worked on climate science. Now those scientists are apparently feverishly trying to move climate data onto to non-government servers in order to make sure the data is retained. The scientists have reason to be overly sensitive as they have been the target of Republican attacks and even harassment by GOP controlled congressional committees in the past.”
committed writes—scientists thought the world was flat and the center of the universe? “...according to the trumpites, who claim other nonsense as well. A member of President-elect Donald Trump’s Donald Trump’s transition team said Wednesday that the scientific community gets “a lot of things wrong” while discussing climate change. Anthony Scaramucci spoke to CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day” about the Trump transition’s team to attempt to get the names of current federal government employees who worked on climate change programs. The Energy department rejected the request on Tuesday. [...] ‘There was overwhelming science that the earth was flat and there was an overwhelming science that we were the center of the world,’ Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, continued. ‘We get a lot of things wrong in the scientific community.’”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Daily Caller Chides Breitbart, Because Fake News Competition is Fierce: “For another example, see the Bastasch piece on the recent claim from Team Trump that we should doubt the consensus on climate science because at one point there was consensus that the Earth is flat, and because “people have gotten things wrong throughout the 5,500-year history of our planet.” The post is just quotes from other coverage, with a few links to past instances of the term tacked on at the end. While this sort of aggregation is, sadly, increasingly common even among legitimate news sources, it bears mention here as yet another instance of low-quality reporting. Really, though, we just want an excuse to point out that the idea that we once all bought into the Flat Earth theory is itself actually a myth. Yes, you read that right. The idea that scientists once thought the Earth to be flat is a myth that was propagated by those who opposed to catholic schooling. They (falsely) claimed that religious scholars used to believe the Earth was flat, so now we shouldn’t trust them. This means the current comment by Trump’s advisor who buys into young Earth creationism was an attempt to turn the public against science by using a myth popularized as an attack against religious scholars, the sort who now propagate young Earth creationism.”
lgordindk writes—CLIMATE CHANGE & TRUMP: “Donald Trump has been accused of being inconsistent. But his cabinet choices and aides appear very consistent. He is surrounding himself with greedy selfish wealthy people who deny the existence of any facts and views which are not in line with their beliefs. His chief advisor is a neo-nazi bigot supported by the KKK. His choice to head the EPA is a climate denier who wants to do away with the EPA; and so on down the line. His choice for Secretary Of State is the CEO of Exxon-Mobil and friend of Putin and Russia.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
DRo writes—Corpus Christi officials: Don't drink or use tap water: ”Developing Story—‘Only bottled water should be used for all drinking, beverage and food preparation (including baby formula and juice), making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes or clothes, washing hands, and bathing until further notice,’ the release states. The City of Corpus Christi has issued a ‘Discontinue Tap Water’ notification. Due to an unknown chemical substance contaminating the drinking water in the city, officials are urging residents to discontinue use of all tap water supplies until further notice. City officials say the case can be traced to a recent backflow incident in the industrial district. Only bottled water should be used for all drinking, beverage, and food preparation. Boiling, freezing, filtering, adding chlorine, or other disinfectants or letting the water stand will not make the water safe to drink.”
Dan Bacher writes—Reclamation will increase releases into American River to 35,000 cfs: “As a big Pacific storm was slated to drench northern California, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced today it will increase water releases to the American River below Nimbus Dam on Dec. 15 at 9 a.m. from 15,000 cubic feet per second to reach 35,000 cfs by 1 p.m. This is the largest increase in releases in one day in many years, at least since 2011. Peggy Manza of Reclamation said the purpose of the increased releases was for “storage management/flood control.’ ‘Please route any release in excess of Power Plant capacity through the river outlets,’ she said in a memo. ‘Should inflows continue at current levels or increase, additional releases may be required,’ noted Shane Hunt, Reclamation spokesman, in a news release.”
Dan Bacher writes—Restore the Delta presents case against twin tunnels permit & for increased flows: “Earlier this year, thousands of Restore the Delta supporters signed a petition urging the State Water Resources Control Board to update outdated water quality standards for the Bay-Delta region. Now we need your action in person! This outdated 20-year-old Water Quality Control Plan allows more than half the water needed for the delta’s ecological health to be diverted away for unsustainable Big Agriculture on the west and south San Joaquin Valley. The State Water Resources Control Board is currently in Phase I of updating the plan. We need to make sure that the State Water Board gets it right and is not influenced by special interests. New water quality standards that truly protect communities and species is a proactive step that helps ensure reliable water supplies for all water users of the Bay-Delta. Learn more about water quality here.”
Dan Bacher writes—President Obama Signs Water Bill With Big Ag 'Poison Pill' Rider: “In a slap in the face to fishermen, Tribes, environmental justice advocates, conservationists and family farmers, President Obama today signed the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act into law with its environmentally destructive Big Ag rider sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The controversial rider in the bill, opposed by Senator Barbara Boxer, taints an otherwise good bill that sponsors water projects across the nation. The last minute rider, requested by corporate agribusiness interests, allows San Joaquin Valley growers and Southern California water agencies to pump more water out of the Delta, driving Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish species closer and closer to extinction, according to Delta advocates. The bill, also known as the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, authorizes water projects across the country to restore watersheds, improve waterways and flood control, and improve drinking water infrastructure, according to President Obama in his signing statement. The law also authorizes $170 million for communities facing drinking water emergencies, including funding for Flint, Michigan, to recover from the lead contamination in its drinking water system.”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
Walter Brasch writes—Trumping the Environment: “Trump wants to make desalination of ocean water more affordable and has presented some environmentally-friendly proposals, but his overall environmental policy diminishes in comparison to that of Clinton and most environmentalists. The incoming president’s environment record is “one of the most stridently anti-environment platforms of any recent major party nominee,” according to the 2.4 million member Natural Resources Development Council.”
Michael Brune writes—America, Don't Be Fooled: Donald Trump Knows What He's Doing: “When pressed on climate change during a meeting with the New York Times, Trump said he intended to keep “an open mind” on the Paris Climate Accord. Meanwhile, his daughter Ivanka supposedly let it be known that she wanted to make climate change her “signature issue.” Might a Trump administration actually work with climate activists to find common ground? Who wouldn’t want to believe that? And yet it all turned out to be misdirection. One after another, every important climate position in Trump’s cabinet has gotten an extreme anti-environmental, climate-denying nominee. [...] This is a Koch brothers dream team: Not one of these men accepts the scientific consensus behind climate change. To a man, they are boosters of polluting fossil fuels.”
Michael T. Klare writes—Donald Trump's Energy Nostalgia and the Path to Hell: “...stop thinking of Trump’s energy policy as primarily aimed at helping the fossil fuel companies (although some will surely benefit). Think of it instead as a nostalgic compulsion aimed at restoring a long-vanished America in which coal plants, steel mills, and gas-guzzling automobiles were the designated indicators of progress, while concern over pollution -- let alone climate change -- was yet to be an issue. If you want confirmation that such a devastating version of nostalgia makes up the heart and soul of Trump’s energy agenda, don’t focus on his specific proposals or any particular combination of them. Look instead at his choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state and former Governor Rick Perry from oil-soaked Texas as his secretary of energy, not to mention the carbon-embracing fervor that ran through his campaign statements and positions. According to his election campaign website, his top priority will be to ‘unleash America’s $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, plus hundreds of years in clean coal reserves.’ In doing so, it affirmed, Trump would ‘open onshore and offshore leasing on federal lands, eliminate [the] moratorium on coal leasing, and open shale energy deposits.’ In the process, any rule or regulation that stands in the way of exploiting these reserves will be obliterated.”
Walter Einenkel writes—A Trump liar calls climate change witch hunt 'intellectual curiosity,' gets called 'ignorant': “Chris Cuomo had Anthony Scaramucci on this morning to discuss how full of shit Donald Trump is. Scaramucci is a part of Donald Trump’s transition team. As with anybody on Trump’s transition team who appears in interviews, Scaramucci’s job is to lie through his teeth and say ‘make America great again’ over and over until your mind is sufficiently mushy and exhausted. The first question Cuomo asked was: So why do you want the names of those who worked on global warming at the Department of Energy, is this a purge? If Joe Pesci were 20 years younger, Oliver Stone would cast him to play Scaramucci in some upcoming film. Pesci would be able to capture the playful sociopathy that Scaramucci exudes.”
Marty Essen writes—Let future generations know where to spit: “Donald Trump’s picks of Rex Tillerson, Scott Pruitt, Rick Perry, Jeff Sessions, and Ryan Zinke will make up what will undoubtedly be the most anti-environmental cabinet in American history. As someone who has fought for and actually values clean air, clean water, pristine places, unextinct species, and a planet that isn’t burning up, I find this distressing but not the least bit surprising. That Trump would become the ultimate planet killer was there for everyone to see—long before Election Day. Therefore, instead of getting more angry at Trump, I find myself getting more angry at those who voted for him. Sure they voted with the KKK and were the willfully ignorant pawns of Vladimir Putin, but even worse, these people actually voted against their children and grandchildren!”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Perry PR and Domench Denial Climb The Hill: “The Hill is a reliable publication for, as the name suggests, Congressionally-relevant news. Though not as nationally renowned as The Washington Post, robust as Politico, or as inside-Beltway as Roll Call, it’s a DC publication that nonetheless offers a lot of great content. Unfortunately, it also offers a lot of space to not-so-great content. While reporter Timothy Cama’s numerous pieces are always solid, the opinion section has a reputation for having a fairly low bar for entry. Case in point from the last couple days—Cama covers the DoE pushback, Zinke pick, and the prominence of oil allies in Trump’s cabinet. But on the opinion side, it’s published a couple of doozies. For example, yesterday we mentioned the Politico piece that asked if Rick Perry is dumb. Today we happened to come across his college transcript, which shows more D’s than A’s, suggesting an answer. In contrast to Politico’s in-depth reporting, The Hill published a fawning op-ed on Perry, and how great he’ll be for the Department of Energy. Putting aside the (poor) quality of its argument, it reads more like the sort of thing one might expect to receive from a flack at a sleazy PR shop than the careful analysis expected in a savvy political outlet.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
CanyonWren writes—Trump's Interior Pick Zinke: Avid Trophy Hunter, Liar, Opportunist, and Possible Traitor to Tribes: “Despite Outside Magazine's tepid support of Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke for Trump’s Secretary of the Interior pick, Native Americans tell another story. ‘Ryan Zinke has a dismal 3 percent lifetime environmental voting record (from League of Conservation Voters). His brief political career has been substantially devoted to attacking endangered species and the Endangered Species Act. He led efforts to strip federal protections for endangered wolves, lynx and sage grouse, voted to exempt massive agribusiness and water developers from Endangered Species Act limitations, and opposed efforts to crack down on the international black market ivory trade,’ says Kierán Suckling, Executive Director of the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). Suckling is referring to the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act. Under the ‘SHARE Act,’ Zinke supports aerial gunning, the baiting of grizzly bears and denning wolves on national wildlife refuges in Alaska, hunting with hounds, and the use of steel-jawed leg traps. Under SHARE, ‘sportsmen’ are able to import a limited number of polar bear carcasses and ivory from African elephants. Zinke, described by the NRA as an ‘avid’ trophy hunter, has introduced legislation to ‘block threats from anti-hunting groups’ that seek to limit hunting on federal lands, and when previously running for Lieutenant Governor, went on record to say that in respect to wildlife management, he took his lead from ‘ranchers and hunting guides across the state.’”
MorrellWI1983 writes—Bears Ears to become National Monument Next week: “After more than a year of debate, and waiting for Obama to make up his mind, the wait is almost over. Obama is expected to declare Bears Ears in Utah as his 29th monument next week. the usual suspects. Mike Lee and the Sutherland Institute are already complaining and threatening to work to overturn it. Newsflash, guys, once established, you can’t undo it save Congress acting, and any attempt to abolish the monument would run into a filibuster. This will be Obama’s second million-acre monument, (Mojave Trails) and his biggest to date (Monuments in ANWR, the Arctic and Bristol Bay would be many times bigger).”
ENERGY
Walter Einenkel writes—Trump's new Secretary of Energy is a paid member on the board of directors behind DAPL: “Mother Jones has a report today that former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Energy, has been and continues to be a paid member of the Energy Transfer Partners board of directors. Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) is the company best known for trying to build the Dakota Access Pipeline. Perry joined ETP in February 2015, shortly after he left the governor's office. As Mother Jones reported last summer, he kept his spot on the company's board even as he launched a presidential campaign. According to SEC filings, ETP paid Perry $236,820 in 2015. In the past, Perry's business entanglements would have represented an unusual conflict of interest for a presidential candidate, but in this election cycle, they were overshadowed by Trump's massive web of conflicts.”
Fossil Fuels
billofrights writes—Fracking & the Legacy of "coal company towns" in the 1870's: No more Extraction Regimes in MD: “Last night, December 15, 2016, the Mayor and City Council of Frostburg, in Allegany County, western mountain Maryland, voted unanimously to amend the city code to prohibit ‘the drilling and extraction of natural gas and oil, including, but not limited to, vertical, horizontal and directional drilling on and under the surface of land and hydraulic fracturing….on lands owned by the City...’ and to prohibit ‘Bulk water sales for natural gas and oil extraction...’ I thank them for their efforts. The passage of this ordinance caps six months of work by the citizens’ group Frack Free Frostburg (FFF) which gathered more than 700 resident signatures in favor of banning the practice here and statewide, as well as enlisting numerous businesses in the cause. [...] In Maryland, we are still waiting for an effort — and maybe this could be a Civilian Conservation Corps type effort done by law school students or trained retired personnel — a public interest project — to make mineral rights ownership as transparent as surface property rights. It will take a lot of time, and some training to dig this information out, but it is doable.”
Mark Sumner writes—United States of Oil—fossil fuels dominate the upcoming administration: “The new secretary of state? The CEO of ExxonMobil. The new head of the EPA? Part of a secretive alliance with fossil fuels companies. But those two are just the oily tip of the power oil, gas, and coal are building within the Trump administration. The oil, gas and coal industries are amassing power throughout Washington — from Foggy Bottom, where ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson is Trump’s nominee to be secretary of state, to domestic regulatory agencies including the departments of Energy and Interior as well as the Environmental Protection Agency. … A slew of Obama administration policies on fossil fuels are expected to be reversed after Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20. Eliminating these regulations — which limit carbon emissions on power plants and restrict oil, gas and coal extraction — would represent major gains for the industry. Don’t expect any of these changes to create jobs. Oil and gas prices are already so low that drilling companies are idle and 160 oil companies have filed for bankruptcy in the last year. Those low gas prices have closed 300 coal-burning power plants, so there’s not going to be any burst of work on that side of the line.”
Mark Sumner writes—Rex Tillerson: 'A Christmas gift to the Russian people': “The incoming secretary of state will have his own wealth connected directly to the future of ExxonMobil. A future that, in turn, is strongly connected to whether or not the US continues sanctions on Russia. Mr. Trump’s pick, Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, built his name on deals with Russia; President Vladimir Putin awarded him Russia’s Order of Friendship for his work here. He has opposed the sanctions imposed in response to Mr. Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and support for an antigovernment rebellion in eastern Ukraine. What’s an invasion and a few manufactured riots (especially when those riots were arranged by Trump campaign manager, Paul Manafort)? Lowering those sanctions could generate millions more for Tillerson, and half a trillion for Putin. It’s the kind of deal that apparently impressed Donald Trump.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
Walter Einenkel writes—United States' first offshore wind farm has begun operations: “The Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island, run by Deepwater Wind, began full operations this week. This makes it the first offshore wind farm in operation in the United States. Though the Block Island Wind Farm is small — made up of five turbines, which were built by a division of General Electric, and capable of powering about 17,000 homes — it is the first successful offshore wind development in the United States, and it sets up the possibility for offshore wind projects elsewhere along the coast. According to a spokeswoman for Deepwater Wind, about 90 percent of the island’s needs will be met by the wind-generated power, and more will go back to the grid. Current estimates are that the wind farm will supply 1 percent of the state’s electricity, the spokeswoman said. The wind farm is receiving a federal tax credit. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Donald Trump has “expressed skepticism of wind power,” according to The New York Times.”
Pipelines & Other Oil and Gas Transport
navajo writes—Lawyers needed for Standing Rock trials: “Lawyers for Standing Rock Water Protectors who have been arrested in North Dakota for their activist opposition to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through ancestral Sioux lands are pleading for more help because there aren’t enough attorneys to take their cases in trials that begin next week. From Think Progress: The Morton County Sheriff’s Department lists 264 people who have no lawyer at all, and the 265 people who have been assigned public defense attorneys aren’t receiving adequate counsel. In order to fix the problem, advocates from North Dakota and Minnesota are now trying to convince the North Dakota Supreme Court to give the green light to lawyers from other states — who have no license to practice in North Dakota — to come in and help. A group of 10 legal organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and lawyers from both states filed an official petition to the the court on Wednesday. [...] North Dakota State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson filed a motion against out-of-state lawyers whose consulting he claims are burdening the state’s legal system. He claims their strategy is to drain state resources and that the Water Protectors should be forced to foot the bill for their arrests and subsequent court appearances.”
e2247 writes—ND Supremes should allow Out-of-State Lawyers to Represent Water Protectors: “Acting Morton County State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson after he filed a motion to hold many Water Protectors liable to repay the state for their court appointed lawyers, while belittling and calling the Water Protectors ‘props’ and their movement a ‘protracted manufactured spectacular.’ The narrative he uses is just a pack of lies. In the motion for State of North Dakota -vs- Decker, et al. (11 defendants), Erickson tells the (state) court to view ‘Daniel Sheehan Interview on the Dakota Access Pipeline.’ By all means, do see noted civil rights attorney Sheehan who’s been at this work since before there was dirt in in all six videos currently up on YouTube! Then also please donate to the Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC), an initiative of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). ”
msjustice writes—The Day the Pipeline Came: A poem.
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Tropical milkweed
Kishik writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging 12.51 ~ You can't kill us...: ”As of 9 days ago, there were still blooming flowers in the yard. Fewer, but still blooming, and this even after two days of frost since the end of the official growing season. I mainly have kept the tropical milkweed in pots although I’ve found that it self-seeds in the garden easily and I get blooming plants by summer. This one is in the frontyard, kept warm by the morning sun. Silky Gold is especially prolific in self-seeding and grows rapidly enough to be treated as a self-seeding annual. I love plants that I don’t have to plant… ;-)
gmoke writes—City Agriculture: A list of linked resources.
MISCELLANY
Desert Scientist writes—The Case For Natural History Museums: “As a former small museum curator I have certainly some biases, but these were developed over many years and are based on fairly solid experiences and data. In addition, over my career as a taxonomist (describing new species and relating these to known species) I have had a relationship with most of the natural history museums in the United States and a few in other countries (France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) because I often had to borrow specimens for study. Natural history museums are important just for that (professional cooperation), but they have many other functions, including the obvious - education — but also research, and public service. As a curator I was heavily involved with all these functions. Still natural history museums are usually underfunded and often attacked, especially in regard to politicized issues like global warming or evolution. Other museums — cultural, archeological, historical and for various art forms — are themselves often attacked on several grounds, only rarely valid. [...] Humans are quite capable of screwing up the most well intentioned and necessary regulations.”