Spotlight on green news & views: US boosts coal at climate talks; Va. solar goes big; Zinke out
newsdepo.com
This is the 584th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the December 8 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it. OSpotlight on green news & views: US boosts coal at climate talks; Va. solar goes big; Zinke out
This is the 584th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the December 8 edition. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it. OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES Ocellated turkey in Guatemala’s Tikal National Park, Peten. Kestrel writes—Dawn Chorus: It's Time to Talk Turkey: “Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, you might think I could come up with a topic besides turkeys for today’s Dawn Chorus. But I’m not quite ready to let turkeys go yet because I found this great bunch of turkey facts that I didn’t know before. A nature writer named Melissa Mayntz provides the following info about turkeys in one of her short essays featured in The Spruce.com. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I’m going to borrow (with great thanks and attribution) these turkey tidbits Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) can be wild fun when you consider how unique and incredible these birds really are. While most birders and non-birders alike can easily recognize the distinctive plumage, large tails, bare heads, and gobbling call of these game birds, how much do you really know about them? These wild turkey facts might surprise you!” AndySchmookler writes—An Opportune Moment to Hit Trump on Climate Change: “A full-out, multi-prong challenge to the President for his unsubstantiated ‘I don't believe it’ should be mounted. From every available direction should come the question, ‘On what basis, Mr. President, do you justify your not believing this well-supported document from the scientists?’ • Reporters -- the people who shout questions to him about pardons for Manafort and such—should be encouraged to shout out ‘On what basis’ questions, and be prepared to follow up if they get the expected insubstantial answers. • Democrats in Congress should use their platforms to not let the President get away with such an indefensible dismissal. (The fact that the latest polls show that 70% of the American people are “concerned’—‘very’ or ‘somewhat’—about climate change suggests that this would be a political winner.) • Environmental organizations should a) encourage reporters and congressional Democrats to challenge the President in the ways described above and b) organize events to dramatize the contrast between the vast body of science and the ignorant dismissal, challenging the president with that challenging question, ‘On what basis...?’ " ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Protestors Crash Trump’s Coal Sideshow After US Joins Axis Of Oil States: “In the heart of coaland, the second week of COP24 is going ... about as expected. Over the weekend, host country Poland refused to allow at least a dozen climate campaigners entry into the country, while a handful of countries stood in the way of a sentence that expressed the UN’s ‘welcome’ for the IPCC 1.5 special report. The United States joined with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to downplay how the UN would acknowledge the report the UN itself requested, instead insisting that they only “note” the report, and not endorse its findings. Though it’s sad to see the US now partnering on international negotiations with two petro-states that murder journalists, it’s not exactly surprising. On Monday, the US held it’s pro-pollution event, praising coal and fossil fuels at a conference about finding ways to reduce fossil fuel use. Fortunately, the panel was likely pretty ineffective at convincing anyone of anything, particularly as protestors quickly made a scene. As it turns out, a climate conference isn’t the best place to promote climate-changing fossil fuels.” Read more