Environmental Issues
From Talking Points Memo - Posted 2/5/2012
Antarctica's 19-Mile Ice Crack Will Produce New York-Sized Iceberg
The Big Apple is about to get some competition down south. A New York City-sized iceberg will eventually split off of Antarctica as a result of a 19-mile long crack on a glacier on the Western part of the world’s southernmost continent, according to NASA.
The crack was first observed up-close on the Pine Island Glacier in mid-October 2011 by NASA scientists working on Antarctica, the agency explained.
Later in November, NASA’s Terra AM satellite — the same one that reportedly suffered “interference” from the ground that was speculated to be the result of Chinese hackers — snapped a photo of the crack using its ASTER instrument, a high spatial resolution instrument that serves as an orbital “zoom” lens, which can close-up on land features with incredible detail.
As ASTER’s work uncovered, the great ice crack measures 19 miles long, 260 feet wide and 195 feet deep and the resulting iceberg will be nearly 350 square miles, NASA reported. The crack itself is longer than the island of Manhattan, which extends 13.5 miles at its maximum.
From Alter-Net - Posted 1/30/2012
Conservatives Use Creationist Playbook to Attack Climate Change Education in Schools
The overwhelming scientific evidence that says humans are causing the warming of the planet has emerged as the new battlefield in middle and high schools in the U.S.
A few years ago, Cheryl Manning assigned a research project on climate change to her high school environmental science class in Evergreen, Colo. She presented the basic facts and data from peer-reviewed studies, then asked the students to look into the issue themselves and report back on what they learned.
Halfway through the unit, three students came to class up in arms. They questioned whether the data 
was made up and if government scientists were part of a plot — “like conspiracy theorists that say we never went to the moon,” Manning said. At a PTA meeting the students’ parents accused her of trying to undermine their children’s religious belief system.
“Peer-reviewed science is the Kool-Aid of the left-wing liberal conspiracy,” they said, adding a warning: “Be on your guard.”
Manning’s superintendent backed her up, and the parents eventually pulled their kids out of school. But she said her experience is common enough that many teachers shy away from the subject of climate change.
Manning’s experience in Colorado is just a microcosm of a larger fight being waged in classrooms across the country. Reminiscent of the evolution-vs.-creationism clash, the overwhelming scientific evidence that says humans are causing the warming of the planet has emerged as the new battlefield in middle and high schools in the U.S.
Anti-Wolf Movie 'The Grey' Plays Up Misconceptions About Wolves -- At a Time When Wolves Are More At Risk Than Ever
"The Grey" rivals "Jaws" for its sheer ignorance and folly in terms of natural history and the human-animal relationship.
In War Horse, director Steven Spielberg treated his audience to a compelling case of historical fiction, 
grounding his World War I saga of a boy and his horse on a set of common facts including that the Germans and the United Kingdom were combatants and horses had a major role in the conflict. In The Grey, director Joe Carnahan makes up something out of whole cloth in his drama about stranded oil riggers who are hunted as intruders by a pack of wolves.
Fiction is a perfectly respectable form of storytelling, but demonizing animals, in this case wolves, has destructive consequences especially at a time when a renewed persecution of wolves in the United States places the lives of these creatures more at risk than ever.
The historical record is unambiguous. Through the centuries, European settlers and generations of their descendants have slaughtered wolves, nearly exterminating them from the lower 48 states. There were federal hunters and trappers who killed wolves almost without limit. There were state-sponsored bounties. And ranchers and hunters did their own ruthless killing of wolves.
Now after modest recovery efforts over the last 35 years, wolf populations in the Northern Rockies and Upper Great Lakes have been removed from the list of federally protected species. Anti-wolf hysterics had a big part in the de-listing actions, and now these forces are clamoring for renewed widespread killing. Trophy hunters continue to make irrational claims about the impacts that wolves have on deer and elk, while ranchers exaggerate the threat that wolves pose to cattle and sheep. These notions are not grounded on fact, but on the mythology of the wolf as a rapacious predator who slaughters everything in its path.
Hollywood has generally been a force for the good in elevating the status of animals. But there have been awful stereotypes that have been fostered too none worse and more lasting than Jaws with its vivid misrepresentations of sharks. Since that blockbuster made beaches feel so unsafe, hundreds of millions of sharks have been killed in an orgy of human-caused cruelty.
Let s hope The Grey is a horrible flop, and doesn't resonate with people like Jaws did. Putting aside its commercial prospects, The Grey does rival Jaws for its sheer ignorance and folly in terms of natural history and the human-animal relationship. The drama in the film revolves around bloodthirsty wolves hunting down humans as prey, even though there s almost nothing in the historical record to reflect that wolves are any threat at all to people.
From USA Today - Posted 1/30/2012
Snowy Owls Flock to Mich. in Unusual Numbers
Snowy owls — majestic, 2-foot tall creatures normally seen in the Arctic tundra — are showing up all across lower Michigan this winter as an unusually large number of the birds have flown farther south in search of food.
With their regal pose, piercing yellow eyes and fluffy, feathered legs, the owls are an unexpected winter attraction.
The owls are showing up in places they aren't always seen, exciting birders and non-birders alike. They've been seen in many spots in lower Michigan, and some have made it as far as Texas and Hawaii.
Scientists say the likely reason for the explosion is that the owls' chief food source, small animals called lemmings, was abundant last summer, allowing the adults to raise more young. Now, in search of food, young owls are heading farther south.
Although there are a few snowy owls spotted in Michigan every year, "I can tell you this winter is highly unusual," said Karen Cleveland, bird biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Snowy owls delight watchers
For Scott Jennex, an avid birder and member of the Oakland Audubon Society, snowy owls are among his favorite birds.
"This year has been pretty extraordinary," he said.
Wildlife photographer Stacy Niedzwiecki, who lives near Grand Rapids, Mich., drove to Muskegon, Mich., the day after Thanksgiving in search of her first snowy owl.
"Instead of going shopping for Black Friday, I wanted a white Friday," she said.
She was in luck, spotting one in flight that she watched and photographed for several hours.
Posted 1/17/2012
Redpolls make Sarett their winter grounds
I know, this isn't political. But we at SCDC are friends of the environment and some may find this an interesting item From the Herald-Palladium
By Jonathan Wuepper - H-P Outdoor Columnist
Published: Friday, January 13, 2012 1:06 PM EST
Herald-Palladium are small finches, roughly the same size as a goldfinch. Redpolls are another species that appear in Southwest Michigan from late fall through March, but vary in numbers from year to year.
They nest in northern Canada and will move south during the winter based on food supply. At feeders, redpolls prefer niger seed (also known as thistle seed), but when not at feeders will feed on weed and grass seeds as well as insects during the summer months.
They are especially partial to the seeds of birch and alder trees, the former being quite common at Sarett Nature Center.
Last week I reported a northern goshawk that had taken up residence at Sarett Nature Center.
To my knowledge, it has been looked for but not seen this month.
Warm spell brings red-winged blackbirds, turkey vultures north
The recent spell of mild weather sparked a brief, northward movement of turkey vultures and red-winged blackbirds.
On Jan. 7, Kirk Schrader of Chikaming Township reported a single turkey vulture near Union Pier. The same day, two more were reported near Kalamazoo.
Turkey vultures are large raptors, commonly found in this region from March through early November. Typically the first "spring" migrants are reported in Southwest Michigan in the last 10 days of February.
Occasionally we will see turkey vultures in January, but Schrader's report is the earliest on record for Berrien County.
The previous early arrival record was Jan. 22, 2002, when two of the species were reported near Bridgman.
When they are in flight, turkey vultures are easily identified by their dihedral V-wing shape. At close range, a featherless reddish head is distinct.
Elizabeth Meister and Dan Collison of Three Oaks reported a small flock of male red-winged blackbirds near their home.
Red-winged blackbirds can winter in Southwest Michigan; what's interesting is all the individuals were male.
Males migrate northward first to establish breeding territories before females arrive.
Like the turkey vulture, this region typically experiences an influx of north-bound red-winged blackbirds in mid- to late February.
Dirk Vanderdoes of St. Joseph spotted another snowy owl the morning of Jan. 6. Vanderdoes saw the bird perched on the M-63 (Bicentennial) bridge spanning the St. Joseph River, marking the fifth report this season from Berrien County.
Snowy owls have irrupted southward into the United States this winter due to a drop in the population of arctic lemmings.
Jonathan Wuepper is an area naturalist. Report your sightings to him at wuepperj@gmail.com.
There is more, please visit the Herald-Palladium.
By Laura on January 9, 2012
At the National Geographic Museum today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a 20-year-ban on new uranium mining in the Grand Canyon—protecting one of our country’s greatest natural wonders and an important source of clean drinking water for Western states. The Associated Press reports:
Environmental groups call the ban a long-awaited but decisive victory, noting that the Colorado River, which runs through the Grand Canyon, is the source of drinking water for 26 million Americans.
“Secretary Salazar has defended the Southwest's right to plentiful, clean water and America's dedication to one of our most precious landscapes,” said Dusty Horwitt, senior counsel for the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based advocacy group.
“Despite significant pressure from the mining industry, the President and Secretary Salazar did not back down,” said Jane Danowitz, U.S. public lands director for the Pew Environment Group.
Save Wyoming Wolves
Federal officials have formally announced plans to eliminate vital protections for wolves in Wyoming, leaving these iconic animals at the mercy of a shoot-on-sight state policy that covers nearly 90% of the state.
The proposal could lead to indiscriminate wolf killing across the vast majority of Wyoming… even on national forests and other lands owned by the American taxpayer.
Help save these wolves. Tell U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe that you OPPOSE the premature delisting of wolves in Wyoming.
Congress OKs $300 million for Great Lakes cleanup
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Congress has approved $300 million to keep a multiyear program going that is aimed at fixing some of the Great Lakes’ biggest environmental problems, from invasive species to river bottoms laced with toxic chemicals.
Funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was contained in a larger spending bill that cleared the House and Senate last week and awaits President Barack Obama’s signature.
The measure also will set aside roughly $533 million for loans at little or no interest for states in the region to upgrade leaky sewer systems.
“The 2012 budget represents a significant victory for the millions of people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, jobs and way of life,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, which represents more than 100 organizations.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative began with a 2005 report developed by government agencies, nonprofit groups, Indian tribes and other interests that said the lakes were on the verge of ecological collapse and needed a huge infusion of cash to deal with festering problems.
Among them: invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels, which gobble plankton that forms the base of aquatic food chains; harbors and river mouths tainted for decades with heavy metals and chemicals; loss of habitat caused by wetland degradation; and water pollution from farm and urban runoff.
Obama promised during his 2008 campaign to seek $5 billion for the program over a decade. Congress appropriated $475 million in 2010 and just under $300 million this year. The newly approved money will continue the program at its current level.
Pet owners urge ban on dog devocalization
A controversial procedure performed on dogs and cats known as devocalization or debarking has upset animal lovers, who are now pushing to have the surgery outlawed.
Debarking involves surgically removing an animal’s vocal cords to reduce the sound of the animal’s vocalizations.
“I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Susan Rawson told WVIT. Her adopted 11-year-old Collie, a former show dog, was devocalized by his previous owner.
“It’s like declawing cats, or taking the voice box out of a baby,” she added. “That’s how they communicate, that’s how they talk. So I think it’s very cruel.”
Massachusetts and New Jersey are the only states to have banned the surgery, which critics decry as mutilation for the convenience for pet owners.
“Debarks are also a big problem because if the pet ever needs anesthesia in the future, the scar tissue that forms in the throat prevents the insertion of the correct size breathing tube — making anesthesia even more of a risk for the pet,” Dr. Cary Waterhouse of Lake Union Veterinary Clinic in Seattle explained to KVUE.com.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says the surgery should only be performed if “the animal is at risk of losing his home or his life.”
The procedure is banned under the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals. The United Kingdom has also outlawed the surgery.
From MSNBC - Posted 12/5/11
Texas drought leaves heartbreaking
toll of abandoned horses
Reuters reports from SAN ANTONIO: The yearlong Texas drought is taking a heartbreaking toll on horses and donkeys, thousands of which have been abandoned by owners who can no longer afford the skyrocketing price of the hay needed to feed them.
"We get 20 to 40 calls a week that horses are alongside the road and left; nobody's claimed them," Richard Fincher of Safe Haven Equine Rescue in Gilmer, in east Texas, told Reuters. "Sheriffs are calling us all the time."
Before this year, he would get more like three or four calls a week, he said.
The problem, according to Dennis Sigler, a horse specialist at Texas A&M University, is that the drought has dried up the hay fields, leaving horse owners having to pay double or triple the prices they are used to paying for hay, if they can find hay at all.
Horse abandonment is a crime, and state law requires abandoned horses to be held by the local sheriff's department for 18 days, Fincher said. After that, most are sold at a sale barn for whatever prices they can bring.
"People just can't afford to feed horses anymore," Fincher said. "They're too busy trying to feed themselves." Read the full story.
From Raw Story - Posted 10/17/11
Climate change is making many plants and animals smaller: study
By Marlowe Hood
PARIS — Climate change is reducing the body size of many animal and plant species, including some which supply vital nutrition for more than a billion people already living near hunger’s threshold, according to a study released Sunday.
From micro-organisms to top predators, nearly 45 percent of species for which data was reviewed grew smaller over multiple generations due to climate change, researchers found.
The impact of rapidly climbing temperatures and shifts in rainfall patterns on body size could have unpredictable and possible severe consequences, they warned.
Previous work established that recent climate change has led to sharp shifts in habitat and the timing of reproductive cycles. But impact on the size of plants and animals has received far less attention.
Jennifer Sheridan and David Bickford at the National University of Singapore looked at scientific literature on climate-change episodes in the distant past and at experiments and observations in recent history.
Fossil records, they found, were unambiguous: past periods of rising temperatures had led both marine and land organisms to became progressively smaller.
During a warming event 55 million years ago — often seen as an analogue for current climate change — beetles, bees, spiders, wasps and ants shrank by 50 to 75 percent over a period of several thousand years.
Mammals such as squirrels and woodrats also diminished in size, by about 40 percent.
From The National Wildlife Federation - Posted 10/7/11
Emerging Nutrient Crisis Causing Massive New Breakdowns in the Great Lakes
NWF to testify today before U.S. Senate Subcommittee on new report as part of federal examination of nation-wide nutrient pollution epidemic
The National Wildlife Federation today released a report documenting new and massive ecosystem breakdowns in the Great Lakes caused by interactions between excessive fertilizer run-off from farms and invasive zebra and quagga mussels. The report comes on the same day that NWF is testifying before the U.S. Senate Environment for Public Works Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife on the report findings.
The report, “Feast and Famine in the Great Lakes: How Nutrients and Invasive Species Interact to Overwhelm the Coasts and Starve Offshore Waters(pdf),” details the links between enormous algal blooms in Lake Erie that threaten the health of people and wildlife and a 95 percent decline in fish biomass in Lake Huron.
“Too much food is causing massive algal blooms in Lake Erie and other coastal systems, while too little food is making fish starve in Lake Huron’s offshore waters,” said Andy Buchsbaum, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center. “Nutrient-rich runoff from farms is growing a huge crop of algae along the lakes’ coasts, but those nutrients aren’t making it out to the water in the middle of the lakes. Quagga mussels are consuming almost all of it, leaving nothing left in the water for fish to eat.”
The dual feast-and-famine crises plaguing the Lakes, according to the report, are leading to a collapse of the base of the food web, declines in desirable sport fish populations such as lake whitefish and salmon, and resurgence of toxic algae blooms and the Lake Erie “Dead Zone.”
“This feast-and-famine dichotomy is unprecedented,” said report-co-author Julie Mida Hinderer. “Rapid and drastic ecosystem changes are altering the Great Lakes from top to bottom. The impacts we're witnessing are a sign that the Great Lakes need urgent help.”
Posted 9/18/11
Asian Carp
White House official, Stabenow will highlight first Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee meeting in Michigan
KOCHVILLE TWP. — A U.S. senator and a White House environmental director tasked with preventing an Asian carp invasion in the Great Lakes will hear public concerns about the voracious, giant fish during a forum at Saginaw Valley State University.
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and John Goss, Asian carp director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, will headline the public forum from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 23 in Curtiss Hall, 7400 Bay.
This is the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee’s first meeting in Michigan, said Taryn L. Tuss, a spokeswoman for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The panel met in Chicago in April and in Port Clinton, Ohio, in July.
“We chose to host our September public meeting at Saginaw Valley State University because of our commitment to protecting Saginaw Bay and places like it throughout Michigan and the region from this invasive species,” Tuss wrote in an email response to The Saginaw News.
Some Asian carp may grow to 4 feet in length and weigh up to 100 pounds. The fish could crowd out and deprive other species in the foot chain, critics fear. Silver carp, a variety of Asian carp, are known to jump as much as 10 feet out of the water at the sound of boat engines.
Committee members will detail strategies authorities have taken to monitor and harvest Asian carp, barriers constructed to prevent their movement into the lakes and biological controls, among other priorities.
Posted 9/17/11
Enbridge spreading money around Calhoun county
Enbridge Energy Partners, a Canadian oil company responsible for the July 2010 rupture of the Lakehead Pipeline 6B which spewed an estimated one million gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River, is providing two Calhoun county programs with cash and services for improvements of parks and river access.
On Thursday night, the Calhoun County Commission voted to accept a proposal from Enbridge which will result in upgrades to Historic Bridges Park — which has been closed since the rupture. The deal would see Enbridge planting new trees, restroom facilities, improved parking, a handicapped-accessible canoe access point, picnic areas and improved playground equipment at the park, reports the Battle Creek Enquirer. The company will also complete four other upgrades along the river, including boating access points at 15 Mile Road, Ceresco Dam and McCormick Street and a fifth site for fishing at Wheatfield Road.
The deal also includes an endowment fund for upkeep of the parks. That fund could supply slightly over $20,000 per year for Historic Bridges.
Posted 9/14/11
Congress launches broad assault on endangered species
In-depth report shows that America’s conservation legacy for sale to highest bidder
Summary:
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Defenders releases comprehensive report of legislative attacks on America’s imperiled wildlife, highlighting threats likely to resurface in Congress this fall during ongoing budget negotiations
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More than a dozen legislative proposals are pending that could make sweeping changes to the Endangered Species Act and strip life-saving protections for individual species
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Key sponsors of anti-wildlife legislation have collectively taken more than $5.9 million in campaign contributions from Big Oil and major agribusinesses
WASHINGTON (September 1, 2011) - When members of Congress return next week, they could consider at least 13 different legislative proposals to undercut endangered species protections, according to a comprehensive report released today by Defenders of Wildlife. Assault on Wildlife: The Endangered Species Act under attack details current legislative attacks on America’s plants and animals and assesses how each one would eviscerate wildlife conservation efforts. Existing proposals include:
- rolling back vital safeguards for California’s precarious Bay Delta ecosystem,
- making it easier for polluters to poison waterways with toxic pesticides, and
- blocking protections for species on the brink of extinction such as the Mexican gray wolf.
Taken together, these attacks would undermine nearly four decades of success under the Endangered Species Act and go back on our nation’s commitment to preserving our wildlife heritage for future generations.
The new report also compiles campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry and major agribusinesses for key members of Congress who have been leading the anti-wildlife crusade. A group of just nine legislators has collectively received more than $5.9 million throughout their careers from Big Oil and Big Ag, calling into question the motivation of their alleged “pro-business” agenda.
While some of the proposed anti-wildlife legislative measures were briefly debated earlier in the year, many could be tucked into larger, must-pass spending bills similar to the controversial “wolf rider” included in the most recent continuing budget resolution. Without strong, persistent opposition from Congress, pending provisions will be negotiated behind closed doors and may never face public scrutiny until it’s too late. The report implores concerned citizens to remain vigilant and demonstrate their continued support for protecting America’s imperiled wildlife, even before the attacks are formalized.
The following is a statement from Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife:
“America’s wildlife is seemingly under attack from every direction. Never before have I seen this unprecedented level of disregard for our country’s most imperiled plants and animals. We made a commitment as a nation nearly 40 years ago to preserve our incredible wildlife heritage for our kids and grandkids, but now Congress is getting ready to go back on its word.
“This report should serve as a wake-up call for all Americans. It’s a reminder that we must fight to protect the entire web of life that supports us all and defend it from those who seek to benefit from its destruction. We cannot allow Congress to trade away essential safeguards that not only ensure the survival of at-risk species, but that also provide clean air, clean water and abundant natural resources for all Americans long into the future. Politicians shouldn’t be meddling with our most successful and forward-thinking wildlife conservation law. It’s time to tell them: hands off the ESA!”
Background:
In July, Defenders and its conservation allies led a successful effort to oppose the so-called “extinction rider” that would have blocked protections for more than 260 species awaiting protection under the Endangered Species Act. Read more at www.defenders.org/opposeextinction.
In April, Congress passed (and the Obama administration approved) a provision to strip federal protections for endangered gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, setting a dangerous precedent for further legislative action. Read more at www.defenders.org/nrwolves.