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May 31, 2016
The fossil fuel industry came out swinging this week. And got busted on several fronts, including news of world hot-weather records. Such a giant takes a bit of time to fall, but falling it is, amid a withering barrage of bad news about its bad intentions and bad influences.
NY RENEWS invites you to
STAND TOGETHER
FOR CLIMATE,
JOBS & JUSTICE
Join the NY RENEWS Coalition of environmental, social justice and labor organizations in Albany on June 1st to Stand Together for 100% renewable energy, good jobs and justice for front-line and impacted communities!
Where: Albany, NY
When: Wednesday, June 1
For Details contact: Irene Weiser irene...@gmail.com
The time for unity and action is NOW!
Organizing throughout our state has led to significant victories on these issues, but moving NY into a new energy economy is far from complete. NY Renews is working with allies in the NY State Legislature to introduce a bill this spring that will get us closer to our goal.
Now is the time to bring our energy, our communities, and our unity to Albany! On June 1st people from around the state will gather in Albany to call on the Legislature and Governor to take bold action.
Join us for a day of public action on Wednesday, June 1st in Albany.
For Details contact: Irene Weiser irene...@gmail.com
WHO WE ARE:
NY Renews is an unprecedented statewide coalition of environmental and climate justice groups, community organizations and labor unions, faith based groups and young people working for policies grounded in equity and justice for our communities and working people.
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Waste Management in New York: The Workshop
 Democracy doesn't work when those affected just sit on the sidelines and watches others play the game!
A Workshop to review NY DEC's new proposed rules on landfills. If you have trash for others to get rid of, or have trash coming your way from other towns, this workshop is for you...
What: Discuss the future of waste management in NY. The workshop will focus on NYS DEC's proposed revisions to New York's solid waste regulations.
Who: Attorney Gary Abraham from Great Valley, a specialist in the laws regulating landfills, will lead the workshop.
Where: Dormann Library
101 W Morris St, Bath, New York 14810
When: Thursday, June 7 6:30 PM - 9 PM
For more info, Public Comments, DEC hearings etc.: Event Page
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March for We Are Seneca Lake in the Ithaca Festival Parade
 When: Friday, June 3, 2016
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Get There Early!
5:00-5:30 pm Park your car (many streets will be closed off, so you will probably have to park many blocks away)
5:30-6:00 pm Assemble at: W. Jay St, 1 block north of Lincoln St., near the intersections of Jay & Auburn.
6:30 pm Parade begins. We'll walk south on Cayuga St.
7:00 pm Our march draws to a close. We'll turn onto E. Court Street, walk 1 block, and end at the corner of Sears St.
Don your We Are Seneca Lake T-shirts, and walk with us in the Ithaca Festival Parade! It's family-friendly, so all ages are welcome.
Like last year, we will march next to Fossil Free Tompkins, in solidarity for a sustainable future!
Besides banners, we'll proudly carry our beloved Indigo Bunting puppet (which has overwintered at Dan Burgevin's house), a fish puppet, and a papier mache model of Planet Earth (5-ft in diameter) -- all created by our artistic supporters.
This is Ithaca's most well-attended annual event. Thousands cheered us on last year! Due to large crowds, however, traffic and street parking will be challenging, so please allow enough time to park and walk back and forth to your car.
If you'd like to participate, contact Jan Quarles <jan...@gmail.com>. Please specify if you need a T-shirt(s) and what size(s). We have a range of sizes, including Kids', Ladies' and Mens'. $15
Get Yer Festival Buttons! We hope to have all adult participants wearing these buttons; Button Brigade sellers will be on site. Still only $5. Cheap! But Good.
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Families Arrested at Seneca Lake Protesting FERC Extension for Crestwood/Con Ed Gas Storage
Watkins Glen, NY – “We Will Not be FERC’ed!” was the rallying cry this morning as 21 New York residents from seven counties engaged in an act of civil disobedience in response to a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend Crestwood Midstream’s permit to expand gas storage in Seneca Lake salt caverns.
Forming a human blockade at the main entrance of Crestwood along Route 14 in the Town of Reading, the group included several family teams. Among them were Robert and Katie Eklund (father and daughter) from New Lisbon; Clare, Teresa, and Ellen Grady (sisters) from Ithaca; Margaret and Hervie Harris (spouses) from Elmira; Lisa and Grace Marshall (mother and daughter) from Horseheads; and Elan and Gabriel Shapiro (father and son) from Ithaca.
Starting at 6:45 a.m. and continuing until their arrests by Schuyler County deputies shortly before 7:30 a.m., protesters blocked all traffic from leaving and entering the facility, including two tanker trucks. Watkins Glen police assisted in the arrests. All 21 were transported to the Schuyler County sheriff’s department, charged with disorderly conduct, ticketed, and released.
Lisa Marshall, 48, of Horseheads in Chemung County, arrested with her daughter, delivered a message to Governor Cuomo while blockading. “Governor Cuomo, New York’s families are full of resolve, but we can’t do it alone. Help us stand up to the bullies here at Seneca Lake, Crestwood and Con Ed. And help us take a stand against FERC … that shows such disregard for New York’s water, safety, health, climate, and for your own good plans to make our state a leader in renewable energy.”
The group held banners that read, “New York Families Against Crestwood/Con Ed” and “99.1% Said No / Shame on FERC!”
99.1 represents the percentage of public comments received by FERC that expressed opposition to gas storage expansion: 332 out of 335 comments received during the public comment period were against the expansion. In spite of this overwhelming citizen opposition, FERC’s last-minute permit extension, giving Crestwood’s Arlington subsidiary another two years to build out its natural gas storage facility, was granted on May 16.
Salt cavern storage accounts for only seven percent of total underground storage of natural gas in the United States but, since 1972, is responsible for 100 percent of the catastrophic accidents that has resulted in loss of life.
The total number of arrests in the nineteen-month-old civil disobedience campaign now stands at 585.
Bob Eklund, 63, of New Lisbon in Otsego County, who was arrested with his daughter, said, “While I applaud Governor Cuomo for the wisdom he displayed in banning fracking in our state, I would ask that he show the same wisdom in doing everything in his power to halt further infrastructure build-out here in New York. We must build infrastructure for renewable energy, not for fossil fuels. We can do it. We must do it.”
Ellen Grady, 53, of Ithaca in Tompkins County, who was arrested with her two sisters, said, “The decision on the part of FERC to give Crestwood more time to complete its expansion project is totally irresponsible. This is the time when our government should be encouraging renewable energy, not helping gas companies expand their very life-threatening work.”
Gabriel Shapiro, 19, of Ithaca in Tompkins County, who was arrested with his father, said, “FERC represents one component of the powerful partnership between energy and politics, a system based on exploitation and protected by deceit. This moment requires us to make clear the crimes being committed by our government.”...—"Families Arrested at Seneca Lake Protesting FERC Extension for Crestwood/Con Ed Gas Storage," We Are Seneca Lake, 5/26/16
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Josh Fox and How to Let Go and Love
Geneva's Smith Opera House
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A Prayer for the Finger Lakes
A ceremony for our sacred waters with donations going to We Are Seneca Lake
Where: W.W. Clute Memorial Lakeside Park & Pavilion
Watkins Glen, NY
When: Saturday, June 19, 2016
Ceremony 11am to 2pm~
108 Sun Salutes, chanting and meditation followed by a water blessing.
Picnic 2pm-5pm~ Vegetarian potluck - bring a dish to pass
WASL and Finger Lakes yoga community family picnic
See
Facebook Event page
More details coming soon. Questions in the meantime? Email: in...@yogafortheearth.org
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 Watch this space for more info!
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Resisters Lock-down Inside Reclaimed Shipping Container Home Athwart AIM Pipeline Route
 Small model of renewable energy and resilient living demonstrates the world we want to see while blocking fossil fuel project from moving forward
Peekskill, NY - Just four days after 21 people were arrested for peacefully blockading the entrance to a Spectra Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) Pipeline work site, two people courageously locked themselves into a renewable-energy powered, 20-ft recycled shipping-container home at the work site, directly on the pipeline route. They plan to stay inside the container blockade for as long as possible.
The AIM Pipeline is a 42-inch, high pressure, fracked gas pipeline, which if completed will run through residential communities and within 105 feet of critical Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant safety facilities. The fully self-contained home is a strong symbol of both resilience and resistance: It is intended to halt construction of the dangerous AIM Pipeline and to represent the safe alternative living situation we need to move towards to fight climate change and to halt our dependence on fossil fuel, which drives the buildout of dangerous infrastructure like the AIM Pipeline. The container home was built using reclaimed and recycled materials, is powered by both photovoltaic solar panels and a bicycle generator, has a green roof growing succulents and herbs, has a solar-heated shower and a compost toilet, and comfortable living space and beds for two occupants. All of these measures are important, but without stopping fossil fuel infrastructure, we are still on a path to disaster - which is why this project is also designed to physically stop construction on the AIM Pipeline.
The sustainable home has two occupants, both of whom walked across the entire country to raise awareness about climate change as part of the Great March for Climate : Jane Kendall is a 65-year-old retired New York mother of two who would like to be spending more time with her family, but feels morally obligated as an elder to do her small part to stop Spectra and to fight for a renewable energy future; and Lee Stewart, a 29-year-old organizer with Beyond Extreme Energy, who has been working to stop FERC since they approved a fracked gas compressor station near his home as part of project that would feed Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export facility.
“I was inspired by the fierce, loving determination in the voices of 13 Resist AIM members who disrupted a FERC public meeting to call out the commissioners for their complicity in the destruction Spectra represents,” said Lee Stewart. “It is an honor to take up temporary residence in New York on the route of the AIM Pipeline.”
“Spectra has placed all of us on a destructive path and in harm’s way. Today this simple small house, built from reused and repurposed materials and powered by renewable energy, stands on the AIM Pipeline path to halt construction.” Said Jane Kendall.
This action comes after years of residents and grassroots groups actively engaging in the regulatory process, only to be ignored by FERC. The City of Boston and several grassroots groups have filed a lawsuit in Federal Court challenging FERC approval of the project. In February, Governor Andrew Cuomo wrote to FERC asking for an immediate halt to construction while New York State conducts an independent risk assessment of siting the massive, high-pressure pipeline next to Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. FERC denied the Governor’s request, and claimed that a risk assessment by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) showed that the plant was safe. Just five days ago, on May 20th, Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand called for an immediate halt to construction . Spectra’s Director of Stakeholder Outreach, Marylee Hanley, responded that “Algonquin Gas Transmission resumed construction on the Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) project in April and will continue with its construction.”
In Peekskill, New York, just about an hour north of New York City, residents have launched a blockade in efforts to stop the construction of a gas pipeline slated to run only hundreds of feet from the aging Indian Point nuclear power plant. The proposed project has sparked concerns from residents and nuclear experts that a pipeline break could cause a catastrophic nuclear disaster that would threaten the entirety of New York City. The pipeline is being built by Spectra Energy and is officially known as the Algonquin Incremental Market Project, or AIM pipeline. Well, only hours ago, Peekskill residents and activists escalated the campaign to stop this pipeline’s construction by installing a fully sustainable shipping container at the entrance of Spectra’s work yard—complete with two activists living inside. Democracy Now! was there as the blockade was launched....—Juan Gonzalez, Nancy Vann, "Our Lives are on the Line: Protesters Blockade Planned Pipeline Site Near Nuclear Plant Outside NYC," Democracy Now!, 5/25/16
“Now Spectra is rapidly proceeding with construction in our area despite opposition from thousands of New Yorkers and elected representatives.” Said Kendall. “We are at a critical stage in this struggle, with project completion scheduled for November. Each day more trees are cut, more blasting takes place, and more pipeline is laid. It is necessary for us to stop this project now.”
There is no more time to wait. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has shown that it will not protect us from the fossil fuel industry that is destroying our climate. Instead, everyday people are stepping up and modeling the future we want to see while taking a stand against the dangerous pipeline that threatens us and our friends and neighbors.
“I am also taking this step because of the amazing connection I feel to the amazing people all over the state who are not only standing up to AIM, Spectra, and FERC, but who are also finding ways to build community during a time when the power that be are bent on keeping us isolated and narrowly focused,” said Stewart.— Tina Volz-Bongar, "Resisters Lock-down Inside Reclaimed Shipping Container Home Athwart AIM Pipeline Route," SaneEnergyProject, 5/25/16
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Fossil Fuel Resistance Heats Up
Human Shield of Prayer Moves in Front of Dakota Access Pipeline Construction
 Oceti Sakowin water protectors before they cross the Missouri River to create a human shield against Dakota Access pipeline construction.
May 24, 2016 – Camp of the Sacred Stones, Cannon Ball ND
Today, in opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline and the illegal start of its construction in North Dakota, a human shield of prayer has moved in front of the construction site northeast of Cannon Ball, ND on the east bank of the Missouri River. The human shield of prayer is on United States Army Corp of Engineer property.
[The Dakota Access Pipeline is a proposed 1,168-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline that will connect the Bakken and Three Forks production areas in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois, transporting over 450,000 barrels of oil per day.]
These land defenders plan to stay at the construction site in an display of non-violent prayerful action as long as possible.
STATEMENT BY THE WARRIORS WHO WILL BE ENGAGING IN NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION AT THE DAKOTA ACCESS CONSTRUCTION SITE:
We are telling the Army Corp of Engineers that they have a trust responsibility to the Oceti Sakowin. That without water there is no life. To deny the permit for Dakota Access now and be good stewards of the land they stole from us which by law is still ours.
“We are headed across the river to the route of Dakota Access to pray. Remaining non-violent to any obstacle that we may face,” says Wiyaka Eagleman, Sicangu Lakota, Elsevier S.D.
“Today I’m going over the river to pray hard and as long as I can for the people to have a change of heart to stop this pipeline,” says Jeremiah Canku Maza, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
“I stand strong with my relationship in this area. I am here to remind people of who’s land that we are truly protecting. The water, land, animals and air. They give us life. Greed kills. No more pipelines. Honor the treaties,” says Tania Aubid
“We are here to stop a snake who wants to cross the Missouri river. This is Oceti Sakowin treaty territory. No one asked for our input. No Dakota Access pipeline. America is built on stolen lands,” says Justin Rowland from the Fire Lightening Band of the Oglala
The Army Corp of Engineers is expected to make a decision soon. We want a full EIS, we want this pipeline to be denied. We want the world to know we stand on our treaty rights and for all the people who drink the water from the Missouri and use it for fishing, and recreation. Life is more important than a pipeline.—"Human Shield of Prayer Moves in Front of Dakota Access Pipeline Construction!," Indigenous Rising, 5/24/16
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House Science Committee Assails Climate Fraud Investigations
In a series of letters sent on Wednesday, a group of Republicans on the House science committee accused 17 state attorneys general and eight activist, science outreach and legal groups of colluding on investigations of companies such as ExxonMobil and its allies. In the letters, the lawmakers complain that companies that question and challenge climate science and policy are being unfairly targeted.
"The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology is conducting oversight of a coordinated attempt to deprive companies, nonprofit organizations, and scientists of their First Amendment rights and abilities to fund and conduct scientific research free from intimidation and threats of prosecution," according to the letters.
This new volley follows the launch of a coalition of state attorneys general that announced in March it would support urgent action on climate change and investigate fossil fuel companies that spread doubt about climate science....—Zahra Hirji, "Group of House Republicans Assail Climate Fraud Investigations," InsideClimate News, 5/19/16
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ExxonMobil tried to censor climate scientists to Congress during Bush era
 ExxonMobil moved to squash the well-established series just nine days after the presidential inauguration of George W Bush, a former oil executive. Photograph: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
ExxonMobil moved to squash a well-established congressional lecture series on climate science just nine days after the presidential inauguration of George W Bush, a former oil executive, the Guardian has learned.
Exxon’s intervention on the briefings, revealed here for the first time, adds to evidence the oil company was acutely aware of the state of climate science and its implications for government policy and the energy industry – despite Exxon’s public protestations for decades about the uncertainties of global warming science.
Indeed, the company moved swiftly during the earliest days of the Bush administration to block public debate on global warming and delay domestic and international regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to former officials of the US Global Change Research Program, or USGCRP.
The Bush White House is now notorious for censoring climate scientists and blocking international action on climate change by pulling the US out of the Kyoto agreement.
The oil company is under investigation by 17 attorney generals for misleading the public about climate change, and is facing a shareholder revolt at its annual general meeting on Wednesday by investors pressing Exxon for greater disclosure about the effect of climate change on its profits.
In early 2001, however, after Al Gore lost the White House to George Bush, Exxon officials apparently saw a chance to influence the incoming administration, according to former officials of the research program.
The government agency was set up in 1990 and charged with producing definitive reports to Congress every four years on the effects of climate change on the US. In the mid-1990s, as part of its legal mandate, USGCRP began organizing monthly seminars on climate science for elected officials and staffers in Congress.
On 29 January 2001, nine days after Bush’s inauguration, Arthur Randol, a former senior environmental advisor at Exxon, telephoned Nicky Sundt, then communications director for the research program, to inquire about the future of the lecture series.
The Bush White House is now notorious for censoring climate scientists and blocking international action on climate change by pulling the US out of the Kyoto agreement.
The oil company is under investigation by 17 attorney generals for misleading the public about climate change, and is facing a shareholder revolt at its annual general meeting on Wednesday by investors pressing Exxon for greater disclosure about the effect of climate change on its profits.
In early 2001, however, after Al Gore lost the White House to George Bush, Exxon officials apparently saw a chance to influence the incoming administration, according to former officials of the research program.
The government agency was set up in 1990 and charged with producing definitive reports to Congress every four years on the effects of climate change on the US. In the mid-1990s, as part of its legal mandate, USGCRP began organizing monthly seminars on climate science for elected officials and staffers in Congress.
On 29 January 2001, nine days after Bush’s inauguration, Arthur Randol, a former senior environmental advisor at Exxon, telephoned Nicky Sundt, then communications director for the research program, to inquire about the future of the lecture series....—Suzanne Goldenberg, "ExxonMobil tried to censor climate scientists to Congress during Bush era | Business," The Guardian, 5/25/16
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Exxon's Donations and Ties to American Geophysical Union Are Larger and Deeper Than Previously Recognized
The board of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) sparked a protest among member scientists when it announced last month that it would keep accepting money from ExxonMobil amid new revelations the oil giant misled the public on climate science. At issue was the company's sponsorship of a $35,000 student breakfast at its annual conference.
What AGU president Margaret Leinen did not discuss when announcing the decision was Exxon's other, longtime financial support and close ties to the world's largest organization of earth scientists.
ExxonMobil Exploration is recognized by AGU as a top donor, and some of that money was raised by two longstanding AGU members who are Exxon employees: Carlos Dengo, a former company vice president and a member of AGU's board of directors, and Exxon scientist Pinar Yilmaz.
In all, donations tied to Exxon have totaled a little over $620,000 from 2001-15 and less than half was secured by Dengo and Yilmaz. Both are listed in AGU's annual reports among the top 10 living AGU donors for their bundling efforts, the practice of gathering contributions. Both have also personally donated to AGU in much smaller amounts, according to Dana Rehm, AGU's director of communications. Dengo contributed as recently as 2015.
AGU would not detail the exact amounts bundled for Exxon or personally donated by Dengo and Yilmaz
...The latest revelations, detailed in an investigation by InsideClimate News, that Exxon's knowledge of climate change reaches back at least four decades while it also worked to discredit that very science, led to the most recent discontent about sponsorship among members. AGU announced in April it would continue the relationship. At the time, Leinen wrote, "it is not possible for us to determine unequivocally whether ExxonMobil is participating in misinformation about science currently, either directly or indirectly, and that AGU's acceptance of sponsorship of the 2015 Student Breakfast does not constitute a threat to AGU's reputation."
Leinen, however, said in an interview the board of directors will continue to discuss Exxon's sponsorship at their next meeting in September, raising the possibility of another vote.
She said the decision to re-open the topic for debate was triggered by a letter from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on May 10. The letter provided examples from 2014 and 2015 where Exxon gave money to organizations (such as the American Legislative Exchange Council) that cast doubt on climate science and lobbied against climate action.
"Everything I have known about AGU over the years is they don't need ExxonMobil money to be financially stable," said Alan Robock, past president of AGU's atmospheric science section. "I don't think [the reluctance to sever ties] is about the money at all," but the company's overall relationship with AGU.....—Phil McKenna, Zahra Hirji, Lisa Song, "Exxon's Donations and Ties to American Geophysical Union Are Larger and Deeper Than Previously Recognized," InsideClimate News, 5/26/16
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Public Campaign Against Exxon Has Roots in a 2012 Meeting
 Naomi Oreskes, a science historian and professor, in the Science Center at Harvard University. Credit Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times
The activists who have painted a bright target on the back of Exxon Mobil have “colluded to push politically motivated investigations of climate dissent,” and conducted a “real-life RICO-type conspiracy.”
So say defenders of the energy company, who in recent weeks have tried to flip the script on the activists whose work helped set the stage for the current investigations of possible conflicts between Exxon Mobil’s public and private statements on climate change.
They say the environmentalists have been holding a series of meetings and discussions to plot their strategy, dating back to a gathering in La Jolla, a San Diego community, in 2012. That meeting was conceived of by Naomi Oreskes, a historian of science at Harvard whose work has drawn parallels between the public affairs strategies of the tobacco industry and fossil fuel companies.
Critics refer to that founding group as the La Jolla Junta. The discussions would grow over time to include groups like the climate campaigners 350.org and the Rockefeller family philanthropies.
But any accusations that the group engaged in a conspiracy would seem to violate the first rule of conspiracies: that they operate in secret.
For anyone curious about the strategy developed at the workshop in La Jolla, it is no mystery — the group produced a 36-page report that is readily available online.
In addition, groups like the Union of Concerned Scientists have been open about their collaboration and consultation with attorneys general. “There’s nothing hidden here,” said Peter Frumhoff, director of science and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. The 2012 report offers a road map of sorts that helps explain why those taking on Exxon Mobil and other fossil fuel companies might find the courts a promising battleground.
Here are some highlights:
Connect Big Oil to Big Tobacco
The participants, including several veterans of the tobacco wars, discussed a turning point in the fight against tobacco: the unearthing of industry documents that showed the industry had long been aware of the health risks of its products, and the enormous lengths to which the companies went to sow doubt about the science.
The Department of Justice won a victory against the industry in a case relying largely on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as RICO — despite the tobacco companies’ insistence that its public statements were protected under the First Amendment. Fraud, the judge noted, is not protected by the Constitution....—John Schwartz, "Public Campaign Against Exxon Has Roots in a 2012 Meeting," The New York Times, 5/23/16
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Exxon Rejects Shareholder Requests to Address Climate Change
 Discussion of climate change was front and center at ExxonMobil's annual shareholders meeting Wednesday. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images
Following the recommendation of the ExxonMobil board of directors, shareholders voted against six resolutions that would have addressed climate change at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Dallas on Wednesday.
The resolutions included electing a board member with expertise on climate science, enacting policies to limit global warming, paying special dividends rather than investing more in fossil fuel reserves, and publishing an annual report on how climate policies could affect the company financially.
Rejection of the initiatives was expected and continued more than a quarter century of opposition to shareholder resolutions by the company on climate change. While none of the resolutions directly related to climate change passed, one that would let minority shareholders nominate outsiders for seats on the board and could thereby provide a pathway for a climate expert to become a board member, did pass with approximately 60 percent of the vote.
A climate resolution that called for Exxon to publish an annual report on how climate policies will impact the company, including the global goal of limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius, got 38.2 percent of the vote. No prior climate resolution had ever gained more than 31.2 percent.
Explore in-depth Exxon's track record - Exxon's 25 Years of 'No': Timeline of Resolutions on Climate Change
"An unprecedented number of Exxon's shareholders have demanded that it analyze how a 2˚C transition will impact its business," Robert Schuwerk, senior counsel for the environmental group Carbon Tracker, said in a statement. "Exxon must now meet this demand or confront a more wary investor class next year."
Ceres, a nonprofit sustainability advocacy group, had helped organize investors representing more than $10 trillion to support the 2-degree resolution. "Given the significant resources Exxon spent fighting this proposal, such a strong vote is a real rebuke to company management," Andrew Logan, Ceres' director of oil & gas programs, said in a statement....—Phil McKenna, "Exxon Rejects Shareholder Requests to Address Climate Change," InsideClimate News, 5/26/16
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Watch This Pennsylvania TV Station Explain How Natural Gas Leaks Accelerate Climate Change
MIKE STRAUB (WGAL government reporter): [Pennsylvania] runs on gas. We are now second in the nation in natural gas production, and the gas the industry is moving, compressing, and fracking is primarily methane.
JOHN QUIGLEY (Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection): By virtue of that fact we are releasing an immense amount of methane into the atmosphere.
STRAUB: Yes, releasing. See, as natural gas works away from deep underground to all the way out of our state, a little bit leaks out along the way. But with so much gas in Pennsylvania, all those leaks turn out to be not so little.
QUIGLEY: If you just applied one percent to the 14 trillion cubic feet that we produced in 2015, that’s over 600,000 tons of methane.
STRAUB: Here’s the problem: In the atmosphere, methane has 84 times more climate warming power than carbon dioxide, and 600,000 tons of methane released is the equivalent of burning 5.4 billion gallons of gasoline. And if all that gas didn’t leak away, companies could sell it for $90 million. But it’s the climate effects that might be the most alarming. A Penn State study says our state’s average climate will rise by 5.4 degrees by 2050.
QUIGLEY: It means Philadelphia will feel like present-day Richmond, Virginia. It will mean that Pittsburgh will feel like Washington, D.C. And ski resorts in Pennsylvania are past the tipping point. They will not be viable by the middle of the century.
STRAUB: So as the gas leaks out, the industry is starting to feel the heat.—Mike Straub/WGAL,"Watch This Pennsylvania TV Station Explain How Natural Gas Leaks Accelerate Climate Change," Media Matters, 5/18/16
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World Humanitarian Summit Amid Heat, Drought and State Fragility in South Asia
 Hottest daytime high temperature May 24-30, 2015. NOAA map by Fiona Martin, based data provided by the India Meterological Department.
For the past two days, United Nations member-states have been meeting in Turkey at the inaugural World Humanitarian Summit. As the pre-Summit communiqué makes clear, participants will face a daunting challenge: tens of million people forcibly displaced due to conflict or natural disasters, a situation which has Europe (as well as host country Turkey) facing a refugee crisis. Even larger numbers are in need of international financial assistance, a fact which has taxed the global relief community (according to the UN, the annual funding shortfall for humanitarian relief is $15 billion).
Among the regions where this nexus presents a high risk to a substantial number of people is South Asia. Around a quarter of India’s population is currently mired in one of the worst droughts in a decade, thanks to a combination of climate change impacts and a strong El Nino, which has dried out much of Asia. Alongside the drought is an unprecedented heat wave, with temperatures reaching nearly 130 degrees, hot enough to melt the asphalt on city streets. The prognosis is as dire for longer-term challenges. Projected sea level rise could expose nearly 40 million Indians to coastal flood by 2050, according to the United Nations; Pakistani and Bangladeshi coastal cities are also at risk.
These disaster risks have profound political and diplomatic consequences. Water, food, and energy security issues are inextricably linked in the South Asia context. Water resources have to feed India’s energy infrastructure (most of which are thermal plants requiring water as a coolant), its agriculture sector, as well as provide for human consumption (which increases drastically in a heat wave). The current Indian drought/heat wave, like most natural disasters worldwide, affect low-income and politically marginalized communities the hardest. Those without a cushion of financial resources often choose migration as an adaptation strategy; however, in doing so, family ties can be severed (many of the more desperate have chosen suicide as an escape). Activists in India are warning about the proliferation of “water wives” – while polygamy is officially illegal in the country, some men marry multiple women to increase the number of household members who can fetch water.
The regional dynamic here is also a critical concern. While historically India and Pakistan have put transboundary water cooperation (especially the Indus River system) on a stable footing, there is an oft-cited concern that accelerating scarcity due to expanding demand and dwindling supply will contribute to the continued strained relationship. India’s long-term plan for the conveyance of water from surplus to deficit states, to be accomplished through the diversion of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, has been met with protest by Bangladesh, which fears that the decreased flow of both will play havoc with its economy. Hopefully countries in the region can expand upon this cooperative model; however, those steps will require a higher degree of political will for dialogue and normalization than has been demonstrated in recent years....—Neil Bhatiya, "World Humanitarian Summit Wraps Up as Heat, Drought and State Fragility Plague South Asia," The Center for Climate & Security, 5/24/16
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Shrouded in Secrecy and Lies, Dominion Builds Dangerous Gas Facility in Cove Point Neighborhood
For decades, there has been a mostly dormant liquefied gas (LNG) import facility in the community of Cove Point on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Southern Maryland. Surrounded by forest on conservation land and across the street from residential homes and neighborhoods, the huge white storage tanks are only visible from the opening at the plant’s entrance. It used to be that locals hardly gave the facility a thought. The area is known for its Calvert Cliffs, where 12-million-year-old fossils from the Miocene Era are plentiful, for its historic light house, beaches, fishing and boating, and for the usual activities of community life.
Life is not so tranquil now. For the past 15 months, Cove Pointers have been learning what it means to live in a sacrifice zone, where corporate profits are more important than public safety and where their legitimate concerns are ignored. Dominion Resources is building a power plant, gas refinery and liquefaction train on the dormant site to import or export liquefied gas depending on whether the highest prices are at home or abroad.
This is the first time anywhere in the world that an LNG export terminal would be placed in such a densely-populated residential community. Due to the associated pollution and hazards of chemical spills, fires and explosions, these plants are placed in remote areas or, as in the community of Quintana, Texas, the corporation offered to buy local homes at market value plus $25,000 to cover the inconvenience of moving.
The community of Cove Point has not been given any choice in this situation. The planning and permitting process for the new facility have been rushed through with secrecy and lies. Dominion has donated tens of thousands of dollars to buy the community’s good will. It gave the Calvert County government $25 million to just think about the issue and has promised around $40 million a year once the terminal is running. In return, the county has waived regulations and cut taxes. Meanwhile, the community’s pleas for environmental impact and safety studies have been rejected or ignored.
Resistance to Dominion’s terminal is strong and growing in the local community with support from allies up and down the East Coast. This is the familiar story of a large corporation lying and cheating to make profits without regard for human life or the future livability of the planet. Here is a peek into what is public knowledge, though there is likely much more that has been done in secrecy.
... We Are All Cove Point
In September, FERC granted a permit for Dominion’s project to proceed at Cove Point, and construction started shortly afterward. Local members of the community who had tried to work within the legislative and judicial systems to halt construction until adequate health and safety studies had been conducted were dismayed, but they did not give up.
People were inspired by a group employing nonviolent direct action to stop a methane and propane storage cavern in Seneca Lake, New York, called “We Are Seneca Lake,” and a new coalition formed in November called “We Are Cove Point.” People and organizations from all over the East Coast joined the coalition in the recognition that stopping the terminal at Cove Point is fundamental to stopping fracking and new fossil fuel infrastructure and to mitigating the climate crisis.
 Heather Doyle, sentenced Friday, May 27 to three months in jail, 240 hours of community service; court costs; and two years of probation today of supposedly filing a false statement after she was assaulted by Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Vladimir Bortchevsky during a February 3, 2015, action on a Dominion Cove Point construction site.
On that date, Heather and another activist with Stopping Extraction and Exports Destruction (SEED) climbed a crane on a site being used for the construction of a massive fracked gas export terminal in the community of Cove Point, Maryland. They hung a banner from the top of the crane that read “Dominion, go home. No gas exports. Don’t frack Maryland. Save Cove Point.” The climbers’ lives were jeopardized when law enforcement officers tried to remove them from the crane in an unsafe way — an allegation that the state’s attorney didn’t challenge in court. The complaint Heather filed that is central to this case stems from her being assaulted during the extraction by a 6’4”, 285 lb. cop while surrounded by numerous officers, Dominion employees, and contractors....—" Heather Doyle found guilty, jailed in Calvert County," by seedcoalition, May 27, 2016
Dominion reports that the terminal at Cove Point will be used to export gas from the Marcellus Shale, which covers seven states, and the Utica Shale in Ohio. This will require more fracking, pipelines and compressor stations to bring the gas to Cove Point and will place the health and safety of more communities at risk. In fact, Cabot Oil and Gas, a major fracker in Pennsylvania, has already signed contracts with the Japanese company Sumitomo to sell gas for twenty years starting on the date that the terminal at Cove Point becomes operational.
The terminal at Cove Point will release more than two million tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs) per year. This doesn’t take into account the GHGs that will be emitted by associated compressor stations, from fracking, from pipeline leaks and from the burning of gas that is transported overseas. In an era where we are expected to reach our maximum carbon budget by 2018, the addition of more GHGs will worsen the climate crisis for the whole world.
...Resistance to Dominion’s terminal at Cove Point and the associated infrastructure is rising. Communities in Myersville and Leesburg have risen up against the compressor stations being expanded there. Residents of Southwestern Virginia opposed to Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline are refusing to allow Dominion surveyors onto their property and are now being sued by Dominion. Inspired by the fracking ban in New York, Pennsylvanians are pushing their new governor to stop fracking.
Members of We Are Cove Point engaged in nonviolent direct action beginning in November to raise awareness of the dangers of the terminal and to slow construction. So far, 31 people have been arrested for protesting the terminal. Some have gone to trial and a large group, which includes this author, has hearings on February 20 and 23 in Calvert County.
It will be interesting to see how Calvert County responds to the protesters. Some will present a necessity defense arguing that the terminal is a danger to public health and safety and that other methods to address the danger have failed. There is little optimism that the trial will be fair given the influence that Dominion has in the county, particularly over the county attorney, police and sheriff’s departments.
There have been more than 200 arrests for blocking construction at Seneca Lake, and many from We Are Seneca Lake have served time in jail as a result. Still, they remain resolute in their opposition — and so will the people of We Are Cove Point because in reality we are all Cove Point.—Margaret Flowers, "Shrouded in Secrecy and Lies, Dominion Builds Dangerous Gas Facility in Cove Point Neighborhood ," We Are Cove Point
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From the Good News Not Noted Department: Forest Service Denies Atlantic Coast Pipeline Route
Roanoke, VA — [on January 21, 2016] the United States Forest Service formally denied the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s (ACP) application for a Special Use Permit. This denial is likely to seriously delay the project. The ACP must provide a new route or system alternatives before it can proceed.
As planned, the ACP would run over 550 miles through West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. It would be larger in diameter than the Keystone XL. Approximately 40-50 miles of the ACP would cut through the Washington and Monongahela National Forests. The pipeline would cut large and permanent clearcut throughout the entire length of the pipeline, causing dramatic forest fragmentation through some of the most high-quality forest habitat in our region.
Ben Luckett, Staff Attorney with Appalachian Mountain Advocates, stated, “We’re thrilled the Forest Service followed through on its duty to protect the forests. Dominion’s arrogance in trying to force its project into an entirely inappropriate area is shocking.”
The Forest Service’s basis for denying the special use permit is the proposed route’s likely impacts on the Cow Knob and Cheat Mountain Salamanders and the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel. The Forest Service’s regulations and the relevant Forest Plans prohibit the agency from authorizing any activities that would harm those rare and endangered species. It rejected ACP’s contention that using a technique called horizontal directional drilling to go under Shenandoah Mountain would avoid these impacts.
“This project has been fast-tracked from the beginning with no regard for the treasure trove of natural resources in its path, as today’s decision by the Forest Service clearly shows, nor the extent of the impact on communities and property owners,” said Hannah Wiegard, Virginia Campaign Coordinator with Appalachian Voices. She noted that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which must issue a permit for the project, had sent ACP a 30-page notification last month detailing scores of deficiencies in the company’s permit application.
This denial also sets the tone for the Forest Service’s forthcoming response to the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), a similarly sized pipeline routed through West Virginia and Virginia. The MVP is proposed to cut across the Jefferson National Forest, land managed by the same branch of the Forest Service that issued today’s route denial.
Luckett explains: “The MVP threatens many of the same devastating impacts on prime forest habitat.” The Forest Service is expected to comment on the MVP proposal in the coming months.
Several conservation groups oppose these proposed pipelines not only because of the direct forest impacts, but also for the role they would play in delaying renewable energy development....— Hannah Weigard, "Forest Service Denies Atlantic Coast Pipeline Route," Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 1/21/16
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New Brunswick indefinitely extends hydraulic fracturing moratorium
 Energy Minister Donald Arseneault says the New Brunswick government will indefinitely extend the province's moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.
The energy minister made the announcement on Friday in Fredericton. It was in response to the February report from the Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing.
Arseneault said the shale gas industry still has not met the conditions necessary to lift the moratorium.
"We have been clear that we would not allow this activity to go forward unless our five conditions were met," Arseneault said in a statement.
"Creating jobs is our number one priority, but not at any cost. It is clear that our conditions cannot be satisfied in the foreseeable future."
Premier Brian Gallant's Liberals imposed a moratorium on the shale gas industry shortly after winning the election.
The provincial government then appointed the hydraulic fracturing commission in March 2015 to investigate the contentious issue.
The three-volume document offered a long list of recommendations on steps the provincial government could take if it opted to allow for shale gas development.
Arseneault said there is still nothing in place to treat wastewater from fracking sites. And he said industry still has not accommodated First Nations concerns.
The energy minister said the provincial government's response to the commission's report "strikes the appropriate balance" between economic development and protecting the environment....—Daniel McHardie, "New Brunswick indefinitely extends hydraulic fracturing moratorium," CBC News, 5/27/16
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2° C Coming On Faster Than We Feared
Atmospheric Methane Spikes to Record 3096 Parts Per Billion
It’s essential that policymakers begin to seriously consider the possibility of a substantial permafrost carbon feedback to global warming. If they don’t, I suspect that down the road we’ll all be looking at the 2°C threshold in our rear-view mirror. — Robert Max Holmes
Unraveling the global warming puzzle is simple at its face, complex when you pierce the surface.
We know that burning fossil fuels, that the activity of mining coal, fracking for gas, and drilling for oil all result in dangerous greenhouse gas emissions. We know that the vast majority of these warming gasses are coming from fossil fuel based sources. We know that, now, the burning and mining and fracking and drilling have pushed atmospheric CO2 above 405 parts per million and the global concentration of all CO2 equivalent gasses to an amazing 485 parts per million CO2e (levels not seen in at least 15 million years). And we know that the heat re-radiated by these gasses has warmed the world by about 1 C above 1880s levels — forcing weather patterns to change, seas to rise, ocean health to decline, and setting off a wave of die offs in the animal world while increasing the near-term risk of hunger, spreading tropical disease, and mass displacement in the human world.
We know many of the names of these other gasses — methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbon. And some of the others — like sulfur hexaflouride — many of us haven’t yet heard of. But the big name, the primary warming agent, is carbon dioxide — responsible on its own for the majority of the overall heat forcing currently. A gas so important to long term warming that NASA has called it ‘the thermostat that controls Earth’s temperature.’
All this is pretty simple and straightforward. But it’s when we start looking at what are called amplifying feedbacks — the Earth System Sensitivity responses to human forced warming — that things really start to get dicey. And wrapped up in the Earth System Sensitivity equation is methane — a greenhouse gas with the ability to strongly influence global temperatures over rather short time-frames.
Methane Spikes to Over 3,000 parts per Billion
On February 20th, for about 12 hours, the NOAA METOP measure recorded a major atmospheric methane spike in the range of 3,096 parts per billion at 20,000 feet in altitude. This was the first time that any measure had recorded such a high methane spike and the first time any measure had exceeded the 3,000 parts per billion threshold. For context, just two years ago, a methane spike in the range of 2,660 parts per billion would have been significant. Now, we’re getting peak readings that are more than 400 parts per billion higher than that previous maximum threshold....—RobertScribbler, "2° C Coming On Faster Than We Feared — Atmospheric Methane Spikes to Record 3096 Parts Per Billion," robertscribbler blog, 2/26/16
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Bank of England Head Backs Insurance Drive for Paris Climate Deal
Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, has added his name to a high level list of leading insurers who have committed to help developing countries cope with climate impacts.
The Insurance Development Forum was launched at the Paris climate summit with the backing of the UN, World Bank and leading development agencies.
Carney will join the chief executives of Lloyd’s, AXA, Swiss RE, Munich RE and Aviva Global Insurance on a steering committee that will deliver a set of proposals in September.
XL Catlin CEO Stephen Catlin, who chairs the IDF alongside UNDP head Helen Clark and the World Bank’s Joaquim Levy, said the industry had been “hopeless” at delivering a common ambition.
Mark Carney: Climate one of “top risks” facing insurance industry
“This unique project with the leaders of the UN and the World Bank Group will be closely watched by all to see that we deliver on our promise to support society’s need for natural disaster risk awareness, risk management, resilience and insurance protection,” he said in a statement.
A 1% increase in the penetration of insurance could reduce the impact of disasters on taxpayers by as much as 22%, he said.
The cost of natural disasters has risen tenfold since the mid-1980s, according to a study published by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
Annual total damage averaged over a 10-year period is now estimated to be $140 billion, with around 170 million people affected every year.
While many disasters are linked to earthquakes, an increasing number can be attributed to rising global temperatures linked to the burning of fossil fuels, said the study.—Ed King, "Mark Carney backs insurance drive for Paris climate deal," climate change news, 5/18/16
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The Sand Mines That Ruin Farmland
 Credit Julianna Brion
Chicago — While the shale gas industry has been depressed in recent years by low oil and gas prices, analysts are predicting that it will soon rebound. Many of the environmental hazards of the gas extraction process, called hydraulic fracturing or fracking, are by now familiar: contaminated drinking water, oil spills and methane gas leaks, exploding rail cars and earthquakes.
A less well-known effect is the destruction of large areas of Midwestern farmland resulting from one of fracking’s key ingredients: sand.
Fracking involves pumping vast quantities of water and chemicals into rock formations under high pressure, but the mix injected into wells also includes huge amounts of “frac sand.” The sand is used to keep the fissures in the rock open — acting as what drilling engineers call a “proppant” — so that the locked-in oil and gas can escape.
Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota are home to some of the richest agricultural land anywhere in the world. But this fertile, naturally irrigated farmland sits atop another resource that has become more highly prized: a deposit of fine silica sand known as St. Peter sandstone. This particular sand is valued by the fracking industry for its high silica content, round grains, uniform grain size and strength. These qualities enable the St. Peter sand to withstand the intensity of fracking, and improve the efficiency of drilling operations.
In the Upper Midwest, this sandstone deposit lies just below the surface. It runs wide but not deep. This makes the sand easy to reach, but it also means that to extract large quantities, mines have to be dug across hundreds of acres.
At the end of 2015, there were 129 industrial sand facilities — including mines, processing plants and rail heads — operating in Wisconsin, up from just five mines and five processing plants in 2010. At the center of Illinois’s sand rush, in LaSalle County, where I am counsel to a group of farmers that is challenging one mine’s location, The Chicago Tribune found that mining companies had acquired at least 3,100 acres of prime farmland from 2005 to 2014.—Nancy Loeb, "The Sand Mines That Ruin Farmland," The New York Times, 5/23/16
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