The BRAD BLOG : ‘Green News Report’

With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen…

By Desi Doyen ¹ on 11/5/2013, 4:33pm PT

IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Climate scientists go nuclear; Coal spills & kills; Obama announces major new climate action; UN’s latest warning; PLUS: Germany breaks its own clean energy record — again … All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com ² or right here at the comments link below.

All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com ³.

IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Video: Why GMO labeling is a ‘Story of Solutions’; Britain s new flood protection plan is to surrender to the ocean; Antibiotic resistance spreads to birds, wildlife; Even LBJ knew about climate change; The secret, dirty cost of ethanol; Oops: carbon capture and storage causes earthquakes; US natural gas reserves wildly overestimated; Facial scrub plastic micro-beads polluting Great Lakes … PLUS: The caveman dilemma: Why we take such lousy care of ourselves and our planet … and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

Remember, Remember the 5th of November: Election Day Environment:
Obama’s Next Big Climate Action:
UN Warns Time Running Out to Address Climate Change “Emissions Gap”:
Climate Scientists Go Nuclear:
Coal Spills & Kills:
Germany Breaks Renewable Energy Record AGAIN — 59% Renewable Generation:

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

The caveman dilemma: Why we take such lousy care of ourselves and our planet⁴ (Grist):
We re cavemen come to live in the city. Our bodies just aren t adapted for this stuff.
Britain s New Flood Protection Plan: Surrender To The Ocean⁵ (Climate Progress)
Flying the coop: Antibiotic resistance spreads to birds & wildlife:⁶ (Environmental Health News):
Julie Ellis unfurled a long, white tarp under a stand of trees near Coes Pond where hundreds of crows roost.

Her mission: to collect as much bird poop as possible. Back in the laboratory, Ellis’ colleagues combed through the feces. Testing its bacteria, they discovered something unusual — genes that make the crows resistant to antibiotics.
Even LBJ knew about climate change: (Grinzo.com):
⁷
Carbon Capture and Storage Can Cause Earthquakes, Making It A Risky And Likely Unsuccessful Strategy ⁸ (Climate Progress)
Ethanol: The secret, dirty cost of green power push⁹ (AP Opinion):
When President George W.

Bush signed a law that year requiring oil companies to add billions of gallons of ethanol to their gasoline each year, Bush predicted it would make the country stronger, cleaner and more secure. But the ethanol era has proven far more damaging to the environment than politicians promised and much worse than the government admits today.
Fracking and Red Queen Syndrome¹⁰ (Climate Crocks):
Red Queen Syndrome: It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. … Many wells behind the energy gush are quickly losing productivity, and some areas could hit peak levels sooner than the U.S.

government expects, according to analyses presented last week at a Geological Society of America meeting in Denver.
VIDEO: Why GMO labeling is a ‘Story of Solutions’¹¹ (Green Biz):
“The Story of Solutions” offers a simple, profound message about the choices we face, and concrete ideas for how to advance a healthier, sustainable economy. Best of all, the film leaves us with a tool we can use to evaluate our own work in the world, and ask the honest question: Am I on the right track?
This college turned its football field into an organic farm¹² (Grist)
Study Shows Plastic Microbeads in Facial Scrubs Pollute Great Lakes¹³ (EcoWatch)
Why the Climate Corporation Sold Itself to Monsanto¹⁴ (New Yorker):
The Climate Corporation, which has nearly two hundred scientists trying to make sense of fifty terabytes of weather data every day, will continue to operate as an independent unit, but I was surprised at Friedberg s decision, because many food activists consider Monsanto to be the definitively evil corporation.
Naomi Klein: How science is telling us all to revolt¹⁵ (New Statesman):
Is our relentless quest for economic growth killing the planet? Climate scientists have seen the data and they are coming to some incendiary conclusions.
Coal industry’s go-to law firm withheld evidence of black lung, at expense of sick miners¹⁶ (Center for Public Integrity)
>Leaked Documents Reveal the Secret Finances of a Pro-Industry Science Group¹⁷ (Mother Jones):
Attacking the science behind environmental health and safety rules has long been an industry tactic.

The American Council on Science and Health, a leader of the charge, has for years claimed that it is not an industry shill but an independent science organization. But it doesn’t disclose its funders. Now documents reveal most of its funding comes from industries who stand to profit from its claims.
Why we don’t care about saving our grandchildren from climate change:¹⁸ (TIME’s Eco-Centric Blog) emphasis added:
A new study shows that human beings are too selfish to endure present pain to avert future climate change.

That’s why we need win-win solutions now….The Nature Climate Change study also underscores why “win-win” climate policies – like innovation investments that can lead directly to cheap clean energy, rather than policies that make dirty energy more expensive – are likely to be the most effective ones.