 People
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Photo: Pedro Quintana, KTVZ reporter @PedroKTVZ via Twitter
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President Pardons Ranchers That Fueled Bundy Protest
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump pardoned Dwight Hammond, Jr. and his son Steven Hammond, who were involved in a dispute with federal authorities over federal land usage that sparked the takeover of a wildlife refuge in Oregon by another group of ranchers led by Ammon Bundy in 2016. The two were convicted in 2012 of committing arson on federal lands in Oregon, and both served more than half of their five-year sentences. As CNN explained, "[t]he Hammonds said they started a fire on their property in 2001 to protect it from wildfires and reduce the growth of invasive plants, but that the fire got out of hand, CNN affiliate KTVZ reported. Prosecutors said in 2016 they set fires to cover up evidence of poaching." The President blamed the "previous administration" alleging that it had "filed an overzealous appeal that resulted in the Hammonds being sentenced to five years in prison."
The standoff in 2016 in Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge attracted anti-government activists from around the region who took over government buildings on the Refuge and using military tactics and long guns promised to "defend" the rights of ranchers. According to The New York Times, behind the scenes over the last few months, cattle ranchers and agriculture groups like the Oregon Cattlemen's Association lobbied hard for the clemency -- urging Secretary of Interior Zinke and the President to take the action. Local and national environmental organizations decried the decision. The High Country News reported that Geoffrey Haskett, the president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association decried the decision saying, “[w]e regret the message sent by the president when pardoning the Hammonds, which bolsters those intent on destroying federal property and endangering federal employees.”
Why This Matters: These men were convicted and sentenced in federal court for having committed serious crimes - which they did not deny. This action emboldens others in the west to take matters into their own hands -- it excuses vigilante justice. Public servants working to conserve and protect federal lands in the west are likely feeling less secure today. And there are troubling racial justice issues involved here too. Peniel Joseph, who is the Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, said in an op/ed on CNN's web site that "President Trump's decision to pardon cattle ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son Steven Hammond for committing arson on federal lands in Oregon sends a troubling signal about double standards of justice based on race in America."
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 Forests
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Whiskey Saving Washington's Native Oaks
The Garry oak is Washington State's only native oak species, a slender and twisty tree that has seen its range dwindle to just 5 percent of its original range. When European settlers came to Washington they suppressed natural brush fires that allowed Douglas firs and other species overtake them and deprive them of the direct sunlight they need to survive. Now, an unlikely conservationist--whiskey maker Matt Hofmann of Westland Distillery--is working to bring back the species by using its wood for whiskey barrels. As Stephen Mathis from the New Food Economy explained, considering that over the more than 800 years humans have been making whiskey, producers have matured their spirits almost exclusively in just three types of oak, it's remarkable that Hofmann has been able to make a delicious whiskey from Garry oak barrels.
After Westland was bought by Rémy Cointreau, the distillery had the resources to sustainably procure more Garry oak barrels and market it as a true ingredient that gives the whiskey its distinctive taste. By making the endangered oak part of Westland's story it helps spur conservation efforts for it. The company has been planting saplings on protected land in an attempt to re-establish some small part of the Garry oak habitat that has been lost. Since it will take two whole lifetimes before those saplings can provide usable lumber, these conservation efforts are less about stocking the Garry oak pipeline and more about “doing right.”
Why This Matters: Matt Hofmann put it best in saying that “Rémy Cointreau sees this as the future. There is a variety of things that consumers will put into their equations of value. More and more, the concepts of authenticity and ‘doing right’ and sustainability all become as much a part of the equation as the flavor and the price, and that’s where we operate.”
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 Energy
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Big Oil's "Astroturf" Campaign
Nexus Media wrote in their Denier Roundup about a new initiative created by the American Petroleum Institute called “Explore Offshore” to counter offshore drilling foes in coastal southeast states from Virginia to Florida, where lawmakers and governors on both sides of the aisle have expressed fear an oil spill could ruin tourism. As Reuters reported, a key part of API’s effort to convince minority communities to support a product that disproportionately hurts them is through a series of op-eds. Media Matters took a look at the published pieces and concluded that many of them are misleading. The group also found that API stat about the economic benefits of drilling was exaggerated “by a factor of 20.”
Nexus went on to explain that "What’s perhaps even more galling is that this minority-targeted effort is run predominately by old white men. In the leadership circle of Explore Offshore, there are as many women of color as there are men named Jim (that is, only two). The one African-American man involved, Steve Gilchrist, counts Steven Bannon as a friend. (Bannon, you no doubt remember, used Breitbart to launder White Nationalism into the mainstream.) And while the group touts itself as bipartisan, the sole Democrat among the national and state Chairs is Jim Webb, who has expressed an “affinity for the Confederacy.”
Why This Matters: Since communities of color are the most affected by air pollution and climate change it makes sense that these voters are opposed to more offshore drilling. Pushing them to support a commodity that is detrimental to human health is nefarious at best. API's campaign is what some call “astroturfing,” the name for advocacy efforts that appear as grassroots but are in reality a corporate PR effort.
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 Water
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Membrane Technology Creates Clean Water from Cow Manure
A dairy in northwestern Washington State will begin testing a new water filtration membrane that is capable of filtering cow manure and turning it into water clean enough for horticultural irrigation and drinking by livestock. The technology is being developed by agricultural waste solution company Regenis.
As Feedstuffs reported, this state-of-the-art system will generate 12,000 gallons of clean water daily from the 22,000 gallons of cow manure the farm produces through a unique combination of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. Once treated, the water is suitable for farm animals to drink or even may benefit local salmon runs by increasing streamflow. Additionally, by separating solids from liquids, the system can generate 8,000 gallons of nitrogen and potassium-rich concentrate daily for use as a chemical-free fertilizer, the remainder of the captured manure is a phosphorous-rich solid nutrient. Nothing from the process will be discarded.
Why This Matters: Much of the Western United States has been experiencing a drought in recent decades (Washington State included) and farmers are trying to get more creative with their water use. Wastewater filtration has been one approach especially as 3D printing technology helps make membranes more affordable and effective. In the instance of the Regenis filter, it almost completely recycles all waste and creates a closed loop system. For humans especially, "toilet-to-tap" is seen as a viable way to provide drinking water to drought-stricken cities, if people can get past the stigma that is!
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 Oceans
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State of the World's Fisheries -- Wasted; U.S. Law -- May Be Weakened
The United Nations released its annual report Monday on the state of the world's wild fisheries and fish farming. Several key take-aways emerged from this year's report, but the biggest one had to do with waste. The UN found that more than a third of global catches are wasted. About a quarter of these losses occur when unwanted fish are thrown back dead because they are too small or an unwanted species. However, the bulk of the losses come from poor handling or faulty equipment, such as refrigerators and ice that are needed to keep fish fresh. In addition, the report states that:
- total fish production has reached a record high thanks to more fish farming, particularly in China
- over half the fish eaten in the world now come from fish farms also known as aquaculture
- the amount of wild-caught fish has remained nearly constant since the late 1980s
- a third of commercial fish species are overfished
- almost 20% more fish will be eaten by 2030, helping to feed the growing global population
U.S. NGO Oceana CEO, Andrew Sharpless, expressed disappointment over the trends described in the report; "[t]he number of overfished marine fisheries has risen over the last four years. And, despite increasingly sophisticated and aggressive fishing techniques, global catch has continued to decline. Overfishing and destructive gear, habitat degradation, pollution, and short-term thinking have limited the amount of wild seafood available to humanity. And these same problems continue to threaten the health of the ocean and all the species that live there."
Why This Matters: The U.S. has been the global bright spot when it comes to managing fisheries and ensuring that overfished stocks are rebuilt. But that could be coming to an end. Late yesterday, in a close vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that significantly weakens U.S. fisheries law. The bill is controversial -- it is opposed by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, the Seafood Harvesters of America, a group of 50 chefs, a coalition of five large aquariums, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, in California, and a collection of nine environmental and ocean conservation groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund, Earthjustice and Oceana North America. This could be a Congressional rollback of a major ocean conservation success story unless the Senate puts on the brakes.
To Go Deeper on Fisheries: Read the full UN Report by clicking here.
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 Animals
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One Scary Thing: "Radioactive" Wolf from Chernobyl on the Loose
After the nuclear reactor at the power plant at Chernobyl exploded in 1986 (the area is now in Ukraine), the Russian government closed a thirty square mile area around the reactor, known as the "Exclusion Zone." No one is allowed to live there because, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the explosion released about 400 times more radioactive material than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. As a result, the Exclusion Zone has become a nature preserve of sorts, where certain species of wildlife, like gray wolves, have flourished. Scientists studying these wolves have put tracking collars on them and now learned that while the adult wolves stay within the zone, at least one juvenile roamed far beyond the boundaries. It was last "seen" via its tracking device about 186 miles outside the Exclusion Zone, but due to a collar malfunction, scientists are not sure where the juvenile wolf is any longer. Uh oh!!
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For a real scare, watch the full doc.
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