 Air
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EPA Keeps Rolling Back Regs: Proposes New Methane Gas Rule
In a move that it “leaked” last week to the “failing New York Times,” the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday its proposal to loosen the Obama Administration’s rules on methane gas leaks from drilling operations. According to CNN, the proposed rule loosens several key controls on methane gas leaks — it doubles the time for leak inspections and for compliance — leak inspections would be required annually instead of every six months, and any violations could be corrected within 60 days as opposed to within 30 days. The proposal also doubles the time allowed between inspections of the gas-trapping equipment and allows drilling companies to comply with state laws as opposed to federal ones in the states that have their own laws. And even EPA admits that it will add 380,000 tons of methane to the atmosphere between 2019 and 2025, in addition to smaller amounts of other air pollutants.
The EPA boasted that loosening the regulation in this manner would save the industry almost half a billion dollars from 2019 to 2025 and support the domestic energy sector — which is less than $100M annually. The Interior Department has proposed a similar rollback for intentional venting and “flaring,” or burning, of methane drilling operations on federal lands — and that rule is expected to go final very soon.
Why This Matters: This is part three of the Trump Administration greenhouse gas and toxic air emissions roll back trifecta. As the New York Times explained, the E.P.A. already proposed weakening a rule on carbon dioxide pollution from vehicle tailpipes — the Obama Administration’s so-called Clean Car Rule. Then in August, the EPA proposed eliminating the Obama Clean Power Plan — replacing Obama’s plan to curb carbon dioxide pollution from coal-fired power plants with a far weaker one. Once this third rule is final, Team Trump will have wiped out all the major gains made by the Obama Administration to impose controls on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. This sets back the work of more than a decade of conservation activism. SAD.
What You Can Do: The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal. To comment, you can click here referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR2017-0483.
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 Climate Change
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#WeAreStillIn at #GCAS
Last year, in response to President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, the movement #WeAreStillIn emerged to bring together sub-national efforts that were determined to keep their commitments to the agreement. Mayors, governors, and business leaders wanted to signal to the world that even though our federal government reneged its promise to the global community to keep the increase of global average temperatures to 2C they would still steer their constituencies and businesses to meet that goal. The bipartisan coalition has expanded to include 3,500 representatives from all 50 states and now includes medium and small businesses, universities, faith groups, tribal leaders and cultural institutions.
At the #WeAreStillin event at GCAS yesterday there were some important messages that emerged: that we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, that it’s crunch time for climate change and we must find ways to act by any means necessary (even if that means supporting nuclear energy). Panelist and President of C2ES, Bob Perciasepe put it bluntly when he said that 10 years ago when the late senator John McCain was running for president against then-senator Barack Obama the Republican party had climate change as a part of their platform. Today, while the majority of the members in Congress want climate action, House and Senate leadership have squashed the issue and efforts to address it. Voting to put in place candidates (at all levels of government) who support climate action is critical. Another message was that we have to relay the urgency of climate change but also celebrate victories achieved—people tune out when they think the challenge is insurmountable.
Why This Matters: There are more Americans and American institutions that want action on climate change than those that don’t. Since the failure of the Waxman-Markey climate bill in the Senate in 2010 the depth of the constituency committed to climate action has grown. It’s no longer just environmental groups but leaders from every level of our government and economy that understand the urgency of curbing our GHG emissions. Knowing how many people are committed to the fight is a victory we can acknowledge as we move into the elections of the next several cycles.
(s/o to Elan Strait from WWF for allowing us to cover this event and to Climate Nexus and Ceres for hosting!)
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 Oceans
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Storm Surge in Atlantic City, New Jersey during Hurricane Sandy in 2012
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Don’t Be Fooled By Hurricane Flo Weakening — Storm Surge Is Still A Big Threat
Late last night the National Hurricane Center downgraded Florence to a Category 2 hurricane, but their rain and storm surge forecast remained grim and it could re-strengthen before making landfall. The Hurricane Center and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) similarly warn that storm surge is a huge threat and the main cause of loss of life during a hurricane. The UCS explained in a blog post that as Florence churns over “more than 1,000 miles of ocean, its winds push surface water toward the coast. That water piles up and creates a surge…While some storms, like Harvey, cause most of their flooding through intense rainfall, for others, like Sandy, storm surge is the primary cause of flooding.” Hurricane Sandy was only a Category 1 hurricane when it made landfall in Atlantic City, New Jersey but the storm surge caused devastating problems all the way up to New York City, where lower Manhattan flooded extensively and entire sections of Staten Island were wiped out.
Moreover, according to the UCS blog, sea level along the coast of the Carolinas has risen roughly 8 inches which is causing (as we have reported here) increasingly frequent high tide flooding in coastal cities like Charleston, which has seen more than a quadrupling in the number of high tide flooding events just since the 1970s. And when it comes to storm surge, higher sea levels make for larger, farther-reaching surges. Given this, the storm surge that Hurricane Florence will cause will reach farther inland than it would have historically.
Why This Matters: Sea level rise compounded by more frequent and rainier hurricanes are creating a new normal for hurricane damage along our coastlines. CoreLogic, a global property and analytics firm, estimated yesterday that the cost to rebuild the more than 750,000 homes in the path of the likely storm surge that spans Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina — would be $170B. Look at the cost of recovery in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria — it was recently estimated at $139B. Not to mention the storm damage in Hawaii this year – Tropical Storm Olivia made landfall there last night. These storms are really expensive. The Administration’s shifting of $40M from the Coast Guard and FEMA in the midst of hurricane season to cover the cost of detaining immigrants was a bad idea in every respect. But the real travesty is that the $40M causing a big flap is a mere drop in the bucket of what those agencies really need to do the job of preparedness and response. They need a massive funding surge to deal with the severe storms of the future.
To Go Deeper Into Storm Surge: You can learn more about storm surge at NOAA’s Surge website here, and watch their video about it here. The video is a real eye opener about the power of surging water.
For a nervous chuckle, you can watch President Trump’s “we’re ready” video here.
For a real laugh until you cry, watch the Daily Show’s segment aptly called “Don with the Wind” below. And to all our readers in the path of the storm, please BE SAFE — heed the storm surge warnings!
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Trevor Noah excellently ties together two of ODP’s stories today. Thanks, Trevor!
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 Animals
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Toxic Chemicals in the Arctic
We hear a lot about toxic chemicals in the news and how these substances which are used in industrial manufacturing can wind up in drinking water and make people sick. These chemicals, once released, can linger in the air, water, and soil for years (there’s a reason why chemicals like PCB and PFAS are called “persistent organic pollutants” or POPs). In 2001 most of the world came together at the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants to sign a treaty that would eliminate and restrict the manufacturing and use of POPs. The only countries that did not agree to the treaty were the U.S., Israel, Haiti, and Brunei.
One way scientists have tracked the treaty’s effectiveness is by monitoring how many POPs they find in the tissue of Arctic animals like whales, polar bears, seals etc. It turns out that regulations have finally led to a decrease in the prevalence of these dangerous substances in the Arctic. BUT, as Smithsonian Magazine reported, while concentrations of many older, phased-out chemicals are dropping, they still persist in some parts of the Arctic where they could be affecting marine mammals, seabirds, fish and even the northern people that subsist on these animals. Additionally, newer chemicals that started being used to replace older ones have also started showing up.
Why This Matters: These toxic chemicals originate in our centers of industry and travel to the Arctic through ocean currents. Once in the Arctic, they stay there, getting absorbed into plant roots or being eaten by plankton or other small creatures and work their way up the food chain where they can seriously affect larger species. Robert Letcher, a research senior scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada noted that some research has found that DDT and PCBs were found in polar bears’ thyroid hormones in levels high enough in some cases that they affect the bears’ memory and motor functions. Another study found POPs could negatively impact female sex hormones in polar bears. It gets even worse for killer whales as their bodies can’t break down the chemicals in their body and PCB levels in Arctic killer whales have been through the roof. This shows how interconnected our planet is and that toxic substances don’t just stay confined to factories but leak out and travel across our planet where they can wreak havoc for years. Additionally, this story shows that well-crafted regulations can work to achieve their intended goals.
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 Sustainability
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Recycled Electronics Are On Fire
Really on fire. The fire problem is not limited to Samsung phones on airplanes — old phones and tablets are catching on fire in garbage trucks and at electronic waste recycling centers too. The Washington Post reported yesterday on the growing problem with disposing of all our outmoded electronics — because when they are banged, crushed, punctured, ripped or even dropped, the battery in these items can produce what the industry describes as a “thermal event.” Why? The slim, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries contain Cobalt and can short circuit when the super-thin separator between their positive and negative parts is broken.
The number of fires that have been sparked by e-waste is increasing. According to The Post, in the last 6 months, batteries are suspected to have caused recycling plant fires in Arizona, Florida, New York, Wisconsin, Indiana, Idaho, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand. Local governments are struggling to handle recycling given that China will no longer take our trash, and this e-waste problem is making it worse.
Why This Matters: The Post’s article on e-waste fires was greatly overshadowed by the coverage of “Apple Day” yesterday – the day when Apple previews all its new products. Even in The Post (see below if you want to start making your holiday wish list) Apple Day was bigger news. The Post’s technology columnist, Jeffrey Fowler, admitted that the “tech press (including me) should write less about shiny new things and more about how to make old stuff last longer. Some gadget makers, including Apple, are taking steps to make recycling easier. But ultimately, this is an environmental problem of the tech industry’s own design. And it’s time they own it.” Yup. He’s right on all counts.
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The Washington Post says Apple’s New iPhone is BIG!
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 Food
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One Cool Thing: Bugs as Snacks
Nearly a third of the world relies on bugs as part of their diet yet American taste buds haven’t adapted to this sustainable food source. We’ve been conditioned to view insects and spiders as pests and certainly not something we should put in our mouths but some folks are trying to change this misconception. Take for instance Bitty Foods that removes the visual and mouthfeel barriers of bugs by dry roasting, dehydrating and grinding crickets into a powder that’s used like flour for salty snacks and baked goods. Additionally, a series on the Smithsonian Chanel called Bug Bites explores how bugs are used in cuisine all over the world. Have we piqued your interest? If so, here’s a cricket taco recipe to try out this weekend!
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