New Uohn Muir biography out

Here is an excellent review, by Douglas Brinkley, of Donald Worster’s new John Muir biography, “A Passion for Nature.” Muir, of course, is considered to be the father of America’s wlderness preservation movement and the Sierra Club.

Scientists speak out about shrinking of world’s glaciers

This has been one of the more publicized aspects of climate change, but here’s the latest take from the Associated Press.

Coal mining companies report record profits

The Earth’s climate is changing — for the worse — as we speak and meanwhile, two big coal-mining outfits report huge profits, as this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story notes. What a damn shame.

Quote of the month

“At the end of the day, it should be the scientific foundation that drives the decisions.”

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, on his decision to review changes made by the Bush administration to the Endangered Species Act.

A lively discussion about Obama and conservation

Right here.

Who will speak for the forests?

A darn good question asked here by veteran conservationist and author George Wuerthner.

Cougars in the Northeast again?

I found this 2006 note on Ralph Maughan’s Wildlife News blog and post it here because several readers have responded to me regarding previous posts about wolves in the Northeast:

“Cougars have been showing up in unexpected places over the years. The Cougar Network has documented authentic cougar sightings in Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and a few other central states. Not only that, but there is some evidence of cougars in the Northeast US, and the suspicion that a few cougars still roam Quebec has been confirmed. The origin of Northeast cougars is still being debated. Some are certainly released or escaped captives, but it is possible that a few of these sightings could be wild cats, especially if it comes to light that the east Canadian cougars are of wild origin. In the Midwest, the situation is far more certain; while some cougars have indeed been identified as definite or probable releases, many others have been classified as wild, naturally dispersing cougars. Considering the explosive white-tailed deer population and regeneration of forest cover, it’s not surprising that cougars have been migrating eastward from both the Black Hills and western Texas. The prospect of parts of the East once again supporting cougars is exciting.”

A follow-on note of my own: Big predators like Cougars would have a tough time moving around on the Northeast’s landscape given the gazzillions of miles of roads we have junked up the land with.

Grand Canyon flow fights bursts into the open

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility today issued this timely statement regarding Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon Dam and the Colorado River – and sound science:

The U.S. Department of Interior position in court on maintaining current flows from the Glen Canyon Dam is based upon a “mistreatment and disregard of science” that “significantly impairs Grand Canyon resources” according to a  memo by the Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  These charges present a direct challenge for incoming Interior Secretary Ken Salazar who has promised that agency “decisions are based on sound science and the public interest” and will reflect “high ethical standards”.

At issue is whether the Colorado River will be managed to build beaches and protect aquatic life in the Grand Canyon, as required by law, or to minimize costs to wholesale power customers.  On behalf of Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation has issued a five-year plan which precludes any additional steady high flows following a much heralded high-flow “experiment” conducted last March.

In a scathing January 15, 2009 memo, Grand Canyon Superintendent Steve Martin assails Reclamation’s Environmental Assessment (EA) and misrepresentations by the government in defending it against a lawsuit filed by the Grand Canyon Trust, a non-profit seeking to restore Colorado River flows to more closely resemble the river’s natural rhythms to benefit Grand Canyon wildlife.  Martin, a former Deputy Director of the National Park Service (NPS), calls Reclamation’s work “perhaps the worst EA I have seen for an action of this importance” because it finds no significant environmental impact for a course of action which, among other defects  -

• Is rooted in a “lack of scientific veracity” that “continues to misinterpret key scientific findings related to the humpback chub, [and the] status of downstream resources in Grand Canyon”;

• Suffers from a “failure to address NPS concerns that actions under the EA’s five-year plan would impair the resources of Grand Canyon”; and

• Falsely suggests Park Service concurrence with the five-year plan and in so doing violates both Interior policies and environmental statutes such as the Grand Canyon Protection Act.  Martin says that while the Park Service agreed to the March high flow experiment, it never consented to a five-year regime that lacks subsequent high flows and seasonal steady flows.

“If Secretary Salazar really means to clean house at Interior, he needs to start right here,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that Sec. Salazar’s predecessor, Dirk Kempthorne, tried to silence Martin and ruled that the Superintendent’s “statements do not reflect the Department’s unanimous final decision regarding this matter.”  “The Secretary should first withdraw this flawed EA and then discipline the officials responsible for it.”

This past November, the Grand Canyon Trust has filed for summary judgment in its suit, contending that Interior has no legal defense for its actions.  Martin’s letter undercuts key government assertions.

“Secretary Salazar should not permit his department to perpetrate a fraud upon the court,” Ruch added.

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Europe to U.S.: You’re a big polluter

So reads the headline over this New York Times’ “science” section article, that’s on target. I think similarly everytime I see fellow residents of this little town drive, rther than walk, to the borough post office. It’s no wonder we’re destroying the Earth’s climate while gettign fat on a personal level.

Passenger rails poised for comeback?

Don’t bet on it, despite what this op-ed from High CountryNews says. Yet, the very future of our car-happy society depends on us makng other arrangements for geetting from point A to point B. Let’s start with walking and bicycling — snd passenger rail lines. But let’s get started now. Carbon dioxide emissions from a gazillion tailpipes is just one reason. Another? The construction of asphalt strips, a.k.a. highways, fragments and destroys wildlife habitat.