%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fben-jervey%2Fceres-report-reveals-which_b_10818056.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
CERES Report Reveals Which Electric Utilities Recognize The Clean Energy Future We Need  
Electric utilities tend to take a lot of heat for clouding public understanding of climate change and standing in the way of energy resources that won't cook the planet.

A number of utilities, for instance, have spent hundreds of millions over the past few years lobbying against the Clean Power Plan. Likewise, the Edison Electric Institute, the trade association representing the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) that serve nearly 70-percent of electric customers in the United States, has developed and is executing a multi-million dollar fight against rooftop solar.

It is, of course, unfair to lump all electric utilities together. A couple of recently published reports -- including one released Tuesday by Ceres -- reveal which investor-owned utilities are climate laggards and clean energy obstructionists, and which are working to transition to the clean, renewable energy future that the atmosphere demands. (Or at least are begrudgingly accepting said transition.)

The Ceres report looks at actual renewable energy deployment. In Benchmarking Utility Clean Energy Deployment: 2016, the report's authors analyze and rank investor-owned utilities -- which serve over two-thirds of American electric customers -- for how much clean energy and energy efficiency they deliver to customers.

This deep dive into deployment nicely complements the findings of an April report from the Sustainable Investments Institute (Si2) and the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi), which scores the nation's largest utilities across a dozen metrics for clean energy governance and, for lack of a better term, climate acceptance. Or, basically, how well these 25 of the largest investor-owned utilities are adapting their businesses for a clean energy future.

So what do these reports tell us?

A handful of utilities are leading; most are still living in the 20th Century

Consider this from the Ceres Benchmarking report: just four of the 30 companies analyzed in the report account for more than half of the total sales of renewable energy.

Of the 30 holding companies examined, which collectively represent 119 individual electric utility subsidiaries, Sempra Energy, PG&E, Edison International, and Xcel Energy ranked the highest.

A close look at this chart from the CERES report reveals three general tiers of renewable energy deployment. Those top four all procured over 20-percent of their electricity from renewable resources, and In Sempra's case, more than 36-percent. The majority of the holding companies are lumped in the 8- to 13-percent range, and then the bottom third of the bunch are all under 4-percent of renewable energy deployed. (Southern Company didn't share any data, but their political and operational history would suggest that their delivery of renewable energy is at the bottom of the barrel.)



An unfortunate reality is that three of the five largest holding companies in terms of retail electric sales -- Duke, Southern Company, and American Electric Power -- all fall in this bottom tier of renewable energy deployment.


Chart truncated. See Ceres report page 16 for full chart.

The range is clear in the IRRC Institute report as well. In, The Top 25 U.S. Electric Utilities: Climate Change, Corporate Governance and Politics, the authors rank the top investor-owned utilities holding companies across 12 metrics that show how seriously the companies' leaders are considering climate change in their planning, governance, and political activities.



Clearly, there's a lot of variability, not only in the energy mix provided to customers (as Ceres has since laid out in depth) but in a range of other corporate practices as well.

State policies matter a whole lot

Both reports show a pretty direct correlation between the utilities that are doing the most for renewable energy deployment and planning and the states with the most ambitious clean energy policy goals. States like California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Oregon -- all known for progressive climate and clean energy policies -- are host to utilities that score well on the Ceres benchmarks for renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment. Meanwhile, the lowest ranking utilities are almost always located in states with weak or non-existent policies, many of them in the Southeast.

Likewise, the companies that fare the worst in the corporate governance report do business in states with weaker policies. And that isn't always a coincidence, as the report reveals. The researchers track lobbying and direct spending in state and federal elections. The lowest-ranked companies tend to be the ones that spend the most on political activities. Which brings us to the next point.

Some utilities are digging in their heels in the 20th Century

Perhaps the most stunning revelation of the IRRC Institute report is how much some utilities are spending to maintain the fossil-fueled status quo.

"Some utilities are taking proactive approaches to ensure ample and dependable energy supplies that reduce regulatory and legal risk," said Jon Lukomnik, executive director of IRRCi. "But other utilities are digging in their heels while looking backwards to maintain business as usual. Rather than changing the energy mix or seeking innovation that can reduce capital costs, some utilities are deploying their resources toward court battles and political influence."

The companies that ranked lowest in the IRRCi report -- Southern, American Electric Power, and NRG Energy -- have spent the most on political and lobbying activities over the past five years.

Much of this spending was on federal issues, especially combatting the Clean Power Plan, utilities were also shown to spend heavily on state elections and lobbying state legislators in order to preserve state policies that promote centralized coal and natural gas-fired power plants.

Whatever utilities say, the Clean Power Plan won't hurt

Dan Bakal, director of electric power programs at Ceres and one of the report's authors, told DeSmog that one of the biggest revelations of their research was how relatively painless it is for utilities to comply with the Clean Power Plan. "Renewable energy and energy efficiency are both key components of the Clean Power Plan," said Bakal, going on to explain that many of the utilities they studied have already undergone the necessary transitions to comply with the regulations.

Companies are already demanding clean energy

Large corporate energy users are driving huge demand for clean energy, compelling utilities to keep up, as "green tariffs" and other large renewable energy purchasing programs are catching on in some states. The Ceres authors cite a Rocky Mountain Institute analysis that showed corporate renewable energy deals of more than 3.4 gigawatts in 2015, a whopping 300-percent increase over the previous year.



Finally, and obviously, clean energy is booming

No matter how some resist it, clean energy is taking a serious hold on the grid, and at a staggering rate. Last year, U.S. solar and wind capacity grew by more than 28 percent and 11 percent respectively, bringing combined capacity for both over 100 gigawatts for the first time in history. Looking just at utility-scale resources -- and ignoring for a moment the staggering growth of distributed rooftop solar -- solar and wind represented more than 60-percent of all net capacity additions in 2015, and for many utilities, they represented all of the capacity growth.

The 30 companies Ceres examined together sold 136,000-gigawatt hours of renewable energy to their retail customers in 2014, a 13-percent increase from the previous year.

"This is not shocking, if you follow the industry-wide trends toward renewables," said Bakal. "But on the renewable side, we're seeing dramatic growth in absolute numbers and in percentages. The numbers really jumped off the page."

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdana-ellis-hunnes%2Four-apathy-to-our-overfis_b_10819456.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Apathy To Our Overfished Oceans  

Image Credit: Huffington Post Images

We know there are only three northern white rhinos left on Earth.

We know that thousands of elephants are savagely murdered each year for their ivory.

We know pandas are endangered as they are frequently the "mascot" of environmental groups.

We know that polar bears are at risk for extinction in the near future because of global warming.

We know that certain tigers are near extinction.

When we hear the plight of these land animals we noticeably become sad, upset, angered, and we campaign to save them. We set up camps, and park systems, and conservation areas to protect these beautiful animals; or we try to find scientific methods to keep them alive.

Yet, when it comes to the oceans and Pelagic areas, many of us, and some "conservation groups" turn a blind eye, by not putting the resources into notifying the public of the sustainability problems betraying the oceans.

Yes, there are a number of "sustainability seafood" charts, but in reality the idea of sustainable fishing and fisheries is mostly a farce.

Between the 1950s and 1980s the annual seafood catch increased (in tonnage), and peaked in the late 80s to early 90s.

Since then, the level of seafood catch has been on the decline.

There just aren't the same number or size of fish in the ocean as there were back then.

And back then was not that long ago; a blink in the evolutionary clock.

The book, The End of the Line, discusses how in the 1950s, a single blue-fin tuna could be weigh as much as 1200-1300 pounds, while nowadays, the largest blue-fin tuna may be only weigh 400-500 pounds; not even large enough or old enough to reproduce.

Our desire for blue-fin tuna is killing multiple generations of future fish.

And to the proponents of fish-farming; it is neither environmentally friendly, nor sustainable.

As fish-farming increases to meet consumer demand for some of our favorite fish (salmon, tuna, cod), smaller wild fish are being caught at unsustainable rates to feed the farmed fish. In fact, it can take as much as 4-5 pounds of small-wild fish to create 1 pound of farmed fish.

Moreover, the ecological footprint of farmed fish may harm wild species by increasing water pollution, spreading disease, or out-competing them for resources and affecting their fecundity.

While many environmental groups know there is a problem of overfishing and overconsumption, and while some governmental and non-governmental organizations talk amongst themselves of the overfishing quandary, it is a poorly advertised and poorly discussed problem in the public media circles.

No entity of real importance or with policy-making capacity demonstrates (to the consumers) a worry, or a fear of the overfishing problem. It's a laissez-faire attitude.

But, The End of the Line and I argue, If the same methods used for fishing the oceans existed for land animals, there would be significant public outcry. If we all knew, just how destructive our fishing methods are, and could see it, perhaps we would advocate for change.

Just imagine, if 100 chickens were "accidentally" killed for every one we eat, this practice would be seen as unacceptable, unsustainable, and an abuse and misuse of resources.

Similarly, if a foot-ball field length of net were placed between two bulldozers driven (trawling) across the landscape clear cutting trees and wheat fields, trapping and dismembering birds, foxes, lions, bears, dogs, horses, or any other animal or plant you could think of, this not only would be unacceptable, but would probably lead to major changes in dietary habits, methodology, and conservation status.

We know there are fewer than 3% of blue-fin tuna left in the oceans; yet, the desire to eat their flesh is on the rise, particularly in Japan and in Japanese restaurants in other Western countries.

We know that in the Pacific Northwest, wild salmon populations have fallen precipitously, in part because of dams; yet, we are moving at a glacial pace to do anything to fix the problem.

Adding insult to injury, the USDA government nutrition guidelines continue to recommend consuming at least two portions of fish per week.

Two portions of fish per week for 320 million Americans is nearly 50 million tons of fish per year, or nearly 100 billion pounds of fish; and, that is just for direct consumption. This does not even include the number of fish caught for other uses, including pet food, vitamins, drugs, and other industrial uses (plant fertilizer!)

Although the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations reports over-fishing as a major problem, the message is not getting to us, the consumer.

What we need is stronger advocacy for change, from government officials, from those who have power to make change, and we need to offer proper guidance. We need to follow the example of the Netherlands which just this year recommended reducing fish consumption from two times per week down to only one time per week.

Our oceanic and Pelagic systems need to garner the same attention as our land-based systems, because not only does the world get a large amount of food from the oceans, but, the oceans are our life support.

Our oceans provide oxygen, food, and water to drink in the form of rain or snow. Our oceans temper our climate, keeping the Earth a livable place; but if we continue to damage them and kill all the life in them, we may inevitably kill ourselves.

Without our oceans we would look like Mars, or the moon, and so far, we have not found life on either.

We are killing our oceans. This is a fact. There needs to be outcry, there needs to be shock and awe, there needs to be worry.

Unfortunately, there are too many political factors and groups involved that tamp down education and advertisement about the state of our oceans and fisheries. These special interests don't want us to know about the problem, they will fish, until the last fish is gone. And this is a serious, serious problem.

As the renowned Sylvia Earle says, "no ocean, no life; no ocean, no us."

We need to stop thinking of our oceans as an endless bank from which we can take.

We need to think of the ocean as a living body, one that can recuperate if we leave it alone and reduce our impact. But, to do that, we need to move away from the "All You Can Eat Seafood Buffet" and sushi models of eating which feature unsustainable fish and unsustainable fishing methods.

We need to fight for our oceans. There is a problem, we need to fix it, and we need to do it sooner rather than later.

So, What is the Fix?

1. It begins by reducing our consumption of seafood.

2. It also includes advocating and discussing with our Congress-men and Senators to support more stringent fishing regulations, especially regarding the methods used and the amount that is caught.

3. It also includes finding other healthy sources of a essential nutrients like omega-3's, which we can get from algae and plant sources since that is how fish create their omega-3's, by eating algae.

Finally, if you DO feel the need to consume fish; do so rarely (this sustainable guide; as it is the best I've seen to date discussing these important conservation issues.

Lastly, be aware that eating fish may also come with health dangers, as I previously outlined in this article: Plastic: It's What's For Dinner.


For Interview requests or to contact Dana: recipe.for.survival@gmail.com
Twitter: recipe4survival
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RecipeForSurvival/
blog: recipeforsurvival.wordpress.com

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/martian-morse-code  
Martian Morse Code  
This image of dark dunes on Mars was taken on Feb. 6, 2016, by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. These dunes are influenced by local topography. The shape and orientation of dunes can usually tell us about wind direction, but in this image, the dune-forms are very complex, so it's difficult to know the wind direction.  
astronomy  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.theregister.com%2Ffeed%2Fwww.theregister.co.uk%2F2016%2F07%2F08%2Fjuno_probe_preps_for_jupiter_flyby%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Juno probe spins up its sonic screwdrivers for Jupiter flyby  

It's in the pipe, five by five

NASA is firing up the nine scientific instruments on board the Juno probe orbiting Jupiter ahead of its first data collection mission.…

 
science  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdavid-szymanski%2Fthis-election-cycle-liste_b_10856908.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
This Election Cycle, Listen To Science  


In this election cycle, science matters. Though other issues are often taking the stage in a more prominent way, our presumptive party candidates need not forget the one thing that affects every single human being on Earth - climate.

The presumptive candidates obviously hold disparate views on energy and the environment. On one side, we have Clinton, who sees climate change as an existential threat, supporting a cautious, even overly-pragmatic path to clean energy and renewables. On the other hand, we have Trump, who denounces climate change altogether, and was quoted as saying, "I consider climate change to be not one of our big problems...I think it's weather changes." Trump has also said that green energy programs would hurt jobs and business, claiming that they are "really just an expensive way of making the tree-huggers feel good about themselves."

This is a dangerous spot for America to be in. Not only is climate change very real, according to every major scientific society and 97 percent of actively publishing climate scientists, but as it turns out, science is also good for business. According to the MIT Sloan Management Review's 2016 report, Investing for a Sustainable Future, more investors than ever before are paying attention to environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance metrics, as evidence increasingly correlates the financial success of a company over time to sustainability-related activities. The report finds that with greater numbers of investors making investment decisions based on sustainability performance, the time is ripe for corporate leaders to recognize that more and more shareholders are invested in the connection between a company's ESG activities and its financial success. The bottom line: "investors believe that sustainability creates tangible value."

This means it's time to get smart about science and business. To prepare the next generation of business leaders who will advocate for sustainable business practices, it's essential that business students see the value of science and understand the tangible implications that policies have. That's one of the reasons that, as part of an environmental policy class I teach, students work with a policy-focused, Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, acting as consultants to enhance the nonprofit's business strategies. This year, my students teamed up with the American Geosciences Institute, a network of more than 50 earth science associations dedicated to addressing the needs of society, to learn about the barriers that state and federal policy-makers face in accessing geoscience information. Beyond learning the basics of geoscience and policy in the classroom, the practical experience taught them just how much science can impact the decisions made in the business world.

And that's why the presidential election this fall is so important. Will the American public consider our future and seek out new opportunities to harness the power of science to implement and maintain sustainable business practices? Or will we deny evidence and refuse to take a hard look at our scientific resources for new solutions, from issues of climate change to energy production, and neglect to understand how the business and science communities can come together? When we go out to the polls this November, we must consider what's on the line; the future of our planet, and the enormous opportunity we have to lead the charge in creating value and profit from sustainable business practices.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
science  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Ffeeds.mashable.com%252F%7Er%252FMashable%252F%7E3%252FqZmgj4arf38%252F%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
r0B0t: Robotic bartender is the cocktail wizard every kitchen needs  
More about Sonabar, Cocktails, Bartender, Tech, and Robot  
robots  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Ffeeds.mashable.com%252F%7Er%252FMashable%252F%7E3%252FkATCzX_bELI%252F%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
r0B0t: What it means when a bomb disposal robot is used as a weapon  
More about Analysis, Bomb Disposal Robot, Robotics, Robots, and Dallas Police Shooting  
robots  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.atlasobscura.com%252Farticles%252Fmap-of-us-police-robots%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
r0B0t: Does Your Police Department Have A 'Bomb Robot '?  
American police killed a human with a robot for the first time ever in Dallas. How many more robot s are there?  
robots  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fnews.google.com%252Fnews%252Furl%253Fsa%253Dt%2526fd%253DR%2526ct2%253Dus%2526usg%253DAFQjCNE2V2MTVJK3yFpNawmoPiarOjxOJg%2526clid%253Dc3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331%2526cid%253D52779152878612%2526ei%253D3wmAV_mcE8KZzAbL-77wBw%2526url%253Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.rcrwireless.com%252F20160708%252Finternet-of-things%252Famazon-automation-tag31-tag99%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
r0B0t: Case study: Amazon embraces shipping automation, robotics - RCR Wireless News  

RCR Wireless News

Case study: Amazon embraces shipping automation, robotics RCR Wireless News Amazon's automated shipment centers are large-scale examples of the cyber physical systems driving toward Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution. The leading online marketplace's “fulfillment centers” already rely on more than 15,000 robots ... and more »

 
robots  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F142786446%40N07%2F27898413320%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Tower Bridge  

phrada_kendi posted a photo:

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fsculptorlil%2F27563289763%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Sunrise 8 July 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fsculptorlil%2F28074492502%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Sunrise 8 July 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fsculptorlil%2F27563292353%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Sunrise 8 July 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjulia-wasson%2Fwhat-to-grow-in-your-fora_b_10850630.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
What To Grow In Your Forage Garden  
Pinyon syrup; acorn and cattail crackers; golden currant wine; mountain trout with Manzanita berries and willow bark. Wild-foraged foods are becoming increasingly popular as adventurous foodies connect ancient food-gathering traditions with the local terroir.

But unless you have access to private lands, much wild food foraging is illegal. Native plants are protected, and harvesting them is poaching. Try the easy alternative to poaching in our public spaces and parks -- grow edible plants at home! We need more native plants, not fewer. Besides feeding yourself, you'll also support the native butterflies and birds that depend on these foods. We can forage in our gardens!

When people harvest native plants in our struggling Southern California ecosystems, their impact on the plants, and the insects and animals that need them, is devastating. Taking bark, leaves, seeds, nuts and berries weakens the plants' abilities to renew themselves, reproduce, and survive brutal drought. By harvesting elderberries, for example, there are fewer berries to feed birds and other animals, fewer berries to nourish the soil, fewer berries to fall to the ground and make more trees or be transported in scat or droppings to grow in other locations.


Planting a new oak tree, which may house frogs, salamanders, mountain lions, gray foxes, robins, woodpeckers, owls, eagles, egrets, herons, roadrunners, and hundreds more species of local wildlife.
Photo: Chadd Ferron

California habitats already face multiple threats: development, drought, invasive-non-native plants and insects, loss of groundwater, and ever-more-frequent wildfires. Foraging is another nail in the coffin -- a coffin we should try to dismantle rather than seal shut. California is a biodiversity hotspot. One-third of California's 6,000 species and subspecies of native plants are endemic, found nowhere else in the world. The native plant species being foraged for cocktails, pickles (such as unripe Southern California black walnuts), and condiments are already threatened and endangered due to other human activity. We can't afford for even an infinitesimal fraction of the 23 million people in Southern California to forage native plants on already stressed public wild lands.

Indigenous Californian Nicholas Hummingbird directs the Hahamongna Cooperative Nursery in Pasadena, where he and his volunteers have propagated 10,000 individual plants. He has painstakingly and sustainably hand-collected seeds and cuttings from 200 local native species, many of them the very ingredients found in forage and wild-crafted recipes. His spectacular Instagram account is "dedicated to advocating for California's native plants, animals, & landscapes. They need our voice."


Nicholas Hummingbird and Monica Reyes make sure saplings of native trees and bushes get a good start at Hahamongna Cooperative Nursery.
Photo: Suzannah Ferron

Nicholas encourages, "Bring native plants into your life by doing something small and simple in your yard. You don't need to go out in the wild to enjoy native plants. At home, you can rekindle thousands of years of relationships between humans and the land. Even tiny spaces can provide habitat and beauty. I removed a few pavers from my apartment patio to grow seeds and cuttings. I eat my breakfast outside with butterflies, hummingbirds, ladybugs, and lizards. Restoring pocket habitats will entice native animals and birds to return, and to have some respite in our cities." Nicholas explains that growing natives at home helps preserve species, such as California black walnut and golden currant, that could go extinct in our lifetimes. "When plants go extinct, the bees, birds, and animals that depend on that plant go extinct also. We may lose 3,300 species in the next twenty to thirty years."

"I've worked with native plants a majority of my life. Now, I find advocating for the rights of the plants and animals imperative. Indigenous people in California went through two waves of genocide. The plants, the animals and the land are still going through that same genocide, which has only accelerated. Plants and animals are exploited and exterminated without a voice to fight for their rights to exist. I'm intimate with the land. A part of who I am is based on these plants. They have a language. When they are gone, when they are silenced and killed, that part of myself, along with thousands of years of culture, dies too."

"Native plants give us a sense of place, of where we live and where we come from. Our local mountains are held together by the vast root systems of native plants. They support the butterflies and bees, the birds and native pollinators that so many people love. A beautiful California native oak takes only the water it needs, sequesters carbon, and gives habitat and food to hundreds of beneficial species of insects, birds, and animals. Foxes, woodpeckers, endangered amphibians.
Each oak functions as a community -- providing food, shelter and resources for hundreds of species. In the Los Angeles basin, millions of oaks inhabited the landscape, but were quickly clear cut, chopped down and dynamited to make room for invasive grass for non-native cows and grazing animals. The few remaining oak woodlands are still under incredible pressure. Our native oaks stand testament not only to our own lifetimes, but to six or seven generations to come.

Here in Pasadena, the Englemann oak has been severely impacted and is nearly extinct. So instead of eating the crop that appears every two years, we've worked hard to collect acorns from the few remaining trees. Our responsible approach to propagating the acorns will germinate a few hundred new trees."

An oak tree can be an entire community.
Photo: Nicholas Hummingbird

"Foraging in the wild has a very detrimental impact. Animals avoid a place where humans have been for several hours, and if a dog has been there, wild animals will avoid the scent of the new predator for days. By foraging, we remove the animals' food supply.

Here at Hahamongna Watershed Park, foragers constantly hold workshops. Our nursery has taken a watchdog role, assessing the impacts of foraging on the health of local elderberry trees and other plants. For example, thirty-two mature elderberries had been loaded with ripe fruit, ready to feed the birds and animals doing their best to survive this drought. Two days after recent foraging events, people had stripped the trees completely bare of not only the fruit, but also the flowers. It's very discouraging for our volunteers, who work hard to grow native plants for restoration and to learn the ethics of stewardship, to witness the greed and exploitation in this place our volunteers care for.

"Don't further destroy the last remaining natural places. We need to bring nature back into the city. Advocate for native plants you'd like to see used in community gardens and landscaping. At Hahamongna Cooperative Nursery, we teach respectful ways to interact with plants. For instance, elderberries are easy to grow at home. If you give the tree water during the summer, it will yield fruit all year. Wherever you'd have room for a crepe myrtle, you have room to grow and protect a black walnut, which is very endangered. Seeing people gather the walnuts for food makes me angry -- there just aren't enough. At the nursery, when we gather acorns and walnuts, we gather them to grow, not to eat!


Nursery volunteers prepare acorns for sprouting new trees.
Photo: Chadd Ferron

Lisa Novick, Director of Outreach of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants, has landscaped at home with native plants. She and her family harvest in their beautiful forage garden. Lisa's elderberry tree "attracts all kinds of butterflies because its flowers are like landing pads. Once the flowers start developing into berries, the tree attracts every berry-eating bird out there -- mockingbirds, band-tailed pigeons, finches, spotted towhees, scrub jays. I make infusions from the flowers straight from the tree, or cook the berries to make sauce, jam and pies."


The elderberry tree Lisa planted yields enough to share with the finches.
Photo: Lisa Novick

She suggests, "Grow golden currant instead of a rose bush. The golden currant's yellow tube-shaped flowers are great for hummingbirds and other pollinators. The currants are edible right off bush, sweet but tart. For tea, grow white or black sage, which are also great in roast potatoes or chicken. Lisa recommends another favorite. "Buckwheat is great for pancakes. Crush the pompoms of dried flower petals and seeds and use it as flour. Buckwheat blooms vigorously all summer and then provides seeds for birds all fall and winter. The caterpillars of many species of blue butterflies eat buckwheat leaves and blossoms. By planting buckwheat at home, you feed not only people, but caterpillars, which feed baby birds. And since we are in a sixth mass extinction, we need to help other creatures beside ourselves!"


Planting buckwheat at home is great for us and for the pollinators too!
Photo: Lisa Novick

Lisa reminds us, "Native plants are adapted to local soil and climate, and won't need soil amendments, fertilizers or pesticides. Once established, water deeply but infrequently during the dry season. Other useful and easy to grow native plants include mugwort, native grape, and wild strawberry. The California bay laurel tree has a scent that combines pepper, mint, and bubblegum. Kids love it."

Explore these delicious and beautiful native plants while supporting habitat. Bon appetit!

Follow Nicholas on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_native_hummingbird/
Nicholas welcomes visitors on Sundays for nursery Volunteer Day: http://www.arroyoseco.org/nursery.htm
At the Theodore Payne Foundation, http://theodorepayne.org/ nursery staff will be happy to advise you on plants to match your site and interests. And, continue to ask for natives wherever you shop for garden supplies. Bon appetite!
http://www.cnps.org/cnps/grownative/where_to_buy.php

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fbrad-friedman-and-desi-doyen%2Fgreen-news-report---july_b_10893556.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
'Green News Report' - July 7, 2016  
The Green News Report is also available via...





IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Toxic algae bloom in South Florida ruins 4th of July for tourism industry; U.S. Senate moves fast to nix Vermont's GMO labeling law; Royalty reform for Big Coal's public lands scam; Oakland City Council bans coal export terminal; PLUS: Solar-powered NASA spacecraft reaches orbit around Jupiter... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

Link:
Embed:

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

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): A Model for 'Clean Coal' Runs Off the Tracks; The Alabama Landfill That Brought Noise, Health Woes, and a Lawsuit; TCEQ: Contested Coal Mine Can Release Wastewater Into Drinking Supply; Agency OK With Race Through Nevada Desert; Critics Cry Foul; Canada's Pipeline Watchdog Secretly Talks Safety With Industry; Bornean Orangutan Declared 'Critically Endangered' As Forests Shrink; Floods in China kill almost 130, wipe out crops... PLUS: Modernizing The Grid: A Tugboat 'Trying To Turn A Big Ocean Liner'... and much, MUCH more! ...

'Green News Report' is heard on many fine radio stations around the country. For additional info on stories we covered today, plus today's 'Green News Extra', please click right here to listen!

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fbrad-friedman-and-desi-doyen%2Fgreen-news-report---july_b_10893556.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: 'Green News Report' - July 7, 2016  
The Green News Report is also available via...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Toxic algae bloom in South Florida ruins 4th of July for tourism industry...

Read more: Florida, Toxic Algae, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Tax, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Denial, Electricity, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Enrique Peña Nieto, Environment, Flint Water Crisis, Fossil Fuels, Fracking, Germany, Global Warming, Global Warming Deniers, Green News, Green News Report, Justin Trudeau, Light Pollution, Propaganda, Renewable Energy, Video, Water, Water Pollution, Green News

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Fjul%2F08%2Fwhale-and-winghead-sharks-move-step-closer-to-extinction&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Whale and winghead sharks move step closer to extinction  

Two predatory species are added to IUCN Red List of endangered species as pressure from fishing sees their populations fall by half in the last 75 years

Whale sharks and winghead sharks have moved one step closer to extinction, after the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) redefined them both as endangered species on the group's ‘Red List'.

The two predatory species have fallen foul of increased pressure from human activity, especially the fishing industry, with populations of whale sharks the world's largest living fish halving in the last 75 years.

Related: 40% of Europe's sharks and rays face extinction, says IUCN

Continue reading...  
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F07%2F160708105519.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Researchers reveal first sightings of rare whales off New Zealand coast  
For the first time in New Zealand waters, an extremely rare grouping of Shepherd's Beaked Whales has been spotted from a research vessel off the coast of the city of Dunedin in the South Island.  
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.theregister.com%2Ffeed%2Fwww.theregister.co.uk%2F2016%2F07%2F08%2Fus_govt_bans_theranos_holmes_two_years%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Bad blood: US govt bans bio-test biz Theranos' CEO for two years  

Board should fire her but can't: She owns controlling stake

It's game over for controversial blood-testing company Theranos with the news that its CEO Elizabeth Holmes will be banned from owning or running a medical laboratory for two years.…

 
science  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fanna-leahy%2F5th-anniversary-of-end-of_b_10873016.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
5th Anniversary Of End Of Shuttle  
written with Douglas R. Dechow



Five years ago, on July 8, 2011, the space shuttle Atlantis launched to space from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. No shuttle has launched since, and Atlantis and the other orbiters are now artifacts in museums telling the story of where we've been and who we are. Here, we share from our own photo album of that last-ever shuttle launch five years ago.

At the launch pad







The STS-135 Crew



Godspeed, Atlantis



STS-135 ended on July 21, 2011. Atlantis is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, where it tells an important story about space, science, and all of us who grew up with the Shuttle program roaring in the background of our lives.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
science  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ozy.com%2Ftrue-story%2Fto-be-an-expat-in-a-time-of-upheaval%2F70627&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Explaining America Overseas During a Time of Upheaval  
An OZY contributor follows the news from afar and defends his homeland  
general  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fsculptorlil%2F27563296573%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Sunrise 8 July 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fsculptorlil%2F28074538832%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Sunrise 8 July 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fsculptorlil%2F27563044854%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Sunrise 8 July 2016  

Sculptor Lil posted a photo:

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fajbc-photos%2F28073990422%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
The World (2) @ Gallions Reach 08-07-16  

AJBC_1 posted a photo:

 
images