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Blu Skye: sustainability, environment, and leadershipBlu Skye: sustainability, environment, and leadership hosted by Zach Winter Author: Zach Winter
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10 in 2 - Week of March 26th - civil disobedience legally necessary
Friday, 30 March, 2018
Tigerswan, the private security company notorious for its work surveilling pipeline opponents at Standing Rock is back in the news. The state of Louisiana determined that TigerSwan was unfit to obtain a license to work on the site of another controversial pipeline in the state based on a lawsuit it is facing for unlicensed security operations in North Dakota. So naturally, Tigerswan tried to create a new company to subvert the licensing debacle but the state noticed, and denied the application. (The Intercept) Soups and chutneys made from wonky vegetables, beer from stale bread, cider from blemished apples and soaps from discarded orange peels are selling fast in the Wageningen branch of Jumbo, one of the biggest Dutch supermarket chains. The "Waste is Delicious" initiative launched last week, supported by a local university as part of a new national program, United Against Food Waste. (news.trust.org) I heard a story on Science Friday today called Beyond the Hive, which provided advice to citizens worried about pollinator populations. The surprising advice was to just mow your lawn less frequently, which allows various miniature flowers to bloom, and is a lazy way to attract native bees to your yard. (Science Friday) An update to a story I’ve brought up before on the 10 in 2 about the protesters who were arrested for taking actions to stop a pipeline in West Roxbury massachusetts. This week the final 13 protesters facing charges over the demonstrations were found not responsible by a Massachusetts judge, who ruled that the potential environmental and public health impacts of the pipeline — including the risk of climate change — had made civil disobedience legally necessary. (ThinkProgress) Scientists from UNESCO say that within five to ten years, Mexico’s monstrous glaciers will be reduced to piles of ice. The disappearance of the natural structures can have global consequences as the icy surfaces which once reflected the ultraviolet rays melt away, sun rays are absorbed by the earth and the world’s temperature will rise. I have to admit that I didn't even know that Mexico had glaciers, but I do know that I already miss ‘em. (Telesur) Google created an incredible interactive website exploring how a tribe in the Brazilian state of Pará is exploring ways to use old mobile phones and machine learning to fight deforestation. The website is hard to describe, but it uses sounds, videos and photos in a unique way. Check it out right now by following the link on our website to get an idea of how it is possible to save a rainforest by listening to it. (google.co.in) a new report from Royal Dutch Shell called the “Sky scenario” envisions a world that achieves net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, thus (in the company’s accounting) holding global average temperatures beneath the international target of 2 degrees Celsius. It has garnered a lot of criticism, but at the very least, it is an ambitious idea. (Vox) On Thursday, the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, called climate change “the most systemic threat to humankind” and like many of us he worried aloud “I am beginning to wonder how many more alarm bells must go off." (NYT) Climate change seems to be in the courts a lot these days, and this story is no different. Exxon wanted Judge Valerie Caproni in the District Court for the Southern District of New York to stop the attorneys general from issuing subpoenas and dispositions related to what Exxon executives knew about climate change and when. But in a big loss for Exxon, Caproni said the company’s allegations were “implausible,” and dismissed its case. (The Hill) A leaked memo reveals that the EPA sent employees a list of talking points on Tuesday instructing them to cast doubt on the scientific consensus about climate change. The talking points instruct employees to highlight scientific uncertainty and lack of evidence linking human activity to climate change which is in direct conflict with the 2017 federal climate assessment. Sorry to leave you on that note, but…(Shareblue) bluskye.com
