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windleopard from Nigeria Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#826: Mar 27th 2020 at 2:04:00 AM

Court Strikes Down Dakota Access Pipeline Permits in a Victory for Standing Rock Tribe

Yesterday saw a significant victory in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline, in a conflict that has been going on for years with Indigenous people, environmental groups and activists on one side, and the oil companies and US Army Corps of Engineers on the other.

In the ruling on Wednesday, Federal Judge James Boasberg found that the environmental analysis was lacking both times and struck down the federal permits for the pipeline. The court, according to Earth Justice, who helped bring the suit, “found significant unresolved concerns about the potential impacts of oil spills and the likelihood that one could take place.”

The judge did not immediately halt the operation of the DAPL, but asked the parties to prepare additional briefings as to if such an order should be issued. In his ruling, Judge Boasberg cited the terrible safety record of the DAPL parent company and the failures of their methods and analysis to this point. Their failure is especially evident since the DAPL has been leaking and spilling since it went into operation.

“After years of commitment to defending our water and earth, we welcome this news of a significant legal win,” said Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Mike Faith, via Earth Justice. “It’s humbling to see how actions we took four years ago to defend our ancestral homeland continue to inspire national conversations about how our choices ultimately affect this planet. Perhaps in the wake of this court ruling, the federal government will begin to catch on, too, starting by actually listening to us when we voice our concerns.”

eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Shop all day, greed is free
#827: Apr 9th 2020 at 10:12:40 AM

One-quarter of the Great Barrier Reef suffered from severe bleaching throughout the summer, in the third mass bleaching in five years and its most severe ever.

One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.
eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#829: Apr 18th 2020 at 12:06:32 PM

2020 is fucking with us: New Ozone hole discovered over the North Pole.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#830: Apr 18th 2020 at 12:18:11 PM

That's probably due to this year's unusual polar vortex.

The formation of an ozone hole requires the existence of a stable polar vortex, and this normally doesn't happen in the Arctic as all the continents and warm ocean currents hack it up. This year we've seen an unusually stable polar vortex that has allowed the formation of an ozone hole.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
SpookyMask Since: Jan, 2011
#831: Apr 18th 2020 at 11:48:21 PM

I kinda wonder if its already too late to solve environmentalism problems or if I'm just being depressed again. Like with all the shutdowns there is less pollution, but its not enough to solve anything unless factories weren't started for years which is just not gonna happen.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#832: Apr 19th 2020 at 4:44:03 AM

You’re looking at it the wrong way, there’s no permanently solving the issues, there’s no great fix and an end screen that says we’ve won and planet earth is safe.

No matter how much we improve things and limit our pollution we can always do better, likewise no matter how bad things get or how much damage has been done, we can always mitigate harm a bit more, we can always improve things slightly.

There is neither a victory screen or a game over screen, there is simply the continuous challenge of making things better.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
SpookyMask Since: Jan, 2011
#833: Apr 24th 2020 at 1:41:28 AM

I mostly meant if there is no avoiding the no point of return where things will go to fully shitty :/ Like I'm not expecting the "problem to be solved", but it would ease my mind if I felt like the effort to do so might not be too late whenever if ever it is started

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#834: Apr 29th 2020 at 2:30:37 PM

You’re going to have to define “full shitty”. Look, any work we do will help, it will save lives and build a better tomorrow, that makes it worth it regardless of if we do or do not cross certain arbitrary boundaries.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#835: Apr 29th 2020 at 2:36:58 PM

Worst case is that we totally screw up our environment, humanity and a lot of other species go extinct, the planet has a bad time for anywhere from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand years, and then it's back to normal, with no pesky evolved apes screwing things up. This sort of thing has happened before, quite a few times (though never through willful actions by "intelligent" beings).

If another sapient species evolves and starts digging around, they'll find a mass extinction event and a very weird sedimentary layer with lots of refined metals, plastics, and radioactives; plus evidence of an abrupt carbon-induced warming cycle. If they put two and two together, they'll learn about us, get an idea of how we screwed things up, and maybe not repeat the mistake.

In a few hundred million years, all plant life will die as the Sun heats up; in a billion years all water on the surface will boil off; in 4.5 billion years the Sun will expand to a red giant barely inside the Earth's orbit; a billion years later it will expand again, engulfing the Earth and vaporizing it completely.

You have to look at this in perspective. The Earth will be fine. We're the ones stuck with the problem we created... that and all the species we kill along the way.

Edited by Fighteer on Apr 29th 2020 at 6:09:21 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Pseudopartition Screaming Into The Void from The Cretaeceous Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Screaming Into The Void
#837: May 24th 2020 at 5:24:43 AM

The Hidden Toll of Lockdown on Rainforests

During the Covid-19 lockdowns, economic pressures combined with reduced government enforcement have lead to an increase in illegal logging and mining activity in tropical nations.

From the article:

“What worries me is that we’re seeing these emerging trends, and they’re not going to be reversed when Covid measures are lifted because they’re related to economic factors. So my anticipation is that we’re going to have to deal with this for potentially months and years,” says Troeng.

Destruction of the rainforest will have severe ramifications. For indigenous and other communities who live there, it means a destruction of their way of life and may lead to conflict with the criminals who encroach on their territory. Studies have also shown that destroying rainforest ecosystems raises the odds of new pathogens making the jump from animals to humans. It also harms our ability to deal with climate change, as tropical forests are a key component in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
I'm considering crossposting this to the coronavirus thread, but I haven't been following it closely lately and I'm not sure if it's already been linked.

Edited by Pseudopartition on May 24th 2020 at 7:24:57 AM

eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Shop all day, greed is free
#838: May 24th 2020 at 5:37:54 AM

Yeahp, an ambush by poachers at DRC's Virunga National Park killed 17 park workers (including the rangers who took the famous "gorilla selfie" a while back) last month.

One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.
JBC31187 Since: Jan, 2015
#839: May 24th 2020 at 6:46:44 PM

So, the Amazon may be producing carbon now instead of storing it: here

This is the worst news I've heard recently, and nowadays it seems like everything's bad news.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#840: Jun 6th 2020 at 7:51:56 AM

So do you guys think that Root sprout chestnuts are worth recording for the American Chestnut foundation?

The saplings I saw looked relatively healthy and blight free, but stump sprouts and suckers like this rarely survive long enough for flowering and nut production.

Edited by megaeliz on Jun 6th 2020 at 10:53:24 AM

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#841: Jun 6th 2020 at 11:34:44 AM

[up]Go for it. Maybe not report it immediately, but certainly after a few weeks of recording how it does. If it takes off, then you'll have a kind of diary. And if it doesn't... Well, then, too.

eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Shop all day, greed is free
#842: Jun 7th 2020 at 7:35:09 AM
eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Shop all day, greed is free
#843: Jun 8th 2020 at 2:40:48 AM

Russia races to clean up massive oil spill in Siberia.

One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#844: Jun 11th 2020 at 3:34:43 AM

Apparently the decimation of whales had a minor effect on worldwide climate.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#846: Jul 3rd 2020 at 7:55:53 AM

More than 360 elephants die from mysterious causes in Botswana

Reasons unknown...doesn't seem like poaching either...poisoning?

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#847: Jul 3rd 2020 at 8:17:57 AM

[up]Botswana? Doubt it. The major areas for elephants are well-protected game reserves.

Elephants are the main attractions: if they need to regulate the population, they either perform official culls... or tranq small families and ship them to other countries. Like Addo does.

Zimbabwe and Zambia have the bigger poaching problem (which can cause friction along, say, Botswana's border), and even they manage to limit it. Mostly.

No. That number dropping dead? We're not the only ones with a pandemic problem, probably. -_-'

Edited by Euodiachloris on Jul 3rd 2020 at 4:18:42 PM

Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#848: Jul 3rd 2020 at 8:32:23 AM

That sounds possible, yeah.

...And incredibly depressing.

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Resileafs I actually wanted to be Resileaf Since: Jan, 2019
I actually wanted to be Resileaf
#849: Jul 10th 2020 at 1:00:10 PM

Nature, one of the forefront magazines on environmental science, has published an article that is one of the best news I've heard in a while.

It states that by using basalt dust and placing it on the crops of farms in the US, Brazil, China and India, Co 2 emissions equivalent to the yearly emissions of Germany and Japan combined can be absorbed and taken out of the ecosystem. Not only that, but this method would also bring better crops, making it a win-win situation for literally everyone. Because basalt is such a common by-product of the mining industry, it's extremely easy to come across too.

alekos23 Since: Mar, 2013
#850: Jul 10th 2020 at 1:58:56 PM

Kinda waiting for a horrible horrible side effect to exist.


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