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Home 07/18/2017 Earth on pace for 2nd warmest year on record in 2017, despite Trump's efforts to dismantle climate science As the Trump administration continues its assault on climate science, the world is headed for another one of its warmest years on record. The 2017 year-to-date temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.64 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, the second highest January-to-June value since records starting being kept in 1880. That six-month average comes in second only to 2016's, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration findings issued this morning. In addition, the globally average temperature over land and ocean surfaces for the month of June this year was the world's third highest on record, NOAA said. The monthly summary was developed by scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. For 390 consecutive months now, global temperatures have been at least nominally above the 20th century average, NOAA said. This June also marked the 41st consecutive June in which temperatures have been warmer than average, the agency said. Based on data from NOAA and NASA, the National Snow and Ice Data Center also has determined that Antarctic sea ice this June was at its second smallest for that month since record-keeping began in that category in 1979. The smallest was in 2002. As for the Arctic, sea ice there was the sixth smallest for the month of June since record-keeping began in 1979. It was about 7.5 percent below the 1981-2010 average, NOAA said. For more information, go here and here . NOAA's monthly summary can be viewed here . Jul 18, 2017 12:32:32 PM Comment 0 Reblog It 0 05/23/2017 Postal Service issues Thoreau stamp to help us find Heaven on Earth Here's a postage stamp I'm going to stock up on: The one honoring writer-philosopher-naturalist Henry David Thoreau. Kudos to the Postal Service for offering it. The following Thoreau quote has been a permanent fixture on since this blog first went live several years ago: "Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads." To me, that one quote sums up why I do what I do and why readers in the Great Lakes region - or any part of the world, for that matter - should care about the environment. It's because of our Sense of Home. The new Henry David Thoreau stamp was released today at Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. Thoreau's 200th birthday is July 12. Photo credit: U.S. Postal Service. As I explain in my own words right that Thoreau quote - in the right-hand column of my blog's home page - every pollution battle "ultimately comes down to mankind's desire to better itself while protecting its sense of home." I happen to focus on Great Lakes energy-environmental issues, which are far removed in distance from Thoreau's Walden Pond in Concord, Mass., but not in philosophy. Just about all bodies of water, all forests, all mountains and other great ecosystems have a ripple effect on our public health, our natural resources, our economy, our psychological well-being, and our homespun pride. I'd argue that if we thought more of the planet itself as our home - which it is - we'd take better care of it. It's a simple concept. And, yes, there's obviously a need for industry, development and all of the modern conveniences mankind can enjoy. But instead of getting worked up by confusing buzzwords like sustainability or becoming so polarized over political views, we'd all be better off if we simply thought of the Earth as our backyard or home that deserves a certain amount of respect. Another thing I've always liked about Thoreau is how his writings on civil disobedience became a backbone for non-violent movements led decades later by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. We're seeing more of that today in protests on anything from the environment to women's rights to President Trump's proposed immigration ban. Here are the details for the Thoreau stamp: The Postal Service released it today at Walden Pond. Thoreau's 200 th birthday is July 12. Like most others issued these days, it's a Forever stamp. Thoreau, who lived from 1817 to 1862, spent two years - 1845 to 1847 - at Walden Pond, living modestly in a one-room house at the edge of his hometown on Concord and being inspired by his frequent nature walks around Walden Pond. His experience there served as the inspiration for his iconic 1854 book, Walden. “Thoreau was one of the great thinkers in this country’s history on a wide variety of subjects, and the expression on his face in the stamp image captures his introspective and inquisitive nature,” U.S. Postal Service General Counsel and Executive Vice President Thomas J. Marshall said. “Thoreau encouraged everyone to lead more thoughtful and considered lives. Given the pace of today’s world, the many demands on our time, and sometimes conflicting priorities, I am sure we could all benefit from his advice.” Environmentalist-actor Ed Begley, Jr., a Walden Woods Project board member, said the organization is honored to have Thoreau recognized with a stamp. Begley said he views Walden Pond as "the birthplace of the American conservation movement.” I was fortunate enough to experience a hike around Walden Pond during the final day of the 1995 Society of Environmental Journalists national conference. I met and strolled alongside someone who has become a lifelong friend and important mentor, Jim Detjen, one of SEJ's founders and a former Philadelphia Inquirer science editor who was in the early stages then of creating Michigan State University's famed Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. For more about Thoreau and his commemorative stamp, including instructions on how to order a first-day-of-issue postmark, see this Postal Service news release. To follow the Twitter and Instagram discussions, go to #ThoreauStamps. May 23, 2017 1:01:11 PM Comment 1 Reblog It 0 05/04/2017 Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly vows to create 'world-class water program' from Great Lakes diversion It's official: Waukesha will get Great Lakes water pumped to it even though it lies just outside the natural Great Lakes watershed, a decision that could potentially open the door for more near-basin diversions. The eight-state council in charge of the landmark 2008 agreement known as the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact unanimously upheld its 2016 decision to grant an exemption on Thursday, once again stating that Waukesha has made its case to receive 8.2 million gallons a day of treated Lake Michigan water from the nearby community of Oak Creek, Wis. Waukesha, which lies 20 miles west of Milwaukee and just beyond the Great Lakes watershed boundary, has naturally occurring radium in its groundwater, as well as salts and minerals and a potentially toxic stew of arsenic, fly ash, chloride, and other pollutants. It also has had a gradual decline in its aquifer. The situation's manageable in the short-term, but the city is under orders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to resolve uncertainty over its future water supply. Waukesha Mayor Shawn N. Reilly making a presentation earlier this year. THE BLADE/TOM HENRY The compact is designed to prevent large-scale diversions and bulk exports of Great Lakes water to the Southwest or even more faraway places in the world, such as China. In some very selective cases, though, it allows communities in counties that straddle the Great Lakes basin to be exempt - if and only if they have extenuating circumstances. The compact council's latest action was really more of a housekeeping matter, because the council last month rejected a request for a hearing. That challenge was brought by the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, which represents 128 cities around the region. The Chicago-based group was acting on behalf of Racine, Wis., a city 30 miles south of Milwaukee that's not too amused by the situation because it will be sent Waukesha's sewage effluent via the Root River. Racine al...