Subscribe to RSSFebruary 2010 Coastal Scuttlebutt: daily miniposts
February 28
The second day of the “Building Resilience Workshop, Innovative Sustainable Flood, Solutions for the Gulf Coast” was as information rich as day one. During the final panel, Garret Graves, Gov. Jindal’s coastal point man, announced a three point state strategy for coastal protection and restoration: (1) the establishment of a science consortium headed by a director to be appointed on a two year rotating basis; (2) developing quantitative metrics for the economic value of the coast that is at risk from storms and ongoing subsidence; and (3) the development of a new tool for prioritizing projects in a non-political way, as outlined in Chapter 3 of the Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Plan – integrated ecosystem restoration and hurricane protection in coastal Louisiana that is currently out for public review. I have already posted my opinion on the plan and specifically on this third goal and I plan to post on the first two in the near future.
February 27
Molly Reid wrote an article for today’s The Times-Picayune about the first day of an informative but sobering New Orleans workshop* on the subject of dealing rationally with flood risk in the face of climate change and sea level rise in the gulf coast and elsewhere in the world. The event, which continues today at the US Mint, features a very distinguished group of local, state and international experts discussing the lessons learned (but often ignored) from Hurricanes Betsy, Camille, Katrina and flood events in other parts of the New World and Europe.
Despite the sobering nature of the information presented it is comforting to realize that the daunting technical and social challenges of increasing flood risk that face south Louisiana this century are so well understood by so many. This workshop follows on from the meeting on flood risk reduction that was described in yesterday’s scuttlebutt mini-post.
*Conceived and organized by Elizabeth C. English (Buoyant Foundation Project, University of Waterloo, Canada) and Lisa Miles Jackson (Innovative Green Solutions, New Orleans)
February 26
A meeting was held in New Orleans yesterday, hosted by the Southeastern Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East - “Management of Large-scale Flood Defense Systems – Dialogue between Louisiana and the Netherlands.” Dutch and American engineers and levee board officials discussed techniques for reducing flood risk and how they are being applied in south Louisiana.
Among the speakers were Karen Durham-Aguilara, director of the Corps of Engineers’ Task Force Hope. She described how the corps is spending the $14.6 billion funding package for bolstering the NOLA storm protection system – a package that bypassed the cumbersome normal congressional public works project authorization/appropriation process. Ms Durham-Aguilara said that $7 billion of the money has already been spent or obligated and she is obviously very proud of the record-breaking pace of progress.
Garret Graves, Gov. Jindal’s coastal point person, laid out the case for protecting and restoring the coast. He told the audience that the $150 billion in Katrina-Rita damage could have been prevented by a fraction of that amount, had the government seen fit to invest up front.
He alluded to a new national marketing campaign that will soon be unveiled to make the case for Louisiana’s special importance. This is the first time I have heard about such a campaign, which I hope doesn’t include whoever designed the logo for the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
In an article that appears today in The Times-Picayune, Mark Schleifstein described the first of three public meetings hosted by Col. Alvin Lee with the Corps of Engineers on Wednesday evening in Gretna. Various members of the public expressed frustration over either the pace or the direction of coastal restoration, especially with the lack of sufficient funding.
Apparently Col. Lee agreed with the latter complaint and remarked that traditional funding for projects prevents the pace of action necessary to fix the problem. He cited the extraordinary post-Katrina effort to protect NOLA that Ms. Durham-Aguilara had described earlier in the day. Lee said that this example shows what the corps can do when not limited by dollars.
February 25
An article by Bruce Alpert in today’s The Times-Picayune describes a meeting yesterday of the House Appropriations Water and Energy Subcommittee to discuss proposed cuts in the Corps of Engineers’ FY 2011 budget. The cuts include money to continue work on the controversial $1.3 billion project to replace and expand the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock in eastern New Orleans. Alpert’s article includes the following quote from Jo-Ellen Darcy, the top civilian spokesperson for the corps:
(Darcy) said the corps’ budget is “frugal,” but reflects “practical, effective and sound use of the nation’s resources.” It provides money for two major priority projects, including $19 million for the start of construction on wetlands and coastal restoration projects in Louisiana, Darcy said.
Alpert’s article also includes the following quote on the subject of levees:
Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman (has) announced formation of a Congressional Levee Caucus.??”For far too long our levees and waterways have been neglected and deprived of funding needed to take care of basic maintenance,” Alexander said. “Members of Congress who represent constituencies protected by levees, must band together to strengthen their voices.”
February 24
The first of a series of public meetings to discuss the future management of the Missouri River was held in Kenner last night, as reported by Mark Schleifstein in today’s The Times-Picayune. Most of the river water that created south Louisiana is contributed by the total flows of ‘MOM,’ the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri Rivers. Of these three sisters, the Missouri has historically contributed most of the sediment on which the Mississippi River delta depends.
Unfortunately, beginning in the 1940s, a series of dams and navigation structures were built along the Missouri that created reservoirs and began to trap delta-building sediments – reducing by more than 50% the mud that gave the Big Muddy its name. This is one of the principal challenges facing delta restoration.
Up until now navigation and recreation interests have trumped the environmental issue of delta collapse but the reservoirs on the Missouri have now largely filled up with mud that we desperately need. The Corps of Engineers is now considering a new log term management strategy for the Missouri, which has critical implications for our very future.
February 23
Chris Kirkham’s article in today’s The Times-Picayune describes the very testy atmosphere in a public meeting in St. Bernard Parish last night. The meeting was hosted by the corps of engineers to discuss the diversion of river water east of New Orleans at Violet. The Violet diversion project is fundamental to the extremely ambitious effort to fix enormous damage caused by constructing the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) in the 1960s.
Opposition to this important restoration project exemplifies the fact that a major part of the challenge of coastal restoration is overcoming public cynicism. I feel for Greg Miller with the corps of engineers, who is sincerely trying to make up for what his agency did while he was still an infant.
February 22
Morganza levee alignment as drawn on a satellite image
Nikki Buskey’s headline article in The Daily Comet on 2/21 describes some of the problems of going forward with the construction of the Morganza to the Gulf Project that would enclose Terrebonne Parish with a continuous 72 mile levee, and why the project has become so controversial. Descriptions of the project have been heavy on short term benefits and light on long term costs of construction and maintenance and especially what I would call the ‘envirocosts.’ The tone of Buskey’s article hints that reality may be sinking in on some quarters but there is still overwhelming political support for the project and less expensive more sustainable alternatives don’t seem to be on the political table.
Compare these two images, one a hypothetical view of the levee alignment as provided by the Terrebonne Levee District and the other a recent photograph taken during an overflight, showing the realities of the rising gulf.
Aerial image of section of the Morganza levee project showing reality of challenge (photo from The Daily Comet)
February 21
In today’s The Times-PicayuneMark Scheifstein describes two public meetings to describe coastal projects that will be hosted this week in the NOLA area (Monday and Thursday evenings) by the US Army Corps of Engineers. His article provides a very useful thumbnail list of the various funding authorities under which different coastal protection and restoration projects are being planned and funded. Details of the two meetings and information links are as follows:
The town-hall meeting begins with a 6 p.m. open house at the council chambers, 200 Derbigny St., Gretna.??The corps also will hold a separate meeting Monday night on the Violet diversion at the W. Smith Elementary School, 6701 E. St. Bernard Highway in Violet. It also begins with a 6 p.m. open house.??Information on the Violet diversion and other MR-GO restoration projects is available on the Web at www.mrgo.gov. ??Information on the Louisiana coastal area program is available on the Web at http://lca.gov/. A draft version of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Study is available online at http://lacpr.usace.army.mil/. And information about the Breaux Act program is available at http://www.lacoast.gov/cwppra/.??More information about the meetings is available by calling the corps at 504.862.2201 or by e-mail, AskTheCorps@usace.army.mil.
February 20
Bob Warren with The Times-Picayune reports that St. Bernard Parish is receiving a $200K grant from the Minerals Management Service (MMS) under the federal Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) funded by offshore oil and gas revenues. The funding will be used to update the parish conceptual framework for coastal restoration first drafted in the late1970s.
February 19
NY Times columnist Thoma Friedman
Tom Friedman is not a climate scientist but he’s a 3 time Pulitzer Prize winning, pragmatic and prolific guy who writes books and newspaper columns on global economic and political issues while traveling around the world. Friedman’s Op-Ed column in the NY Times called “Global Weirding” is definitely worth a read by anyone who has doubts about the implications of climate change and Louisiana’s future.
Louisiana state treasurer John Kennedy announced yesterday that the state debt is higher than at any time except for post-Katrina. The state owes $1,300 for every resident of the state. This will make borrowing large sums for public works projects particularly problematic.
Nola.com image
Mark Schleifstein reports in today’s The Times-Picayune that the Corps of Engineers is continuing to look for huge ‘dredgeable’ deposits of high quality clay to bolster the NOLA levees. The corps needs 80 million cubic yards of clay – 16 Superdome Equivalents (SDEs). The end result will be the creation of 16 Superdome-size holes within the already sinking deltaic landscape in Plaquemines, St. Charles and Ascension Parishes – robbing Peter to pay Paul. This ignores the possible use of free levee materials – local stockpiles of spent bauxite and gypsum waste. Check these three posts on this issue: 9/14/09; 9/17/09; 9/21/09.
Col. Lee, are you aware of this opportunity?
February 18
The Louisiana Wildlife Federation has announced that Houma bluesman and coastal advocate Tab Benoit has been selected to win the Governor’s Conservation award this year. As last year’s winner of this award, the selection of Benoit made me particularly proud. Pretty heady company!
A lead story in today’s The Times-Picayune announces a $45 million federal grant to pay for a significant expansion of the New Orleans streetcar system along Loyola Ave that will connect to Union Station. Governor Jindal apparently doesn’t appreciate the value of passenger rail service to south Louisiana but Senator Mary Landrieu is taking some credit for our winning this highly competitive grant. Now, what about a passenger rail link from downtown to the airport, to Baton Rouge and points west…
Today’s The Advocate reports that the New Orleans District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled three meetings in late February to give residents an overview of ongoing and future work in Louisiana’s coastal zone:
- Tuesday, Feb. 23 Lake Charles Civic Center, 900 Lakeshore Drive.
- Wednesday, Feb. 24 St. Mary Parish AARP, 4014 Chennault St., Morgan City
- Thursday, Feb. 25, Jefferson Parish Westbank Council Chambers, 200 Derbigny St., Gretna.
The meetings will start with an open house from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. followed by a formal presentation by Col. Alvin Lee, commander of the New Orleans District. Presentation topics will include beneficial use of dredged material, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration program and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Ecosystem Restoration work.
Andrea Fontenot ?with the A-P wrote the following piece describing a coastal shoreline protection project on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain:
The federal Minerals Management Service has approved a grant of just under $700,000 to Tangipahoa Parish for the first phase of a shoreline protection project on the northern edge of Lake Pontchartrain.??The money will be used for engineering and design, land rights and administrative costs.??The project is located about 15 miles southeast of Ponchatoula.
The second phase will include construction of a breakwater system to reduce wave energy – and erosion – along the lake. ??That system is expected to extend about 18,000 feet from Pass Machac to the Tangipahoa River.??The money comes from the Coastal Impact Assistance Program through the federal energy act of 2005.
February 17
The following letter by R. King Milling, chairman, America’s Wetland Foundation New Orleans, was published in The Advocate on 2/16. It was short enough and newsworthy enough to quote in full. King is also chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Issues and a member of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). I can’t think of a more influential voice in coastal issues in Louisiana.
The announcement by the White House that funds to restore America’s wetland in coastal Louisiana are included in the president’s proposed 2011 budget is historically significant.
Restoration initiatives have been viewed as discreet projects that failed to address the enormity of the challenge of protecting an entire ecosystem on the verge of collapse. Some will say that the monies aren’t enough to do the job, but the first step — recognizing that stopping the greatest land loss on the planet and protecting the Mississippi Delta from collapse are in the national interest — is now in the book.
For years, lawmakers have viewed the loss of vital lands and estuaries along the Gulf of Mexico as a local problem.
But nothing is local about a region that serves American consumers with vital energy, seafood, transportation and security assets.
No, this $30 million budget line item is a wake-up call to this pending economic and environmental calamity. This administration should be credited with being willing to recognize and address serious problems before they irrevocably damage the entire nation.
February 16
Photo by Emilie Bahr
Happy Mardi Gras!! See you on Royal Street or thereabouts.
Trump vs. Tidwell: Climate change deniers gain new ally: noted climate expert Donald Trump demands that Al Gore return his Nobel Prize because of snow in the Northeast!
A totally different view is presented by Mike Tidwell, well-known author of Bayou Farewell, who wrote an article about the snow in The Baltimore Sun. My cousin Hank Riefle who’s been seeing lots of snow in Havre de Grace Maryland, sent me the article.
We’ll probably never know whether the 2010 record snowfall on the east coast is an actual symptom of climate change or a perfect storm extreme weather event – but it does nothing to cast doubt on the science. Keep your Nobel, Al!
February 15
Is this for real? Superdome cloud photo by Michael DeMocker from The Times-Picayune taken during the Thoth Parade yesterday!
Alabama and Georgia are getting more snow today. A story by Christopher Joyce on NPR Morning Edition today describes how higher ocean temperatures are absolutely consistent with more snow in coastal areas. The story also includes a succinct definition of the difference between weather and climate:
A storm is part of what scientists classify as weather. Weather is largely influenced by local conditions and changes week to week. It’s fickle — fraught with wild ups and downs. Climate is the long term trend of atmospheric conditions across large regions, even the whole planet. Changes in climate are slow and measure in decades, not weeks.
The story also points out that 2010 snows aren’t proof of climate change:
Climate scientists say they can’t prove any single weather event is due to climate change. Thus, they say, Hurricane Katrina or the heat wave in Vancouver that’s dogging the Winter Olympics isn’t proof that climate change is happening. Nor can southern and eastern snowstorms prove that it’s not.
Governor Jindal take note – more jobs for Louisiana: EPA Region 6 could move to New Orleans from Dallas!! An article in today’s NY Times describes that a serious upstart candidate in the raging Texas Governor’s race between Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison is a woman named Debra Messina – who doubts 9/11 and wants to eliminate EPA’s authority in the Lone Star State! Here’s a quote:
Ms. Medina also appeals to state’s rights advocates who long to shift power from Washington to state legislatures. A leitmotif in her speeches is the idea that the federal government has usurped power from the states and that Texas should be able to nullify federal laws and regulations it deems unconstitutional. Her first target would be the Environmental Protection Agency, she says.“We will tell the E.P.A., ‘You have no authority here,’ ” she told the Fort Bend County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
February 14
Happy Valentine’s Day!
We Dat Drew “King of Bacchus” Brees!
Quote from Mark Lorando’s cover story on Drew Brees in today’s The Times-Picayune:
You are a son of New Orleans now. In you we see the best of ourselves, and a future filled with possibilities, and a pride that moves us to tears, too.??This is the part the national media always gets wrong. They see us crying, and they think it’s because you have “given the people of New Orleans a reason to feel good about themselves.”??If we heard that once last week, we heard it a hundred times. ??But that’s not it at all. We’ve always felt good about ourselves. New Orleans is home to some of the most fascinating, fun-loving, hard-working, resilient, creative, smart, sexy, generous, loving, tolerant people on the planet. We have some of the richest culinary, musical, artistic and architectural traditions in the world. What’s not to feel good about? Do Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest look like events organized by people with an inferiority complex??? Please.
February 13
An article in today’s Times-Picayune by Jonathan Tilove on Billy Tauzin’s next career includes this stunning quote:
Having survived intestinal cancer and the crucible of health-care politics, Billy Tauzin said Friday he is stepping down as head of the drug industry trade association in order to launch a new, unspecified career, finish writing a couple of books and, not incidentally, see what he can do to save New Orleans from global warming.
I’m absolutely intrigued. If Billy is truly concerned about this issue, for which New Orleans is a sitting duck, he has the political skills and connections to pull it off.
I had occasion to meet with former congressman Tauzin on coastal issues a number of times during my days as coastal advisor to Gov. Edwin Edwards and Gov. Mike Foster. This included the infamous Red Mud project, that would have used spent bauxite from Kaiser Aluminum for the benefit of the coast.
I happened to attend an aborted meeting in Billy’s former congressional office on Capitol Hill on the fateful morning of September 11, 2001. Also present were Tauzin staffers Martin Cancienne and Garret Graves, Deputy Natural Resources secretary Randy Hanchey and General Bob Flowers, then chief engineer with the Corps of Engineers.
Go Billy!!
February 12
Two species of exotic carp are poised to invade Lake Michigan.
Down here at the mouth of the Mississippi River we’re all too familiar with the unintended consequences of plumbing alterations to the lower river during the past century: the entire delta system occupied by south Louisiana is dying as a result. Meanwhile, about 100 years ago Yankee engineers 2,000 miles upstream successfully reversed the flow of the Chicago River (formerly a tributary of the Mississippi) so as to flush Chicago’s sewage into Lake Michigan.
That engineering decision now provides a portal into the Great Lakes of two species of invasive fish that could devastate the entire Great Lakes fisheries. To save the lakes’ ecology the environmental community wants the natural hydrology to be restored, allowing the Chicago River to once again flow away from Lake Michigan. Navigation interests are blocking this change while the clock ticks. Doesn’t this sound familiar? Read about it here, as reported today by the AP in the Times-Picayune.
Eat your hearts out Yankees! These photos show south Louisiana’s version of the 2010 February blizzard as seen in my backyard miniswamp.
February 12, 2010
February 11
The most notable coastal news item today may be a lengthy article in The Advocate by Bill Lodge on the wrongful termination lawsuit against four LSU officials brought yesterday by coastal geologist Dr. Ivor van Heerden. I’m a long term colleague of Ivor and also a veteran of a summary dismissal from LSU in 1984. I haven’t discussed the lawsuit with Ivor but I share his coastal passion and his frustration that coastal experience and unflinching candor are not always rewarded, either by LSU or the state officials steering coastal protection and restoration.
A predictable flurry of jokes about Al Gore and global warming accompanied news that the mid-Atlantic states have experienced the worst extended blizzard in recorded history. My hometown of Baltimore has already received over five feet of snow in two weeks. The twin facts that: (1) 2009 capped the warmest decade on record since 1850; and (2) extreme weather events are predicted by climate scientists are ignored by those with a political agenda against limiting carbon dioxide emissions. Parody may be more effective; watch this satirical piece by Steven Colbert.
February 10
According to an article in the business section of The Advocate, Dr. Ivor van Heerden, former director of the LSU Hurricane Center who was fired by the university last April, announced that he has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against LSU. A press conference has been scheduled today at 11:00 AM about the lawsuit at the Westin Canal Place in New Orleans.
The Houma Courier carries an article today on a meeting of the Terrebonne levee district to celebrate a new agreement to construct a 5 mile segment (j-2) of the controversial and hugely expensive Morganza to the Gulf hurricane protection project across Terrebonne Parish. This project has the strong support from state officials who are determined to build a scaled down state-funded project with the expectation that federal support for the final version will eventually be forthcoming.
A quote from the article indicates the official reaction to a project that has generated strong scientific concerns about the specific alignment of the levee, in terms of potential damage to wetlands enclosed by the levee.
State Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham signed an agreement with the Terrebonne Levee District to move forward on J-2, a segment of Morganza-to-the-Gulf that cuts across the Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area…
The spirit in the meeting was celebratory as levee officials announced that they had cleared hurdles plaguing levee projects for months and years, in some cases. The complications have come as the levee district moves forward with local construction of a scaled down version of Morganza-to-the-Gulf, a system of levees, floodgates and a lock on the Houma Navigation Canal designed to protect Terrebonne from storm flooding.
Nikki Buskey wrote a companion article for the Daily Comet that provides more detail on another part of the project, a temporary floodgate on the Houma Navigation Canal to eventually be replaced by a much more expensive lock. The need for water control on this canal is supported by virtually everyone, including critics of the state-blessed levee alignment.
February 9
In case you missed it, the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC was produced in New Orleans rather than DC last Friday before the Superbowl. She did this in recognition of the amazing four year rise of the Saints to King of the NFL, which has become symbolic of the resurgence of post-Katrina New Orleans. Interviewees included a number of NOLA heroes, including John Barry.*
The latter interview included a discussion of the Industrial Canal levee failure during Katrina. Barry effectively described to Ms. Maddow (and the nation) the fact that the storm led to a human-caused flood, not a natural disaster. Watch the interview here.
*Distinguished non-fiction writer on politics, corps of engineers river management policy and the 1918 flu epidemic; levee commissioner and member of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
Amy Wold wrote an article published in today’s The Advocate about a letter from various Louisiana environmental groups protesting Governor Jindal’s campaign to oppose EPA’s regulation of industrial carbon dioxide. In her article, Ms. Wold quotes Garret Graves, Jindal’s primary coastal advisor, in effect saying that he doesn’t see a connection between our coastal crisis and opposing the use of the Clean Air Act for the statutory regulation of greenhouse gases!
I understand that Mr. Graves has a critical job to do and that his boss’ stance puts him in an awkward position – but that’s why he makes the big bucks. I plan to post more on this tomorrow.
February 8
A well deserved celebration for a city on the rebound! (photo from the Times/Picayune)
Saints alive!!!! After watching the incredible game with my daughter and some of her her wonderful friends on Music Street in the Bywater we popped the Champagne and walked over to Frenchman on Royal. I’ve been around for a long time but never have I been in a crowd as joyful and brotherly as last night. The atmosphere reeked with happiness, punctuated by hugs and hoots and hollers and horns and high fives and mass hospitality. Wow!!!
February 7
It’s the big day for the Who Dat Nation!
Click here to read the guests for the Superbowl party at the snowed in White House this afternoon. The lone Louisianan (and lone Republican Congressman) on the list is Joseph Cao, who will have four hours to chat about coastal Louisiana and NOLA issues, not just with the president but with many of his top cabinet members. What a great opportunity and a smart move on Cao’s part. Thank you Congressman! Were I in your district I’d certainly vote for you in November.
Congratulations to New Orleans’ new Mayor Landrieu, elected in a landslide in the primary. I hope and suspect that NOLA will finally become responsive to the significance of its coastal setting and involved in coastal issues – such as the crying need for gulf coast passenger rail service!.
Enjoy the game, everyone! I’ll be watching it with my daughter Emilie and her friends somewhere in the Big Easy.
February 6
In addition to the Who Dat buzz, the biggest coastal news today is the abrupt resignation on Friday afternoon of DOTD secretary Bill Ankner. No reason was given by either Gov. Jindal’s office or Dr. Ankner. I suspect that it was related to the secretary’s support for and the governor’s opposition to accepting $300 million in federal stimulus money to begin design of high speed passenger rail service along the gulf coast between New Orleans and Baton Rouge/Houston. We lost an important voice for positive change in the coast.
Quiz. Rearrange these letters to spell out a question being asked all over Louisiana and south Florida (letter spacing stays as is): Aaa abd dde eee ghimn nnoo sss tttwyz?
Check here tomorrow for answer.
In case you missed it, guess who’s backing Indianapolis tomorrow. None other than Michael Brown, or “Brownie,” George W’s hapless FEMA director during Katrina. Read about it here in TheDailyBeast.
February 5
Before the opening kickoff on Sunday evening in Miami, the most precarious city in North America will either have a new mayor or two runoff candidates for the office. Let’s hope that whoever ultimately assumes the Mayor’s Office at City Hall on Poydras, he’s someone who recognizes two things: (1) that New Orleans is a coastal city; and (2) that Hizzoner needs, for the first time in recent history, to be a part of the conversation on coastal protection and restoration.
Venice "street" scene. Photo from Huffpost.
Immediately after posting this comment I was astounded to discover this piece on Huffingtonpost.com, describing the most precarious homes in the world threatened by climate change. NOLA didn’t get mentioned!
February 4
Although I haven’t met Harry Shearer, he’s one of my favorite NOLA boosters and part time residents. For some time now Mr. Shearer has been serving as a Whitehouse gadfly, an Obama nag to remind the President that post-Katrina promises to protect and restore the Big Easy (and its surrounding wetlands) remain unfulfilled.
A recent blog post in Huffingtonpost.com is a perfect example. Shearer points out that the President’s proposed 2010-11 budget includes less than $36 million, compared to $300 plus million for Great Lakes restoration.
I’m confused, in that the Jindal Administration, never a friend of the White House, is on record commending the President for his budget proposal as shown by the following quote in the Times-Picayune by Mark Schleifstein:
But the first-time funding for the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration program is a key milestone that shows administration officials are beginning to understand the urgency of the state’s restoration needs, said Garret Graves, adviser to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
The apparent disconnect may be explained by the following comment from Paul Harrison with the National Wildlife Federation:
This is new money for Louisiana wetlands restoration, the first time that a president has asked for Louisiana wetlands restoration construction money (as opposed to studies and design) under the Corp’s main budget. It was also only one of two “new starts” asked for, which says a lot because it basically says “these are the only places where we’re going to do new things, particularly as we suggest cutting a lot of what we’re already doing.”
Important for everyone to keep in mind, the President’s budget only sets the anchor. Congress, starting with the House of Representatives, writes (and votes on) the actual budget and those discussions begin now.
February 3
A single page newsletter was just released by Garret Graves, Chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) who also oversees the Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration (OCPR). A very brief update is presented on the Bayou Dupont project that involves dredging river sediment near Myrtle Grove and pumping it five miles west to rebuild marshes. The most significant new information presented relates to the dates for upcoming coastal meetings (locations not shown):
Feb. 4, 11:30 a.m.: Harvey Canal Industrial Association – Guest Speaker Garret Graves
Feb. 25, 9 a.m.: Governor’s Advisory Commission Meeting
Mar. 2, 10 a.m.: ALBL Executive Committee Meeting – Guest Speaker Garret Graves (sorry but I don’t know what ALBL stands for)
Mar 17, 9:30 a.m. CPRA Meeting.
No interval is specified for this newsletter issue, but the heading reads February 2010, implying a monthly frequency.
Dr. Bill Nuttle, Canadian coastal engineering authority on south Louisiana, relayed this Jan. 20 AP story from the Washington Post, which uses the Superdome Equivalent (SDE) meme first proposed in LaCoastPost as a way to describe an enormous volume of material, in this case the amount of rubble generated by the tragic earthquake in Port-Au-Prince.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A U.S. official says the rubble remaining from destroyed buildings in Haiti’s capital could easily fill to the top five football stadiums the size of New Orleans’ Superdome.
Expressing materials in terms of the volume capacity of the Superdome or similarly huge football stadiums creates a mind’s eye picture easily visualized by those of us who have difficulty with large numbers.
The volume of debris in Port-Au-Prince was estimated by Col. Rick Kaiser with the US Army Corps of Engineers at 20 million cubic yards – five SDEs. He suggested that this huge volume of rubble could be used beneficially – for an artificial fish reef or to reinforce ravines to prevent mudslides.
Who Dat sez the corps can’t learn?
My long term coastal hydrologist friend and colleague Dr. Mike Waldon, who works for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Lafayette, relayed an on-line story that resurrects the old idea of diverting “excess” water from the Mississippi watershed west to the Colorado River watershed!
I’ll post more on this concept in the future.
February 2
Happy Groundhog Muskrat Day!
I was reminded by Dr. Mark Ford, an astute coastal associate, that the 2nd of February each year is also World Wetlands Day. It marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Mark Schleifstein wrote a story in today’s Times-Picayune about the implications to Louisiana’s coastal protection and restoration effort of President Obama’s proposed 2010-11 budget. Mark did a masterful job of dissecting out from its various cash streams the total federal investment proposed for coastal Louisiana.
Despite the fact that our state officials opposed administration environmental policy throughout 2009 (e.g., on industrial limits on industrial CO2) Louisiana seems to have fared very well. The proposed budget has been praised by Garret Graves, Governor Jindal’s chief coastal advisor and by spokesfolks for three national environmental groups that have assumed a leadership role in rescuing the Mississippi River delta from a slow death.
Over the last few years the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the National Audubon Society have become critical coastal ambassadors for south Louisiana in DC.
February 1
Kimberly Quillen wrote a business article in the Times-Picayune that piqued my interest. She described a conflict between stakeholders in Louisiana’s maritime industry .
The oil and gas industry wants relief from the Jones Act, a law enacted years ago to protect American shipbuilders from foreign competition. Not surprisingly, local ship construction interests want the protection to continue.
During the early 1990s, on the basis of recommendations by LSU coastal geologists and engineers, I represented the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities in supporting the concept of pumping dredged mineral sediments on a massive scale through pipelines to rebuild sunken wetlands.
At that time I was told that channel dredging technology in south Louisiana used outmoded 1950s technology and that much more efficient European dredging engineering and equipment could not be used – because of the Jones Act.
If the beneficial use of dredged sediments is really being hampered by this old law the issue goes far beyond oil and gas and shipbuilding interests mentioned in the article. I would encourage Ms. Quillen to further investigate all the implications of the Jones Act.
57 Comments
2010-02-27
13:02:02
Too many acronyms; too little time....
Alfred E. Neumann maybe had the best answer after all......
For CO2, GHG, GAG, UPCHUK, EPA, WPA, FART, COUGH, etc
2010-02-27
09:05:56
Here's an example of an honest lawyer. Adler was a CEI analyst for 9 years before going to law school. He's a prof now. A sample of his views:
As I’ve noted many times on this blog [http://volokh.com], I believe there is sufficient evidence of human contributions to climate change to justify a meaningful policy response, including measures to accelerate energy sector innovation and a revenue-neutral carbon tax. But such policies should be advanced on the merits, not scientific subterfuge of the sort engaged in by those at CRU.
and
The only way ClimateGate creates a real problem for the Agency is if the EPA’s attorneys didn’t do their job, and relied uncritically on some of the specific studies called into question by the controversy, and this would only happen if the EPA’s attorneys were asleep at the switch. In a field where the science is so highly contested, what an Agency should do is lay out all of the evidence, acknowledge some degree of uncertainty, and then note explicitly that even if some pieces are contested or disproven, ample evidence remains to support its ultimate conclusion. At the same time, the Agency should note that the Act empowers the Administrator to take a precuationary view of the relevant scientific evidence. If this is what the Agency did, then it does not matter if one data series or another is undermined, nor is it relevant that reasonable people may have a basis to be skeptical of the agency’s scientific conclusions. What matters is whether the EPA could reasonably have come to the conclusion that greenhouse gases are a threat, and that should be an easy case to make, ClimateGate notwithstanding.
and
I should also note (as I did here [http://volokh.com/2009/10/01/the-climate-policy-climate-warms-up/]) that the 25,000 ton threshold embraced by the EPA is an arbitrary threshold entirely of the agency’s creation, as the relevant provision of the Clean Air Act applies to all stationary sources that emit over 250 tons of regulated pollutants.
The "here" he mentioned (1 Oct 09 at 8:57 am) contains these gems:
An interesting aspect of the EPA’s proposed rule to limit stationary source emissions is the agency’s creative effort to limit the regulation’s applicability in the face of fairly explicit statutory text. The relevant provisions of the Clean Air Act define major stationary sources as those that emit (or have the potential to emit) 100 or 250 tons per year of regulated pollutants (depending on the type of facility). Yet the EPA’s rule would only apply to facilities that emit 100 times this amount of carbon dioxide or carbon-dioxide equivalent. (Anything less would be de minimis, I suppose.)
The reason for limiting the rule’s application in this way, EPA explicitly acknowledges, is that it would be virtually impossible for the agency impose the permitting and regulatory requirements to all facilities that meet the statutory threshold. Rather than try to regulate tens of thousands of residential and commercial buildings and small businesses, the EPA wants to focus its efforts on several thousand large industrial facilities. There’s no statutory text to support this decision, so the EPA relies on the doctrine of “administrative necessity” and the need to avoid “absurd results.” (I also suspect the EPA is aware that a more expansive rule covering small businesses, apartment buildings, etc. would make it almost certain that a cap-and-trade bill would preclude GHG regulation under the Act.)
Funny, though, that such administrative concerns — indeed the sheer unworkability of trying to impose GHG controls on such a scale — did not convince a majority of the Supreme Court that the CAA did not apply to GHGs in Massachusetts v. EPA (nor did it convince those who sued the EPA to force GHG regulation, including some who now work for the EPA). Nor was it that long ago that the Bush EPA was excoriated for its, shall we say, “creative” reading of the CAA’s stationary source provisions to constrain the scope of the Act’s stationary source regulations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was not particularly receptive to the Bush Adminstration’s efforts to evade the text of the Act. Will its response to the Obama Administration’s equally atextual climate rules be any different?
2010-02-27
09:16:03
Forgot - Adler thinks Mass v EPA was wrongly decided because he believes (as do I) that Mass lacks Art II standing.
However, having lost the case, Adler further believes he EPA is then compelled to issue CO2 regs. That's the rub of the 250 ton limit. It's what the statute calls out.
So, the best way out of this mess is to amend the Clean Air Act to remove CO2 and/or GHG. Absent that, my second choice is a full and relentless enforcement of the 250 ton limit. Obama and the Ds just THINK they have approval level problems now. Wait for the 250 ton limit to kick in. Shades of Audi Green Police ads . . . .
2010-02-28
08:24:57
What a great example of what lawyers do, plead their case based on process, precedent and claims, whatever their factual merits, as opposed to what scientists do, objectively seek to understand reality. I'm glad February is almost over so Len can start a new thread that addresses the important coastal developments that he reports. Meanwhile read Al Gore's op-ed in today's NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/opinion/28gore.html?hp .
2010-02-28
09:35:40
I once posed the construct to a scientist that "science is about what is a fact" while "law is about which facts matter."
The scientist objected, maintaining instead that "science is about falsifiable hypos, not facts." Whatever is a "fact" today only stands until a better hypo comes along. The newly established "fact" only stands until the next "fact" comes along.
My construct lost an important detail in the brevity so I agreed with him.
If the Indiana legislature had actually passed a law making Pi equal to 3 perhaps the sneer at law as an institution would be fair. Ditto if any Obama staffer had actually said that Congress ought to repeal one of thermo laws. But neither one of those things ever happened.
Funny that blogs or news articles don't count as a source or as evidence by an Al Gore op-ed does count . . . .
2010-02-28
15:36:37
Link to The Alliance For Climate Protection website:
http://www.climateprotect.org/about/affiliates/
How appropriate to research "hockey stick graphs" on a big Olympic Hockey Day!!!!!
2010-02-28
15:07:10
Richard Feynman put it this way: "Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself." Reference to the Gore op-ed was because it is a rather astute political commentary. Abundant references to the science were previously provided. But if readers want more, after the US-Canada hockey match is over check out the interview by Louisiana's own Chris Mooney with Michael Mann of hockey stick fame http://www.pointofinquiry.org/michael_mann_unprecedented_attacks_on_climate_research/ .
2010-02-28
20:15:27
Another pesky law professor heard from, this time subjecting "astute political commentary" to her analysis . . . . .
http://althouse.blogspot.com/2010/02/al-gore-would-like-you-to-lie-back-and.html
2010-02-26
09:54:12
link to the Pacific Legal Foundation's recent filing:
http://community.pacificlegal.org/Document.Doc?id=398
2010-02-26
08:58:17
reckon that the above phrase 'honest lawyers' iz one of them thar 'ad hominem' thingy do's that people belly ache about bein uzed here?????
2010-02-26
09:52:23
No, just to draw contrast with the standard ad hominem attacks on the honesty of scientists.
2010-02-25
14:49:55
So start promotin.......
Redefining reality...... can you detect temperatures out to the 'hundreth' of a degree?????
Which Economist is 'correct???' They both used the same data to arrive at their conclusions..... can both be correct????
I don't recall mentioning politics in any of my posts....
Oh well such is life.......
2010-02-25
13:39:42
Kelly and HH are dominating the space here in a characteristic attempt to redefine reality according to their political preferences - hence bringing the conservative legal foundations in as the sources of reference, rather than NASA, NOAA, and other agencies who don't supply the answers that the conservatives want. The insistence that the CRU controversy has discredited climate science - an accusation continually repeated to give it the impression of being proven - is part of the same effort. There is then no basis for discussion, and I suggest the editor impose some kind of space limit. References to links don't take up a lot of space, so anyone can promote any link they choose.
2010-02-25
17:50:22
The PLF petition is at:
http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103023257214&s=126&e=001KOXFsdAhBoQMuIHkjenzstacWx1ZjIuGxtru_ztB25p-MAbTsqKOaeCw6pDJjf3I5ip08Apv9P5p0ySzISzhRuZB3CyotR6IFaIHkP166WVngduMawmFI7inx
JPxYRKRdJDfiS8Au2OFYXvxZopD77uRWe1mmvj_
It's not a screed on gun rights or free enterprise (nor anything else for that matter). It's an argument based upon procedure supported by the typical weighing and sifting of conflicting evidence which honest scientists and honest lawyers are supposed to do every day.
2010-02-26
08:00:11
Honest lawyers?
2010-02-25
12:26:09
As one simple example of statistical analysis, say three (3) people live in a town.
One makes $299,998 per year and the other two make $1 per year.
One Economist could trumpet the city as a 'great place to live, since its AVERAGE PER CAPITA INCOME is $100,000 per year!!!!'
Another Economist could use the same identical statistics to conclude that the city is a 'lousy place to live; as two thirds of the people there live in poverty....!!!!'
Who is right here???? Same statistics are being used with totally different conclusions drawn from them.......
Which is why I take these 'average temperature differences' with a very big grain of salt.....
Especially when they are taken out to the HUNDRETHS of a degree......
2010-02-24
18:41:56
Computing 'average temperatures' out to the 'hundreths' of a degree seems a bit overboard in the real world. A good laboratory exercise though. I'll bet the average Joe can't detect a temperature difference to within a degree or two let alone to the hundreths of a degree.
A lot can be masked by computing averages alone. A little selective picking of what data to use can work wonders with respect to what end result is computed.
130 years of temperature data really isn't that long considering how long olde Ma Earth has been kickin around.
2010-02-23
16:52:41
Taking Len's advice -
“Temps last 30 years” etc. The Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) has a science page - which will not satisfy Don B. - but it’s at http://www.epalawsuit.com/the-science/.
Concerning what is “evidence,” pay particular attention to pp 20-21 of the Pacific Legal Foundation [PLF] petition.
The much milder PLF petition notes but takes no position on the direct fraud and related misconduct allegations made by other petitions.
Here’s the first place where we’re going to have real trouble finding common grounds for dialog. AGW folks believe “peer review” is an adequate safeguard of truth and that the science is settled. Fundamentally what’s happening in these petitions is that basic foundation of climate science itself is under attack. The charges boil down to accusations of corruption, bias, and “all the news that fits we print.” In that sort of environment, simply pulling out another paper published by some other member of the club won’t do. For the climate science enterprise to survive, it must be - and must be seen to be - above suspicion. True, the PLF offers some support for abstract science, in that expressly says the disputed science matters should not be settled by lawyers (pg 6 directly and indirectly at pg 34). Still, PLF goes on - albeit in milder terms - to make essentially all the same misconduct charges as all the other petitions. The petitions do not accuse the EPA and CRU of being mistaken but rather of lying.
Fortunately, no one on this blog needs to find a common ground. The legal process will do it for us. As contrasted to “science” and “peer review,” the legal system has fewer gatekeepers. No one but the judge decides who is legitimate enough to be in court and there is an appeal process to cross check the judge's judgment. Survive a motion for summary judgment and you've earned the chance to make your case. Fail to do so and you lose.
Finally, here’s a recommendation for Don B:
Pretend you’ve been hired by the EPA to help defend the endangerment finding. Can you make the case that the new CRU material does not warrant re-opening the finding? That even if the EPA does re-open, taking the new material into account, that the original finding would still stand?
Now that we're in the AdLaw world, scholarship is necessary but not enough. Practical example: the December 30, 1977 order (http://www.saveourwetlands.org/77-schwartz.htm) stopping gates in the Chef and Rigolets.
P.S. 1: I'll post the very lengthy URL for the PLF petition itself if anyone wants to read it; almost 60 pages.
P.S. 2: SOWL v Rush was correctly decided based upon the record at the time.
2010-02-23
15:32:21
Slides for the Violet Diversion program last night are at:
http://www.nolaenvironmental.gov/nola_public_data/projects/usace_levee/docs/original/MRGOVioletDiv22Feb10.pdf
2010-02-23
12:26:48
I'll see what I can do. My email may take another day to come back and I assume there will be a awful lot of stuff in my mailbox.
I strongly recommend keeping your comments shorter than the post that prompted a response!
2010-02-23
08:35:33
Len: science post has not come up 4 times now.
2010-02-23
08:53:58
Kelly-
Sorry but I don't understand this comment. Be more specific.
2010-02-23
09:39:36
I have posted a science reply 4 times. The text appeared in this blue window and I left clicked "add comment." The first time the text appeared. However, when I refreshed the page the comment was not there. I rewrote the comment from memory but the same thing happened. Next time I e-mailed it to myself to have the text saved. Then I got an error message; something like "Duplicate Comment. It looks like you have posted this message before." The last time I pasted the text back from the e-mail but added a header about a repeat attempt so the text would be different. Got neither a posting nor the duplicate error msg.
Once you get your e-mail fixed I could send you the post and you could try putting it up?
2010-02-24
04:53:17
Kelly promised us science references, but instead only offers a legal petition from the Pacific Legal Foundation, which "litigates for property rights, free enterprise and limited government" under the motto Restoring Liberty from Coast to Coast. From the website it seems the Foundation's principal scientific authority is Lord Monckton, 3rd Viscount of Brenchley, who has degrees in classics and journalism.
To follow Len's advice to keep it short, I have addressed many of these exaggerated criticisms in a commentary on the Washington Post's Planet Panel http://views.washingtonpost.com/climate-change/panelists/donald_boesch/2010/02/missteps_and_moisture.html . Just continuing to scream fraud and hoax doesn't make it so.
To amend my Post post just briefly, while the global warming over the past 15 years based on the HadCRU temperature estimates is only statistically significant at the 90% confidence level, the warming trend based on the NASA estimates, which include the polar regions, is significant at the 99% confidence level.
Regarding Kelly's recommendation B, I'll leave that to the Texas State Climatologist, who can find no scientific basis in his state’s effort to roll back the EPA’s endangerment finding. http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/02/17/texas-climatologist-v-denier-petition/. In fact, every faculty member in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M--that's right, not Harvard or even Harvard on the Bayou, but Texas A&M--agrees with the endangerment finding.
2010-02-24
11:12:52
Science doesn't run by voting or consensus; one experiment can break the prettiest theory.
As for the battle of experts and the meaning of data, testimony will be taken, cross examination will occur, and a judgment will be rendered.
Sen. Boxer and Administrator Jackson didn’t exactly man the barricades for either CRU or the IPCC’s AR4 at Tuesday’s Senate hearing by the Environment and Public Works Committee. Check out either http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/02/23/HP/R/29898/Hearing+Examines+EPA+Budget+Request.aspx; the squirming begins about 0+56 minutes. Try not to be more Catholic than the Pope. The troops with the duty to defend the climate science mess aren’t as confident as Don B and A & M are.
Second, You don’t have to be a scientist to be a liar and vice versa. Neither must one be a peer reviewer to detect a fraud.
Michael Bellesiles, author of “Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture,” winner of the Bancroft Prize (for “one brief, shining moment” in 2001), wasn’t unzipped by another historian. A law professor took him out; see “Fall from Grace: Arming America and the Bellesiles Scandal,” by James Lindgren, Northwestern University - School of Law, in the Yale Law Journal, Vol. 111, p. 2195, 2002, available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=692421
Pre-Climategate, I suppose the worst recent example of fraud in science per se was Hwang Woo-suk and his fake cloning in South Korea.
Of course no field of human endeavor is immune; La. has a high bar disciplinary rate and we just threw the Joan Benge off the bench in Jefferson. Geology is not without its faults (yes, terrible pun); see “Faulty Geology - Frauds Hoaxes and Delusions,” by Alexander R. McBirney, Bostok Press (2004), ISBN-13: 978-0975915851.
2010-02-24
12:06:24
There is no battle of experts on these points, Kelly. And how did we get so far away from scientific evidence related to climate change to gun culture, cloning in South Korea, and throwing Joan Benge off the bench?
2010-02-24
17:42:42
The gun fraud was caught by non-experts outside the field, in which a panel of top experts inside the field swallowed a fish story hook, line and sinker. The cloning fraud was caught by experts in the same field, as was the judicial misconduct, as was the geology frauds.
Repeating "there is no battle of experts in the climate field "will only turn out to be true if the EPA gives itself the equivalent of a summary judgment AND is then upheld by the courts.
But, assuming the AGW side can win the science contest, that's only half the battle. They have to convince the public and Congress that the corrective action is less than the damage. Pre-CRU, that effort had already failed. When M/M USA thought the science was real they also thought the price was too high. Now that they have realized AGW is a scam, the scant odds have gone to nil.
2010-02-25
07:53:53
QED
2010-02-24
14:07:15
This just in. If you want to see the real stuff about our warming Earth, not the Pacific Legal Foundation version, check out this very informative NASA website http://climate.nasa.gov/warmingworld/
2010-02-18
08:18:19
I sincerely question the reality of working out to the 'hundreths of millimeters' in this arena.
Also our 'long term regressions' going back to the 1960's seems a bit 'short term' when it comes to the reality of the Earth's big picture.
But it keeps people employed and talking; so what the hey........
Especially when we have a tough enough time sorting out the reality of the Chicago flow reversals.
I assume BRGS has something to do with 'bridges,' or possibly 'brigades,' or maybe even 'bearings.'
2010-02-18
09:11:25
Sorry; Baton Rouge Geological Society. Thought I had speeled it out earlier. In case I forget, "NOGS" is the New Orleans Geological Society.
2010-02-17
09:02:15
Re: Saving the Mississippi R. delta involves 3 dimensions
I'm not very confident we can find a neutral jury to sort out the conflicting theories and aportion the amount of sink attributable to each component.
However, some progress has been made lately. 10 and 15 years ago the life sciences folks were putting out "top 10 causes" lists which were remarkably free of geology. The first edition of the America's Wetlands PR campaign was similarly almost a geology-free zone.
Much remains to be done. The MMS study on canals last year (but really written by the wetlands center in Lafayette) is a classic example of pure 2 dimensional thinking.
Programs such as the river modelling I watched last Friday at the BRGS need a wider airing. Might be a good topic for a guest post.
2010-02-13
09:08:17
Chicago Sanitary Canal: Len, you got this backwards. Actually, the citizens of Chicago moved their sewerage outfall from the Great Lakes drainage system to the Mississippi drainage system. The Chicago Sanitary Canal was constructed to keep Chicago's sewerage out of Lake Michigan (where its drinking water came from). They reversed the flow of the Chicago River by cutting through a ridge that separated the Mississippi River drainage system from the Great Lakes drainage system. The sewerage was then conveyed through the Des Plaines and Illinois rivers, to the Mississippi River (thank you, Second City!) . This reminds me of something I heard a speaker at an estuary conference say, "The person who decided to call the estuary the MOUTH of the river obviously knew nothing about anatomy."
2010-02-13
11:48:17
Damn, Jim; you're right about the flow reversal. I've been to the Windy City exactly twice in my life and my knowledge of the 'anatomy' of their local hydrology is as naive as that of whoever misnamed a river's terminus its mouth rather than what it really is! Sounds like material for a river joke that would involve the phrase 'pucker up.'
2010-02-12
18:39:34
Another attempt to quote something, this time with something added by moi. The following text from the linked AP story about carp:
"It appears to be politically negotiated rather than scientifically based ... sort of like trying to cut the baby in half," said Thom Cmar, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It offers a lot of middle-ground alternatives with no discussion of why any of them would actually work."
. . . got me to thinking about a book review I saw last year. It's by Jonathan H. Alder, a conservationist who became a lawyer and then a law professor. His review was called "Devaluing Science" and it appeared in The New Atlantis, Number 17, Summer 2007, pp. 111-118, available at: http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/
devaluing-science.
[Here are some excerpts from his review of] The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science and Policy in Politics By Roger A. Pielke, Jr. Cambridge ~ 2007 188 pp. ~ $29.99 (cloth)
“When we recognize that science informs, and cannot determine, policy choices, there will be less need for advisory panels to tart up policy recommendations as scientific conclusions.”
"What was framed as a debate over 'sound science' was really a proxy battle over environmental policy, with most participants 'focused on the advantages or disadvantages the book putatively lent to opposing political perspectives'."
"Pielke fears that when scientists and policymakers claim 'science' supports a particular policy agenda, they diminish science’s ability to inform policy development. Those who purport to make policy recommendations based on 'sound science' or 'objective information' are often engaged in issue advocacy from a certain point of view. Typically, it is policy advocates, ideologues, and flacks, not scientists, who politicize science in this way. In the debate over [a certain book], however, scientists actively entered the fray, the direction of their arguments determined by ideology and political considerations rather than scientific examination. The end result was a political conflict, but one conducted in the language of science. Pielke worries it won’t be the last."
"Today’s politicization of science is due in part, Pielke argues, to the 'scientization' of public policy - attempts to resolve policy disputes through technical expertise rather than politics. Such efforts tend to be futile because policy differences are generally not the result of a dearth of scientific information or a lack of independent analysis; they are usually rooted in disagreements about fundamental values. 'When advocacy is couched in the purity of science,' Pielke warns, 'problems are created for both science and policy'.”
Back to just Kelly again. No amount of scientific, technical, or professional expertise can resolve a values a conflict. What the specialists can usefully do for society is inform us all of the various costs, risks, and benefit of a given choice as compared to a different one. "If you want X the cost will be Y and in addition this neighborhood must be dug up and that one must be torn down and everyone who lives south of Smith Street must send their kids to Baker High instead of Acme High."
Finally, there’s a common – but I think false – idea that, to be a “special interest,” your e-mail must end in “.com.” If it ends in “.org,” “.edu,” or “.gov,” you are automatically a disinterested “TYPE FOUR.” WAY not so!
2010-02-11
12:22:51
Perhaps the last time I posted a quote it wasn't clear enough I was quoting and not writing.
So, just to make sure, the following was "Posted by Roger Pielke, Jr. at 2/11/2010 07:32:00 AM" on his blog:
Roger begins -
Let's see if I can make this simple.
What happens in the weather this week or next tells us absolutely nothing about the role of humans in influencing the climate system. It is unjustifiable to claim that a cold snap or heavy snow disproves or even casts doubts predictions of long-term climate change. It is equally unjustifiable to say that a cold snap or heavy snow in any way offers empirical support for predictions of long-term climate change. This goes for all weather events.
Further, it is professionally irresponsible for scientists to claim that some observed weather is "consistent with" long-term predictions of climate change. Any and all weather fits this criteria. Similarly, any and all weather is also "consistent with" failing predictions of long-term climate change. The "consistent with" canard is purposely misleading.
Knowledge of climate requires long-term records -- on the time scale of a decade and longer. Don't look to the weather to learn about climate, unless you have a long time to watch. Using the weather to score cheap political points in the climate debate appears to be a tactical area of agreement among those who otherwise disagree about climate change.
Roger ends, and Kelly has nothing to add.
2010-02-14
10:16:33
Fair enough, but it works both ways.
Snowmageddon is no reason for Al Gore to "cry uncle" as Sen. Demint suggests of for the Inhofe clan to build him an igloo home on Capitol Hill (http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/10/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6194071.shtml ). In fact, lacostpost junkies will be interested in today's op-ed on the subject in the Baltimore Sun by Bayou Farewell author Mike Tidwell http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.warming0214,0,3544880.story.
Oh well, another white moisture event forecast here in the Mid-Atlantic for Monday night.
Happy Valentine's Day.
2010-02-14
10:59:56
When the snow melts perhaps Jones' missing data will be revealed. (The Brits are all over his most recent recantations this am.)
Cap-n-Trade was in big trouble long before the FOIA2009 file came out. Since then it's fortunes have been steadily sinking, particularly with each new unravelling of another shaky IPCC 07 claim.
The essence of the Canadian's assesment was that the public has moved on. I agree; Tidwell is flacking/flogging a dead horse.
2010-02-15
07:39:53
Kelly, I respectfully suggest that you not just rely on Fox News, the Telegraph and American Thinker for your information. Read:
the actual responses to skeptics questions provided to the BBC by Phil Jones http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8511670.stm ;
the Guardian's truly fair and balanced analysis of the email controversy http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/series/climate-wars-hacked-emails ; and
the facts versus the spin regarding the IPCC errors http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2010/02/ipcc-errors-facts-and-spin/#more-2832 .
2010-02-18
09:21:45
You left out Rush.
The disaster law list serv I follow (mainly law profs, FEMA types, and NGOs) and other blogs had all that, plus more. Nice try, but the wheels came off the Mike and Phil show months ago. This "dog ate my homework" excuse of having a messy office for losing data is too weak to be lame. Really. Smell the coffee.
BTW, the default rule in discovery is that if you can't produce the data/evidence which disproves the other party's claim the presumption is that the claim is true. In pleadings whatever is not denied is admitted. The best thing Jones has got going for him is that their statute of limitations has run. Good thing for him because the British FOIA (Freedomof Information Act) is a criminal statute.
2010-02-18
20:49:45
I'm sorry, I should have guessed Rush was also one of your scientific sources. As for the rest, I really wish you would read the Jones responses rather than the blogospheric misrepresentations (sorry, Len) of them You will find that no data were lost, CRU was not the source of the data to begin with. On the default rule, I'll eagerly await your evidence to disprove the well documented claim that the global mean temperature during each of the last three decades was warmer than the prior decade. Source: World Meteorological Organization http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/pr_869_en.html And references to wheels coming off, homework eating dogs, smelling coffee and drinking koolaid don't count.as evidence,
2010-02-22
21:35:40
Science references - my post from yesterday is not on the site and I did not make a copy of it so I’ll try to reconstruct from memory. Not entirely a bad thing because I’m putting in some new material. See new post at end of thread.
2010-02-09
16:53:48
Kelly H.'s contentions are themselves an example of "activism" - "discredited the entire climate- change movement"? That kind of statement is wishful thinking on the part of deniers of ACW. The whining of deniers, "skeptics," etc. that they've been "demonized" reflects their inability to jhandle being told - and shown - that they're wrong. They have moved to the next level of conflict on the issue - sabotage, personal attacks, etc. in the media cycle because they can't prevail in a scientific debate. None of which is to claim infallibility for mainstream climate science - not that it has ever claimed that for itself, deniers screeds aside.
2010-02-09
17:02:44
Channeling Editiila?
2010-02-09
08:26:40
Repeal the Jones Act!!!!
2010-02-06
12:58:11
Discuss amongst yourselves but not during family reunions or the Game:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/the-great-global-warming-collapse/article1458206/
None of this is to say that global warming isn't real, or that human activity doesn't play a role, or that the IPCC is entirely wrong, or that measures to curb greenhouse-gas emissions aren't valid. But the strategy pursued by activists (including scientists who have crossed the line into advocacy) has turned out to be fatally flawed.
By exaggerating the certainties, papering over the gaps, demonizing the skeptics and peddling tales of imminent catastrophe, they've discredited the entire climate-change movement. The political damage will be severe. As Mr. Mead succinctly puts it: “Skeptics up, Obama down, cap-and-trade dead.” That also goes for Canada, whose climate policies are inevitably tied to those of the United States.
“I don't think it's healthy to dismiss proper skepticism,” says John Beddington, the chief scientific adviser to the British government. He is a staunch believer in man-made climate change, but he also points out the complexity of climate science. “Science grows and improves in the light of criticism. There is a fundamental uncertainty about climate change prediction that can't be changed.” In his view, it's time to stop circling the wagons and throw open the doors. How much the public will keep caring is another matter.
2010-02-05
10:22:25
Interesting to look at the picture of VENICE (the one in ITALY) at the Huff Post article referenced earlier in the post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/05/precarious-homes-potentia_n_439139.html
The 'green stuff' on the house walls is of interest. Kinda like the water levels have been a tad higher for quite a while than at present......
Tides??
2010-02-14
10:03:33
No, winds. Winds have a dominant effect on water level fluctuation in the Venice lagoon. The photo was taken when the water levels had dropped, exposing algae vigorously growing there hours or days before. But, on the other hand there is the acqua alta--ski St. Mark's Square! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPQS0mdevlo
Relative sea level in Venice rose 25 cm (10 inches) during the 20th century. But they are actually better off , because once they stopped pumping groundwater the subsidence rate has slowed to 0.5 mm/yr, compared to 2-8 mm over much of S. Louisiana. http://www.springerlink.com/content/f121075417614286/?p=c07a55e076e54158bb39d06e250de12f&pi=120
2010-02-04
06:07:15
Here's a Breaux Act Newsflash; sounds like a shallower draft version of MRGO. Thoughts, anyone?
Notice of Public Meeting: Plaquemines Parish Government
Meeting time and Location:
When: Thursday, March 4, 2010, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: The Belle Chasse Auditorium is located at 8398 Hwy. 23, Belle Chasse LA 70037
Plaquemines Parish Government (the Parish) will hold a Public Meeting on the "Baptiste Collette Bayou Navigation Channel Deepening Section 203 Study" on Thursday March 4, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. at the Belle Chasse Auditorium. The Parish hopes to provide interested parties and stakeholders with information on the project and the opportunity to comment during the final phases of planning and alternatives development.
The Parish is investigating alternatives for improving access to the oil fields, drilling rigs, and production platforms located in the Central and Eastern Planning Areas of the Gulf of Mexico. Expansion of the oil and gas infrastructure into the eastern gulf and the emergence of larger deep-draft Off Shore Vessels has created a need for improved access to the offshore oil and gas infrastructure.
The purpose of the study is to assess alternatives to improve navigation, particularly to the Venice Port Facilities and to ensure an alternative transportation route to the offshore oil and gas infrastructure from the Venice Port Facilities. The study area is located within the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain of the Lower Mississippi River and experiences extremely high erosion rates. In addition to improving navigation, the development of an innovative and comprehensive beneficial use plan is a top priority for the study.
2010-02-03
18:20:21
Now to some PHOAKS it (ALBL) means:
A Long Black Limosine (ALBL) hopefully with no violin cases in the trunk.....
PHOAKS ==> People Helping One Another Know Stuff ....PHOAKS.....
2010-02-03
13:56:33
Pretty sure ALBL is Association of Levee Boards in Louisiana.
2010-02-03
16:08:05
Thanks, Nikki. I hate acronyms! Maybe I should found a group of like-minded folks. We'd probably eventually become known as IHA.
2010-02-03
09:09:26
My almanac gives a 'volume' for the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea of 2,300,000 cubic MILES.
Now THATSALOTTA SDE's.......
I get something like 3,130,000,000 SDE's
(@ 4 million cubic YARDS an SDE)
2010-02-02
07:52:08
See Minipost for Feb. 2. The corps seems to have done well re south Louisiana (unless you worry about the industrial canal replacement lock).
2010-02-01
12:47:44
FYI
Was just e-mailed this; not clear if the $15 mil for La "set aside" means "protected, saved, and fenced off" or "round filed/cut:"
January 28, 2010
OMB Cuts Army Corps Funding by 12% in Draft 2011 Budget
By TARYN LUNTZ of Greenwire
The Army Corps of Engineers would face a 12 percent funding cut next year under a draft budget request from the Obama administration.
According to the Office of Management and Budget "passback," shared with top Army Corps officials in early December and recently obtained by E&E, the White House will propose $4.81 billion for the agency in the fiscal 2011 budget.
That is $630 million less than the Army Corps received in this year's appropriations bill and $310 million less than the Obama administration requested for the agency last year.
"If that's what's in the budget proposal next Monday, we view it as a significant decrease in investment in water resources overall," said Marco Giamberardino of the Associated General Contractors of America. "To say that this is a disappointment is almost an understatement."
While the proposal may have undergone changes in recent weeks, it reveals areas of priority for the administration and signals a pullback in sponsoring new water resource projects.
The corps' investigations budget, which funds project studies, would garner $90 million in the request, down from $160 million in this year's spending bill. The White House would set aside $15 million of the line item for the Louisiana coastal area.
The construction budget also would be slashed in the proposal, winning $1.6 billion in the White House request compared with $2 billion from Congress this year.
The administration would fully fund all dam safety and Endangered Species Act projects and would allow any existing construction project to move forward if it meets a cost-benefit threshold of 1.0 and will be completed in 2011.
The White House proposes at least $154 million for Columbia River restoration projects, at least $45 million for the CALFED Bay-Delta program and $175 million for the Florida Everglades. The Everglades' Modified Water Deliveries Project would be funded separately in the National Park Service budget.
The administration would zero out the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project account, which funds flood damage reduction projects in the Mississippi River Valley. Money for the projects would be spread among the other accounts.
The move is "a big surprise," Giamberardino said.
"I can't imagine them doing that after what the Gulf Coast has been through the past couple of years," he said. "Even if the dollars were exactly the same, I think it would be viewed pretty negatively by that region. I think it's going to be viewed as looking away from the needs down there."
One area that would win additional funding in the proposal: operations and maintenance. The White House proposes $2.5 billion for the account, including $15 million to conduct an inventory of federal levees.
Ohio, Upper Mississippi and Illinois waterways would garner $285 million, climate change initiatives $15 million and the Coastal Data Information Program $3 million.
Other proposed numbers include:
• $185 million for general expenses.
• $41 million for flood control and coastal
emergencies.
• $130 million for the Formerly Utilized Sites
Remedial Action Program.
2010-02-02
10:18:45
This is new money for Louisiana wetlands restoration, the first time that a president has asked for Louisiana wetlands restoration construction money (as opposed to studies and design) under the Corp's main budget. It was also only one of two "new starts" asked for, which says a lot because it basically says "these are the only places where we're going to do new things, particularly as we suggest cutting a lot of what we're already doing."
Important for everyone to keep in mind, the President's budget only sets the anchor. Congress, starting with the House of Representatives, writes (and votes on) the actual budget and those discussions begin now.
2010-02-03
16:16:13
Thanks Paul. That's good information. I just heard on the WRKF-FM 89.3 local news that Louisiana didn't fare as well as the Great Lakes program. That must be the difference between new money vs. continued funding of an existing program.