{"id":4901,"date":"2017-08-23T16:53:04","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T21:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=4901"},"modified":"2017-09-18T16:49:19","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T21:49:19","slug":"the-distillery-august-23-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=4901","title":{"rendered":"The Distillery: August 23, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Triangles_Distillery_Text-smr\"<\/a><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism\u2019s current selection of favorite posts<\/h3>\n

We can all use some positive news these days, especially on the environmental front in which science is considered evil, denial is an alternative fact and the EPA is now what I\u2019m calling the Environmental Destruction Agency. And while I don\u2019t want to gloss over the issues \u2013 there isn\u2019t enough paint in the world to do that \u2013 I offer here The Distillery, a weekly (or thereabouts) selection of posts to help offset the PTSD of our current nightmare.<\/h4>\n

The posts I pick will be \u201creal\u201d in the sense that they aren\u2019t pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, as fun as those can be, but are evidence of EcoOptimism.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got a plethora this week.<\/p>\n

August 22, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

From Grist.org:
\nCalifornia defies Trump claim that environmental regulation kills economic growth<\/a><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>Just more \u201cfake news,\u201d right? (It doesn\u2019t get more EcoOptimistic than this!)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"source:<\/a>

source: U.S. Navy photo by Rick Naystatt<\/p><\/div>\n

August 22, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

From Grist.org:
\nThe eclipse was a test, and the solar industry aced it<\/a><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism’s take:\u00a0<\/span>Chicken Little lives another day. CNBC headline on August 18 before the eclipse: \u201cThe total solar eclipse is going to knock out a lot of solar power.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"solar<\/a><\/p>\n

August 14, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

From Environmental Network News:
\nOzone Treaty Taking a Bite Out of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions<\/a><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism’s take:\u00a0<\/span>In my sustainable design classes, when I describe all our environmental issues and my students begin to get totally demoralized, I point out there are some bright spots. One of them is an international agreement, the Montreal Protocol, that addressed ozone depletion (aka ozone holes) by reducing the use of chemicals causing the depletion. This 1989 agreement has been an enormous success and the ozone layer is now predicted to return to normal within this century.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Those ozone depleting gases, CFCs, are also one of the greenhouse gases causing climate change and this article says \u201cIn a twist, a new study shows the 30-year old treaty has had a major side benefit of reducing climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The ozone hole has stopped growing. Source: NASA<\/p><\/div>\n

August 17, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

From Yale Environment 360:
\nRenewable Energy Prevented 12,700 Premature Deaths Over Nine-Year Period, Study Says<\/a><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism’s take:\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s great when environmental actions, as illustrated by the ozone article above, have side benefits. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe expansion of wind and solar energy, and the resulting avoided emissions from fossil fuels, helped prevent up to 12,700 premature deaths in the U.S. from 2007 to 2015, according a new study in the journal Nature Energy.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Credit:<\/a>

Credit: Department of Energy via ThinkProgress.org<\/p><\/div>\n

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