COTW: It's Official,1 million COVID Deaths

US Person predicted this level of mortality months ago, given the obvious undercounting in official tallies. But now even the official counts confirm the USA has reached a million deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Officially,  the SARS CoV-2 virus has killed more Americans than the H1N1 virus did in 1918-20.  It was the third leading cause of death in 2020 and likely in 2021 behind cancer and heart disease And it is not over.  This chart shows the death toll occurred in 5 waves beginning with the outbreak in early 2020:

By the third wave the disparity in death rates between political partisans became clear. Counties that voted for Donald Trump were suffering substantially more deaths from the coronavirus pandemic than those that voted for Biden. By the fourth wave, caused by the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variants, the variance in death rate was four times higher in "red" counties. Vaccination rates are highly correlated with partisanship.  The USA is #1in pandemic deaths.

The Last Dolphin

Earlier this year the last Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) died entangled in fishing nets.  Known only by his ID code #35, the male was the last occupant of a deep water pool between Laos and Cambodia. His body washed up on the Mekong river bank in mid-February, a victim of man's lack of concern for a doomed population. He struggled to swim and feed himself with deep lacerations to his tail caused by the netting. Specialist have documented the decline of Chheu Teal pool population from 17 individuals in 1993. In 2009 there were only seven; in 2018 only 3 remained. The last one, #35, confirmed the extinction of the species in Laos. An estiated 90 dophins now live in Cambodia's Mekong downstream from the pool.  [credit: WWF Cambodia]

Gill nets are just one of the hazards faced by river dolphins. According to WWF Asia-Pacific director, hydro-power dams, overfishing, illegal fishing, and pollution also impact them adversely. In 2012 Cambodia established a ban on gill nets in a core habitat area that spans 110 miles, but enforcement is a problem, especially on the Loatian side of the river. Lack of cooperation from Laotian fishers and government officals contributed to the extinction of the dolphin. Fishers were also displaced by a dam constructed just 2km north of the river, that blocks a deep water channel of the Mekong. They began to encroach on the dolphin's remaining habitat. 

The loss of the last dolphin has an economic impact. Twenty years ago tourist could kayak to the pool to watch dophins play around them. Five years ago the tourism stopped and jobs disappeared. But the loss has stengthen the committment of conservation authorities to do more to protect the endangered mammal. And there is hope. WWF and Canbodia announced in 2018 that the species had increased in number from 80 in 2015 to 92 in 2017, marking the first population increase after two decades of steady decline. Undoubtly the river guards are making a positive impact. Tour boat operators assist by reporting illegal fishing activities such as the use of explosives or electro-shock to kill fish in great numbers.  This intelligent and attractive species deserves a chance to survive in the series of deep water pools in now inhabits in the Mekong River. latest population estimate in 2020 puts the population inn Cambodian waters at 89 in the 180 km stretch of the river between the Laotian boarder and Kratie Provice. Only man's concerted efforts can save them now.

Carter Files Amicus Brief

Former President Jimmy Carter took the unusual step of filing an amicus brief in a case before the Supreme Court.  The case involves an longstanding dispute between local residents and conservationists about building a gravel road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to allow access to an all-weather airport in Cold Bay.  The road would allow medical emergencies to be evacuated to hospital facilities. A recent land exchange worries Carter that the construction would open the entire refuge to adverse development.[Shishshaldin Volcano, Izembek NWR]

Carter was responsible for passing in 1980 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, that preserved 162,500 square miles of Alaska as parks and refuges. It is one of the landmark pieces of US legislation protecting wilderness. Congress created Izembek under the Act last year. Its lagoon contains a rich bed of eelgrass that feeds migrating Brant goose, Stellar's eider ducks, and other species. The land exchange in question was rejected by a federal Disrict Court judge in 2020, but that decision was overruled by a three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Conservationists asked for an en banc hearing on that reversal.

Carter's brief is in support of the request. He argues that the divided panel does not strike the "careful balance between preservation and development embodied in the Act. Once national interest lands are developed, they cannot be returned to Nature. The split decision, say conservationists allow pro-development judges to back door land exchanges in support of projects. The current Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, visited Imebeck and the villge of King Cove last month, but did not take a position on the lawsuit. A former Interior official under Clinton, said the panel's decision did not reflect the intent of the Act, which has two purposes: protection of subsistence living and conservation of wilderness,

TWIT: No More Twits from the Twit

credit: W. Sutton, Boston Globe
Wackydoodle axes: What are you doing there?

Internet-obsessed Dear Leader lost his legal bid to re-haunt Twitter. On January 8th, two days after he sent a mob to storm the Capitol in order to stop the Electoral College vote count, Twitter suspended his account indefinitely due to "further incitement of violence". Federal District Court Judge James Donato dismissed his suit to be reinstated. He did so primarily on procedural grounds, but also noted that as a private company, Twitter is free to regulate access to its platform as it sees fit, since the First Admendment only applies to government abridgements of free speech. He rejected the legal theory that Twitter performs a governmental function and therefore should be subject to First Amendment restrictions on denials of free speech.  See the full ruling here.

The January 6th Committee asked three Repugnants to testify about the Insurrection on Monday. By the next day those requests were rejected. However, the Committee has balked at issuing subpoenas for Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) In their letter of invitation, the Committee said it was interested in the reported attempts to obtain pardons from the idiot in the oval*.  Biggs was named as a "potential participant" in that effort. It also said that Biggs was a potential contact for the extremist militia group, Oath Keepers.  Biggs struck back by saying,“I will not participate in the illegitimate Committee’s ruthless crusade against President Trump and his allies,” The hostility of his response gives some idea of the resistance encountered by congressional investigators during their investigation of events surrounding the coup. Brooks told interviewers that if the Committee wants his testimony he will have to be subpoenaed, vowing to fight such a writ.

*Who, according to the former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper wanted to order missile strikes on Mexico to take out drug labs. "No one would know it was us", said the Crime Boss.

What's wrong with bombing Mexico?

COTW: WHO Estimates Global Excess Deaths at 15 Million

COVID-19 has exacted a shocking death toll on the world's human population.  Public health officials use excess deaths due to a pandemic as a more exact measurement of the disease impact.  Excess deaths are those report above the expected death rate for a period of time.  The World Health Organization (WHO) reports nearly 15 million excess deaths attributable to COVID-19 occurred between January 2020 and December 2021.  Most of this mortality is concentrated in Southeast Asia, Europe and the USA.  These charts tell more of the story:

This chart shows excess mortality per capita, which allows for more accurate comparison between countries.  Several wealthy countries in Europe and the US have an excess death rate higher than the global average (96).  Australia is notable for its above average performance that came at the economic coast of prolonged quarantines 

The chart shows those countries with the most undereporting of COVID-19 fatalities.  India has strenuously objected to WHO's estimate of its underreporting, but most health officials think India has serious accuracy problems with its mortality statistics.  Speaking to the BBC about the scale of the figures, Dr Samira Asma, from the WHO's data department, said "It's a tragedy. "It's a staggering number and it's important for us to honor the lives that are lost, and we have to hold policymakers accountable," she said.  "If we don't count the dead, we will miss the opportunity to be better prepared for the next time."

Too Expensive to Build

The owners of the V.C. Summer nuclear power facility near Columbia, South Carolina abandoned construction of the two reactor installation before it produced a watt of electric power and after spending more than $9 billion on its construction.  The owners include state-owned Santee-Cooper.  As expected years of litigation over the boondoggle has ensued since the project was stopped in July, 2017.  Since Santee is state owned, ratepayers were on the hook for huge losses.  The company's debt was so huge-$8 billion, the size of the state's annual budget-the governor convened a panel to study selling the utility.

Ratepayers fought back and filed a class-action lawsuit against the utility companies.  Recently a state judge orders a second round of refunds based on the sale of assets by Dominion Energy SC.  Sixty-one million is being set aside from those sale proceeds to be distributed to 1.1 million customers who never got a watt of electricity "too cheap to meter". The first refund in 2019 totaled $60 million.  Dominion bought the unfinished project after South Carolina Electric & Gas ran out of money to finish the reactors.  Four executives of the companies building the power station have pled guilty to criminal charges. 

Former SCANA chief executive Kevin Marsh reported to federal prison last year where he will serve a two year sentence for fraud.  He mislead investors and the public about the project's progress, milking ratepayers of over $1 billion.  Marsh and executive VP Stephen Byrne were sued by the SEC for their failure to disclose material information concerning construction progress.  They repeated told interested parties that the project would be completed by 2020, a deadline to obtain $1.4 billion in federal tax credits, which their company needed to avoid being overwhelmed by escalating construction costs.  In reality the project was a debacle.  Westinghouse, building the reactors when bankrupt three months before the project collapsed.  An independent report stated the reactors would not be finished in twenty-two years.  In other words, Marsh and his executives out-trumped Trump.

The last time a money refund was issued based on power consumption, checks as small as four cents were issued.  Ten percent of the money went unclaimed.  The judge said she would consider using bill credits for amounts under $50 this time. [photo credit: AP]

States Sue for Electrified USPS

Sixteen states including California are suing the US Postal Service for not electrifying their large fleet of vehicles. {14.03.22} Three separate suits are asking federal judges to order more through environmental reviews of the vehicle replacement program. The agency decided to purchase fossil fueled replacement vehicles under Postmaster Louis DeJoy, who has been severely criticized for his leadership of the USPS. He is a Trump ally and former logistics CEO. 

The agency plans to purchase up to 165,000 new vehicles in the next decade. California's attorney general said it is important to stop the procurement process before it's too late. Otherwise, the country will be stuck with more than 100,000 pollution-emitting vehicles. "There won’t be a reset button", Rob Bonta said. Of course the agency is defending its review process. All the legal requirements of the National Environnmental Policy Act (NEPA) were complied with according to an agency spokesperson. An Earthjustice attorney said the review was "so rickety" that it failed to meet the basic requirements of the Act. California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are the states initiating litigation. 

Right now the USPS vehicle fleet includes 190,000 local delivery vehicles, a task well suited to electric vehicles that would emit zero carbon into the atmosphere. In contract, a gas fleet would get only 14.7 mpg, an improvement over the current 8.4mpg, but would still dump hundres of tons of carbon into the air every year,contributing to more global warming. In response to the public outcry over the lack of commitment to EVs, the agency doubled to 20% the number of electric vehicles in its initial $2.98 billion purchase order.