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GNR for July 8, 2025 — "A boiling point of quockerwodgers" [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-07-08
Soldiers Are Taking a Stand Against Trump’s Abuses
It’s super important that the military remain independent from political pressure. If you know any active service members, make sure they know about the “Right to Refuse” unlawful orders.
From The New Republic:
[Members of the military are] speaking out as part of a campaign launched by About Face, a veterans’ group which [on] July Fourth [launched] a “Right to Refuse” campaign arguing that service members deserve the right to refuse unlawful or immoral orders, in the hope that Congress will pass a law offering stronger protections to service members who do so. Founded by Iraq War veterans concerned about the immorality of that conflict, About Face has in recent years heard from service members with objections to sending weapons to Israel, dismantling DEI within the military, and especially, recently, the prospect of being pawns in Trump’s authoritarian fantasy, whether in the crackdown in Los Angeles or the military parade in Washington, D.C. Brittany Ramos DeBarros speaks outside the Supreme Court during a June 13 protest ahead of Trump’s Army parade Brittany Ramos DeBarros, organizing director of About Face, is an Afghanistan veteran who once faced court-martial for speaking out against that war while still in uniform. She acknowledges that Congress isn’t going to pass this law quickly enough to deal with the current constitutional crises—if at all—but she sees it as a rallying point for military communities. Families and service members need support in trying to navigate this moment, she says, and many are finding each other and organizing. From her own experience, she knows that the military can make you feel crazy if you disagree with it. “So I think it’s profound,” she said, “that people are organically breaking out of that enough to start talking to each other about, ‘I’m really concerned about this. What are you thinking you’re gonna do?’” DeBarros says many are wondering what is in their own best interests—but also what is the most moral choice: Is it better to resign publicly or “better to have more people within the military when that moment comes who are willing to stand up and do something and do the right thing? Which is a complicated question for people to sit with.” On the one hand, service members risk losing their benefits and going to prison if they refuse orders; but if they don’t refuse unlawful orders, she said, many will “live with the moral injury and consequences of carrying out something that they knew was wrong.”
A new Trump policy asked national park visitors to report 'negative' content. They're writing compliments to rangers instead
So many of Mango Mussolini’s idiotic moves are backfiring. This is a particularly satisfying example.
From GoodGoodGood:
The memo from the U.S. Department of the Interior reads: “[This national park site] belongs to the American people, and the National Park Service wants your feedback. Please let us know if you have (1) any areas that need repair; (2) any services that need improvement; or (3) any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fails to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.” The signs then invite visitors to visit a website or scan a QR code, which brings them to a feedback form to report “negative” history. The signs were issued by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in support of President Trump’s Executive Order 14523, which is titled: “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The order, issued in March, claimed that a “revisionist movement” was “replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.”✂️ Fortunately, ...the new signs, which activists have nicknamed “snitch signs,” had the opposite [of their intended] effect. Recently, Forbes reviewed screenshots of 274 comments submitted through the feedback site between June 5 to 19 of this year. They found that the vast majority of visitors used the forms to praise park programs, rangers, tour guides, and more. ✂️ NPCA associate director Kyle Groetzinger pointed out that the signs had inadvertently created the perfect portal for people to “band together” and show their support for the national parks during an unpredictable time. For prospective park visitors, Groetzinger even offered a script: “This is a message for the Trump administration: Hands off our history. The rangers at this National Park are doing a great job. They are providing an essential service, protecting our history and beautiful natural landscapes for future generations. Instead of undermining them, you should support them.” “Let’s seize this opportunity to speak out and tell the Department of the Interior to support our rangers and stop trying to rewrite American history,” Groetzinger encouraged. “Make them hear you.”
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🍿 Repellent Republicans Rushing toward Ruin 🍿
The next step on The Big Ugly Bill will be even worse for the GOP
These MAGA clowns can never see past the immediate moment. So they keep being caught in obvious traps.
From Simon Rosenberg in Hopium Chronicles:
Trump and Republicans now have to take the big ugly bill and his other actions - gutting of NOAA, HHS/NIH, FAA, etc - and turn it all into an annual federal appropriation for the fiscal year that begins October 1st. So all of this ugliness will now have to move from notional and/or slash to a line item Congressional appropriation and then voted on all over again at some point before the end of the year. It’s going to force Republicans to now reckon with what they’ve done, and then vote on it all over again. It is not going to be an easy process for them; and we will get another opportunity to challenge vulnerable Rs who will once again be voting on things that are [going] to do material harm to their constituents. Will be a backdrop to everything that happens this fall.
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Good news from my corner of the world
Oregon lawmakers pass gun bill to ban rapid-fire devices, allow new concealed carry rules
I’m so proud of my state for having finally passed some really robust gun control laws.
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
The Oregon Legislature has voted to ban rapid-fire devices and give local governments new authority to prohibit people from carrying a concealed handgun into certain public buildings. ✂️ House lawmakers passed Senate Bill 243, called the Community Safety Firearms Act, following a contentious gun safety debate Wednesday night. ...The bill has already passed the Senate. The bill would ban rapid-fire accessories like bump stocks that can effectively turn semi-automatic weapons fully automatic. Possessing a rapid-fire device would be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail. Transporting or manufacturing one would be a Class B felony, which can carry a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison. It would also allow local governments to pass policies prohibiting people with a concealed handgun license from carrying a gun into certain public buildings. ✂️ The bill also sets the implementation date for Measure 114, the voter-approved law passed in 2022 that bans purchases of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and requires a permit before buying a gun. In March, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that the voter-approved Measure 114 does not violate the state constitution. Barring further legal challenges, the law is effective March 15, 2026.
Oregon Moves To Make Birth Doulas And Postpartum Care A Right For All Mothers
This is a law worth fighting for in other states.
From Daily Tidings:
Oregon senators passed Senate Bill 692 — which would require private health insurers to cover expanded health services for mothers and babies on the Oregon Health Plan — on [June 21], with broad bipartisan support. [The bill also includes] postpartum doula care, and sets aside money to incentivize people to enter the maternal care workforce. In the main, the bill seeks to expand insurance coverage to include doulas and lactation specialists — people who are trained to help with breastfeeding. The Oregon Health Plan covers labor and delivery services provided by a doula for expectant parents, but many private insurers exclude these services. Medicaid currently only covers the services of a doula for the birth itself, but Senate Bill 692 would also expand paid access to doulas after birth when they can also improve outcomes. The bill would also deliver $1 million to expand the doula workforce, and given that Black and Indigenous women are much more likely than white parents to die in childbirth, the bill puts particular emphasis on training doulas who could best serve diverse populations.
Gov. Tina Kotek orders Oregon schools to prohibit students from using cellphones
It took courage for Gov. Kotek to issue this executive order when the legislature was too timid to pass a bill on the issue.
From Oregon Capital Chronicle:
By the middle of the upcoming school year, Oregon students will not be allowed to use their cellphones in school. Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday issued an executive order to Oregon’s 197 school districts, requiring they adopt a policy for banning student cellphone use by Oct. 31, 2025. Those policies must be fully implemented by Jan. 1, 2026, the order reads. The move follows the Legislature’s failure to pass a similar, bipartisan bill — House Bill 2251 — during the recent legislative session. That bill would have, with some exceptions, required districts to ban cellphones for all grades, and enforce penalties on students who violate cellphone policies. But it failed to clear a key Senate committee vote. It faced opposition from powerful school board and school administrator groups, which expressed concerns about the state mandating policies that they felt school districts themselves should handle. Some school district leaders testified that enforcing the ban would be prohibitively expensive for them to do. But State Rep. Lisa Reynolds, D-Beaverton, a doctor and chief sponsor of the bill that failed to pass, said in a news release that she was glad Kotek stepped in. “By getting cellphones out of our schools, Governor Kotek is putting students first,” she said. “Every Oregon student deserves a distraction-free, harassment-free learning environment that fosters curiosity and community.” The order...does not include laptops or other devices that support classroom activities.
National educator’s union leader says Portland teacher strike offers lessons for nation
This is an excerpt from an interview The Oregonian had with the National Education Association’s president, Becky Pringle. I like her emphasis on building community as a way to make strikes more effective.
From The Oregonian:
The Oregonian/OregonLive: As you know, because you spoke at a rally at Roosevelt High School on its first day, the Portland Association of Teachers went on strike for about three weeks in November of 2023. Can you tell us more about the impacts of that labor action on a national level? What were the takeaways and the lessons learned? Pringle: The takeaways from that strike go back to the strategies that were employed around bargaining for the common good. It starts with the community and with the educators themselves understanding that if they’re going to fight not only for their rights, but for example, things like class size, we cannot possibly do that alone. And so what we learned from the Portland strike, and from Los Angeles and St. Paul, is to start bargaining by talking with parents and community and students and their members, about what’s most important for our schools. The other learning was to involve the members in a much deeper way and sooner, so by the time the strike happened, it wasn’t just a few members, it was an overwhelming vote [in favor of going on strike]. We’re learning those lessons, and the Portland Association of Teachers is helping the NEA, to use those learnings to teach others.
These summer jobs offer more than money, they help transform lives
New Avenues for Youth is a wonderfully effective nonprofit that has helped homeless young Portlanders for decades. Their new print shop offers a lot of new opportunities.
From The Oregonian:
Jett Angus, left, and Mallory Harper, center, both 20, learn how to use an automated screen printing machine from Iain Ogilvie, right, the production manager at New Avenues INK, a nonprofit-owned print shop in Southeast Portland. New Avenues INK is a fully functional screen printing shop. The New Seasons grocery store chain orders its uniforms there, just to name one of about 100 annual customers. It’s one of two businesses owned by New Avenues for Youth, a homeless youth services nonprofit, that are staffed primarily by interns who are homeless, were recently homeless or are at immediate risk of becoming homeless. The idea is to offer at-risk teenagers and young adults, ages 16 to 24, training in both hard and soft jobs skills along with an experience they can put on their resume as a step toward landing a next job. About 35 young people are interns for 12 to 24 weeks each year, earning $17 an hour. A few get promoted to shift lead and earn up to another year of employment, plus a raise. “What we know about reducing homelessness is that if we can provide opportunities to young people, they’re less likely to be homeless as adults,” said Jennie Vinson, director of social enterprises for New Avenues. A year after participating, 83% of young people who completed the intern program in 2024 were either in school or working, according to New Avenues data. That’s a big deal, because low educational attainment and unemployment are among the top risk factors for homelessness, according to a review of 116 studies on factors that lead to homelessness in high-income countries.
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Good news from around the nation
Minimum wage just went up in places across 7 states and Washington, D.C.—it’s $20.24 an hour in one city
Of course, what really needs to happen is a realistic boost in the federal minimum wage. It needs to be at least $15/hour.
From CNBC:
..minimum wage increases took effect across several states and localities [on July 1st]. The wage increases are expected to affect more than 880,000 workers as minimum wage laws take effect… Nationally, the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009, but in many areas, state and local governments have enacted higher minimums. A full-time worker in every U.S. county would need to earn at least $17 an hour to afford basic expenses such as housing, food, transportation and health care, according to The Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator. Where minimum wage increases went into effect on July 1 Alaska Statewide increase to $13 (from $11.91) California Alameda (city): $17.46 (from $17)
Berkeley: $19.18 (from $18.67)
Emeryville: $19.90 (from $19.36)
Fremont: $17.75 (from $17.30)
Los Angeles (city): $17.87 (from $17.28)
Los Angeles (county): $17.81 (from $17.27)
Milpitas: $18.20 (from $17.70)
Pasadena: $18.04 (from $17.50)
San Francisco: $19.18 (from $18.67)
Santa Monica: $17.81 (from $17.27) District of Columbia Increase to $17.95 from $17.50
Tipped minimum wage: $12 (from $10) Illinois In Chicago: Increased to $16.60 (from $16.20) for employers with four or more employees
Tipped minimum wage: $12.62 (from $11.20) Maryland In Montgomery County: Employers with 10 or fewer employees: $15.50 (from $15)
Employers with 11 to 50 employees: $16 (from $15.50)
Employers with 51 or more employees: $17.65 (from $17.15) Minnesota In Saint Paul: Employers with six to 100 employees: $15 (from $14)
Employers with five or fewer employees: $13.25 (from $12.25) Oregon Standard: $15.05 (from $14.70)
Portland metro area: $16.30 (from $15.95)
Nonurban counties: $14.05 (from $13.70) Washington Everett: Employers with 15 to 500 employees increased to $18.24 (from $16.66). Employers with more than 500 employees increased to $20.24 (from $16.66).
Renton: Employers with more than 500 employees increased to $19.90 (from $18.90)
Tukwila: Employers with 15 to 500 employees increased to $21.10 (from $20.10)
Texas Is Fixin’ to Fix Repair: Right to Repair Signed Into Law
I’m seeing some signs that Texans might be getting ready to seriously embrace progressive policies. It’s pretty amazing that their legislature approved right to repair unanimously !
From IFIXIT:
Everything’s bigger in Texas, even the bipartisan support for fixing what you own. Over the weekend, Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 2963, making Texas the first Republican-led state to enact a Right to Repair law, and the seventh state overall to pass legislation ensuring people can fix consumer electronics they own. The new law gives Texans access to parts, tools, and repair documentation for digital devices like phones, laptops, and tablets. In securing the right to repair electronics, Texas joins a growing list of states: New York, Minnesota, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. But this one’s different: It’s the first time a red state has taken direct aim at repair monopolies. And in true Texas style, they jumped in with a landslide vote: the Texas Senate passed the law 31-0 at the beginning of this month, and the House passed it 126-0 in May.
This Vermont Soccer Team Plays for the Planet
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if local sports teams around the country followed Vermont Green’s lead?
From The NY Times (gift link):
Big crowd at a Vermont Green soccer game It was game night in Burlington, home of the Vermont Green Football Club. The evening, in early June, was unfolding in its usual way. The stands were packed, the crowd was roaring and stamping its feet, with hundreds of Crocs and Birkenstocks pounding metal bleachers. Volunteers collect and sort recycling at the end of every Vermont Green Football Club game. But there were signs that the team was playing for bigger stakes. Players wore jerseys made of recycled fabric, spectators who biked to the game were rewarded with raffle tickets, and the food trucks offered vegan eats. Before the night was over, the announcer, Tom Mientka-Proctor, made the same announcement that he does at every home game. “Please take all your trash and recycling out of the stands with you and put them in the appropriate bins,” Mr. Mientka-Proctor, who is from England, thundered through the loudspeaker. Bottles and cans should be empty, he continued, and food waste should go into the compost containers. “Thank you for pitching in for the planet!” he added brightly. Vermont Green is an amateur soccer club with a mission. Its founders want to offer quality soccer while championing a larger cause befitting Vermont, a state that has pledged to conserve half of its land by 2050 and that generates nearly all of its electricity renewably. Inspired by the Forest Green Rovers in England, known as the world’s greenest football club, the Green’s founders embraced climate action.
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Musical break
Bad Bunny’s latest release has gone viral not just because of his massive popularity but also because he makes it clear in this video how much he despises The Orange Stain. Using an AI-generated voice, he imagines him apologizing to all the Latinos he has targeted, then shows how little they care.
x YouTube Video
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Good news from around the world
Eight countries form coalition to tax ‘premium’ flyers
Well, it’s about time!
Business Travel News:
France, Spain and Kenya are among eight countries that have launched a ‘solidarity’ coalition that aims to introduce a tax on ‘premium’ air travellers. Barbados, Benin, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Antigua & Barbuda are also part of the ‘aviation solidarity coalition on premium flyers’, which launched at the UN International Conference on Financing for Development held in Seville, Spain this week. Supported by the European Commission and the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force (GSLTF), the coalition aims to raise funds for climate action and sustainable development by implementing a tax on ‘premium flyers’, which it defined as first- and business-class travellers, along with private jets. Speaking at the coalition launch, French president Emmanuel Macron said: “We need those that benefited from globalisation to contribute more to financing. I urge all possible countries to join this international framework because it is absolutely key.” The GSLTF – co-led by France, Kenya and Barbados – in a separate statement said the new coalition will work to increase the number of countries that apply a premium flyer levy to “improve domestic revenue mobilisation of developing countries and support international solidarity”.
20 Million Fewer Children in Child Labor
Truly wonderful news.
From Zachary Karabell, The Progress Network:
There are more than 20 million fewer children in child labor today than in 2020. ✂️ This reduction is especially welcome news given that so many development trends, including child labor, stalled or reversed during the pandemic. Experts weren’t sure if or how quickly the world would get back on track. Here is the even better news: since 2000, there are 108 million fewer children in child labor, even as more and more children were born during that same time period. To be clear, the child labor I am talking about isn’t your teenager pulling some shifts at the local ice cream shop. These are kids as young as five in poor countries who are out breaking rocks or working the fields when they should be in school. Per a joint report by UNICEF and the International Labour Organization, since 2020, progress has occurred across all global regions and also included a substantial dip in hazardous work, defined as work that is likely to compromise a child’s health, safety, or morals.
“Car-sized urban gardens” are cropping up in England
What a great idea!
From Positive News:
Car-sized urban gardens are creating a buzz in Britain – and not just among pollinators. Highlighting how parking spaces can be converted into urban oases, three ‘parklets’ scooped a silver award at the coveted Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in London. The demonstration gardens, created by Surrey county council, come amid a growing desire to reclaim the public realm from motor vehicles. Surrey county council’s Matt Furniss said the parklets highlight “how we can provide a better balance between roads and pedestrians in our town centres”. The featured gardens will be installed in locations across Surrey at the end of the festival.
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My favorite recent quotes, memes, and cartoons
x Mike Johnson is not the Johnson who spent July 4 in Moscow, that was Senator Ron Johnson. If you're having trouble keeping your Johnsons straight Lauren Boebert will be happy to lend a hand. — 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 (@sundaedivine.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 9:08 AM
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Good news in medicine
Scientists Reverse Parkinson’s Symptoms in Mice: ‘We were astonished by the success’
I have loved ones with Parkinson’s, so I hope this research produces some new therapies that effectively slow its progress.
Groundbreaking research by the University of Sydney has identified a new brain protein involved in the development of Parkinson’s disease and a way to modify it, paving the way for future treatments for the disease. ...the research team has spent more than a decade studying the biological mechanisms underpinning the condition—which is the second most common neurological condition after dementia. In 2017, they identified for the first time the presence of an abnormal form of a protein—called SOD1—in the brains of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Normally, the SOD1 protein provides protective benefits to the brain, but in Parkinson’s patients it becomes faulty, causing the protein to clump and damage brain cells. The newest study by the same team, led by Professor Kay Double from the Brain and Mind Centre,...found that targeting the faulty SOD1 protein with a drug treatment using copper improved the motor function in mice. “We hoped that by treating this malfunctioning protein, we might be able to improve the Parkinson-like symptoms in the mice we were treating – but even we were astonished by the success of the intervention,” said Professor Double in a media release. “All the mice we treated saw a dramatic improvement in their motor skills, which is a really promising sign that it could be effective in treating people who have Parkinson disease too.” ✂️ The researchers’ next step is to identify the best approach to targeting the faulty SOD1 protein in a clinical trial, which could be the start of a new therapy to slow the development of Parkinson’s disease.
Wisdom Teeth Contain Unique Stem Cell That Can Form Cartilage, Neurons, and Heart Tissue
Who would have guessed that wisdom teeth have this amazing power?
From The Good News Network:
..an astounding new discovery has found that [wisdom teeth] contain a unique form of human stem cell that can be harvested and used to regrow bone, heart tissue, and even neurons. It’s an exciting field full of promise, full of potential benefits, but substantial amounts of further research and evidence is needed to truly understand what these four extra teeth could do for us in the long term… ...wisdom teeth contain a soft center of tissue called dental pulp that keeps the tooth alive. This pulp contains immature cells which a team of scientists at the University of the Basque Country in Spain have transformed into several different kinds of cells. Dr. Gaskon Ibarretxe, an associate professor in the Cell Biology and Histology Department at the university, led a recent study that turned pulp cells into electrically excitable pseudo-neurons that demonstrated “essentially electrical activity” in concert with proper neurons. They could help treat damaged brain circuitry from any number of conditions or trauma. According to Earth.com, pulp-derived stem cells have some interesting and unique properties, including the capacity to build mineralized tissue faster than bone marrow-derived stem cells. Scientists have used dental‑pulp secretions to improve heart ejection fractions in mice with heart failure, and in vitro, these cells seem to lay down layers of collagen and calcium in neat, orderly sheets, making them potentially attractive for joint cartilage repair. ✂️ ...10 million wisdom teeth are removed every year, but the process of sending them to a biobank could be very simple. A kit...could be bought and shipped to a dentist’s office ahead of the procedure. The tooth is put in a vial, placed on dry ice, and rushed to a lab where the pulp would be extracted and preserved as a potentially life-changing form of cellular insurance. No donor cells means no risks of rejection, which means no waiting list for finding a matching donor; the dental-pulp cells would be available as soon as they’re needed. If covered by a dental insurance plan, their storage could result in tens of thousands of dollars saved down the line if some of these treatments prove executable and effective.
‘Life-changing’ gene therapy helps deaf people to hear
Another stunning medical breakthrough.
From Positive News:
This week a “life-changing” breakthrough in gene therapy has given people born with genetic hearing loss potential for recovering some of their hearing. A study published this week reveals how developments in gene therapy are providing a “huge step forward” in the genetic treatment of deafness. The study followed 10 patients who received the therapy to treat a genetic form of deafness caused by mutations in a gene called OTOF. The patients, aged between one and 24, received a functioning version of the OTOF through a single injection in the inner ear. Within six months, most had recovered some of their hearing, with the average volume of perceptible sound improving from 106 decibels to 52. One participant, a seven-year-old girl, recovered almost all her hearing and could hold conversations within four months, researchers said. “This is a huge step forward in the genetic treatment of deafness, one that can be life-changing for children and adults,” said study author Maoli Duan, a consultant at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet. “OTOF is just the beginning. We and other researchers are expanding our work to other, more common genes that cause deafness.”
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Good news in science
This high-tech paint ‘sweats’ to cool your home naturally
My admiration for materials science grows with each new breakthrough. Imagine thinking “How could we make a paint that allows a building to cool through evaporation?” and then actually creating one!
From Optimist Daily:
In a promising new development, researchers at Nanyang Technological University have created a cement-based paint that mimics the body’s natural cooling mechanism: sweating. Unlike typical commercial cooling paints that repel water to protect buildings, this new paint stores water in its porous structure and slowly releases it, evaporating heat away in the process. “The key is passive cooling,” explains materials scientist Li Hong. That means the system works without electricity or any mechanical input. While many existing cooling paints use radiative cooling (reflecting sunlight and beaming heat into the sky) this method falters in humid climates, where moisture in the air traps heat and blocks it from escaping. So the researchers got creative. The new paint combines three forms of passive cooling: radiative cooling, evaporative cooling (think: how your sweat cools you), and solar reflection. It reflects an impressive 88 to 92 percent of sunlight, even when wet, and emits up to 95 percent of the heat it absorbs. To boost its performance, the team added nanoparticles for reflectivity and durability, along with a touch of polymer and salt to help retain moisture and prevent cracking. After two years of real-world testing on three mini houses in Singapore, the results spoke for themselves. One house was painted with conventional white paint, one with a commercially available cooling paint, and one with the experimental sweat-inspired formula. The first two faded to yellow under the equatorial sun, while, as coauthor Jipeng Fei put it, “our paint was still white.” Maintaining that brilliant white color is essential for high reflectivity and consistent cooling. Performance-wise, the new paint is impressive. It helped reduce energy use for air conditioning by 30 to 40 percent in test homes. ✂️ Beyond individual homes, the implications are bigger. ...Air conditioning, while effective indoors, only worsens [urban heat islands] by releasing hot air into already sweltering neighborhoods. In contrast, this paint emits heat as invisible infrared radiation, which escapes into the atmosphere without warming the immediate surroundings.
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Good news for the environment
US Supreme Court rejects Exxon's appeal of $14.25 million air pollution penalty
This story is not only good news on the environmental front but also proof that when communities band together to fight big evil corporations, they really can win.
From Reuters:
[On June 29th,] the U.S. Supreme Court turned away...Exxon Mobil Corp's bid to overturn a $14.25 million civil penalty that a judge imposed in a long-running lawsuit over air pollution at its Baytown, Texas, crude oil refinery. Exxon had asked the justices to take up the case after a lower court in December upheld the largest penalty ever assessed in a citizen-initiated lawsuit enforcing protections against air pollution under the landmark Clean Air Act environmental law. The lawsuit, filed in 2010 by the Environment Texas Citizen Lobby and the Sierra Club, focused on Exxon's operation in Baytown of the largest petroleum and petrochemical complex in the United States. The plaintiffs said that the facility routinely exceeded limits under the Clean Air Act on emissions of harmful air pollutants, affecting the daily lives and health of people who live and work nearby by emitting toxic, carcinogenic and ozone-forming chemicals. ✂️ On appeal to the Supreme Court, Exxon argued that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to pursue the case and that the 5th Circuit, like some other federal appeals courts, had adopted a novel standard to assess standing that the justices should reject.
Fifth graders invent trash-cleaning robot for science fair. Now, it's rolling out to beaches
This invention is such a great idea and so completely charming! I can see ORCA happily trundling around among Oregon beachgoers.
From GoodGoodGood:
Two young entrepreneurs — Aris Isaac and Kaydyn Mack — have taken New Tampa, Florida’s beaches by storm. And it all started with some cardboard boxes, an RC car, and a dream. In 2024, Mack, then a fourth grader, entered his school’s K-5 STEM contest with a cardboard box attached to a remote-control car. He called it “Trash Robots Incorporated” and went home with a trophy about the size of him. Kaydyn Mack with his science affair award Teaming up with his “best friend since Pre-K,” Mack and Isaac took the original design up a notch. ...Together, they created the ORCA: Ocean Robots Collection Administration. Their device, similar to Mack’s original prototype, is made of household objects: Cardboard, wood, and an RC car. This new iteration is decorated to resemble an orca whale, playing on its namesake and acting as a nod to what inspired the boys in the first place. ORCA When they learned that, according to the United Nations, over 80 species of wildlife are affected by beach pollution across the globe, they wanted to take action. “So basically, we created this project because we like helping people and animals because of all the trash we see on the beaches,” Isaac said. “And we wanted to make a difference because it’s been hurting our environment and the economy in many ways.” ✂️ “The main goal is to get investors interested in ORCA so we can take him from a prototype to a real-life product,” Mack said. To get their invention in front of potential leads, they’ve started taking ORCA out for test runs, driving it around Clearwater Beach. The whale-shaped receptacle (which contains a heavy-duty trash bag) wears a sign that instructs beach-goers to drop off their trash. x YouTube Video
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Good news for and about animals
Brought to you by Rascal and Margot, and the beautiful spirits of Rosy and Nora.
Looking for some good environmental news? Here’s a Maine success story
Rascal chose this story especially for nifty! It turns out that Mainers love their charming piping plovers as much as Chicagoans do.
From News Center Maine:
In 1981, according to Maine Audubon coastal bird biologist Sophie Garland, the state had 10 pairs of plovers nesting on its beaches. This year, there are 174 pairs. That dramatic increase did not occur by accident or happenstance. Back in 1981, the Maine Audubon began monitoring, counting, and working to protect plovers as part of its Coastal Birds Project. The mission goes on today on 26 beaches stretching from York County to Reid State Park in Georgetown. x YouTube Video
Bodega cat shows how to beat the heat
In the absence of a good cat story, Margot chose this photo of a bodega cat chilling out. She reminds you that if you need to find a cool spot on a hot day, look for where the cat is.
Near-Extinct Red Fox Caught on Trail Cam in National Park After Years of Hoping to Glimpse Elusive Creatures
I’ve loved foxes my whole life, and I like to think that Rosy loved them, too. This rare video footage is wonderful news for fox lovers. [BTW, if you’re on Bluesky and love foxes, be sure to follow @foxdailys.bsky.social.]
From Good News Network:
A California photographer recently captured three minutes of high quality camera trap footage of the state’s rarest mammal. Randy Robbins...has been on a three-year-long quest to photograph the Sierra Nevada red fox. Unlike its mainland cousin, this subspecies may number less than 100, and is at serious risk of being inbred out of existence. It lives high in the mountains and developed adaptations that have allowed it to do so—separating it ever-so-slightly with the lowland population. Because it is a reclusive and small animal that lives above 6,000 feet above sea level, camera traps would be a key tool for Robbins to spot it. Where to put them, however, would be the challenge, and it required him to delve into whatever literature exists on the animal’s behavior. ✂️ Last winter, he set one of his cameras out on a ledge in Lassen Volcano National Park—one of the animal’s last strongholds. ...Knowing his camera would be buried by snow over the long winter at an altitude of 8,500 feet, he picked a high point, pressed record, walked back down the mountain, and waited until June when the snows melted enough for him to find his camera. “It was really amazing,” Robbins said. “Normally, what you get is a quick glimpse, like you see a fox running across the screen. This was three minutes of just behavior—it was lounging in the sun and just, you know, being a fox.” x YouTube Video
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[1] Url:
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