ICYMI: Heli-Poppying, Hovercraft Moose Hunting, Toad Plague & More

A weekly roundup for busy people

By Paul Rauber

Illustrations by Peter Arkle

March 29, 2019

A couple bypasses the long lines of people in cars trying to view the “superbloom” in the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve by helicoptering in. When rangers approach them, they flee.

The Supreme Court says that the National Park Service cannot forbid an Alaskan man from using his hovercraft to hunt moose on the Nation River in the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.

Americans are driving more than ever

According to the International Energy Agency, global carbon emissions hit a new high in 2018.  

Senate Republicans force a vote on the Green New Deal in an attempt to divide Democrats, 47 of whom vote “present.” 

Arguing against the Green New Deal, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) says that the solution to climate change is “to fall in love, get married, and have some kids.” 

It is now cheaper to replace three-quarters of existing coal-fired power plants with locally generated wind and solar than to continue to operate them. 

Stephen Moore, President Trump’s nominee to the Federal Reserve Board who admits he is unfamiliar with monetary policy, is also a climate denier.

The Senate confirms former oil and gas industry lobbyist David Bernhardt as secretary of the interior despite concerns about his many conflicts of interest

Energy Secretary Rick Perry approves six secret authorizations for US companies to sell nuclear technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia. 

Researchers resolve long-standing issues in wolf taxonomy: Mexican wolves are a subspecies of gray wolves, but red wolves are a distinct species.  

Three gray wolves are spotted in southern Oregon’s Umpqua National Forest, perhaps the beginning of a new pack. 

A California jury awards an $80 million judgment to a groundskeeper who alleged that his non-Hodgkin lymphoma was caused by his long contact with Bayer-owned Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer. Last year, another California jury awarded $78 million in a similar case

Residues of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, are found in 98 percent of Canadian honey samples. 

California will close its commercial crab season three months early to prevent migrating whales from getting entangled in fishing gear.  

Gibraltar bans the release of helium balloons in order to protect sea life. 

Melting glaciers are exposing the bodies of climbers who died while attempting to climb Mt. Everest. 

Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier is growing again. Until recently it had been shrinking rapidly.

The World Meteorological Association retires “Florence” and “Michael” as names for future hurricanes out of respect for those killed in the 2018 storms.

The “apocalyptic fungus” Bd—Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis—has caused the decline of 501 amphibian species, 90 of which have been driven to extinction.

Palm Beach Garden, Florida, is overrun by poisonous cane toads.  

Detroit’s notoriously polluting trash incinerator ceases operation

Oklahoma wants to ban cities and towns from imposing fees or banning plastic bags. New York will ban them.

Arkansas says that cauliflower rice can’t be called “rice.”