Dark days: Half of India -- about 600 million people -- has lost power, after the country's northern and eastern grids kicked it. It's not clear yet what went wrong, but certain states may have been overdrawing power. Right now, India is busy trying to turn the lights back on, but expect pundits to use the outage as an argument against renewables -- if states can't manage traditional grids with power-on-demand, how will they deal with the more dynamic systems of solar and wind power? AP
Beginning at (or of?) the end: With a bureaucratic whimper, one section of Keystone XL has earned approval. After President Obama told agencies to "get it done," the Army Corps of Engineers has issued three permits to TransCanada that allow the Canadian company to start laying pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma, to the Gulf Coast, at the tail end of the pipeline's proposed route. Washington Post
Bounty beneath the ice: The European Union is seeing potential for massive mining operations in areas of Greenland made newly accessible by retreating ice. Companies have already begun the hunt for rare earth metals, iron ore, gemstones, and of course, oil and gas. The Guardian
Oil anniversary: Almost exactly two years after Enbridge spilled a million-plus gallons of tar sands crude into Michigan waterways, another of the Canadian company’s pipelines ruptured, spilling 1,200 barrels of oil in Wisconsin. "Enbridge is fast becoming to the Midwest what BP was to the Gulf of Mexico,” said Representative Ed Markey. If so, expect to see Enbridge commercials of smiling tourists splashing in the Kalamazoo River soon. Reuters
Fatal fungus: When the "black fingers of death" appear, it's already too late. The fungus -- Pyrenophora semeniperda -- is a killer, hired by biologists to end (or at least slow) the scourge of cheat grass on western prairies. The assassin strikes the seeds of the invasive grass that has already pushed out native vegetation like sagebrush across millions and millions of acres. And the black fingers of death is not the only arrow in the scientists' quiver. They've also employed a biological control that essentially castrates cheat grass. They call that fungus "smut." New York Times
Starbucks seas: Off the Pacific Northwestern coast, scientists have detected unusually high levels of caffeine in the ocean, especially near less developed coastlines. The likely culprit? Unmonitored septic systems. Take it easy on the coffee, guys. National Geographic
Hold the butter: Larry the 80-year-old lobster could have made a gigantic 17-pound dinner for someone (or many someones). But after seeing the grandaddy crustacean in a restaurant tank, Don MacKenzie decided the big guy deserved a better end. After paying an undisclosed amount for the lobster, Don released him into the Long Island Sound. Later he described Larry as “the most expensive lobster I never ate.” Grist
Victory garden: In a battle pinning gardens against lawns, a Missouri stay-at-home dad has won the right to grow vegetables for his family in his front yard. It was, however, a technical rather than moral victory. The chairman of the town board told a local paper, "It goes against common sense, really, to put a garden in the front yard instead of the back." Apparently, grass that requires tons of chemicals to keep green is the sensible choice. Treehugger
Photo: Flickr user cudmore
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
