Duke Energy’s 9 MW Asheville Battery Installation in Buncombe County

From an Article by Tim Sylvia, PV Magazine, October 26, 2021

A new battery, which uses an electrolyte to convert chemical energy into electricity for storage and deployment, will begin testing in 2022 at Duke Energy’s Emerging Technology and Innovation Center in Mount Holly, North Carolina.

Honeywell, a prominent technology company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, announced that it has developed a new flow battery technology intended for pairing with wind and solar resources. The company has partnered with Duke Energy to field test the product.

Honeywell’s battery uses a safe, non-flammable electrolyte that converts chemical energy to electricity to store energy for later use. The solution can store and discharge electricity for up to 12 hours, according to Honeywell. If proven, the battery would provide the system with another distinct advantage over traditional lithium-ion batteries, which currently can discharge up to four hours.

The battery is also comprised of entirely recyclable components. It is touted by Honeywell as being immune to degradation over long periods of use, a paramount issue for all battery storage chemistries and technologies.

According to Honeywell, the flow battery can be combined with the company’s Experion PKS business and asset management, system, and its enterprise performance management solution, Honeywell Forge, for remote monitoring.

In 2022 Honeywell plans to deliver a 400 kWh unit to Duke Energy’s Emerging Technology and Innovation Center in Mount Holly, North Carolina, to determine if the technology is viable for use at scale. Duke will need to make commitments to deploying storage at scale if it hopes to achieve its goals of a 50% reduction of carbon emissions versus 2005 levels by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

According to a Duke representative, the utility plans to install almost 400 MW of battery storage capacity in its service territory over the next five years, though it is unclear if this refers to it’s North Carolina Service area, or total southeast service area including South Carolina and Florida. The representative also added that Duke has a keen interest in breakthrough technologies, like this flow battery.

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PV Magazine is a monthly trade publication launched for the international photovoltaics (PV) community in the summer of 2008. The current print run, based on qualified circulation, is 35,000. The international website, www.pv-magazine.com launched in 2010. (Sep 6, 2021)

The most complete compilation of evidence on drilling & fracking

From an Article by EcoWatch, May 11, 2021

What is fracking? — Fracking is a process of blasting water, chemicals and frac sand deep into the earth to break up sedimentary rock and access natural gas and crude oil deposits. The fracking industry, which has sought to promote the practice as safe and controlled, has preferred the term “hydraulic fracturing.”

Fracking emerged as an unconventional, “relatively new” and extremely popular technique only about 20 years ago in the U.S., after advances in technology gave it an unprecedented ability to identify and extract massive amounts of resources efficiently.

Fracking is one of the most important environmental issues today, and it’s a prime example of how a new technology that offers immediate economic and political benefits can outpace (often less obvious) environmental and health concerns.

Why is fracking so controversial? — Modern fracking emerged so quickly, faster than its impacts were understood. Just as importantly, once scientists, health experts and the public started to object with evidence of harm it was causing, business and government succeeded in perpetuating a message of uncertainty, that more research was necessary, further enabling the “full speed ahead” fracking juggernaut.

How does fracking impact the environment? — Fracking’s supporters have pushed an environmental angle, insisting that natural gas can be a “bridge fuel,” a cheaper, cleaner option than coal before we have a large-scale transition to renewable energy. This claim has some merit, as natural gas does emit much less carbon dioxide than coal or oil. However, it is still a fossil fuel, adding harmful emissions while the climate crisis worsens. Moreover, fracking wells leak methane, a greenhouse gas more than 25 times more potent than CO2.

Water — In order to break up rock formations one to two miles deep, a fracking operation requires millions of gallons amount of water. After it’s used, the resulting wastewater, which contains chemicals is pumped back into injection wells, sent to treatment plants, or can be dangerously dumped or spilled.

In 2016 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report skewed friendly to industry in its language: Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States. The EPA acknowledged that drinking water contamination was possible, but ultimately came to this conclusion: “Data gaps and uncertainties limited EPA’s ability to fully assess the potential impacts on drinking water resources locally and nationally.”

Earthquakes — According to the U.S. Geologic Survey, disposal of wastewater has caused an increase in earthquakes in the central U.S. Seismologists have reported that fracking’s initial blasting process can trigger earthquakes.

Air Pollution — In addition to methane, fracking releases many toxic contaminants into the air. EPA has acknowledged the public health threat, but a lack of urgent political pressure has sidelined the agency into advising on ways to control and reduce, rather than eliminate, the danger.

Toxic Chemicals — Fracking fluids contain unknown chemicals and known carcinogens such as benzene. Fracking companies haven’t been required to disclose their proprietary formulas, however. This is yet another example of how uncertainty serves as an enabling force. The EPA has identified more than 1,000 different chemicals used in fracking fluid.

Wildlife — Fracking can destroy wildlife habitats, pollute rivers and fisheries, poison birds, and use up water supplies that animals need to survive.

How does fracking affect the economy? — The fracking boom made the U.S. the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, reducing its energy imports from 26% to less than 4%. It has lowered oil and gas prices and created thousands of industry jobs. While fracking companies profited greatly at first, as prices dropped their margins collapsed. Many are now going bankrupt.

How is fracking regulated? — Congress has enabled the oil and gas industry to be exempt from such regulations as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Fracking surged during the Obama administration, which moved to protect water from fracking on federal lands in 2015. Subsequently, the Trump administration sought to roll back protections and expand fracking on federal lands.

Key Examples of Fracking in the United States

Pennsylvania — Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale is the source for about 40% of shale gas production in the U.S.

New York — While the Marcellus Shale also runs through New York, the state has banned fracking.

Texas — Texas produces more crude oil than any other state.

North Dakota — The Bakken Shale in North Dakota has been one of the main sites for the fracking boom and subsequent bust, leaving behind extensive environmental damage.

A recent report found that all 50 states could provide 100% (or even greater) in-state renewable energy.

Other Countries — Outside the U.S., only Canada, China and Argentina have commercial fracking operations. A UN report in 2018 said that other countries were “highly unlikely” to produce at such a large scale as the U.S., due to political and cultural factors, and existing infrastructure.

The Future of Fracking — While renewables were considered a solution for “peak oil” only a decade ago, fracking changed the terms of the debate, with a new focus from environmentalists to “keep it in the ground” starting in 2015.

The Biden administration now stands at a pivotal moment in the climate crisis. Biden’s stance on fracking is not yet entirely clear, but he has rejoined the Paris agreement and appears to take climate seriously. At the same time, he is sympathetic to workers in fossil fuel industries, was vice president during the fracking boom years under Obama, and may be more inclined to seek a gradual transition than one fast enough to help solve the crisis.

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See also: Fracking 101 from Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Melissa Denchak, April 19, 2019

Hydraulic fracturing has upended the global energy landscape and made fossil fuels big business in the United States. Mounting evidence shows that it poses serious threats to our health, environment, and climate future. Here’s a look at the fracking boom and its increasing risks.

Please register below. Visitors can attend the Keynote Talk @ 1 PM via Zoom

Here is an electronic copy of the League of Women Voters of West Virginia Spring 2021 Voter newsletter. Please distribute widely.

Make sure to register at https://convention.lwvwv.org to attend the 2021 State Convention on May 15! The times are 10 am to 3 pm.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Kenneth C. Martis, Emeritus Professor of Geography at WVU will give a quick history about redistricting and current legal standings including a focus on redistricting in WV, pending State legislation, and deadlines @ 1pm. THIS TALK IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR ANYONE WHO REGISTERS, AT NO CHARGE, PLEASE NOTE IF YOU ARE A VISITOR.

You will be emailed a Zoom link.

Registration is open here.

Jonathan Rosenbaum, President

We are learning to protect & share this planet

From the PRI Broadcast by Steve Curwood, et al., April 23, 2021

Over the last 30 years human-caused emissions have increased by 60 percent. Today the atmosphere holds the equivalent of about 420 parts per million of CO2. That is not good news. We began the industrial age in 1760 with concentrations of CO2 at about half those levels and we are now living through the hottest decade in modern human history. As a result we are seeing record breaking heat waves and wildfires from California to Siberia, floods, rising sea levels and shrinking Arctic sea ice. Not to mention, record-breaking Atlantic hurricane seasons, searing droughts and massive tornado clusters. And all this climate disruption is a result of just a single degree centigrade rise in average earth surface temperatures since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

But our broadcast today is not simply a look back or lament. We are also looking ahead, to shine a light on some possibilities to head off climate disruption before civilization as we know it becomes untenable. We will consider the possibilities of economics, politics, applied science and technology to address climate disruption, though so far they have fallen short. So, we will look to see what they may be missing.

CURWOOD: Correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation, but there are two striking trends that run parallel to the alarming rise in global warming gases. One is the astonishing growth of economic wealth, and in recent years that increase in wealth in the US has been confined to the very richest. In fact, most families in the US have seen little or no gain, with many losing economic power, as many young adults today can’t afford to buy homes like the ones they grew up in. The other trend is the loss of confidence in government action at the national and local levels and the failure of international rules governing climate change emissions to go beyond the honor system.

The concentration of economic and political power related to those trends has historically thrived on the extraction and burning of fossil resources. Climate policy critics including Van Jones, Kristina Karlsson and Bill McKibben say that has to change, if we are to halt our present march toward climate Armageddon. Kristina Karlsson is a program manager for the climate and economic transformation team at the Roosevelt Institute.

JONES: The first industrial revolution hurt the people and the planet, too. The next industrial revolution has to help the people and the planet.

KARLSSON: Meaningfully addressing climate requires an economic transformation in basically all corners of our economy.

MCKIBBEN: I think we’re reaching a turning point. I think that the political power of the fossil fuel industry has begun to wane after a century or two of waxing. And our job is to accelerate that to push hard for really rapid, rapid change.

CURWOOD: There are plenty of ideas about how to preserve a livable climate. And the conventional answer so far has been to double down on approaches that have yet to work, including unproven technology. To save us many advocates say we need market-based solutions such as pricing carbon and technologies such as renewable electricity from solar, wind and other clean energy sources to power our lives. They say we just need to update the systems of the Industrial Revolution that relied on abundant fossil fuels.

GROSS: We had all this energy available, a huge quantity that had never been available before. And that allowed just a complete revolution in the world: revolutions of transportation and manufacturing, all kinds of things that we just never had been able to do before.

CURWOOD: Samantha Gross was a senior climate and energy official for the Obama Administration. Now at the Brookings Institution, she notes that by the twentieth century, oil had become the most valuable commodity on world markets.
GROSS: If you were to design a fuel to be used for transportation, you really couldn’t do a lot better. It’s very energy dense, it has a lot of energy within it for its weight and its size. It’s easily transportable. It’s a liquid, so it works in an internal combustion engine. It’s really an excellent transportation fuel.

CURWOOD: So, she calls for new technologies to power the world while avoiding more climate disruption.
GROSS: We absolutely need both cleaner energy and more energy. There’s roughly a billion people in the world right now who don’t have access to modern energy services. And so, dealing with climate change, while not providing those people with a better standard of living is no solution at all.

CURWOOD: But even with the advent of electric cars like the Tesla and pricing of solar power well below that of coal, the growing profits of green tech have yet to halt the climate emergency. More is needed, says Kristina Karlsson, program manager for the climate and economic transformation team at the Roosevelt Institute.
KARLSSON: The markets will have to be a part of this, we can’t do this without private money. But focusing on those types of mechanisms alone will not get us anywhere near where we need to be in terms of mitigating climate, and it will also further deepen the unequal structurally racist outcomes that that system has already created.

CURWOOD: She says systemic racism has distorted government policies and spending when it comes to environmental justice and climate justice at home and abroad.
KARLSSON: All fiscal policy, even if it seems completely unrelated to climate will have climate implications. So, it’s, it’s really a framing argument and a sort of a policy development principle that saying, you can’t, you can’t ever be climate blind as you’re making choices.

CURWOOD: And Kristina Karlsson adds that if human rights and fairness guide the conduct of governments and businesses it would have a more positive economic impact in the long run than self-centered free market approaches.
KARLSSON: Climate is already an economic cost and an economic drag on our economy. Not only are we actually spending money to mitigate climate disaster that’s happening now. But we’re also seeding risk in our financial system by not dealing with the issue that we all rely on fossil fuels, you know, so we are actively paying for inaction. And as the more we put it off, the more these economic costs are going to compound over time.

Many abandoned wells are not documented and still represent multiple risks

From an Article by Amy Lupica, Our Daily Planet, March 12, 2021

A new study published on Monday found that cleaning up the nation’s more than 2 million acres of oil and gas wells could result in billions of dollars of economic growth. Experts estimate that there are as many as 3.2 million gas and oil well sites no longer in use, and when companies leave or abandon these wells, they often leak harmful toxins into the atmosphere and groundwater.

For a long time, companies have claimed the cleanup is too expensive, but experts estimate the costs of cleanup are much more affordable than previously thought and could offer a much-needed economic boost to struggling former oil and gas communities.

Why This Matters: Abandoned oil and gas wells are an epidemic all on their own. The 3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells are constantly leaking methane into the atmosphere, which captures up to 86 times more heat than CO2. The wells also put residents at risk of flammable or toxic water and even explosions. The fact that these wells are poorly mapped and challenging to find, makes them even more dangerous.

Despite these dangers to the environment and humans, the Trump administration rolled back Obama-era methane regulations that required gas and oil companies to monitor and repair leaks. But as oil and gas prices plummet, it’s clear that companies will never return for their abandoned wells, but cleaning them up is crucial to fighting climate change and ensuring that communities aren’t left behind in the transition to a green economy.

Net Benefits: The study estimates that cleaning up all abandoned oil and gas wells in the country would cost about $7 billion, a small price to pay for over 3.2 million cleanup projects. That land could then be used for green energy development, business and housing projects, and carbon sequestration.

The researchers of the study estimated that the cleanup could bring in $21 billion in benefits.

Matt Moran, the study’s lead author, said, “for people who live near that land–that [money] has real meaning.” The cleanup alone would also create thousands of jobs for people who live in regions plagued by abandoned wells. The Biden administration has expressed support for well cleanup projects. “We are going to create more than a quarter-million jobs to do things like plug in millions of abandoned oil and gas wells that pose an ongoing threat to the health and safety of our communities,” said Biden in January.

Similar projects have already had success with the support of the federal government. The Abandoned Mine Land Trust Fund (AML) grants money to states and tribes to clean up defunct coal mines. Since its inception, the AML has helped build green infrastructure, boost tourism, and create jobs across America, with the added benefit of cleaning up toxic groundwater and pollution. It’s done so well that now, a bipartisan team of lawmakers and environmental advocates are introducing legislation to extend and expand it.

The new study’s authors hope that cleaning up oil and gas wells can yield the same benefits for oil communities as mine cleanups have for coal communities.

“If you have an abandoned piece of property, and you restore it back to its original condition, it’s worth something, and it’s worth more than it costs to do that,” said Moran. “If we invest in land restoration, we get a lot out of it.”

Chemical Engineering Progress, January 2021 Issue

Editorial by Cynthia F. Mascone, Editor-in-Chief, CEP, American Institute of Chemical Engineering, New York, New York

I think about climate often. It’s hard not to — I doubt a day goes by that I don’t see an article, news report, or email that mentions climate.

The most recent item to cross my desk is an article in Scientific American entitled “Second Scientists’ Warning: The Climate Emergency: 2020 in Review.” It is a follow-up to “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency,” by William J. Ripple et al., which appeared in the January 2020 issue of BioScience.

The authors begin their original article with this statement: “Scientists have a moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat and to ‘tell it like it is.’ On the basis of this obligation …, we declare, with more than 11,000 scientist signatories from around the world, clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency.” They then call for transformative change in six areas: energy, short-lived air pollutants, nature, food, economy, and population.

The new article points out that while 2020 brought a few promising developments, we still “need a massive-scale mobilization to address the climate crisis.” The authors say that “aggressive transformative change, if framed holistically and equitably, will accelerate broad-based restorative action and avert the worst of the climate emergency. The survival of our society as we know it depends upon this unprecedented change.”

Chemical engineers have an important role to play in achieving the necessary transformative change. Climate change is a complex, multidimensional problem that we are well equipped to understand. Our education in chemistry, physics, and math enables us to understand the science, and our knowledge of chemical engineering allows us to address the challenge in a practical and economical manner. But sorting through and keeping up with the climate change literature is a monumental task.

A few years ago, I came up with the idea for a series of short, 1–3-page articles that would explore various chemical-engineering-related aspects of climate and climate change. I thought that breaking this complex subject into many small bits and focusing on chemical engineering concepts would make it easier to understand. I envisioned that the title of this series would be “Thinking About Climate.”

When I mentioned my idea to Mark Holtzapple, a professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M Univ., he told me about his interest in climate and shared with me the slides of a lecture that he gives on the topic. He also helped me realize that we could not do justice to the topic 2,000 words at a time. He liked my idea of looking at climate through a chemical engineering lens, and he offered to write a series of articles that addressed observations, modeling, impacts, and solutions.

This special issue of CEP is the fruit of our collaboration. It provides basic information about climate — including numerous figures and reference citations. It is not meant to be a definitive treatment of the subject. Rather, it is intended to provide an overview that helps you to think about climate without getting lost in the claims and counterclaims.

In the interest of minimizing our environmental footprint, we present this as a digital-only issue. And because this topic is of such great importance to society, we are making the issue open access. Please share it widely.

Reference: CEP Special Issue on Climate | AIChE, January 2021

The 15 state ORSANCO / ORBA region

From the Ohio River Basin Alliance, Cincinnati, October 21, 2020

The Ohio River Basin Alliance released a sweeping strategy today to help the 15-state region and its more than 25 million residents tackle urgent environmental threats and economic needs, including inadequate river infrastructure, pollution to the river and its tributaries, and increased flooding that is only expected to get worse due to climate change.

“The regional plan provides a roadmap for needed investments that will benefit millions of people in the region by boosting our economy, protecting our drinking water, restoring our environment, protecting our public health, supporting our outdoor recreation, and improving our quality of life,” said Harry Stone, chairperson of the Ohio River Basin Alliance. “We have a historic opportunity to stand up for communities large and small in the region—and we are going to do it. We look forward to working with stakeholders in the region, as well as local officials, governors, and members of Congress to implement these common-sense solutions, before these challenges get more difficult and costly. We have solutions, and it’s time to use them.”

The plan, which covers portions of the states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, highlights six regional priorities:

>> Restoring the river, its tributaries and ecosystems to protect the health of people, fish, and wildlife;
>> Addressing flooding to protect vulnerable communities and infrastructure;
>> Ensuring abundant clean water for people, fish and wildlife, and businesses;
>> Increasing nature-based recreation and tourism;
>> Growing water-borne commerce and ensuring efficient waterborne commerce through adequate lock and dam infrastructure; and,
>> Supporting robust research and education to inform the needs and opportunities of the region.

The goal is for the regional strategy to be implemented by collaborating with local communities, states, and federal government and other diverse partners that leads to robust new federal investment in the region, akin to what other regional initiatives have received in the Chesapeake Bay, Florida Everglades, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, and Puget Sound. The next phase is to craft implementation plans for the six goals.

“We look forward to working with local partners to put forward solutions that benefit our environment, economy, and communities—especially those communities that have historically borne the brunt of pollution and environmental harm, such as people of color, low-income and rural communities, and Tribal Nations,” said Stone. “We have an obligation and responsibility to help all of the people who call the region home, and we believe that the regional plan can lift all boats.”

The “Plan for the Ohio River Basin 2020 – 2025 Planning Assistance to States Study” was funded and performed under an agreement between Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, with financial support from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The plan received input from a diverse set of stakeholders, including state and federal agencies, colleges and universities, businesses, industry associations, cities, and non-governmental organizations.

The Ohio River basin covers 204,000 square miles encompassing parts of 15 states. It is home to over 25 million people. The Ohio River supplies drinking water to more than 5 million people.

Ohio River Basin Alliance, a collaboration of Ohio River Basin stakeholders and stakeholder organizations, was formed in 2009 to fill the need for an organization to speak for the Basin holistically by capturing the highest priorities of the numerous organizations of the Basin and advocating for the ecological health and economic well-being of this world class basin through sound laws, policies, and projects, and the funds to support them. ORBA is a collaboration that includes more than 250 representatives from over 130 states, local and federal agencies, industry, academia, and nonprofit organizations in the Ohio River Basin. ORBA’s purpose is to foster broad collaboration to advance education and science; promote the conservation of natural resources in the Ohio River Basin; and achieve sustainable economic growth, ecological integrity and public safety across and within political jurisdictions within the Ohio River Basin.

Read the plan at: http://bit.ly/ORBAplan

ORBA Address:
Ohio River Basin Alliance, 5735 Kellogg Ave, Cincinnati OH 45230

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See the list of sample sites and parameters

Plastic credit cards represent 5 grams of pollutants

From the Cover Story of Consumer Reports Magazine, Volume 85, Number 6, June 2020, pp. 26 – 35.

The first company to ever sell fully synthetic plastic—the Bakelite Corp., established in 1922—advertised it as “The Material of a Thousand Uses.”

It had that right: Today, beyond the plates we eat from, the straws we drink through, the furniture we sit on, and the toys our kids play with, there is plastic in the clothes we wear, in the cars we drive, even in the lifesaving medical equipment in our hospitals. And—more than anywhere else—plastic is in our packaging, encasing everything from laundry detergent to prescription pills, from the food we eat to the beverages we drink.

In fact, the world has produced more than 10 billion tons of the stuff, mostly since the 1950s, and we just keep making more. In 2018, manufacturers created almost 400 million tons of new plastic, and production is expected to almost quadruple by 2050. The vast majority of that plastic eventually ends up piled up around the planet. Some of it may last for hundreds of years, and when it does break down, it can become small particles of plastic—microplastics—that spread farther across the planet, entering our water and food supply.

Why is this a problem? After all, manufacturers and certain regulatory agencies have long assured us that plastics are safe for human health. “In the U.S., we have a robust system that looks at materials that are in contact with food, and that includes plastics, managed by the [Food and Drug Administration],” says Karyn Schmidt, senior director of regulatory and technical affairs at the American Chemistry Council, an industry group that represents plastics and chemical manufacturers. “Consumers should feel very confident using any plastic coming into contact with food that they would buy in a grocery store.”

MORE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

And yet there’s growing concern. It’s not just the photos of whales, albatrosses, and sea turtles washing ashore, stomachs clogged with the stuff, or the stories about swirling ocean vortexes collecting litter from around the globe—although these are sobering. Reliable research now shows that tiny bits of plastic are in our food, drinking water, the air we breathe, and, yes, inside our bodies.

“This credit card here, this is how much plastic you are consuming every week,” Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., holding up a Visa card, said when announcing legislation meant to reduce plastic pollution this past February. He was referencing a preliminary estimate by some scientists that the plastic the average person may be eating and drinking totals as much as 5 grams per week. One research review published in 2019 calculated that the average American eats, drinks, and breathes in more than 74,000 microplastic particles every year.

Some scientists say it’s likely that ingesting these tiny bits of plastic could expose us to harmful chemicals. “There cannot be no effect,” says Pete Myers, Ph.D., founder and chief scientist of the nonprofit Environmental Health Sciences and an adjunct professor of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

“People have this idea that plastic is clean,” a sterile object that doesn’t come apart, says Sherri Mason, Ph.D., sustainability coordinator at Penn State Behrend in Erie, Pa., and a chemist who has studied the presence of plastic in tap water, beer, sea salt, and bottled water.

But, in fact, the raw materials of plastic are created from fossil fuels including oil and natural gas. And thousands of chemicals, depending on the product, are used to make it harder, softer, or more flexible. These chemicals include bisphenols, such as bisphenol A (BPA), and phthalates, which can flow or leach into the foods touched by plastic, especially when that plastic is warmed.

“It’s ironic that as public attention to this issue is really growing, global plastic production is increasing,” says Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, now a visiting professor at Bennington College in Vermont and president of Beyond Plastics, a nonprofit focused on ending plastics pollution. And as more plastic is produced and discarded, contaminating our water, food, and air, exposure levels for the average person will continue to rise.

Shopping bags disintegrate into microplastics, potentially entering our food supply and, eventually, our bodies. (To be continued.)

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See also: Scientists Discover Highest Concentration of Deep-Sea Microplastics to Date, Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch.com, May 01, 2020

Scientists have discovered the highest concentration of microplastics ever recorded on the seafloor—1.9 million pieces in one square meter (approximately 11 square feet) of the Mediterranean.

But the finding, published in Science on Thursday, suggests a much broader problem as deep-sea currents carry plastics to microplastic “hotspots” that may well also be deep-sea ecosystems rich in biodiversity. For study coauthor professor Elda Miramontes of the University of Bremen, Germany, the results are alarming.

Galileo Galilei (1564 — 1662) could see beyond the horizon

Essay by Peter Dykstra, Editor, Environmental Health News, May 2, 2020

Make no mistake, Americans didn’t invent this form of persecution. If you don’t believe me, ask Galileo. But when it comes to war, peace, racial equality, gender equality, marriage equality, pollution, climate change, and many more issues, damn, we’re good at it.

Martin Luther King, Jr. got red-baited, wiretapped, spied upon, and, of course, murdered before his complete vindication.

Nearly six decades after the publication of her book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson still has the distinction of being accused of mass murder for inspiring the ban on the pesticide DDT. Linked to the endangerment of bird species ranging from peregrine falcons to ruby-throated hummingbirds, DDT rose to international fame as a mosquito killer during World War II.

Back in the early 1960′s, the chemical industry led the assault on Carson, led by a young public relations executive named E. Bruce Harrison.

From his perch at the Chemical Manufacturers Association, Harrison steered a whisper campaign that suggested Carson was a Communist and a lesbian — twin kisses of death in early 1960′s American culture. Carson soon succumbed to breast cancer. The U.S. banned DDT in 1972. The bald eagle and others recovered, but attacks on the late Rachel Carson continued. In 2010, noted publisher and former Presidential candidate Steve Forbes charged that the mild-mannered Carson was a mass murderer who helped birth “environmental barbarism.” His reasoning was that DDT had helped curb malaria’s death toll in the developing world.

Today, Rachel Carson has a bridge named after her in Pittsburgh. Bruce Harrison went on to a lucrative career in anti-environmental public relations. He was a founder of the original climate-denying lobby group, the Global Climate Coalition. For his labors, he was elected to the National Capital Public Relations Hall of Fame in 1999.

Hanoi Jane and Ralph Nader are well known cases of dissent

Jane Fonda was part of a Hollywood acting dynasty, with her dad Henry and brother Peter. She was also an outspoken activist on women’s and Native American issues, and, perhaps most notably, for her opposition to the Vietnam War. In 1972, she visited North Vietnam and the men who were fighting, killing, and imprisoning U.S. troops. One photograph, with Fonda astride an NVA anti-aircraft gun, has lived forever.

Fonda has apologized for the North Vietnam visit repeatedly, but with little apparent impact. Despite an exemplary life of supporting subsequent causes, notably fighting teen pregnancy and advocating for action on climate change, she’s still known to millions of Americans only as Hanoi Jane. No American before or since has developed such an immunity to Christian forgiveness.

Of course, Fonda was right about the lies and amorality of American leadership’s lies over Vietnam. But to millions, she’s still Hanoi Jane.

Ralph Nader was a crusading young attorney, bent on haranguing major American companies to stop killing so many of their workers and customers. His 1965 book “Unsafe at Any Speed” was a devastating indictment of the Chevrolet Corvair, which he argued was the deadliest American car on the road.

Nader also headed a successful effort to make seat belt use mandatory. Nader led the charge against the Big Three automakers’ “planned obsolescence” — the business strategy of building less reliable cars to force consumers into a cycle of buying replacement vehicles every few years. Ralph Nader the gadfly saved an incalculable number of lives.

Alas, forgiveness has its limits. In one of her many apologies, Jane Fonda herself called her Hanoi trip “unforgivable.” And Ralph Nader enraged many of his staunchest admirers with his third-party presidential run in 2000. He tallied more than 2.8 million votes, including 97,000 in Florida, where Bush won by less than 200 — turning a likely Al Gore victory into eight years of George W. Bush.

Climate scientists have been subject to ridicule

And what of Al Gore? He took the lead in climate advocacy as early as 1988, when his congressional hearings prompted some of the first headlines for global warming. But even as climate change hastens its conversion from startling theory to tragic reality, Al Gore is still more punchline than prophet to conservative ideologues, including President Trump.

Let’s not forget climate scientists. Last week, climatologist Mike Mann was elected to the exclusive National Academy of Sciences.

His path there included years of attacks from well-funded political operatives accusing him of only being in it for the money; lawsuits—none successful—intended to muscle a vocal scientist into silence; and a hallucinatory attack likening Mann to a child molester because he works at Penn State, the former workplace of the infamous convicted child-molesting football coach, Jerry Sandusky. Ever the good-natured warrior, Mann is suing back on that one.

Mann is not alone. Other climate scientists endure personal attacks; some have to cope with online harassment, including publication of their home addresses.

Scientists studying endocrine-disrupting chemicals have to dodge incoming rhetorical fire from ideologues or corporate hired guns. Many environmental journalists cope with similar flak or worse. In some cases, activists get it worst of all, with international activists in places like Brazil and Honduras paying with their lives.

In 1633, the Roman Catholic Church wrapped up its persecution of Galileo, commuting his prison sentence to house arrest. In exchange, Galileo agreed to recant his heretic view that the Earth revolved around the sun.

In 1992, the Church finally got around to formally acknowledging that Galileo was right. If there’s a 339-year vindication timetable for the likes of Al Gore and Michael Mann, we’re toast.

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See also: Welcome to Kent State University’s 50th Commemoration of May 4, 1970

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired on Kent State students during an anti-war protest, killing four students and wounding nine other students. In keeping with the commitment to honor and remember those tragic events, Kent State is hosting a virtual program to mark the historic 50th Commemoration of May 4, 1970.

Virtual Commemoration Events — The May 4 50th Commemoration includes the virtual noon program on May 4, 2020, the virtual candlelight vigil, special videos, online exhibits, interactive mobile apps and more.

Wisconsin & Minneasota are being damaged by Frac Sand Mining

From Frac Sand Sentinel, Issue # 329, April 6, 2020

Pause for a moment or two on April 22, 2020. Earth Day was celebrated 50 years ago!

This is the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day! How will it be celebrated? What memories do you have of past civic action? Did you know that in 1972 nearly 2/3 of the lakes, rivers, and coastal waters had become unsafe for fishing or swimming?

Gaylord Nelson, Governor of WI during the 1950’s had passion for environment/ poverty. Residents of Wisconsin joined his concern with the dilapidated state parks, exploiting of public resources by private industry and State’s polluted waterways. He worked to overhaul the DNR to have them focus on conservation, he established the conservation corps and acquired land to be converted into public parks and wilderness areas.

In the 1960’s he became a U.S. Senator. He again built coalitions, fought for environmental issues and through his tenacity Earth Day was created April 22, 1970.

As a U.S. Senator, Nelson championed the legislation below:

1968: National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (St. Croix River in the original) and by November 2018, 209 Rivers in 40 States protected
1968: National Scenic Trails – There are now 11: WI- *Ice Age and *North Country 4600 miles trek.
1970: Apostle Islands became a National Lakeshore
1972: Clean Water Act
1972: The Federal Pesticides Act was amended
1972: Endangered Species Act was passed.

Currently the Federal Government is focused on rolling back regulations. As of December 19, 2019, 58 rollbacks were completed (16 alone in regards to air pollution and emissions), another 37 in process to make a total of 95 rollback regulations.

Take a moment to pause, think about Mother Earth. How important is clean water and clean air in your family’s life? How important is fishing for you? How about other forms of outdoor recreation and scenic views that you can appreciate? Are you familiar with the Big Blue Marble?

With your family at this particularly vulnerable time, develop a plan to make a difference for our planet that gives life and sustenance, comfort and safe havens for all of us to enjoy. Plant a tree!

Help your children appreciate the value of clean and safe surroundings. Feed the birds! Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Appreciate the works of John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Roscoe Churchill, and other great people including Gaylord Nelson who have written about, spoken about and fought through civic participation and for Mother Earth and her inhabitants.

Participate in civic engagement to protect our earth and all forms of life vital to a healthy environment for all.

Enjoy a sunset, a sunrise and various other small surprises like the song of a bird or many to bring appreciation and solitude to all of our souls.

Blessings on this Earth Day, April 22, 2020

HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY!

Patricia Popple, sunnyday5@charter.net

Wisconsin & Minneasota are being damaged by Frac Sand Mining

Welcome to the Frac Sand Sentinel, a newsletter highlighting resource links, news media accounts, blog posts, correspondence, observations and opinions gathered regarding local actions on, and impacts of, the developing frac sand mining and processing industries.

The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only. The editor of the Frac Sand Sentinel does not accept any responsibility or liability for the use or misuse of the content of this newsletter or reliance by any persons on the newsletters contents.

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE: CCC-WIS.COM and for additional information, click here for panoramic aerial views of frac sand mines, processing plants, and trans-load facilities. FracTracker.org is also an excellent source of information.

From FRAC SAND SENTINEL | 561 SUMMIT AVENUE, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729