Ohio’s Republican party is ignoring the health of residents in Appalachian counties as it uses the recent passage of House Bill 507 to enable fracking on Ohio’s public lands.
HB 507 was passed without a public hearing during a lame duck session.
The economic benefit Ohio receives from outdoor recreation at Ohio parks is estimated to be $8.1 billion per year, and the recreational industry employs 132,790 workers. But, ODNR’s 5-member Oil and Gas Land Management Commission, who is responsible for writing rules for leasing public lands, is willing to throw the park industry and rural communities under the fracking truck.
The decisions that will affect Ohio’s public lands and ultimately the health of Ohio’s rural communities will be made by The Director of Natural Resources and four members appointed by the Governor; two with experience in oil and gas, one from real estate, and one from an environmental organization. Hundreds of citizens made public comments to the commission about the health and environmental risks of fracking, yet not one person on the commission has any expertise in these areas or was willing to address any of their concerns.
The commission seems fixated on making money off public-owned lands. The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) spoke at the March commission meeting, touting their recent $40 million deal with Texas-based Encino Energy to frack 7,300 acres at Tappan Lake. Encino has its eye on Salt Fork and reportedly wants to get a 15-year lease to place well pads around the park.
Although Governor (Mike) DeWine has assured there will be no well pads on park land itself, a state agency can negotiate additional lease agreements to do this. Fracking is basically unregulated and exposes local communities to multiple carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting pollutants. Additionally, fracking does all of the following: creates a high demand for surface water and land area, increases truck traffic with approximately 592 one-way trips per well, generates toxic fracking wastewater containing water soluble radionuclides, impacts biodiversity and landscape, contaminates air by emissions, leaches PFAS into waterways, induces seismic activity, increases radon in homes, can lead to explosions, requires massive amounts of gathering pipelines, and of course increases amounts of the greenhouse-gas methane.
Ohio’s marginalized Appalachian counties have become a mineral colony, enriching fossil fuel corporations while communities fall further into poverty. (State) Senator (Matt) Huffman (R-12th District) thinks fracking public lands is a “great revenue generator” to provide tax cuts for the rich. Why doesn’t Ohio generate revenues by raising gas severance taxes? Ohio has one of the lowest in the country; currently a paltry 2.5 cents per thousand cubic feet of natural gas. Instead, Ohio’s politicians placate the fossil fuel industry, while Ohio’s regulatory agencies are controlled by the industries they are charged with regulating.
As West Virginia political leaders clumsily continue clinging to coal, they’re being forced (at least quietly) to reckon with a hard truth: Coal doesn’t have a viable future.
To quote an article from West Virginia Public Broadcasting: “Members of the legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Energy and Manufacturing were told Thursday that more than 12,000 megawatts of power will be added to the grid in the next several years. That includes about 10,000 megawatts of renewables and about 2,000 megawatts of natural gas. Combined, that’s nearly as much as the entire footprint of coal in West Virginia of 12,500 megawatts.”
The WVPB article also stated, “PJM [a 12-state grid operator that serves West Virginia] has a systemwide backlog of 252,665 megawatts in its interconnection queue, the line for new power resources to join the grid. More than half of that is solar. Much of the rest are wind and battery storage. Only 5,537 megawatts of natural gas are in the queue, and no coal.”
American Electric Power (AEP) is raising its electricity rates in Ohio on June 1 by 28%. On top of that huge increase, AEP Ohio is proposing an additional 5% rate hike to take effect in 2024 with a continued annual increase until 2030. AEP Ohio is asking the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to approve these increases. Representatives from PUCO came to Marietta on May 1 for a public hearing on this proposed rate increase. I attended this hearing, which was held at Washington State CC, and was one of only two people to give testimony–both of us spoke in opposition to this rate hike.
AEP made huge profits in 2022. Their CEO made $16 million in that year. While raking in these exorbitant profits, AEP shut off power to 164,000 Ohioans in that year. Electricity is a necessity for all Ohioans; high profits and big salaries are not.
Rate payers are being asked to cover the costs for AEP Ohio’s outdated and irrelevant coal-fired power plants at the level of $211 million. Coal is far more expensive as an energy source than alternatives such as natural gas and renewables. Ohio electricity consumers should not be asked to subsidize an energy source of the 20th century while more affordable options for 21st energy sources are available.
Another consideration is that AEP is still being investigated for corruption surrounding the HB6 legislation that was designed to underwrite Ohio’s nuclear energy plants and manipulated through the legislature by former Speaker Householder.
Here is the short testimony I presented at the Marietta hearing arranged by PUCO:
“I oppose these electricity supply and distribution rate increases because my wife and I are both over 80 years old and are living on a fixed income. While most of us in Washington County struggle (our average income is lower than the state average), AEP makes huge profits for its shareholders. Its former CEO made $16 million in 2022.
AEP makes the ill-advised decision to continue to operate its inefficient and costly coal-fired power plants while the rest of us are trying to make reasonable decisions about our personal budgets.
Renewable sources of energy are more affordable, earth friendly, and more stable than fossil-fuel sources.”
It is still possible for Ohio electricity consumers to express their thoughts on this proposed rate hike. Send your message to: ContactThePUCO@puco.ohio.gov. Or you can send a letter to PUCO, referencing Case 23-23 to: PUCO, 180 E. Broad St., 11th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215.
My name is Jonathan Brier, I’m a resident of Marietta and an information scientist, but I started as a citizen scientist as a teenager. I didn’t know what I was doing would be called citizen science until years later. I still identify as a citizen scientist to this day, even though I earned a Master of Science degree in Information from the University of Michigan and spent 7.5 years pursuing a PhD in Information Studies at the University of Maryland. My reason for these studies was to help make citizen science more effective and reach more people. I’d like to introduce you to one of thousands I’ve explored.
What is citizen science, you might ask? Well, the Citizen Science Association (“https://citizenscience.org/”>https://citizenscience.org/) uses the definition “Citizen science is the involvement of the public in scientific research — whether community-driven research or global investigations.” To me citizen science is an umbrella term encompassing many practices of the public engaging in science. Birders, aka people really into birdwatching (like my fiancee), often talk about the eBird citizen science project and tracking what they’ve seen and where. eBird applies sophisticated statistical checks for data quality and trust. The United Nations has identified citizen science as important to tackling the sustainable development goals and data needs (https://tinyurl.com/3nmvsy7j). There are growing data needs in many areas of science. Climate science is where I’m focusing today.
The project I would like to share with you is CoCoRaHS (https://www.cocorahs.org/). It is pronounced like hot chocolate ‘coco’ and ‘ra’s like the Egyptian deity, but plural. CoCoRaHS stands for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network and started at the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University in 1998. It now has thousands of people all over North America. Ohio joined in February 2009 and West Virginia in May 2009.
CoCoRaHS participants are important as they provide local coverage of precipitation for where they live. The minimum requirements are: (a) buy one of the 4″ standard rain gauges, (b) apply to join, and (c) attend or watch a training session.
There are a few types of measurements and other tools, but the 4″ rain gauge is the basic equipment to start and costs $48. The basics to participating are to check, record, and empty the rain gauge at the same time each day and to keep a written record of your data as backup. Enter your data on the website. Quality checks are performed once your record is in the central database and they may ask you to double check your written log if something doesn’t look right. Additional low-cost materials like a ruler, wood dowel, and square of plywood painted white are other tools used in monitoring depending on the precipitation.
What data matters? Reports of zero precipitation at the same time frame each day matters as much as accurate measurement of precipitation. Why? As the report of zero still is data to confirm nothing fell instead of no data, which is a gap.
View the latest data from CoCoRaHS participants by visiting https://maps.cocorahs.org/ and see a report near you. By adding your backyard, farm, or other data from a location you monitor means that weather forecast models have more reliable data to base their statistical estimates from and climate models can compare their prediction to actual data over time at specific locations. Manual weather records such as ship logs, which include weather data, are one way climate scientists are able to create models of past weather and understand how our climate changes over time.
CoCoRaHS data complements automated weather stations such as those found at airports, NOAA monitoring sites, personal weather station networks like Weather Underground’s Personal Weather Station Network (https://tinyurl.com/mr2nynur), and other monitoring sites. Better data means improved forecasts for weather forecasts and crops and maybe you know someone who already relies on this data. As a community we can collect the data, trust the data because we know how it is collected, and maybe better understand the science of climate science.
Does CoCoRaHS interest you? Visit https://www.cocorahs.org/ and sign up visit https://www.cocorahs.org/application.aspx
***
Jonathan Brier is a Marietta resident, information scientist, and an Eagle Scout. He is a member of the Citizen Science Association, Association of Computing Machinery, American Association for the Advancement of Science, OpenStreetMap US, Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action, and a Wikipedia contributor. If you want to know more about citizen science or to reach him, visit https://brierjon.com or email: climatecorner@brierjon.com
Faith Leaders delivered a letter with roughly 15,500 signatures to Toyota’s US headquarters asking the company to commit to full electrification by 2035 without exception
The Solar Finance Fund (SSF) provides grants and technical assistance to unlock the economic development potential of otherwise viable solar projects that face barriers unique to Central Appalachia. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, public entities and local businesses that serve as community anchors.
Republicans in West Virginia are absolutely obsessed with claiming that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is “overreaching” in its regulation of industry, especially fossil fuels and derivative industries. Hoppy Kercheval just made the claim again in an op-ed in the Gazette-Mail, continuing this tired refrain. It’s nonsense.
First of all, state regulators have a tremendous amount of authority that the federal EPA lacks. In West Virginia, we have the Department of Environmental Protection, a misnomer due to regulatory capture. When industry isn’t permitted to just “regulate” itself, it’s often charged fines so miniscule that it considers them the cost of doing business.
Secondly, the EPA, more often than not, reaches what are called consent decrees with the industries it oversees. This is a negotiated settlement entered as a court order to make sure it is enforceable. It is almost unheard of that the EPA would issue what is referred to as a unilateral administrative order to require parties to take a response action.
Cutting food waste is a delicious way of saving money, helping to feed the world and protecting the planet. — Tristram Stuart
***
What we eat, and how that food is produced, affects our health, of course, but also the health of the environment.
Food needs to be grown, processed, transported, distributed, prepared, consumed, and often disposed of. Each of these steps creates greenhouse gases (GHG) that trap the sun’s heat and contribute to climate change.
We waste 1 billion tons of food every year. That’s a disaster for the planet. About a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is linked to food. Reducing food waste is one of the most accessible, impactful climate solutions.
For many people in the world, food waste has become a habit: buying more food than we need at markets, letting fruits and vegetables spoil at home or taking/ordering larger portions than we can eat. Habits like those put extra strain on our natural resources and damage our environment. When we waste food, we waste the labor, effort, investment and precious resources (water, seeds, feed, etc.) that go into producing it, in addition to the resources that go into transporting and processing it. The result: wasting food increases GHG emissions and contributes to climate change.
Wasted food, no matter the cause, ultimately ends up in landfills, where it generates methane, an invisible, odorless gas with more than 80 times more warming power in the near-term than carbon dioxide, effectively helping accelerate climate change.
By some accounts, 20% of total GHG emissions annually is linked to food production. which means that agriculture contributes more than any other sector, including energy and transportation, to climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN estimates that if food waste were a country, its GHG emissions would be the third highest in the world! Another way to look at the issue: Most of us generate more planet-warming emissions from eating than we do from driving or flying.
Reducing food loss and waste presents a simple. accessible opportunity for immediate climate benefits while simultaneously improving the overall sustainability of our food systems — a necessary transformation to ensure better planetary and nutritional outcomes for current and future generations.
It’s up to each of us to change our habits to make not wasting food a way of life! In the U.S. and beyond, food is wasted along all parts of the supply chain. A variety of local strategies and tools can be used to tackle this issue, including preventing food waste, connecting wholesome excess food to those who need it, and composting food scraps. People often wonder what they as individuals can possibly do to aid the world in the fight against climate change. Here are some easy actions you can take to re-connect to food and help the planet:
Buy only what you need: Plan your meals. Make a shopping list and stick to it, and avoid impulse buys: waste less food, and save money!
Pick ugly fruit and vegetables: Oddly-shaped or bruised fruits and vegetables are often thrown away because they don’t meet arbitrary cosmetic standards. Don’t worry – they taste the same! Use mature fruit for smoothies, juices and desserts.
Understand food labelling: There’s a big difference between “best before” and “use-by” dates. Sometimes food is still safe to eat after the “best before” date, whereas it’s the “use-by” date that tells you when it is no longer safe to eat.
Start small: Take smaller portions at home or share large dishes at restaurants.
Love your leftovers: If you don’t eat everything you make, freeze it for later or use the leftovers as an ingredient in another meal. You also can use your leftovers and food scraps to start a compost pile; Then use that rich organic matter to fertilize your own vegetable garden.
Changing our habits regarding food production and consumption is one very simple, but important, thing each of us can do! Every citizen can be part of the solution to combat climate change through thoughtful food consumption and processing of food wastes.
I testified at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources April 10, voicing my opposition to the theft of Ohio’s state parks and public lands for oil and gas extraction.
The decision to allow fracking on our shared land, without the public’s consent, is unacceptable. These actions will destroy wildlife habitats, poison visitors to Ohio’s state parks, and strongly impact tourism to these beautiful green spaces.
All this comes alongside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s most recent and starkest warning that we must immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the catastrophic heating of the planet.
The methane released by fracking in particular is a catalyst for rapid and intense heating, and its swift removal from our energy systems is necessary to keep heating below crucial tipping points — a far cry from the definition of methane as “green energy” as fraudulently pushed by House Bill 507.
Environmental organizations are currently taking legal action to prevent the desecration of our public lands. In the meantime, I urge Ohioans everywhere to speak out strongly against this this legislation.
Botanist and bestselling author Robin Wall Kimmerer was recently in Athens, lecturing on indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and what we can learn from plants and the natural world. As both a scientist and a registered member of the Potawatomie tribe, she has unique advice for us as we mark Earth Day today.
Straddling two worlds, Kimmerer learned that scientists might learn about the natural world, but in her tradition people learned from the natural world. Take mosses, for example. Mosses have stayed basically unchanged for more than 450,000 years, while more than 99% of all species have gone extinct. Such resilience is unmatched and Kimmerer wrote an entire book on what we can learn from mosses in a time many species are standing on the brink of extinction. Learning from moss is difficult for those who think of humanity as the dominant species, but the humility that allows us to be a student of the Earth rather than her conqueror permits us to observe, learn, and be changed.
Kimmerer had advice for what we can do:
* Raise a garden because of all you will learn.
* Raise children to love and learn from the Earth.
* Raise a ruckus.
The first Earth Day in 1970 didn’t happen through government action but was a spontaneous global movement prompted by seeing the first pictures of our beautiful planet against the black void of space.
The Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, the Environmental Protection Agency, the protection of endangered species, and much more was sparked by our visceral need to protect our fragile planet and was accomplished in a bipartisan manner under Richard Nixon. We who participated in that first Earth Day 50 years ago were sure that we would have solved the threats to the Earth by now.
Speaking for her generation, Alayna Garst, the sophomore Climate Ambassador at Williamstown High School writes “These past few years, we have watched as wildfires destroyed the beautiful landscapes of Australia and California, turning the sky orange and the hills into barren wastelands. 467 species have gone extinct and 14% of the world’s coral reefs have been killed in just the past ten years. The climate crisis can feel hopeless. So what if I use a plastic straw or buy fast fashion, when everything is literally on fire? Does it really make a difference if I carpool to work, when only 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions?
“Given the dire consequences of our past actions, we can waste our energy wishing we could prevent the Industrial Revolution from ever happening, or that we had started to act 30 or even 20 years ago. However, the best time to act is now because it’s all we have.
“Fear mongering and doomsday talk only hurt the movement to stop climate change. Polling from September 2020 showed that more than half of adults in the U.S. were anxious about how climate change affects their mental health. And nearly 40% of surveyed Gen Z Americans, born after 1996, said addressing climate change is their top personal concern. While this anxiety can lead to action, all too often it leads to paralysis in the face of something we perceive to be too far gone or outside of our control. It is important to maintain a positive, healthy mindset and realize the battle is not over. There is still time and that time is now.”
Alayna isn’t giving up and neither can we. This Earth Day, make it a point to talk to a young person about their relationship to the natural world. You may be surprised at their answers, like Dr. Kimmerer was, when a graduating student of hers told her not to despair because “This is the most wonderful time to be alive.” When asked how she could believe that, the student said, “It’s like the old Wiley Coyote cartoons where Wiley is standing on a teeter totter over a precipice. It matters where I stand. Every choice I make matters, everything I do matters.”
On this Earth Day, get outside. And remember, everything you do makes a difference to our Earth, our common home.
***
Jean Ambrose is trying not to be a criminal ancestor.
First Energy West Virginia subsidiaries MonPower and PotomacEdison want their ratepayers to pay $36 million between June of this year and May 2024 to place the Pleasants Power Station in a state of “warm storage” (aka not generating energy), energy that is generated for Ohio customers even when operational, while First Energy decides whether or not to purchase the plant and keep it running over the long-term. This is a terrible idea that the West Virginia Public Service Commission should not allow.
A writer in last week’s edition of the Parkersburg News and Sentinel who is a plant employee argued that warm storage is a responsible option for coal plants instead of permanently shutting them down because coal’s baseload power is needed when power demands can’t be met by other sources. The writer mentioned the power demands placed on grids last Christmas when an Arctic blast of cold weather hit the nation and that coal plants were fired back up across Europe to meet energy demands recently when Russian natural gas became more scarce with Putin’s war in Ukraine. Those arguments are fallacious.
According to a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) from March, “more than 100,000 megawatts of coal-and-gas-fired generation failed to start or were forced offline during the Arctic blast that hit the central and eastern U.S. just before Christmas.” Dennis Wamsted, IEEFA energy analyst and author of the report, Fossil Fuels Fail Reliability Test, stated in a media release that “Coal-and-gas-fired resources’ performance in December show how unreliable they can be exactly when they are needed most. The increasingly troublesome record of performance needs to be accounted for in utility transmission system planning efforts.”
In Europe, energy for heating was the biggest challenge as the onslaught of Russian aggression in Ukraine led the Putin regime to cut off some of Europe’s gas supplies. This is a challenge Europe is now beginning to meet with heat pumps and energy efficiency and the deployment of more renewables. The electric heat pump market in Europe has exploded since 2021. The International Energy Agency has found that coal use in Europe is expected to decline below 2020 levels by 2025, at the latest.
Last week’s writer also mentioned intermittency issues with renewables like solar and wind. That’s where battery storage, grid management, and energy efficiency come in. Even West Virginia’s Republican supermajority in the state legislature and coal baron governor can see the importance of battery technology, as evidenced by the efforts and expenditures made to bring Form Energy’s iron-air, long-lasting battery manufacturing facility to Weirton. Investments in such technologies are booming in West Virginia, thanks to the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and especially the Inflation Reduction Act. And renewables are already coming in cheaper than coal. A study released in January by Energy Innovation Policy and Technology, LLC, found that every coal plant in operation in West Virginia could be replaced with wind and solar at a lower cost. In the case of the Pleasants Power Station, the study found regional wind energy could replace its generation at a cost that is $10.37 lower per megawatt-hour for customers.
It’s often pointed out that the Pleasants Power Station employs more than 154 people. As a longtime union steward, I want to see jobs and livelihoods protected, but in this case that is the responsibility of First Energy and the state and federal governments. Why can’t First Energy help these employees make the transition and why did the state legislature pass a resolution saying the sale of Pleasants from First Energy’s Ohio subsidiary, Energy Harbor, to its West Virginia subsidiaries go through on the backs of ratepayers instead of focusing on protecting theses workers’ futures? When this same sale failed to go through in 2017, the state legislature’s only response was a $12.5 million a year tax break on the backs of West Virginia taxpayers to delay the inevitable. Why wasn’t the focus on the workers and local communities’ long-term interests then?
Another important question is why the environment and public health always take a backseat ride in these discussions. According to the U.S. EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory, the Pleasants Power Station released 2.4 million tons of toxic chemicals in 2021, mostly through ground contamination. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data, there is now 50% more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than in preindustrial times and an enormous proportion of that is attributable directly to coal use. We cannot dismiss the settled science of anthropogenic (human-caused) global climate change and the threats it poses or the extremely dire negative effects of coal on our air, water, soil and health. First Energy wants us to bear the costs of cleaning up those effects as ratepayers and taxpayers instead of their shareholders shouldering the responsibility.
On April 25, the West Virginia Public Service Commission must say no to another dirty deal that threatens our energy finances, health, and the very habitability of our only home in the cosmos.
***
Eric Engle is chairman of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.
Find Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action on the following social media:
Last Updated: May 31, 2023 by main_y0ke11
Throwing us under the fracking truck
May 13, 2023
Times Leader online
Randi Pokladnik
Ohio’s Republican party is ignoring the health of residents in Appalachian counties as it uses the recent passage of House Bill 507 to enable fracking on Ohio’s public lands.
HB 507 was passed without a public hearing during a lame duck session.
The economic benefit Ohio receives from outdoor recreation at Ohio parks is estimated to be $8.1 billion per year, and the recreational industry employs 132,790 workers. But, ODNR’s 5-member Oil and Gas Land Management Commission, who is responsible for writing rules for leasing public lands, is willing to throw the park industry and rural communities under the fracking truck.
The decisions that will affect Ohio’s public lands and ultimately the health of Ohio’s rural communities will be made by The Director of Natural Resources and four members appointed by the Governor; two with experience in oil and gas, one from real estate, and one from an environmental organization. Hundreds of citizens made public comments to the commission about the health and environmental risks of fracking, yet not one person on the commission has any expertise in these areas or was willing to address any of their concerns.
The commission seems fixated on making money off public-owned lands. The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) spoke at the March commission meeting, touting their recent $40 million deal with Texas-based Encino Energy to frack 7,300 acres at Tappan Lake. Encino has its eye on Salt Fork and reportedly wants to get a 15-year lease to place well pads around the park.
Although Governor (Mike) DeWine has assured there will be no well pads on park land itself, a state agency can negotiate additional lease agreements to do this. Fracking is basically unregulated and exposes local communities to multiple carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting pollutants. Additionally, fracking does all of the following: creates a high demand for surface water and land area, increases truck traffic with approximately 592 one-way trips per well, generates toxic fracking wastewater containing water soluble radionuclides, impacts biodiversity and landscape, contaminates air by emissions, leaches PFAS into waterways, induces seismic activity, increases radon in homes, can lead to explosions, requires massive amounts of gathering pipelines, and of course increases amounts of the greenhouse-gas methane.
Ohio’s marginalized Appalachian counties have become a mineral colony, enriching fossil fuel corporations while communities fall further into poverty. (State) Senator (Matt) Huffman (R-12th District) thinks fracking public lands is a “great revenue generator” to provide tax cuts for the rich. Why doesn’t Ohio generate revenues by raising gas severance taxes? Ohio has one of the lowest in the country; currently a paltry 2.5 cents per thousand cubic feet of natural gas. Instead, Ohio’s politicians placate the fossil fuel industry, while Ohio’s regulatory agencies are controlled by the industries they are charged with regulating.
Randi Jeannine Pokladnik
Uhrichsville
Last Updated: May 31, 2023 by main_y0ke11
There is no viable future for coal
(Opinion)Charleston Gazette-Mail
窗体顶端
窗体底端
As West Virginia political leaders clumsily continue clinging to coal, they’re being forced (at least quietly) to reckon with a hard truth: Coal doesn’t have a viable future.
To quote an article from West Virginia Public Broadcasting: “Members of the legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Energy and Manufacturing were told Thursday that more than 12,000 megawatts of power will be added to the grid in the next several years. That includes about 10,000 megawatts of renewables and about 2,000 megawatts of natural gas. Combined, that’s nearly as much as the entire footprint of coal in West Virginia of 12,500 megawatts.”
The WVPB article also stated, “PJM [a 12-state grid operator that serves West Virginia] has a systemwide backlog of 252,665 megawatts in its interconnection queue, the line for new power resources to join the grid. More than half of that is solar. Much of the rest are wind and battery storage. Only 5,537 megawatts of natural gas are in the queue, and no coal.”
Last Updated: May 31, 2023 by main_y0ke11
Speak up against AEP rate increase
May 9, 2023
Marietta Times
Letter to the Editor
George Banziger
American Electric Power (AEP) is raising its electricity rates in Ohio on June 1 by 28%. On top of that huge increase, AEP Ohio is proposing an additional 5% rate hike to take effect in 2024 with a continued annual increase until 2030. AEP Ohio is asking the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to approve these increases. Representatives from PUCO came to Marietta on May 1 for a public hearing on this proposed rate increase. I attended this hearing, which was held at Washington State CC, and was one of only two people to give testimony–both of us spoke in opposition to this rate hike.
AEP made huge profits in 2022. Their CEO made $16 million in that year. While raking in these exorbitant profits, AEP shut off power to 164,000 Ohioans in that year. Electricity is a necessity for all Ohioans; high profits and big salaries are not.
Rate payers are being asked to cover the costs for AEP Ohio’s outdated and irrelevant coal-fired power plants at the level of $211 million. Coal is far more expensive as an energy source than alternatives such as natural gas and renewables. Ohio electricity consumers should not be asked to subsidize an energy source of the 20th century while more affordable options for 21st energy sources are available.
Another consideration is that AEP is still being investigated for corruption surrounding the HB6 legislation that was designed to underwrite Ohio’s nuclear energy plants and manipulated through the legislature by former Speaker Householder.
Here is the short testimony I presented at the Marietta hearing arranged by PUCO:
“I oppose these electricity supply and distribution rate increases because my wife and I are both over 80 years old and are living on a fixed income. While most of us in Washington County struggle (our average income is lower than the state average), AEP makes huge profits for its shareholders. Its former CEO made $16 million in 2022.
AEP makes the ill-advised decision to continue to operate its inefficient and costly coal-fired power plants while the rest of us are trying to make reasonable decisions about our personal budgets.
Renewable sources of energy are more affordable, earth friendly, and more stable than fossil-fuel sources.”
It is still possible for Ohio electricity consumers to express their thoughts on this proposed rate hike. Send your message to: ContactThePUCO@puco.ohio.gov. Or you can send a letter to PUCO, referencing Case 23-23 to: PUCO, 180 E. Broad St., 11th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215.
George Banziger
Last Updated: May 8, 2023 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: Trust me (you?); we collect the data
May 6, 2023
Jonathan Brier
My name is Jonathan Brier, I’m a resident of Marietta and an information scientist, but I started as a citizen scientist as a teenager. I didn’t know what I was doing would be called citizen science until years later. I still identify as a citizen scientist to this day, even though I earned a Master of Science degree in Information from the University of Michigan and spent 7.5 years pursuing a PhD in Information Studies at the University of Maryland. My reason for these studies was to help make citizen science more effective and reach more people. I’d like to introduce you to one of thousands I’ve explored.
What is citizen science, you might ask? Well, the Citizen Science Association (“https://citizenscience.org/”>https://citizenscience.org/) uses the definition “Citizen science is the involvement of the public in scientific research — whether community-driven research or global investigations.” To me citizen science is an umbrella term encompassing many practices of the public engaging in science. Birders, aka people really into birdwatching (like my fiancee), often talk about the eBird citizen science project and tracking what they’ve seen and where. eBird applies sophisticated statistical checks for data quality and trust. The United Nations has identified citizen science as important to tackling the sustainable development goals and data needs (https://tinyurl.com/3nmvsy7j). There are growing data needs in many areas of science. Climate science is where I’m focusing today.
The project I would like to share with you is CoCoRaHS (https://www.cocorahs.org/). It is pronounced like hot chocolate ‘coco’ and ‘ra’s like the Egyptian deity, but plural. CoCoRaHS stands for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network and started at the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University in 1998. It now has thousands of people all over North America. Ohio joined in February 2009 and West Virginia in May 2009.
CoCoRaHS participants are important as they provide local coverage of precipitation for where they live. The minimum requirements are: (a) buy one of the 4″ standard rain gauges, (b) apply to join, and (c) attend or watch a training session.
There are a few types of measurements and other tools, but the 4″ rain gauge is the basic equipment to start and costs $48. The basics to participating are to check, record, and empty the rain gauge at the same time each day and to keep a written record of your data as backup. Enter your data on the website. Quality checks are performed once your record is in the central database and they may ask you to double check your written log if something doesn’t look right. Additional low-cost materials like a ruler, wood dowel, and square of plywood painted white are other tools used in monitoring depending on the precipitation.
What data matters? Reports of zero precipitation at the same time frame each day matters as much as accurate measurement of precipitation. Why? As the report of zero still is data to confirm nothing fell instead of no data, which is a gap.
View the latest data from CoCoRaHS participants by visiting https://maps.cocorahs.org/ and see a report near you. By adding your backyard, farm, or other data from a location you monitor means that weather forecast models have more reliable data to base their statistical estimates from and climate models can compare their prediction to actual data over time at specific locations. Manual weather records such as ship logs, which include weather data, are one way climate scientists are able to create models of past weather and understand how our climate changes over time.
CoCoRaHS data complements automated weather stations such as those found at airports, NOAA monitoring sites, personal weather station networks like Weather Underground’s Personal Weather Station Network (https://tinyurl.com/mr2nynur), and other monitoring sites. Better data means improved forecasts for weather forecasts and crops and maybe you know someone who already relies on this data. As a community we can collect the data, trust the data because we know how it is collected, and maybe better understand the science of climate science.
Does CoCoRaHS interest you? Visit https://www.cocorahs.org/ and sign up visit https://www.cocorahs.org/application.aspx
***
Jonathan Brier is a Marietta resident, information scientist, and an Eagle Scout. He is a member of the Citizen Science Association, Association of Computing Machinery, American Association for the Advancement of Science, OpenStreetMap US, Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action, and a Wikipedia contributor. If you want to know more about citizen science or to reach him, visit https://brierjon.com or email: climatecorner@brierjon.com
Last Updated: May 31, 2023 by main_y0ke11
Suggested Readings for May 2023
MOVCA Selected Media Postings April 2023
Compiled by Cindy Taylor
Appearing in The Marietta Times:
April 24, 2023 Local News by Clara Noelle; Photo by Clara Noelle shows Adeline Bailey with MOVCA’s tabling
https://www.mariettatimes.com/news/2023/04/24th-earth-day-celebration-a-success/
Image of article in Marietta Times
Appearing online in The Parkersburg News and Sentinel:
April 27, 2023 Business Article by Steven Allen Adams
“Future of Pleasants Power still murky following PSC order”
https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/business/2023/04/future-of-pleasants-power-still-murky-following-psc-order/
April 8, 2023 Op-Ed by Craig Straight, Pleasants Power Station production supervisor
https://www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/local-columns/2023/04/op-ed-wvpsc-should-approve-mon-powers-temporary-rate-increase/
Available on the Charleston Gazette-Mail:
See full list of articles by Mike Tony, Environment and Energy Reporter
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/users/profile/mike%20tony/
April 27, 2023 2023 Article by Mike Tony, Energy and Environment Reporter
“EPA’s first Clean Water Act enforcement action on PFAS discharges targets Chemours facility in Wood County”
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/epas-first-clean-water-act-enforcement-action-on-pfas-discharges-targets-chemours-facility-in-wood/article_11e7cc07-3038-596f-bb9f-1c85a221730b.html
Eric Engle is quoted.
April 25, 2023 Article by Mike Tony, Energy and Environment Reporter
“PSC greenlights Mon Power, Potomac Edison talks toward Pleasant Power Station takeover, holds off on surcharge approval”
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/psc-greenlights-mon-power-potomac-edison-talks-toward-pleasants-power-station-takeover-holds-off-on/article_fc14d896-69e2-5aeb-84d3-f503e058ee97.html
April 14, 2023 Article by Mike Tony, Energy and Environment Reporter
“FirstEnergy utilities report potential new costs, “significant risks” amid $36M rate hike proposal in Pleasants plant pursuit”
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/firstenergy-utilities-report-potential-new-costs-significant-risks-amid-36m-rate-hike-proposal-in-pleasants/article_9fcda35d-4371-5afb-a846-a0074e82fa03.html
April 10, 2023 Article by Mike Tony, Energy and Environment Reporter
“FirstEnergy subsidiaries’ $36M rate hike proposal to keep Pleasants plant open drawing strong reaction”
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/firstenergy-subsidiaries-36m-rate-hike-proposal-to-keep-pleasants-plant-open-drawing-strong-reaction/article_e5fa3e28-9b9c-590a-a3f4-8c5821150f20.html
April 1, 2023 Op-Ed by Eric Engle
“Eric Engle: Say ‘no’ to Pleasants Power Station sale”
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/op_ed_commentaries/eric-engle-say-no-to-pleasants-power-station-sale-opinion/article_da1e4a87-7ece-51b8-8668-c721348ffb44.html
Available on The Athens County Independent:
March 29, 2023 Article by Sam Stecklow
“Torch fracking injection wells received waste containing ‘forever chemicals’ PFAS: data”
Available on the Columbus Dispatch:
April 24, 2023 Letter-to-the Editor by Aaron Dunbar
“Public land being stolen”
https://www.dispatch.com/story/opinion/letters/2023/04/24/letters-democrats-dont-really-want-an-assault-rifle-ban-fracking-in-ohio-guns-must-die/70122054007/
Available on WTAP:
April 30, 2023 Article by Chase Campbell Article and video
“Discussing the future of the Pleasants Power Station”
https://www.wtap.com/2023/05/01/discussing-future-pleasants-power-station/
Eric Engle, MOVCA Board President, is interviewed and quoted.
April 27, 2023 Article by Chase Campbell Article and video
“Discussing the EPA’s recent action against PFAS pollution”
https://www.wtap.com/2023/04/28/discussing-epas-recent-action-against-pfas-pollution/
Eric Engle, MOVCA Board President, is interviewed and quoted.
April 26, 2023 Article by Chase Campbell Article and video
“Environmental Protection Agency ordering Chemours to address PFAS pollution”
https://www.wtap.com/2023/04/26/environmental-protection-agency-ordering-chemours-address-pfas-pollution/
April 25, 2023 Article by Chase Campbell Article and video
“WVPSC approves interim solution to keep Pleasants Power Station open”
https://www.wtap.com/2023/04/25/wvpsc-approves-interim-solution-keep-pleasants-power-station-open/
April 22, 2023 Article by Brittany Morgan article and video
“WVUP Ecohawks celebrate and educate on Earth Day”
https://www.wtap.com/content/news/WVUP-Ecohawks-celebrate-and-educate-on-Earth-Day-508901681.html
MOVCA participated in event
April 22, 2023 Feature by Jacob Krantz video
24th annual Earth Day celebration held on Armory lawn
https://www.wtap.com/2023/04/22/24th-annual-earth-day-celebration-held-armory-lawn/
Available on WKBN 27 (Youngstown):
April 10, 2023 Local News: EAST PALESTINE TRAIN DERAILMENT Feature by Chelsea Simeon
“Truck carrying toxic soil from East Palestine overturns in Columbiana County”
https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-train-derailment/truck-carrying-toxic-soil-from-east-palestine-overturns-in-columbiana-county/
Available on Journal of Sustainability Education: (missing from previous media listing)
March 27, 2023 Article by Kathryn Williamson, Jamie Shinn, Deb Hemler and Sandra M. Fallon
“A Case Study for Climate Change Teacher Professional Development in West Virginia”
“inspired by a similar effort by Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action, a West Virginia-based civic organization”
See The West Virginia Climate Change Professional Development Project (WVCCPD)
https://sites.google.com/view/wvclimatechangepd/home
Available on West Virginians For Energy Freedom https://www.energyfreedomwv.org
April 26, 2023
“PSC Issues Order on Pleasants”
https://www.energyfreedomwv.org/updates/2023/4/26/psc-issues-order-on-pleasants
April 21 2023 News article by Steven Allen Adams
WV News: Public weighs in at West Virginia PSC hearing for Pleasants Power Station”
https://www.energyfreedomwv.org/updates/2023/4/21/wv-news-public-weighs-in-at-west-virginia-psc-hearing-for-pleasants-power-station-plan
https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/public-weighs-in-at-west-virginia-psc-hearing-for-pleasants-power-plan/article_64b3d244-dfc5-11ed-b022-db43fb80b41e.html
Appearing on-line on Ohio River Valley Institute https://ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org
April 17, 2023 Article by Jacqueline Ebner, Ph.D., Kathy Hippie, Nick Messenger, and Irina Spector, MBA
“Green Steel in the Ohio River Valley: The Timing is Right for the Rebirth of a Clean, Green Steel Industry”
https://ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/green-steel-in-the-ohio-river-valley-the-timing-is-right-for-the-rebirth-of-a-clean-green-steel-industry/
Available on-line on WV Rivers https://wvrivers.org :
April 18, 2023 News about American Rivers (national nonprofit) report of our Nation’s most endangered rivers.
“Ohio River Named 2nd Most Endangered River”
Appearing on-line on ReImagine Appalachia: Check out all events here: https://reimagineappalachia.org/events/
April 28, 2023 Community Event (Zoom) Description, recording and resources links
“Full employment for All of Appalachia: Listening Session”
April 27, 2023, 2-3 pm Community Event (Zoom) Description, recording and resources links
“Solar Project Pipeline Fireside Chat”
April 18, 2023 Article by Annie Regan Links to playlists and events in PA, WV, and OH
“How to Celebrate Earth Day in Appalachia”
April 13, 2023, 1pm Community Event (Zoom) Description, recording and resources links
“Green Locomotives Can Be a Big Driver for Jobs in the Region” Webinar
April 13, 2023 12:00 – 1:00 Community Event (Zoom) Description, recording and resources links
“Solar-Powered Faith Communities and Houses of Worship: Saving Money and Ethical Labor”
April 12, 2023 12:00 – 1:00 Community Event (Zoom) Description, recording and resources links
“Social Media 101 Training”
Available on Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services: https://www.fairshake-els.org
See Community Democracy Resources & Tools: https://www.fairshake-els.org/community-resources
See Ambassador Community https://www.fairshake-els.org/ambassador-community
April 20, 2023 10-4pm in Parkersburg, WV
Available on Interfaith Power and Light:
April 24, 2023 Action Alert
“Tell EPS to Finalize Strong Mercury Pollution Protections”
https://interfaithpowerandlight.org/blog/2023/04/24/tell-epa-to-finalize-strong-mercury-pollution-protections/
April 13, 2023 Press Release
“Interfaith Power & Light Demands Accountability from Toyota Following New Electric Vehicle Announcement”
https://interfaithpowerandlight.org/blog/2023/04/13/interfaith-power-and-light-toyota-delivery/
Faith Leaders delivered a letter with roughly 15,500 signatures to Toyota’s US headquarters asking the company to commit to full electrification by 2035 without exception
Available on Citizens’ Climate Lobby https://citizensclimatelobby.org :
April 27, 2023 CCL statement on House passage of IRA rollbacks
April 27, 2023 (posted) Citizens’ Climate Radio – Description and link for listening
“Episode 83: The Not-So-Cool Effects of Air Conditioning on Climate Change”
April 20, 2023 statement on attempts to repeal IRA climate provisions
Appearing on-line on WV Public Broadcasting or WOUB (PBS) or WVXU or NPR:
April 20, 2023 Associated Press Environment feature
“The U.S. plans new protections for old forests facing pressure from climate change”
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/20/1171066279/old-growth-forests-protections-climate-change
April 20, 2023 Climate feature by Seyma Bayram
“The Colorado and Ohio rivers are among the ‘most endangered’ in America. Here’s why”
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/20/1170931581/the-colorado-and-ohio-rivers-are-among-the-most-endangered-in-america-heres-why
April 16, 2023 Jeff Brady feature text and audio. Heard on All Things Considered
“A 15-year-old law would end fossil fuels in federal buildings, but it’s on hold”
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/10/1164652146/part-of-a-law-to-have-federal-buildings-stop-using-natural-gas-was-never-impleme
April 6, 2023 Article by Gabriel Scotto
“Ohio University researchers will use a federal grant to find environmentally friendly uses for coal”
https://woub.org/2023/04/06/ohio-university-researchers-grant-coal/
OVERVIEWS and IMPORTANT ISSUES/ NEWS/ INFO
Available on EarthJustice:
April 5, 2023 Press Release
“EPA Moves to Strengthen Protections Against Toxic Power Plant Pollution”
https://earthjustice.org/press/2023/epa-moves-to-strengthen-protections-against-toxic-power-plant-air-pollution
Available on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:
April 26, 2023 EPA Press Release
“EPA takes first-ever federal Clean Water Act enforcement action to address PFAS discharges at Washington Works facility near Parkersburg, W. Va.”
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-takes-first-ever-federal-clean-water-act-enforcement-action-address-pfas
Tool available from EPA
EJScreen: EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool
https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen
Available online from The Guardian:
April 25, 2023 Article by Fiona Harvey, Environmental editor
“John Kerry: relying on technology to remove carbon dioxide is ‘dangerous’”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/25/john-kerry-relying-technology-remove-carbon-dioxide-dangerous
April 19, 2023 Article by Nina Kakhani
“Nearly 120 million people in US exposed to unhealthy levels of soot and smog- report”
American Lung Association’s study also found great disparity between coasts, with 10 of 11 most polluted counties in California
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/19/us-air-pollution-unhealthy-levels-smog-soot-california
April 7, 2023 Article by Nina Lakhani
“Green groups sue to stop Ohio from leasing state parks for oil and gas drilling”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/07/ohio-environmental-groups-state-parks-leasing-oil-and-gas
April 6, 2023 Article by Damian Carrington, Environment editor
“ ‘Forever chemicals’ linked to infertility in women, study shows”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/06/forever-chemicals-infertility-women-pfas-blood
March 19, 2023 Climate Crisis Article by Oliver Milman (omitted from last month’s report)
“ ‘We have money and power’: older Americans to blockade banks in climate protest”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/19/climate-crisis-protest-environment-third-act-bill-mckibben
Available on Inside Climate News:
April 4, 2023 Politics & Policy Article by Phil McKenna, Emma Ricketts
“Environmental Advocates Protest Outside EPA Headquarters Over the Slow Pace of New Climate and Clean Air Regulations”
April 3, 2023 Science Article by Phil McKenna
“Potent Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depleting Chemicals Called CFCs Are Back on the Rise Following an International Ban, a New Study Finds”
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03042023/cfc-ban-rise/
March 21, 2023 Justice Article by James Bruggers (omitted last month report)
“From Gas Wells to Rubber Ducks to Incineration, the Plastics Lifecycle Causes ‘Horrific Harm’ to the Planet and People, Report Shows”
Available on E 8 E NEWS:
April 21, 2023 Article by E.A. Crunden ; Emma Dumain
“Biden order tackles environmental justice”
Available on Science and Environmental Health Network: https://www.sehn.org/sehn
April 24, 2023
“April 2023 Networker: A Fracked Nation” Editor’s note- Carmi Orenstein, MPH, CHPHY Program Director, SEHN
https://www.sehn.org/sehn/2023/4/24/april-2023-networker-a-fracked-nation
April 24, 2023 Feature by Sandra Steingraber, SEHN senior scientist
“The RePercussion Section: A Short History of Fracking”
https://www.sehn.org/sehn/2023/4/20/the-repercussion-section-a-short-history-of-fracking
April 24, 2023 Orenstein has conversation with Ranjana Bhandari, Founder and Ex. Director. Of Liveable Arlington
“The Moral Urgency of Stopping this Intergenerational Theft”
https://www.sehn.org/sehn/2023/4/20/the-moral-urgency-of-stopping-this-intergenerational-theft
RESEARCH/ REPORTS/ RESOURCES
Available online on Grist:
April 21, 2023 Article by Kate Yoder, Staff writer
“A common talking point about climate change gets it all wrong, new study says”
https://grist.org/language/climate-talking-point-wrong-psychological-distance-study/
Available from American Rivers https://www.americanrivers.org
“America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2023”
#2 Ohio River: https://mostendangeredrivers.org/river/ohio-river/
Available on Union of Concerned Scientists:
April 24, 2023 Article by John Rogers, Energy Campaign Analytic Lead
“Renewables Have Pulled Ahead of Coal. What’s Next?”
Research Available from American Lung Association:
2023 State of the Air
https://www.lung.org/research/sota
Available from Co2.Earth:
See Earth’s CO2 Home Page:
https://www.co2.earth/earths-co2-main-page
Measurements from Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (NOAA): 421.00ppm in March 2023; 418.81ppm March 2022
April 13, 2023 CSAS / GISS Global Warming Update
https://www.co2.earth/global-warming-update
Available online on World Meteorological Organization (WMO):
April 21, 2023 Press release by WMO
“WMO annual report highlights continuous advance of climate change”
https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/wmo-annual-report-highlights-continuous-advance-of-climate-change
April 19, 2023 Press release by WMO
“New study shows Earth energy imbalance”
https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/new-study-shows-earth-energy-imbalance
April 13, 2023 Press release by WMO
“It was the second joint warmest March on record”
https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/it-was-second-joint-warmest-march-record
RECOMMENDED BY PERRY BRYANT:
Available from Rewire America https://www.rewiringamerica.org
See a great calculator on what you can save in IRA tax credits and rebates.
“YOUR SAVINGS CALCULATOR: How much money can you get with the Inflation Reduction Act?”
https://www.rewiringamerica.org/app/ira-calculator
Available from Appalachian Solar Finance Fund Supported by Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER Initiative. https://solarfinancefund.org and https://appvoices.org/new-economy/appalachian-solar-finance-fund/
The Solar Finance Fund (SSF) provides grants and technical assistance to unlock the economic development potential of otherwise viable solar projects that face barriers unique to Central Appalachia. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, public entities and local businesses that serve as community anchors.
Contact Autumn Long at autumn.long@appvoices.org
Available from Yale Climate Connections:
April 28, 2023 Article about new tool available from American Forests. Text with links and Audio by YCC team
“This tool helps communities identify areas lacking trees – and advocate for more” (available from American Forests)
April 28, 2023 Article by Michael Svoboda
“A grove of tree books for Arbor Day”
April 19, 2023 Article by Samantha Harrington
“’In every breath we take’: How climate change impacts pollen allergies”
April 18, 2023 Article by Donald Wright
“In ‘No Miracles Needed,’ the technical solutions to climate change are clear. The political ones? Not so much”
April 14, 2023 Article by Dana Nuccitelli
“Drastic climate action is the best course for economic growth, new study finds”
April 12, 2023 Article by Daisy Simmons
“Where to find training, fellowships, and classes on climate journalism”
Last Updated: May 31, 2023 by main_y0ke11
EPA works with industry, not ‘overreaching’
(Opinion)Charleston Gazette-Mail
窗体顶端
窗体底端
Republicans in West Virginia are absolutely obsessed with claiming that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is “overreaching” in its regulation of industry, especially fossil fuels and derivative industries. Hoppy Kercheval just made the claim again in an op-ed in the Gazette-Mail, continuing this tired refrain. It’s nonsense.
First of all, state regulators have a tremendous amount of authority that the federal EPA lacks. In West Virginia, we have the Department of Environmental Protection, a misnomer due to regulatory capture. When industry isn’t permitted to just “regulate” itself, it’s often charged fines so miniscule that it considers them the cost of doing business.
Secondly, the EPA, more often than not, reaches what are called consent decrees with the industries it oversees. This is a negotiated settlement entered as a court order to make sure it is enforceable. It is almost unheard of that the EPA would issue what is referred to as a unilateral administrative order to require parties to take a response action.
Last Updated: April 29, 2023 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: What’s food got to do with climate change?
Apr 29, 2023
Linda Eve Seth
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
Cutting food waste is a delicious way of saving money, helping to feed the world and protecting the planet. — Tristram Stuart
***
What we eat, and how that food is produced, affects our health, of course, but also the health of the environment.
Food needs to be grown, processed, transported, distributed, prepared, consumed, and often disposed of. Each of these steps creates greenhouse gases (GHG) that trap the sun’s heat and contribute to climate change.
We waste 1 billion tons of food every year. That’s a disaster for the planet. About a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is linked to food. Reducing food waste is one of the most accessible, impactful climate solutions.
For many people in the world, food waste has become a habit: buying more food than we need at markets, letting fruits and vegetables spoil at home or taking/ordering larger portions than we can eat. Habits like those put extra strain on our natural resources and damage our environment. When we waste food, we waste the labor, effort, investment and precious resources (water, seeds, feed, etc.) that go into producing it, in addition to the resources that go into transporting and processing it. The result: wasting food increases GHG emissions and contributes to climate change.
Wasted food, no matter the cause, ultimately ends up in landfills, where it generates methane, an invisible, odorless gas with more than 80 times more warming power in the near-term than carbon dioxide, effectively helping accelerate climate change.
By some accounts, 20% of total GHG emissions annually is linked to food production. which means that agriculture contributes more than any other sector, including energy and transportation, to climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN estimates that if food waste were a country, its GHG emissions would be the third highest in the world! Another way to look at the issue: Most of us generate more planet-warming emissions from eating than we do from driving or flying.
Reducing food loss and waste presents a simple. accessible opportunity for immediate climate benefits while simultaneously improving the overall sustainability of our food systems — a necessary transformation to ensure better planetary and nutritional outcomes for current and future generations.
It’s up to each of us to change our habits to make not wasting food a way of life! In the U.S. and beyond, food is wasted along all parts of the supply chain. A variety of local strategies and tools can be used to tackle this issue, including preventing food waste, connecting wholesome excess food to those who need it, and composting food scraps. People often wonder what they as individuals can possibly do to aid the world in the fight against climate change. Here are some easy actions you can take to re-connect to food and help the planet:
Buy only what you need: Plan your meals. Make a shopping list and stick to it, and avoid impulse buys: waste less food, and save money!
Pick ugly fruit and vegetables: Oddly-shaped or bruised fruits and vegetables are often thrown away because they don’t meet arbitrary cosmetic standards. Don’t worry – they taste the same! Use mature fruit for smoothies, juices and desserts.
Understand food labelling: There’s a big difference between “best before” and “use-by” dates. Sometimes food is still safe to eat after the “best before” date, whereas it’s the “use-by” date that tells you when it is no longer safe to eat.
Start small: Take smaller portions at home or share large dishes at restaurants.
Love your leftovers: If you don’t eat everything you make, freeze it for later or use the leftovers as an ingredient in another meal. You also can use your leftovers and food scraps to start a compost pile; Then use that rich organic matter to fertilize your own vegetable garden.
Changing our habits regarding food production and consumption is one very simple, but important, thing each of us can do! Every citizen can be part of the solution to combat climate change through thoughtful food consumption and processing of food wastes.
Until next time, be kind to your Mother Earth.
Last Updated: May 31, 2023 by main_y0ke11
Public land being stollen
April 24 Columbus Dispatch
Letter to the Editor
Aaron Dunbar
I testified at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources April 10, voicing my opposition to the theft of Ohio’s state parks and public lands for oil and gas extraction.
The decision to allow fracking on our shared land, without the public’s consent, is unacceptable. These actions will destroy wildlife habitats, poison visitors to Ohio’s state parks, and strongly impact tourism to these beautiful green spaces.
Opinion:Fracking in Ohio’s state parks is a recipe for disaster
All this comes alongside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s most recent and starkest warning that we must immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the catastrophic heating of the planet.
The methane released by fracking in particular is a catalyst for rapid and intense heating, and its swift removal from our energy systems is necessary to keep heating below crucial tipping points — a far cry from the definition of methane as “green energy” as fraudulently pushed by House Bill 507.
Environmental organizations are currently taking legal action to prevent the desecration of our public lands. In the meantime, I urge Ohioans everywhere to speak out strongly against this this legislation.
More:Opinion: Politicians have put interests of oil, gas industries before Ohioans, parks
Where does it end if we let them get away with an act of theft from the public this shameless and brazen?
Aaron Dunbar, Lowell
Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner:‘The most wonderful time to be alive’
Apr 22, 2023
Jean Ambrose
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
Botanist and bestselling author Robin Wall Kimmerer was recently in Athens, lecturing on indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and what we can learn from plants and the natural world. As both a scientist and a registered member of the Potawatomie tribe, she has unique advice for us as we mark Earth Day today.
Straddling two worlds, Kimmerer learned that scientists might learn about the natural world, but in her tradition people learned from the natural world. Take mosses, for example. Mosses have stayed basically unchanged for more than 450,000 years, while more than 99% of all species have gone extinct. Such resilience is unmatched and Kimmerer wrote an entire book on what we can learn from mosses in a time many species are standing on the brink of extinction. Learning from moss is difficult for those who think of humanity as the dominant species, but the humility that allows us to be a student of the Earth rather than her conqueror permits us to observe, learn, and be changed.
Kimmerer had advice for what we can do:
* Raise a garden because of all you will learn.
* Raise children to love and learn from the Earth.
* Raise a ruckus.
The first Earth Day in 1970 didn’t happen through government action but was a spontaneous global movement prompted by seeing the first pictures of our beautiful planet against the black void of space.
The Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, the Environmental Protection Agency, the protection of endangered species, and much more was sparked by our visceral need to protect our fragile planet and was accomplished in a bipartisan manner under Richard Nixon. We who participated in that first Earth Day 50 years ago were sure that we would have solved the threats to the Earth by now.
Speaking for her generation, Alayna Garst, the sophomore Climate Ambassador at Williamstown High School writes “These past few years, we have watched as wildfires destroyed the beautiful landscapes of Australia and California, turning the sky orange and the hills into barren wastelands. 467 species have gone extinct and 14% of the world’s coral reefs have been killed in just the past ten years. The climate crisis can feel hopeless. So what if I use a plastic straw or buy fast fashion, when everything is literally on fire? Does it really make a difference if I carpool to work, when only 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions?
“Given the dire consequences of our past actions, we can waste our energy wishing we could prevent the Industrial Revolution from ever happening, or that we had started to act 30 or even 20 years ago. However, the best time to act is now because it’s all we have.
“Fear mongering and doomsday talk only hurt the movement to stop climate change. Polling from September 2020 showed that more than half of adults in the U.S. were anxious about how climate change affects their mental health. And nearly 40% of surveyed Gen Z Americans, born after 1996, said addressing climate change is their top personal concern. While this anxiety can lead to action, all too often it leads to paralysis in the face of something we perceive to be too far gone or outside of our control. It is important to maintain a positive, healthy mindset and realize the battle is not over. There is still time and that time is now.”
Alayna isn’t giving up and neither can we. This Earth Day, make it a point to talk to a young person about their relationship to the natural world. You may be surprised at their answers, like Dr. Kimmerer was, when a graduating student of hers told her not to despair because “This is the most wonderful time to be alive.” When asked how she could believe that, the student said, “It’s like the old Wiley Coyote cartoons where Wiley is standing on a teeter totter over a precipice. It matters where I stand. Every choice I make matters, everything I do matters.”
On this Earth Day, get outside. And remember, everything you do makes a difference to our Earth, our common home.
***
Jean Ambrose is trying not to be a criminal ancestor.
Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: West Virginia Public Service Commission must say no
Apr 15, 2023
Eric Engle
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
First Energy West Virginia subsidiaries MonPower and PotomacEdison want their ratepayers to pay $36 million between June of this year and May 2024 to place the Pleasants Power Station in a state of “warm storage” (aka not generating energy), energy that is generated for Ohio customers even when operational, while First Energy decides whether or not to purchase the plant and keep it running over the long-term. This is a terrible idea that the West Virginia Public Service Commission should not allow.
A writer in last week’s edition of the Parkersburg News and Sentinel who is a plant employee argued that warm storage is a responsible option for coal plants instead of permanently shutting them down because coal’s baseload power is needed when power demands can’t be met by other sources. The writer mentioned the power demands placed on grids last Christmas when an Arctic blast of cold weather hit the nation and that coal plants were fired back up across Europe to meet energy demands recently when Russian natural gas became more scarce with Putin’s war in Ukraine. Those arguments are fallacious.
According to a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) from March, “more than 100,000 megawatts of coal-and-gas-fired generation failed to start or were forced offline during the Arctic blast that hit the central and eastern U.S. just before Christmas.” Dennis Wamsted, IEEFA energy analyst and author of the report, Fossil Fuels Fail Reliability Test, stated in a media release that “Coal-and-gas-fired resources’ performance in December show how unreliable they can be exactly when they are needed most. The increasingly troublesome record of performance needs to be accounted for in utility transmission system planning efforts.”
In Europe, energy for heating was the biggest challenge as the onslaught of Russian aggression in Ukraine led the Putin regime to cut off some of Europe’s gas supplies. This is a challenge Europe is now beginning to meet with heat pumps and energy efficiency and the deployment of more renewables. The electric heat pump market in Europe has exploded since 2021. The International Energy Agency has found that coal use in Europe is expected to decline below 2020 levels by 2025, at the latest.
Last week’s writer also mentioned intermittency issues with renewables like solar and wind. That’s where battery storage, grid management, and energy efficiency come in. Even West Virginia’s Republican supermajority in the state legislature and coal baron governor can see the importance of battery technology, as evidenced by the efforts and expenditures made to bring Form Energy’s iron-air, long-lasting battery manufacturing facility to Weirton. Investments in such technologies are booming in West Virginia, thanks to the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and especially the Inflation Reduction Act. And renewables are already coming in cheaper than coal. A study released in January by Energy Innovation Policy and Technology, LLC, found that every coal plant in operation in West Virginia could be replaced with wind and solar at a lower cost. In the case of the Pleasants Power Station, the study found regional wind energy could replace its generation at a cost that is $10.37 lower per megawatt-hour for customers.
It’s often pointed out that the Pleasants Power Station employs more than 154 people. As a longtime union steward, I want to see jobs and livelihoods protected, but in this case that is the responsibility of First Energy and the state and federal governments. Why can’t First Energy help these employees make the transition and why did the state legislature pass a resolution saying the sale of Pleasants from First Energy’s Ohio subsidiary, Energy Harbor, to its West Virginia subsidiaries go through on the backs of ratepayers instead of focusing on protecting theses workers’ futures? When this same sale failed to go through in 2017, the state legislature’s only response was a $12.5 million a year tax break on the backs of West Virginia taxpayers to delay the inevitable. Why wasn’t the focus on the workers and local communities’ long-term interests then?
Another important question is why the environment and public health always take a backseat ride in these discussions. According to the U.S. EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory, the Pleasants Power Station released 2.4 million tons of toxic chemicals in 2021, mostly through ground contamination. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data, there is now 50% more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than in preindustrial times and an enormous proportion of that is attributable directly to coal use. We cannot dismiss the settled science of anthropogenic (human-caused) global climate change and the threats it poses or the extremely dire negative effects of coal on our air, water, soil and health. First Energy wants us to bear the costs of cleaning up those effects as ratepayers and taxpayers instead of their shareholders shouldering the responsibility.
On April 25, the West Virginia Public Service Commission must say no to another dirty deal that threatens our energy finances, health, and the very habitability of our only home in the cosmos.
***
Eric Engle is chairman of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.
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