Posted: December 6, 2025 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Time to pass Ohio River Basin Restoration Act

Dec 6, 2025

Charlise Robinson

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

For generations, the Ohio River has been the pulse of our region. It powers our economy, supplies drinking water to millions, supports thriving communities, and defines who we are. Yet despite its immense, the Ohio River Basin has long lacked dedicated federal investment these great American waters deserve. Congress now has a historic opportunity to change that by passing the Ohio River Basin Restoration Act (H.R. 5966).

This bill takes the right approach. It creates a dedicated, EPA-led Ohio River Restoration Program, modeled after successful initiatives like those in the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. A coordinated federal program can provide the scale, funding, and long-term commitment that protect communities while strengthening ecosystems. The need for restoration in the Ohio River basin is not just an environmental issue; it’s an economic one. Healthier waterways attract businesses, boost outdoor recreation, expand tourism, and support good jobs.

We must contact our state representatives today to ask them to support H.R. 5966. The Ohio River has carried out the weight of our region’s history; it should not have to shoulder the burden of neglect any longer. More than 25 million people depend on the waters of the Ohio River Basin. This is a call to action, asking Congress to pass H.R.5966 without delay. Our communities deserve a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient Ohio River Basin, and this bill is our best chance to make it happen.

***

Charlise Robinson is Ohio River Coordinator, WV Rivers.

Posted: November 29, 2025 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: West Virginia residents deserve answers

Nov 29, 2025

Randi Pokladnik

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

Residents of West Virginia are seeking answers to their questions about proposed data centers/ power plants in their communities. These include a 500-acre data center in Tucker County, the 150-acre ammonia plant and 200,000-square-foot data center which are part of the Adams Fork Energy project on the Logan-Mingo county line, and the Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) project in Mason County. The center proposed in Mason County will “include a power plant, hydrogen production facility, carbon dioxide storage facility, and data center complex.”

There are no federal regulations concerning data centers. However, “in April, Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed House Bill 2014, a law designed to ease in-state data center development in part by prohibiting counties and municipalities from enforcing or adopting regulations that limit creation, development, or operation of any certified microgrid district or high-impact data center project.” Morrisey hailed HB 2014 as the economic development highlight of the West Virginia Legislature’s 2025 regular legislative session.

Unlike politicians, citizens in the state are not convinced that these centers will bring significant economic prosperity to the region. There has been a sharp increase nationally in communities’ resistance to host a data center. Data Center Watch, a company that tracks data center opposition, found from May 2024 to March 2025, local opposition had blocked or delayed a total of $64 billion in data center projects, with six blocked entirely and 10 delayed. From March to June of 2025, $98 billion worth of projects were blocked or delayed. There were over 1,600 citizen comments and most were against the gas turbine-powered data center operation in Tucker County.

Citizens are worried about several issues when it comes to data centers: increases in energy costs, increases in water usage, exposure to toxic substances, and loss of jobs due to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some projections show that data center energy consumption could double or triple by 2028, accounting for up to 12% of U.S. electricity use. About 56 percent of the electricity used to power data centers is sourced from fossil fuels, and for our region, that will mean more fracking for methane gas. Significant amounts of water are needed for cooling purposes. “A study by the International Energy Agency estimates for illustration that a 100-megawatt U.S. data center would consume roughly the same amount of water as 2,600 households.” Additionally, these data centers also use large quantities of PFAS-gas or f-gas chemicals in the cooling phase and in manufacturing some semiconductors. These compounds have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease, and a range of other serious health problems. Finally, citizens fear job losses as AI takes over many entry level positions. “Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a May Axios interview that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level, white-collar jobs within the next five years.”

President Trump is considering an executive order directing the Justice Department to override local regulations and state control of data centers and AI.

The project in Mason County is a “Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage,” and will span 2300 acres when completed and will be powered by burning wood chips. The air permit states 106 tons of wood chips per hour will be combusted. The first question that might come to mind is what trees will be cleared to supply 106 tons per hour? Possibly from the Wayne National Forest which is located just across the river in Ohio.

The air permit for Mason County, which has already been submitted to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, shows the levels of hazardous air pollutants will be 24 tons per year. This plant, as well as the Mingo County facility, will be employing carbon dioxide capturing technology. According to a review of the permit for the Mason County plant, “The carbon capture unit has the potential to emit VOC and volatile organic hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) from the carbon capture unit. These HAPs emissions are in the form of nitrosamines, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde.” These compounds are classified as probable human carcinogens.

Carbon capture and sequestration is a relatively new technology used to sequester carbon dioxide emissions. The carbon dioxide will be collected via an absorption process, compressed, and then injected into Class VI injection wells. Since these wells will be off-site, pipelines will be used to transport the supercritical fluid from the Mason site to the wells.

Currently, the United State Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for permitting Class VI wells. However, West Virginia is one of a few states that has applied for and received primacy to regulate Class VI wells at the state level. Part of the application process requires documented proof that public participation activities were solicited prior to submission of the permit application.

Carbon dioxide, a known asphyxiant, is a dense gas and considered to be hazardous by the OSHA Hazard Communications Standard (29 CFR). It is physiologically active, and affects circulation and breathing. It can accumulate in topographically low areas under conditions of low wind and can travel large distances when released from a ruptured pipeline. It is injected at 1000 psi and can expand to 500 times its volume when exposed to atmospheric pressures. This was evidenced in the pipeline rupture in Satartia, Miss., which sent 45 people to the hospital. How will the mostly volunteer fire departments in West Virginia be able to handle a pipeline break or a leaking Class VI well?

Once again, the communities of West Virginia are being targeted by big out-of-state industries that will make money at the expense of the environment and citizens’ health. Sadly, as usual, the state politicians are welcoming data centers and new power plants which means more extraction and water usage with a promise of questionable local jobs.

***

Randi Pokladnik, Ph.D., of Uhrichsville, is a retired research chemist who volunteers with Mid Ohio Valley Climate Action. She has a doctorate degree in environmental studies and is certified in hazardous materials regulations.

 

Posted: November 22, 2025 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Bird migration about more than just the seasons

Nov 22, 2025

Dawn Hewitt

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

Just about every morning, I walk my dogs past Oak Grove Cemetery in Marietta. By far the most numerous birds I encounter are vultures, both turkey and black. It is not unusual for me to see more than 100 vultures warming themselves in the morning sun on their favorite trees. I appreciate these neighbors of mine, and am grateful for the important work they do cleaning up wildlife fatalities. Turkey vultures, the adults of which have featherless red heads, are more numerous by far. They have been residents of this region for as long as bird record-keeping has existed. Black vultures, with featherless black heads, are relative newcomers. That species is most abundant in Central and South America, but they historically have been denizens of southern states, from eastern Texas through Florida.

Since 1990 or so, however, black vultures have been undergoing a northward range expansion. I’ve witnessed this. Thirty years ago, black vultures were a rare and exciting find anywhere in the Midwest. Each year, they inched northward. I’ve been birding the vicinity of Marietta’s Oak Grove Cemetery for more than a decade, and I’ve seen the number of black vultures increase each year, from an occasional few to a reliable dozen or more. In 2002, they were found to be nesting in Connecticut for the first time; by 2020, they began nesting in Vermont. Black vultures weren’t found on the Parkersburg Christmas Bird Count until 2017, when two were reported, but since 2020, they’ve been found every year. Last year Parkersburg CBC birders found 35. I counted 40 in Oak Grove Cemetery a few weeks ago, and 20 on Nov. 13, just after the wintry spell.

Birds are incredibly adaptable. It is normal for birds to change their breeding and wintering locales as population numbers expand and contract, habitat changes (both favorably and unfavorably), disease spreads, etc. In recent decades, however, range expansion for many bird species has trended northward. Researchers say climate change is a factor, and not just for black vultures. Carolina chickadees–the species resident in the Mid-Ohio Valley–are expanding their range northward, too, at a rate of 0.7 miles per year, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Black-bellied whistling ducks are year-round residents of the coastal Southeast and in the summer, historically found only as far north as the Lower Mississippi Valley. They were a rarity in Ohio, but since 2020 have been reported with increasing frequency here. Four were spotted in Wood County, West Virginia, in June 2024, a first for the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Why are historically southern bird species moving north? Because warmer temperatures mean that regions farther north are now suitable habitat. In the case of black vultures recently showing up on the Parkersburg Christmas Bird Count, later winters encourage them to stay close to their breeding range, delaying their winter vacation.

Similarly, ruby-throated hummingbirds historically winter in southern Mexico and Central America, with a few holdovers in southern and central Florida. But for the past two decades, ruby-throats have overwintered in Georgia, the Carolinas, and even Virginia. Even more startling, Anna’s hummingbird, which historically was a year-round resident of Southern California and northwestern Mexico, now nests and overwinters in southern Alaska!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency used Christmas Bird Count data to study winter distribution changes of 305 widespread North American bird species, and found that the average mid-December to early January center of abundance moved northward by more than 40 miles between 1966 and 2013. Of the 305 species studied, 48 moved northward by more than 200 miles.

Such bird-nerdy information is exciting to serious birders like me, but it’s not good news. Warmer, earlier springs — which most of us hope for — pose problems for insect-dependent birds that winter in Central and South America but breed in North America, such as warblers and vireos. In response to early warm weather, trees leaf out earlier, so insects emerge earlier, but many northbound species time their journey based on increasing day length. They have no way of knowing that the insect emergence that fuels their journeys has peaked earlier than it has historically. Still, since 1990, migratory bird species have been arriving in North America each spring about two days earlier per decade, researchers have determined.

According to bird guru Kenn Kaufman, “Climate change is already underway, and speeding up. It will shake up bird distributions in major ways. … [C]onservationists will have to pay even more attention to all birds across all landscapes, to be alert to what we can do to help species survive.”

It’s an exciting time to be a birder. Unfortunately, excitement is not always a good thing. By the way, Mountwood Bird Club’s Christmas Bird Count, in and around Parkersburg, will be on Dec. 20. To participate, contact Jason White at whitej4427@yahoo.com.

***

Dawn Hewitt, of Marietta, is managing editor for BWD Magazine, and a co-author of Bird Watching for Dummies, second edition.

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Gratitude, truth and a warming world Reclaiming the real story of Thanksgiving – and what it teaches us about living in balance with the Earth

Nov 15, 2025

Jean Ambrose

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

This time of year brings with it one of America’s most enduring stories — one we tell ourselves to feel better. The story of the “First Thanksgiving,” as many of us learned in school, is false in nearly every detail. The myth tells of colonists and Native Americans meeting peacefully to share a meal. The truth is far more complex — and far more painful.

Oral histories place the Wampanoag and other Native nations of the northeastern coast in their homelands for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence confirms that the Wampanoag have lived in the region for at least 12,000 years. Imagine belonging to a place so deeply that the land, the water, and the air are part of who you are. Native peoples have long understood themselves not as conquerors of nature but as part of it, living in balance with the world around them.

Giving thanks has always been a central practice among Indigenous peoples. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) open gatherings with the Thanksgiving Address — Greetings to the Natural World, a message of gratitude that honors all parts of life. It begins, “Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things.”

For thousands of years before the English arrived, the Wampanoag held harvest ceremonies expressing gratitude to the Creator and the land. Their thanksgivings were daily, seasonal, and deeply tied to the rhythms of the earth. Indigenous agricultural practices — such as planting corn, beans, and squash together, known as “the Three Sisters” — reflected a philosophy of interdependence among all living things.

European exploration began as early as 1000 AD but intensified in the 1500s and 1600s with explorers like Verrazzano, Champlain, and John Smith. Traders, fishermen, and slavers soon followed. Native people were kidnapped and taken to Europe — sometimes as curiosities, sometimes as slaves. Some who returned warned their communities of European intentions. In 1607, the Abenaki tribe successfully boycotted the short-lived English colony at Popham, Maine, leading to its collapse.

By 1616, epidemics brought by traders had swept through Native communities along the coast. Nearly three-quarters of the Wampanoag population perished. When English settlers landed on Wampanoag territory in 1620, they established Plymouth Colony on the empty village of Patuxet — a place abandoned after disease had killed nearly everyone. The Wampanoag leader Ousamequin (known to the English as Massasoit), facing enormous loss, sought an alliance with the newcomers. A treaty of mutual protection was signed. The Wampanoag shared their planting, hunting and fishing knowledge.

The following year, the colonists held a three-day first harvest celebration. Part of the festivities included shooting guns into the air. When the Wampanoag heard the gunfire, they thought their allies might be under attack. Ousamequin led ninety men to Plymouth to investigate — not because they had been invited, as the national myth suggests. Once there, the Wampanoag gifted five deer to the colonists and joined in the feasting.

In the years that followed, thousands of settlers arrived. English colonies expanded rapidly, using deeds and legal documents to claim land that Indigenous peoples had inhabited and stewarded for millennia. Settlements destroyed forests, blocked access to hunting and fishing grounds, and disrupted traditional food gathering. Within fifty years, the fragile peace was gone, and the Wampanoag — once the region’s powerful protectors — were no longer a free people.

Without the help of the Native nations they encountered, the Pilgrims would not have survived their first years. Yet the alliance soon gave way to centuries of violence, displacement, and genocide. For many Native Americans today, Thanksgiving is not a celebration — it is a National Day of Mourning.

One Wampanoag descendant reflected: “Even before the Pilgrims landed, explorers captured Indians and sold them as slaves for 220 shillings apiece. The Pilgrims had hardly explored Cape Cod before they robbed the graves of my ancestors and stole their corn and beans.

Massasoit, our great sachem, knew these facts, yet he and his people welcomed and befriended the settlers. Perhaps he did this because his tribe had been depleted by disease, or perhaps he knew the harsh winter ahead. But that act of friendship was our biggest mistake. We, the Wampanoag, welcomed you — not knowing it was the beginning of the end.”

The true story of Thanksgiving reminds us how much we have to learn from Indigenous values of reciprocity, gratitude, and care for the Earth. Those teachings are more urgent now than ever.

We are living through another kind of crisis — not of colonization alone, but of domination over the natural world. Climate change, driven by centuries of extraction and exploitation, now threatens the same balance Indigenous peoples have long sought to preserve. Rising seas, droughts, storms, and wildfires are reshaping the Earth. The climate crisis continues the same worldview that saw the Earth as something to own rather than something to belong to.

Indigenous wisdom offers a different path — one rooted in respect, humility, and reciprocity. The lessons that sustained the Wampanoag for millennia — gratitude for what the Earth provides, and the understanding that every gift demands responsibility — are precisely the values we need to heal our relationship with the planet.

As we gather around our tables this Thanksgiving, perhaps we can tell a truer story — one that honors both gratitude and grief, and our shared duty to live, as the Thanksgiving Address reminds us, “in balance and harmony with each other and all living things.”

***

Jean Ambrose is grateful to be able to share her voice.

 

Posted: November 8, 2025 by main_y0ke11

MOVCA To Present Wendell Berry Documentary November 17

AWTT Portrait Exhibition at South Library Closes

PARKERSBURG, West Virginia – Marking the November 17th closing of the Americans Who Tell the Truth exhibition at South Parkersburg Library,  Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action will present a program centered on the work of esteemed American poet, writer and environmental activist Wendell Berry. Berry’s portrait, painted by artist Robert Shetterly, is one of the ten “truth tellers” portraits displayed in the exhibit.

 

The closing event, scheduled for  5:00 – 7:30pm on Monday, November 17 will feature a screening of “Look and See,” a documentary looking at life in America through Wendell Berry’s mind’s eye. The program and film are open to the public free of charge.

 

Made possible through a generous grant from the Direct Support Fund, the AWTT exhibition at the South Parkersburg Library continues through closing events on November 17th.

“We have been so moved by these stunning portraits,” said Adeline Bailey, MOVCA member.  “They invite you to learn more about the work and activism of these people who have acted to confront injustice and advocate for change. They welcome you into a conversation, across time and space, about what it means to be an American.”

The exhibit is open to to all during the library’s regular hours of operation:  Monday 10am-8pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday10am-5pm, Saturday10am-3pm. The South Parkersburg Library is located at 1807 Blizzard Drive.

######

 

Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action focuses on raising awareness of the solid science establishing

the danger of the climate crisis and the urgency of dealing with it. Now a 501(c)(3) organization,

the not-for-profit volunteer group also collaborates with other environmental groups on

campaigns and events in the Mid-Ohio Valley. For more information, visit the organization’s web page (http://main.movclimateaction.org).

 

The Direct Support Fund is made possible by Cloud Mountain Foundation, The Plastic Solutions Fund, The Heinz Endowments and the 11th Hour project and is a project of the Mountain Watershed Association. For more information or to apply please visit

www.mtwatershed.com.

 

For more information about Americans Who Tell the Truth, visit their website:

americanswhotellthetruth.org

 

 

Posted: November 8, 2025 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Earth’s Greatest Enemy

Nov 8, 2025

Aaron Dunbar

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

For two months now, the Trump Administration has been rounding out its formidable resume of crimes against humanity by carrying out a series of extrajudicial killings against what it claims to be Venezuelan drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea. For all the scant evidence it’s provided as to the veracity of these claims, it appears every bit as likely that at least some of those vessels targeted have in fact been civilian fishing boats – though to be clear, this would still be a series of brazen war crimes in either case.

Whatever the thinly veiled pretense for our saber-rattling with Venezuela, the true cause of our longstanding hostilities couldn’t be more obvious. America’s ruling class would love nothing more than to get its cloven hooves on Venezuela’s 300 billion barrels of oil, the largest proven oil reserves in the world, with an estimated value well into the tens of trillions of dollars.

The deranged and deliberately obfuscated confluence of American militarism, capital, and environmental annihilation of the sort fully on display in these attacks is precisely the subject of the latest feature length documentary from journalist Abby Martin, “Earth’s Greatest Enemy.”

Martin, working alongside her husband and producer Mike Prysner, an Iraq War veteran turned critic of the U.S. military, hosts the independent web series The Empire Files, which sets out to expose the destructive machinations of American imperialism. It was the birth of their two children that compelled Martin and Prysner to begin interrogating the military’s outsized role in fueling the destruction of our planet – our military is the single largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases in the world – and it’s through this lens that the film sets out to explore the tentacular reach of American empire and its global destruction of the biosphere.

I want to be upfront about the fact that I am in no way qualified to offer an impartial review of this film. From its first trailer, expressing the intent to expose the “monster” at the “center of the struggle to save the planet,” I knew that this was a project I wanted to support. After reaching out to Abby and Mike about making a donation to the film’s crowdfunding campaign, I was brought onboard to create an animated segment that plays during the film’s closing credits, depicting the tentacled beast of the American military machine as it ravages the planet.

Having played this small role in the film’s production, I had the wonderful privilege of attending the Los Angeles premiere of “Earth’s Greatest Enemy” back in October. My obvious biases notwithstanding, I cannot recommend this documentary highly enough to anyone who cares about the future of life on our planet – which should, of course, include everyone.

This sprawling film covers a broad range of topics, from the environmental devastation of our more than 750 military bases worldwide, to the toxic health effects of our reckless foreign invasions in places like Iraq and Vietnam. But among the film’s most shocking achievements is revealing the seemingly utter obliviousness of those most responsible for the desecration of our planet.

There’s one scene from the film in which Martin confronts former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the COP26 climate conference in 2021.

“Speaker Pelosi, you just presided over a large increase in the Pentagon budget- this Pentagon budget is already massive. The Pentagon is a larger polluter than 140 countries combined. How can we seriously talk about net zero, if there is this bipartisan consensus to constantly expand this large contributor to climate change, which is exempt from these conferences?”

“National security advisors all tell us that the climate crisis is a national security matter,” Pelosi weakly responds. “It is a national security issue because of all of the conditions that the climate crisis produces… They are cause for migration, conflict over habitat and resources, and again a security challenge globally…”

The circuitous logic on display here is insane. The Pentagon openly admits that climate change is a national security threat, yet despite being the number one contributor to that very problem, it somehow justifies its neverending, cancerous expansion by presenting itself as a necessary key to solving it. This is akin to a firefighter attempting to hose down a burning building from a hydrant filled with gasoline, and offers a chilling glimpse at how our ruling class intends to address the mass displacement and human suffering of the impending crisis almost exclusively through the use of force.

On the afternoon of the film’s L.A. premiere, I decided to embark on a three hour whale watching tour I’d discovered in Long Beach the previous day. This proved to be one of the most unforgettable experiences of my trip, as while I unfortunately didn’t catch a glimpse of any whales, what I did get to see in spades were dolphins– hundreds and hundreds of them.

I found myself moved to tears by these swarms of gorgeous creatures as they leapt playfully through the water, some of them nursing mothers with calves by their sides, their high pitched vocalizations clearly audible as they swam around on all sides of our boat. The indescribable experience of finding myself at the center of this beautiful natural wonder filled me with an intense clarity of purpose, reminding me that this is what we’re fighting for when we’re fighting for the Earth.

Later that evening, I would watch in horrified awe from the front of the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Theater as Abby Martin discussed incidental marine mammal takes on the big screen- these being the permissible number of marine mammals that are allowed to be injured or killed through military activities, especially the lethal sonar and training exercises of the U.S. Navy. The numbers shown onscreen for this struck me as astronomical, and when I briefly spoke with Abby after the film about how this specific segment had impacted me given my experience earlier that day, she revealed that they’d actually cut an even more shocking piece of information from this part of the film, believing it was too mind-boggling to be explained concisely to audiences.

Essentially, (assuming my interpretation of her words was accurate,) because the Navy’s dolphin takes are calculated by the number of permissibly impacted animals per pod, the total number of dolphins they’re allowed to kill technically exceeds the entire global dolphin population.

Just as the fossil fuel industry calculates its future profits based on reserves that it fully knows it cannot possibly harness without pushing Earth beyond its climatic breaking point, and just as our military possesses enough nuclear bombs to proverbially destroy the world a hundred times over, there is no way that these systems of mass death can continue operating unchecked, gorging themselves on hypothetical excesses of destruction that will prove lethal to all living beings should they ever have the chance to be fully realized.

The ultimate goal of Earth’s Greatest Enemy is to unify and galvanize the climate and antiwar movements against the relentless forward march of this omnicidal machinery. It should be our greatest moral imperative to ensure that this goal is met.

The film will be having its Ohio premiere at Cincinnati World Cinema on December 4th, with additional Midwest dates being added early next year. More information can be found at earthsgreatestenemy.com. Please do not miss this absolute must-see of a film!

***

Aaron Dunbar is a member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.

Posted: November 1, 2025 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: The promise of heat batteries for cleaner air

Nov 1, 2025

Jonathan Brier

climatecorner@brierjon.com

The Mid-Ohio Valley stands at a pivotal moment in its industrial history, if its businesses choose to lead and remain competitive. For decades, the region’s industrial and commercial activities have been reliant on energy sources that contribute to air pollution and environmental concerns. However, a new wave of sustainable energy storage technologies offers a transformative path forward: Rondo’s Heat Battery (https://www.rondo.com/how-it-works) and Polar Night Energy’s Sand Battery (https://polarnightenergy.com/sand-battery/) are two such companies currently operating at scale. A 100-megawatt-hour Rondo ​”heat battery,” is located at a Holmes Western Oil Corp in California and a Polar Night Energy Sand Battery is deployed in Finland for district heating. These innovative solutions could dramatically alter the energy landscape of industrial activity, significantly improving pollution levels and reducing the environmental footprint in the MOV.

Industrial processes, particularly those involving high-temperature heat, are major consumers of fossil fuels. Furnaces, kilns, and other thermal operations generate substantial greenhouse gas emissions and particulate matter, directly impacting local air quality and contributing to climate change. The Heat Batteries present a compelling alternative by providing cost-effective and clean thermal energy storage.

Energy storage from home up to industry is also how we avoid raising electric rates unnecessarily by lowering peak electricity demand and avoiding the costs of building new infrastructure and power plants for serving peak demand. Rondo’s Heat Battery is designed to convert electricity into high-temperature heat (over 1000°C) that can be stored in refractory materials and Polar Night Energy’s Sand Battery (up to 400°C) for extended periods.

This stored heat can then be discharged on demand to power industrial processes, effectively decarbonizing operations that currently depend on burning natural gas or other fossil fuels. Imagine a facility you pass on Route 7, currently using gas-fired boilers, switching to a Heat Battery. During off-peak hours or periods of high renewable energy availability, the battery charges, storing heat for industrial use. When the plant needs heat, it draws from this stored energy. This transition would directly translate to a significant reduction in localized air pollutants like NOx, SOx, and particulate matter, leading to cleaner air for communities throughout the MOV. The ability to store massive amounts of heat makes it ideal for balancing grid fluctuations and ensuring a steady supply of clean thermal energy, even when renewable generation is low.

The environmental benefits of integrating these technologies into the MOV’s industrial fabric are multifaceted. Firstly, a direct reduction in air pollution is an immediate win. Fewer emissions from industrial stacks would mean fewer respiratory illnesses, improved visibility, and a healthier environment for residents. Secondly, the shift away from fossil fuels would contribute to a significant decrease in the region’s carbon footprint, aligning with global efforts to combat climate change. Thirdly, by leveraging renewable energy sources, these battery systems promote energy independence and reduce the economic volatility associated with fluctuating fossil fuel prices. This stability can attract new, environmentally conscious industries to the region, fostering sustainable economic growth.

The adoption of Heat Batteries in the MOV would not only modernize industrial energy infrastructure but also demonstrate a commitment to environmental stewardship and the communities health. By embracing these innovative thermal energy storage solutions, the MOV has the opportunity to transform its industrial landscape into a cleaner, more sustainable, and economically resilient region for generations to come. The future of industrial activity in the valley should be powered not by combustion, but electricity.

***

Jonathan Brier is a Marietta, Ohio, resident, Information Scientist, Data Librarian, and an Eagle Scout. If you can reach him via https://brierjon.com or email: climatecorner@brierjon.com.

 

Last Updated: November 1, 2025 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Life is sweeter with chocolate

Oct 25, 2025

Linda Eve Seth

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

As long as there is chocolate, there will be happiness. – Wayne Gerard Trotman

Over the past several years I have written here about the impact of climate change on many of our favorite commodities and critters: coffee, apples, tequila, polar bears, birds, insects, wildflowers. My concern isn’t just about saving coffee, apples, etc. – it’s about preserving the planet’s capacity to sustain life as we know it.

People around the world love chocolate. But like so many of the foods people love and consume on a regular basis, chocolate is threatened by climate change. Climate change is significantly impacting chocolate production due to its effects on cacao crops. Rising temperatures and altered rainfall patterns, including both droughts and excessive rainfall, are stressing cacao trees, leading to reduced yields and lower quality beans, which in turn drives up chocolate prices.

Chocolate is made from cocoa, which are the dried and fermented seeds from the cacao tree. Cacao is the name of both the seed that is used to make chocolate and the plant that bears it. The trees are finicky and mostly grow in a narrow, humid 20-degree band to the north and south of the equator. This means nearly all cocoa beans come from a relatively small number of countries. Farmers in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and other countries in West Africa grow around 70% of the world’s cacao. Central and South America, where the cacao plant originates, is home to important growing regions in Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. It is also grown in Indonesia.

These places are all susceptible to the ravages of climate change. One study found that, while climate change’s impact is global, tropical equatorial regions with little yearly temperature variability will be hit the quickest and the hardest. Conditions in West Africa have changed dramatically due to extreme rainfall and spoiled crops during the dry season in 2023 and the drought in 2024. A report from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture predicted that cacao suitability in West Africa could start to critically decline as soon as 2030.

Scientists are still figuring out what that means for where commercial cacao trees will grow as temperatures rise. Cacao trees thrive in warm, but not excessively hot, conditions (up to 90°F). Climate change is bringing more extreme heat, pushing temperatures beyond the optimal range for cacao growth, negatively impacting yields and bean quality. Farmers in the region have struggled with heat, disease, and unusual rainfall in recent years, which have contributed to falling production.

Last year, the hottest year globally on record, they found global heating in West Africa drove temperatures above 89.6 degrees F – above levels considered optimum for cacao trees — on at least 42 days across two-thirds of the areas analyzed. Researchers point out that excessive heat can contribute to a reduction in the quantity and quality of the harvest.

But increasing heat is not the biggest climate challenge facing cacao growing regions; it’s the amount of water available. The most impacted regions are where the temperature rises without an increase in rainfall. A study published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that West African cacao farms would need to move higher in elevation toward protected mountainous forests to find a suitable growing climate with enough rainfall. It also found that 90% of cacao producing locations could be less suitable by 2050.

The global cocoa supply is projected to fall significantly, leading to reduced production, supply chain disruptions, and increased costs for consumers. Efforts are underway to replant and improve farming practices, but these efforts will take years to have a substantial impact.

Today’s research is exploring climate-resilient and biodiversity-friendly farming practices to mitigate the impacts of climate change on cocoa production. Some companies are also exploring alternative products that can replicate the taste and experience of chocolate without relying solely on cocoa.

While it’s not fully understood what the future holds, one thing is clear: The chocolate in our candy, cakes, and other confections, will face a series of climate-related challenges in the near future.

Imagine the kids’ dismay if their Halloween trick-or-treat baskets contain no Hershey’s kisses, no Mars bars, no Kit Kats, no almond bars, no Reese’s pieces …

Until next time, be kind to your Mother Earth.

***

Linda Eve Seth, SLP, M.Ed., is a mother, grandmother, concerned citizen and member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.

 

Posted: October 22, 2025 by main_y0ke11

For Immediate Release

October 20, 2025

Larry Gibson Portrait Featured in Art Exhibit Program October 25th

10 Portraits Displayed at S. Parkersburg Library through Nov. 17

 

PARKERSBURG, West Virginia – Maine artist Robert Shetterly has created more than 280 portraits of Americans who tell the truth. Each of these portraits recognizes a person who has made significant contributions to creating justice in life in America, people who Shetterly calls “Truth Tellers.

One of the “truth tellers” Shetterly painted is West Virginian Larry Gibson (1946 -2012)

Long known as ”Keeper of the Mountains,” Gibson spent much of his adult life opposing mining in his beloved West Virginia mountains. On October 25th, from 1pm – 2:30pm Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action and the South Parkersburg Library will present a program about Gibson’s work, including information about the destructive effects of mountaintop removal mining.

“ We hope visitors to the ‘Americans Who Tell the Truth’ exhibit will be interested in learning more about this West Virginian environmental hero,” said MOVCA member Adeline Bailey. “But every one of these portraits introduces a person who has worked for justice in our country, and we are planning to feature others in programs during the exhibition.”

Thanks to a Direct Support Fund grant, Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action is exhibiting 10 portraits from Shetterly’s Earth Justice Truth Tellers series at the South Parkersburg Library through November 17. The exhibit will be available for viewing free of charge during regular library hours. Included with each portrait is a carefully researched biography provided by Americans Who Tell the Truth (AWTT), the non-profit organization that makes arrangements for the artist’s traveling exhibitions. During the exhibition, the library staff will feature books and other media that are written by, or about the people portrayed.

South Parkersburg Library is located at 1807 Blizzard Drive. Regular hours of operation are as follows: Monday 10am-8pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday10am-5pm, Saturday10am-3pm.

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Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action focuses on raising awareness of the solid science establishing the danger of the climate crisis and the urgency of dealing with it. MOVCA supports the efforts of 350.org, and Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and is a Science Booster Club for the National Center for Science Education. Now a 501(c)(3) organization, the not-for-profit volunteer group also collaborates with other environmental groups on campaigns and events in the Mid-Ohio Valley. For more information, visit the organization’s web page (http://main.movclimateaction.org).

 

The Direct Support Fund is made possible by Cloud Mountain Foundation, The Plastic Solutions Fund, The Heinz Endowments and the 11th Hour Project and is a project of the Mountain Watershed Association. For more information or to apply please visit www.mtwatershed.com.

 

For more information about Americans Who Tell the Truth: americanswhotellthetruth.org

Last Updated: October 20, 2025 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Yes, WE are the problem

Oct 18, 2025

Eric Engle

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

I’ve been voraciously consuming content on climate change and related phenomena (books, articles, documentaries, lectures, etc.) for at least the last 10 years, with this month being the 10-year anniversary of the founding of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action (MOVCA). MOVCA is the climate and environmental nonprofit I helped found and have helped lead, which has been submitting climate corner content weekly since March of 2021. As I write, I’ve just finished reading maybe the most important book I’ve ever picked up on climate and related subjects.

“The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World,” by Peter Brannen, is a work described on its cover by NYT bestselling author David Wallace-Wells as “moving and magisterial.” I couldn’t hope to provide a more accurate description. Brannen offers a 450-page exploration of Earth’s 4.5 billion years of epochs and eons, bringing the reader along from our planet’s origins to the modern industrialized age.

It’s brilliant and meticulous, yet readily accessible to laypersons like me who are not scientists like geophysicists, geologists or climatologists.

“Today, humanity produces more CO2 than all the other substances we produce on Earth combined,” says Brannen. “It is our signature product. From a planetary perspective, human society is now, above all else, a conduit for moving carbon in the crust into the atmosphere. CO2 is what we make. It’s the exhausted end product of an industrial respiration that is busy metabolizing all of Earth history in order to transform as much of the planet’s surface as possible into more human civilization.”

Brannen doesn’t mince words about where viable solutions to the anthropogenic climate crisis are to be found.

“Human institutions are now dominant components of the global carbon cycle, and the answers to climate change are not to be found in the realm of atmospheric physics or geochemistry,” Brannen says.

“They are political and economic. Just as a string of DNA is useless when it’s unmoored from the energetic powerhouse of a cell, a dire climate report detached from the levers of geopolitical and economic power is similarly inert.”

Put simply, we’re the problem and we have to find the solutions. We can’t sit back and decide that the will of a deity or deities will be done one way or another. We can’t rely on the so-called “invisible hand of the market” to provide magical corrections. While individual and household actions matter, inspire others to action and add up, it is going to take truly global cooperation on policy, investment and divestment to make the course corrections necessary to decarbonize on the timescales our current trajectory demands.

The fossil fuels industries, especially the oil industry, have understood the massive carbon cycle disruptions their products cause since at least the 1950s. They only worked to make climate science controversial to protect their profits when they recognized the inconvenient truth of powering modernity with coal, oil and gas: it comes at a highly destabilizing, potentially existential cost. It’s not sustainable on a finite planet and it’s not going to take millennia to have to pay the Piper.

We’re not going to be able to address this crisis in a last-ditch effort like a college freshman who spends all semester drinking and partying and crams for the big exams at the last minute. A D- here would mean parts of Earth are uninhabitable and potentially billions of lives, not just human, are lost. Carbon capture and sequestration or storage is not a viable solution, short-term or long. All the carbon sinks on the planet (e.g., trees, soils, wetlands, weathering rocks) aren’t going to draw down the excess CO2 nearly fast enough, especially with humans continuing to emit 40 gigatons of CO2 and another 11 to 12 gigatons of other greenhouse gases annually (1 gigaton = 1 billion metric tons).

So, what can we do? It’s going to take mass, rapid deployment of renewable energies with various storage and delivery options to solve for intermittency; maximized energy and resource efficiencies and conservation (efficiency and conservation are two different concepts); sustainable agriculture and development; deployment of hydrogen extracted directly from Earth or by splitting water molecules using electrolysis powered by renewables to decarbonize sectors like steel and cement-making, aviation and international shipping, and more.

No one said it would be easy. Life never has been. It made sense to go from powering life with human and animal metabolism, to the burning of external biomass like wood, to going beneath the surface to release hundreds of millions of years of fossilized solar energy, turning organic carbon into C02, water and usable power at the oxygen-rich surface. Now, it makes sense to use some of the materials and knowledge we gained and synthesized from all that fossil use to meet our ever-rising energy needs in renewable, sustainable ways, while also reducing our overall energy demand. We can do so without sacrificing reasonable quantity or quality of life (“reasonable” quantity and quality of life does not include private jets, yachts or enormous homes on multiple continents bought with hoarded wealth, nor does it include massive AI or cryptocurrency deployment).

Trillion dollar “defense” budgets, inhumanly cruel and xenophobic anti-immigration efforts and an authoritarian police state in the making all stem, in part, from the failure of our society to take the climate crisis seriously. Understanding of the past, as Peter Brannen’s book provides, is what will enable us to act now to secure a future of peace and stability.

***

Eric Engle is board president of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.

 

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