Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Foote predicted climate change 165 years ago

May 28, 2022

Linda Eve Seth

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

Scientists understood the physics of climate change in the 1800s — thanks to a woman named Eunice Newton Foote. Foote (1819-1888), an American scientist (and distant relative of Sir Isaac Newton), was the first person to conduct and publish an experiment on how carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbs solar heat. In other words, it was in the mid-1800s that she pinpointed the driving force behind climate change.

Foote was an American scientist, inventor, women’s rights campaigner, and a mother. She was a rare breed; a female scientist working in the U.S. in the mid-19th Century. She was known for her theory of the effect of carbon dioxide gas on atmospheric temperature.

In 1856, at the age of 37, Eunice documented the underlying cause of today’s climate change crisis. She prepared a brief scientific paper which was the first on record worldwide to describe the power of carbon dioxide gas to absorb heat — the driving force of global warming. Her article, “Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays” (1856), appeared in the American Journal of Science and Arts.

Foote’s experiment was not complex. She placed a thermometer in each of two glass cylinders, pumped carbon dioxide gas into one and air into the other. She set the cylinders in the sun. Reading the thermometers, Foote saw that the cylinder containing carbon dioxide got much hotter than the one with air. Her observations revealed to Foote that carbon dioxide would strongly absorb heat in the atmosphere.

Now that she had her simulated environments, she had to manipulate them. She placed both thermometers in the sun, then she observed and documented changes. The cylinder with a high-density environment became hotter than the low-density environment.

She decided to repeat the experiment with “moist” air and “dry” air by adding water to one cylinder. This allowed her to see that damp air would become significantly hotter than dry air. Finally, she also experimented with adding different gases to the cylinders to measure their effects as well.

After changing the conditions and variables, she reviewed all of her documentation to draw her conclusions. Upon comparing the different conditions, she noted that carbon dioxide would absorb and retain the sun’s rays much longer than other gases.

Foote then understood that changing the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would change its temperature. Her discovery of the high heat absorption of carbon dioxide gas led Foote to conclude that “…if the air (contained) a higher proportion of carbon dioxide than at present, an increased temperature” would result.

Foote was the first scientist to define what we now call the greenhouse gas effect. She was the first to demonstrate how different proportions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would change its temperature. She drew the conclusion that excess carbon in our atmosphere would lead to an increase in global temperature. And so, Eunice Newton Foote was the first person to determine and predict the cause of climate change — over 165 years ago.

As a woman, Foote was prohibited from presenting her findings to the other members of the 1856 American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Albany, N.Y. However, Foote’s work was published in a 1857 volume of The Annual of Scientific Discovery.

Since her early experiments, we’ve learned a lot more about the intricacies of climate change. While Foote was unable to determine why carbon absorbed more heat, she was still able to understand why it was significant and how it could impact humanity.

By the mid-1800s, human activities were already dramatically increasing the CO2 in the atmosphere. Burning more and more fossil fuels — coal, and eventually oil and gas — added an ever-increasing amount of carbon dioxide into the air. All of this was understood well over a century ago.

It turns out that the world has known about the warming risk posed by excessive levels of CO2 for many decades, even before the invention of cars or coal-fired power stations. Foote had explicitly warned about the basic science 165 years ago. Perhaps we should have listened to this woman more closely.

Until next time, be kind to your Mother Earth.

***

Linda Eve Seth, SLP, M.Ed., is a mother, grandmother, concerned citizen and member of MOVCA.

Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: No time to waste

May 21, 2022

Eric Engle

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

The old cliche goes that, when you’re in a hole and trying to get out, you first stop digging. That is the opposite of what we’re doing when it comes to fossil fuels and derivative industries like plastics and petrochemicals amidst global climate, biodiversity loss, pollution, and contamination crises.

A study published last Tuesday in the journal Environmental Research Letters lead by researchers at Oil Change International estimates that “40% of fossil fuel reserves at currently operational development sites across the globe must be left in the ground if the world is to have a 50-50 chance of adequately slashing carbon emissions and limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius [above a preindustrial baseline] or below,” as referenced in an article for the media outlet Common Dreams. This is in addition to the finding by the International Energy Agency in 2021 that no new oil and gas exploitation and development and no new coal-fired power plants must come about in order to stay on a safe climate path and meet the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

These sound scientific findings are being ignored. According to reporting in The Guardian, the 28 largest producers of oil and gas made close to $100 billion in combined profits in just the first three months of 2022. A study soon-to-be published in the journal Energy Policy has found that fracking projects across U.S. lands and waters will release 140 billion metric tons of planet-heating gases if fully realized. The study found that the emissions from these oil and gas “carbon bomb” projects would be four times larger than all of the planet-heating gases expelled globally each year, according to Guardian reporting. Fracking, by the way, is extremely dangerous for numerous reasons. For an incredible summation of those dangers, I refer you to the Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking and Associated Gas and Oil Infrastructure, Eighth Edition. You can find the report at https://concernedhealthny.org/compendium/.

Even the “solutions” being proposed by the fossil fuels and related industries are mostly bunk. We’re hearing a lot about blue hydrogen (hydrogen derived from fossil fuels with carbon emissions captured). While hydrogen shows promise for decarbonization of hard-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation, shipping, and the production of steel and cement, blue hydrogen or other hydrogen color codes derived from fossil fuels will release massive amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas 86-times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over a 20-year period and continue other massive pollution and contamination problems. And Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is prohibitively expensive, not proven at anywhere near scale, and dangerous in its own right. For more information on all of the problems with CCUS, please see carboncapturefacts.org. The only truly promising hydrogen is green hydrogen–hydrogen derived from water molecules being split by an electrolysis process powered by renewable energy.

West Virginia’s senior U.S. Senator, Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., is in an extremely powerful position right now as the key vote in the evenly divided senate and as Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Instead of voting in favor of the largest and most crucial energy and environmental legislation in modern times, he decided to reject the legislation and leave his party scrambling to piece together replacement legislation he’ll support. Why? It might have something to do with the fact that, according to his 2021 financials, he made $536,869 last year from his coal brokerage Enersystems selling waste or “gob” coal to the Grant Town power station–an 80Mw totally unnecessary coal-fired station that cost MonPower ratepayers like me a total $117 million extra to keep operating between 2016-2021 alone.

Fossil fuels for energy and production of things like plastics and petrochemicals have got to become a thing of the past as quickly, efficiently, equitably, and justly as humanly possible. There is no substitute for this transition. There are no shortcuts or gimmicks to avoiding climate catastrophe. Atmospheric physics does not care about your politics or feelings. The massive and voluminous amount of science clarifying this reality and the path forward is undeniable. The best time to act was 30 to 40 years ago; the second best time is right now.

***

Eric Engle is chairman of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.

Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Earth Day should be every day

May 14, 2022

Giulia Mannarino

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

One of the first pictures taken of the Earth from the Moon was snapped by astronaut William Anders on Christmas Eve 1968. Anders, as well as astronauts James Lovell and Frank Borman, were aboard the Apollo 8 spacecraft, the first manned mission to orbit the moon. The photo was taken in the pre-digital age and not seen until the film was returned to Earth. “Earthrise” shows a beautiful blue planet in sharp contrast to the barren lunar landscape. This iconic image had a profound impact on humanity and helped prompt the environmental movement of the 1970s. “Apollo 8 will probably be remembered as much for Bill’s picture as anything because it shows the fragility of our Earth, the beauty of the Earth, and just how so insignificantly small we are in the Universe,” said Borman in Travel-Leisure magazine. “It was the beginning of the realization that we need to take care of it.”

The first national Earth Day, celebrated April 22, 1970, played a significant role in generating support for environmental legislation. Prior to 1970, there were few legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect the environment. It was legal for factories to spew toxic smoke into the air or toxic waste into a nearby stream. Across the country bacteria levels in rivers were high, pesticides were being used indiscriminately, millions of gallons of spilled oil was fouling beaches, city air was deteriorating and oil slicks on a river were catching fire. In July 1970, President Richard Nixon sent a plan to Congress to consolidate environmental responsibilities under one federal agency, a new Environmental Protection Agency. In December of that year, the EPA was officially established by Congress. Congress also passed the Clean Air Act in 1970, amended a federal water protection law that became the Clean Water Act in 1972 and passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973.

Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson first announced the concept of an Earth Day in the fall of 1969. A former governor of the Badger State, Nelson had a long history of promoting conservation efforts. Nelson and his Senate staff recognized the energy of grass roots student-led activism and wanted that same energy to help promote environmental priorities in national politics. The date for Earth Day was selected, not only because it was national Arbor Day, a long standing conservation effort, but also because on college campuses it fell between spring break and final exams. According to EPA’s website more than 20 million people in the U.S. participated in the first Earth Day. Protecting our planet has always been a theme of Earth Day but environmental problems have become so widespread that scientists say addressing climate change is more urgent than ever. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change reports make it clear human-induced climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying.

According to a U.N. press release, on April 4, 2022, Antonio Gutterres, U.N. Secretary General, stated, “We are on a fast track to climate disaster … This is not fiction or exaggeration. It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies … This is a climate emergency.”

During the month of May, MOVCA is promoting the important message that every day, not just April 22, should be Earth Day. Digital billboards, which feature the iconic Earthrise photo, are located at 1044 Emerson Ave. in Parkersburg and 324 Pike St. in Marietta. Billboards are a highly visible tool for messaging but it would be ideal if the billboards were powered by renewable energy resources. In June 2006, the world’s first solar powered billboard was installed in Johannesburg, South Africa. This billboard also supplies power to a local school. Pacific Gas and Electric unveiled the first solar powered billboard in the U.S. in December 2007. Installed in foggy San Francisco, it creates more energy than needed to light up the billboard at night and delivers up to 3.4 kilowatts of solar energy to PG&E customers. Coca Cola made the switch to wind power to generate the energy needed for its giant iconic billboard in Times Square in 2008. And in June 2010 the first 100% solar powered billboard in Times Square was installed. Please notice the MOVCA billboards as you travel through the area. More importantly, please help slow climate change. Take MOVCA’s message to heart and respect our planet every day of every year in every way you can.

***

Giulia Mannarino, of Belleville, is a member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.

Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Capitalism and cancer

May 7, 2022

Randi Pokladnik

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

Twenty years ago, I lost my mother to cancer. She died two months before her 70th birthday. Her cancer had already progressed to stage 3 by the time of her diagnosis.

At first it was hard to believe she was sick. She looked perfectly healthy but her oncologist informed us cancer cells had been slowly growing inside her body for many years.

Our family wanted to know what caused my mom’s cancer. Her lifestyle wasn’t one that might have led to the development of cancer. Her oncologist told us that “unfortunately these tumors do not come with labels,” however, he pointed out that my mom, like many of his other patients, was born and raised in the heavily industrialized Ohio River Valley. There were few regulations in place in the 1930s and 1940s to protect human health and the environment.

The National Institute of Health Sciences reports more than two-thirds of cancer is from environmental exposures to substances including pesticides, solvents, heavy metals, benzene, dioxins, and vinyl chlorides.

My folks moved from Steubenville, Ohio, (a city once noted as having the dirtiest air in the nation) to Toronto, Ohio, in 1962. In 1970, Weirton Steel began construction of its coke ovens on Brown’s Island just outside Toronto’s city limits. Coke ovens heat coal to high temperatures to remove sticky coal tars. These tarry substances are collected and used to make various aromatic solvents like benzene, which are carcinogenic.

The coke plant drew national attention in late 1972 when 21 workers were killed in an explosion at the construction site. Our home, which was less than a mile away, was rocked by the explosion. By 1982, the plant was shut down. However, the pollution in the form of coal tars and benzene containing compounds remained.

Like many people who are diagnosed with terminal cancer, my mom was willing to try anything to gain a few more months. But once the cancer spread, she had to admit she wasn’t going to beat it. She would not see her grandkids grow up or see another birthday, she wouldn’t celebrate another Mother’s Day with us. She lost her hair, her life savings, her dignity and eventually her life.

We will never know for sure if living in the Ohio Valley contributed to my mom’s cancer, but our next-door neighbor died at the age of 14 from leukemia and another friend died at the age of 11 from stomach cancer.

For years the petrochemical industry has discounted the connection of environmental toxins to cancer and they continue to deny the major role they play in the climate crisis. Many consumers are unaware of the risks associated with these toxic products, which include many personal care products, cleaning products, and lawn and garden chemicals.

Countless studies show forever chemicals known as polyfluoroalkyl substances, “PFAS,” are now basically found everywhere on the planet. These compounds have been linked to cancer, birth defects, and numerous other diseases.

Environmental Lawyer, Rob Bilott said in a recent interview, “one of the things we found in the internal files of the main manufacturer of the chemical PFOS was that this company was well aware by the 1970s that PFOS was being found in the general U.S. population’s blood and was being found at fairly significant levels.” Yet the manufacturers failed to share this information with citizens.

In July 2021, a report by Physicians for Social Responsibility presented evidence that oil and gas companies have been using PFAS, or substances that can degrade into PFAS, in hydraulic fracturing. Ignoring the toxicity associated with fracking fluids and claiming a need for “energy independence,” local, state and federal politicians are calling for more fracking.

Corporate CEOs and cancer cells have this in common; their main goal is growth. The collateral damage is of no concern to them so long as their stock values climb. Scientists frantically warn us we are devastating fragile ecosystems and warming the planet to dangerous temperatures. Still CEOs, media, and politicians ignore the warnings.

Many people, including scientists, have become as desperate as cancer patients; searching for an answer, a cure, some way to stop the death of our planet. It was devastating to watch my mother slip away bit by bit until she was barely recognizable. It’s also devastating to watch the only habitable planet in our solar system, the one that harbors so many marvelous creatures and ecosystems, being killed by corporate greed and a dysfunctional economic system that requires the consumption of Mother Earth to make a buck.

***

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.

Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Thank you, Mr. Bruce

Apr 30, 2022

Aaron Dunbar

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

I’d like to take a moment to honor the sacrifice of the late Wynn Alan Bruce, who departed this life following an act of self-immolation outside the U.S. Supreme Court Building this Earth Day. Bruce, a Shambhala Buddhist and photojournalist, is described by friends and family as having been a kind and compassionate man, as well as deeply concerned about the environment and the ecological breakdown of Earth’s biosphere.

“This guy was my friend,” wrote Zen priest and climate scientist Kritee Kanko. “He meditated with our sangha. This act is not suicide. This is a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to climate crisis.”

Unsurprisingly, Bruce’s final actions have been met with criticism from some, mockery from others, as well as questions regarding the legitimacy of self-immolation as a form of demonstration. I neither endorse nor condemn the act of self-immolation, but I would strongly argue the attempt to delegitimize it as a form of demonstration is, itself, illegitimate.

Bruce’s actions appear to have been inspired in part by the demonstrations of Vietnamese monks throughout the 1960s and 70s. Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, of whom Bruce was an admirer, once wrote to Dr. Martin Luther King of such individuals:

“The self-burning of Vietnamese Buddhist monks in 1963 is somehow difficult for the Western Christian conscience to understand. The Press spoke then of suicide, but in the essence, it is not. It is not even a protest. What the monks said in the letters they left before burning themselves aimed only at alarming, at moving the hearts of the oppressors and at calling the attention of the world to the suffering endured then by the Vietnamese. To burn oneself by fire is to prove that what one is saying is of the utmost importance. There is nothing more painful than burning oneself. To say something while experiencing this kind of pain is to say it with the utmost of courage, frankness, determination and sincerity. During the ceremony of ordination, as practiced in the Mahayana tradition, the monk-candidate is required to burn one, or more, small spots on his body in taking the vow to observe the 250 rules of a bhikshu, to live the life of a monk, to attain enlightenment and to devote his life to the salvation of all beings. One can, of course, say these things while sitting in a comfortable armchair; but when the words are uttered while kneeling before the community of sangha and experiencing this kind of pain, they will express all the seriousness of one’s heart and mind, and carry much greater weight.”

What Wynn Alan Bruce had to say with his final act in this life was indeed of the utmost importance, expressed in as stark and compassionate a way as possible. Aside from nuclear war, there is no greater threat faced by civilization today than runaway, irreversible climate change

Day by day, the prospect of an unlivable planet for future, and in many places present generations, becomes more a reality. On the same day Wynn Alan Bruce’s life came to an end, U.N. Secretary General Anonio Guterres made it clear the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters must begin drastically reducing emissions within the next 36 weeks, in order to have a hope of averting climate catastrophe.

This comes as the U.S. Supreme Court, the apparent intended recipient of Bruce’s message, considers the case of West Virginia v. EPA, a suit pertaining to the Clean Air Act, with the court’s right wing extremist judges appearing poised to slash the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.

As the crisis of climate change grows more and more alarming, and as the stakes become higher and higher, the industrialized world proves itself not only incapable of adapting to difficult circumstances, but indeed, bound and determined to exacerbate and accelerate its destruction every step of the way.

It is my sincerest hope the actions of Wynn Alan Bruce are not relegated to the misguided efforts of an insane man, but are instead accurately seen as the deeply compassionate actions of a kind and clear-eyed individual, as we, the living, continue with the true insanity of setting the world aflame, relentlessly fanning the fires as we watch our only home burn to the ground around us.

Thank you, Mr. Bruce, for your sacrifice. May you rest in peace, and may we keep your message forever at heart as we consider what manner of world we wish to create for ourselves, and for the children of future generations.

***

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

Last Updated: May 4, 2023 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Engage, inform on climate change

Apr 23, 2022

George Banziger

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

After the 52nd annual Earth Day we should celebrate by striving to get more people engaged in action to address climate change. A majority of Americans accept the fact that global warming is happening (72%) and that it is caused by humans (57%); furthermore, a majority (65%) also believes that corporations should pay a carbon tax (Yale Program on Climate Change Education, 2019).

But these survey responses do not translate into concerted action in the population and resultant legislative action by our lawmakers. Perhaps we should be mobilizing people with more facts about the impacts of climate change. Such incontrovertible facts include: the oceans are rising, becoming warmer, and more acidic; glaciers are disappearing at alarming rates (especially in the northern hemisphere), extreme weather is becoming more frequent, costly, and disastrous.

In response to these facts and to other influences, Americans are divided into six groups: alarmists (33%), concerned (26%), cautious (17%), disengaged ( 5%), doubtful (11%) and dismissive (9%) (Global Warming’s Six Americas, Leiserowitz & Maibach). Alarmists, the fastest growing group, are the most engaged in climate action; concerned are keenly aware of the dangers of climate change but are not yet fully mobilized; the cautious are persuadable but not yet fully convinced about climate; change; the disengaged are not attentive to the issue, and the dismissive are the active deniers of climate change.

Our political world has become highly polarized, and climate change is fully enveloped in this polarization. Facts are important, but they are not enough. The problem with facts is that in our highly divisive political context of “them versus us,” facts about climate change are, on the one hand, readily accepted or, on the other hand, resisted, denied, refuted or reinterpreted.

In her book, Saving Us, Katherine Hayhoe writes that opinions on climate change are driven less by facts and more by values, ideologies, world views and political orientation. Dr Hayhoe, an evangelical environmental scientist, urges those in the alarmist group, when speaking to someone from one of the non-alarmist groups, to find out what that person might be interested in and build on that personal interest. For example, a hunter might be touched by facts about the decline in habitat of wild animals; a scuba diver might be attentive to the depletion of coral reefs and its effect on marine life; and a beer lover might be interested in the fact that beer companies are taking action on climate change because of threats of climate change to barley and malt harvests.

As a devoted Christian, Hayhoe is sensitive to the importance of seeking some common ground with other Christians on climate change, White evangelicals are among the least concerned with climate change. She points out that the word “dominion” in the Book of Genesis does not refer to domination but to stewardship. Nothing is more Christian than to be good stewards of the planet and to love the global neighbor as oneself.

Human agency is an important part of many faith traditions including Christianity. An individual can make a difference, especially when working in concert with others and as a model to others who are in the cautious and concerned categories. An individual can adjust his/her thermostat (reducing a couple of degrees in the winter and raising a couple of degrees in the summer), can use renewable energy when possible, can car pool or take pubic transit, recycle, cut back on plane trips, reduce consumption of red meat.

It is important for the climate activist, i.e., alarmist, not to be obsessed with the dismissive category but to deal constructively with the other 91% who are persuadable to taking action on climate change. Besides the climate groups I am affiliated with, I am also a member of Braver Angels (braverangels.org) , a group dedicated to bridging the political divide. In their workshops Braver Angels encourages those of opposing viewpoints to actively listen to each other, to reflect what the other is trying to say, to avoid direct refutation, to find common ground, and to seek a sustainable personal relationship with the political other. These principles of bridging the divide also apply aptly to coming together on climate change. If we don’t convince the political other to take action on climate change, we can at least reach a better understanding between opposing groups.

***

George Banziger, Ph..D., was a faculty member at Marietta College and an academic dean at three other colleges. Now retired, he is a volunteer for the Mid-Ohio Valley Interfaith, and Harvest of Hope. He is a member of the Green Sanctuary Committee of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta, Citizens Climate Lobby, Braver Angels, and of the Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action team.

Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: Youth vs. government

Apr 16, 2022

Giulia Mannarino

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

Across the globe, youth are dissatisfied with their governments’ responses to the climate crisis. Recently, Lancet Planet Health published a report about the first large-scale investigation of climate anxiety in young people and its relationship with perceived government response. Ten thousand young people (ages 16-25) in ten countries were surveyed. The findings show climate anxiety and dissatisfaction with government responses are widespread in young people everywhere and this negatively impacts their daily lives. Another study published in a recent issue of Science shows an inter-generational inequality of climate change. This study determined the average six-year-old of today will endure many more environmental disasters than their grandparents. It was estimated children born in 2020 will experience a two- to seven-times increase in extreme events, particularly heat waves, compared with people born in 1960.

This issue of fairness across generations has “fueled” a surge of global climate protests led by youth as well as climate litigation filed on their behalf. Young people are taking their countries to court over their failure to address the climate crisis. All cases make the similar argument that the climate crisis compromised their basic rights to life, water and health. Research like that noted above help strengthen arguments in court for harms caused by governments. And there have been some victories!

In April of last year, German youth activists won a rewrite of the country’s emission laws after they argued the previous plan was insufficient. In Portugal, six young people are taking their country and 32 of the most polluting European governments to court over the climate change risks that threaten their health and future. The case filed in 2020 with the European Court of Human Rights has been fast-tracked and could see a ruling by next year.

Here in the U.S. youth climate crisis lawsuits have been filed in many states. A case filed in Montana had a recent victory. The constitutional climate lawsuit, Held v. State of Montana, filed March 13, 2020 by 16 youth from across the state, asserts that by supporting a fossil fuel-driven energy system which is contributing to the climate crisis, Montana is violating their constitutional rights to a clean and healthful environment; to seek safety, health, and happiness; and to individual dignity and equal protection of the law. The youth plaintiffs also argue the state’s fossil fuel energy system is degrading and depleting Montana’s constitutionally protected public trust resources, including the atmosphere, rivers and lakes, and fish and wildlife. On Aug. 4, 2021, in a historic decision, Judge Kathy Seeley ruled the youth plaintiffs could proceed to trial. Scheduled for Feb. 6-17, 2023, Held v. State of Montana will be the first ever children’s climate trial in U.S. history!

The groundbreaking constitutional climate lawsuit, Juliana v. United States, was filed Aug. 12, 2015. That complaint, filed by 21 youth aged 11-22, from different states and cultural backgrounds, asserts the U.S. government had willfully acted over six decades to create the climate crisis, thus endangering their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. Going up against evidence from climatologists, whistle blowers, scientific experts, and the testimonies of the plaintiffs, the government took extraordinary measures to get the case dismissed. But these empowered youth refused to back down. They are awaiting a ruling on their Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint and the Motion to Intervene filed by 18 states. Regardless of the court’s decision, future generations have a right to a livable future and it is our moral duty to ensure those who come after us have clean air, water and a stable climate.

The monumental legal battle of these courageous youth against the world’s most powerful government is detailed in the film “YOUTH v GOV.” The movie follows the courageous young Americans suing to protect their constitutional rights to a stable climate and demanding a recovery plan that will stabilize the crisis they’ve inherited. Producer/Director, Christie Cooper, in addition to being a film maker, is a PhD scientist. In keeping with their Faith Climate Action Week theme of “Our children’s right to a livable future,” Interfaith Power and Light has an agreement with the filmmakers of “YOUTH v GOV” to make the documentary available for special screenings to faith communities.

The Green Sanctuary Committee of First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta will be hosting a virtual screening via Zoom April 21 at 7 p.m. Interested people must register in advance at https://tinyurl.com/2jrry85c to receive a confirmation email with a link to the screening.

***

Giulia Mannarino, of Belleville, is a member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.

Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11

Climate Corner: What can one person do?

Apr 9, 2022

Linda Eve Seth

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

In a world of more than seven billion people, each of us is a drop in the bucket. But with enough drops, we can fill any bucket. — David Suzuki

***

As our climate changes, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense; sea levels are rising, prolonged droughts are impacting food crops, and many animal and plant species are being driven to extinction. It’s hard to imagine what we as individuals can do to resolve a problem of this scale and severity.

The following suggestions, while all valuable and do-able, are simplistic and just scratch the surface of what individuals can do to help the planet.

GO CAR-FREE: This is one of the most effective actions an individual can take. Cars are more polluting compared to other means of transportation like walking, biking, public transportation.

Walk, ride your bike, take a bus, ride-share with neighbors, travel less, combine errands. Try doing them each on just one day each week. Choose more efficient vehicles and, whenever possible, switch to electric vehicles

CHANGE YOUR DIET: After fossil fuels, the food industry — especially the meat and dairy sector — is one of the most important contributors to climate change. The meat industry contributes to global warming in three ways: cows’ burping releases lots of methane, a greenhouse gas. Secondly, we feed them with other potential sources of food, like maize and soy, which makes for a very inefficient process. And they require lots of water, fertilizers that can release greenhouse gases, and plenty of land — increasing amounts of which come from cleared forests, another source of carbon emissions. To make your diet more climate-friendly:

Eat more meat-free meals

Buy organic and local whenever possible

Don’t waste food

Grow your own

You don’t have to go vegetarian or vegan to make a difference; cut down gradually. By reducing your consumption of animal protein by half, you can cut your diet’s carbon footprint by more than 40%?

USE ENERGY WISELY: By becoming more energy-efficient, you pollute less and save money too.

Swap your furnace for a heat pump, which extracts heat from one location and transfers it to another.

Install a programmable thermostat. Let the house remain cooler/warmer when no one is at home.

Swap your gas stove for an electric stove, which actually lowers indoor air pollution.

Unplug energy vampires (computers, printers, TVs, other electronics) when you’re not using them.

Wash clothes in cold water. Hang-dry your clothes when you can and use dryer balls when you can’t (they help fluff and dry your clothes).

Winterize your home to prevent heat from escaping and to keep it cool in the summer without an air conditioner.

Change to energy-efficient light bulbs.

URGE THE GOVERNMENT — SPEAK OUT: Write letters and emails, make phone calls, attend meetings … encourage our legislators and officials to take bold, ambitious climate action now. Voting is important. Keeping action going at governmental levels and national levels to fight climate change is critical.

Join the members of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action in calling on our government to cooperate and encourage more action on climate change with the urgency this crisis requires.

Where climate change is concerned — KIDS COUNT! Young people can write notes asking for more pro-climate actions. Their voices may be especially impactful when heard by local officials like mayors and city council members.

While climate change won’t be solved by one individual’s buying or driving habits alone, these actions are important and can influence others to make changes, too. Studies have demonstrated that when one family makes a conscious, helpful change designed to aid in slowing climate change, others around them will also become motivated to undertake similar changes in their daily habits. By doing some of the things we’ve mentioned here, you and your family can become citizen climate leaders.

Whether you are a farmer in Colombia or a homeowner in West Virginia, climate change will have an impact on your life. Your actions will influence the planet for the coming decades — for better or for worse.

You can take action NOW. You can make a difference NOW.

Until next time, be kind to your Mother Earth.

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Linda Eve Seth, SLP, M.Ed. is a mother, grandmother, concerned citizen and member of MOVCA.

Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11

The war we cannot afford to lose

Marietta Times

Apr 6, 2022

Dr. Randi Pokladnik

Dr. Svitlana Krakovska, a Ukrainian climate scientist and member of the International Panel on Climate Change recently said, “Human induced climate change and the war on Ukraine have the same roots, fossil fuels, and our dependence on them,” Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels from Russia is “funding the war” in Ukraine.

Russia, the second largest producer of natural gas, has been accused of using the resource in a geopolitical way against European countries dependent on its gas.

Europe views the worsening situation in Ukraine as justification to double up its investments in renewable energy and cut Europe’s demand for natural gas. The IEA and EU leaders want to fast-track permitting for wind and solar projects, revisit decisions to phase out nuclear energy, and double the rate of conversions from natural gas boilers to electric heat pumps in buildings.”

However, oil and gas companies in the US, along with many politicians including Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Bill Johnson of Ohio CD 6 are using the war to rationalize more drilling and fracking in the US, basically, ignoring the real war at our doorstep; the war for a livable planet. Natural Resource Chair Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona) said in a recent op-ed, “Doubling down on fossil fuels is a false solution that only perpetuates the problems that got us here in the first place.”

The newly released UN Climate Report clearly shows we are losing the battle against climate change. UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteras said “the evidence detailed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is unlike anything he has ever seen, it is an “atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.”

Make no mistake, we all are witnessing a war; a war waged on our planet by the fossil fuel industry and those who benefit financially from these industries. Like most wars, money is needed to fund this endeavor. Federal taxpayer-funded grants, subsidies, and tax incentives help fuel the climate crisis by providing financial incentives for continued extraction.

“Conservative estimates put U.S. direct subsidies to the fossil fuel industry at roughly $20 billion per year, with 20 percent currently allocated to coal and 80 percent to natural gas and crude oil.”

Just like a conventional war, propaganda and lies are used to mold public opinion. “The fossil fuel industry has perpetrated a multi-decade, multibillion dollar disinformation propaganda and lobbying campaign to delay climate action by confusing the public and policymakers about the climate crisis and its solutions.”

It is difficult to win a war when the cards are stacked against you, but the war for a livable planet is one we cannot afford to lose. It is time to demand renewable energy and stop subsidizing the companies responsible for the destruction of our planet. As Dr. Svitlana Krakovska of Ukraine said, “We will not surrender in Ukraine, and we hope the world will not surrender in building a climate-resilient future.”

Dr. Randi Pokladnik

Uhrichsville

Last Updated: April 28, 2023 by main_y0ke11

The fossil fuel quandary

Marietta Times

Apr 5, 2022

Vic Elam

Much is being made nowadays about a perception that the United States needs to increase fossil fuel production in the form of natural gas (methane) and oil production. The argument being that because of sanctions, we no longer receive oil from Russia and that we must, therefore, make up for that loss by producing more domestically. Another argument is that for Germany to reduce its reliance on Russian gas, we must again produce more domestically to ship to Germany. Furthermore, arguments have been made, that pipelines previously halted for environmental reasons, must now be fast tracked to completion to facilitate the transport of Canadian tar sands oil and for the transport of natural gas to coastal areas for shipment overseas.

Another school of thought is that we should heed the warnings of climate scientists and push hard at converting our fossil fuel dependency and replacing it with cleaner, greener, cheaper alternatives in the form of renewable energy such as solar and wind power. There are arguments for and against this transition to renewable energy and just as with fossil fuels there is a lot of misinformation. Thorough effort to verify the information presented has been made.

The argument for increasing natural gas production for exportation really doesn’t work. Even if pipelines were in place to bring natural gas to seaports, the gas would need to be converted to liquified natural gas for shipping and additional capacity to complete that conversion would have to be constructed. Construction would take substantial time; I don’t think anyone has a good handle on how long – how may have been impacted by the inability to get needed parts in this post-covid world? Also, the liquified natural gas would have to be converted back to gaseous form in Europe and facility capacity for that is lacking as well.

Similarly, increasing domestic oil production is not a quick process, nor is completing pipelines to transport oil. The dilemma is that as we try to move toward reducing our contribution of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, we are at odds with the sudden need to increase fossil fuel supplies. Further complicating the issue is that easily accessible fossil fuel reserves have long been depleted and extraordinary measures are required to extract remaining fuel reserves. The measures necessary to reach remaining reserves are often environmentally damaging as well.

The renewable energy advocates point to environmental harm from extracting remaining fossil fuel reserves, the climate change concerns from burning those fuels, the lives lost from fighting over fossil fuel reserves and more. The transition to renewable energy will take some time, yet climate scientists will tell you that time has about run out.

So, what’s a person to do. I like to put challenges like this through a cost benefit analysis. Simplified, my analysis looks like this: ramping up of fossil fuel production has many negative ramifications that are of a magnitude that we are really, just beginning to fully recognize. For increasing renewable energy, the ramifications are all positive except for the delay, and high fuel prices, which are artificially high but that is a whole different conversation.

Pushing aside our transition to renewable energy would be a huge mistake and ramping up domestic production is like hitting your thumb with a hammer to cure a headache – you might forget about your headache for a while, but it’s still there and now you have a sore thumb as well. Let’s do the right thing and move to a bright future free from our reliance on fossil fuels, if we put our minds to it, we can do it and the world will be a much better place for it.

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