Apr 19, 2025
Jean Ambrose
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
***
The first Earth Day in 1970 responded to a world in crisis — rivers catching fire from pollution, smog choking city skies, and wildlife vanishing at alarming rates. That national outcry led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and, a few years later, the Endangered Species Act. For over five decades, these protections helped preserve clean air, drinkable water, and essential ecosystems.
But today, those hard-won gains are under threat. Federal environmental protections have been weakened or rolled back, and leadership in many agencies now seems more hostile than helpful. In the face of that, the responsibility to safeguard the planet falls more heavily on everyday citizens. If change is going to happen, it’s up to us.
A local example is unfolding right now. Saturday, April 26, a major cleanup of Buckley Island is scheduled as part of the annual Ohio River Sweep. The Friends of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge have spent weeks preparing — coordinating volunteers, planning logistics, and organizing resources. But just yesterday, six AmeriCorps National Service members who had come to assist with the effort were abruptly dismissed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an extralegal agency with growing power and no accountability.
This follows a disturbing pattern. DOGE previously fired staff at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and now they’re interfering in environmental work with no explanation or regard for local impact. Their actions threaten more than just a weekend cleanup. Local projects — like tree planting and trail retaining wall construction — were planned based on having a full-time crew. The disruption affects not only the health of the Ohio River but the Refuge’s ability to attract visitors and support the local economy.
What can we do? We show up. We act. We clean up our rivers, plant our trees, and refuse to be sidelined.
Join us on Saturday. Boats will depart for Buckley Island from the Williamstown boat ramp (101 Julia Ave) at 1 p.m. All cleanup supplies will be provided. Before that, volunteers can enjoy a simple lunch at noon, hosted by Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action (MOVCA) at the nearby Refuge office. To help organizers prepare, please email Hunt Brawley at hbrawley@peoplesbanktheatre.com to register. But if you can’t RSVP, come anyway. Your presence matters.
This year, it’s especially vital for youth groups and volunteer teams to connect with the Refuge to help finish the work left undone — planting trees and stabilizing trails that protect the island’s future.
Action is the antidote to despair. Even small, local efforts can bring real change — and that change gives us hope.
Fortunately, the Mid-Ohio Valley is home to many organizations ready to support your ideas and passion for protecting the earth. Here are just a few:
* Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action (MOVCA), focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainability. Find resources and connect at movclimateaction.org or on their active Facebook page.
* Green Sanctuary Committee, based at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta. This group models how faith communities can lead through pollinator gardens, solar energy, ethical eating, and public education.
* West Virginia Rivers Coalition advocates for clean water across the state, monitoring water quality and educating the public. More at wvrivers.org.
* WV Citizen Action Group partners with MOVCA to provide PurpleAir monitors, allowing residents to track local air quality. Contact Kayla Deem at kayladeem@ymail.com or 304-483-3718.
* Save Ohio Parks, a grassroots group, fights to protect public lands from oil and gas extraction, especially in Ohio’s state parks and forests. Learn more at hello@saveohioparks.org.
* Ecological Restoration Projects, led by Mark Krivchenia. Volunteers remove invasive species and restore habitats in parks like Mountwood and Broughton Preserve. Contact mark.krivchenia@gmail.com.
* Buckeye Environmental Network, a watchdog group exposing environmental risks — like spreading toxic oil and gas waste on Ohio roads. Their Brine Waste Task Force is pushing for reform. Contact: roxannegroff1227@gmail.com.
* Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL), a nonpartisan organization advocating for national climate policy and educating Congress. For Ohio’s District 06, contact George Banziger at gbanziger497@gmail.com.
Despite its wounds, the Earth still gives to us — with beauty, wonder, and sustenance. It’s time we return the gift. Let’s rise with hope and purpose, shoulder to shoulder, and protect what we all share.
***
Jean Ambrose works at not being a criminal ancestor to her granddaughter.
Posted: June 21, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: Why not West Virginia? A comparison
Jun 21, 2025
Griffin Bradley
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
As a lifelong West Virginian, I have a soft spot for seeing my state succeed. With all of its grit, tenacity and work ethic, there’s no reason that West Virginia shouldn’t be a national leader in many respects. But yet, we see our state struggle to keep up as new opportunities arise, trading in progress for the same old, worn out tagline. We all know the jingle. “Coal is West Virginia,” right?
Over the last four years, America has been at an important moment for innovation and expansion of the clean energy economy. For all its supposed faults, the Inflation Reduction Act produced thousands of jobs, billions of dollars of economic value, and spurred industrial innovations at a rate rarely seen since the Industrial Revolution. But for those of us who call the Mountain State home, we have not reaped much of those benefits. Rather, we’ve seen business after business make their home in other states. States that, frankly, share many characteristics with West Virginia.
So then what gives? Despite the opportunities, West Virginia flounders. In order to get a better understanding of exactly why West Virginia fails to meet the moment, let’s compare to a similar state. Join me as we take a quick trip down I-77 to the Tar Heel State of North Carolina. A state that, by comparison, should be in the same category of success as West Virginia. Nestled in the shadow of the Appalachian Mountains, both states have strong blue-collar roots and a favorable cost-of-living, yet one outdoes the other by leaps and bounds. Why?
Let’s break it down a bit further.
North Carolina has been named in the top 2 of CNBC’s annual “Best States For Business” reports for the last four years, continually trading the #1 and #2 spot with another of West Virginia’s neighbors, Virginia. North Carolina’s spot as a top state for business development is due in no small part to its early support for clean energy growth. Not only does North Carolina benefit from its nearly 110,000-strong clean energy workforce, but it also sees new businesses that manufacture clean energy technologies pouring into the state on what feels like a monthly basis. Not to mention the traditional businesses that have increased their existing footprint in the state due to their supportive clean energy environment.
On the policymaking side, we see more divisions between West Virginia and North Carolina. Much like West Virginia, North Carolina’s legislature hosts a (near) veto-proof Republican majority. The only difference between the two is the latter’s executive branch has been controlled by a Democrat in recent years, with former Gov. Roy Cooper and current Gov. Josh Stein. Despite the many ideological differences of North Carolina’s legislative and executive branches, the legislature and governor(s) have come together in many instances to support policy that creates a conducive environment for the clean energy economy to flourish. As such, North Carolina has been a leader in nearly every sense of the word.
Now, back in West Virginia, we can better outline where we have failed. In terms of clean energy jobs, well, it’s safe to say we are dwarfed by much of the United States with only around 10,000 dedicated jobs. This is all while the supposed backbone of our economy and culture, old “King Coal,” continues to see dwindling jobs numbers and overall economic value amid a volatile international coal market.
Despite the writing being on the wall for most forward-thinking, commonsense folks, we see little policy coming out of Charleston that would suggest West Virginia is headed toward an economic renaissance anytime soon. And to be fair, why would we? In a state where there are presumably more janitors wandering the halls of the Capitol than elected Democrats and a super-duper Republican majority that has long looked at the prospects of the coal industry through rose colored glasses, it’s no surprise that West Virginia hasn’t seen the same success as our neighbors when it comes to the national clean energy boom.
Now more than ever, West Virginians should be angry. Angry that we aren’t a national trendsetter. Angry that our leaders didn’t grasp the enormous opportunity that is now in the rearview mirror. Angry that we are being left in the dust by very comparable states. If economic mediocrity and complacency from leadership is what you want, look no further. As for me, I find inspiration in our neighbors’ successes. I wish those in Charleston did, too.
***
Griffin Bradley is a lifelong Wood County resident, graduate of West Virginia University, and a contributing author for Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.
Posted: June 14, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: Don’t fall for it
Jun 14, 2025
Eric Engle
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., had an op-ed published in the June 5 edition of the Parkersburg News and Sentinel titled “Pulling the plug on the EV mandate” that was absolutely farcical.
The first comically absurd aspect of the piece was when Sen. Capito referred to “Congress’s constitutional and statutory oversight authority over federal agencies and unelected bureaucratic overreach.” When since Jan. 20 of this year have Republicans shown the slightest care or interest in “Congress’s constitutional and statutory oversight authority?”
Capito herself has applauded the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and the Trump 2.0 regime’s Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget as they have systematically worked to dismantle the federal civil service. Through executive orders and proclamations written by the Heritage Foundation and the infiltration of virtually all the data the federal government compiles on all Americans by tech bro toddlers, as well as nefarious efforts to put that ill-gotten data into the hands of Peter Thiel’s Palantir, we have seen nothing but careless acquiescence and/or active support for these democracy-destroying blatant violations of the rule of law by Capito and her party colleagues throughout Congress.
For a Trump sycophant like Capito to feign concern for Congress’s ability to act as a coequal branch of government with strong oversight capabilities, irony must indeed be dead. As chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Capito holds great congressional sway. Instead of using it to defend federal employees in her state and their civil service protections and collective bargaining rights — just one example of a positive way her power could be wielded — Capito wants to expend political capital on eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of a waiver for California so all states adopting California clean air standards can also adopt the state’s “Advance Clean Cars II” standard.
As Capito points out, the adoption and implementation of this ACCII standard would mandate that 30% of the nation’s new car market (including all areas of the country who have adopted California’s clean air standards) consist of zero tailpipe emission cars in the next decade. This is fundamentally no different than mandating that new car models had to have seatbelts or states enforcing laws that your brake lights work or states enforcing inspection laws. Tailpipe exhaust is a major air pollution problem and therefore public health issue, as well as the largest contributing factor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
This isn’t about “consumer choice,” as Capito claims. California and the EPA have not been attempting to force consumers to purchase one make or model of a car over another when purchasing a new vehicle. They weren’t the ones who turned the White House lawn into a Tesla lot (Teslas are zero tailpipe emission EVs, by the way). This is about protecting the environment and public health. You know, EPA’s stated mission since it was created.
It’s also about saving consumers money. Research by the Union of Concerned Scientists has shown that the costs of owning an EV are now lower across the country than the costs of owning an internal combustion engine vehicle. EVs are cheaper to charge than gasoline-powered vehicles are to fuel, with the median cost savings on fuel costs being between $700-$800 a year, according to UCS. Maintenance costs for EVs are far lower than for gas-powered vehicles and EV charging ranges are now comparable to or exceed the driving ranges of gas-powered vehicles.
EVs have more torque off the line and just as much, if not more, towing capacity as any gas-or-diesel-powered vehicle. They are built with the same safety specs and cargo and passenger capacities as any gas-powered vehicle. Inflation Reduction Act and other federal and state investments have made the initial purchase of both new and used EVs far more affordable and helped American auto manufacturers meet so much of the demand for new EVs with unionized workforces.
Don’t fall for Capito’s fossil fuels industry-backed propaganda. All that she and her colleagues accomplished by using the Congressional Review Act to strike down this waiver by alleging (falsely) that it was an actual EPA rule is higher new car prices (alongside Trump’s tariff costs), more air pollution over the next decade (and the negative health impacts of that pollution), a worsened global climate crisis and lost American manufacturing jobs (many union jobs) created under the previous administration.
***
Eric Engle is board president of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.
Posted: June 7, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: One struggle
Jun 7, 2025
Aaron Dunbar
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
On the morning of May 2, the humanitarian aid vessel known as the Conscience was struck by drones in international waters off the coast of Malta. The ship, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was en route to Gaza in a valiant attempt to break Israel’s brutal and inhumane blockade of the Strip, which has pushed some 2 million Palestinians to the brink of starvation. Among the passengers who was shortly to board the Conscience in Malta was Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg, arguably the most famous climate activist on the planet. It’s been speculated that Israel struck when it did in order to avoid the international blowback they would’ve received had Thunberg already been aboard when they attacked.
The level of ire this bold young activist provokes from her critics, especially grown adult men, is difficult to wrap one’s head around. In 2020, the Alberta oil company X-Site Energy distributed decals to its employees depicting then 17-year-old Thunberg being held by the pigtails and raped.
This past weekend, as Greta boarded yet another vessel in an attempt to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians, Israeli “international human rights lawyer” Arsen Ostrovsky commented to his 300,000 Twitter followers: “Oh look, the little jihadi @GretaThunberg is trying to get into Gaza, to show solidarity with Hamas. It would be so sad if something were to happen to her flotilla …”
Not to be outdone, South Carolina Senator and million dollar AIPAC investment Lindsey Graham offered a death threat of his own on Sunday afternoon: “Hope Greta and her friends can swim!”
Just to reiterate, these despicable incitements to violence are against an unarmed humanitarian vessel attempting to deliver food and aid to millions of starving people.
There are many, no doubt including some reading this column, who may ask themselves why a climate change activist should be so vocal about an issue like Gaza? And it’s deeply encouraging to me to see someone like Greta, who could just as easily have “stayed in her lane” and gotten obscenely rich touting uncontroversial, greenwashed solutions to climate change, instead realizing that anti-war and anti-imperialist struggle are inextricably linked with the survival of our planet.
As Greta put it in a Facebook post shared on Monday: “This mission is only part of a global movement for social- and climate justice, liberation and decolonisation led by marginalised people. If we are to stand on the right side of history, it is our duty and about time that we join that movement.”
First and foremost, I consider the situation in Gaza to be the holocaust of our time. Every decent American should be protesting vehemently against the starvation, dismemberment, extermination, and forced expulsion of 2 million Palestinians, carried out with the full consent and participation of our government. On a more direct environmental level, a study recently quoted in The Guardian found that “the carbon footprint of the first 15 months of Israel’s war on Gaza will be greater than the annual planet-warming emissions of a hundred individual countries.” It’s a common adage that war is hell — and now the same flames that burn displaced Palestinians alive in their tents are helping to create a literal hell on earth.
Our own military, meanwhile, is the single largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet, similarly dwarfing the emissions of entire countries on an annual basis. Nearly 80% of our government’s emissions come from the Pentagon’s gluttonous consumption of fossil fuels. These numbers are only likely to increase as we continue to escalate tensions around the globe — further reporting in The Guardian notes that NATO, itself a force largely designed to protect American hegemony, will soon add some 200 million metric tons of greenhouse gases to our atmosphere per year through its efforts at rearmament.
Similar to Greta, I’ve reached a point in my activism where I feel I can no longer make a distinction between our struggle for the planet and the fight against U.S. imperialism. As the slain Brazilian activist Chico Mendes once put it, “Environmentalism without class struggle is just gardening.”
There’s this concept in environmentalism of “sacrifice zones,” areas where poor populations are subject to increased health and environmental risks in order to facilitate the enrichment of others. While we’ve deliberately been conditioned not to view it in this way, America’s foreign policy and how it relates to the rest of the world is entirely contingent on sacrifice zones of a mind-boggling scale, a global underclass of the exploited who exist solely for the benefit of the wealthy few.
The West refuses to acknowledge the humanity of Palestinians for one simple reason — they happen to be inconveniently located in a prized sacrifice zone. Our strategic influence in the Middle East and the access to resources (including, yes, fossil fuels) that might be gained through the ethnic cleansing of Gaza are of far greater importance to us than the commitment to human rights which we otherwise love to champion, usually as a pretense to bomb and invade other countries who aren’t doing what we want them to do.
There is a terrible interconnectedness to all these seemingly disparate tragedies. The same laws penalizing anti-Zionist speech will be used to crack down on environmental organizations. The same AI companies helping the IDF target and murder civilians are being enlisted to help Trump build a database to target undesirable Americans. The same experimental weapons and techniques being used to rip Palestinian children to pieces will be used in future wars driven by climate disasters, and in future genocides, as well as, inevitably, against our fellow U.S. citizens.
We need to realize that this is all one struggle. Every crime against humanity affects every one of us, and it is unacceptable for us to turn a blind eye to one while claiming to care about another.
It’s early Wednesday morning as I submit this for publication. Greta Thunberg and the crew of the Madleen have set sail anew for Gaza, and have already faced multiple encounters with drones flying overhead. It’s impossible to tell what developments might occur in the days to come — whether the fearless members of the Freedom Flotilla will be successful in their mission to deliver aid to 2 million starving Palestinians, or whether we’ll allow a genocidal rogue state to drown the world’s most famous climate activist in the Mediterranean Sea. One thing I can say for certain is that, like the crew of the Madleen, our commitment to humanity must be greater than the inhumanity of those hell-bent on achieving the conquest and annihilation of our world.
***
Aaron Dunbar is a member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.
Posted: May 31, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: Biting your nose to spite your face
May 31, 2025
Randi Pokladnik
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
It has become obvious that the Trump administration as well as Republicans in Ohio and West Virginia no longer believe their own mantra “all of the above” when it comes to energy sources. Instead, this administration has put a halt to as many renewable energy projects as possible and is now taking us back to the good ole’ days where fossil fuels were our only choice.
West Virginia politicians and the Trump administration want to revive the coal industry while ignoring the negative environmental and health impacts, the costs, and the fact that the average age of coal plants is over 50 years. Coal states like West Virginia are getting help from Trump in the form of several executive orders. The first, Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid executive order (EO), permits the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to favor fossil energy over renewable energy and to use its emergency powers under Section 202 of the Federal Power Act to prop up old, uneconomic coal-burning power plants “even if there are cheaper alternatives that could replace them.”
The second EO, Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry, will permit the expansion of coal leasing on federal lands and offer loans as well as expedite permitting. The third directive, Regulatory Relief for Certain Stationary Sources to Promote American Energy, will exempt coal plants from complying with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) updated Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. Research shows that local communities have had to pay $236 billion in overall added health costs between 2015 and 2023 attributed to coal mining and coal power plants.
The fourth EO, Protecting American Energy from State Overreach, “directs the U.S. Department of Justice to harass state and local governments by challenging climate, climate justice, and energy laws and policies.” Coal mining and coal power plants contribute to climate changing gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Coal extraction also creates coal-ash dumps; West Virginia has 48. They “contain hazardous pollutants including arsenic, boron, cobalt, chromium, lead, lithium, mercury, molybdenum, radium, selenium, and other heavy metals. These are linked to cancer, heart and thyroid disease, reproductive failure, and neurological harm.”
Ohio, citing the need for more energy to power AI, cryptocurrency, and other technologies, wants to expand fracked methane gas production across the state. John Quigley, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy said of this methane gas buildout, “we will not get to net zero by 2050 if we are building new gas plants. Period.”
Renewable energy like wind has been touted as being clean, cheap and reliable, but the Trump administration “directed agencies to stop all permits for wind farms pending federal review.”
West Virginia is also pushing back on wind energy as Sen. Chris Rose introduced SB 439 which would repeal WV law §11-6A-5a. This law allows wind turbine projects to be taxed at a lower level because they are classified as “pollution control facilities.” Sen. Joey Garcia said of SB 439, “It’s kind of a slap and an affront to those businesses in West Virginia, including those energy businesses that want to bring new investments to the state of West Virginia.”
Ohio has some of the most stringent set-back laws in the USA for wind turbines; 1125 feet from the blade tip to boundary line. However, fracking well pads can be located within 150 feet of a property boundary. Ohio’s SB 52 “grants county commissioners the power to designate areas where wind and solar development can be restricted or prohibited.” But, private land can be taken for fracking using “mandatory pooling laws.”
“There are more than 100,000 acres of former mine lands and other brownfields in West Virginia that could be suitable for solar development.” West Virginia had plans to build solar arrays in these types of areas where extractive industries were once located. But, West Virginians still aren’t able to subscribe to community solar programs in the state, and HB 2568, introduced in February this year, will do away with net metering for public utilities. This is a process which allows citizens with solar panels to sell excess energy back to the grid.
Using SB 52, Ohio counties have stopped several solar projects which would have provided substantial benefits to the communities as well as cheap power for the grid. Recently, Open Road Renewables’ Grange Solar Grazing Center in Logan County withdrew its application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need from the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB). It would have provided thousands of dollars in taxes to the local community along with starting a local sheep grazing industry.
Local opposition stoked by dark money groups and “anti-solar propaganda” were cited as some of the reasons the project (which was an agrivoltaics project) was abandoned. Some claim solar panels are toxic. To address these claims the Ohio Department of Health did a study in 2022 on the safety of solar energy which included: solar materials (Silicon and Tellurium), disposal and storage, heat, noise, electromagnetic fields, and battery storage. For all categories, no public health burden was found, unlike health studies performed for gas fracking by the Physicians for Social Responsibility which found multiple health issues with the process.
“According to Lazard’s 2023 analysis of unsubsidized Levelized Cost of Electricity in the U.S., both onshore wind and utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies are more cost-effective than combined cycle natural gas power plants” and in 2024, solar and wind provided 17 percent of USA electricity, exceeding coal’s 15 percent. Why are Republicans ostracizing renewable energy and biting their noses to spite their faces?
***
Randi Pokladnik is the proud owner of an 8.4kW solar rooftop system.
Posted: May 24, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: More mosquitoes, more problems
May 24, 2025
Dr. Danesha Seth Carley
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
On a recent evening, I stepped outside after dinner to water my tomato plants. Within minutes I was swatting at my arms and legs, rushing back indoors with a fresh batch of itchy bites. If you’ve found yourself doing the same, you’re not alone. Mosquito season is getting longer, their numbers are rising, and they’re showing up in places we haven’t seen them before.
As someone who studies pest management and teaches environmental science, I can tell you: These insect pests aren’t just a nuisance; they are a signal. Climate change is shifting the ecology of our daily lives in a variety of ways — big and small. And mosquitoes — those annoying, tiny, winged opportunists — are thriving in the chaos.
Why are there more mosquitoes now?
Mosquitoes are highly sensitive to changes in temperature, moisture, and seasonality. Warmer weather speeds up their life cycle. A mosquito that once took a week or more to develop from egg to biting adult can now do so in just a few days thanks to higher temperatures. That means, with warmer days and nights, more mosquitoes … faster.
Milder temperatures in many parts of the U.S. mean more mosquitoes are surviving the winters. In regions that used to have a natural “reset” period (think “hard frosts”) mosquito populations now persist, in some cases, year-round or, in other cases, return earlier in the spring.
Add in more frequent and intense rainstorms which leave behind puddles and containers full of water–and we’ve created a perfect breeding ground for these little disease-carrying pests. Even drought doesn’t always slow them down; some mosquito species thrive when water becomes stagnant and polluted.
More mosquitoes mean more disease.
In short, climate change has widened the welcome mat for mosquitoes across the U.S., including areas where they were once rare. The real danger isn’t the itch — it’s the diseases, specifically the viruses, they carry. Many species of mosquitoes are vectors, meaning they can spread pathogens from animal to animal, person to person, or animal to human. And as their ranges expand, so does the potential for disease transmission.
West Nile virus is now the most common mosquito-borne illness in the continental U.S., and it’s been detected in nearly every state. In recent years, we’ve also seen outbreaks of dengue fever in Florida and Texas — diseases once considered tropical are becoming domestic threats. Chikungunya and Zika virus remain active concerns in southern parts of the country.
Many of these viruses can cause high fevers, joint pain, long-term fatigue, or worse. And not every infection makes the news. Mild cases may go unreported, while serious ones can burden families and healthcare systems. These mosquito-borne diseases are no longer just problems “somewhere else” — they’re here, and they’re affecting people who have never traveled outside their home state.
Everyday life is being disrupted.
We often think of climate change as something distant — melting glaciers, rising seas, or global temperature trends. But climate change and its impacts are also local. It’s whether you can comfortably sit on your porch here in the Mid-Ohio Valley watching your kids or grandkids play in the yard while you drink a cold beverage in the evening. It’s whether your city or county can afford to keep up with mosquito control efforts after a wet spring.
On an individual level, we can take steps to reduce mosquito breeding sites around our homes and properties: emptying standing water from buckets, flower pots, and gutters — anything that can collect rainwater.
But ultimately, mosquito control is a community and policy issue. It requires investment in public health infrastructure, surveillance, and education. It also demands that we address the root causes — climate change itself. That includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building more resilient communities, and preparing our public health systems for the changes already underway.
A buzz we shouldn’t ignore.
I’ve spent my career studying the ways pests impact people and our agricultural systems. I’ve learned this: Pests are often messengers. Their presence tells us something about the health of our ecosystems and ourselves. The rise of mosquitoes is telling us clearly that our world is changing — and, unless you are a mosquito-eating bat, it’s not for the better. The mosquito sounds are a buzzing that we should not ignore.
***
Dr. Danesha Seth Carley is director of the Center of Integrated Pest Management at North Carolina State University (and proud West Virginia Mountaineer).
Posted: May 17, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: A report back from college
May 17, 2025
Nate McPeak
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
On the last day my Natural Resources and Human Ecology professor said, “College is about discovering the meaning of life.” While I am not there yet, I do think I am on my way toward finding my meaning. On May 9, I finished my first year at the University of Vermont, studying Wildlife and Fisheries Biology. Vermont is far away, and has different politics compared to West Virginia, but when I’m driving through the mountains in Vermont, I feel like I’m back home.
In my classes, I’ve been learning about Vermont’s progressive policies, which aim to preserve its “sense of place” a term my professor used often. West Virginia, too, has a strong sense of place, but after living in Vermont, I believe West Virginia can do more to preserve it.
Act 250 is Vermont’s land use and development law. This law regulates large development projects that threaten the local environment. It is the state’s greatest asset in maintaining its sense of place. A sense of place for a town like Burlington, Vt., or Parkersburg, W.Va., is essential for building community, and a desire to protect it. When I walk around Burlington, I am constantly surprised by little flower gardens, community libraries, and other projects that make me feel connected to the city. Act 250 has allowed many small local businesses to thrive throughout Burlington. I can shop for clothes, groceries, or even backpacking gear at local shops.
Why does Act 250 favor small businesses? Because the physical footprint of something like a local grocery store is much smaller than, say, a Walmart. Huge flat roofs and massive parking lots create issues with stormwater runoff. When it rains, water that would normally percolate through natural soil can no longer do so; instead, it flows over non-permeable surfaces, carrying chemicals with it. These chemicals end up in our watershed, making the water unsafe to drink and damaging the biodiversity of the local ecosystem.
Vermont lawmakers take the health of the local ecosystem seriously because it’s what brings value to the state. People want to visit Vermont to see the fall foliage, explore the Green Mountains, or ski in the glades. Vermont cannot afford to let corporations destroy the ecosystems it depends on. Another benefit of preserving local ecosystems is that it creates an incredibly strong sense of place. Locals grow up skiing in the woods or hiking in the mountains, cultivating a deep desire to protect the environment. This connection is reflected in the laws they vote for.
My vision for the future is one where the culture surrounding land management in West Virginia becomes more like Vermont’s. We need to begin building a stronger sense of place in West Virginia. This would promote tourism, which in turn creates jobs. A sense of place also goes a long way toward building support for land conservation. If people care about where they are from, they will want to protect it. Most importantly, I believe that a sense of place leads to greater concern about the changing climate. The greatest threat to the attributes that make West Virginia beautiful is climate change.
The current administration has given me and my peers at UVM a lot of anxiety. How are we supposed to create careers with our environmental majors if there is no more funding? It’s easy to feel scared, but we must not let it overwhelm us. I am scared about the threat climate change poses to biodiversity on this planet. At school, I’ve learned that wildlife is part of my “meaning of life.” I want to spend my life studying and protecting wildlife; climate change and the Trump administration are direct threats to that future.
The day after the election, UVM’s campus was quiet. You could feel the disappointment in the air. Going to a class about natural resources was hard that day. My professor knew that and decided to offer some insight before the lecture. He acknowledged the uncertainty of the future, but went on to say that the environment will always need people like us to fight for its protection. The fight cannot stop now!
***
Nate McPeak, 19, has lived in the Mid-Ohio Valley since he was two. He just finished his first year at the University of Vermont studying wildlife and fisheries biology.
Posted: May 10, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: Fairmont’s Chernobyl
May 10, 2025
Giulia Mannarino
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
Last fall, I received an email from a group concerned about public health, informing me of an important event scheduled for Nov. 14, 2024, in Fairmont, W.Va. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be holding their first “Public Meeting” (caps per EPA) to explain the hazard at the site of the former Fairmont Brine Processing facility. The EPA’s “2024 Radiological Health Update” was the topic of the meeting. Because my granddaughter is a student at nearby Fairmont State University, I was very interested. That evening, her mother and I drove to Fairmont for the presentation. Most of the 80+ people in attendance were locals residing near the brine disposal site. In addition to EPA officials, staff from WV Department of Health, WV Department of Environmental Protection and their Office of Environmental Health Services were present.
According to my online research this facility operated from 2013 to 2018. During that time, flowback fluids from “fracking,” otherwise known as “brine,” were sent there for “treatment” and “recycling.” Originally constructed and operated by AOP Clearwater, it was initially hailed as a “big success.” However, when an engineering firm that was called in to evaluate the plant, told them it would need $10 million in upgrades, AOP cleared out. The person who owned the engineering firm, Dave Moniot, got some investors and bought the plant himself. Renamed Fairmont Brine Processing, he hoped to turn the plant around. In 2017, it was discovered that improper disposal of radioactive waste from that site had occurred at a landfill in Kentucky. This led to regulatory scrutiny which became burdensome for the company and once again the site was abandoned. Local high school/ college students began using it as a party spot. On May 30, 2023, it attracted attention when a fire and explosion damaged an above-ground storage tank. Several local fire departments responded as well as WV state agencies which reached out to the EPA. At the time, local news articles referred to it as “Fairmont’s Chernobyl.” The EPA established and (when checked recently) still maintains a website at “Site Profile-Fairmont Brine Site-EPA OSC Response.” Updates are posted regularly.
The EPA began the meeting with introductions of all staff present and requested that questions be held until all presentations were made (paper and pens were made available). They then opened with an informational slideshow about radiation which included types, health effects, doses, natural and man-made sources and TENORMs (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material). These are radioactive materials that have been exposed to the accessible environment as a result of human activities such as fracking. Fluids from fracking operations contain TENORMs, more concentrated than when naturally occurring. Differences between exposure and contamination were reviewed. Then a large map of the site was hung up showing the area involved with locations of a pond, a road, a steel building and an abandoned motor boat. EPA reported their contractors had posted “No Trespassing” signs, fenced the site and installed additional security measures. Particular areas were discussed in more detail. Although EPA data confirms the presence of radioactivity at the site; they emphasized there are no measurable health impacts to the public as long as the site is not trespassed upon. WV staff then gave brief presentations. DEP/OEHS discussed their responsibilities such as the Radiologic Health Program operated by OEHS which does annual inspections of facilities that use radiation machines. Department of Health staff discussed their relevant programs which include a Radon Program that provides free Radon detectors.
Finally public comments/questions were taken. Almost all present expressed concerns about radiation leaking past the current boundaries of the restricted area. Many also were skeptical of EPA’s assurance that the area is only harmful if trespassing occurs. As we left, I turned to my daughter and, especially since Trump had just won the election, expressed concern for my granddaughter. Her wise response was “For everyone, everywhere.” Too true! On May 1, 2025, an online article in the Guardian stated: “Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented assault upon the environment, instigating 145 actions to undo rules protecting clean air, water and a livable climate in this administration’s first 100 days — more rollbacks than were completed in Trump’s entire first term as U.S. president.” These will be facing legal challenges. Hopefully, the courts’ decisions will help save the grandchildren.
***
Giulia Mannarino of Belleville, is a grandmother concerned about her two granddaughters’ futures and a member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.
Posted: May 3, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: Elected officials missing in action
May 3, 2025
Rebecca Phillips
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
Two of Southeast Ohio’s elected officials missed an important opportunity to hear their constituents’ concerns and answer their questions. Last Saturday, April 26, the trustees of the Warren Community Water Board held a public meeting on Deep Rock Disposal’s permit application for yet another injection well, this one in Warren Township. The water board, working with the Warren Township trustees, held this meeting because the Department of Natural Resources declined to do so. Weeks before the meeting date, the trustees invited District 30 Senator Brian Chavez, CEO of Deep Rock, and District 94 Representative Kevin Ritter. Both declined, as did DNR Chief Eric Vendel.
More than 140 people attended this meeting, most of them from the districts represented by the missing officials. They came to tell their stories and ask questions, but the people who claim to represent them could not be bothered to show up. Instead, they were represented by empty chairs, to which the township trustee chairing the meeting occasionally addressed questions.
Speakers at the meeting represented a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints. Owners of oil and gas production wells in Washington County described how their wells were infiltrated by injection well brine and taken out of production, leading to the loss of millions of dollars. An attorney who has worked on gas issues for many years shared information on the legalities surrounding permitting. A local climate activist presented a list of questions that Chief Vendel has not yet answered, many of them regarding the transport of oilfield brine by barge, rail, and road, while I presented information on the toxic and radioactive substances carried in those innocently labeled brine trucks. Audience members raised questions about compensation for production wells lost to brine infiltration, while a Warren Community Water trustee noted that a state geologist had admitted that many unknowns still exist regarding the movement of underground brine.
With so many people raising legitimate concerns, one would think that public servants would consider working with those constituents a primary responsibility. However, last Saturday Senator Chavez, Representative Ritter, and Chief Vendel found more important things to do than listen to the voters whose taxes pay their salaries. I am particularly disappointed in the elected officials, both of whom live in the Marietta area.
Senator Chavez is the CEO of Deep Rock Disposal, the company seeking the permit; he is also the chair of the Ohio Senate Energy Committee and a former member of the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission. Deep Rock’s injection wells have a checkered history. Some of the local oil and gas producers believe that Deep Rock is the source of the brine that has contaminated their wells. In 2023, the company was ordered to suspend operations at its Noble County wells after a series of leaks, one of which contaminated a stream, killed wildlife, and required a $1.3 million cleanup.
It is important to note that there has been no documented migration of injected brine into drinking water aquifers, but humans to this date have not invented a foolproof technology. Warren Community Water has thus far been able to provide clean, safe drinking water to its thousands of rural customers, so it is understandable that its trustees and customers have a right to be concerned about the possibility of radioactivity and chemical toxins migrating into their wells. The senator has stated in interviews that he cares about our water and air since he and his family live here, and there is no reason to doubt that he cares about his family’s well-being. Still, why could he not be bothered to meet with the local voters and officials who took time out of their weekends to attend a public meeting on an issue of concern to them?
Representative Ritter places the following passage on his official website: “Too often we rely on Columbus or even Washington to make decisions that should be happening at the local level. Decisions at the lowest form of government allows voters to have a genuine voice in the process.” That site also touts his concern for improving rural water infrastructure, so why could he not manage to attend a public meeting to hear the voices of his constituents?
If Southeast Ohio and Washington County in particular are to continue to be ground zero for high-pressure injection wells for the country’s toxic oilfield waste, our elected officials owe it to us to meet with citizens and explain why they support this practice.
***
Rebecca Phillips is a longtime Ohio resident and a member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.
Posted: April 26, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: What’s food got to do with it?
Apr 26, 2025
Linda Eve Seth
Anyone with a sincere interest in mitigating Climate Change, may wonder what they can do on a personal level. Admittedly, few of us can individually impact industry or businesses sufficiently to resolve the issue or even change it in a noticeable way. But there are things we can do in our own lives that can add to the good works being done by the Green Party, Greta Thunberg, Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action, and other climate warriors working on The Big Picture.
In the conversation regarding climate change and sustainability, we often see focus being placed on plastic bags and single-use straws, electric vehicles and roof-mounted solar panels, lawn sprinklers and shorter showers. It is encouraging that these discussions are happening and that people are taking steps to lower their carbon emissions, yet, most people who continue to eat meat, may not be aware that their addiction to hamburgers is currently causing the world to burn. Meat and dairy production is responsible for nearly 30% percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. An effective step toward reducing climate change is literally on your plate.
Food production is a significant source of global greenhouse gases. Animal agriculture — particularly the cultivation of beef and dairy cows — is the leading culprit. Americans consume an average of 200 pounds of meat per person per year. It takes a lot of land to grow food for the animals that are intended for human consumption. The growing need for grazing lands leads to deforestation, which eliminates habitat for wild animals and the trees that would otherwise remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and keep moisture in the ground, further exacerbating climate change.
In the U.S. an average family of four emits more greenhouse gases because of the meat they eat than from driving two cars — but it is cars, not steaks, that regularly come up in discussions about global warming. Food needs to be grown and processed, transported, distributed, prepared, consumed, and sometimes disposed of. Each of these steps creates additional greenhouse gases and contributes to climate change.
The third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions related to food are caused by:
* methane from cattle’s digestive processes,
* nitrous oxide from fertilizers used for crop production,
* carbon dioxide from cutting down forests for the expansion of farmland,
* other agricultural emissions from manure management, rice cultivation, burning of crop residues, and the use of fuel on farms.
An additional, smaller share of the offending emissions is related to refrigeration and transport of food, including industrial processes such as the production of paper, plastic, and aluminum for packaging, and the management of food waste.
While a reduction of food-linked emissions can likely be achieved by increasing agricultural efficiency, reducing food waste, limiting excess consumption, increasing yields, and reducing the emission intensity of livestock production, these efforts would not have the same impact as a global transition to a plant-rich diet.
A vegan or plant-based diet can grow 10,000 times as many calories on one acre of land as growing an animal. That’s why eating less meat and dairy is a meaningful way to curb individual environmental impact.
Replacing animal agriculture and shifting to a plant-based diet could drastically curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to numerous recent studies. Filling your daily diet with more plants and fewer animal products has more impact on the environment than taking shorter showers or switching to energy-efficient light bulbs, say scientists at UCLA.
If the world were to end all meat and dairy production and transition to a plant-based food system over the next 15 years, it would prevent enough greenhouse gas emissions to effectively cancel out emissions from all other economic sectors for the next 30 to 50 years. Reducing meat and dairy production isn’t just a nice idea to avert the worst effects of climate change, it is an important part of the global toolbox.
The impact of our dietary choices on climate change is often underestimated. But, if everyone became vegetarian by 2050, research suggests that — largely thanks to the elimination of red meat — food-related emissions would drop by about 60%.
Wanna make a difference? Then, listen to your mother and eat more vegetables if you CARROT all.
Until next time, be kind to your Mother Earth.
***
Linda Eve Seth SLP, M Ed. is a mother, grandmother, vegan, concerned citizen and member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.
Posted: April 19, 2025 by main_y0ke11
Climate Corner: DOGE strikes again for Earth Day
Apr 19, 2025
Jean Ambrose
editorial@newsandsentinel.com
“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
***
The first Earth Day in 1970 responded to a world in crisis — rivers catching fire from pollution, smog choking city skies, and wildlife vanishing at alarming rates. That national outcry led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and, a few years later, the Endangered Species Act. For over five decades, these protections helped preserve clean air, drinkable water, and essential ecosystems.
But today, those hard-won gains are under threat. Federal environmental protections have been weakened or rolled back, and leadership in many agencies now seems more hostile than helpful. In the face of that, the responsibility to safeguard the planet falls more heavily on everyday citizens. If change is going to happen, it’s up to us.
A local example is unfolding right now. Saturday, April 26, a major cleanup of Buckley Island is scheduled as part of the annual Ohio River Sweep. The Friends of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge have spent weeks preparing — coordinating volunteers, planning logistics, and organizing resources. But just yesterday, six AmeriCorps National Service members who had come to assist with the effort were abruptly dismissed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an extralegal agency with growing power and no accountability.
This follows a disturbing pattern. DOGE previously fired staff at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and now they’re interfering in environmental work with no explanation or regard for local impact. Their actions threaten more than just a weekend cleanup. Local projects — like tree planting and trail retaining wall construction — were planned based on having a full-time crew. The disruption affects not only the health of the Ohio River but the Refuge’s ability to attract visitors and support the local economy.
What can we do? We show up. We act. We clean up our rivers, plant our trees, and refuse to be sidelined.
Join us on Saturday. Boats will depart for Buckley Island from the Williamstown boat ramp (101 Julia Ave) at 1 p.m. All cleanup supplies will be provided. Before that, volunteers can enjoy a simple lunch at noon, hosted by Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action (MOVCA) at the nearby Refuge office. To help organizers prepare, please email Hunt Brawley at hbrawley@peoplesbanktheatre.com to register. But if you can’t RSVP, come anyway. Your presence matters.
This year, it’s especially vital for youth groups and volunteer teams to connect with the Refuge to help finish the work left undone — planting trees and stabilizing trails that protect the island’s future.
Action is the antidote to despair. Even small, local efforts can bring real change — and that change gives us hope.
Fortunately, the Mid-Ohio Valley is home to many organizations ready to support your ideas and passion for protecting the earth. Here are just a few:
* Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action (MOVCA), focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainability. Find resources and connect at movclimateaction.org or on their active Facebook page.
* Green Sanctuary Committee, based at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta. This group models how faith communities can lead through pollinator gardens, solar energy, ethical eating, and public education.
* West Virginia Rivers Coalition advocates for clean water across the state, monitoring water quality and educating the public. More at wvrivers.org.
* WV Citizen Action Group partners with MOVCA to provide PurpleAir monitors, allowing residents to track local air quality. Contact Kayla Deem at kayladeem@ymail.com or 304-483-3718.
* Save Ohio Parks, a grassroots group, fights to protect public lands from oil and gas extraction, especially in Ohio’s state parks and forests. Learn more at hello@saveohioparks.org.
* Ecological Restoration Projects, led by Mark Krivchenia. Volunteers remove invasive species and restore habitats in parks like Mountwood and Broughton Preserve. Contact mark.krivchenia@gmail.com.
* Buckeye Environmental Network, a watchdog group exposing environmental risks — like spreading toxic oil and gas waste on Ohio roads. Their Brine Waste Task Force is pushing for reform. Contact: roxannegroff1227@gmail.com.
* Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL), a nonpartisan organization advocating for national climate policy and educating Congress. For Ohio’s District 06, contact George Banziger at gbanziger497@gmail.com.
Despite its wounds, the Earth still gives to us — with beauty, wonder, and sustenance. It’s time we return the gift. Let’s rise with hope and purpose, shoulder to shoulder, and protect what we all share.
***
Jean Ambrose works at not being a criminal ancestor to her granddaughter.
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