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Are You Remembering to Breathe?
by Duane Nichols 06 Nov '20

06 Nov '20

https://wvrivers.salsalabs.org/breathe?wvpId=1484761a-9d09-4d6b-911f-c33d0a… Sent from my iPad

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Nasal Spray Prevents Covid Infection in Ferrets, Study Finds
by Duane Nichols 06 Nov '20

06 Nov '20

NEW YORK TIMES 6 NOVEMBER 2020 Nasal Spray Prevents Covid Infection in Ferrets, Study Finds Scientists at Columbia University have developed a treatment that blocks the virus in the nose and lungs, is inexpensive and needs no refrigeration. Ferrets are used by scientists studying flu, SARS and other respiratory diseases because the animals can catch viruses through the nose much like humans do.Credit...Peter Kovalev\TASS, via Getty Images By Donald G. McNeil Jr., New York Times. • Nov. 5, 2020 • A nasal spray that blocks the absorption of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has completely protected ferrets it was tested on, according to a small study released on Thursday by an international team of scientists. The study, which was limited to animals and has not yet been peer-reviewed, was assessed by several health experts at the request of The New York Times. If the spray, which the scientists described as nontoxic and stable, is proved to work in humans, it could provide a new way of fighting the pandemic. A daily spritz up the nose would act like a vaccine. “Having something new that works against the coronavirus is exciting,” said Dr. Arturo Casadevall, the chairman of immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study. “I could imagine this being part of the arsenal.” The work has been underway for months by scientists from Columbia University Medical Center in New York, Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands and Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Columbia University Medical Center. The team would require additional funding to pursue clinical trials in humans. Dr. Anne Moscona, a pediatrician and microbiologist at Columbia and co-author of the study, said they had applied for a patent on the product, and she hoped Columbia University would approach the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed or large pharmaceutical companies that are seeking new ways to combat the coronavirus. The spray attacks the virus directly. It contains a lipopeptide, a cholesterol particle linked to a chain of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. This particular lipopeptide exactly matches a stretch of amino acids in the spike protein of the virus, which the pathogen uses to attach to a human airway or lung cell. Before a virus can inject its RNA into a cell, the spike must effectively unzip, exposing two chains of amino acids, in order to fuse to the cell wall. As the spike zips back up to complete the process, the lipopeptide in the spray inserts itself, latching on to one of the spike’s amino acid chains and preventing the virus from attaching. “It is like you are zipping a zipper but you put another zipper inside, so the two sides cannot meet,” said Matteo Porotto, a microbiologist at Columbia University and one of the paper’s authors. The work was described in a paper posted to the preprint server bioRxiv Thursday morning, and has been submitted to the journal Science for peer review. Dr. Peter J. Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said the therapy looked “really promising.” “What I’d like to know now is how easy it is to scale production,” he said. In the study, the spray was given to six ferrets, which were then divided into pairs and placed in three cages. Into each cage also went two ferrets that had been given a placebo spray and one ferret that had been deliberately infected with SARS-CoV-2 a day or two earlier. Ferrets are used by scientists studying flu, SARS and other respiratory diseases because they can catch viruses through the nose much as humans do, although they also infect each other by contact with feces or by scratching and biting. After 24 hours together, none of the sprayed ferrets caught the disease; all the placebo-group ferrets did. “Virus replication was completely blocked,” the authors wrote. The protective spray attaches to cells in the nose and lungs and lasts about 24 hours, Dr. Moscona said. “If it works this well in humans, you could sleep in a bed with someone infected or be with your infected kids and still be safe,” she said. The amino acids come from a stretch of the spike protein in coronaviruses that rarely mutates. The scientists tested it against four different variants of the virus, including both the well-known “Wuhan” and “Italian” strains, and also against the coronaviruses that cause SARS and MERS. In cell cultures, it protected completely against all strains of the pandemic virus, fairly well against SARS and partially against MERS. The lipoprotein can be inexpensively produced as a freeze-dried white powder that does not need refrigeration, Dr. Moscona said. A doctor or pharmacist could mix the powder with sugar and water to produce a nasal spray. Other labs have designed antibodies and “mini-proteins” that also block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering cells, but these are chemically more complex and may need to be stored in cold temperatures. Dr. Moscona and Dr. Porotto have been collaborating on similar “fusion inhibitor” peptides for 15 years, they said in a conference call. They have developed some against measles, Nipah, parainfluenza and other viruses. But those products aroused little commercial interest, Dr. Porotto said, because an effective measles vaccine already exists and because the deadly Nipah virus only turns up occasionally in faraway places like Bangladesh and Malaysia. Monoclonal antibodies to the new coronavirus have been shown to prevent infection as well as treat it, but they are expensive to make, require refrigeration and must be injected. Australian scientists have tested a nasal spray against Covid-19 in ferrets, but it works by enhancing the immune system, not by targeting the virus directly. Because lipopeptides can be shipped as a dry powder, they could be used even in rural areas in poor countries that lack refrigeration, Dr. Moscona said. Dr. Moscona, a pediatrician who usually works on parainfluenza and other viruses that infect children, said she was most interested in getting the product to poor countries that may never have access to the monoclonal antibodies and mRNA vaccines that Americans may soon have. But she has little experience in that arena, she said. “I’ve always been a basic scientist,” she said. “I’ve never done drug development or taken anything to the F.D.A. or anything like that.” Donald G. McNeil Jr. is a science reporter covering epidemics and diseases of the world’s poor. He joined The Times in 1976, has reported from 60 countries and is a winner of the John Chancellor Award. A version of this article appears in print on Nov. 6, 2020, Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Nasal Spray Halts Covid in Ferrets, Study Finds. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/health/coronavirus-ferrets-vaccine-spray…

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Fwd: Making the Invisible Visible: What You Don’t See Can Hurt You
by Duane Nichols 05 Nov '20

05 Nov '20

From: "Concerned Ohio River Residents via ActionNetwork.org" <info(a)email.actionnetwork.org> > Date: November 5, 2020 at 4:05:20 PM EST > To: Duane330(a)aol.com > Subject: Making the Invisible Visible: What You Don’t See Can Hurt You > Reply-To: concernedohioriverresidents(a)yahoo.com > > > > In just a few hours, join the first session of Making the Invisible Visible, our webinar and Q&A on air pollution and inadequate regulation in the Ohio River Valley. Ohio regulatory agencies' inadequate monitoring and oversight of fracking-related air pollution in Belmont County endangers our health and livelihoods, especially if an ethane cracker plant is also built in the region. Join us this evening to learn more! > Register for our webinar and Q&A TONIGHT from 6:30pm to 8:00pm EST. > > If you can't make it tonight, we're hosting a second session of Making the Invisible Visible on Thursday, November 19th at 6:30pm. Save the date and register here. > > The Ohio River Valley is already endangered by the cumulative pollution caused by the fracking industry, including toxic chemicals and radioactive particulate matter. Learn more about how you can protect yourself by participating in a community monitoring program to establish baseline air quality data and advise residents of their exposures and associated health effects. > > See who’s attending our event on Facebook. > > What you’ll get from tonight's presentation: > > Information on the potential health risks posed by proximity to shale gas wells and other fracking-related facilities. > > An understanding of state regulatory agencies’ complicity in allowing petrochemical facilities to emit potentially dangerous levels of chemical pollutants into the air we breathe. > > The opportunity to discuss air pollution in Belmont County with scientists, air monitoring experts, public health professionals, and community advocates during a 30-minute Q&A session. > > This presentation was made possible with the help of the Freshwater Accountability Project, the American Geophysical Union’s Thriving Earth Exchange, Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab, FracTracker Alliance, Concerned Ohio River Residents, Halt the Harm Network, and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project. > > Thanks for reading! We look forward to seeing you tonight, > > Ben Hunkler > > Organizer, Concerned Ohio River Residents > > > Sent via Action Network, a free online toolset anyone can use to organize. Click here to sign up and get started building an email list and creating online actions today. > Action Network is an open platform that empowers individuals and groups to organize for progressive causes. We encourage responsible activism, and do not support using the platform to take unlawful or other improper action. We do not control or endorse the conduct of users and make no representations of any kind about them. > You can unsubscribe or update your email address or change your name and address by changing your subscription preferences here. >

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U.S. Now Officially Out of the Paris Climate Agreement - EcoWatch
by Duane Nichols 05 Nov '20

05 Nov '20

U.S. Now Officially Out of the Paris Climate Agreement - EcoWatch https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-agreement-us-withdrawal-2648618695.html From an Article by Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch.com, November 5, 2020 The U.S. has officially left the Paris climate agreement. However, the permanence of its departure hangs on the still-uncertain outcome of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. While President Donald Trump made the decision to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement, his rival former Vice President Joe Biden has promised to rejoin "on day one," as NPR pointed out. Either way, the U.S. withdrawal has hurt trust in the country's ability to follow through on climate diplomacy initiated by one administration when another takes power. "Being out formally obviously hurts the US reputation," former Obama administration climate official Andrew Light told BBC News. "This will be the second time that the United States has been the primary force behind negotiating a new climate deal — with the Kyoto Protocol we never ratified it, in the case of the Paris Agreement, we left it. So, I think it's obviously a problem." The landmark 2015 agreement was designed to limit the global warming causing the climate crisis to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and ideally to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The U.S. is currently responsible for around 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, but it is historically the country that has contributed the most emissions to the atmosphere, NPR pointed out. Under the Paris agreement, the U.S. had pledged to reduce emissions around 25 percent by 2025 compared to 2005 levels, but it is now only on track to reduce them by 17 percent. This is partly due to Trump administration environmental policies like the rollback of Obama-era emissions controls on power plantsand vehicles. Emissions rose during the first two years of Trump's presidency but have declined in 2020 because of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. withdrawal has also affected a global fund intended to help poorer countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis adapt to rising seas and temperatures. The U.S. had originally committed to supplying $3 billion, but the Trump administration withdrew two-thirds of that amount. "The U.S. was a major pledger to that first funding. When they never delivered, that certainly was an impact to us," Carlos Fuller, the lead climate negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States, told NPR. Trump first formally announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris agreement in 2017, arguing that it would harm U.S. jobs, The New York Times reported. His administration formally began the withdrawal process Nov. 4, 2019, the earliest date possible under UN rules. That process then took a year, which is why the U.S. is officially out today. If Biden wins and rejoins the agreement on Jan. 20, the reversal would be effective 30 days later. The U.S. is now the only country to withdraw from the accord. It has been signed by 195 countries and ratified by 189. In the absence of U.S. leadership, other major players have pressed forward. In the past month, the European Parliament has voted to reduce emissions 60 percent by 2030, while China has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2060 and Japan and South Korea have both promised to do the same by 2050. "There's momentum continuing to build even with the U.S. pulling out," Union of Concerned Scientists director Alden Meyer told The New York Times. "The question is, would it continue without the U.S. fully on board?"

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Unusually mild weather is likely to linger for about a week
by Duane Nichols 04 Nov '20

04 Nov '20

WASHINGTON POST 4 NOVEMBER 2020 Unusual and enduring warmth to overspread central, eastern U.S. By Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, November 3, 2020 Abnormally mild weather is en route to the central and eastern United States to carry us into mid-November. High temperatures some 10 to 15 degrees above average are likely for about a week’s time, overspreading regions from the Plains and Mississippi Valley all the way to the Atlantic coast. The predicted warmth is a dramatic turnaround from earlier this week, when a fall cold front swung through Sunday with howling winds, nippy temperatures and an insurgence of bone-dry air. Now, highs could hit 70 in places like Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago and perhaps even Boston, the balmy temperature set to stick around through at least Veterans Day (Nov. 11). In these locations, it will feel more like early October than early November. High pressure in control The warmth is all thanks to a slow-moving dome of high pressure, bringing southerly winds and sunshine to much of the southern and eastern United States. It was anchored over the South and Gulf Coast on Tuesday, but will saunter east, the core of it slipping offshore toward the Canadian Maritimes late week. That ridge of high pressure will stall offshore, southerly winds on the western flank of its clockwise flow pumping warm, slightly more humid air up the Atlantic seaboard. All major weather systems will be diverted to the north and west, allowing about a week of tranquil, mild weather.That warm “blocking high” will probably begin to break down around Nov. 10 to 12. Temperatures begin to increase on Wednesday, when winds shift more from the south and southeast for the eastern United States. D.C. should make it into the mid-60s, along with Chicago, Atlanta and Charlotte. The onshore flow will entrench New England in lingering cool air, with highs on Wednesday only in the lower 50s. A temperature seesaw across the Lower 48 On Thursday, temperatures will really begin to spike, with highs some 25 degrees or more above normal in parts of the northern Plains and Intermountain West. Billings, Mont., and Casper, Wyo., could climb into the lower 70s. Both locations would ordinarily be in the upper 40s this time of year; Billings recorded 20 inches of snow in October. Denver will be in the 70s, too. By Friday, 70 degrees is pretty much the magic number across most of the central and eastern United States. Highs in the lower 70s are likely from the Four Corners region east through the Plains. Minneapolis, a city that saw its earliest heavy snowfall on record this season after nearly 8 inches fell on Oct. 20, could nick the 70 degree mark. D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York could also flirt with or exceed 70 degrees, while Boston will likely enjoy mid- to upper 60s. Meanwhile, a cold front will begin gathering over the West this weekend as a dip in the jet stream allows frigid air to descend south from Canada. Billings, which days before will have basked in springlike warmth, may not make it above freezing this weekend. In fact, the high on Sunday is predicted at 20 degrees. Casper, Bismarck, N.D., and Salt Lake City will all plummet into the upper 20s and lower to mid-30s by Sunday, with the cold reaching Denver and Minneapolis on Monday. Simultaneously, the nation’s temperature seesaw will continue to favor warmth in the East. The prolonged above-average temperatures along the East Coast could last into the start of winter, albeit punctuated with intermittent spurts of chill. The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center calls for increased odds of above-average temperatures over the East Coast, Ohio Valley and Southeast through at least mid-November, with slightly above-average conditions likely over much of the Lower 48 through February. Matthew Cappucci Matthew Cappucci is a meteorologist for Capital Weather Gang. He earned a B.A. in atmospheric sciences from Harvard University in 2019, and has contributed to The Washington Post since he was 18. He is an avid storm chaser and adventurer, and covers all types of weather, climate science, and astronomy. URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/11/03/eastern-us-warm-temperatu…

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Longview Pilot.pdf
by Duane Nichols 01 Nov '20

01 Nov '20

For your information .... political fever brings out secret details ... DGN Sent from my iPad

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Final call, Please register to speak against the Longview Greenhouse gas permit
by Duane Nichols 26 Oct '20

26 Oct '20

From: MON VALLEY CLEAN AIR COALITION > Date: October 26, 2020 at 7:12:43 PM EDT > > Subject: Final call, Please register to speak against the Longview Greenhouse gas permit > > If you have not already done so, please click the link in the announcement below to register to speak at the "Virtual Hearing" on Longview I Greenhouse Gas Permit. > > I attach the draft permit, the DEP's Engineering Evaluation, and some comments from a Sierra Engineer who has examined the permit. > > But if you don't have time to read all this, One simple message to WV-DEP: > > "We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, please do not allow Longview to increase them, as proposed in this draft permit." > > Thank you. > > Jim Kotcon, Sierra Club & MVCAC > > P.S. Invite a friend! > > =========================================================== > > Friday, October 9, 2020 @ 9:04 AM > > > AIR QUALITY PERMIT NOTICE AND PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULED > > Notice of Intent to Approve > > On June 1, 2020, Longview Power, LLC applied to the WV Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality (DAQ) for a permit to establish a carbon dioxide emission standard for an electricity generation facility located at 1375 Fort Martin Road, Maidsville, Monongalia County, WV, at 39.7090 latitude and -79.9589 longitude. A preliminary evaluation has determined that all State and Federal air quality requirements will be met by the proposed facility. The DAQ is providing notice to the public of its preliminary determination to issue the permit as R13-3495. > > This permitting action will establish a weighted carbon dioxide standard on a calendar year basis using the established load bin limits below and the hours of operation in each load bin during the year. > > Load Bin Load Bin Range > (MWh G) Normal Operation > Level 1 Limit* > (lb CO2/MWh Net) Impaired Operation > Level 2 Limit** > (lb CO2/MWh Net) > LB-0 0-313 9,864G N/A > LB-1 >313-407 2,230 2,453 > LB-2 >407-501 2,108 2,319 > LB-3 >501-595 2,050 2,255 > LB-4 >595-689 2,002 2,202 > LB-5 >689 1,958 2,154 > > G = Gross generation in terms of MWh gross electricity generation. > * = Normal Operations above the minimum stable load of the emission unit. > ** = Impaired Operations above the minimum stable load that has been approved by the Director for a specified duration of time. Impaired Operation means that the unit can operate below normal efficiency due to unavoidable equipment failure. > > After the initial compliance year, the above limits will be increase by 0.4% annually due to unit degradation with a recovery rate that decreases the limit by 0.7% once every five years. In the year 2046, these limits will be fixed thereafter at the following limits: > > Load Bin Load Bin Range > (MWh G) Normal Operation > Level 1 Limit* > (lb CO2/MWh Net) Impaired Operation > Level 2 Limit** > (lb CO2/MWh Net) > LB-0 0-313 10,523G N/A > LB-1 >313-407 2,379 2,617 > LB-2 >407-501 2,249 2,474 > LB-3 >501-595 2,187 2,406 > LB-4 >595-689 2,136 2,349 > LB-5 >689 2,089 2,298 > > > The DAQ has scheduled a public meeting for 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. The public meeting will be held virtually to prevent the spread of COVID- > 19 in accordance with the Governor’s Safer at Home Order and the WVDEP COVID-19 Policy. Instructions for providing written comments and for providing oral comments at the virtual public meeting are provided below. > > The purpose of the public review process is to accept public comments on air quality issues relevant to this determination. Only written comments or comments presented orally at the scheduled public meeting, will be considered prior to final action on the permit. All such comments will become part of the public record. > > Written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 9, 2020: > • Email written comments to Edward.S.Andrews(a)wv.gov with “Longview > Power Comments” in the subject line, or > • Mail hard copy comments to Edward Andrews, WV Department of > Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 57th Street, SE, Charleston, WV 25304. > > Public meeting participation: > • Members of the public can participate online or listen via > telephone. Participant pre-registration is required by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. > > To register, please complete the participant registration form at https://apps.dep.wv.gov/daq-register/133495. > > A confirmation email will be sent with information on how to join the public meeting. If you do not have internet access and want to register, please contact Sandie Adkins (ext. 41243) or Stephanie Hammonds (ext. 41263) at (304) 926-0475 by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 26, 2020. > > Additional information, including copies of the draft permit, application and all other supporting materials relevant to the permit decision may be obtained by contacting the engineer listed below or downloaded at: > > https://dep.wv.gov/daq/permitting/Pages/NSR-Permit-Applications.aspx > > Edward Andrews > WV Department of Environmental Protection Division of Air Quality > 601 57th Street, SE > Charleston, WV 25304 > Telephone: 304/926-0499, ext. 41244 > edward.s.andrews(a)wv.gov > > =========================================================== > > >

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TONIGHT, 6PM EDT - "Climate Generations" Global Webinar
by Duane Nichols 22 Oct '20

22 Oct '20

From: "Eve Marcum-Atkinson | WV Citizen Action Group" <eve(a)wvcag.org> > Date: October 22, 2020 at 2:51:17 PM EDT > > Subject: TONIGHT, 6PM EDT - "Climate Generations" Global Webinar > Reply-To: info(a)wvcag.org > > > > "What Do We Tell The Kids -- and What Are They Telling Us? > Generational Perspectives and the Climate Crisis." > > A Free Online Global Webinar > TONIGHT! > 6:00-8:00 PM US-EDT > > > > Dear Friend, > > > > Are you concerned about global warming and the climate crisis, and looking for solutions that involve people of all ages? > > If your answer is "YES," then TONIGHT please join others from around the world for a free, live, expert-led global webinar, originating from right here in WV, about how different generations can work together for climate solutions. > > Click this link to Register! > > Thank you for taking action for Earth! > > > Sincerely, > > Eve Marcum-Atkinson > Communications Coordinator, WV Citizen Action Group > > > > > West Virginia Citizen Action Group > a: 1500 Dixie St., Charleston WV 25311 > e: info(a)wvcag.org > > > DONATE > unsubscribe

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Three Scenarios for the Future of Climate Change | The New Yorker, 10/5/20
by Duane Nichols 11 Oct '20

11 Oct '20

Three Scenarios for the Future of Climate Change, Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, October 5, 2020 Three Scenarios for the Future of Climate Change. What will the Earth look like thirty years from now? To a discomfiting extent, the future has already been written. There’s a great deal of inertia in the climate system; as a result, we’ve yet to experience the full effects of the CO2 that’s been emitted to date. No matter what happens during the next few decades, it’s pretty much guaranteed that glaciers and ice sheets will continue to melt, as temperatures and sea levels continue to rise. But to an extent that, depending on your perspective, is either heartening or horrifying, the future—and not just of the next several decades but of the next several millennia—hinges on actions that will be taken by the time today’s toddlers reach adulthood. What’s technically referred to as “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” and colloquially known as “catastrophe” is warming so dramatic that it’s apt to obliterate whole nations (such as the Marshall Islands and the Maldives) and destroy entire ecosystems (such as coral reefs). https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/three-scenarios-f…

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Living on Earth: Beyond the Headlines
by Duane Nichols 10 Oct '20

10 Oct '20

https://loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=20-P13-00041&segmentID=5 Beyond the Headlines From LIVING ON EARTH, Air Date: Week of October 9, 2020 On this week's Beyond the Headlines, Environmental Health News Editor Peter Dykstra tells Host Bobby Bascomb about a plan to drill along the Atlantic that has fallen apart due to un-renewed seismic blasting permits. Then, the pair talk about how more K-12 schools are powering classrooms with solar energy. Finally, from the history books, the anniversary of a coal slurry spill that weakened the coal lobby's stranglehold on Appalachia. Transcript CURWOOD: It’s Living on Earth, I’m Steve Curwood. BASCOMB: And I’m Bobby Bascomb. It’s time for a trip now Beyond the Headlines with Peter Dykstra. Peter is an editor with Environmental Health News, that’s EHN dot org and Daily Climate dot org. DYKSTRA: Hi Bobby, there's a little bit of news that's flipped on the conventional wisdom, instead of people working to save whales, in at least one court case on the Atlantic coast, whales have helped save humans. BASCOMB: Oh, how's that? DYKSTRA: Well, there's some situation along the eastern coast of the US where the Trump administration had wanted to pursue seismic testing as the first step in the search for offshore oil. Seismic testing is contended to have done damage to whales and other marine mammals. Seismic testing is the firing of these huge compressed air cannons fired at the ocean floor and the feedback from those explosions helps determine whether or not there's oil and gas beneath the ocean floor. And because of court cases in South Carolina and elsewhere, the Trump administration appears poised to drop its efforts for permits for seismic testing, which means no offshore oil in the Atlantic. BASCOMB: Well, I know that the governors of these coastal states are opposed to drilling for oil off their shores and President Trump exempted Florida from offshore oil drilling but how have the oil companies themselves responded to this news? DYKSTRA: They haven't really responded much at all, possibly because oil drilling on the East Coast is something they never wanted in the first place. It's politically controversial. It involves risk of potentially catastrophic spill in some of our most beloved beach areas. And it's just not financially worth it. Any kind of offshore oil and gas recovery is expensive and this particular proposal comes at a time when oil is cheap. In other words, spending extra to get oil that is going to have a far lower profit margin and a much higher political expense. BASCOMB: All right, well, thank you to the whales, then. What else do you have for us this week? DYKSTRA: There's a little good news, according to a solar industry report, there's an 81% increase in K through 12 schools, kindergarten through high school that use solar power. That increase over the last five years, means 5.3 million kids and teens are going to school using solar energy. BASCOMB: Wow, that's amazing. I mean, it's very forward thinking, you know, and stands to reason for an organization that's inherently thinking about the future, you know, educating children, DYKSTRA: And a couple of practical concerns number one are schools are chronically underfunded, this may be another way to save energy costs. Schools just like a Walmart or a Target or a Costco have a lot of roof space and that roof space can be making energy and making money instead of being a neutral item on stretch school budgets. BASCOMB: Yeah, for sure. What do you have for us from the history books this week? DYKSTRA: October 11, 1980 fourty years ago, a coal company called Massey Energy saw its coal slurry dam fail, sending contaminated water through a couple of communities and into the Big Sandy River that's on the West Virginia Kentucky border, causing a tremendous water pollution problem. The Ohio River downstream is a major drinking water source for the region. That particular incident didn't bring with it a high death toll but almost exactly 30 years later in 2010, another Massey Energy project, a mine at Upper Big Branch in West Virginia caught fire, partly collapsed. Twenty-nine miners were killed and in an unprecedented legal move the flamboyant CEO of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship was sent to jail for a year for mine safety violations that killed those 29 miners. BASCOMB: Well, one year in prison for the death of 29 people I mean, doesn't sound like very much. DYKSTRA: It doesn't sound like very much but because it's set a precedent and began to shake the stranglehold that big coal had on Law and Justice in the environment in Appalachia. It was a significant move. Don Blankenship was also a major political player, going to jail for a year certainly brought him down a notch as well. BASCOMB: All right well, thank you Peter. Peter Dykstra is an editor with Environmental Health News that's ehn.org and dailyclimate.org. We'll talk to you again real soon. DYKSTRA: All right, Bobby, thanks a lot. Talk to you soon. BASCOMB: And there's more on these stories at the Living on Earth website that's loe.org. #. #. #. #. #. #. . #. #. #. #. #.

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