- News - lists.bikelover.org

TRAIN DISASTER in East Palestine Pollutes Eastern Ohio & Ohio River
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 05 Mar '23

05 Mar '23

# [TRAIN DISASTER in East Palestine Pollutes Eastern Ohio & Ohio River](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/05/train-disaster-in-east- palestine-pollutes-eastern-ohio-ohio-river/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/03/FEDCD3F5-C5F1-4158-ABFA-B46AD3EBF48C-300x168.jpg)](… content/uploads/2023/03/FEDCD3F5-C5F1-4158-ABFA-B46AD3EBF48C.jpeg) Chemical pollution toxic to land, to fish, to animals and people. (Click image to enlarge it) **Environmental Disaster from East Palestine, OH Train Derailment** From the [Article by Leigh Martinez, PennFuture Blog](https://www.pennfuture.org/Blog-Item-2023-East-Palestine-Ohio-Train- Disaster), February 23, 2023 The East Palestine, Ohio train derailment disaster is shocking in its scale and potential effects. Unfortunately, we may not know this disaster's long- term health and environmental impacts for months or even years. The gradual release and burn of these chemicals increased the risk that they spread beyond the crash site. With butyl acrylate found in local surface water, testing the groundwater supply and subsoil is crucial. We encourage anyone concerned about pollution and the safety of their community to document their observations and request soil and well water testing from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The residents of East Palestine and neighboring communities deserve transparency around the EPA's plan for continued air quality monitoring and the data of air tests. Regardless of location and as a regular practice, residents should report any unusual odor or changes in environmental conditions to the appropriate state environmental agency. We encourage residents to do their best to document the changes they've observed so environmental threats can be tracked and mitigated. PennFuture continues to closely track developments and information coming from both locals and government agencies. **What We Know of the Accident** ~ On Friday, February 3, at 8:54 p.m. ET, a Norfolk Southern freight train heading to Conway, Pennsylvania, derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, approximately 1.2 miles from the Pennsylvania state line. Thirty-eight rail cars went off the tracks and caught fire. According to the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB), the investigating agency, a resident's home surveillance video showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheating failure moments before the derailment. The fear of a possible explosion forced the evacuation of 1,500 to 2,000 residents in a town of only 4,900. **An Explanation of the Environmental Disaster ~** The train towed 20 cars with hazardous material—11 of which derailed. Five overturned cars contained vinyl chloride, a chemical used to make PVC plastic and vinyl products. According to the National Cancer Institute, it is a flammable gas and cancer- causing. Norfolk Southern said some cars carrying vinyl chloride were at risk of exploding. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine authorized a controlled burn of the chemicals on Monday, February 6. This burn resulted in a massive smoke plume. **Vinyl Chloride ~** When burned, vinyl chloride breaks down into two chemicals: hydrogen chloride and phosgene. Phosgene is highly poisonous—used in chemical warfare during World War I and responsible for many deaths, according to the CDC. While long-term exposure to higher concentrations of the gas can be deadly, the gas released by Norfolk did not result in reports of injuries or fatalities. **Hydrogen Chloride ~** This strong acid gas can cause eye, skin, and respiratory irritation and pain. **Other Chemicals Onboard ~** In addition to vinyl chloride, the EPA listed the following chemicals as also on the train: 3. Butyl acrylate — a liquid used for making paint, adhesives, and sealants, 4. Ethylhexyl acrylate — a liquid used for making paint, printing inks, and plastics, is toxic to the lungs and nervous system, 5. Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether — an industrial solvent that can be absorbed through the skin and is toxic to the liver and kidneys, 6. Isobutylene — a gas used in antioxidants, packaging, plastics, and high-octane plane fuel. **It 's currently known that the derailment caused the release of butyl acrylate and ethylhexyl acrylate, which leaked into the ground, nearby streams, and storm drains.** Another major cause for alarm is the areas of contaminated soil and free liquids that, according to the EPA, "were observed and potentially covered and/or filled during reconstruction of the rail line including portions of the trench /burn pit that was used for the open burn off of vinyl chloride." Having multiple chemicals released adds to the complexity of the situation. On Tuesday, February 21, EPA Administrator Michael Regan ordered Norfolk Southern Railway to pay for the contaminated soil and water cleanup and reimburse the EPA for the private cleanup of residential homes and businesses. This order enables the EPA to force Norfolk Southern to adhere to a plan set and managed by the EPA. **Health Impacts ~** The EPA monitored the air quality and tested East Palestine's municipal drinking water well. Private well water testing is ongoing and residents with wells are told to still use bottled water. The EPA did not yet release the data from air monitor testing. **Drinking Water ~** Ohio Gov. DeWine said on Wednesday, February 16, that the water in East Palestine's municipal system is safe to drink based on the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's results, however: 1. The Ohio EPA recommends people using private wells for drinking water schedule an appointment for well water testing. 2. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will conduct independent water sampling to monitor water contamination risks related to the train derailment closely. **Air Monitoring ~** Air quality monitors are a tool to measure exposure to air contaminants, but the technology has limitations. While the EPA has come out to say the air quality in and around East Palestine is safe for residents to return home, officials have not provided any data from the air tests. Depending on which types of air monitors the EPA is utilizing, they may not be providing the exact chemical breakdown and measurements in the air. How a healthy first responder reacts to a particular air quality measurement differs from an older adult or a child. The EPA needs to be transparent with community members on the technology used to test air quality, the limitations of the equipment, the chemical specificity found, and the measurements. **Environmental Impacts ~** The Norfolk Southern train carried 20 cars with hazardous materials. After the spill, chemicals—including an entire load of butyl acrylates—were seen running into storm drains and water sources. As of Tuesday, February 21—two weeks after the train derailment—Norfolk Southern reported the chemical spill contaminated at least 15,000 pounds of soil and 1.1 million gallons of water. Locals documented images of dead fish and an oily sheen along Ohio River tributaries days after the spill. Those streams are reintroduction sites for the hellbender salamander. Water pollution puts endangered amphibian species at risk. An official with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources told WKBN that it would take time to know the effects on the hellbender. The federal government's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry opened an investigation tracking the chemical exposure. **Water Contamination ~** According to the Ohio EPA, the Sulphur Run stream was the body of water most impacted by the derailment because of an "impoundment" on February 8 when officials rerouted the water with the damming and pumps. Environmental teams dammed a portion of Sulphur Run and rerouted it to protect water downstream. Teams will treat contaminated water with booms, aeration, and carbon filtration units. **What Are Dioxins?** Dioxins are highly toxic, persistent organic pollutants that take a long time to break down once in the environment. They are a contaminant formed during the production of some chlorinated organic compounds, released through waste incineration or burning fuels. Dioxins can travel long distances in the air or water; when they settle into the soil, it will take several years to break down. Once in the environment, they can accumulate in the food chain—primarily in animal fat, fish, and shellfish. Dioxins can cause cancer, disrupt hormones, lead to reproductive and developmental problems, and damage the immune system. In July 1976, a chemical plant explosion near Seveso, Italy exposed locals to the highest known levels of dioxin. Ohio's senators Sherrod Brown (D) and J.D. Vance (R) sent a joint letter requesting the state and federal EPAs to test the air for dioxins. [Follow EPA updates on the environmental impact of the Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster.](https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=15933) **What Pennsylvania Leaders Say About Railroad Safety ~** **On Tuesday, February 21, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said his office made a criminal referral against Norfolk Southern to the acting Pennsylvania attorney general for review. At a press conference with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Shapiro said: "The combination of Norfolk Southern's corporate greed, incompetence, and lack of care for our residents is absolutely unacceptable."** Shapiro previously said publicly and in a letter to Norfolk Southern's CEO: "You can be assured that Pennsylvania will hold Norfolk Southern accountable for any and all impacts to our Commonwealth." **Gov. Shapiro listed three critical things Norfolk Southern did wrong after the derailment:** 1\. Norfolk Southern made its own plan and did not implement a unified command which confused first responders and emergency management. As a result, state and local agencies had to react versus work in tandem. 2\. Norfolk Southern gave inaccurate information and conflicting modeling about the impact of the controlled release of chemicals. 3\. Norfolk Southern was unwilling to explore an alternative to burning chemicals and released and burned the chemicals without warning government agencies. **Pennsylvania 's senators Bob Casey (D) and John Fetterman (D) sent a joint letter with the Ohio senators requesting the EPA continue its monitoring of the land, air, and water in East Palestine, Darlington Township in Beaver County, and other impacted communities "until the long-term effects of the exposure are fully understood."** **Questions and Actions Post-Emergency Operations** [PennFuture believes environmental disasters are long-term public health disasters.](https://www.pennfuture.org/Blog-Item-2023-East-Palestine-Ohio- Train-Disaster) We should ask the following questions of Norfolk Southern Railway Company and Pennsylvania and Ohio leaders: 1\. What is the current plan for continued community engagement? How frequently will residents in East Palestine and the surrounding areas receive updates? Are there opportunities to comment on cleanup plans? 2. How is ambient air being monitored? What are those measurements? 3. Where are air samples being collected? 4. How frequently is the air quality being tested? 5. Do experts know how far the toxic plume traveled? 6. Which bodies of water are scientists sampling, and for which chemical constituents? 7. Are officials advising children and dogs not to play in streams? 8. Were surface wipes used on residents' homes and vehicles? If so, what were the results? 9. Where are soil samples being collected, and how deep are those samples? 10. What is the plan for dioxin testing? 11. What is the plan to notify the community of dioxin contamination? 12. Was the controlled release and burn the best way to control the chemicals? 13. What are the reasoning and safety around transporting various chemicals near one another? 14. Was the train adequately inspected? Are there plans to improve the inspections in the future? 15. How can the community engage with testing and ongoing monitoring? 16. Are we investing enough in environmental agencies' personnel and equipment to ensure the fastest and best response to the next disaster? **Notable Environmental Organizations to Follow ~ Ohio Environmental Council & Clean Air Council** The longer people go without answers and action, anxiety and fear grow in the community. We need to limit pollution's impact on the ecosystem and mental health. East Palestine and Beaver County residents deserve transparency in testing and cleanup and a clear plan for long-term environmental monitoring. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/05/train-disaster-in-east- palestine-pollutes-eastern-ohio-ohio-river/>

1 0

Community Solar Petition Available Now ~ You Can Sign & Be Helpful!
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 04 Mar '23

04 Mar '23

# [Community Solar Petition Available Now ~ You Can Sign & Be Helpful!](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/04/community-solar-petition- available-now-you-can-sign-be-helpful/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/03/08167427-555A-43ED-893C-7CD8F306D0F2-300x46.jpg)](h… content/uploads/2023/03/08167427-555A-43ED-893C-7CD8F306D0F2.jpeg) Strength & progress result when our various groups work together **Sign the petition: Show your support for community solar ASAP** From the [Coalition Named “West Virginians for Energy Freedom”](https://www.energyfreedomwv.org/community-solar) You can join with fellow West Virginians in support of allowing community solar in our State of West Virginia. Community solar will rein in energy costs, create jobs, and promote energy freedom. [Community solar projects](https://www.energyfreedomwv.org/community-solar) enable individuals, businesses, or organizations to purchase or subscribe to a “share” in a community solar project. Community solar participants receive a credit on their electric bill each month for the energy produced by their share. And, community solar ensures we have the right to choose where our electricity comes from. Also, **community solar** has the power to save West Virginia families millions of dollars per year through lower electric bills. It does so while encouraging local economic development throughout the State. This creates good jobs and attracts more employers to invest in West Virginia. **Let’s face it, community solar is a free-market way to generate electricity. Let’s secure energy freedom for West Virginia families now, i. e., as soon as possible.** #######+++++++#######+++++++######## **SEE ALSO:** “[Advocates Pitch Community Solar To State Lawmakers. Some Say No](https://wvpublic.org/advocates-pitch-community-solar-to-state-lawmakers- some-say-no/),” Curtis Tate, WV Public Broadcasting, January 10, 2023 URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/04/community-solar-petition- available-now-you-can-sign-be-helpful/>

1 0

PLEASE HELP OUT! ~ The WV Legislative Session End on March 11th!
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 03 Mar '23

03 Mar '23

# [PLEASE HELP OUT! ~ The WV Legislative Session End on March 11th!](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/03/please-help-out-the-wv- legislative-session-end-on-march-11th/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/03/38558B61-2C00-4EF1-96C9-24C72A504525-300x94.png)](h… content/uploads/2023/03/38558B61-2C00-4EF1-96C9-24C72A504525.png) WV Rivers Coalition is a not-for-profit organization in the public interest **[One Week to Go!](http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bulletin_Board/calendar/calendar_2023.cfm) What Policy Priorities Are Still in Play in the WV Legislature? ** . . . From the [West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Charleston, WV](https://wvrivers.salsalabs.org/marchenews?wvpId=1484761a-9d09-4d6b-911f…, March 3, 2023 **HB 3189, the PFAS Protection Act** , passed the House in a vote of 82-9. It’s now referenced to Government Organization Committee in the Senate. Contact your Senators and urge them to pass the PFAS Protection Act! [Learn more about the PFAS problem here](https://wvrivers.org/pfas/). [Contact Your Senator on PFAS](https://wvrivers.salsalabs.org/senatepfas/index.html?eType=EmailBlast… #####+++++#####+++++##### **HB 3110, which increases funding for inspectors with the WVDEP Office of Oil and Gas (OOG)** , passed the House unanimously. Unfortunately the bill that passed was weakened, leaving the state with less than 20 inspectors to oversee more than 75,000 wells. The Charleston Gazette-Mail has carried a discussion of the importance of this bill. It is now referenced to the Finance Committee in the Senate. Contact your Senators and encourage them to fully fund the WVDEP Office of Oil and Gas! [Read our fact sheet here.](https://fdfad2.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/OOG2.3.2023.pdf/) [Contact Your Senator on Office of Oil & Gas (OOG) Inspectors](https://wvrivers.salsalabs.org/oogfundingsenate/index.html?eTyp… #####+++++######+++++####### **SB 468, which permanently reauthorizes off-road vehicles in Cabwaylingo State Park** , passed the Senate on a vote of 29-4. A proposed amendment to open additional public lands to off-road vehicles was defeated in committee. [However, the amended bill does allow connector trails from public lands to private lands. It now goes over to the House.](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb… #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **See Also:** [GREEN Newsletter, Volume 33, Number 8, West Virginia Environmental Council](https://wvecouncil.org/), March 3, 2023 URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/03/please-help-out-the-wv- legislative-session-end-on-march-11th/>

1 0

Small Modular Nuclear Reactors ~ Bad Deal or Terrible Deal
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 03 Mar '23

03 Mar '23

# [Small Modular Nuclear Reactors ~ Bad Deal or Terrible Deal](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/02/small-modular-nuclear-reactor… bad-deal-or-terrible-deal/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/03/57B4AAB5-38E6-43BF- BA8A-5652F07CDB8F-232x300.jpg)](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/03/57B4AAB5-38E6-43BF-BA8A-5652F07CDB8F.jpeg) Small Modular Nuclear Reactors studied by Union of Concerned Scientists **Small modular nuclear reactors: A bad deal for Southwest Virginia! And all of us!** From the [Letter by Rees Shearer, Virginia Mercury,](https://www.virginiamercury.com/2023/02/16/small-modular-nuclear- reactors-a-good-deal-for-southwest-virginia/) February 16, 2023 **In announcing his 2022 Virginia Energy Plan, Gov. Youngkin said, “A growing Virginia must have reliable, affordable and clean energy for Virginia’s families and businesses.” The Governor’s plan to promote and subsidize Small Modular nuclear Reactors (SMnRs) in Southwest Virginia fails all three of the Governor’s own criteria:** >>> SMnRs can’t be reliable when they cannot reliably be built and brought on line in a predictable and timely fashion. >>> SMnRs can’t be affordable because nuclear power is close to the costliest of all forms of electric power generation. >>> SMnRs can’t be clean since they produce extremely toxic high and low-level nuclear waste, which has no safe storage or disposal solution. **Appalachia has long served as a sacrifice zone for rapacious energy ambitions of other regions.** Southwest Virginians have had reason to hope that would change as opportunities for low-cost solar development emerged in recent years. Instead, politicians like Youngkin are making too-good-to-be- true promises about SMnRs, sidelining opportunities to promote solar, which can produce power in a matter of weeks, not decades. Imposing SMnRs on Southwest Virginia is disturbing. My father worked for the Atomic Energy Commission in the 1950s. The promise the nuclear industry and the government touted then – “electricity, too cheap to meter” – never has been realized. TVA and other utilities abandoned nuclear plants under construction, leaving costly monuments to that folly and sticking electricity customers with the bill. **COSTS** : It’s not at all clear that SMnR technology will succeed, or when. Levelized cost charts of electric power generation rate nuclear as among the very most expensive means to generate electric power at utility scale. If nuclear waste management, insurance, and decommissioning costs are counted, actual costs are far higher. (Some of these costs are already socialized for nuclear power – e.g. insurance in the Price-Anderson Act.) The first commercial SMnR is not expected to be completed until 2029, but already its developers have raised the target price of its power by 53%. This is not a surprise; nuclear power construction history documents an extremely strong correlation between new designs and cost increases and project delays. Indeed, the Lazard research shows that nuclear is the ONLY grid-wide generation source to increase in price, 2009-2021. The increase was 36%! **NUCLEAR WASTE, TRANSPORT, AND REPROCESSING** : Nuclear waste and reprocessing are also serious concerns. Make no mistake, unreprocessed nuclear waste, for all practicable purposes, is FOREVER. The fact that we have become accustomed to risk does not, by any means, reduce risk. Nor will SMnRs generate less waste than their larger forebears. Indeed, a recent Stanford University study concluded that “small modular reactors may produce a disproportionately larger amount of nuclear waste than bigger nuclear plants.” Safeguarding this waste is already costing taxpayers and utility customers tens of billions of dollars. With the failure of the U.S. to designate a central storage facility, nuclear power plants are forced to continue to store the waste in pools on site. Yet nuclear waste recycling, known as reprocessing, is no panacea. In November, the Governor spoke in Bristol in support of recycling nuclear waste from SMnRs: “I think the big steps out of the box are the technical capability to deploy in the next 10 years and on top of that to press forward to recycling opportunities for fuel.” He may have had in mind BWX Technologies of Lynchburg, which is beginning reprocessing of uranium at its Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) plant just south of the Virginia border in Erwin, Tennessee, for nuclear weapons. It took over a decade, but in 1984, Congress finally killed the last proposal to reprocess nuclear waste into nuclear fuel. The reprocessing would have taken place at the Clinch River Breeder Reactor, also south of the Virginia border, near Oak Ridge, TN. The concern then was the potential for accidental highly toxic “spills” of nuclear wastes or purposeful diversion of plutonium into the international weapons market. I recall this clearly because I spoke at a public hearing in Abingdon about the transportation of nuclear waste that would be bound for the Clinch River plant. Transportation of SMnR nuclear wastes along Virginia mountain roads or railroads across the border to Erwin presents further risk of accident and contamination. Longstanding concerns about transportation and security of nuclear wastes have never been adequately addressed. In addition, Princeton University physicist, Frank N. von Hippel reported in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, charged with protecting U.S. citizens from reactor disasters such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, or Fukushima, has moved toward offering greater flexibility for a nuclear industry plagued by cost overruns and calls for safety improvements, rather than hewing to its primary responsibility for maintaining safety of nuclear generating facilities and the American people. The Bulletin also reports that, because of longstanding financial troubles experienced by the commercial nuclear power industry, state legislatures are increasingly being asked and are feeling compelled to subsidize nuclear power. Gov. Youngkin’s state energy plan would take Virginia down that road, a road that could be very long. **URANIUM MINING in VIRGINIA?** Because of toxic pollution risks, mining uranium in Virginia is currently prohibited under a moratorium enacted by the General Assembly. Coles Hill in Pittsylvania County contains the largest deposit of uranium in the U.S. Just a month ago, Consolidated Uranium, a Canadian company, announced its purchase of Virginia Energy Resources, which owns Coles Hill. It sounds like those executives think that another run at overturning the mining moratorium might be successful. That this purchase announcement comes so shortly after Youngkin’s announcement of SMnRs in his Virginia Energy Plan feels like more than coincidence. Uranium mining in a wet, eastern location would present a far higher opportunity for contamination than mining that has for years had problems affecting water and public health in the West. We Appalachians know the social and environmental costs of an extractive economy. We should not support any enterprise that forces that kind of exploitation upon our neighbors, especially mining with known, pervasive health, safety and environmental risks. **CORPORATE CRONYISM and POLITICAL BOONDOGGERY** : BWX Technologies of Lynchburg (formerly Babcock and Wilcox) is the nuclear contractor we can anticipate would be charged with Gov. Youngkin’s wish to reprocess nuclear waste into fuel. BWX has been on the ropes for years, since nuclear became so unpopular with utilities in the wake of the Three Mile Island accident. It has managed to stay afloat with military contracts and wants to develop the reactors it builds for subs and aircraft carriers for commercial power production. The SMnRs are its ticket, and Gov. Youngkin is playing both their salesman and the state’s purchasing agent. Some General Assembly members are angling to help their localities and favored industries cash in. #######+++++++#######+++++++######### **SEE ALSO ~** [INFOGRAPHIC: Small Modular Reactors | Department of Energy, 2018](https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/infographic-small-modular-reactors) #######+++++++#######+++++++######### **" Advanced" Isn't Always Better ~ Assessing the Safety, Security, and Environmental Impacts of Non-Light-Water Nuclear Reactors**, Edwin Lyman, March 18, 2021 If nuclear power is to play an expanded role in helping address climate change, newly built reactors must be demonstrably safer and more secure than current generation reactors. Unfortunately, most "advanced" nuclear reactors are anything but. The [Union of Concerned Scientists undertook a comprehensive analysis](https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/advanced-isnt-always-better) of the most prominent and well-funded non-light-water reactor (NLWR) designs. We asked: §- What are the benefits and risks of NLWRs and their fuel cycles ? §- Do the likely overall benefits of NLWRs outweigh the risks and justify the substantial public and private investments needed to commercialize them? §- Can NLWRs be safely and securely commercialized in time to contribute significantly to averting the climate crisis? Based on the available evidence, we found that the NLWR designs we analyzed are not likely to be significantly safer than today’s nuclear plants. In fact, certain alternative reactor designs pose even more safety, proliferation, and environmental risks than the current fleet. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/02/small-modular-nuclear-reactors- bad-deal-or-terrible-deal/>

1 0

EYES ON THE SHELL ETHANE CRACKER FACILITY IN S.W. PA ~ Zoom 3/1/23
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

# [EYES ON THE SHELL ETHANE CRACKER FACILITY IN S.W. PA ~ Zoom 3/1/23](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/01/eyes-on-the-shell-ethane- cracker-facility-in-s-w-pa-zoom-3123/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/03/DCA61B84-F5D4-4F35-B3AD-A12BBD9DA24E-300x206.jpg)](… content/uploads/2023/03/DCA61B84-F5D4-4F35-B3AD-A12BBD9DA24E.jpeg) The Shell Ethane Cracker Facility appears to have challenging performance due to complex startup activities **Eyes on Shell Monthly Meeting, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. March 1, 2023** From the [Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, Ambridge, PA](https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pdeGprj8qH9b1ZZrasEDVuwnYVxWpGtX8), 3/1/23 **All of us, no matter where we come from or what we look like, want to live in a safe, healthy environment where our families can thrive. But fossil fuel lobbyists and the politicians they pay for are once again sacrificing our health for their profits. We are coming together as a community to protect our families and hold Shell accountable for the damage they will do to our environment.** Connect with **Eyes On Shell** , and learn more about: -monitoring processes, -expected air contaminants, -water pollution, -health impacts …. Join us to learn about steps you can take to protect yourself, and your loved ones from harm. You can be part of the Eyes on Shell watchdog team. If you see, smell, or hear something that doesn’t seem right, let us know. eyesonshell(a)gmail.com ……. (724) 923-3244 Note: By registering for this event you give permission for the organizers to send related emails to you. **Time** ~ [You can choose to attend the following session](https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pdeGprj8qH9b1ZZrasEDVuwnYVxWpGtX8). ~ Mar 1, 2023 07:30 PM <https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pdeGprj8qH9b1ZZrasEDVuwnYVxWpGt…> **Our mailing address is:** Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community P.O. Box 31, Ambridge, PA 15003 URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/03/01/eyes-on-the-shell-ethane- cracker-facility-in-s-w-pa-zoom-3123/>

1 0

WV Legislature ~ House Bill (HB-3110) To Add Oil & Gas Inspectors
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 28 Feb '23

28 Feb '23

# [WV Legislature ~ House Bill (HB-3110) To Add Oil & Gas Inspectors](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/28/wv-legislature-house-bi… hb-3110-to-add-oil-gas-inspectors/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/DF321E80-BB6F-4DFB-92BC-C21B309C099A.jpeg)](https:/… content/uploads/2023/02/DF321E80-BB6F-4DFB-92BC-C21B309C099A.jpeg) Contact WV State Senators who can (might) do the right thing(s)? **WV Legislature HB-3110 for Oil & Gas Inspectors Passes House, Now in Senate Finance Committee** From an [Article by Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette](https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legislative_session/wv-house- passes-bill-to-boost-funding-for-states-understaffed-financially-strained-oil- and-gas/article_c99c0b82-b975-514e-aba7-cbfd1f452b0d.html), February 23, 2023 **The West Virginia House of Delegates approved a bill that would increase funding for the state Office of Oil and Gas after rejecting an amendment from Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, that would have given the office a bigger financial boost.** The West Virginia House of Delegates passed the bill without opposition or debate Thursday that would bolster funding for the state’s understaffed, financially stressed gas and oil well inspection unit. **The House approved this HB-3110 in a 98-0 vote, sending it to the Senate.** **The state Department of Environmental Protection has estimated the bill would raise roughly $2 million annually to be allocated to the Office of Oil and Gas** , which is responsible for monitoring the exploration, drilling, storage and production of natural gas and oil in West Virginia. The office is in charge of monitoring 75,000 wells statewide. The bill would allocate 0.75% of oil and gas severance taxes and a tiered system of annual well oversight fees to benefit the Office of Oil and Gas. **HB 3110 would impose an annual $350 fee per well for an operator’s first 400 unplugged wells** that produce an average of 250,000 cubic feet of natural gas or more per day. The bill would impose an annual $75 fee per well for an operator’s first 400 unplugged wells that produce an average of between 60,000 and 250,000 cubic feet of gas per day. The legislation would impose a $25 fee for an operator’s first 4,000 wells that produce between 10,000 and 60,000 cubic feet of gas per day, with operators with 500 or fewer unplugged wells producing in that range of gas excluded from that fee. The House had rejected an amendment proposed by Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, that would have removed the 400- and 4,000-well caps on unplugged wells for which operators would have to pay oversight fees to support the Office of Oil and Gas. Hansen and environmental health proponents have argued that large producers can afford and should be required to pay more to support the state’s oil and gas regulators. **Stephanie Catarino Wissman, executive director of American Petroleum Institute Pennsylvania** , Appalachia Region, showed a lack of support for any fee-driven approach to supporting West Virginia environmental regulators. Wissman said the industry backs supporting the DEP through the existing severance tax. “[W]e need policies that enable investment in drilling and energy infrastructure, not additional taxes and fees,” Wissman said. **The DEP reduced the size of the Office of Oil and Gas from about 45 to 25 staff members in 2020 over a lack of funding stemming from a decrease in revenue from the one-time permit fees the office relies on for support.** **DEP Deputy Secretary Scott Mandirola has said HB 3110’s tiered fee system followed discussions with industry.** Mandirola told the House Energy and Manufacturing Committee prior to its approval of HB 3110 the Office of Oil and Gas’ 10 well inspectors are dwarfed by Pennsylvania’s 66 and Ohio’s 38. (West Virginia is the nation’s fourth-largest gas producer. The WV DEP has planned to bring back 10 inspectors to get back to the 20 the Office of Oil and Gas had prior to the 2020 cutbacks.) **West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Organization co-founder Dave McMahon** has urged state lawmakers to support around 40 well inspectors instead of going back to the 2020 status quo. Before the Energy and Manufacturing Committee earlier this month, McMahon cited a 2018 study of West Virginia well sites by Princeton and McGill university researchers that found active conventional wells are a significant source of methane emitted into the atmosphere. **Environmental, royalty and surface owner advocates have urged the Legislature to shore up funding for the Office of Oil and Gas in recent years** , citing lost royalties and harmful methane emissions due to gas leaks thriving with limited monitoring stemming from an understaffed inspection unit. **The study estimated that each active conventional well loses roughly 9% of production. Researchers found that the emission factor used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to project methane emissions from conventional active wells underestimates those emissions by 7.5 times.** Methane is typically released alongside other air pollutants that can cause cancer, asthma, premature birth and other devastating health outcomes. Also, methane traps at least 80 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, accelerating climate change that is driving an increase in major floods and power outages — to which West Virginia is especially prone. #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **HOUSE BILLS,** [HB-3110, “Relating to funding the Office of Oil and Gas in the Department of Environmental Protection”](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?IN…. West Virginia Legislature, February 28, 2023. HB-3110 assigned to Senate Finance Committee. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/28/wv-legislature-house-bill- hb-3110-to-add-oil-gas-inspectors/>

1 0

VIRGINIA Should Stay in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative [RGGI]
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 27 Feb '23

27 Feb '23

# [VIRGINIA Should Stay in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative [RGGI]](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/27/virginia-should-stay-in-the- regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative-rggi/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/0FBF55F3-4D77-4538-98AC-48E0BABEA96F-300x168.png)](… content/uploads/2023/02/0FBF55F3-4D77-4538-98AC-48E0BABEA96F.png) Most all the northeastern states are in the RGGI **ZOOM SESSION: Reminder ~ Join us Wednesday to save Virginia 's RGGI funding!** From the [Action Alert of Zander Pellegrino, Chesapeake Climate Action Network](https://actionnetwork.org/events/defend-rggi-public-comment-writin… party/), 2/25/23 **Bad news, Virginia! Governor Glenn Youngkin is moving forward on his extremely unpopular crusade to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).** A recent poll found that huge bipartisan majorities of Virginians, including a plurality of Republicans, want to stay in RGGI. Yet four appointees on the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board – all hand-picked by Governor Youngkin – voted to remove us from RGGI. **Virginia has already received over $523 million from RGGI.** But Governor Youngkin's scheme puts us at risk of losing vital funds to prevent flooding and would throw our state's carbon cap-and-trade market into chaos. **Now the decision to leave RGGI is up for public comment and we need YOUR voice! Join CCAN and fellow climate activists for a virtual comment-writing party on Wednesday March 1 at 6:30 PM.** [RSVP today!](https://actionnetwork.org/events/defend-rggi-public-comment-writing- party/) We’re hosting this comment-writing party to make sure Virginians like YOU are heard. The League of Conservation Voters, Appalachian Voices, Nature Forward, and Sierra Club will be joining us. **Our featured speakers – Megan Root and McKenzie Brocker – work for the city of Roanoke on climate adaptation and sustainability. They will share what RGGI funding can mean for their part of Virginia.** **Then we will go into breakout sessions** where organizers will coach you on how to craft a strong comment. By the end of the hour, your comment will be ready for submission on the online portal! We will even help you navigate the website to make sure yours gets in. Sign up today! Last fall, we submitted 838 comments and an overwhelming number were in favor of RGGI. Generating another immense outpouring of support for RGGI will not only build the case against the Air Board repeal, it will also bolster RGGI’s support with lawmakers in the VA state legislature – where RGGI’s fate is legally decided. **And we will keep fighting!** [So RSVP today to join us Wednesday March 1 at 6:30 PM for a public comment-writing party.](https://actionnetwork.org/events/defend-rggi-public-comment-writing- party/) _See you there, Zander Pellegrino, CCAN, 2/25/23_ <https://actionnetwork.org/events/defend-rggi-public-comment-writing-party/> URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/27/virginia-should-stay-in-the- regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative-rggi/>

1 0

Environment Day (E-Day) at the West Virginia Legislature is February 28th
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 26 Feb '23

26 Feb '23

# [Environment Day (E-Day) at the West Virginia Legislature is February 28th](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/26/environment-day-e-day-at-the- west-virginia-legislature-is-february-28th/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/CDE6A105-9438-48AC-9166-CE53C4B302F9-300x41.jpg)](h… content/uploads/2023/02/CDE6A105-9438-48AC-9166-CE53C4B302F9.jpeg)[![](http… content/uploads/2023/02/C7EB5141-EEA4-4D60-9803-57E2EF6FC09A-300x200.jpg)](… content/uploads/2023/02/C7EB5141-EEA4-4D60-9803-57E2EF6FC09A.jpeg) **To the Residents of West Virginia’s 55 Counties, North South East & West!** From [Aileen Curfman, Conservation Chair, West Virginia Sierra Club](https://www.sierraclub.org/west-virginia) **[You’re invited to the annual Environmental Day at the West Virginia State Capital on February 28 from 9 AM to 2 PM.](https://wvecouncil.org/youre- invited-to-environmental-day/)** This event is organized each year by the West Virginia Environmental Council. It’s a great opportunity to connect with our legislators and to network with other environmentalists across the state. The Environmental Council has put together a short list of some legislation to address West Virginia’s long-standing environmental and economic woes. **Learn more here:** <https://wvecouncil.org/youre-invited-to-e-day-at-the-capitol-2/> If you would like to attend, or your group would like to have a table, please sign up here: <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdLXTPELMQWdk63ZCrM7VjWrJWHQRGUuU4…> _The West Virginia Sierra Club is excited about attending. I hope to see you there!_ [Sign Up For E-Day!](https://wvecouncil.org/youre-invited-to-environmental- day/) #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **P.S. Mark the date! On June 10, 2023, the West Virginia Sierra Club will have a picnic at the Grandview area of the New River Gorge National Park. All members, family and friends are invited. Please join us for a fun day with your fellow Sierrans in our nation’s newest National Park. Mark your calendar! Details will be coming soon.** URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/26/environment-day-e-day-at-the- west-virginia-legislature-is-february-28th/>

1 0

§ Shale Gas Drilling & Fracking Quite Active But Moderating ~ $-Natural Gas Much Cheaper
by Frack Check WV: admin 25 Feb '23

25 Feb '23

# [§ Shale Gas Drilling & Fracking Quite Active But Moderating ~ $-Natural Gas Much Cheaper](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/25/%c2%a7-shale-gas- drilling-fracking-quite-active-but-moderating-natural-gas-much-cheaper/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/4B5B7645-8E2F-42B0-97F6-7B0B52F2A982-300x147.png)](… content/uploads/2023/02/4B5B7645-8E2F-42B0-97F6-7B0B52F2A982.png) Natural gas forecast doesn’t reflect the current volatility! **Chesapeake Energy to reduce drilling amid natgas price slump** From an [Article by Reuters, Business & Industry Connection](https://www.bicmagazine.com/industry/drilling- exploration/chesapeake-energy-to-reduce-drilling-amid-natgas-slump/), February 23, 2023 **(Reuters) U.S. natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp said it would pull back on drilling and completing wells this year as natural gas prices have crashed to a quarter of what they were last summer.** **Chesapeake** said it will drop two rigs in the Haynesville region that covers parts of Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana this year, and one rig in Marcellus shale of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. "We certainly see that it's prudent to pull back capital, and we think we're seeing others do the same," Chief Executive Nick Dell'Osso said of energy firms pulling back in a shale gas play in Louisiana and east Texas. "We're making money on the capital that we are investing but the margins are not nearly on a full cycle basis what they were historically," he added. Other operators, primarily private firms, were also pulling back activity in that region, he said. Earlier this month, **Comstock Resources** Inc said it would cut drilling rigs to seven from nine this year. **Henry Hub natural gas futures on Wednesday briefly dipped below $2 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for the first time since September 2020, and were down from last year 's $8 peak.** Shares of Chesapeake were up 2.3% to $79.77 in midday trading. Chesapeake, which previously announced plans to sell its oil position to focus on gas production, on Tuesday said it would sell oil assets in South Texas to chemical maker **INEOS** for $1.4 billion. That deal comes a month after it agreed to sell a separate part of its assets there to **Wildfire Energy** for $1.43 billion. Chesapeake expects to receive $1.7 billion in after-tax proceeds from those sales. Rival shale oil producer **Diamondback Energy** on Wednesday said it was increasing its non-core asset sale target to at least $1 billion by the end of this year, up from $500 million previously. #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **Natural Gas Price Volatility ‘Simply Noise’ for Heavily Hedged CNX, Says CEO** From an [Article by Andrew Baker, NGI Shale Daily](https://www.naturalgasintel.com/natural-gas-price-volatility-simply- noise-for-heavily-hedged-cnx-says-ceo/), January 27, 2023 **CEO Nicholas Deluliis hosted a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 results for Canonsburg, PA-based CNX, formerly part of CONSOL Energy of Pittsburgh.** Appalachian Basin pure-play **CNX Resources Corp.** is aiming to lock in elevated natural gas prices and protect itself from market swings through an aggressive hedging strategy. Also, “from a macro perspective, we expect the recent pricing volatility to continue in 2023 as the US domestic markets continue to fluctuate with shifting weather expectations, uncertain domestic production levels,” and growing liquefied natural gas demand from around the world. “How gas prices unfold in 2023 will depend on a difficult to predict combination of those three core elements.” The CEO said “while the extreme volatility in the natural gas markets will significantly impact near term results, prices along the strip are still materially higher than in recent years and as such, the rates of returns on previous capital investments remain not just high, but improved in this environment…” As a result, “the future business plan not only remains intact, but even stronger,” he added. CNX is forecasting capital expenditures (capex) of $575-675 million in 2023, including $430-475 million for drilling and completions. Total capex in 2022 was $566 million. Plans are to run one to two drilling rigs and one continuous, all electric hydraulic fracturing crew throughout the year, Deluliis said. **‘Modestly Lower’ Output** ~ CNX is expecting “modestly lower” production in 2023 versus 2022, he said. Management expects production levels to be at their lowest during the first quarter, then to accelerate as the year progresses. Production “is a result for us, not an objective within our strategy and business model,” he told analysts. “Most importantly, we’re expecting to return to our 2022 production level run rate around mid-year 2023 plus or minus, and from there return to more elevated annual levels in 2024 and beyond,” the CEO said. Also, “this annual capital budget assumes a full year of the increased inflationary cost environment that we experienced during the latter part of 2022 and reflects our desire to use the highest quality crews and products and to make the best long-term focused decisions to help derisk our plan.” The company expects to bring online 30 wells for the year, including 27 in Southwest Pennsylvania (SWPA) and three in Central Pennsylvania. The SWPA wells would comprise 23 in the Marcellus Shale and four in the Utica Shale, with average lateral lengths of 14,500 feet and 13,600 feet, respectively. **Deluliis noted that “today’s higher capital costs are more than offset by the increased pricing outlook that we continue to hedge into.” The company has hedged 82% of its expected natural gas volumes for full-year 2023.** The company “will continue to add higher priced hedges in what is an elevated natural gas price environment compared to when a lot of the hedges were originally put on,” Deluliis said. He added, “Locking in these increased pricing levels translates to significant future margin expansion that will add material free cash flow compared to the original seven-year plan that we put out in 2020.” **In other words, “we believe that the volatility that we’re seeing in the commodity markets [is] simply noise as it relates to our sustainable business model and long-term plan,” said Deluliis.** “Despite the uncertainty in the gas markets we are currently seeing in 2023 along with the uncertainty around the broader economy, we are confident in the sustainable business model that we have created.” As to the potential for mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Deluliis said, “I think the kind of bolt-on opportunities are fairly reduced at this point. There’s not a lot of private equity operators left and we always compare any potential M&A opportunity to the opportunity of doing M&A on ourselves through our buybacks, so it’s a pretty high hurdle when you come at it from that perspective. There’s currently nothing kind of on our radar from that perspective given where our share prices are trading.” CNX generated a company record $707 million of free cash flow in 2022, Deluliis highlighted. The company fetched an average realized gas price after hedging off $2.76/Mcf during 4Q2022, versus $2.54 in 4Q2021. The full-year average price was $2.92/Mcf in 2022, up from $2.57 in 2021. **Realized hedging losses totaled $360 million during the fourth quarter, compared to losses of $400 million in the corresponding 2021 period.** Production averaged 1.53 Bcfe/d in 4Q2022, down from 1.72 Bcfe/d in 4Q2021. Full-year 2022 production averaged 1.59 Bcfe/d, compared to 1.62 Bcfe/d in 2021. CNX reported net income of $1.17 billion ($6.64/share) for the fourth quarter of 2022, up from $630 million ($3.02) in 4Q2021. For full-year 2022, CNX posted a net loss of $142 million (minus 75 cents/share), versus a loss of $499 million (minus $2.31) in 2021. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/25/%c2%a7-shale-gas-drilling- fracking-quite-active-but-moderating-natural-gas-much-cheaper/>

1 0

Some Growing Threats from Chemical Pollution ~ Frac Sand Sentinel #431
by Frack Check WV: admin 24 Feb '23

24 Feb '23

# [Some Growing Threats from Chemical Pollution ~ Frac Sand Sentinel #431](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/24/some-growing-threats-from- chemical-pollution-frac-sand-sentinel-431/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/11A73B7B-186F-4BC4-9769-E3B738027F22-300x180.jpg)](… content/uploads/2023/02/11A73B7B-186F-4BC4-9769-E3B738027F22.jpeg) Cool & clear & clean water is wonderful and necessary …! **Growing Threats of Land Disturances, Water Contamination & Air Pollution** From the [Article of Patricia Popple, Frac Sand Sentinel #431](https://wisair.wordpress.com/), February 23, 2023 **Chemical additives of all varieties have been added to the hydraulic fracturing process along with frack sand and water to crack open fissures in the earth 's layers to allow oil and gas to leave the formation. In addition, various chemicals are added to the cleaning process when frack sand is blasted, crushed, washed and processed at facilities located throughout the United States. The additives are not disclosed to the public. Should we be concerned about our water, our soil, and our air and what has been added to our environment just to allow the fossil fuel industry to function without concern for life on this planet?** Other industries are known chemical pollutors too, and they have been doing so for many decades. It is not that we haven't known about it. We have been made aware of the issues over many years. Finding "forever chemicals" in our drinking water only serves to highlight the severity of the issues we face currently but also in the future for generations to come. This past week, I received a YouTube video link from a friend in St. Paul. It involved a discussion between a scientist and Nate Hagens known for his interest in health and environmental issues. I urge you to watch it. It may be longer than you would like, but it will give you an understanding of the issues we face and a challenge to all of us to take action to end the use of chemicals known to cause damages to all living things. Plastic use is also a topic of discussion. [The link is HERE!](https://youtu.be/2wgcCd7TOyo) ………. OR the same link below: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wgcCd7TOyo](https://youtu.be/2wgcCd7TOyo) #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE** : wisair.wordpress.com and for additional information, click here for panoramic aerial views of frac sand mines, processing plants, and trans-load facilities. FracTracker.org is also an excellent source of information and a picture source. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/24/some-growing-threats-from- chemical-pollution-frac-sand-sentinel-431/>

1 0

The Climate Crisis Getting Worse ~ Faster & Faster, Dangerously So!
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 23 Feb '23

23 Feb '23

# [The Climate Crisis Getting Worse ~ Faster & Faster, Dangerously So!](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/23/the-climate-crisis-getting-wor… faster-faster-dangerously-so/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/9CA30C01-3C92-4DCF-997D-071821B39B93.jpeg)](https:/… content/uploads/2023/02/9CA30C01-3C92-4DCF-997D-071821B39B93.jpeg) Plastics accumulation in the oceans, in rivers & streams, and in landfills is getting worse! **Some 27 feedback loops could accelerate climate crisis, warn scientists** From an [Article by George Hughes, Environment Journal (UK)](https://environmentjournal.online/articles/27-feedback-loops-could- accelerate-climate-crisis-warn-scientists/), February 21, 2023 Scientists are advising governments to take urgent action, as they have identified 27 global feedback loops which could lock the world into irreversible climate change. An international collaboration of Oregon State University researchers shared their findings in the One Earth journal and implored policymakers to avert the worst of the climate crisis. Feedback loops are climate-caused alterations which can trigger a process which causes even warming. For example, a melting Arctic could result in further warming, as sea water absorbs rather than reflects solar radiation. OSU College of Forestry postdoctoral scholar Christopher Wolf explained: ‘Many of the feedback loops we examined significantly increase warming because of their connection to greenhouse gas emissions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the most extensive list available of climate feedback loops, and not all of them are fully considered in climate models. What’s urgently needed is more research and modeling and an accelerated cutback of emissions.’ The scientists recommends ‘immediate and massive’ emission reductions to minimise short-term warming which is already causing disasters, such as wildfires and coastal flooding. This could then help to avoid climate tipping points which could result in unavoidable and self-perpetuating climate change. Both biological feedbacks, such as forest dieback and soil carbon loss, and physical feedbacks, like reduced snow cover and increased Antarctic rainfall, were considered. Professor William Ripple who also led the study said: ‘Transformative, socially just changes in global energy and transportation, short-lived air pollution, food production, nature preservation and the international economy, together with population policies based on education and equality, are needed to meet these challenges in both the short and long term. It’s too late to fully prevent the pain of climate change, but if we take meaningful steps soon while prioritizing human basic needs and social justice, it could still be possible to limit the harm.’ Ripple and Wolf worked with co-authors from the University of Exeter, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the Woodwell Climate Research Center and Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Associates on the research. They say that even modest warming will heighten the likelihood that the Earth will cross over tipping points which could fundamentally alter the climate system. ‘In the worst case, if amplifying feedbacks are strong enough, the result is likely tragic climate change that’s moved beyond anything humans can control,’ Ripple added. ‘We need a rapid transition toward integrated Earth system science because the climate can only be fully understood by considering the functioning and state of all Earth systems together. This will require large- scale collaboration, and the result would provide better information for policymakers.’ The scientists also identified seven dampening climate feedbacks which act to stabilize the climate system, such as carbon dioxide fertilization where rising CO2 leads to increasing carbon uptake by vegetation. However, the full effects of these seven feedbacks are still unknown. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/23/the-climate-crisis-getting- worse-faster-faster-dangerously-so/>

1 0

13th National Monitoring Conference @ Virginia Beach on April 24 – 28
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 22 Feb '23

22 Feb '23

# [13th National Monitoring Conference @ Virginia Beach on April 24 – 28](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/22/13th-national-monitoring- conference-virginia-beach-on-april-24-28/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/AA8EB8AC-F13E-45B1-8316-FF30B17BAAC1-300x33.png)](h… content/uploads/2023/02/AA8EB8AC-F13E-45B1-8316-FF30B17BAAC1.png) Conference cosponsors are NOAA, US EPA, USGS, & NALMS **The National Water Quality Monitoring Council will host its 13th National Monitoring Conference during the week of April 24–28, 2023, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.** Monitoring for water quality/quantity and public and ecological health in all water resources will be represented, including lakes and wetlands, rivers and streams, coastal waters and estuaries, and groundwater. All federal, state, tribal and local water professionals, nonprofits, academia, water consultants and industry, and volunteer scientists are welcome at this important national forum. The conference will be offered in a hybrid format primarily in person, including a limited virtual format. Networking and opportunities to create new relationships will abound for attendees. Whether you seek to develop new skills, learn about the latest technologies, or simply exchange information on a wide variety of topics relevant to water resources, the National Monitoring Conference is for you. The conference attracts the highest quality professional papers and posters and is a destination conference for many in the field. Please look for the Call for Session Proposals and Call for Abstracts in Spring and Summer of 2022. **§§§ ~~~ 2023 Conference Themes Include:** **50 Years After the Clean Water Act and Similar Efforts** — a retrospective & prospective; lessons learned in water quality condition, assessment, justice & equity and long-term trend monitoring **Effectiveness Monitoring** — Are management actions working? Restoration results, best management practices, monitoring and education/outreach successes, inform priorities and track progress in protecting and restoring the condition of our nation’s waters **Protecting High Quality Waters** — monitoring to identify and evaluate waters; inform/implement protection strategies **Monitoring Collaboration** — national, tribal, regional, state and local initiatives, partnerships, and councils; inclusive stakeholder identification and engagement; Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion **Volunteer and Community-Based Monitoring** — volunteer monitoring, school & community groups and watershed associations, data to action, stewardship, increasing diversity & inclusion **Aggregating, Analyzing,Visualizing & Disseminating Data and Information** — Open data science tools and tool development; data portals; data equity; R-Shiny applications, story maps, and dashboards; communicating assessment, condition, and trends to decision makers and public **Hot Topics in Monitoring and Analysis** ~ Climate Change (impacts on quantity, quality, and biota), Harmful Algal Blooms (freshwater & marine), Persistent Toxic Contaminants (emerging and bioaccumulative contaminants, including PFAS), Nutrients (dynamics, impacts, monitoring, modeling, and analysis), Source Identification (nonpoint source, point source, stormwater, atmospheric deposition), New and Emerging Technologies (in situ and continuous monitoring, remote sensing, analytical methods, eDNA), Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning **[FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION SELECT HERE](https://nalms.wildapricot.org/event-5071822?utm_source=Master+List&ut… URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/22/13th-national-monitoring- conference-virginia-beach-on-april-24-28/>

1 0

HYDROGEN HAS TAKEN A ‘BOLD ROLE’ FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 22 Feb '23

22 Feb '23

# [HYDROGEN HAS TAKEN A ‘BOLD ROLE’ FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/21/hydrogen-has- taken-a-%e2%80%98bold-role%e2%80%99-for-future-development/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/6122058A-3639-4FD0-9857-CF2E974BC3E4-300x190.png)](… content/uploads/2023/02/6122058A-3639-4FD0-9857-CF2E974BC3E4.png) Blue hydrogen involves the capture of carbon dioxide and its usage or storage **Hydrogen: The time has come for the simplest chemical substance, H2** From an [Article by Ropa Mugadza, Independent Community Intelligence Service](https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/hydrogen-the-time-has-come/) (ICIS) News Hydrogen has recently gained traction in government strategies, business plans and the media as a potential silver bullet for reaching net zero. But in reality, hydrogen has been considered as a potential aid to mitigating climate change for over 50 years. **So, why now?** What makes the attention given to hydrogen in the 2020s different from the 1970s? Firstly, political, environmental and economic landscapes have shifted. In the 1970s, there was a lack of policy and regulation to drive the hydrogen market forward. As well as this, the technology to bring low-carbon and renewable hydrogen would have required additional investment and research. All of this meant that there was no concrete economic benefit for decarbonised energy. However, the market has moved forward. Governments have set targets, regulators are establishing conditions for market participants and businesses are under pressure from investors, consumers and stakeholders to commit to net zero emissions. This shift can be seen across many developments that solidify the prospect of the hydrogen transition across the value chain. On July 15, the European Commission revealed funding for 41 hydrogen projects totalling €5.4 billion. The Indian government is currently holding consultations with stakeholders and is anticipated to launch a comprehensive renewable hydrogen mission that may announce purchase obligations for different industries. On the back of anticipated increased demand, the chemical company Johnson Matthey (JM) has announced a plan to build a manufacturing facility to produce hydrogen fuel cell components. The hydrogen movement is gaining momentum on a global scale, but where is this heading? **Navigating the hydrogen transition** As a means of reaching net zero by 2050, policymakers have set multiple targets for hydrogen market participants over the course of this decade. All over the world, countries have created roadmaps and policies to ensure that steps are continuously taken towards a decarbonised society. Many countries have issued official hydrogen strategies and roadmaps in order to increase their hydrogen consumption and develop the necessary infrastructure. The targets in these strategies indicate that they are on track to increase hydrogen production capacity to 400 times that of 2020 by the end of this decade. As of the end of May 2022, the industry had announced 680 large-scale hydrogen project proposals worldwide. Most recently, the UK government published a policy paper highlighting investment opportunity across the entire hydrogen value chain and providing information on the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, which was established to support hydrogen deployment as well as hydrogen business models that provide revenue support to pioneer hydrogen projects. All of this indicates that hydrogen is becoming a more appealing investment. For the first time since hydrogen was coined as the energy of the future, market participants are facing concrete implementation plans at a scale hitherto unseen. **The roadblocks to hydrogen are substantial** Hydrogen is rarely found on its own, it needs to be manufactured. The production process usually requires purchasing electricity or natural gas, and the final cost of producing hydrogen can vary substantially depending on the type and environmental impact. In other words, producing hydrogen comes with a price tag. Alongside this, although hydrogen appears to offer numerous opportunities for future investment, demand for the commodity is not set in stone. It can be used in transport, industry, power and for heating – but governments are yet to finalise the targets for using certain volumes within these different areas. This means that market sizing is difficult for new entrants to understand. **Conclusion** ~ A strong government commitment to deep decarbonisation, supported by financial investment, regulation and clear hydrogen strategies and targets, has sparked unprecedented momentum in the hydrogen industry. If the initial goals set out by policymakers and legislators are to be fulfilled, momentum must now be maintained, and a long-term regulatory framework must be established. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/21/hydrogen-has- taken-a-%e2%80%98bold-role%e2%80%99-for-future-development/>

1 0

‘Real Clean Energy’ Needed, Not Climate Crisis Causing Coal
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 20 Feb '23

20 Feb '23

# [‘Real Clean Energy’ Needed, Not Climate Crisis Causing Coal](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/20/%e2%80%98real-clean- energy%e2%80%99-needed-not-climate-crisis-causing-coal/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/A6515E27-416B-473C-B156-2A5BCD3DE205-300x150.jpg)](… content/uploads/2023/02/A6515E27-416B-473C-B156-2A5BCD3DE205.jpeg) Carbon dioxide and methane are accumulating in the Earth’s atmosphere exponentially! **End taxpayer rip-offs; invest in real clean energy** From the [Letter to the Editor by Jim Kotcon, Morgantown Dominion Post](https://wvecouncil.org/), February 19, 2023 [West Virginia legislators are adopting one taxpayer rip-off after another.](https://wvecouncil.org/) For example, bills to subsidize uncompetitive coal companies or power plants are moving quickly (e.g., HB 3133). Nuclear power, the most expensive way to generate electricity, seems to be targeted for West Virginia. (HB 2896 allows radioactive waste dumps in West Virginia.) Bills to encourage a hydrogen hub are also being adopted. Building carbon capture and sequestration may make sense for biofuels, but it only throws good money after bad when trying to prolong fossil fuels (SB 162). If any of these had a legitimate role in combating climate change, I might be more supportive, but there is simply no way they will make a meaningful impact. There are better options. A report last month from Energy Innovation and University of California, Berkeley shows that building renewable energy such as wind or solar will generate electricity more cheaply than operating any existing power plant in West Virginia. Instead of gouging ratepayers or ripping off taxpayers, our political leaders should invest in the cheapest, cleanest, safest and fastest alternatives first. Why should we continue to subsidize the dirtiest and most expensive alternatives? If the free market has spoken, why are our political leaders so intent on subsidizing dinosaurs and ripping off the taxpayers? #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **NOTE** : _You are invited to E-Day at the West Virginia State Capitol Building on February 28th from 9 am to 2 pm._ [WV Environmental Council](https://wvecouncil.org/). URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/20/%e2%80%98real-clean- energy%e2%80%99-needed-not-climate-crisis-causing-coal/>

1 0

Weekly Report for “Living on Earth” on Important News
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 19 Feb '23

19 Feb '23

# [Weekly Report for “Living on Earth” on Important News](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/19/weekly-report- for-%e2%80%9cliving-on-earth%e2%80%9d-on-important-news/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/AB6403B0-C4B4-4D47-8CBD-32DB983C9B95-300x200.jpg)](… content/uploads/2023/02/AB6403B0-C4B4-4D47-8CBD-32DB983C9B95.jpeg) In February 1969, polar explorer and flier Bernt Balchen predicted that the Arctic pack ice is thinning and that the summertime ocean at the North Pole would become open water within a decade or two, something that actually happened by about the year 2000. (Photo: Kevin Lockwood, Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0) **LIVING ON EARTH** ~ [Beyond the Headlines: Air Date: Week of February 17, 2023](https://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=23-P13-00007&segmen… Journalist Peter Dykstra joins Host Steve Curwood this week to discuss the recent Ohio train derailment, which sent 50 cars carrying toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride careening off their tracks. They also discuss the proposed more efficient energy standards for washing machines, refrigerators, and freezers. For a history lesson, they dive into a prescient 1969 paper warning that the Arctic pack ice is thinning and the summertime ocean at the North Pole would soon become open water. **CURWOOD** : It’s Living on Earth, I’m Steve Curwood. It's time now to take a look beyond the headlines with living on Earth commentator, Peter Dykstra. You there Peter, you got something for us today. DYKSTRA: Major story that got in my opinion minor treatment in the national news, I'm talking about the train derailment in Ohio on the Ohio Pennsylvania border. On February 7, 2023, members of the Ohio National Guard’s 52nd Civil Support Team started to assess hazards from the Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals near East Palestine, Ohio. Tanker car after tanker car contained toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen. Local residents were evacuated, there were no immediate injuries among the train crew or local residents, but possible health impacts are something that are still a mystery. Some local residents have taken it to court, including asking for the responsible parties to pay for testing of all local residents in this incident that forced people to leave town that started a huge fire that got very little notice. **CURWOOD** : Yeah, I mean, it was a really big deal. The governor of Ohio Mike DeWine asked the police to arrest people who refuse to evacuate they were so concerned how dangerous these chemicals are. And more and more of the petrochemical industry is interested in shipping chemicals around to make more and more plastic. DYKSTRA: Right, they view plastic, the petrochemical industry as their safety valve no pun intended for the days when oil and natural gas are in decline over climate change concerns if they begin to disappear as a vehicle fuel, all of those petrochemical products can help keep the oil and gas industry alive. And in the case of this train another concern is that the right to know laws that used to be so common on the state and local and federal level have been eroded. That's happened ever since 911, when it was viewed, that giving the public and local fire departments and local safety people all the information about what toxic chemicals were involved in factories or trains or ships would be an open door for terrorists to take that information and make some pretty bad things with it. So right to know, is something that isn't widespread anymore. So it took a long time for those people in East Palestine, Ohio and towns across the state line in Pennsylvania to know what they were exposed to. **CURWOOD** : Hey, what else do you have for us Peter? DYKSTRA: There's been a proposal by the Department of Energy to make washing machines and refrigerators much cheaper to power and much more efficient by the year 2027. Right now, it's estimated that the greenhouse gas emissions in the US from washers and refrigerators are equal to the entire greenhouse output of the nation of Argentina. This would help a lot toward meeting climate change goals in just a few years. **CURWOOD** : Talk to me about the numbers here, Peter. I'm sure the appliance manufacturers are saying wait, wait, wait, this is going to cost us a lot of money. DYKSTRA: It may cost a lot of money at first. It's estimated it could cost $2 billion for appliance makers to retrofit that's opposed to consumer savings of over $3 billion. Not one time, but every year. And those reduced energy bills also mean reduced climate risk. **CURWOOD** : And Peter at one point we unplugged an old freezer that we had and the thing was costing us maybe a buck or two a day to run, it was crazy. DYKSTRA: We had the same thing in our house. There was an old refrigerator that we used as a backup when the kids grew up and moved out. We didn't need two refrigerators. We got rid of the old one, and our electric bills suddenly declined by about 25%. **CURWOOD** : Hey, let's take a look back in history now, Peter. DYKSTRA: Last week you and I talked about how Lyndon Baines Johnson back in 1965 was the first American President to mention the potential risks of co2 and climate change. But just four years later, on February 20 1969, there's a Norwegian born Arctic explorer named Bert Balkan, who warned that the Arctic ice pack is thinning. And he said the North Pole could be open ocean, quote within a decade or two **CURWOOD** : Well, he was right and he was wrong. That took about 30 years before people like Jim McCarthy were in boats at the North Pole and open water. But he was right about the trend. Certainly, huh. DYKSTRA: He was right about it at the time. Someone else that was paying very close attention to the thickness of ice in the Arctic were the naval fleets of the United States of America and the Soviet Union. They kept very diligent measures of how thick the ice As was in case they ever needed to break through that ice with their submarines to fight a nuclear war, those numbers weren't revealed until after the fall of the Soviet Union. But they revealed something very alarming from all those tree huggers in the US Navy and the Russian Navy. **CURWOOD** : And just these last 40 years, apparently, we've lost three quarters of the volume of the Arctic sea ice. We are changing things on this planet rapidly. Well, thanks, Peter. Peter Dykstra is a commentator with Living on Earth. We'll talk to you again real soon. DYKSTRA: All right, Steve, thanks a lot. Talk to you soon. **CURWOOD** : And there's more on the stories on the Living on Earth webpage. That's LOE dot ORG. **Links to Further Reading ~** 1\. Grist | “The Ohio train derailment underscores the dangers of the plastics boom” 2\. Washington Post | “Washing machines and fridges could be much cheaper to power by 2027.” 3\. New York Times archives | “Expert Says Arctic Ocean Will Soon Be an Open Sea; Catastrophic Shifts in Climate Feared if Change Occurs Other Specialists See No Thinning of Polar Ice Cap” URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/19/weekly-report- for-%e2%80%9cliving-on-earth%e2%80%9d-on-important-news/>

1 0

A Sustainable Plan for the Budget ‘Surplus’ in West Virginia
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 18 Feb '23

18 Feb '23

# [A Sustainable Plan for the Budget ‘Surplus’ in West Virginia](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/18/a-sustainable-plan-for-th… budget-%e2%80%98surplus%e2%80%99-in-west-virginia/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/73F61A08-4C39-4AE8-957F-485CA6829C53-300x168.png)](… content/uploads/2023/02/73F61A08-4C39-4AE8-957F-485CA6829C53.png) FrackCheck says that any surplus should go to the counties where the excess originates. **What’s a Sustainable Plan for West Virginia’s Budget “Surplus”?** From the [Weekly Post of the WV Center on Budget & Policy](https://wvpolicy.org/whats-a-sustainable-plan-for-west-virginias- surplus/), February 17, 2023 The 2023 state legislative session has seen both chambers heavily focused on turning the state’s revenue “surplus” into personal income tax cuts, despite the clear need for new spending after four years of austerity forced by flat budgets. We’ve covered at length the temporary factors driving the surplus, as well as the fallacy of calling it a surplus at all when much of that money is obligated to future budget spending based on decisions lawmakers have already made. This piece will take a look at West Virginia’s expected FY 2023 surplus and outline how we could spend it in equitable and sustainable ways while still meeting our budget obligations. Seven months into the fiscal year, West Virginia has a budget surplus of $995.3 million. Half of that, $497.8 million, is severance tax collections above estimates, which have resulted from temporarily high energy prices due to factors outside of West Virginia’s control. To put the historic severance tax collections into context, just seven months into FY 2023, we’ve collected 252 percent of the severance tax we estimated to bring in this year. If current revenue trends continue, we would expect the total FY 2023 surplus to be just over $1.7 billion, which is the amount state officials are projecting as well. Earlier this month, Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr identified in an interview that they used the budget hearing process as a workaround to understand each state agency’s upcoming spending needs. What the Senate Finance committee learned is that the state is already on the hook for “at least $917 million” in ongoing, base budget spending obligations based on legislation previously passed, which means that much of the surplus is simply not available to fund tax cuts without changing existing laws or drastically cutting the budget. Chairman Tarr noted that over $900 million is already obligated before lawmakers pass any additional legislation this year that has a price tag. That leaves about $800-850 million remaining of the FY 2023 surplus. If current trends continue, we can expect the severance tax portion of the surplus to be around $800-850 million. We’ve long cautioned that severance tax revenues are incredibly temporary as they are tied to volatile energy prices. A fiscally responsible practice would be to not use any temporary severance tax revenue toward permanent spending — either for the budget or for permanent tax cuts. That said, it’s important for the state to meet its legal spending obligations. With the $800-850 million of severance tax surplus remaining, these funds could be incredibly transformative in the coal and natural gas communities where these tax benefits derive from and which, in many cases, have seen underinvestment in recent years in both infrastructure and economic development. Last year, we called on lawmakers to create an infrastructure and development fund for counties that have coal and natural gas production and to place the FY 2023 severance tax surplus into that fund. With an $800-850 million pot of money, many meaningful projects could be pursued to improve economic opportunities in these communities for this and the next generation. That more than exhausts the FY 2023 surplus. However, some of the costs Chairman Tarr identified as upcoming base-building costs do not become part of the budget until FY 2025 or later. Additionally, the state still has about $500 million in unappropriated surplus funds from FY 2022 that could go to one-time needs, but again, it would be deeply irresponsible to base any ongoing spending or tax cuts on temporary surplus dollars—either those from the severance tax or from the remaining FY 2022 surplus. West Virginia could make some long-needed one-time investments with these dollars — for example, investing in child care subsidies for thousands of families who lost theirs at the end of last year, launching a paid family and medical leave program, and investing in education and workforce training programs. There are also equitable one-time ways to get money back into the pockets of West Virginians. The best option would be a child tax credit applied to all children in the state under the age of 18. For about $350 million, every child in the state could get a one-time $1,000 child rebate. If revenues continue to grow in future years, the legislature could come back and consider making the program permanent. West Virginia’s FY 2023 surplus does present significant opportunities to invest in our people—but most of that investment will need to be in the form of meeting our obligations for public services that serve all of our people. The plan laid out above to meet our spending obligations, invest temporary severance tax revenues back into our coal and natural gas communities, and get more money into the pockets of families with children is both a sustainable and an equitable approach. [Read Kelly Allen’s full blog post here](https://wvpolicy.org/whats-a- sustainable-plan-for-west-virginias-surplus/). <https://wvpolicy.org/whats-a-sustainable-plan-for-west-virginias-surplus/> URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/18/a-sustainable-plan-for-the- budget-%e2%80%98surplus%e2%80%99-in-west-virginia/>

1 0

Warning ~ The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is Melting (and Retreating)
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 17 Feb '23

17 Feb '23

# [Warning ~ The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is Melting (and Retreating)](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/17/warning-the-thwaites- glacier-in-antarctica-is-melting-and-retreating/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/ACEBEC31-D6D6-402C-A093-79309624F0BC-300x300.jpg)](… content/uploads/2023/02/ACEBEC31-D6D6-402C-A093-79309624F0BC.jpeg) The Thwaites glacier is seen here as part of Antarctica, for now! **Underwater robot helps explain Antarctic glacier’s retreat** From the [Article by James Dean, Cornell Chronicle](https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2023/02/underwater-robot-helps- explain-antarctic-glaciers-retreat), February 15, 2023 **First-of-their-kind observations beneath the floating shelf of a vulnerable Antarctic glacier reveal widespread cracks and crevasses where melting occurs more rapidly, contributing to the Florida-sized glacier’s retreat and potentially to sea-level rise, according to a Cornell research team and international collaborators.** **Deploying the remotely operated Icefin underwater robot through a nearly 2,000-foot-deep borehole drilled in the ice, the team captured the first close-up views of the critical point near the grounding line where Thwaites Glacier in western Antarctica – one of the continent’s fastest changing and most unstable glaciers – meets the Amundsen Sea.** **Icefin is a small robotic oceanographer that allows researchers to study ice and water around and beneath ice shelves – and develop the technology to explore other oceans in our solar system.** From that area, the researchers concluded that Thwaites has retreated smoothly and steadily up the ocean floor since at least 2011. They found that flat sections covering much of the ice shelf’s base were thinning, though not as quickly as computer models had suggested. Meanwhile, the walls of steeply sloped crevasses and staircase-like features were melting outward at much faster rates. The findings, reported Feb. 15 in the journal Nature, provide new insight into melting processes at glaciers exposed to relatively warm ocean water, and promise to improve models predicting Thwaites’ potentially significant contribution to sea-level rise. “These new ways of observing the glacier allow us to understand that it’s not just how much melting is happening, but how and where it is happening that matters in these very warm parts of Antarctica,” said Britney Schmidt, associate professor of astronomy and earth and atmospheric sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and Cornell Engineering. “We see crevasses, and probably terraces, across warming glaciers like Thwaites. Warm water is getting into the cracks, helping wear down the glacier at its weakest points.” Schmidt, whose team developed Icefin, is the lead author of “Heterogeneous Melting Near the Thwaites Glacier Grounding Line,” and a co-author of “Suppressed Basal Melting in the Eastern Thwaites Glacier Grounding Zone,” whose first author is Peter Davis, an oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Additional co-authors from the Department of Astronomy (A&S) and Schmidt’s Planetary Habitability and Technology Lab include: Research Scientist Peter Washam; Senior Research Engineers Andrew Mullen and Matthew Meister; Research Engineers Frances Bryson ’17 and Daniel Dichek; Program Manager Enrica Quartini; and Justin Lawrence, a former doctoral student and visiting scholar. “Icefin is collecting data as close to the ice as possible in locations no other tool can currently reach,” said Washam, who led analysis of Icefin data used to calculate melt rates. “It’s showing us that this system is very complex and requires a rethinking of how the ocean is melting the ice, especially in a location like Thwaites.” Researchers collected the first close-up observations of the grounding line where the remote Thwaites Glacier, one of Antarctica’s fastest changing and most unstable glaciers, meets the Amundsen Sea. The robotic under-ice observations were collected in early 2020 as part of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC), the largest international field campaign ever undertaken in Antarctica, funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.K.’s Natural Environment Research Council. Complementing Icefin’s observations, partners on ITGC’s MELT project also collected data using radar, ocean moorings and other sensors at multiple sites. **Since the 1990s, the Thwaites grounding line has retreated nearly 9 miles and the amount of ice flowing out of the 75-mile-wide region has nearly doubled, according to ITGC. Because much of the glacier sits below sea level, it is considered susceptible to rapid ice loss that could raise sea levels by more than 1.5 feet. Collapse of the ice sheet behind Thwaites could add substantially more, “with profound consequences for humanity,” according to BAS.** The BAS team, which used hot water to drill the borehole Icefin accessed about 1 mile from the Thwaites grounding line, reported that over a nine-month period, the ocean in that area became warmer and saltier. Surprisingly, the vertical melt rate over much of the ice was less than previously modeled, averaging 6 feet to 18 feet per year. “Our results are unexpected, but the glacier is still in trouble,” Davis said. “If an ice shelf and a glacier is in balance, the ice coming off the continent will match the amount of ice being lost through melting and iceberg calving. What we have found is that despite small amounts of melting there is still rapid glacier retreat, so it seems that it doesn’t take a lot to push the glacier out of balance.” Covering an area larger than Florida or Britain, collapse of the Thwaites Glacier in western Antarctica could contribute significantly to sea-level rise, according to the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration. The researchers attributed the varying melt rates in different topography to water stratification and mixing. Along flat sections of ice, a thin layer of melted freshwater acts as a barrier to warmer ocean currents, suppressing upward melting. In contrast, water funneling through sloped crevasses and scalloped terraces transfers heat that promotes faster sideways melting, at estimated rates of up to 140 feet per year. Schmidt and her team of students and staff, including Meister, Dichek and Lawrence, began developing Icefin nearly a decade ago while at the Georgia Institute of Technology, to explore previously uncharted terrain including grounding lines. Designed to descend through narrow boreholes, the pencil- shaped vehicle – measuring less than 10 inches in diameter and more than 12 feet long – is equipped with thrusters, cameras, mapping instruments and sensors for measuring ocean current speeds, temperature, salinity and oxygen levels – information needed to estimate melt rates. **Icefin’s ongoing development – a fourth-generation vehicle is now under construction – has been supported by NASA. In addition to improving climate models, the space agency believes lessons learned in the Antarctic could inform eventual missions searching for life on the icy moons Europa and Enceladus.** The newly published research also includes co-authors from New York University; New York University Abu Dhabi; Georgia Institute of Technology; Oregon State University; University of Portland; Lewis & Clark College; Pennsylvania State University; University of Kansas; University of California, Irvine; California Institute of Technology; University of Gothenburg in Sweden; and the University of St. Andrews and University of East Anglia in the U.K. #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **NOTE:** GLACIERS SOMETIMES ADVANCE BUT MAINLY ARE RETREATING ~ During years when more snow and ice are gained in the accumulation zone than what are lost in the ablation zone the glacier will move forward (advance). During years when more snow and ice are lost in the ablation zone than what are gained in the accumulation zone, the glacier will instead move backwards (retreat). URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/17/warning-the-thwaites-glacier-in- antarctica-is-melting-and-retreating/>

1 0

The Sun Shines on Toyota in Putnam County! What About the Rest of West Virginia?
by Frack Check WV: Duane Nichols 17 Feb '23

17 Feb '23

# [The Sun Shines on Toyota in Putnam County! What About the Rest of West Virginia?](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/16/the-sun-shines-on-toyota- in-putnam-county-what-about-the-rest-of-west-virginia/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/B77C6ACE-5109-43E2-8CBC-8A65FD1305D0-300x180.jpg)](… content/uploads/2023/02/B77C6ACE-5109-43E2-8CBC-8A65FD1305D0.jpeg) Is this for real or a scene from “Star Wars?” **Flower power: Solar arrays resembling flowers provide energy at Toyota Putnam plant** From an [Article by the Staff of WCHS- TV](https://wchstv.com/news/local/flower-power-solar-arrays-resembling- flowers-provide-energy-source-at-toyota-putnam-plant), February 6, 2023 PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS-TV) — New power sources that resemble flowers have sprouted up around the Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia plant in Buffalo in Putnam County. Five SmartFlower solar arrays were recently installed to help power the facility’s services buildings that house the uniform and footwear stores, credit union, clinic and pharmacy, according to a news release from Toyota. Three EV charging stations also are being powered by the solar arrays, the company said. Company officials said the solar arrays “bloom” at sunrise and follow the sun’s path throughout the day. With the arrays keeping a 90-degree angle to the sun, the power captured is optimized over traditional solar panels, the company said. The flowers fold back up at sunset. “This is just one more way Toyota West Virginia is embracing alternative energy and reducing our ecological footprint here in the Mountain State,” David Rosier, Toyota West Virginia’s president, said in the news release. Toyota said it also has the largest solar array in the state. Located behind the plant, the array can generate 2.6 megawatts – enough to power more than 400 homes. The company said the solar generation reduces the Buffalo plant’s CO2 emissions by an estimated 4 million pounds per year. #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **See Also:** [Smartflower Solar Review: Beautiful Solar That's Not Worth It,](https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/smartflower-solar-revie… beautiful-solar-sculpture/) Andrew Blok, CNET, May 5, 2022 Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. In the solar panel industry, one company has charted a different path. It's producing solar electricity, not with rooftop panels or a traditional ground mounted rack, but with solar powered sunflowers. **Smartflower Solar** offers what it calls "sculptural" solar: an array of panels that unfurls in the morning, tracks the sun across the sky and folds up at night. It looks like a large, mechanical flower. Smartflower turns solar into a statement as well as a conversation piece and does both with a pretty simple installation process. But while some customers may prefer Smartflower's look, it comes at a premium. Beautiful design with a high price tag are why most of the company's customers are organizations, not homeowners. [….. more ……](https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/smartflower- solar-review-beautiful-solar-sculpture/). URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/16/the-sun-shines-on-toyota-in- putnam-county-what-about-the-rest-of-west-virginia/>

1 0

OMG! Some Short-Term & Chronic Health Effects of the Climate Crisis
by Frack Check WV: Diana Gooding 15 Feb '23

15 Feb '23

# [OMG! Some Short-Term & Chronic Health Effects of the Climate Crisis](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/15/omg-some-short-term-chronic- health-effects-of-the-climate-crisis/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/83804959-2969-4186-81C5-5C062B5FC7F5.jpeg)](https:/… content/uploads/2023/02/83804959-2969-4186-81C5-5C062B5FC7F5.jpeg) Coal miners ‘black lung’ and frackers ‘white lung’ are examples of such ailments **How Does Climate Change Affect Our Health?** From an [Article by Eglė Krištopaitytė, Health News](https://healthnews.com/news/how-does-climate-change-affect-our-health…, January 20, 2023 **Climate change impacts all aspects of our lives, including our health. From inflammation caused by wildfire smoke to diseases-carrying vectors migrating to new areas, the threats associated with changing climate are here to stay**. [[It can get worse! See Paul Brown’s challenge.](https://www.amazon.com/NOTES- DEAD-PLANET-Please-Prove-ebook/dp/B09QCZCX9V)] This past year 2022 was the world's 6th-warmest year on record since 1880, according to the latest report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Millions of Americans have experienced the consequences of climate change firsthand, as the country endured 18 separate disasters, including hurricanes and droughts, damages of which exceeded $1 billion. Moreover, these disasters resulted in the deaths of 474 people. In 2021, an international group of medical professionals suggested that rising temperatures due to climate change was the greatest threat to global public health. Scientists expect temperatures to continue increasing this year. In 2024, they could set a new global record. In an interview with Healthnews, Juan Aguilera, MD, PhD, MPH, a director of Translational Environmental and Climate Health at Stanford University, explains how climate change damages our mental and physical health. **Wildfire smoke causes inflammation; wildfires also cause public displacement and property damages.** Aguilera says that climate change impacts different aspects of our lives. For example, rising temperatures prolong drought periods, leading to the drying of the forests' soils. When weeds and bushes are not hydrated enough, the fires tend to expand and cover wider areas. "Smoke contains many different particles that are harmful to human health, with some being small enough to go into the respiratory system and even to penetrate deeply into the circulation," he told Healthnews. Once in blood circulation, particles cause inflammation which, in the long term, could lead to heart diseases, stroke, hardening of the arteries, and even cancer. According to Aguilera, scientists are now learning that wildfire smoke may also affect the immune system, making people weaker against any other types of diseases. The effects of climate change are also linked to mental health problems. For example, living in an area where wildfires may occur can be a source of anxiety. "You never know when a wildfire will occur, how big and wide it is going to be. You may be in danger and need to evacuate your home. Following the news also might be a source making anybody feel anxious," Aguilera, MD, added. Moreover, harmful particles from wildfire smoke may affect neurons and, therefore, mental health. "As we learn more about how these smaller particles affect our entire bodies, we can also explain issues related to mental health," he says. **Extreme climate events are more frequent now.** Climate change also exacerbates extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and thunderstorms, eventually leading to flooding. This causes more humidity within the homes, which can result in mold, Aguilera explains. For some, mold may cause mild symptoms, such as sore throat, coughing, or wheezing. However, those with asthma or people allergic to mold may have severe reactions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2022, flooding caused by Hurricane Ian led to a spike in potentially deadly infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus, also known as "flesh-eating" bacteria. Over 60 cases of infections and 11 deaths were reported in Florida. "Mosquitos and other vectors are getting adjusted to conditions where the climate is changing. They reach areas where there usually aren't mosquitos, ticks, or any other vectors," Aguilera added. Researcher says that as climate changes, the pollen season is expanding to up to ten months; therefore, pollen allergies will become more frequent. **How to protect yourself from pollution?** Air pollution is one of the drivers of climate change. In 2021, about 67 million tons of pollution were emitted into the atmosphere in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, research reveals more or more harm of pollution to human health. For example, a study from last year found that unborn babies have black carbon particles in vital organs, such as the liver, lungs, and brain, as early as the first trimester. Another study demonstrated that women in their late 40s and early 50s who were exposed long-term to air pollution with nitrogen dioxide and ozone saw increases in their body size and composition measures. So how to protect ourselves from toxic pollutants? Aguilera says that while not everybody will be able to move out of regions that are exposed to air pollution, we can take some lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the steps is to follow the air quality index, which allows tracking of real-time air pollution conditions on a certain day. "Vulnerable groups, such as pregnant, elderly people, children, and people with asthma, may want to consider some personal barriers, such as wearing a mask. Depending on your situation, it might be an N95 mask," he says. In addition, air purifiers may help to trap these particles and reduce the amount of pollution inside the houses. Aguilera explains that in the United States, some low-income communities live closer to freeways and roads, meaning that there are higher levels of air pollution coming from the traffic. "Some homes don't have proper insulation, and because of impending climate change, people who live there may suffer from heat stress or heat stroke. Measures to protect themselves, such as better cooling devices or air purifiers, cost money and are not necessarily accessible to everybody," he adds. Researcher says that the first step in achieving health equity is an awareness that our actions do affect not only ourselves but also people in other countries. "In Africa, they deal with severe droughts and shortages of food because of how climate changes make soils less fertile in some areas," he says. **References & Sources ~ ** 1\. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2022 was world’s 6th- warmest year on record. 2\. The New England Journal of Medicine. Call for Emergency Action to Limit Global Temperature Increases, Restore Biodiversity, and Protect Health. 3\. The University of Aberdeen. Babies have air pollution in their lungs and brains before they take their first breath. 4\. The University of Michigan. Air pollution tips the scale for obesity in women. 5\. Kaiser Family Foundation. Climate Change and Health Equity: Key Questions and Answers. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/15/omg-some-short-term-chronic- health-effects-of-the-climate-crisis/>

1 0

Take a Look at HYDROGEN ~ It’s Elusive from There to Here
by Frack Check WV: S. Tom Bond 14 Feb '23

14 Feb '23

# [Take a Look at HYDROGEN ~ It’s Elusive from There to Here](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/14/take-a-look-at-hydrogen- it%e2%80%99s-elusive-from-there-to-here/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/FC65A114-D602-40F6-AAB7-E4C1BAD2D0E5.jpeg)](https:/… content/uploads/2023/02/FC65A114-D602-40F6-AAB7-E4C1BAD2D0E5.jpeg) Hydrogen is expensive and a safety risk regardless of the ‘color’ **A Huge, Uncharted Experiment on the U.S. Economy Is About to Begin** Letter to Editor by [Robinson Meyer, New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/12/opinion/economy-ira-infrastructur… clean-energy.html), February 12, 2023 **If you want to understand the immense windfall the Biden administration is about to bestow on green industries, take a look at HYDROGEN.** Engineers still aren’t exactly sure what role the gas will play in a climate-friendly economy, but they’re pretty sure that it will be useful for something. We might burn it to generate heat in factories, for instance, or use it to make high-tech chemicals. **And thanks to three laws Congress passed over the past two years — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the climate- focused Inflation Reduction Act — the industry will be very well taken care of.** Over the next decade, the government is going to invest **$8 billion on hydrogen “hubs” across the country,** special zones where companies, universities and local governments can build the machinery and expertise that the new industry needs. **Other hydrogen projects will qualify for a $10 billion pot of money in the I.R.A. or $1.5 billion in the infrastructure bill. Still others could draw from a new $6.3 billion program that will help industrial firms develop financially risky demonstration projects.** So that’s up to $25.8 billion before you get to the bazooka: an uncapped tax **credit for hydrogen that could pay out perhaps $100 billion or more over the next decades.** **Few Americans realize it yet, but the trifecta of the Biden-era laws amounts to one of the biggest experiments in how the American government oversees the economy in a generation.** If this experiment is successful, it will change how politicians think about managing the market for years to come. If it fails or misfires, then it will greatly limit the number of tools to fight climate change or a recession. The story of the 21st-century American economy is being shaped now. **I say “experiment,” but, really, there are two. The first concerns the economy.** Mr. Biden’s team believes that it can move the United States toward a more robust, high-capacity and even re-industrialized economy. Can it? And can it use policy moreover to make sure that innovative ideas don’t get lost in the research lab or patent office, but instead make their way to the factory floor and corporate showroom, generating jobs and economic value along the way? **The second experiment:** Can that same economy — which has, virtually since the abolition of slavery, derived a good deal of its industrial energy from extracting carbon from the ground and setting it on fire — find a new primary energy source? Even today, America generates 79 percent of its energy from fossil fuels. The administration is, in a sense, trying to conduct a high- stakes transplant on the heart of the economy while the patient remains alive and voluble on the table. **Don’t get me wrong: Some kind of climate boom is now all but assured**. The investment bank Credit Suisse predicted last year that the I.R.A. would put more than $800 billion into the economy by the end of the decade, galvanizing more than $1.7 trillion in climate-friendly public and private spending overall. The law will transform the United States into the “world’s leading energy provider,” the bank said. The American renewable industry alone could attract 78 percent more investment per year by 2031, according to the energy- research firm Wood Mackenzie. **But I worry that the federal government has started its experiments too haphazardly.** The I.R.A. did not emerge from careful study and bipartisan consensus building, but from intraparty haggling and a harried legislative process. Even the bipartisan CHIPS Act was more of a crisis measure than a strategic intervention. >>> **These shortcomings are forgivable; in the I.R.A.’s case, it’s not like Republicans were ever going to help pass a climate bill. But these constraints have deprived the government of the strong institutions, internal expertise and administrative capacity that have made similar experiments successful in other countries……..** **1\. For practical purposes, that means, first, that the government won’t be able to spend all this money in the right place.** The U.S. financial system persistently struggles to fund projects that take a long time to turn a profit and that can expect to have only modest returns. Unfortunately, the biggest and most important physical infrastructure — factories, transmission lines — often fall under that category. In other countries, industrial policy has entailed creating an agile, entrepreneurial agency that can get money to the right companies in the right ways — as a loan, as equity, as a purchase guarantee. Congress took some steps in that direction last year. The I.R.A. beefed up the Loan Programs Office, the Department of Energy’s in-house bank, and it established a new green lending office within the Environmental Protection Agency. But Congress has put these institutions on a short leash with a limited mandate. This means that the government can’t support as many risky investments as it should. **2\. Second, the government may lack the ability to coordinate its own actions.** Late last year, the Biden administration declined to help reopen a “green” aluminum factory in Ferndale, Wash., that was exactly the kind of low- carbon industry it wants to champion. The local union, electric vehicle makers and the state’s Democratic leadership all wanted to revive the factory. The project even has national-security relevance, since the United States currently imports aluminum from Russia. But Mr. Biden chose not to intercede with the local electricity provider, the Bonneville Power Administration, to supply the plant with enough cheap power to operate even though it is a federal agency ostensibly under the president’s control. Never mind the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing: The right hand couldn’t get the left hand to plug the cord in. **3\. Finally, the government may not understand enough about the companies it’s trying to help.** In Taiwan and South Korea, industrial-policy agencies don’t only hand out money; they constantly gather information from the private sector and use it to adjust goals and policies over time. The I.R.A. contains very few mechanisms for this kind of in-flight course adjustment. Its main incentives are tax credits, which are hard to repeal once they’re in place and hard to fix if they’re not working. They are an unusually mindless way to incentivize companies to change their behavior. **And this points to a related concern: that we have underestimated just how hard decarbonization will be. One of the most cherished and widely held ideas in climate activism is that we could have solved climate change by now if only we’d had the “political will.”** This idea, once true enough, may soon outlive its utility. Mr. Biden and his successors will discover that decarbonization is an inherently difficult and complex societal challenge that cannot be solved with money alone. Some important activities will be legitimately hard to do without emitting carbon pollution; there will be some trade-offs that flummox even the most committed progressives. **Which is to say: Even if the U.S. had an agency that could finance or approve any industrial project in the exact right way at the precise right time, it would still be legitimately unclear which projects it should support.** Will a new lithium mine create jobs and build political support for decarbonization, or will its local pollution effects provoke backlash? If a new hydrogen hub opens in your hometown, will you love the growth or hate the higher housing costs? The Biden experiments bear the mark of a particular set of lawmakers and White House staff members who needed to meet a particular set of goals. They sought to stimulate the pandemic-depleted economy, reduce carbon pollution in a durable way, respond to what they saw as the Chinese manufacturing juggernaut and — perhaps above all — revitalize the American working class to prevent the next Trumpian crisis. They stumbled on a germ of an idea, a climate-friendly “industrial strategy,” and after 18 months of excruciating legislative wrangling, they have somehow made it the law of the land. **But the lawmakers who wrote that policy are not charged with carrying it out, and many of the officials who championed it most — like Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council — are now leaving the White House. Will the next crew understand what they’ve inherited?** In order for Mr. Biden’s two experiments to have a chance of success, the officials must not go on autopilot or disarm the parts of the I.R.A. meant to build domestic political support. And they cannot assume that everything about the coming climate boom will work out in the end. More than just the country’s fate depends on it. >>> **Robinson Meyer is a climate change reporter** in Washington, D.C., and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/14/take-a-look-at-hydrogen- it%e2%80%99s-elusive-from-there-to-here/>

1 0

Halliburton Loophole Under Study ~ Frack Fluid Safety?
by Frack Check WV: admin 13 Feb '23

13 Feb '23

# [Halliburton Loophole Under Study ~ Frack Fluid Safety?](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/13/halliburton-loophole-under- study-frack-fluid-safety/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/383C8874-11FE-4A73-B183-0E2F378F9665.jpeg)](https:/… content/uploads/2023/02/383C8874-11FE-4A73-B183-0E2F378F9665.jpeg) Vice President Cheney was the oil & gas industry inside government **Outcomes of the Halliburton Loophole: Chemicals Regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act in US Fracking Disclosures, 2014-2021** From an [Article by Vivian Underhill, et. al., Environmental Pollution](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026974912…, November 8, 2022 Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has enabled the United States to lead the world in gas and oil production over the past decade; 17.6 million Americans now live within a mile of a fracked oil or gas well. This major expansion in fossil fuel production is possible in part due to the 2005 Energy Policy Act and its “Halliburton Loophole,” which exempts fracking activity from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). To begin quantifying the environmental and economic impacts of this loophole, this study undertakes an aggregate analysis of chemicals that would otherwise be regulated by SDWA within FracFocus, an industry-sponsored fracking disclosure database. This paper quantifies the total disclosures and total mass of these chemicals used between 2014-2021, examines trends in their use, and investigates which companies most use and supply them. We find that 28 SDWA-regulated chemicals are reported in FracFocus, and 60-80% of all disclosures (depending on year) report at least one SDWA-regulated chemical. Of these, 19,700 disclosures report using SDWA-regulated chemicals in masses that exceed their reportable quantities as defined under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Finally, while the most common direct-supplier category is “company name not reported,” Halliburton is the second-most named direct supplier of SWDA regulated chemicals. Halliburton is also the supplier most frequently associated with fracks that use SDWA regulated chemicals. These results show the necessity of a more robust and federally mandated disclosure system and suggest the importance of revisiting exemptions such as the Halliburton Loophole. **See access to the full Publication here:** <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749122017663> URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/13/halliburton-loophole-under- study-frack-fluid-safety/>

1 0

Let’s Ban Fracking or Regulate It? The Time is Now to Limit Climate Change!
by Frack Check WV: admin 13 Feb '23

13 Feb '23

# [Let’s Ban Fracking or Regulate It? The Time is Now to Limit Climate Change!](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/13/let%e2%80%99s-ban-fracking- or-regulate-it-the-time-is-now-to-limit-climate-change/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/EB935DA7-7700-4618-B31A-EAEBA2DCDBC8.jpeg)](https:/… content/uploads/2023/02/EB935DA7-7700-4618-B31A-EAEBA2DCDBC8.jpeg) If the US Government will not actually regulate the Oil & Gas Industry, fracking should be banned! **US Department of Energy Releases Report on Economic & National Security Impacts of a Hydraulic Fracturing Ban** From the [Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management](https://www.energy.gov/fecm/office-fossil-energy-and-carbon- management), U.S. DOE, January 14, 2021 Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy delivered a new report to the President on negative impacts of the ill- conceived hydraulic fracturing ban some have proposed. [Economic and National Security Impacts Under a Hydraulic Fracturing Ban](https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2021/01/f82/economic-and- national-security-impacts-under-a-hydraulic-fracturing-ban.pdf) explains why a ban would have far-reaching and severe consequences, including the loss of millions of jobs, price spikes at the gasoline pump and higher electricity costs for all Americans—and the likelihood of increased CO2, SO2, and NOx emissions. A ban would end the U.S. role as the world’s largest oil and natural gas producer and would force the United States to become a net importer of oil and gas once again. It would weaken the Nation’s geopolitical influence and put our national security at risk. “Hydraulic fracturing tapped the great reservoir of America’s natural resources. That technology made the United States the world’s largest oil and natural gas producer, while also creating high-paying jobs and delivering great consumer savings,” said Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg. “This report to the President details just how devastating the economic and national security impacts of a ban would be. Banning this technology would derail our recovery from recent COVID-related economic disruptions and increase the risk of another recession.” During 2019, U.S. LNG exports helped to reduce the trade deficit and created $9.5 billion in revenue. But it is consumers, in particular, who would bear the impacts of a hydraulic fracturing ban. In recent years, increased domestic oil and natural gas supply has put significant downward pressure on consumer prices for gasoline and natural gas. In 2019, gasoline and diesel prices were 40 percent and 38.3 percent lower, respectively, compared to 2012, and average end-user prices for natural gas fell 24.3 percent in 2019 from 2008 levels. The report shows how consumers would bear the impacts of a hydraulic fracturing ban through higher electricity and natural gas costs. Retail electricity costs would increase by more than $480 billion between 2021 and 2025, and retail natural gas costs would increase by more than $400 billion between 2021 and 2025. And the report estimates how much higher gasoline and diesel costs could go if hydraulic fracturing were banned. Annual average gasoline prices would increase over 100 percent to over $4.20 per gallon in 2022 and 2023, and annual average diesel prices would increase 95 percent to $4.56 per gallon in 2022. Higher prices for gasoline, diesel, and petroleum products would amount to $1.9 trillion in additional, cumulative costs from 2021 to 2025 across all sectors. The shale revolution created by hydraulic fracturing and related technology is also responsible for a well-documented U.S. environmental success record: the reduction of carbon and other emissions to record-low levels. Natural gas is key to that environmental success because it fuels more than one-third of U.S. electric power plants and serves as an important enabler for integrating low- carbon intermittent renewables like wind and solar. “Taking away hydraulic fracturing technology from America’s oil and natural gas industry removes the primary technique needed to efficiently and responsibly extract abundant U.S. energy resources. Without new wells brought online, U.S. natural gas and oil production would rapidly fall, reversing the past decade's energy security gains,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas Shawn Bennett. From a national security and foreign policy perspective, significantly curtailing American natural gas and oil production increases global energy dependence on Russia and the member nations of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Currently, the U.S. exports natural gas—mostly in the form of LNG—to 39 countries on five continents. A decrease in LNG and crude oil exports would weaken our geopolitical standing globally and take away an important diplomacy tool. Given the interconnectedness of the global economy, higher energy costs would reverberate across the world, affecting economic growth and the outlook from Asia to Europe. With a weakened American economy, the U.S. would experience a national security setback, becoming reliant, once again, on other nations for its energy needs. The full extent of the economic, environmental and national security impacts of a ban on hydraulic fracturing is detailed in [the report that DOE produced at President’s direction](https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2021/01/f82/economic-and- national-security-impacts-under-a-hydraulic-fracturing-ban.pdf). To learn more about hydraulic fracturing, visit FE’s website. #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **See Also:** [Fracking Threatens America's Air, Water and Climate](https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/fracking/), Center for Biological Diversity ~ Fracking poisons our water, contaminates our air and emits massive greenhouse gas pollution. {+} #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **See Also:** [Fracking Companies Exploiting Halliburton Loophole to Inject Toxic Chemicals,](https://eponline.com/articles/2014/10/23/fracking-companies- exploiting-halliburton-loophole-to-inject-toxic- chemicals.aspx?admgarea=ht.hydraulicfracturing) Environmental Protection Online, October 23, 2014 Despite a federal ban on the use of diesel fuel in hydraulic fracturing without a permit, several oil and gas companies are exploiting a Safe Drinking Water Act loophole pushed through by Halliburton to frack with petroleum-based products containing even more dangerous toxic chemicals than diesel. Investigation finds at least 6 fracking fluids on the market with higher concentrations of benzene (a carcinogen) than diesel fuel, and at least 153 wells fracked with liquids containing ethylbenzene (a probable carcinogen) in 11 states. URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/13/let%e2%80%99s-ban-fracking-or- regulate-it-the-time-is-now-to-limit-climate-change/>

1 0

NEWS UPDATE ~ Coal Cost Crossover 3.0 says “Clean Energy is More Economical”
by Frack Check WV: S. Tom Bond 11 Feb '23

11 Feb '23

# [NEWS UPDATE ~ Coal Cost Crossover 3.0 says “Clean Energy is More Economical”](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/11/news-update-coal-cost- crossover-3-0-says-%e2%80%9cclean-energy-is-more-economical%e2%80%9d/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/FDB08D4F-3EB7-431A-95BF-6D7DF9B188FF-300x115.png)](… content/uploads/2023/02/FDB08D4F-3EB7-431A-95BF-6D7DF9B188FF.png) Data from Clean Technia report of July 2022 **Coal Cost Crossover 3.0: Local renewables plus storage create new economic and reliability opportunities** From the [Coal Cost Crossover 3.0 dated January 28, 2923](https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Coal-Cost- Crossover-3.0-One-Pager.pdf) **NEARLY ALL U.S. COAL PLANTS ARE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN NEW CLEAN ENERGY** _Coal powered the United States economy for decades, but that era is fast coming to a close. The cost of new clean energy technologies has plummeted over the past decade while coal costs have stayed flat or risen, creating a “cost crossover” between coal and renewables in 2020 when renewables provided more power to our grid than coal for the first time._ **Our first Coal Cost Crossover report, based on the 2017 coal fleet, found 62 percent of U.S. coal capacity was more expensive to run than to replace with renewables, while our second, based on the 2019 coal fleet, found 72 percent of capacity more expensive than renewables.** **The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) accelerates this coal cost crossover.** First, the IRA extends and expands the investment and production tax credits, significantly reducing wind and solar costs. Second, IRA funding for loan guarantees to refinance fossil fuel power resources and reinvest in new clean energy infrastructure, creates an economic opportunity to pay down coal debt and attract investment in new renewable resources. Our third Coal Cost Crossover report analyzes 2021 costs for 210 coal plants across the country (totaling 220 gigawatts of coal capacity), comparing them to actual costs for solar and wind in 2021, and incorporating the new tax credits. We find 99 percent of plants (209 out of 210) are more expensive to run than replacing their generation capacity with either new solar or new wind. The savings of using renewables would be significant: The cost of either new wind or solar is at least 30 percent cheaper than the cost of running more than three-quarters of existing U.S. coal plants. **LOCAL RENEWABLES CAN DRIVE $589 BILLION INVESTMENT IN COAL COMMUNITIES** The IRA created a bonus “energy communities” tax credit for building projects in areas that have historically depended economically on the fossil fuel industry. To capture the potential of this tax credit to generate new clean energy investment for these communities, we compared the cost of building new wind and solar resources within 30 miles of each coal plant to the cost of running the existing coal plant. **For 199 of the 210 coal plants, local solar replacement is less expensive than existing coal, and for 104 plants, local wind is less expensive. For 89 plants, both local wind and local solar were cheaper than coal, indicating a clean energy portfolio including local wind and solar is a viable replacement option for those plants, while providing additional grid reliability value.** Between solar and wind, our study finds replacing 204 coal plants with new local clean energy would generate up to $589 billion in new investment in energy communities across the country. Local replacement of coal plants with renewables offers several advantages, including preserving tax revenue and creating jobs in energy communities, qualifying projects for IRA-authorized funding and loans, and potentially avoiding the need to build new transmission to connect to the grid by using existing coal plant infrastructure. **PAIRING LOCAL RENEWABLES WITH STORAGE PROVIDES ADDED RELIABILIY** We also evaluated the cost of adding four-hour battery storage with local solar to provide additional reliability value and in some cases, higher market profitability. We find that the potential savings from switching from coal to local solar can finance 137 GW of four-hour battery capacity across the coal fleet, or more than 60 percent of the capacity of all 210 coal plants we studied. While reliability does not necessarily depend on adding storage, adding some amount of storage can help integrate renewables and accelerate clean energy adoption. For more than a third of the coal plants we studied, we find that in addition to replacing the electricity generation with local solar, 80 percent or more of the plant’s capacity can be replaced with four-hour batteries at a combined cost that is still lower than the cost of operating the coal plant. For the remaining coal plants, the percentage of capacity that can be economically replaced is still quite significant: Savings from renewable generation could fund battery storage at more than 50 percent plant capacity at 135 plants. **POLICIES TO SPEED THE COAL TO CLEAN TRANSITION** The economics are clear: Solar and wind offers much cheaper power compared to coal and without compromising the reliability of our electricity system. However, policymakers must act to unlock the cost savings, redevelopment, and human health benefits for coal communities. Several policies can hasten the coal-to-clean transition: • **Regulators should:** o Encourage utilities to utilize IRA financing programs from the Departments of Energy and Agriculture. o Enable competitive resource procurement. o Require reassessment of any utility investment plan, including integrated resource plans and market- based solicitation for renewable supply, completed prior to IRA as renewables costs will be out of date. • **State legislatures and energy offices should** plan and fund a coal community economic transition, where local clean energy resources anchor a more expansive economic transition plan. • **Regulators and system operators should:** o Improve methods to assess reliability and resource adequacy that reflect the reliability value of renewable portfolios and value the reliability attributes of a high-renewable grid. o Update interconnection study rules to leverage existing coal plant interconnection rights to speed grid connection processes for local renewable replacement resources. #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **See Also:** [Most Renewables Now Cheaper Than Cheapest Coal](https://cleantechnica.com/2022/07/21/most-renewables-cheaper-than- cheapest-coal-in-g20/) - CleanTechnica, July 21, 2022 <https://cleantechnica.com/2022/07/21/most-renewables-cheaper-than-cheapest- coal-in-g20/> URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/11/news-update-coal-cost- crossover-3-0-says-%e2%80%9cclean-energy-is-more-economical%e2%80%9d/>

1 0

PUBLIC NOTICE ~ U.S. ARMY CORPS ~ 15 Day Extension of MVP Comment Period
by Frack Check WV: admin 10 Feb '23

10 Feb '23

# [PUBLIC NOTICE ~ U.S. ARMY CORPS ~ 15 Day Extension of MVP Comment Period](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/10/public-notice-u-s-army- corps-15-day-extension-of-mvp-comment-period/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/E6262D77-9F21-4E69-B122-565A76256C00.jpeg)](https:/… content/uploads/2023/02/E6262D77-9F21-4E69-B122-565A76256C00.jpeg) Huntington Branch of US-ACE has responsibility for stream protection **RE: Public Notice No. LRH-2015-00592-GBR, LRP-2015-798, NAO-2015-0898 ~ Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)** **From** [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Issuance Date: February 10, 2023 to Closing Date: February 25, 2023](https://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public- Notices/Article/3243440/lrh-2015-00592-gbr-lrp-2015-798-nao-2015-0898/) **STREAMS** : Elk, Gauley, Greenbrier, Roanoke, Blackwater Rivers (Section 10 waters) and other streams **NOTICE OF COMMENT PERIOD EXTENSION:** The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published on December 12, 2022 for public comment a supplemental Public Notice to Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s proposal to discharge dredged and/or fill material into waters of the United States and work in and under navigable waters of the United States associated with the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and can be accessed on our website at: [https://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public- Notices/Article/3243440/lrh-2015-00592- gbr- lrp-2015-798-nao-2015-0898/](https://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regula… Notices/Article/3243440/lrh-2015-00592-gbr-lrp-2015-798-nao-2015-0898/) This Public Notice solicits comments related to supplemental information provided by the applicant. The public comment period on this proposal was extended until February 10, 2023 via public notice of December 20, 2022. The public comment period on this proposal is being extended an additional 15 days until February 25, 2023 to allow additional time for review of additional documents being provided for the benefit of public awareness and to inform any further comments on the proposed project. **DESCRIPTION OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:** In addition to the supplemental information described in our December 12, 2022 Public Notice (see link above), revised and additional documents are being provided to the public as follows (month of receipt and/or last update of document in parentheses; documents marked with an asterisk (*) contain updated information from that previously provided via public notice, or impact information being presented in a new organizational format): • Summary of Impracticability of Using a Trenchless Crossing for the Blackwater River (original October 2021/updated November 2021); • Riffle and Pool Complexes Avoidance and Minimization Summary (received January 2022); • Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Responses to Additional Comments Provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (July 27, 2022) for the Clean Water Act Section 404 Individual Permit (received August 2022); • Hydrogeomorphic Functional Assessment Summary (received October 2022); • *Streams with Multiple Separate Crossings (received October 2022); • *Bent Mountain Resources Table (received October 2022); • *Table 15. Crossing Method Determination Summary (original February 2021/updated February 2023); • Updated Environmental Justice Screening Tool Results (original November 2021/updated February 2023); and • *Tables A-1 and A-3 West Virginia Stream Impacts and Summary (original February 2021/updated February 2023). [1] Corps staff have reviewed the applicant’s webpage to confirm the above listed documents are accessible. In the event the applicant’s webpage is not accessible, the public may contact Mr. Adam Fannin at (304) 399-5610 to schedule an appointment to view the information. The application, previously provided supplemental information described in our December 12, 2022 Public Notice, and the above described information may be accessed on the applicant’s webpage at: <https://www.mountainvalleypipeline.info/news-info/> Select “IP Applications Supplemental Information February 2023” from the menu on the right-hand side of the page[1]. **PUBLIC INTEREST REVIEW AND COMMENT:** This application will be reviewed in accordance with 33 CFR Parts 320-332, the Regulatory Program of the Corps, and other pertinent laws, regulations, and executive orders. The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both the protection and the utilization of important resources. The benefit that reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors that may be relevant to the proposal will be considered, including the cumulative effects thereof; among those factors are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historic properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people. **SOLICITATION OF COMMENTS:** The Corps is soliciting comments from the public, federal, state and local agencies and officials, Indian Tribes and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the supplemental information provided by the applicant. Reference the text of the March 29, 2021 Public Notice and December 12, 2022 Supplemental Public Notice for additional details. The Corps will only consider comments pursuant to the scope of the supplemental information. **CLOSE OF COMMENT PERIOD:** The Huntington District has been designated as the lead Corps district, thus all comments pertaining to this Public Notice must reach their office on or before the close of the comment period listed on page one (1) of this Public Notice. If no further comments are received by that date, it will be considered that there are no additional objections related to the supplemental information. Comments should be submitted electronically to Mr. Adam Fannin by email at CELRP-MVP(a)usace.army.mil. If you do not have internet access, comments may be submitted through the United States Postal Service (USPS) to the following address: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District ATTN: CELRH-RD-E, Public Notice: LRH-2015-00592-GBR, LRP-2015-798, NAO-2015-0898, 502 Eighth Street, Huntington, West Virginia 25701-2070. Copies should only be provided through the USPS when electronic transmission is not possible. Precautionary internal mail handling procedures may be instituted to protect our workforce, which may result in longer than normal times to process and receive hard copy submissions. To be considered in our evaluation, comments submitted through the USPS should have a postmark dated on, or prior to, the close of the comment period listed on page one (1) of this Public Notice. Please note names and addresses of those who submit comments in response to this Public Notice become part of our administrative record and, as such, may be available to the public under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Thank you for your interest in our nation’s water resources. If you have any questions concerning this Public Notice, please contact Adam Fannin of the Energy Resource Branch at (304) 399-5610, by mail at the above address, or by email at: CELRP-MVP(a)usace.army.mil. #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **Please address all comments and inquiries to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District ~ ATTN: CELRH-RD-E Public Notice No. (referenced above) 502 Eighth Street, Huntington, West Virginia 25701-2070 ~ Phone: (304) 399-5610** URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/10/public-notice-u-s-army- corps-15-day-extension-of-mvp-comment-period/>

1 0

Crypo Mining Noise Jars Mountain Community in North Carolina
by Frack Check WV: admin 10 Feb '23

10 Feb '23

# [Crypo Mining Noise Jars Mountain Community in North Carolina](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/10/crypo-mining-noise-jars- mountain-community-in-north-carolina/) [![](https://www.frackcheckwv.net/wp- content/uploads/2023/02/4CA9000D-73E7-43FE-815F-79E4DDFC0AF3-300x168.jpg)](… content/uploads/2023/02/4CA9000D-73E7-43FE-815F-79E4DDFC0AF3.jpeg) Crypto mining computer banks generating high noise level 24/7 **How the blare of a crypto mine woke up this Blue Ridge Mountain town** From [News Report of Bill Weir, Cable News Network (CNN)](https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/us/north-carolina-crypto-mine-noise- weir-wxc/index.html), January 19, 2023 **Murphy, North Carolina (CNN) ~** When Judy Stines first heard about cryptocurrency, “I always thought it was smoke and mirrors,” she said. “But if that’s what you want to invest in, you do you.” **But then she heard the sound of crypto, a noise that neighbor Mike Lugiewicz describes as “a small jet that never leaves” and her ambivalence turned into activism.** The racket was coming from stacks and stacks of computer servers and cooling fans, mysteriously set up in a few acres of open farm field down on Harshaw Road. **Once they fired up and the noise started bouncing around their Blue Ridge Mountain homes, sound meters in the Lugiewicz yard showed readings from 55-85 decibels depending on the weather, but more disturbing than the volume is the fact that the noise never stopped.** Mike Lugiewicz describes the noise generated by the nearby crypto mine as "a small jet that never leaves. “There’s a racetrack three miles out right here,” Lugiewicz said, pointing away from the crypto mine next door. “You can hear the cars running. It’s cool!” “But at least they stop,” Stines chimed in, “And you can go to bed!” **The word “mine” evokes pickaxes and coal dust in this region, so at first, the neighbors around Murphy, North Carolina, had no idea that mining a so- called “proof of work” crypto coin is more like playing a computer game with billion-sided dice. Instead of shovels, modern miners need enormous amounts of server power to roll the winning number faster than their competitors around the world.** **This unrelenting demand for electricity was one reason China banned cryptocurrency, touching off a virtual gold rush from Appalachia to New York’s Finger Lakes.** Crypto miners began putting down stakes in places where power is cheap and affordable, and if land use or noise regulations even exist, enforcement is weak. **The mine in Murphy is just one of a dozen in Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina owned by a San Francisco-based company called PrimeBlock, which recently announced $300 million in equity financing and plans to scale up and go public.** But a year and a half after crypto came to this ruby red pocket of Republican retirees and Libertarian life-timers, anger over the mine helped flip the balance of local power and forced the Board of Commissioners to officially ask their state and federal officials to “introduce and champion legislation through the US Congress that would ban and/or regulate crypto mining operations in the United States of America.” “I personally think that if we can get a bill into the system, other (North Carolina) counties will join,” newly elected Chairman Cal Stiles said after the motion was read. When it passed 5-0, the crowd cheered. “Oh boy, they wanted us so bad a year ago,” PrimeBlock co-owner Chandler Song replied via LinkedIn DM when asked about the move to outlaw his crypto mine. “It is unconstitutional, to say the least.” **In 2019, Song and his co-founder Ryan Fang made the Forbes “Big Money” 30 under 30 list which features young entrepreneurs with over $10 million in funding. According to the profile, they founded their first blockchain company, ANKR Network, in 2017 when they were in their early 20s.** ANKR was eventually folded into the umbrella company PrimeBlock and in the final quarter of 2021, they claimed “$24.4 million of revenue, and over 110 megawatts of installed data center capacity.” This came as Song and Fang teamed up with former Goldman Sachs investment banker Gaurav Budhrani to create a company with an “estimated enterprise value of $1.25 billion” with the hopes of selling public stock on the Nasdaq. A few weeks after that announcement, residents packed the Cherokee County Board meeting where representatives from the company were scheduled to appear, but soon learned that management had changed their minds after a power outage at another crypto site nearby. “When (the outage) was investigated, it was found out that the power outage occurred because someone shot, with a gun, one of the (service lines),” County Commission Chair Dan Eichenbaum told the room to groans. “As a result of that, the crypto mining people decided they weren’t going to come.” “They could have joined over video!” one resident said to the board in frustration after the clerk read the company’s statement explaining they canceled “for employee safety.” Months later, Song told The Washington Post that he had received no noise complaints from Cherokee County and said he would build noise insulation walls and install quieter water-based cooling systems. But after erecting walls on only two sides of the mine, construction stopped and the dashed hopes of the community only poured more fuel on local anger as they headed to the polls. **“I’m old. I’m a senior citizen. Social media is not really in my bailiwick,” Stines said as she explained how noise pollution transformed her into an activist. “I like to be behind the scenes and I like to stir the pot. But I knew that we needed to win an election.”** Chandler Song went silent when presented with follow-up questions on LinkedIn, but the mine on Hershaw Road roars on as the Cherokee County attorney searches for ways to put legal teeth into a newly passed law against continuous noise without rankling liberty-loving landowners. **“The Tennessee Valley Authority does not pursue cryptocurrency mines and it is not one of our target markets,” Scott Fiedler, a spokesman for the TVA told CNN. But he acknowledged that the federally owned utility that serves millions in seven states does not keep track of the mines using TVA power, and it’s up to local utilities like the Murphy Electric Power Board to decide who gets service and who gets cut in a blackout.** **That last contingency brought even more bad blood and lost trust during the brutal winter storm that gripped much of the South and forced some of the first rolling blackouts in TVA history. While residents were plunged into cold darkness, they say the power-hungry mine kept humming.** “They shut us down on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day every hour for anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes to an hour,” resident Ron Wright told CNN. “Well, once your power goes down, your heat pumps go off and pipes freeze. But less than one mile away is crypto, allowed to run on the low end. As soon as the power came back, boom! They’re cranking before we are. **Back on Harshaw Road, Mike Lugiewicz pointed to the For Sale sign in front of his house. “September of 2021, I think, is when they turned this on and my wife and I just shook our heads, said, ‘No, we’re out of here.’” He hopes to stay in the area and keep fighting alongside neighbors like Judy Stines until the quiet comes back.** _“I don’t really care what folks invest in,” Stines said with a sigh. “I do care about this noise that affects us every day, all day, all night. It’s never-ending.”_ #######+++++++#######+++++++####### **See Video for Crypto mining noise ~** [This is the sound in front of Mike Lugiewicz’s garage. Source: CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/us/north- carolina-crypto-mine-noise-weir-wxc/index.html) URL: <https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2023/02/10/crypo-mining-noise-jars- mountain-community-in-north-carolina/>

1 0

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022