Watch 1PM Weekly News - October 30, 2023
This week Shelby covers seven breaking news stories--from Denmark transitioning to a plant-based food system to the executive branch banning a solvent linked to cancer.
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Pennsylvania’s Gas Industry Used 160 Million Pounds of Secret Chemicals From 2012 to 2022, a New Report Says
Physicians for Social Responsibility have released a new report on Fracking with ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Pennsylvania. The report details the risks from injecting the forever chemical, or PFAs, into the state’s oil and gas wells, and the associated risks from the disposal of millions of tons of liquid and solid waste. PFAs are a class of manufactured chemicals known for their extreme toxicity, severe health effects, and resistance to breaking down in the environment—thus earning the moniker, “forever chemicals.” The report shows that between 2012 and 2022, oil and gas companies injected eight unconventional gas wells in three Western Pennsylvania counties with a type of PFAS commonly known as Teflon. During the same period, oil and gas companies injected more than 5,000 unconventional gas wells in Pennsylvania with 160 million pounds of trade secret chemicals. Some of these chemicals could be PFAS. Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection knows the identities of these chemicals, but state law allows oil and gas companies to use trade secret designations to withhold these identities from the public. These findings raise concerns that residents may unknowingly be exposed to PFAS and other hazardous substances used in hundreds or even thousands of oil and gas wells.
- https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24102023/pennsylvanias-gas-industry-used-160-million-pounds-of-secret-chemicals-possible-pfas/
- https://psr.org/new-report-documents-fracking-in-pennsylvania-gas-wells-with-pfas/
Most Countries are Falling Short of Their Promises to Stop Cutting Down the World’s Trees
Inside Climate News writes about a 2023 report called the Forest Declaration Assessment, that is produced by a coalition of research groups called the Forest Declaration Assessment Partners. Member organizations include research organizations, think tanks and advocacy groups from throughout the world. These organizations draw on their collective expertise to provide a global report that monitors the progress of global forests goals. The report, published October 23, found that “the world remains off track to reach the goals of halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030.” For example, global deforestation in 2022 was 21 percent higher than needed to eliminate deforestation by 2030. The sub-category of primary tropical forests was even further off track at 33 percent higher than the needed trajectory to halt primary forest loss by 2030. According to this report, forests around the globe are in immediate need of protection and rehabilitation if we are to reestablish the possibility of reversing deforestation.
Inside Poland Spring’s Hidden Attack on Water Rules It Didn’t Like
The New York Times reported on Tuesday, October 24, that a bill in the Maine legislature that sought to protect the state’s groundwater was derailed by a lobbyist for BlueTriton, the parent company of the bottled water company Poland Spring. The bill aimed to limit large-scale access to the fresh groundwater Poland Spring bottles and sells. It had made it out of committee, and was set to go before the full state legislature, when the lobbyist’s amendment to strike everything resulted in the committee pulling back the bill. On BlueTriton’s website, the company stated that they oppose the legislation because it would “...make it unaffordable for any large-scale water purchaser, including Poland Spring, to invest in infrastructure and operations.” Poland Spring has faced several class action lawsuits alleging that the company was bottling groundwater, not spring water. A 2017 lawsuit stated that not one drop of Poland Spring Water emanates from a water source that complies with the FDA’s definition of ‘spring water.’ The suit also noted that the famous Poland spring in Maine, which is the company’s namesake, ran dry over 50 years ago.
- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/10/24/climate/maine-water-laws-blue-triton-poland-spring.html
Energy Agency Sees Peaks in Global Oil, Coal and Gas Demand by 2030
The International Energy Agency, or IEA, released its World Energy Outlook 2023 report on October 24. The report demonstrates more clean energy being utilized by 2030, foreseeing 10 times as many electric vehicles, more solar energy produced than the entire current US electric system, a 50% of global electricity coming from renewable sources, and heat pumps and other electric heating systems outselling fossil fuel boilers globally. Despite this encouraging news, the report also found that fossil fuel demand is still too high to meet goals set in the Paris Agreement.
Biden Administration Moves to Ban a Solvent Linked to Cancer
On Monday, October 23, the EPA announced a proposed ban on all uses of trichloroethylene, or TCE, which the agency characterized as “an extremely toxic chemical known to cause serious health risks including cancer, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity.” TCE is used in cleaning and furniture care products, degreasers, brake cleaners, and tire-repair sealants. According to the EPA, a variety of safer alternatives are readily available for many uses. The proposed action, which falls under the Toxic Substances Control Act, would ban the manufacture, processing, and distribution of TCE for all uses, within one year of taking effect. Michal Freedhoff, the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, commented, “For far too long, TCE has left a toxic legacy in communities across America. Today, EPA is taking a major step to protect people from exposure to this cancer-causing chemical. Today’s proposal . . . will prevent future contamination to land and drinking water and deliver the chemical safety protections this nation deserves.” To support cleanup activities at sites of past TCE contamination, the EPA proposed that essential lab use and proper disposal of TCE wastewater continue for 50 years, subject to workplace protections.
Denmark Introduces World’s First National Action Plan to Promote Plant-based Foods
Denmark has announced a national plan to boost its plant-based food production and make the country’s food system more plant based. The plan also proposes that the country will become a leader in plant-based food production and exports, potentially bringing in the equivalent of $1.9 billion and creating 27,000 jobs. According to a University of Copenhagen study, by switching to a more climate-friendly food system, Denmark could save the equivalent of $1.7 billion in health care costs. In 2021, in its first annual status report, the Danish Council on Climate Change found that its current climate policies were insufficient to meet the country’s 2030 emissions target of a 70% reduction compared to 1990 levels. The United Nations notes that animal agriculture makes up about 14.5 percent of total global Greenhouse gas emissions, so Denmark’s shift to plant-based agriculture will be an important step in reaching climate goals.
The surprising benefits of switching to ‘lamb mowers’
During World War I, sheep were brought to the White House to graze on the expansive lawn and thus save on manpower. In New York’s Central Park, for 70 years a 15-acre meadow was home to pedigreed sheep who grazed while visitors watched from afar. The city of New York paid for the animals’ upkeep, but the flock helped mow the lawn, and their wool was auctioned off. This week, in the Washington Post, climate advice columnist Michael J. Coren writes about the benefits of switching from lawn mowers to “lamb mowers.” Coren described the work of Lamb Mowers, a Virginia business that offers 2-hour “weed and feed” visits by a flock of about 15 sheep. Describing them as “gentle grazers,” Coren writes that they clip “grass tops and nibble weeds homeowners would like removed.” Coren also cited a 2006 landscape study that found replacing lawn mowers with sheep “cut net emissions by more than a third.” Moreover, “carbon from the grass is returned to the soil as sheep pellets.” Grazing sheep may benefit more than lawns and the environment. A February 2023 report by UC Davis Health found that “the 25 wooly sheep who seasonally leave their barns to nibble on lawns at various central campus locations, are doing much more than mowing, fertilizing and improving the ecosystem. The sheep are also improving people’s mental health.”