Climate change -denial to doublespeak

The US Senate  is looking at a report that is meaningful per an article by Dharna Noor in The Guardian called “Big oil spent decades sowing doubt about fossil fuel dangers, experts testify.” The subtitle adds more concern: “US Senate hearing reviewed report showing sector’s shift from climate denial to ‘deception, disinformation and doublespeak.’”

The term “doublespeak” is of course borrowed from George Orwell’s “1984.” Here are the first few paragraphs:

”The fossil fuel industry spent decades sowing doubt about the dangers of burning oil and gas, experts and Democratic lawmakers testified on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

The Senate budget committee held a hearing to review a report published on Tuesday with the House oversight and accountability committee that they said demonstrates the sector’s shift from explicit climate denial to a more sophisticated strategy of ‘deception, disinformation and doublespeak.’

‘Time and again, the biggest oil and gas corporations say one thing for the purposes of public consumption but do something completely different to protect their profits,’ Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee, testified. ‘Company officials will admit the terrifying reality of their business model behind closed doors but say something entirely different, false and soothing to the public.’

The findings build on years of investigative reporting and scholarly research showing that the sector was for decades aware of the dangers of the climate crisis, yet hid that from the public.

In the absence of decisive government action to curb planet-warming emissions, the impacts of the climate crisis have gotten worse, committee Democrats said. Several senators said the industry should have to pay damages for fueling the crisis.”

I have long believed this assertion as the industry makes far too much money and has put money in the pockets of legislators to just remain silent. After waning for a few years, the efforts to deceive have been stepped as renewable energy advancements continue. We hear the focus on all the hiccups and challenges, but the continuing increase in market share on electricity production of the renewable energy is still an undertold story.

So, is the story that shareholders have voted management at several fossil fuel companies like Exxon, Occidental Petroleum, eg. must report on what they are doing about climate change intervention. When I hear pushback that the activist shareholder groups are forcing this, I chuckle as the fossil fuel industry is the most subsidized industry in history. It is a key reason they can afford to sponsor so many climate change denial websites to overwhelm the far fewer peer reviewed scientific websites.

I fully recognize change cannot turn on a dime. But, we must be even more active in demonstrative climate change interventions. Renewable energy is just one large component. But, more trees, more mangrove buffers next to the ocean, more kelp farms, more moving traffic patterns, less meat eating, etc. must be part of the equation.

I must add that a key reason I left the Republican Party in 2008-ish is the party’s stance on climate change denial. That was 16 years ago. And, it continues today. I am reminded of the lyric from “Cabaret” which says it all “money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around.” Money can fund a lot of things – even denial.

Tuesday afternoon – let me ponder

Using the title of an excellent Moody Blues’ song, allow me to do a walkabout with some meandering thoughts on this chilly, but sunny April day.

Earth Day has come and gone, but its message should never leave us – there is no Planet B. So, we better take care of the one we got. We cannot use our planet as our trash bin without having an impact. Plastic resides in too many fish and the forever chemical in Teflon resides in too many humans.

Former President Richard Nixon is remembered for Watergate and resigning before he was removed from office, but one good thing he did was set up the Environmental Protection Agency. This entity was set up not too long after the river flowing through Cleveland caught fire from all of the chemical residue.

I read some well-funded politicians are pushing for the reversal of many environmental regulations. This is inane as it moves us in the wrong direction. Maybe we should all watch the movies “Erin Brockovich,” “Dark Waters,” and “A Civil Action” again to see what happens when corporations lie to people about their toxic waste. The sad part is when heroes make these companies accountable for their long-known poisoning of people, it is so rare they make movies about them.

Circling back to the Teflon residue, in “Dark Waters” it noted DuPont was proven to be responsible for poisoning workers and towns people by the largest study of people ever. They then reneged on their promise to compensate their victims and were taken to court one case at a time losing all of them before settling the rest.

There is a tenet called “The Precautionary Principle” that the US does not mandate. This principle requires a company to prove no harm beforehand rather thirty years after poisoning people. Now, these politicians want to make the US even further behind by reversing strides.

This is inane. There is no Planet B.

Throw me some real shade

In an article in The Guardian by Nina Lakhani called “‘We need more shade’: US’s hottest city turns to trees to cool those most in need,” Phoenix’ problems are beginning to be addressed. The sub-headline adds more flavor. “Phoenix broke several heat records last year. Now Grant Park, which has inequitable tree cover, is seeing a tree-planting drive that promises some respite from 100F temperatures.”

Here are a few select paragraphs. “…Over the course of three days in early April, arborists planted 40 or so desert adapted trees in Grant Park, as part of the city’s equity-driven heat mitigation plan to create a shadier, more livable environment amid rising temperatures and hundreds of heat-related deaths….

Phoenix is America’s fifth largest and hottest city, a sprawling urban heat island which has expanded without adequate consideration to climate and environmental factors like water scarcity and extreme heat. ​Multiple heat records were broken last year including 133 days over 100F (37.7C), and 55 days topping 110F (43C).

‘Our goal is to change the inequity and create enough shade to provide residents and passersby reprieve from the heat. For that we need many more trees, but we also need to take care of them,’ added Ontiveros, as he walked through the neighborhood making sure the right families got the right trees.”

Planting trees is a part of a needed solution to both specific heat and larger climate change mitigation. We need more carbon eaters for the latter goal and more new trees, mangroves, and larger forests will help. For the local goal, shade trees will offer both respite, scenery, and a little cooling.

It has long been predicted the climate change impact would be varied as it hits different areas. The more arid and hotter areas will see more droughts and heat. With the mountain top ice moving further up the slopes, the drier underbrush are prone to more forest fires. And, the coastal areas are losing shoreline and increasing the intensity and clout of hurricanes.

We need to use a variety of large scale efforts to put less carbon in the air and take more carbon out of the air. Tree planting is just one of those efforts. But, far more is needed.

Methane from landfills now visible

In a key article in The Guardian called “Methane from landfills is detectable from space – and driving the climate crisis” by Gina McCarthy* a major known concern has become a visible one.  Methane is a gas that hangs around much longer and can do more damage to us humans. The methane leaks from natural gas wells is already visible from space, but now landfills’ leakage can be seen. Per the article, here are a few paragraphs with a link below.

“An elusive climate menace is now easier than ever to see. In early March, a rocket launched into the sky with a satellite that spots methane emissions from space. MethaneSAT joined more than a dozen similar satellites now in orbit, scanning the Earth for pollution and feeding that information back to scientists, policymakers, industry and the public.

What story does the data tell? One of methane on the rise, or one of collective efforts that avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis? Slashing methane is the most efficient way to slow global warming in our lifetimes.

Thanks to huge advances in technology, a new study has brought more clarity to the landfill methane problem than ever before. The non-profit organization Carbon Mapper, with support from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other researchers, observed methane emissions from hundreds of large landfills across the US by aircraft.

They detected significant emissions at more than half of the landfills they flew over. The emissions were often persistent: observed over multiple visits, spanning months, sometimes years. And they were large. About 80% of the emissions detected at landfills – more than 850 unique methane plumes – released at least 100kg of methane an hour.

That emission rate meets the ‘super-emitter’ threshold that the EPA set for the oil and gas sector in its new standards. These large plumes are not fully captured in official inventories. On average, landfill emission rates calculated in the study over multiple visits were 1.4 times higher than the emissions that operators reported to the EPA.

This data is alarming, but the solutions are clear.

Let’s start with prevention. Keeping organic waste out of landfills – through waste prevention, food recovery and composting programs – is the most effective way to avoid future landfill methane generation, while benefiting communities. Each year, the average American family of four loses $1,500 to wasted food. We can all do a better job of buying what we need, eating what we buy, and donating or composting what’s left.

And at landfills, there are simple, low-cost changes to avoid methane leaks. Early and expanded gas collection, better landfill covers, and additional accountability measures – more methane monitoring, more often – can help halt the release of methane to the atmosphere. We can encourage our local landfills to be part of the solution too, implementing best practices that better control methane and co-pollutants.”

I encourage you to review Ms. McCarthy’s credentials and link to the article below. Also, it might be worth checking out the documentary movie “Ice on Fire.”

*Gina McCarthy was the first White House national climate adviser, the 13th administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, and is managing co-chair of America Is All In

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/09/methane-pollution-organic-waste-landfills

Saturday in the park (April, 2024)

Now that I have left you with an ear worm courtesy of the band Chicago, let me do a walkabout with my mind full of miscellaneous thoughts and pollen. Being a city of trees leads to heavy pollen exposure here. Achoo.

Technology, connectedness, AI….They are designed to help us and do. But, they are our bane when they don’t work well, we have operator error or connected things cause breakdowns in other areas.

Then there is AI which has long grown faster than our ability to control it and will continue to do so. I am reminded of one of the best Star Trek episodes called “The Menagerie” where a very smart race of aliens could no longer fix the machines to run their lives. It gives me pause, as we are not that smart.

I have argued we should use technology, but maybe stop short of connecting everything to one device. When the device or connection is lost, the ability to control things is compromised. It reminds me of the song lyric of the guying wearing his mind on his sleeve, but he keeps losing his shirt.

Another suggestion is to remember prerecorded phone numbers when you call them up. Addresses, numbers, important passwords, get forgotten when unused or remembered. When I hit a name to call, I try to remind myself of the number it is calling. As for passwords, don’t have a device using the app remember them for you.

Finally, please remember this one fact. People want your money. Not all attempts to get it are moral or legal. Phishing occurs often via phone calls, texts and emails. Passwords saved are accessed by folks who are aware when you are online. Hacking occurs far more often than reported, as data hacked is saved and used later. AT&T just had a huge breach on pre-2019 data, for example.

A premise to follow is simple. Nothing is safe. Some are safer than others, but expert hackers find a way to get in. One security guy used the analogy that accessing a hotel’s wi-fi is like eating food off the floor. You don’t know what you are eating.

As for phishers, top of mind there are the IRS scam, Microsoft scam, grandparent scam, local utility scam, Social Security scam, Amazon scam, account breach scam, cybercurrency scam, etc. (If you don’t know these scams, you should familiarize yourself). And, while you are at it, don’t gamble on line and don’t play the lottery. You are just giving your money away.

Drawdown – a detailed piece on reducing the impact of climate change (a reprisal)

Paul Hawken is an optimist about battling our climate change crisis. He is also active in planning to do something about it. But, who is he? Hawken is an author, advocate and businessman who is the Executive Director of Project Drawdown, based his book “Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming.”

The book is based on the concept of drawing down the amount of carbon that is getting dangerously present in our atmosphere and warming the planet. It summarizes 100 solutions noting their cost, long term savings and estimated impact. Project Drawdown has an impressive Board of Directiors and research staff offering a seriousness of purpose.

Rather than list all 100, let me note the top ten solutions, which are interesting and makes one think holistically. And, some of these have small price tags.

1. Refrigeration Management: While the hydrocarbons that were hurting the ozone were banned, their replacement (HFCs) is warming our planet, much of it released in the last few years of life of the refrigerator. There is a plan to phase out HFCs from new refrigerators. It is also key to decommission old refrigerators earlier to prevent the greater release.

2. Offshore Wind Turbines: With the heavy ocean breezes, the offshore turbines have a huge upside on savings and impact. As with onshore wind energy, the cost has dramatically declined and wind energy is ready to replace even more fossil fuel energy sourcing. Offshore wind energy is being used significantly by other countries, with the first US development opening last December off Rhode Island.

3. Reduced Food Waste: Of all the issues, with relative little cost, we can make a huge dent in emissions from unused, rotting food. Between supermarkets, restaurants and homes, this wastage could be minimized with some concerted efforts which would not compromise taste. Better labeling on best-by dates, using imperfect looking food, better food planning at home, better gleaning of unpicked crops, using local produce more, etc. would produce dividends.

4. Plant Rich Diet: If cows were a country, they would be third largest abuser of the climate change impact. By shifting to more plant rich diets, we can reduce the amount of emissions leaked into the atmosphere and improve our own health.

5. Tropical Forests: We have greatly reduced our carbon eating forests, which has changed the equation dramatically. The planet used to be covered 12% by tropical forests, but it has declined to 5%. By replenishing tropical forests, the trees can have a positive impact on the environment and absorb more carbon.

6. Educating Girls: I have been an advocate of this for civil rights and economics, but it has a significant impact on climate. Hawken notes through education, girls can enter womanhood on their own terms. Now, too many girls are married at very young ages and never have a chance to consider a career. The younger they are married, the more children they have. Also, more educated women, means more intellectual capital to solve problems.

7. Family Planning: This goes hand in hand with the education of women. Larger family size is highly correlated with increased poverty. It is also highly correlated with a larger carbon footprint. Our planet also does not have unlimited resources, so we need to use what we have more efficaciously. If all people consume like the average North American, we have 2X too many people already.

8. Solar Farms: The cost of solar has dropped dramatically and jobs are growing at an annual double digit rate for the past several years. Solar farms are much cheaper to build than a power plant and will continue their growth rate as battery storage improves.

9. Silvopasture: What does this mean? It is an ancient practice of integrating trees and pastures for crops and livestock. The symbiosis of the two better controls carbon absorption in a sustainable way.

10. Rooftop Solar: Putting solar panels on rooftops scares utility companies as it changes their model. Solar energy need not be done only through big projects to be effective. It can be very decentralized, Utilities are pushing back in several states to buy surplus electricity at a lower rate than they sell it when you need it at night. As battery storage improves, solar power will be even more integrated and expansive.

Hawken says we need to be alarmed by what is happening by climate change, but we should plan to act and then act. While discouraged by the US pulling out of the Paris Climate Change Accord, he said the positive is far more Americans are aware of climate change and cities, states and businesses are acting in lieu of the void caused by the federal government.

I have been encouraged by this renewed vigor in addressing climate change. There are many good things occurring in the US and abroad. We can no longer wait and should celebrate, focus and leverage these solutions.

Recycling plastics has been a fool’s errand

An article by Dharna Noor in The Guardian called “‘They lied’:  plastics producers deceived public about recycling, report reveals” is an upsetting pronouncement. The subtitle says more – “Companies knew for decades recycling was not viable but promoted it regardless, Center for Climate Integrity study finds.” Here are select paragraphs:

“Plastic producers have known for more than 30 years that recycling is not an economically or technically feasible plastic waste management solution. That has not stopped them from promoting it, according to a new report.

‘The companies lied,’ said Richard Wiles, president of fossil-fuel accountability advocacy group the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), which published the report. ‘It’s time to hold them accountable for the damage they’ve caused.’…

…The industry has known for decades about these existential challenges, but obscured that information in its marketing campaigns, the report shows.

The research draws on previous investigations as well as newly revealed internal documents illustrating the extent of this decades-long campaign.

Industry insiders over the past several decades have variously referred to plastic recycling as ‘uneconomical’, said it ‘cannot be considered a permanent solid waste solution’, and said it ‘cannot go on indefinitely’  the revelations show.

The authors say the evidence demonstrates that oil and petrochemical companies, as well as their trade associations, may have broken laws designed to protect the public from misleading marketing and pollution.”

The gist is the public has been led to believe greater and cost effective success has been achieved in plastics recycling. At the same time, we have huge islands of plastics in our oceans that some of which have been ingested by sea creatures and, in turn, consumers.

We must seek and find truths to deal with this mountainous problem. We also need to have an advertised and concreted effort to greatly reduce the use of plastic. Less bottled water and other liquids is a huge given. Plus we need to move to other types of containers that can be reused, repurposed or easily recycled. This industry seems to have little concern to lying to consumers. We should not forget that key point.

UK environment suffering under Brexit

An article in The Guardian yesterday caught my eye entitled “Brexit divergence from EU destroying UK’s vital environmental protections.” The subtitle highlights the gist: “Exclusive: Britain is falling behind the bloc on almost every area of green regulation, analysis reveals.”

Rather pick only a couple paragraphs, below I have repeated several key points in the piece.

“Vital legal protections for the environment and human health are being destroyed in post-Brexit departures from European legislation, a detailed analysis by the Guardian reveals.

The UK is falling behind the EU on almost every area of environmental regulation, as the bloc strengthens its legislation while the UK weakens it. In some cases, ministers are removing EU-derived environmental protections from the statute book entirely.

Businesses and environmental groups have told the Guardian they have been left in the dark as to the extent of the regressions because there is no government body tracking the divergence between the EU and the UK.

In practice, it means:

• Water in the UK will be dirtier than in the EU.

• There will be more pesticides in Britain’s soil.

• Companies will be allowed to produce products containing chemicals that the EU has restricted for being dangerous.

At least seven big policies have been changed that have put a chasm between the EU and the UK on environmental regulation. These include:

• EU-derived air pollution laws that will be removed under the retained EU law bill.

• Dozens of chemicals banned in the EU are still available for use in the UK.

• Thirty-six pesticides banned in the EU have not been outlawed in the UK.

• The UK is falling behind on reducing carbon emissions as the EU implements carbon pricing.

• The EU is compensating those who are struggling to afford the costs of the green transition, while the UK is not.

• The EU is implementing stricter regulations on battery recycling, while the UK is not.

• Deforestation is being removed from the EU supply chain, while the UK’s proposed scheme is more lax and does not come in until a year later.

One green MEP said the findings were ‘tragic’ while a centre-right MEP said the divergences were ‘particularly bad’ for companies that wanted to do business on both sides of the Channel.”

Let me cut to the chase. The UK is geographically not a huge country. Screwing with environmental regulations can have a heightened negative result. Looking at the two lists above should give any UK citizen pause. Emulating the US’ business centric environmental protections is not a recipe for success, in my view, as we do not adhere to “The Precautionary Principle.”

To be clear, I have never been a supporter of Brexit. What the financial experts predicted before the vote is happening. Yet, this article is equally troubling and should be looked into further.

City on the Edge of Forever (another encore)

While surfing old posts, since I am an original Trekkie, I decided to do another repeat of this post.

If you are an original Star Trek fan, you will recognize “City on the Edge of Forever” as arguably the finest episode. This award winning episode was written by Harlan Ellison and co-starred a newcomer actress named Joan Collins, who would become a TV star and appear in several movies.

Per the vision of creator Gene Roddenberry, the original Star Trek was steeped in existential questions posed by some very good scriptwriters. Questions regarding prejudice, hatred, good vs. evil, the Roman, Greek and Egyptian gods who visited earth being aliens, doing no harm when visiting a civilization, etc. The “City on the Edge of Forever” dealt with someone altering a small event in time, that changed the world and future.

I will avoid spoiler alerts, but the gist of this episode is a very drugged Dr. McCoy, played by DeForest Kelly, goes back in time through a previously unknown portal. He winds up on earth in New York City right before World War II where he meets a pacifist advocate played by Collins. For some reason, McCoy alters the course of history and the Enterprise no longer exists., fortunately after Captain Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) have beamed down to the location of the portal.

In essence, they go back in time to when McCoy did, to figure out what happened. While here Kirk meets Collins’ character and they become mutually smitten. Spock discovers the two paths forward, the one that McCoy altered vs. the one which occurred. The story boils down to should something you detest happening, be allowed to happen, so as not to impact millions of lives in not a good way. I will leave it at that.

Setting aside the science fiction aspect, the story is well crafted and well acted. Most of the stories were, although a few were kind of cheesy. The original series was short-lived, but its reruns built a huge audience.

One of the more powerful sidebars comes from Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, the communications officer. She met Martin Luther King at an event. King was a fan of the show, and when he learned Nichols was considering leaving it, he encouraged her to stay. King said seeing a Black woman on the show made a huge statement as to what the future might look like.

So, I feel I stand in good company if MLK liked the show. Check this episode out if you can. For those who have not seen it and plan to do so, you may want to avoid the comments.

More natural remedies

I have written before about my great grandmother Carrie Jane who served in the role of nurse for a community in rural Georgia early last century. She would accompany the regional doctor on his periodic visits when he came to the area. Here is additional information concerning DC Cook and Carrie Jane from my second cousin, who is a computer wizard by trade, but quite involved in retiree health classes.

“DC and then later Carrie Jane were closely associated with Dr. James Leslie Cheshire. My father was named after him. DC was previously married to Dr. Cheshire’s daughter who later died either from illness or childbirth. Later, his 2nd wife, Carrie Jane would accompany Dr. Cheshire on his rounds. The doctor would check out the patient and then leave them in the hands of Carrie Jane who would use her home remedies which often involved herbs and tonics. The Cooks and Darleys (Carrie Jane’s family) close association with Native Americans offered many opportunities for learning these natural healing techniques.

I have used Dr. Cheshire’s and Carrie Jane’s relationship many times as an example of how modern medicine should be incorporating the alternative healthcare modalities. I talk about Carrie Jane in every Touch for Health class that I teach.

…When I was a kid and could not sleep, my mother would put her forehead to mine and we would hum until we resonated. Then, I would fall peacefully asleep and so could my mother once I was sleeping. About 10-12 years ago, I was reading the book, ‘Molecules of Emotion’ by Candace Pert. She was on the NIH team that discovered the role of polypeptides. In the book she stated, ‘When people chant, it causes reverberations in the sinus cavities that cause the brain to release Endorphins which are the body’s pain killers and stress fighters.’ I wondered if this was the way that my mother and me caused me to go to sleep by humming? I say, ‘yes’…”

In earlier posts, I shared some of Carrie Jane’s home remedies that sound gross but were effective. The posts can be linked to from the suggested reading below. The added humming example from my second cousin’s mother Nell is yet one more home cure. It reminds me of the movie “Mask” with Cher as mother to young man played by Eric Stolz whose facial bones were growing causing severe pain. Her humming and caressing helped him through the pain.

I thought this was fascinating reading. Please feel free to share your stories and reactions. I would love to hear from them.