September 28, 2016 – by John Blair, valleywatch.net editor.
Six years ago today, a hearing was held in Louisville to take testimony from the public on whether to regulate coal ash. Today, the rule is being implemented and should go far in making areas around coal plants safer for people to live and work.
This video shows me, John Blair, speaking to a rally on the steps of EON, the parent company of Louisville Gas & Electric Company.
September 5, 2016 – by Damian Carrington in TheGuardian
Toxic nanoparticles from air pollution have been discovered in human brains in “abundant” quantities, a newly published study reveals.
This picture was shot 2/13/14 at approximately 10 AM. It was shot from the river bank looking almost due east toward downtown Evansville. Evansville and much of the lower Ohio River Valley rarely have fine particle pollution levels at what USEPA considers “good.” Photo © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV
The detection of the particles, in brain tissue from 37 people, raises concerns because recent research has suggested links between these magnetite particles and Alzheimer’s disease, while air pollution has been shown to significantly increase the risk of the disease. However, the new work is still a long way from proving that the air pollution particles cause or exacerbate Alzheimer’s.
“This is a discovery finding, and now what should start is a whole new examination of this as a potentially very important environmental risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Prof Barbara Maher, at Lancaster University, who led the new research. “Now there is a reason to go on and do the epidemiology and the toxicity testing, because these particles are so prolific and people are exposed to them.”
Air pollution is a global health crisis that kills more people than malaria and HIV/Aids combined and it has long been linked to lung and heart disease and strokes. But research is uncovering new impacts on health, including degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, mental illness and reduced intelligence.
The new work, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined brain tissue from 37 people in Manchester, in the UK, and Mexico, aged between three and 92.
The AEP operated Rockport Power Plant is a 2600 MW behemoth that has no scrubbers nearly 40 years after it began producing energy for northeastern Indiana and southern Michigan. It is also known for making clouds with its massive release of water vapor from its cooling towers. © 2012 BlairPhotoEVV
It found abundant particles of magnetite, an iron oxide. “You are talking about millions of magnetite particles per gram of freeze-dried brain tissue – it is extraordinary,” said Maher.
“Magnetite in the brain is not something you want to have because it is particularly toxic there,” she said, explaining that the substance can create reactive oxygen species called free radicals. “Oxidative cell damage is one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer’s disease, and this is why the presence of magnetite is so potentially significant, because it is so bioreactive.”
Continue reading
September 2, 2016 – by Jonathan Crawford in Bloomberg.com
PJM says it will be able to comply with the Clean Power Plan with minimum impact on electricity prices. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV
Power suppliers in the market, which covers parts of the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Midwest, can meet emission reduction targets for less than $2 a megawatt-hour, or 1 to 3 percent of average wholesale electricity costs, PJM Interconnection LLC, said in a report Thursday. Even with the added expense, the system will continue to attract new generators to satisfy the region’s growing power needs, the report found.
Suppliers across the U.S. are seeking ways to comply with President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which is designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from generators 32 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels. The report challenged claims from opponents who say the environmental mandates will drive a wave of power plant retirements, risking blackouts and price spikes for consumers.
Under all of the plans that have been proposed to reach emissions targets, adequate power supplies “were maintained throughout the PJM footprint,” Muhsin Abdurrahman, a senior market strategist at PJM, said in a briefing Thursday.
Lower natural gas prices would drive the retirement of higher-polluting coal-fired power plants and reduce the cost of meeting the mandates, according to the report. A regional approach would also drive down expenses as opposed to individual states pursuing their own plans.
The study also found that the existing fleet of nuclear reactors can become economic as states look to maintain carbon-free generation to meet the targets.
While the Supreme Court has suspended Obama’s Clean Power Plan pending a legal review, a number of states are still working toward reaching the goals it sets out.
August 25, 2016 – Fact Sheet from USEPA
Indiana’s climate is changing. Most of the state has warmed about one degree (F) in the last century. Floods are becoming more frequent, and ice cover on the Great Lakes is forming later or melting sooner. In the coming decades, the state will have more extremely hot days, which may harm public health in urban areas and corn harvests in rural areas.
Our climate is changing because the earth is warming. People have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the air by 40 percent since the late 1700s. Other heat- trapping greenhouse gases are also increasing. These gases have warmed the surface and lower atmosphere of our planet about one degree during the last 50 years. Evaporation increases as the atmosphere warms, which increases humidity, average rainfall, and the frequency of heavy rainstorms in many places—but contributes to drought in others.
Greenhouse gases are also changing the world’s oceans and ice cover. Carbon dioxide reacts with water to
form carbonic acid, so the oceans are becoming more acidic. The surface of the ocean has also warmed about one degree during the last 80 years. Although warmer temperatures cause sea level to rise, the impact on water levels in the Great Lakes is not yet known. Warmer air also melts ice and snow earlier in spring.
Heavy Precipitation and Flooding
Changing the climate is likely to increase the frequency of floods in Indiana. Over the last half century, average annual precipitation in most of the Midwest has increased by 5 to 10 percent. But rainfall during the four wettest days of the year has increased about 35 percent, and the amount of water flowing in most streams during the worst flood of the year has increased by more than 20 percent. During the next century, spring rainfall and average precipitation are likely to increase, and severe rainstorms are likely to intensify. Each of these factors will tend to further increase the risk of flooding.
Ohio River
Flooding occasionally threatens both navigation and riverfront communities, and greater river flows could increase these threats. In 2011, a combination of heavy rainfall and melting snow caused flooding along the Ohio and Wabash rivers in Southern Indiana and closed the lower Ohio River to navigation.
Although springtime in Indiana is likely to be wetter, summer droughts are likely to be more severe. Higher evaporation and lower summer rainfall are likely to reduce river flows. The drought of 2005 caused portions of the lower Ohio River to be closed to commercial navigation, which delayed shipments of crops and other products to and from upstream states like Indiana. In 2012, a drought caused navigation restrictions on the lower Mississippi River, which cost the region more than $275 million.
One advantage of climate change is that warmer winters reduce the number of days that ice prevents navigation. Continue reading
July 19, 2016 – by John Blair, valleywatch.net editor
This picture was taken on the Evansville Riverfront in the late afternoon, the day Ryan Owens died while practicing football in Henderson, KY. While Owens’ death brought about some changes in the way some coaches deal with heat, Valley Watch has found that most officials and school administrators dismiss the serious problems that breathing fouled air can cause. Photo:© 2006 Wendy Bredhold
I sent the following letter to the editors of the Evansville Courier Press and the Henderson Gleaner to commemorate the sad tenth anniversary of Henderson HS football player, Ryan Owens.
“Ryan Owens took his last breath ten years ago Tuesday,” the lead of your story “Ryan’s Legacy” July 19, 2016 was certainly appropriate although without intention.
Breathing pollution may have been the real cause of Ryan’s tragic death which was ultimately blamed on a heart condition, brought on by heat and exertion at a Henderson High School football practice.
On the day Ryan passed, not only were we in a serious weeklong heat spell, but that was also a day when fine particle pollution in the region reached levels more than twice the health based standard set by the USEPA. In fact, the level that morning was extraordinarily high at the time of the practice where Ryan collapsed and later died. Further investigation also reveals that the temperature that morning was in the low 80s and had not reached the levels it would later in the afternoon that day. Thus, temperature is not likely the only geophysical attribute involved.
Ryan Owens, at 16, died from complication of an unknown heart condition on this day in 2006 while practicing football in henderson, KY. It is Valley Watch’s position that such practices should either be cancelled or taken indoors to a more welcome environment when air pollution alerts are called.
Research before and after Ryan’s death has shown that the same heart “defect” Ryan had is also one that can present serious health problems on days when fine particle pollution is high or even moderate when other factors like strenuous exercise are present. Of course, that is why it is important to take precaution when so called “Air Pollution Alerts” are issued for “sensitive people” since that category includes young athletes and the elderly.
Following Ryan’s death, Valley Watch has made a nearly futile effort to insist that all schools adhere to strict compliance with air pollution alerts as they are issued, both for ozone and fine particles. When there is an air alert, schools should cancel outdoor practice and move the practice into weather controlled gyms to keep their students safe.
The same goes for Band practice since Band members also exert a great deal of energy playing instruments from the Tuba to Drums. And I don’t think Band members are required to undergo any sort of physical exam to show their physical worthiness of participating like their athlete counterparts are required. It seems many school officials wear blinders when it comes to air pollution and simply dismiss the science that shows a distinct correlation between numerous health problems, including death, and high pollution days. Valley Watch’s outreach to local and regional school officials has shown that there is huge resistance to canceling practice and cancelling a game would take divine intervention regardless of the level of air pollution that may be present.
Such refusal belies the rhetoric espoused by almost everyone that student safety is foremost in the minds of educators.
Valley Watch would be happy to share EPA data that backs our position with any teacher or official who requests it. Simply contact: Blair@valleywatch.net
July 5, 2016, by John Blair, valleywatch.net editor
Several months ago, Valley Watch, Inc.’s board passed a resolution asking our regional congressional delegation to oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership. Since the TPP is now up for further debate in Congress, we sent the Resolution to all of our regional congressional delegation. That resolution is below. We urge other organizations who care about health and the environment of US citizens to do the same.
June 27, 2016 – by Scott DiSavino, Reuters
Coal used to generate U.S. power fell in April to its lowest monthly level since 1978, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report.
Coal-fired power plants generated just 72.2 million megawatt hours in April, their lowest since April 1978, according to EIA data released on Friday. One megawatt is enough to power about 1,000 U.S. homes.
Natural gas, meanwhile, surpassed coal as the United States’ top fuel source for the third straight month, producing 100.0 million MWh in April, the EIA said.
Of the total 293.3 million MWh generated in April, gas accounted for 34 percent and coal just 25 percent.
The EIA said gas produced a record 1.362 billion MWh, or about 34 percent of the total, in the year through April 30, compared with 1.250 billion MWh, or 31 percent, for coal.
Other major sources of power production over the year were nuclear at 20 percent, and non-hydro and solar renewables, such as wind, at 7 percent, the EIA said.
The agency has previously forecast generators would burn more gas than coal in 2016 for the first year.
Coal has been the primary fuel source for U.S. power plants for the last century, but its use has been declining since peaking in 2007. That was around the same time drillers started pulling gas out of shale formations. Continue reading
April 25, 2016 – by Dave Rutter in the Chicago Tribune
Illustration © 2011 John Blair
We’ve celebrated Earth Day for 46 years to inspire ourselves, challenge old ideas and motivate people to take care of their planet.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes no one really listens. What has Indiana been hearing for 4 ½ decades?
At least Indiana wasn’t the least green, most regressive state in America for the April 22 celebration — that’s Wyoming — but statistical assessments of Indiana’s environment add a dour tone to the party.
In the spectrum of greenness, Indiana is a dull brown.
Dozens of such assessments cross my electronic threshold every month, and it’s a useful to measure your state. Being intelligent about the world’s fitness gives you choices, though facts don’t always make you happier.
Dozens of such assessments cross my electronic threshold every month, and it’s a useful to measure your state. Being intelligent about the world’s fitness gives you choices, though facts don’t always make you happier.
Perhaps one of the studies will brighten my day, so I can brighten yours.
The Indiana where I was a child and grew to manhood is firmly affixed in my memory. Unfortunately the state that looks back at me in the mirror every morning is not that state.
Maybe what I believed to be true 40 years ago was never true. Indiana is polluted and indifferent to the environment now, and maybe it was then, too.
The evidence of eco-denial is depressingly consistent.
In fact, these dire surveys produced predictable howls of dismay from Hoosiers who do not think the statistics are accurate. We recycle trash. We have wind farms. We even make Subarus, for Pete’s sake. How much more “green” do you want?
But that’s like denying climate change by pointing to a nearby pile of Hoosier lake-effect snow.
If you value truth in numbers, Indiana is not only less “green” than states that make a big deal about that, Indiana also is less green than states just barely above Third World status. Hoosiers are less green than Alabamans and Mississippians.
The next time your neighbor smirks at China’s indifference to lung-strangling pollution, remember that Indiana is similarly bad, though on a much smaller scale.
Last year, every consumer and environmental agency that compiles the data with differently nuanced methodologies found the same thing. The 2016 report by personal finance website WalletHub ranked Indiana 47th out of 50 states in Eco-Friendliness, and 43rd in Environmental Quality.
It’s been the same for 10 years.
That report compared each state by 14 key metrics that speak to the health of the current environment as well as the environmental impact of people’s daily habits.
Indiana scored below average in every category, including air quality (48th), water quality (30th), number of green buildings per capita, (31st) and gasoline consumption per capita (28th).
Here’s Indiana’s report card:
39th – Percentage of Municipal Solid Waste Recycled
38th – Percentage of Energy Consumption from Renewable Sources
39th – Energy Efficiency Scorecard
44th – Percentage of the Population Not Driving to Work
Why is Indiana not “green?”
The Indiana Business Research Center at IU’s Kelley School of Business studies green industry in Indiana and says the state has 47,000 “green” jobs. Sounds good.
But Kelley researchers admit they don’t how many such jobs exist or what defines green. Some industries self-identify themselves as “green” without much evidence.
You can’t measure what you can’t count.
Perhaps you might think “green” is 20 entrepreneurial college kids who invent a radical solar power array that produces electricity cheaper than coal-powered plants. They could make millions of dollars and save the planet.
Of Kelley’s green careers, most are variations of air-conditioning installers, farm produce handlers and separators and support administrators. Of those involved in producing renewable energy, Indiana has only about 4,000.
If you’re a street paver who applies slightly less noxious tar mixtures to the road, Indiana labels you a “green” worker.
Mostly, Indiana is not a green state because Indiana’s government cares more about other goals. Protecting coal jobs, for example.
Jobs in any culture define the culture. This trade of values is the eternal Indiana struggle. Some states find a more sustainable balance. Others — like Indiana — don’t.
When Indiana disenfranchised its Department of Environmental Management and Department of Natural Resources by slashing their budgets, that sent an unmistakable signal.
If you lived in one of the three “greenest” states — Vermont, Washington or Massachusetts — conservation and eco-values would be as important as jobs.
Your state government would talk incessantly and passionately about its quality of life goals and environmental achievements.
In fact, a state’s passion for more modern jobs would be all-consuming. “Green” industry and invention are signals that states care about their planet.
Did that ever sound like Indiana? Did we ever really care? I asked the mirror. It said no.
Copyright © 2016, Post-Tribune
April 4, 2016 – Video by Andrew Manske on YouTube
Two adorable newborn polar bear cubs play with their mother while they journey to the frozen sea. One cute cub climbs and hangs off mother’s back. Features cubs play-fighting and nursing with mom. Very cute video! Footage copyright: Parks Canada.
Cinematographer: www.AndrewManske.com
All scenes filmed in the wilds of northern Manitoba, Canada, near Hudon’s Bay.
March 16, 2016 – by John Blair, valleywatch.net editor. It should be noted that Valley Watch has oft challenged Peabody Energy and is proud to say that we took them on and won an important eight year battle to kill their proposed 1500 megawatt Thoroughbred Power plant in Muhlenberg County, KY.
Peabody Energy who used to proudly proclaim to be the “world’s largest privately owned coal company,” is definitely on the verge of bankruptcy. Today, the company which has seen its stock prices fall significantly over the past year, told investors that it failed to meet its financial obligations to pay $71 million interest on its debt which were due today.
The stock market responded today on the news with Peabody’s already failing stock collapsing nearly 46% at this writing to a mere $2.15/share. That leaves a total Market Capitalization of for the distressed company of only $39.9 Million. This all comes after a horrible year for the beleaguered company which already saw a “reverse stock split” which shareholders had to forfeit 15 shares for a new single share in the fourth quarter of 2015.
This is bad news for Indiana since the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has routinely allowed Peabody to “self bond” on the set aside money for reclamation work required by the Federal Government strip mine law passed in 1977 that calls for coal mined land to be restored to its approximate “original contour.” Currently IDNR records indicate that Peabody is supposed to maintain $163 million in bonds to cover closure costs for its six Indiana mines, all in southwest Indiana, including the largest strip mine east of the Mississippi River called Bear Run near Carlisle.
Huge mining machines called draglines are used to scoop up more than 150 cubic yards of earth with each pass at the Peabody Bear Run mine near Carlisle, IN. Strip mining is one of the most destructive things that man has done to the earth. Now, with Peabody’s almost certain bankruptcy, it is questionable that Peabody will be able to meets its liabilities to the State of Indiana to restore the land at six Indiana mines. Should that happen, will Hoosier taxpayers be on the hook for cleaning up Peabody’s horrible mess. Photo © 2010 John Blair.
That $163 million is more than three times the current total market capitalization of the entire company. The Chicago based, Environmental Law and Policy Center has challenged IDNR on its continued use of self bonding, insisting that Hoosier taxpayers should receive a modicum of protection and not be left holding the bag for Peabody’s serious indiscretions.
Peabody went public in 2004 and saw its original offering of $27.share rise rapidly to $81 and higher during its heyday. But, as the coal industry in total has gone from bad to worse in recent years, the stock is nearly without value.
March 8, 2016 – by Dr. Norma Kreilein in the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette
AEP/ I&M Rockport plant is a 2,600 megawatt plant located hundreds of miles away from the customers that use the electricity it generates, leaving residents of SW Indiana to experience illness and even death due to its massive pollution. © 2013 BlairPhotoEVV.
As a pediatrician in southwest Indiana, I regularly see young patients come into my office struggling with asthma, allergies, lung conditions or other ailments. We do our best to provide care and treatment to manage these conditions, but there are some forces that seem beyond our control.
Recently I learned that Indiana Michigan Power’s AEP-Rockport coal-fired power plant is the second-worst industrial polluter in our state and dumped nearly 6 million pounds of toxic pollution into our air, land and water in 2014. What’s worse, last year I&M rejected a plan to replace half of the AEP-Rockport coal-burning power plant with clean energy like wind, solar and energy efficiency. I&M’s greedy decision to choose a more expensive plan will cause 30 more years of harm to children living here, who suffer from air pollution on a daily basis.
When I moved back home to southern Indiana’s DuBois County in 1989 to begin my medical practice, I didn’t know I would become involved in battles to reduce air pollution from coal-burning power plants that threaten the health of children in my community. However, my oath as a doctor requires me to do no less than whatever I can to fight for clean air for my patients.
The health effects from burning coal are well known. Scientists from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis have documented that brain-damaging mercury ends up in the soil, air and water around coal-fired plants. The University of Cincinnati has linked soot pollution to increased risk for stillbirth and prematurity, and I believe air pollution is likely one of the causes of Indiana’s high infant mortality rate.
I’ve seen the effects of air pollution every day in more than 25 years of caring for children’s health in the shadow of coal-burning power plants like AEP-Rockport. If you could see the abnormally high number of children with allergies, sinus problems and chronic illness in my community, you would want to do something, too.
My problem with pollution is that it pollutes children’s bodies. The problem with mercury is that it ends up in a kid’s brain. And the problem with particulates is that they end up in a kid’s lungs.
More than 300,000 concerned doctors in the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association and the American Thoracic Society collectively agree with the federal Clean Power Plan and its goal of reducing dangerous air pollution from power plants.
I find it frustrating that sulfur dioxide monitors are found in only seven of Indiana’s 92 counties. Positioning them as far away from the coal plants as possible isn’t ethical, doesn’t adequately protect children living near the plants and is an appalling example of how Indiana officials cherry pick data to arrive at the results they want.
It is irresponsible for I&M President Paul Chodak to promote his company’s 20-year energy plan to customers in northern Indiana without mentioning the billions of dollars that he wants to spend prolonging the life of an outdated, dangerous and deadly coal-burning power plant in southwest Indiana. I&M and its parent company, AEP Corp., need to stop filling our air with toxic pollution and start accelerating the transition to clean energy. The lives of my patients, friends and neighbors depend upon it.
Dr. Norma Kreilein is a pediatrician based in Washington, Indiana.
February 26, 2016 – by Melissa Cronin in Grist
Hearing the news that a coal plant, a facility that once belched CO2, mercury, sulphur, nitrogen oxides, and other hazardous chemicals into the air, is shutting down is certainly a cause to celebrate. Seeing it explode in glorious high definition and set to lively classical music is another thing altogether.
Duke Energy, the largest electric power holding company in the U.S., released a video this week showing the death of four of its old coal power plants, giving environmentalists an awesome soundtrack to the death of the coal industry.
The video shows the demolition of Weatherspoon, H.F. Lee, Cape Fear, and Cliffside, all facilities in North Carolina. The demolitions, set to a rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, are nothing short of transfixing.
A spokesperson for Duke Energy told Grist that the plants were mainly operated from the 1930s to the ’60s, and were destroyed as a way to celebrate “modernizing the way we generate power for the past decade.” But as the company transitioned away from coal, it looked to natural gas as its main money-maker and maintained its spot atop the country’s worst carbon emitters in 2015.
Thanks in large part to cheap natural gas, many of America’s coal plants have been reduced to rubble — or are about to be. As of last November, over 200 coal-fired stations had been retired or were scheduled for retirement. According to an analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance last year, about 17 percent of U.S. coal-fired power generation is expected to disappear over the next few years. It’s been said that the coal industry is “in terminal decline,” and there’s no better way to visualize that than the crumbling of an enormous, dirty power plant.
February 23, 2016 – by John Blair, valleywatch.net editor.
Sometimes it happens as early as January, this year it was late February but one sure sign of good things to come is the appearance of crocus which are always the first flowers to bloom nearly every winter (of course that does not count dandelions). © 2016 BlairPhotoEVV
