ValleyWatch

AEP’s Rockport power plant is one of the dirtiest plants in the nation. Built nearly forty years ago, with minimum pollution controls, it is a 2600 Megawatt behemoth that sends its power to northeastern Indiana and southern Michigan while the people of the Tri-State suffer all its huge levels of pollution. © 2016 BlairPhotoEVV

This is where we live. Do you know someone with cancer, or maybe its a heart attack or a stroke. It could be just a chronic but life threatening condition like asthma. Or, as recently studies have indicated, air pollution induced Alzheimers disease.

Whatever it is, the reason could well be the enormous level of pollution we are forced to breathe each day just so other places can flip the switch and completely lack the understanding that they are causing us severe health problems. Aerial Photo of the AEP Rockport Power Plant: © 2016 BlairPhotoEVV.

October 28, 2016 – Editorial in the Lexington Herald Leader

Give Gov. Matt Bevin’s environmental secretary credit. When asked about the prospects for Eastern Kentucky’s coal industry, he was honest — unlike all the misleading political ads and mailings that are bombarding Kentuckians.

What Secretary Charles Snavely said was important, but how he prefaced it is even more enlightening in this election season.

Charles G. Snavely, secretary of the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet

When asked by a lawmaker at a meeting in February if there is hope for a coal-industry rebound in Central Appalachia, Snavely said, “I regret you ask me that question in a public forum because if you ask me a question, I’m going to give you the answer.”

OK. He seems to be saying Kentuckians can’t handle the truth. But why? What myth is it so important to perpetuate?

Snavely, a mining engineer and former coal-company executive, went on to say that he sees no rebound for Eastern Kentucky’s coal jobs anytime soon.

He based his prediction on world economic conditions, cheap natural gas and an uncertain regulatory environment that discourages electrical utilities from building new coal-fired capacity.

Plus, thermal (the kind for power production) coal from Eastern Kentucky has a unique market disadvantage. Because the remaining seams are thin, it costs more to mine, which means it can’t compete on price with coal from other regions, including the Illinois Basin, Wyoming, Montana and even Northern Appalachia — all of which produce cheaper coal than Eastern Kentucky.

That honest opinion from a Republican governor’s appointee echoes what a utility executive told the Kentucky Governor’s Conference on Energy and Environment in Lexington last month.

Natural gas is expected to overtake coal this year as the country’s No. 1 source of power and could continue to underprice coal for the next 20 to 50 years. Kentucky Power chief Greg Pauley said that because natural gas and wind energy are “the price winners,” demand for coal isn’t coming back “no matter who is elected in November.” Continue reading →

October 9, 2016 – by the Editorial Board of the Evansville Courier Press. Editor’s Note: Valley Watch has tried many times over the years to get the Evansville Courier & Press to look at the facts regarding the behemoth power plants located in the area and their relationship to  the region’s poor health performance. Finally, after  recent reports by the Center for Public Integrity, The Weather Channel and USA Today, The ECP published this editorial on October 9, 2016

EDITORIAL

Indiana needs to clean air polution 

We seldom are trendsetters in Indiana. And for the most part that’s OK. But sometimes our reluctance to accept change has serious consequences, including harming our health and our quality of life.

That’s certainly been true with our slow, downright stubborn, refusal to more aggressively cut our dependence on coal as our primary fuel source for generating electricity.

Nationwide, coal is used to produce only 33 percent of the electricity consumed in America’s homes and businesses. In Indiana, we still burn coal to generate about 85 percent of our electricity. Only three states — West Virginia, Kentucky and Wyoming — are more dependent than Indiana on coal.

To hear Indiana’s top political and business leaders tell it, the state has little choice but to continue its heavy reliance on coal. To do otherwise, they say, would risk wrecking the state’s manufacturingdependent economy because the cost of electricity would surge.

Perhaps. But then why have neighboring states such as Ohio and Michigan, also centers of manufacturing, been able to significantly reduce their reliance on coal? Is Indiana’s economy really less able to adapt to change than our neighbors?

Those questions arise out of an enlightening new investigation by the Center for Public Integrity, the USA TODAY Network and the Weather Channel. Their report found that about one-third of all industrial air pollution in the United States is produced at 22 sites. Four of them, all coal-fired power plants, are in southwest Indiana, near Evansville. The health consequences for Hoosiers, and for our neighbors in other states, are serious. Air pollution significantly increases the risk of cancer, heart attacks and respiratory illnesses, such as asthma.

So yes, the average cost for electricity is a bit cheaper in Indiana than in Ohio — 11.33 cents per kilowatt hour versus 12.47 cents. But how much do we lose from higher health care costs and insurance rates? How many years of productivity are lost because workers are burdened by chronic illnesses?

Even more important, how many lives have been cut short because our state has been slow to further reduce air pollution? Continue reading →

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 13, 2016 – Video from Right Wing Watch

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

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 →