“We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel, when we should be using Nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy. I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy… I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”
THOMAS EDISON 1931
Destruction of avian life intensifies Phoebe Weston writes in the September 28, 2022 Guardian, “State of the World’s Birds report warns human actions and climate crisis putting 49% in decline, with one in eight bird species under threat of extinction.” Since 1970, 2.9 billion individual birds (29% of the total)…
Keep readingORVI Research on Blue Hydrogen and Carbon Capture with Ben Hunkler, Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI) Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 1:00 PM Participate either in person or via Zoom (see below) Blue hydrogen and carbon capture are the oil and gas industry’s latest “silver bullet” solutions to economic stagnation…
Keep readingSeriously though. The utter shame of it all. The Pennsylvania DOH (Department of Health) has shunned those suffering with health issues in the shale gas patch in the past, so their latest withdrawal comes as no surprise. But the PITT withdrawal was a big surprise! As the CCJ Press Release…
Keep readingG.E.T. Solar Energy Help Now; Avoid Natural Gas Price Spikes By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 26, 2022 According to a new national report on schools’ adoption of solar published last week by nonprofit Generation180, Pennsylvania ranked 11th in the nation for the amount of…
Keep readingHow Collaboration Can Support the Electrification of Trucks Global Clean Energy Action Forum – Pittsburgh, PASeptember 22 • 12:30pm – 1:30pm Currently, much of the discussion around EV charging globally is focused on light duty vehicles and highway charging. While these are important topics, our transition to clean, electric mobility…
Keep reading“Volvo Trucks hit another milestone Wednesday, as the heavy-duty truck maker announced its massive 44-ton electric trucks are hitting the production line. With the addition of three of its heaviest electric truck models, Volvo now has a six heavy-duty EV lineup – the largest in the industry. Volvo Trucks has sold…
Keep readingWhat if they gave a war and nobody came? There’s lots of news about this latest military draft, with tens of thousands of Russians becoming draft dodgers, so it seemed like a good time for some Déjà vu with some old protest songs. “Confusion over who will be called up…
Keep readingTwo articles point out the growing benefits from solar and the reasons why fracking talk is ‘pie in the sky.’ Positive gains on the solar front in Europe… Paweł Czyżak, a senior analyst at the energy and climate thinktank Ember writes, Solar power saved the EU €29bn this summer, ($28.6 billion…
Keep reading“To Really Understand the Ocean, We Need to Go Back in Time” This Guest Essay by Professor John R. Waldman, Ph.D. originally appeared in The New York Times on September 20, 2022. Not that long ago the world’s oceans were viewed as too gargantuan for humans to influence. This view was…
Keep readingMISSION: Protect public health and the environment, enhance community and system resilience, and deliver economic, ecological and social benefits for all people in the ten county region. By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest | September 5, 2022 The Southwestern PA Water Network invites stakeholders to join them at…
Keep readingCommittee Also Failed to Address Real Concerns of People Living Near Gas Production & Distribution Facilities Photos: Natural Gas Infrastructure- Top- Shale Gas Drill Pad (FracTracker); Drill pad at end of drilling (Bobscaping Blog); Middle- Pipeline Compressor Station (Bobscaping Blog); Pipeline construction in Lancaster County (LancasterOnline.com); Revolution pipeline and MarkWest…
Keep readingStudy: Industry Data Shows Hazardous Air Pollutants Are ‘Ubiquitous’ in the Natural Gas Transmission System By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 21, 2022 (Note: Photos and quotes have been added to the original blog) In the first peer-reviewed study of EPA-designated Hazardous Air Pollutants in…
Keep readingLooks like the first step in paying more to drive an Electric Vehicle (EV) in Pennsylvania. The current $39 registration fee could be a thing of the past. The Official Notice, along with a new Title, arrived in the mail Friday: Pennsylvania needs help funding roads and bridges, due to…
Keep readingOn September 21, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced DCNR will produce or purchase 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 21, 2022 (Note: Images have been added to the original…
Keep readingPermitting reforms would benefit the nearly completed Mountain Valley Pipeline to move fracked gas from Manchin’s home state of West Virginia to Eastern seaboard states. VOX explains previous deal making in a September 13, 2022 story: This summer, he [Manchin] struck a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: In exchange…
Keep readingTeam Pennsylvania, Co-Chaired by Governor Wolf, Issues Road Map By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 23, 2022 On September 23, the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, co-chaired by Gov. Wolf, announced the publication of a new report, Successful Deployment of Carbon Management and Hydrogen Economies in the…
Keep readingDemand is rising in the residential segment as solar installers continue to add storage to their product offerings. The U.S. market installed over 2,608 MWh of energy storage capacity in the second quarter of 2022. KELLY PICKEREL | SOLAR POWER WORLD | SEP 14, 2022 “The solar ITC (Investment Tax…
Keep readingFormer NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is putting his wealth into an effort to halt the expansion of petrochemical manufacturing in the Ohio River Valley, Texas & Louisiana. “Communities around the country are standing up to confront the petrochemical industry and defend their right to clean air and water. This campaign…
Keep readingMonday night’s premiere episode of “The Neighborhood” bore the title “Goodbye Grid Day” as the Johnson family goes solar, and ends up with the only electricity still on, after the grid goes down in the rest of the neighborhood. Clever show! While it wasn’t mentioned, to have that actually happen…
Keep readingTo Give $1.8 Billion Boost to Pa. Economy and Help Farmers By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 19, 2022 With solar energy policy on the agenda of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee on September 20, dozens of landowners from across Pennsylvania sent…
Keep readingBethany WV residents continue their fight against new forced pooling law In the September 10, 2022 blog, WEST VIRGINIA: Federal Court Throws Out ‘Forced Pooling’ Lawsuit, we saw where a lawsuit seeking to stop West Virginia’s new natural gas unitization law was ruled invalid. SB 694, passed March 9, 2022,…
Keep readingA September 14, 2022 Opinion, China Is Writing the Story of the Climate Future, by David Wallace-Wells in The New York Times, points out the complexities of climate change and renewable energy in China, a country that was blanketed by heat and drought during the 2022 “Summer of Disasters.” “China…
Keep readingHydrogen and carbon capture talk visits Pittsburgh during the Global Clean Energy Action Forum. The Infrastructure Act’s provision of $8 billion in subsidies for four hydrogen hubs has set off a race among fossil fuel states to position themselves as the leaders for blue hydrogen and CCUS technologies. “Do we fully embrace renewable energy, or…
Keep readingCalifornia-based solar-powered EV charger company Paired Power has just debuted a modular, off-grid electric vehicle charger that is powered by a solar canopy. Michelle Lewis writes in a September 13, 2022 story in electrek about this new offering, with deliveries expected to begin in the 2nd quarter of 2023… “PairTree comes in…
Keep readingJust after high noon on Sunday, right before the Steelers home opener kickoff, local residents saw black smoke belching from the elevated “candlestick” flare at the new Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex near Monaca, PA. Residents of Washington County, PA are no strangers to similar sorts of black smoke flaring events at…
Keep readingThe heat and drought affecting many global locations has cut into renewable energy produced by hydroelectric sources, increasing the demand for coal as a replacement. While we often think of solar and wind as being the leading forms of renewable energy, it’s actually hydro that holds top spot: OCEANS ARE…
Keep readingEmployee dies of “chemical and thermal burns” from a “chemical explosion” in an industrial accident OSHA is investigating. Eureka Resources has a prior investigation history with OSHA: Source: United States Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration Some will recall this August 29, 2022 story from Public Herald:…
Keep readingThis guest essay first appeared on Inquirer.com on September 16, 2022. and was reprinted in the PA Environment Digest Blog on September 17, 2022. The deadline for submitting public comments on this process to DEP is Monday September 19. PA DEP Needs to Evaluate Health Impacts of Evaporating Leachate from…
Keep readingBy David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 16, 2022 (Note: Photos below were added to the original blog) On September 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision affirming that Pennsylvania state legislators and municipalities lacked standing to challenge the Delaware…
Keep readingSunnova Energy is seeking permission from state regulators to develop microgrids for new housing developments that would not be reliant on established electric utilities. In the September 1, 2022 New York Times story, A Solar Firm Plans to Build Off-Grid Neighborhoods in California, reporter Ivan Penn writes of a new…
Keep reading“Catholic nuns fought pipeline on their Lancaster County land. Now, citing religious freedom, they seek damages in court.” According to a September 15, 2022 story by Susan Phillips on StateImpact Pennsylvania, The Adorers of the Blood of Christ say Transco’s Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline, completed in 2018, violates their…
Keep readingExplainer: So Why Does A Susquehanna County Gas Company Have To Raise Rates 33.2% When Susquehanna County Is The #1 Shale Gas Producer In PA? By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest | September 9, 2022 On September 19, the Public Utility Commission is holding a hearing on a proposed 33.2…
Keep readingThat subtitle is part of a September 15, 2022 Environmental Health News story, The Titans of Plastic, in partnership with Sierra Magazine, where reporter Kristina Marusic writes about Shell’s new Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex in Monaca, PA, as it nears production of plastic ‘nurdles.’ “Shell ranks in the top 10 among the 90…
Keep readingExpanded report also provides a historical overview of efforts since 2009 when the first Sustainability Manager was hired By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 1, 2022 On August 31, the Allegheny County Office of Sustainability issued the 2022 Allegheny County Sustainability Report that highlights this…
Keep readingPennsylvania DEP, Fish & Boat Commission Investigating Multiple, Continuing Water Pollution Discharges from PGE Natural Gas Pipeline Construction Site on Loyalsock Creek, Lycoming County By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 13, 2022 (Photos: Top– three DEP inspection report photos show the extent of the erosion…
Keep readingBattery Longevity Delays Need for Recycling Programs An August 1, 2022 story in Forbes by Carlton Reid sported that headline along with this opening: “Electric cars have sophisticated battery management systems that guard the long-term health of their batteries. Most manufacturers offer battery warranties of seven or eight years or…
Keep readingFracking photos of shale gas production in 3 states during 2012 We logged eleven flights in 2012 to capture aerial images of Marcellus Shale gas production in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. To see dozens of these photos, CLICK HERE or watch the video linked below: YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/ZDDZUWUoJz0
Keep reading“The national effort calls for businesses and individuals to embrace energy conservation by increasing car-pooling, lowering thermostats and shutting off illuminated advertising signs at night — to name a few — or face the risk of rolling blackouts or energy rationing.” The New York Times story on September 5, 2022…
Keep readingThreatens to Put PA’s Taxpayer-Funded Well Plugging Program Even Further Behind By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 6, 2022 The pace of companies abandoning conventional oil and natural gas wells without plugging them continues to accelerate in 2022 threatening to put Pennsylvania’s taxpayer-funded well plugging…
Keep readingSeptember 10, 2022 news headlines spelled it out: “The latest work unveils this mechanism through a series of meticulous experiments showing that cells carrying dormant mutations can turn cancerous when exposed to PM2.5 particles. The pollutant is the equivalent of the ignition spark on a gas hob. The team analysed…
Keep reading…or Show They Can Pay for Damages if They Explode, Leak or Kill Someone (Photos: Top– Revolution Pipeline explosion in Beaver County; Blast zone around Mariner East Pipeline in Chester County from risk assessment report; Bottom— Mariner East 2 Pipeline construction spill into Marsh Creek State Park Lake; Pipeline explosion…
Keep readingMonthly energy analysis for our Chevy Bolt EV GM Report for August 2022: Translated into dollars and cents: We used 190.5 kWh to travel 762 miles. That works out to 4 miles per 1 kWh. As of August 29, 2022: Electricity from our power grid ‘cost to compare’ is 8.2…
Keep readingA September 6, 2022 PITTSBURGH INDEPENDENT story, Shell Oil gaslights over public health concerns: “We don’t have an impact” reports on the latest virtual community meeting held by Shell on their Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex, which is due to begin plastic production along the Ohio River in Monaca, Pennsylvania any day…
Keep readingLawsuit seeking to stop West Virginia’s new natural gas unitization law ruled invalid A September 10, 2022 story by Steven Allen Adams, Federal Court Throws Out Bethany Residents’ Natural Gas Unitization Lawsuit, in the The Intelligencer | Wheeling News Register details a West Virginia judge’s ruling on what is commonly…
Keep readingPennsylvania LNG Export Terminal in Talks to Commercialize Project An August 31, 2022 story by Jamison Cocklin of NGI shared the latest news: An East Coast LNG export terminal that would tap into vast amounts of feed gas from the Appalachian Basin is aiming to pre-file with federal regulators by…
Keep readingFracking could resume in England within six months Photo: Hydraulic fracturing (aka ‘fracking’) American-style c. 2010 in Pennsylvania Calls to resume fracking have met with ongoing resistance from campaigners who say the risk of earthquakes (see below) and water contamination, as well as extensive lorrie traffic and noise pollution, is…
Keep readingNew research suggests the massive ice sheet is already set to lose more than 3 percent of its mass, even if the world stopped emitting greenhouse gases today. The story by Chris Mooney in The Washington Post on August 29, 2022 is yet another clarion call for immediate action on…
Keep readingWith some Marcellus Shale gas production requiring 17-million gallons of water just to frac one well, one has to wonder how it can be justified under drought conditions Map: Red Dots are withdrawal locations with water use restrictions. Susquehanna River Basin Commission Monitors Hydrologic Conditions Across The Basin; Including Oil…
Keep readingThe September 7, 2022 Reuters story by Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom reported an end to the 18-year hazardous pollution rule exemption for turbines at two of Cheniere’s Gulf Coast LNG terminals. Gas turbine owners had until September 5th to comply with NESHAP (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants), which…
Keep readingNew! Photo gallery of drilling and hydraulic fracturing the Marcellus Shale in 2010 and 2011 can be found here. Sample photo:
Keep readingLoading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
