Eco Report – January 27, 2022

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HEADLINES

According to the Louisville Courier Journal, the Biden administration is making its first significant move toward corralling lingering and widespread problems with toxic ash from coal-fired power plants, one of the nation’s most prominent environmental health legacies from more than a century of coal-fired electricity generation.

—Norm Holy

The New York Times reports America’s greenhouse gas emissions from energy and industry rose 6.2 percent in 2021 as the economy began recovering from pandemic lows and the nation’s coal plants roared back to life.

—Norm Holy

Thomas McDermott Jr, the mayor of Hammond, in northwest Indiana, is moving ahead with an overpass construction project that would cut into the Briar East Woods, one of the last remnants of the 4000-year-old High Tolleston Shoreline Dunes, in the Hessville neighborhood. Concerned citizens have started an online petition to save the forest.

—Linda Greene

MidAmerican Energy is announcing plans for a $3.9 billion renewable energy project in Iowa. The Wind PRIME project would explore new technologies to advance MidAmerican Energy’s transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

—Norm Holy

The Canadian nuclear industry plans to send 300,000 shipments of highly radioactive nuclear waste through densely populated Ontario communities and farmland by truck and train. The radioactive waste would consist of 5.5 million spent nuclear fuel rods from nuclear reactors and interim storage facilities.

—Linda Greene

The Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal, has announced that the climate crisis is sure to become the “defining narrative of human health.” The journal noted that food shortages, lethal disasters and disease outbreaks would far outstrip the harms from the COVID-19 pandemic.

—Linda Greene

It has been well established through various studies that the Arctic permafrost has been warming and, in many areas, thawing since the 1980s due to climate change. But new research has claimed that continuous warming could pose a danger to humans who have established settlements in the Arctic areas.

—Norm Holy

A series of reports from the United Nations Environment Program, or UNEP, highlights how human activities threaten the healthy functioning of ecosystems that produce food and water as well as the one million species at risk of extinction. The UNEP report Food System Impacts on Biodiversity Loss identifies the global food system as the primary driver of biodiversity loss.

—Linda Greene

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists introduced its Doomsday Clock, a visual, symbolic representation of a clock face that shows how close humanity is to self-destruction, 75 years ago. Currently the clock’s hands are set at 100 seconds to midnight, the closest to midnight they’ve ever been and the same as last year.

—Linda Greene

Last year’s average temperature globally was either fifth or sixth highest on record, depending on who’s measuring. U.S. scientists announced their latest data recently and European researchers earlier this week.   By NASA’s records, which go back to 1880, Earth’s seven warmest years were the past seven, the agency said.

—Norm Holy

According to The Guardian, twenty of Yellowstone national park’s renowned gray wolves roamed from the park and were shot by hunters in recent months – the most killed by hunting in a single season since the animals were reintroduced to the region more than 25 years ago, according to park officials.

—Norm Holy

Scientists have issued a dire warning about chemical pollution. The insidious mix of synthetic chemicals that permeates the earth, according to scientists, threatens the stability of the global ecosystems that humanity depends on.  The mix consists of plastics and 350,000 synthetic chemicals, only a minute fraction of which have been tested for safety but have been released into the environment anyway.

—Linda Greene

Environmental groups hoping to see meaningful legislative action on issues ranging from coal ash regulation to management of wetlands may be disappointed when the Indiana General Assembly wraps up its abbreviated session in mid-March. The newspaper in Anderson, Indiana, says lawmakers from both parties as well as representatives from several conservation groups expressed muted expectations for most of the legislation related to the environment that’s expected to be taken up over the next several weeks.

—Norm Holy

 

CALENDAR

The Eagles Over Monroe:  Self-Guided Bald Eagle Driving Tour and Scavenger Hunt will continue from January 28th through the 30th from 7 am to 7 pm.  Access the on-line, interactive map at bit.ly/monroelakeeagleguide.  The Scavenger Hunt involves looking for 6 letters of the alphabet that are slightly hidden.  Once you find all of them, unscramble the letters and mail your answer to [email protected].

If you like Eagles, plan to take the Eagles Over Monroe:  Bald Eagle Hacking Tower Hike in the Northfork Service Area of Monroe Lake on Saturday, January 29th, from 10 to 11:30 am.  You will hike to see the remnants of the hacking tower, where the eagles were raised, and the observation tower, where wildlife biologists observed the birds as they took their first flights.  Register at http://bit.ly/hacktowerhike-jan29-2022.

Spring Mill State Park is hosting a Lime Kiln Hike on Saturday, January 29th, at 1 pm.  Meet Tony at the Lakeview Activity Center for a hike to the historic lime kilns.  Learn how lime was made and about the owner of the kilns.  This is an off-trail hike that is partially rugged.

The Hinkle-Garton Farmstead Open House is scheduled for Saturday, January 29th, from 1 to 4 pm.  The theme is “Chase the Cold Winter Away.”  Featured for sale is the new cookbook, written by Daisy Hinkle-Garton, titled “Call To Lunch.”  In addition, you may purchase maple syrup made at the Farmstead.  There will be tours, but COVID practices will be in place, and masks are required.

If you have not taken the Fire Tower Hike at McCormick’s Creek State Park, you now have the opportunity on Friday, February 4th, from 3 to 4 pm.  Meet in the Inn’s lobby, then take an easy 1/2-hour hike to the historic and recently renovated Fire Tower.  In the winter months, climbing the tower is permitted only during guided hikes.