News Feeds | ecology.iww.org (2025)

Ecologist - Tue, 02/06/2024 - 00:30

Categories: H. Green News

Green Energy Times - Tue, 02/06/2024 - 00:11

Headline News:

• “Increasing Alternative Energy Standards Would Bring Billions In Investment To Pennsylvania” • The governor of Pennsylvania pledge 30% renewable energy by 2030. Three business groups crunched the numbers and found that if that happens, more than $13.1 billion could be invested in Pennsylvania over the next seven years. [pv magazine USA]

Solar installation in Pennsylvania (US DA, Public domain)

• “Rising Temperatures And Rising Authoritarianism – Trends That Are Intertwined” • As Earth’s annual average temperatures push against the 1.5º C limit, social scientists warn that we may move into a dangerous new era in human history. Research shows the increasing climate shocks could trigger unrest and authoritarian backlashes. [CleanTechnica]
• “World EV Sales Report – Tesla Model Y Is The Best Selling Model In The World!” • The last months of 2023 brought a record-fest for world plugin vehicle sales, with three months out of the last four setting new sales records. December had over 1,550,000 registrations. In the overall market, the Tesla Model Y was the global best seller. [CleanTechnica]
• “EVs At 93.9% Share In Norway – Record High” • January saw plugin EVs at 93.9% share in Norway, a new record high. All but battery EV powertrains faced higher taxes from January 1st, and had low sales, following December’s pull forward. Overall auto volume was subdued, at 5,122 units. January’s best seller was the Tesla Model Y. [CleanTechnica]
• “Celebrating Another Breakthrough In Domestic Lithium Production” • Last week, Controlled Thermal Resources broke ground on a geothermal power plant in California’s Salton Sea. The facility will not only generate electricity from geothermal energy, but also serve a vital, dual purpose: extracting lithium from the hot brine that powers it. [CleanTechnica]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Categories:

Global Tapestry of Alternatives - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 21:39

Categories: B5. Resilience, Third Nature, and Transition

Pittsburghers for Public Transit - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 19:30

County Executive Innamorato will need to appoint at least two new members to the PRT Board. We want to see appointees who ride tranist and will be fierce advocates for riders and our service.

The new County Executive has the power to immediately appoint visionary leaders to serve on the PRT Board and build a transit agency that serves all of Allegheny County. The PPT Research Committee wrote this quick memo to give background on what the board does and what kinds of people we want to see appointed to be the next leaders of our transit system. If you want to get involved in the Research Committee, sign up here!

Powers & Importance of PRT Board

• The PRT Board is an 11-member volunteer body that has the ultimate responsibility for our transit system.
• The board approves/denies resolutions to improve transit service, public engagement, fare affordability, worker support, capital investments, etc through the board committees:
  • Planning and Stakeholder Relations Committee
  • Finance Committee
  • Performance Oversight Committee
  • Technology Committee
• They can approve and amend PRT’s annual budgets
• The board employs and holds accountable the PRT CEO
• And the board can use their position to advocate for policies and practices that support transit justice

How do people get onto the PRT Board of Directors?

The Allegheny County Executive has control over the majority of appointments to the PRT Board. This is why PPT did so much work to ensure that a champion for transit was elected into this position last year.

Here’s the full breakdown of how Board Members get appointed to serve:

• 4 Board members are appointed directly by the County Executive
• 2 members are appointed by the County Executive with County Council approval
• 1 is appointed by the Governor
• 1 is appointed by President Pro Tempore of the Senate (Republican)
• 1 is appointed by the Senate Minority Leader (Democrat)
• 1 is appointed by the Speaker of the PA House of Representatives (Democrat)
• 1 is appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives (Republican)

Board members are appointed to 4-yr terms and are term-limited after 3 terms. For more information, check out the Board page of PRT’s Website.

What criteria do we think make for good transit agency board appointees?

We want to see County Executive Innamorato appoint Board Members who meet many of these criteria:

• Non-car owners who rely on transit
• Regular transit riders with disabilities/mobility issues
• Active members of local advocates for anti-poverty/transportation justice/economic justice/food access
• SNAP/EBT recipients, especially those involved in DHS’ discount fare pilot program
• Transit riders from immigrant communities
• Transit workers, members of ATU Local 85
• Transportation professionals (urban planners, transit/active transportation engineers) with relevant public transit experience

Here’s the rundown of the PRT Board Members serving at the start of 2024, who appointed them, and when their term expires:Jeff Letwin

• Appointed by County Executive
• Board Chair
• Chair of Governance Committee and an ex-officio member of all committees.
• First appointed July 2005
• Term ended 9/01/2023
• Term limited, cannot be reappointed

Michelle Zmijanac

• Appointed by County Executive
• Chair of Performance Oversite and Monitoring Committee
• First appointed January 2016
• Term ended 9/01/2023

Jennifer Liptak

• Appointed by County Executive
• Chair of Technology Committee
• First appointed March 2017
• Term ends 9/17/2024

Stephanie Turman

• Appointed by County Executive
• First appointed September 2017
• Term ended 12/31/2022

John Tague

• Appointed by County Executive with Council Approval
• Chair of Planning and Stakeholders Committee
• First appointed September 2012
• Term ended 9/17/2023
• Term limited, cannot be reappointed

Ann Ogoreuc

• Appointed by County Executive with Council Approval
• Chair of Finance Committee
• First appointed February 2017
• Term ended 9/17/2023

Ali Doyle

• Appointed by Governor
• Term Ends 7/26

Senator Jim Brewster

• Chair of Financial Audit Committee
• Appointed by Senate Democratic leader
• Term Ended 2/23

Joseph C. Totten

• Appointed by Senate Republican leader
• Term Ends 10/24

Nick Pisciottano

• Appointed by Democratic leader in the PA House
• Term Ends

Lori Mizgorski

• Appointed by Republican leader in PA House
• Term Ends 9/24

Jeff Letwin and John Tague are on expired terms, and they are term-limited. Executive Innamorato needs to appoint new members to serve in their seats. PPT wants to see members appointed who meet the criteria that we outline above.If you’ve got a knack for research and want to help improve our transit system, sign up to join PPT’s Research Committee here:Join a PPT Committee

The post Exec. Innamorato: Appoint PRT Board Members Who Ride The Bus appeared first on Pittsburghers for Public Transit.

Categories: Z. Transportation

Pittsburghers for Public Transit - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 19:13

image description: photo of a person wearing a yellow shirt riding a bus, next to superimposed text that reads, “Tell PA Lawmakers: Support Public Transit. Paid for by Clean Air Action Fund.Take Action Now to Expand Access for All Pennsylvanians!

Gov. Shapiro needs to include transportation funding in his budget address!

Whether we live in Harrisburg or Pittsburgh, Wilkes Barre or Erie, rural towns or Philadelphia, all Pennsylvanians deserve safe, reliable, dignified access to the places they need to go.

But right now, transit riders and agencies across our state are facing service cuts, fare hikes and layoffs because politicians have not prioritized funding. Riders have been organizing for change and we’re making headway – but we need you to take action now.

On Sunday, January 28, Governor Josh Shapiro previewed his budget address, proposing a 1.75% increase in the state sales tax allocation to public transportation. This vital measure does not create new taxes and will add $282.8 million in recurring, state operations funding to keep transit agencies across the Commonwealth providing their current levels of service. We are excited for this proposal, but after a similar measure stalled in the PA Senate in December, we need to make sure this transit funding is highlighted everywhere and then passed!

Communities thrive when neighbors can access local businesses, healthy food, schools, and healthcare. Every single one of PA’s 67 counties have some form of public transit service. And with increased priority, more public transit would benefit rural communities, small towns and cities across our state.

You can help build a stronger, more connected Pennsylvania by writing to your elected officials and asking them to prioritize public transportation investment today.Write your letter today

The post TAKE ACTION! Write Your State Officials to Support the Governor’s Transit Funding Plan appeared first on Pittsburghers for Public Transit.

Categories: Z. Transportation

The Bureau of Land Management and green groups have asked a D.C. federal court to reject efforts by Idaho, Utah and a coalition of agriculture industry groups to intervene in the environmentalists’ lawsuit challenging the grazing allotments…

Read the PEER Story…

The post Feds Slam Intervention Bids In BLM Grazing Analysis Dispute appeared first on PEER.org.

Categories: A2. Green Unionism

Audubon Society - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 17:39

Categories: G3. Big Green

Environmental groups in Tennessee will soon learn more about the approval process behind a radioactive waste landfill which has been processing and storing highly enriched uranium for six decades.

The group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility sued the Environmental Protection Agency to gain access to documents related to the approval of the Y12 Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge.

Read the PEER Story…

The post Lawsuit probes EPA decision in allowing Oak Ridge landfill appeared first on PEER.org.

Categories: A2. Green Unionism

Mining.Com - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 16:58

Direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology company Adionics on Monday announced the successful completion of 1,500 hours of lithium extraction tests from brine using their pilot plant in Chile installed on the premises of SQM, the world’s No. 2 lithium producer.

The lithium giant runs the world’s biggest and most profitable brine operation in Chile’s northern desert with a contract that expires in 2030, but last year said it expects to reach an agreement to continue producing the battery metal under the Chilean government’snew public-private modelfor the industry.

The tests were conducted during the second half of 2023 on five different brines from the Salar de Atacama, demonstrating the efficacy of the technology using a customized proprietary liquid formulation, Flionex.

The brines tested displayed a wide range of lithium concentrations. The results revealed lithium recovery rates of up to 98% and lithium chloride purity up to 99%, the company said.

With Flionex exhibiting remarkable selectivity, capturing lithium while leaving out boron, magnesium, potassium and sulfates, the remaining impurity profile consisted only of a limited amount of both sodium and calcium chlorides, highlighting the ability to achieve the level of purity required to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate, Adionics said.

The tests demonstrate the operability and stability of the technology in real and not just controlled conditions, including changes in feed brine composition, fluctuating day and night temperatures, at high altitude, demonstrating full industrial readiness, it added.

“Our team’s commitment to innovation and sustainable practices is reflected in the outstanding performance of our technology,” Adionics CEO Gabriel Toffani said in a news release. “With lithium recovery rates and purity that set new industry benchmarks, we’re not just extracting lithium, we’re setting the stage for a cleaner, more efficient future in energy storage.”

Categories: J2. Fossil Fuel Industry

Lock the Gate Alliance - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 16:13

Categories: G2. Local Greens

Movement Generation - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 16:12

A group of people stand together on a hilly green grassland with wildflowers beneath a blue sky. Text reads: one year on the land. Photo by Aspen Dominguez

By: Movement Generation

It still feels unreal to drive through the redwoods, just a few miles from Oakland, and find ourselves at home among old oak trees, native grasslands, bobcats, and waters flowing to Lisjan Creek.

It’s been just over one year since we closed on the purchase of 43 acres of land in the East Bay and rematriated the land in partnership with Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. We’ve spent a lot of the past year in observation mode, building relationships with the land and learning what it needs of us. We’ve experienced all the seasons. We’ve made offerings. We’ve welcomed guests, some of whom have helped us tend the land already.

To reground in why Movement Generation took on a land project and what it means that we’re here: We believe that land is central to a just transition and the liberation of all of our peoples.After years of developing and teaching theories and frameworks of ecological justice to organizations and activists, we now have a place to put those theories and frameworks into praxis, rooted ecologically, locally, and in community.

To be a collective of radical Black, Indigenous, people of color, and queer/trans folks practicing resilience, land care, and collective governance, within an urban context, in one of the most expensive and extractive markets in the country, at a time when we are facing severe climate disruption and a rise of fascism—it is both a huge privilege and an epic responsibility. We hope to inspire and support more land projects like this to happen everywhere, whether they are Indigenous women-led land rematriations, Black land reparations, or other forms of land justice. We can do this through sharing lessons learned, sharing resources, and staying sharp together on the ecological principles and practices that help us remember our way forward to a resilient future.

Huge thanks to everyone who has supported us this past year, whether through making a gift to our Free the Land Campaign to build the Justice & Ecology, getting your hands in the dirt with us, or singing us some songs. Of course, infinite gratitude to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust for making this possible. Let’s take a little trip down memory lane and share a bit about our experiences through the seasons in our first year on the land.

Winter

An old decommissioned pool is filled with brown rain water and is surrounded by trees and shrubs.

Atmospheric river times! We got a good glimpse into how the water flows abundantly through this land on its way to Lisjan Creek. We started dreaming of rain gardens and swimming holes. On the slightly less glamorous tip, one of our first big undertakings was grading the dirt road leading up to our site. This improved road access, but we still have a ways to go to make this a fully accessible space; we’re committed to doing that and are drawing inspiration from the ongoing work of Shelterwood Collective on the Sonoma coast and the brilliance of the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley.

As we began to have some of our first staff meetings at our new home, we fully smudged our space. This was much needed, y’all. The land had been held for more than 100 years. We also swept some chimneys, making way for more good fire to keep us cozy through the winter. Lots of goal setting, planning, and dreaming.

We were grateful to get to spend some quality time with our friends at Sogorea Te’ as we began to discuss what collective governance of the space could be like, with lots of great support from our friends at the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC).

Spring

A group of people gathered outdoors around Black botanist JoeJoe Clark showing everyone a leaf. Photo: Brooke Anderson

After the rains, we took on some urgent repairs and renovations. Lots of lessons learned about foundation, roofing, solar, insurance, wildfires, and more.

We spent lots of time exploring the land. We did a mushroom walk! And we geeked out on a botany walk with JoeJoe Clark! There’s an abundance of native plants here, from purple needlegrass to black walnut trees to California poppies.

We had our first staff land care work day where we did some weed whacking and mulching. Fuel reduction work began in the spring as well.

A light green tiny house next to an old barn with people standing outside surrounded by vegetation beneath a cloudy blue sky.

And we brought in a tiny home! Our collective member and land team lead Desi moved in so she could spend lots of time on the land as we plan for our future dreams.

A major highlight was Sogorea Te’ coming by for our first visit all together on the land since we rematriated it. We broke bread and made sun prints and cedar bundles on a most beautiful day.

Blue sun prints of pieces of various plant on a wooden table.

Summer

At the summer solstice we finally let the broader world know about this little land project we’re working on. After a few months of building our relationship with the land and grounding in our relationship with Sogorea Te’, we felt good about starting to come out with this wonderful news. We were excited to see our land project on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle—love to see examples of land rematriation in mainstream news! We also launched our Free the Land Campaign to raise $1 million to build our dream: The Justice & Ecology Center.

MG collective members Quinton Sankofa and Angela Aguilar hold up the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper featuring a story about Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and Movement Generation’s land rematriation project.

Fall

So many incredible homies came through last fall: organizers, activists, architects, ecological designers, as well as some coyote and bobcat neighbors! We were super geeked to host a visit with Kendall and Brock from Occidental Arts & Ecology Center. They brought tons of permaculture wisdom and showed us that a big role we will be playing in this ecosystem is tending to the grasses. Our collective member Angela’s danza Azteca group also held ceremony here; so grateful for that blessing for the land.

Our big moment happened in October when we celebrated with homies and supporters of our Free the Land Campaign! This was our first time hosting that many people on the land at once, and it was a truly magical day of song, food, and nourishing relationships.

A group of people including Black and Indigenous folks walk towards the camera together on a sunlit path. Photo by Abbas Khalid.

Towards the end of the year, CAL FIRE conducted a prescribed burn on part of our site and adjacent land. Can’t wait to see what grows! We’re learning so much about the land—who lives here, the path of the sun through the seasons, where the water flows. After a year of observation, we’re excited to dig deeper into design in 2024.

A bobcat snarls at the camera

We’re hoping to invite some volunteers over to help us care for the land this year. If you haven’t already, please sign up for our enewsletter to stay updated!

Categories: A1. Favorites, A2. Green Unionism

Resource Recycling News - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 15:49

News from AMERIPEN and Every Can Counts

AMERIPEN opened registration for the first webinar in its “Preparing for Packaging Producer Responsibility in the U.S.” series. The Feb. 21 session will cover state timelines. Every Can Counts established a U.S. chapter to encourage aluminum beverage can recycling.

The post News from AMERIPEN and Every Can Counts appeared first on Resource Recycling News.

Categories: B5. Resilience, Third Nature, and Transition

Limiting average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels has been the gold standard for climate action since at least the 2015 Paris Agreement. A new scientific study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change, however, suggests that the world unknowingly passed this benchmark back in 2020. This would mean that the pace of warming is a full two decades ahead of projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, and that we’ll cross the 2-degree threshold in the next few years.

Even more surprising than the findings, perhaps, is the fact that they were derived from the study of sea sponges. A research team led by Professor Malcolm McCulloch of the University Western Australia Oceans Institute analyzed sclerosponges, a primitive orange sponge species found clinging to cave roofs deep in the ocean. Sclerosponges grow extremely slowly — just a fraction of a millimeter a year — and can live for hundreds of years. This longevity is part of why they can be particularly valuable sources of climate data, given that our understanding of ocean temperatures before 1900 is very hazy.

By taking samples from these sponges, McCulloch’s team was able to calculate strontium to calcium ratios, which can be used to derive water temperature back into the 1700s. These ratios were then mapped onto existing global average water temperature data so that the team could fill the holes we have at the beginning of the industrial period, when humans began releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Given how well the information gleaned from the sponges matches ocean temperature records from recent decades, the researchers were able to support extrapolating far into the past to show that the average ocean temperature was lower than the IPCC supposes.

This discrepancy is no fault of the IPCC. Existing ocean temperature records only go back to the 1850s, when sailors would throw buckets over the sides of their ships to measure the water temperature. The reliability of these older records is compromised by a number of factors, including the lack of a standardized procedure and the faultiness of 19th-century thermometers. Even beyond these shortcomings, the readings only captured surface water temperatures, which are highly variable and easily influenced by the weather, unlike temperatures from deeper in the sea. Not only this, but that data was only gathered along the major shipping routes of the time, which means only certain parts of the Northern Hemisphere were covered for many years.

Still, until this week’s study, there have been precious few alternative means of determining the average global ocean temperature before widespread industrialization and rampant carbon pollution. This is why the IPCC takes its pre-industrial baseline from the period between 1850 and 1900, well after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

Ocean temperatures gleaned from the sclerosponges used for the new study could be more reliable than documentary records for a number of reasons. For one, the sponges come from well below the surface sea layer, in what is called the ocean mixed layer, where there is a constant tumult of water and the atmosphere. Far steadier and reliable temperatures can be recorded in this part of the ocean, McCulloch told Grist. “There is no other natural variability, except what’s coming from the atmosphere,” he said.

And because the sponges were sampled in the Caribbean, where major ocean currents like the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation don’t distort water temperatures, the heat differentials that they reveal can more readily be attributed to global heating patterns. “It essentially carries the ocean-warming signal very well,” McCulloch said of the study’s sample.

So why sponges? Much research has been done on coral — McCulloch himself has spent most of his career studying them — but coral doesn’t lend itself well to temperature studies. “They’re pretty complicated critters to work with, actually,” McCulloch said, “because they have a lot of biological control on how they record temperature.”

Sclerosponges, on the other hand, are simpler: They build their skeletons by pumping seawater in and out. “They seem not to fiddle too much with the composition of the calcifying fluid,” McCulloch added. Plus, they’d already demonstrated their reliability in analyses of carbon isotopes (used to track fossil-fuel burning), and are found in the mixed layer of the ocean — the best place for the temperature analysis to occur.

The study began in earnest in 2013, and the more extensive sample collection was done in 2017, when divers were sent down to chisel sponges off the undersea walls. (They don’t like to be disturbed.) These samples were cut in half, and McCulloch took his halves back to Australia in his luggage. Back in the lab, samples were taken from every 0.5-millimeter length of the sponges — the equivalent of about two years of the sponges’ lives — from the outer layer to the core. The samples were then tested for age with uranium-series dating, as well as the strontium to calcium ratios and for carbon and boron isotopes. (Boron is used to calculate pH levels.)

While the new paper was able to persuade skeptics of its findings during the peer -review stage, on its own, it’s unlikely to dislodge current consensus estimates about how much global warming has already occurred — roughly 1.2 degrees C, according to many current estimates, compared to the 1.7 degrees posited by the new study, which is the first instrumental record of the preindustrial ocean temperature.

“I would want to include more records before claiming a global temperature reconstruction,” Dr. Hali Kilbourne, a geological oceanographer at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, told the New York Times. With more research being undertaken — a team in Japan is looking into Okinawan sponges — we may have those records soon.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline New study says the world blew past 1.5 degrees of warming 4 years ago on Feb 5, 2024.

Categories: H. Green News

Restore The San Francisco Bay Area Delta - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 15:11

Urgent Call to Action Amidst the looming flood risk, it’s crucial to recognize the imperative need for comprehensive floodplain restoration across all of California. The current reliance on channelized rivers falls short, evident in the imminent threat of the LA River reaching overflow levels.

Incorporating wetlands into river outlets is non-negotiable, serving as a vital strategy to alleviate pressure on our levee systems. It’s time to shift our focus to holistic solutions that not only provide relief to our water systems but also bolster the defenses of the levees safeguarding our communities from potential floods.

Please join us on February 6th from 6 to 8 pm at the Weston Ranch Library. We need voices to echo the importance of funding levee construction and maintenance in San Joaquin county to ensure holistic flood protection for South Stockton.

Now, more than ever, we must prioritize and accelerate floodplain restoration initiatives and levee construction projects. Together, let’s ensure the resilience of our flood mitigation infrastructure, safeguarding our communities and creating a more sustainable future.

WHAT: Public Community Meeting where there will be opportunity to highlight and comment on the need for levee upgrades to support projects that will protect tens of thousands of lives from flood.

WHEN: February 6th from 6-8PM

WHERE: Weston Ranch Library, 1453 W, French Camp Rd, Stockton, CA 95206

HOW: You can join Restore the Delta, community based organizations and residents to rally at the meeting and can support the cause by using your voice to comment or speak on the importance of supporting levee construction and maintenance projects that will fortify and keep homes, businesses and critical buildings safe from flood damages.

IMPORTANT! If you would like to join Restore the Delta this Tuesday and have any questions or concerns regarding the event or comment writing, please contact our Flood and Land Restoration Manager via email at artie@restorethedelta.org or by phone at (209) 479-6629.

WHY: Undermining flood risk where 17,000 homes and $48 billion projects can accrue for critical buildings is only going to endanger the lives and properties of South Stockton residents. Additionally, while looking at near and long-term financial impacts, SJAFCA finds that properties will likely experience a loss of FEMA accreditation, thus resulting in mandatory flood insurance for all properties with mortgages, higher flood insurance rates, and a loss in eligibility for federally-funded levee repairs after a flood emergency.

Therefore, we must act now and ensure that our levees are upgraded to withstand the effects of climate change that have already begun to commence and will only exacerbate from here.

#CAwater

Categories: G2. Local Greens

EarthBlog - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 15:09

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) just wrapped up the public comment period for the highly controversial Ambler Road, a proposed 211-mile private industrial mining road across pristine public lands in Alaska’s Southern Brooks Range.

If approved, it would extend across a vast and wild landscape along the Southern Brooks Range, and cut through National Park Service lands in the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve. It would cross 11 major rivers, 3,000 streams, tear through unspoiled tundra and disrupt the migratory path for one of our nation’s most majestic and vital caribou herds.

A Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement, released by the BLM in November 2023, identified extensive and devastating impacts to Alaska rural communities, and vital subsistence resources, including caribou, salmon and sheefish.

2. It does not enhance U.S. mineral independence. Although the road proponents have repeatedly touted the Ambler Road as necessary to access an “abundance” of critical minerals, the latest mineral resource reports associated with the major mineral deposits in the Ambler District tell a different story. All four major mineral deposits in the Ambler District (Arctic, Bornite, Sun and Smucker) are still undergoing exploration, and no company has submitted an application to mine. Claims of critical minerals are highly uncertain. Even if the Arctic deposit were permitted for development, the company’s feasibility report plans for the ore to be shipped out of the U.S. to be sold for refining in Asia, rather than processing the ore in the U.S. for domestic use.

3. It’s a financial boondoggle. The road is proposed by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), on behalf of primarily foreign-owned mining companies,[1] at an estimated total cost of roughly $2 billion. AIDEA plans for the mining companies to reimburse the State of Alaska for those costs via a toll system for the road. Its assumption that it will break even in 30 years requires four major mines to be built in the Ambler District. However, there are no actual contracts in place, and none of the mining companies have submitted plans for mining operations – only exploration. This is particularly risky speculation. Two of the four mineral deposits (Sun and Smucker) are in the earliest stages of exploration and a long way from determining whether they will be economic to develop, particularly with the added cost of the road (see recent analysis).

4. It’s widely opposed. There is widespread opposition from regional tribes, including resolutions in opposition from 74 tribes and First Nations in the Yukon River watershed, 37 member tribes of the Tanana Chiefs Conference of interior Alaska, and individual resolutions by tribes nearest to the proposed road: Evansville Tribal Council, Tanana Tribal Council, Alatna Village Council, Allakaket Village Council, and Huslia Tribal Council. It is also opposed by hunters and anglers, and local, state and national conservation organizations.

5. It conflicts with climate goals. Alaska is globally significant for its large tracts of intact habitat and its role in conserving biodiversity and storing carbon while supporting traditional and cultural uses. The construction of a private industrial haul road through these critical wildlands conflicts with our nation’s climate change goals.

6. It’s bad for fish and those that depend on them. The rivers and streams along the Brooks Range are an important source of salmon, which contribute to Alaska’s economy and are vital to local communities. These rivers also provide essential habitat and spawning grounds for sheefish, a giant member of the whitefish family and an essential food source for local communities. BLM determined that cumulatively, the project “has the potential to cause substantial, long-term impacts to fish and aquatic life that could lead to substantial impacts on subsistence use practices in the region, even with mitigation measures in place.”

7. It will disrupt one of the greatest caribou herds left on Earth. The road would fragment habitat and disrupt the migration patterns for 164,000 caribou in the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, one of our nation’s largest and most iconic caribou herds. This herd, which has already declined substantially in recent years, relies on vast tracts of undisturbed lands for its 2,000-mile annual migration, one of the longest land migrations on Earth. BLM found that the impacts from a potential road “could exacerbate or prolong population declines and hinder the herd’s ability to naturally recover from low population levels.”

8. It will harm Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. Lying north of the Arctic Circle, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is so wild it contains no roads or trails. It is one of the largest protected parkland areas in the world. This vast and wild landscape contains major portions of the range and habitat for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, and refuge for moose, Dall Sheep, wolverines, and myriad other species. The Ambler Road will cut directly through the National Preserve for 26-miles, damaging this treasured landscape and those that depend on it.

Please join our efforts to protect communities, clean water, and wildlife against the proposed Ambler Road. Sign our petition here, and we will keep you informed about the latest developments.

The post Eight Reasons Why Biden Should Reject the Ambler Industrial Road Proposal appeared first on Earthworks.

Categories: H. Green News

North American Windpower - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 14:19

PJM and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) have signed a State Agreement Approach, filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, allowing New Jersey to solicit transmission improvements from the company.

This request asks PJM for solutions in serving an additional 3,500 MW of offshore wind energy, totaling 11,000 MW, by 2040.

“The continued collaboration between PJM and New Jersey through the State Agreement Approach underscores PJM’s commitment to reliably and cost-effectively facilitating states’ renewable energy policy goals,” says PJM president and CEO Manu Asthana. “PJM’s competitive planning process allows for creative solutions to complex infrastructure challenges. New Jersey has been a leader in this approach and can be a template for other states pursuing their individual energy policies.”

In 2020, the NJBPU previously requested use of the SAA to incorporate New Jersey’s initial offshore wind goals into PJM’s regional transmission planning process.

Photo source

The post PJM, NJBPU Sign Transmission Improvement Solicitation Agreement appeared first on North American Windpower.

Categories:

National Farmers Union - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 14:15

January/February 2024 The calendar has flipped over following a productive year for competition in agriculture in 2023. The previous year featured major Fairness for Farmers priorities sharing time in the spotlight, including efforts to strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act, Right to Repair, and legislation resembling a farm bill competition title. NFU intends to carry […]

The post Washington Corner January/February 2024 first appeared on National Farmers Union.

Categories: A3. Agroecology

Mining.Com - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 14:09

Fission Uranium (TSX: FCU) has entered an agreement with Canaccord Genuity and SCP Resource Finance to raise C$75 million ($55m) through the sale of approximately 65.6 million common shares of Fission priced at C$1.18 per share.

The underwriters also have an option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the number of shares sold under the offer for a period of 30 days after the offer closes on or about Feb. 12, 2024.

Fission will use the funds to advance the exploration and development of its PLS uranium project on the southwest rim of the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan.

A feasibility study produced for the project was filed in March 2023 outlining a construction period of three years at a cost of C$1.16 billion to develop a mine with a 10-year life. During that time, 90.9 million lb. of uranium oxide (U3O8) will be produced.

The PLS has robust post-tax economics, including an internal rate of return of 27.2%, a net present value at an 8% discount of C$1.20 billion, and a payback period of 2.6 years.

The shallow, high-grade Triple R deposit is the basis of mine plan, beginning with the R780E and R840W zones. There is future opportunity to upgrade resources at the R1515W and R1620E zones, but they are not included in the current plan.

The indicated resource contains 114.9 million lb. U3O8 in 2.7 million tonnes of material that grades 1.94% U3O8. Within that resource is a probable reserve of 3.0 million tonnes grading 1.41% U3O8. A cut-off grade of 0.25% U3O8 was used. Material in the inferred category of reserves was not considered in planning the mine.

Production is targeted by 2029.

Categories: J2. Fossil Fuel Industry

It's Going Down - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 14:08

Communique from the Indigenous Nahua community of Santa María Ostula following a recent attack by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

To the People of Mexico and the World

To the National and International Press

To the Human Rights Defenders

To the Mexican Government

To the National and International Civil Society

On February 1, 2024, around 5:30 in the afternoon, an armed commando of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), made up of at least 50 people, entered our communal territory. They attacked a house belonging to the Cofradia, and seeing that nobody was there, they set the house ablaze

During the attack, the criminal group injured a community member who thanks to quick action is in stable condition. Some elements of our Communal Guard, fulfilling their duty to protect the community, repelled the armed commando and managed to get the criminal group to leave our territory.

Thanks to our Communal Guard these criminal interests have not been fulfilled. We will continue on the front line guaranteeing the security and tranquility of our community.

We have sufficient information to determine that those behind the attack are people who have betrayed our community, joining the ranks of the CJNG, like Cemeí Verdía, who on repeated occasions has led attacks against Ostula.

We have reached our limit. Our community is going to do everything necessary so that our families and community achieve justice, so that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is disarticulated and done away with in our region.

It is important to mention that not only has the context in the region not improved, but recently there has been an increase in armed attacks by this criminal group against our Communal Guard. However, thus far we have been able to keep these criminals at bay.

What have the Michoacán government and the National Guard done to guarantee justice, so that these criminal attacks aren’t repeated? Absolutely nothing. On the contrary, the state government has not stopped criminalizing our Communal Guard regardless of the fact that the Sixth District Judge in Uruapan ordered state authorities to not carry out any action seeking to disarticulate our Communal Guard.

Meanwhile, the National Guard, the Civil Guard, and the Public Prosecutor of the state cover for and protect the CJNG.

We demand the immediate disarticulation of the CJNG and punishment for the crimes committed against Ostula and the communities of the region.

February 2, 2024

Never More a Mexico Without Us

Sincerely,

Indigenous Nahua Community of Santa María Ostula

Categories: D1. Anarchism

North American Windpower - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 13:57

CSA Ocean Sciences (CSA) has been granted a non-exclusive General Offshore Geophysical Survey Permit by the California State Lands Commission, allowing it to conduct low-energy marine surveys within a three-mile zone from the mean high tide line along the state’s coast.

The permit allows the company to support offshore development plans with marine data acquisition and environmental consultancy services. It also enables CSA to run coastal and seafloor characterization studies, inspect subsea structures;, identify faults or other geophysical hazards and map local sea life.

“As true to the day we opened our doors for business in 1970, we remain fully committed to environmentally responsible data acquisition and marine survey practices,” says Kevin Peterson, CSA’s CEO. “We look forward to working closely with regulatory agencies and stakeholders to ensure all related activities are conducted with the utmost care and consideration for the long-term health of our ocean.”

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