This report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) examines data from the federal and state Chesapeake Bay Program,7 emissions estimates from the most recent scientific studies, and numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent farm census. EIP used the Bay Program’s computer modeling of pollution entering the estuary to evaluate the total nitrogen load from the poultry industry, including both the runoff of manure spread on fields as fertilizer, and ammonia that rises from chicken houses and litter before falling back down in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. EIP adjusted the Bay Program numbers – which are based on EPA estimates – by using a review of more recent scientific studies of ammonia emissions from poultry barns than EPA used to provide more realistic estimates of total emissions and nitrogen pollution in the Bay. In our definition of “poultry” we include not only chickens raised for meat (called “broilers,”) but also chickens used for eggs (“layers”), turkeys, and other poultry. By “Bay” pollution load, we mean pollution entering the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay, often described as the “delivered load.”
Menhaden Bill Scaled Back
Sen. Lynwood Lewis’ proposal to study the menhaden population in the Chesapeake Bay was stripped of most of its teeth. The bill was scaled back by the House Rules subcommittee, which voted to only require VIMS to provide details of a potential study’s scope, who would be the potential ‘stakeholders’, how much it would cost, and how long it would take. In essence, the bill would only provide the details of a possible study, and would not endorse or require one.
Fish spills from last summer gave lawmakers some ammunition, but since state regulators had signed off on a non-enforceable agreement with Omega Protein to hold off fishing on weekends and around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, softening the bill appeared to be acceptable to most parties.
“The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which oversees the catch and the industry in terms of scientific research, in April of 2021 had a study that suggests it would take five to seven years to do this, possibly as much as 10” – Omega Lobbyist Steve Horton.
Omega opposed Lewis’ original bill earlier this session, but along with the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Virginia Conservation Network, League of Conservation Voters and Friends of the Rappahannock, supported the scaled-back version of the bill.
Why are so many whales dying?
It seems every week there is news of another whale being stranded and washing up on a beach somewhere. There are several reasons. First, there are just more whales out there.
The number of deaths corresponds with a growing population of whales in the mid-Atlantic Ocean.
According to the Endangered Species Coalition, there have been efforts from around the world to help save humpback whales from extinction. Because of this, close to 80,000 of these whales have been found in waters, which is a big increase from their former population of under 15,000.
Human interaction is the main cause of whale strandings. The necropsy report on the latest whale killed in Virginia Beach found the cause of death to be blunt force trauma, which indicates the whale was hit by a passing vessel.
NOAA performed necropsies on about half the whales and found that of those, 40% of the deaths were caused by human interaction, either being caught in fishing gear or struck by vessels.
Why so many ship strikes?
Whales and humans share the shipping lanes that run from Cape Cod down to the Virginia Cape. The whale’s habitat and migration routes are close to major ports and often overlap with shipping lanes. If you look at the average depth of the lanes, you will see they are around 50ft. That’s fairly shallow, and given that whales mainly travel underwater, the ships never see them. An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer has a 31ft draft and 9000 lbs of displacement. Even at reduced speed, a whale strike is not going to end well.
NOAA Fisheries has taken many actions to help reduce vessel strikes:
Whales
- Establishing vessel speed restrictions in parts of the U.S. eastern seaboard during certain times of the year to reduce the threat of vessel collisions to North Atlantic right whales.
- Working with the U.S. Coast Guard to establish recommended vessel routes and approaches to ports to reduce the overlap of whales and ships.
- Establishing temporary precautionary zones, called Dynamic Management Areas, around recently sighted right whale groups in which mariners are asked to reduce speed or steer clear of the area.
- Alerting vessel and watercraft operators to the dangers to whales of collisions.
- Developing and implementing “approach” regulations and guidance for operating vessels around whales in a number of regions.
- Developing and distributing written material, placards, brochures, interactive CDs, and posting signs in marinas to alert mariners to safe practices around whales.
- Developing and implementing Mandatory Ship Reporting Systems with the U.S. Coast Guard. Ships are required to report to a shore-based station when entering key right whale habitats, and in return they receive a message about whales, their vulnerability to ship strikes, precautionary measures ships can take to avoid hitting one, and locations of recent sightings. The systems were endorsed by the International Maritime Organization, a specialized organization of the United Nations.
- Working with partners to modify shipping routes at a number of heavily used ports in U.S. waters to minimize overlap and chances of ship collisions with blue, fin, humpback, and right whales and other species.
- Tracking of vessel strike occurrence through carcass examinations by the Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
- Supporting apps and tools that provide information to mariners and ships about where whales are located:
- WhaleWatch—alerts ship operators to areas where U.S. West Coast blue whales are aggregating.
- Whale Alert—smartphone app for fishermen, recreational boaters, industry partners, and volunteer networks to share real-time whale sightings in Alaska.
Sea turtles
- Tracking of vessel strike occurrence through the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network.
- Strandings of sea turtles with injuries caused by vessel strikes are tracked in coastal areas to understand the frequency of collisions and risk factors.
- Promoting awareness.
Here are some tips for everyone to avoid collisions:
- Keep a sharp lookout. Look for blows, dorsal fins, flukes, etc.
- Watch your speed in areas of known whale or turtle occurrence. Keeping speeds to 10 knots or less can reduce potential for injury.
- Keep your distance. If you see a whale or turtle, stay at least 100 yards away.
- Slow your boat immediately and put in it neutral if you see a whale or turtle. Resume at a slow, safe speed and distance your vessel from the animal.
Report marine life in distress
Immediately report an injured, entangled, stranded, or dead marine animal to your local stranding network. These networks are located around the country in all coastal states.
Report a violation
NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Hotline, (800) 853-1964, provides live operator coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone in the United States to report a federal marine resource violation. During regular business hours, you also can contact your closest NOAA Office of Law Enforcement field office to report possible violations.
NOAA has also developed guidelines for viewing marine life to ensure their safety.
Op-Ed: Biden’s Climate Crisis Balderdash and Malarkey
The following Op-Ed was written and submitted by Paul Plante.
Yes, people, in addition to the literal multitude of other lies and falsehoods Joe Biden down in Washington is peddling, and here I am referring to a Rigzone article titled “Despite Economic Hurdles the US Says Climate Crisis Is Opportunity” by Bloomberg & Jennifer A Dlouhy on February 13, 2023, wherein Lizzie Klein, an environmental lawyer and clean energy champion who is a veteran of the Interior Department, having previously worked in the agency under former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and was just appointed director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management by Joe Biden, hysterically and might I also say mindlessly screeches at us, thusly, to wit:
“The president has been clear that we are in a climate crisis,”
Which is a ridiculous and very stupid statement for Joe Biden to make, although totally in character for him, and even more stupid of her to be repeating it out loud in America, where unlike Joe Biden and the lickspittles, lackeys and sycophants that comprise the bulk of his administration, we are not stupid, because it is meaningless drivel to talk about a “climate crisis” because as any second grader these days knows inside and out, it is that simple and basic, a “climate crisis” is IMPOSSIBLE precisely because there is no “climate” that can be having a crisis, where “crisis” means “a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger, as in “the current economic crisis caused by Joe Biden’s misguided economic policies.”
So what is “climate” then, if we can’t have one?
The answer to why we can’t have one, is because in the United States of America, we have a multitude of climates, which is precisely why the National Weather Service has an informational website for children that admittedly is above Joe Biden’s level of comprehension and is titled “Climate Zones,” where the schoolchildren are informed, as follows, to wit:
The earth’s tilt, rotation and land/sea distribution affect the global weather patterns we observe.
While the weather varies from day-to-day at any particular location, over the years, the same type of weather will reoccur.
The reoccurring “average weather” found in any particular place is called climate.
end quotes
For the record, and despite Joe Biden and the Democrats with their “climate equity” program where they are going to guarantee underserved communities where ever they are the same nice climate the rich folks in Burbank, California get to enjoy, the continental USA is not “any particular place,” but instead is a huge collection of many such “particular places,” ALL with their own unique climates, because “climate” in any given place is affected by temperature, humidity, precipitation, winds & ocean currents, solar radiation, topography, and latitude & elevation, as we see by going back to the NWS website, to wit:
German climatologist and amateur botanist Wladimir Köppen (1846-1940) divided the world’s climates into categories based upon general temperature profile related to latitude.
He worked with Rudolf Geiger to modify these categories which is known today as the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system.
end quotes
Seriously, people, these are lessons for children, so why doesn’t Joe Biden the self-proclaimed “leader of the free world” know this stuff?
Why is he screeching like Chicken Little about a “climate crisis” when such a thing is an impossibility?
Going back to the NWS and things children know that Joe Biden doesn’t know, and why a “climate crisis” is an impossibility, we have as follows:
The major categories are as follows:
A – Tropical Climates
Tropical moist climates extend north and south from the equator to about 15° to 25° latitude.
In these climates all months have average temperatures greater than 64°F (18°C) and annual precipitation greater than 59″.
B – Dry Climates
The most obvious climatic feature of this climate is that potential evaporation and transpiration exceed precipitation.
These climates extend from 20°-35° North and South of the equator and in large continental regions of the mid-latitudes often surrounded by mountains.
C – Moist Subtropical Mid-Latitude Climates
This climate generally has warm and humid summers with mild winters.
Its extent is from 30°50° of latitude mainly on the eastern and western borders of most continents.
During the winter, the main weather feature is the mid-latitude cyclone.
Convective thunderstorms dominate summer months.
D – Moist Continental Mid-Latitude Climates
Moist continental mid-latitude climates have warm to cool summers and cold winters.
The location of these climates is poleward of the “C” climates.
The average temperature of the warmest month is greater than 50°F (10°C), while the coldest month is less than -22°F (-30°C).
Winters are severe with snowstorms, strong winds, and bitter cold from Continental Polar or Arctic air masses.
E – Polar Climates
Polar climates have year-round cold temperatures with the warmest month less than 50°F (10°C).
Polar climates are found on the northern coastal areas of North America, Europe, Asia, and on the land masses of Greenland and Antarctica.
H – Highlands
Unique climates based on their elevation.
Highland climates occur in mountainous terrain where rapid elevation changes cause rapid climatic changes over short distances.
end quotes
So, people, which climatic zone is having the crisis?
And given they aren’t fixed, but are always variable, how would we ever know?
China Questions Why Biden Admin Ignores Toxic Spill in Ohio
China this week ridiculed the Biden administration for focusing its energies on harmless balloon objects in U.S. airspace while basically ignoring the giant chemical fire in Ohio that has thousands of residents worried about long-term health consequences.
Wang Wenbin responded to a claim from the White House that China was “deflecting” from the spy balloon incident by sanctioning U.S. companies this week, and accused the Biden administration of continuing to focus on China even at the expense of the health of its own citizens.
“Speaking of ‘deflecting,’ can the U.S. tell us why it is able to see the ‘balloon’ 18,000 meters above the ground, but seems to have been blind to the toxic mushroom cloud of vinyl chloride over Ohio?” Wang said.
The Biden administration has been criticized for downplaying the derailment of a train in East Palestine, Ohio, that was carrying toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride. The crash, and the eventual controlled explosion created a thick, black plume of smoke. People reported illness and the death of fish and animals.
It took Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg 10 days to comment on the incident, and EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited the state 13 days after the derailment.
This week, Biden’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) turned down Ohio’s request for federal aid to deal with the environmental disaster.
Lewis’ Menhaden Bill Passes the Senate
Senator Lynwood Lewis’ SB 1388, which directs the state to study the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of menhaden populations, passed the Senate and is now on its way to the House. Other bills that sought to impose additional restrictions on menhaden harvests were defeated.
Bill Summary
Study; Virginia Institute of Marine Science; menhaden; report. Directs the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to study the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of menhaden populations in the waters of the Commonwealth and to provide a report on its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources no later than December 1, 2025. Study; Virginia Institute of Marine Science; menhaden; report. Directs the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to study the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of menhaden populations in the waters of the Commonwealth and to provide a report on its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources no later than December 1, 2025.
Kiggans Named Vice Chair of House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries
WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) announced that she was selected to serve as the Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries. The Subcommittee is responsible for matters concerning America’s water resources, federal irrigation projects, generation of electric power from federal water projects, interstate water issues, and fisheries management.
“I’m honored to be named as the Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “Coastal Virginians know how to be good stewards of the environment without sacrificing jobs or hurting our economy. Not only is the Chesapeake Bay watershed home to roughly 3,600 species of plants and animals, but it also provides countless economic and recreational opportunities, generating $33 billion each year. I look forward to working with my colleagues and our local partners to support common-sense solutions regardless of party that will help us ensure the health and prosperity of our treasured natural resources.”
“I’m thrilled to welcome Congresswoman Kiggans as Vice Chairwoman for the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries,” said Chairman Bruce Westerman (AR-4). “From western drought to the waterways of Virginia, these issues impact Americans from coast to coast. I look forward to working with Congresswoman Kiggans and finding long-term policy solutions.”
“The Chesapeake Bay Foundation congratulates Rep. Kiggans on being named Vice Chairwoman of the House Natural Resources Committee’s Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee,” said Chesapeake Bay Foundation Interim Federal Director Keisha Sedlacek. “We’re excited to see someone with such a deep commitment to clean water helping to lead a panel with such an important role in restoring the Bay and tributaries like the James, Lynnhaven and Nansemond Rivers. Protecting valuable natural resources like wetlands, fisheries, wildlife, and the coast is essential to a thriving and productive Bay ecosystem. We still have a lot of work left to do. CBF looks forward to partnering with Rep. Kiggans to reaching this goal so Virginians and all Americans can enjoy the Bay for generations to come.”
First Orca in 70 Years Standed in Florida
Early this year, an Orca killer whale beached itself on Florida’s northern Atlantic coast.
Given the massive death toll of whales in general, this even is significant– it is the first orca whale to beach itself in the southeast U.S. in nearly 70 years. The Orca died shortly afterward of an illness in Palm Coast, Fla., officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries division said.
The Orca was laid to rest at a secret location on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville.
It appeared to be alive when it was first stranded but died before crews could get there. The crews transported the killer whale to a lab at SeaWorld where they performed a necropsy. They confirmed that it was an older female and there was some evidence of illness. Tissue samples have been sent out for testing to determine what specific illness caused the death of the whale.
The last recorded strandings in the region were in Okaloosa County, Florida in 1956 and Summerland Key, Florida in 1948, Erin Fougeres said. Fougeres, who has a doctorate in marine biology, is the marine mammal stranding program administrator for NOAA fisheries in the Southeast region.
Moving Forward: Slovakia’s new nuclear reactor connects to the grid
Press Release Slovenské elektrárne – Slovakia’s new nuclear reactor Mochovce 3 is officially connected to the grid. It will provide 13% of the country’s electricity and when the next reactor is finished, Slovakia will have an almost completely decarbonized grid.
After the completion of the prescribed tests, Slovenské elektrárne, a.s., brought steam to the turbines and connected Mochovce 3 to the grid for the first time at 20% power.
On Tuesday, 31 January 2023 at 10:57 PM, Slovenské elektrárne connected to the grid the first of the two turbine generators of the Mochovce 3 nuclear power plant. The plant reached this important milestone less than three weeks after the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic gave its approval for the beginning of the power start-up on 13 January 2023.
After the transition to power start-up, tests were conducted successively at the levels of 5, 15, and 20% of the reactor’s rated power, with measurements and tests of both nuclear and non-nuclear parts of the plant. The secondary circuit was heated up and steam lines were blown down, cold and hot flushes of turbine condensers and low-pressure regenerators, as well as feedwater lines, were done, and tests of steam generator relief valves were carried out, which were heard in the wider vicinity of the plant.
After successful preparation and performance of the tests necessary to start the turbines, steam was brought into the turbines for the first time over the weekend (28 and 29 January), spinning them step-by-step up to their rated speed of 3,000 rpm.
Slovenské elektrárne, a.s. also tested the functionality of all electrical protections of the generator itself, the block transformer, and finally the 400 kV line connecting the plant to the power system via the Veľký Ďur substation. Electricity will flow along this route to Slovak consumers.
Once this part of the power start-up was completed, Slovenské elektrárne, a.s. could proceed to the actual synchronization of the first turbine-generator with the grid at 20% of the reactor’s nominal power and the Mochovce 3 began to supply the first electricity to the grid.
Green Energy can be pretty Dirty
How will we power all of these ‘Green’ energy vehicles and appliances?
MiningWatch Canada is estimating that “[Three] billion tons of mined metals and minerals will be needed to power the energy transition” – a “massive” increase especially for six critical minerals: lithium, graphite, copper, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth minerals. Over the next 30 years 7.5 billion of us, will consume more minerals than in the last 70,000 years or the past 500 generations, which is more than all of the 108 billion humans who have ever walked the Earth.
Mining requires the extraction of solid ores, often after removing vast amounts of overlying rock. Then the ore must be processed, creating an enormous quantity of waste – about 100 billion tonnes a year, more than any other human-made waste stream.
Side Note: Fossil fuels don’t come from fossils The term was created to make people think it’s scarce It’s not.
Purifying a single tonne of rare earth requires using at least 200 cubic meters of water, which then becomes polluted with acids and heavy metals. On top of that, imagine the destruction and energy required to obtain these essential metals:
18,740 pounds of purified rock to produce 2.2 pounds of vanadium 35,275 pounds of ore for 2.2 pounds of cerium 110,230 pounds of rock for 2.2 pounds of gallium 2,645,550 pounds of ore to get 2.2 pounds of lutecium Also staggering amounts of ore are needed for other metals.
One-fifth of China’s arable land is polluted by mining and industry. Mining the materials needed for renewable energy potentially affects 50 million square kilometers, 37% of Earth’s land (minus Antarctica). Now imagine that number 10 fold.
By 2035, demand is expected to double for germanium; quadruple for tantalum; and quintuple for palladium. The scandium market could increase nine-fold, and the cobalt market by a factor of 24. (Marscheider-Wiedemann 2016 ‘raw materials for emerging technologies’.
The potential demand for rare metals is exponential. We are already consuming over two billion tonnes of metals every year — the equivalent of more than 500 Eiffel Towers a day.
Mining is brute force–it involves crushing rock and then using chemical reagents such as sulphuric and nitric acid, a long and highly repetitive process using many different procedures to obtain a rare-earth concentrate close to 100% purity.
As rare metals have become ubiquitous in green and digital technologies, the exceedingly toxic sludge they produce has been contaminating water, soil, the atmosphere, and the flames of blast furnaces.
Do you think solar panels are “Green”? There is nothing green about solar panels. We clear-cut forests, not for panel placement but for the wood needed to produce the panels.
A recent report by the Blacksmith Institute identifies the mining industry as the second-most polluting industry in the world. Soon to be Number # 1 Why? Green energy.
Green’ technologies require the use of rare minerals whose mining is anything but clean. Heavy metal discharges, acid rain, and contaminated water sources — it borders on being an environmental disaster. Put simply, clean energy is a dirty affair.
Wind turbines guzzle more raw materials than previous technologies: ‘For an equivalent installed capacity, solar and wind facilities require up to 15 times more concrete, 90 times more aluminum, and 50 times more iron, copper, and glass than fossil fuels or nuclear energy.
How healthy is Green Energy for our Planet?
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