SOS St Bernard

 Thursday September 30 2021

Opinions The New Orleans Advocate

Port expansion will damage St. Bernard Parish

Once again, the Port of New Orleans is trying to advance its own cause to the detriment and destruction of one of southeast Louisiana's most historic communities: St. Bernard Parish.

First it was the Industrial Canal. Then, in 1927, they dynamited the Mississippi River levee, flooding lower St. Bernard. Then, it was the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), which destroyed wetlands in biblical proportion and enabled death and devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

Their proposal today: the Louisiana International Terminal, a massive container facility in the middle of St. Bernard Parish, a narrow strip of land unsuitable for this type of development. Beyond damage to the environment, including clearing and paving over hundreds of acres of woodland, the massive container terminal will add an incredible volume of 18-wheeler traffic on our already congested roads to transport the millions of containers the Port says will come.

The fact is there are viable alternative locations for such a facility in Louisiana. However, since they fall outside of the Port's control, these locations are not being given proper consideration. Decisions on consequential projects such as this should not be driven by one entity's aggressive desire for control and profit.

If this new facility is not developed in a suitable location, it will destroy any hope for a sustainable future. If mega-ships get stuck or cannot unload in a timely manner because of inadequate land transport, the container shipping industry will turn to another port and the big loser will be all of us in Louisiana.

We need our public officials at every level as well as our neighbors who treasure community life and our environment to stand with us. Let's stop the Port of New Orleans in its tracks before they once again run over all of us and add to the damage they've already caused.

SIDNEY D. TORRES III

attorney Chalmette

Public Participation also transitions

 How can local communities become empowered to drive project development and meaningfully engage in the low-carbon energy transition? 

While we have experienced numerous energy transitions in the past, the current shift to renewable energy sources (RES) is different not least because of the diversity of drivers leading it. From disambiguations around human activity and climate change to the growing awareness of a plethora of energy-related inequalities arising from our dependence on fossil fuels, this transition is about more than just technological and political change, or even resource availability. It also involves significant social and behavioural transformations that question established historical narratives and challenge accepted understandings of democracy and economics.

Past energy transitions were almost exclusively driven by the exploitation of a new energy resource with little consideration for social or environmental consequences. Also, they were marked by top-down, highly centralised energy systems controlled by a limited number of corporate actors. The current transition, in theory at least, involves numerous different cross sectorial stakeholders that are more informed by public policy and is more likely to include the social groupings directly affected than has heretofore been the case. However, given societal responses invariably require a radical reorganisation of socio-economic infrastructures in order to accommodate change, this transition will not automatically be a just one.

https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13705-019-0218-z

Biweekly Engagement Calls

 EPA Now Hosting Biweekly National Environmental Justice Community Engagement Calls

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites Environmental Justice (EJ) advocates and the public to participate in the agency’s National Environmental Justice Community Engagement Calls, now happening biweekly, to discuss and receive feedback on all aspects of EJ at EPA with partners and communities. 

“The voice of communities is what centers and drives our efforts to advance environmental justice at EPA,” said Office of Environmental Justice Director Matthew Tejada. “Our mission to protect the health and environments of everyone in the United States can only be achieved if we listen to and engage with communities who have not received the same level of protection. Given the historic mandate of the Biden-Harris Administration and Administrator Regan’s leadership, these calls are a direct line for EPA to hear from communities.”

By increasing the community engagement calls from quarterly to biweekly, EPA will further encourage an open dialogue with EJ leaders and advocates. These meetings not only serve as an opportunity to give an update on EPA’s EJ work and its resources, but also to listen and learn from communities, partners, and stakeholders. Additionally, the biweekly community engagement calls speak to the agency’s commitment to Justice40, an initiative announced by President Joe Biden, to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities. 

The next national EJ community engagement call is Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. 

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/epa-national-environmental-justice-community-engagement-call-sep-28-2021-registration-173740832507. 

To see the calendar for upcoming calls, register for upcoming calls, and view meeting materials for past calls, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/national-environmental-justice-community-engagement-calls. 

You can also follow the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice on Twitter (@EPAEnvJustice) and subscribe to the EPA’s EJ listserv by sending a blank email to join-epa-ej@lists.epa.gov.

the shrinking forest

 

World Climate change Organisation - WCCO

mmtSponsohr1el8hd  · 

The forest was shrinking

but the trees kept voting for the axe,

for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood he was one of them.

(Turkish proverb) #turkishproverb

air pollution equivalent to cigarette smoking

 

New study compares increases in ambient Ozone levels over tens years, and concludes that ambient Ozone level increases of just three parts per billion (3 ppb) over ten years is the equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes daily for 29 years!!

So what increase in ground level Ozone has already occurred in St. Bernard Parish, what increase is expected from recent air permits, and what increase will the PONO international container port bring to our community?

The amount of Emphysema progression found in the study is equal to 29 pack-year of smoking. In other words, if your ambient Ozone level increases three ppb over ten years, that is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes daily for 29 years. It sounds [more] terrible than smoking !

https://reviewsofairpurifiers.com/new-study-air-pollution-is-equivalent-to-cigarette-smoking/

air quality post IDA St Bernard Parish

 

Air Quality in St Bernard Parish post-Hurricane IDA has reached levels which are unhealthy for: 

Children, Asthmatics, People with heart or lung disease, and People who are active outdoors. 

On September 7 Ground Level Ozone levels reached "RED LEVEL", when the Meraux Site reached Ozone average of 97 parts per billion.

Later on the same day, September 7 Sulfur Dioxide one-hour health standard reached "ORANGE LEVEL", when the Meraux Site reached Sulfur Dioxide concentrations of 86.1 parts per billion one hour average.

The Meraux Site is located adjacent to the Joe Davies Elementary School Playground.

According to the EPA, ground level ozone can cause permanent lung damage. Repeated short-term ozone damage to children’s developing lungs may lead to reduced lung function in adulthood. In adults, ozone exposure may accelerate the natural decline in lung function that occurs with age.

The following groups should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion: • People with lung disease, such as asthma • Children and older adults • People who are active outdoors Everyone else should limit prolonged outdoor exertion

https://www.airnow.gov/sites/default/files/2020-02/ozone-c.pdf

https://www.airnow.gov/sites/default/files/2018-03/common-air-pollutants-2011-lo.pdf

https://www.epa.gov/so2-pollution/sulfur-dioxide-basics

Greenwashing

 

The Intercept

StueprghttembSpehstoucssnsrse o5 ortremineat 7:S04 aPdMc  · 

As Hurricane Ida wrought destruction throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, the companies that own the oil rigs and refineries in the storm’s path — and helped fuel this and the other natural disasters now upending life in every region of the world — said very little. While a highway collapsed, people died, homes flooded, power grids shattered, and more than 1 million homes and businesses lost power, the Twitter feeds of Exxon Mobil, Marathon Oil, Valero, Phillips 66, Chevron, and Shell remained notably inactive.⁠
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That silence contrasts with the steady patter of positive PR the big oil and gas companies usually spout about their roles as stewards of the environment. Ida — whose power stemmed from the unusually warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, turning it into the “poster child” for climate change-driven disasters — made Big Oil’s usual pledges to help us cope with the climate crisis ring impossibly hollow.⁠
⁠
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Such greenwashing — or perhaps false advertising — is par for the course for big energy companies, according to Karen Sokol, a professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. ⁠
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“They frame themselves not as a major source of the problem, but instead a key part of the solution.”⁠
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Read the full story: https://interc.pt/3zQ3g6G
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Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images