Patricia DeMarco Ph.D.

"Live in harmony with nature."

Category Archives: climate action


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Made In America- Made to Last

Earth Day 2024 – A reflection from Earth Day in 1970

by Patricia DeMarco

This Earth Day 2024 places a spotlight on plastic – a man-made counterpoint to the wonders of the natural world. Plastic brought apparent convenience and inexpensive goods to America, but the consequences resonate for hundreds of years in global pollution from often toxic synthetic materials. The shared sense that the living world has intrinsic value critical to the health of all interconnected living beings gave common ground in the first Earth Day in 1970, but has been eroded and even derided today.

If people are to thrive together on a finite planet, we must adjust our consumption patterns to be more sustainable. We must restore the central value of preserving the health of the environment- air, water and land that support all of the ecosystem services we depend on. Manufacturers accountability legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Jeff Merkley as The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021. We can start by passing this important initiative .

For more information and a fuller argument for Breaking Free From Plastic in our lives, download the full paper:

earth-day-2024-made-in-america-made-to-last-Download

Topics included in the full paper:

Earth Day 1970- a Retrospective

Earth Day 2024 Parallels and Contrasts

There is no longer a national bipartisan consensus for the value of environmental and climate policy.

Three Existential Crises: Global warming, global biodiversity loss; global pollution

Global Pollution- Plastic Everywhere!

System Solutions:

  1. Accelerate the transformation to a renewable energy resource system.
  2. Regenerative agriculture and restorative land use
  3. Circular Materials management from non-fossil feedstocks

Call to Action: Sustainability as a Goal

First, manufacturers must be held accountable: Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021

Second, Test for health effects before commercial production.

Third, educate chemists, engineers and industrial manufacturers about living systems.

Finally, be an active citizen. We can all act as empowered consumers. Americans discard 33.6 million tons of plastic a year average of 286 pounds of waste per person per year.  Use your consumer power more wisely:

  • Refuse-single-use items
  • Reduce– Buy in bulk, substitute recyclable and non-toxic materials for non-recyclable
  • Reuse– select refillable products; buy recycled materials-replace single-use items with reusable items-exchange toys, clothing, household décor
  • Recycle– know the rules in your area and separate clean items
  • Rot– compost food waste and organic material

Use your voice as an engaged citizen. Advocate for policies that will address these issues directly in your community, in your state legislature and with your Congressional Senators and Representatives. Your vote is your voice, and you have a responsibility as a citizen to hold the people who purport to represent you to account. Apathy is our enemy.

On this Earth Day 2024, I savor the beauty of the world around me now, and I pray again in my old age for the surge of care and concern for the Living Earth and for our future that will override partisan politics and corporate greed.


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2024: A Pivotal Year for Action

This is a pivotal year in many ways, especially in the urgent need to make the policy U-turn from an extractive to a regenerative economy. Without the restructuring of our economy, and indeed our civilization, away from fossil fuel combustion within the next five or six years, the climate tipping point may be irreversibly crossed. 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history, with many regions experiencing unlivable conditions for at least part of this year. https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2023-hottest-year-record Conditions will only worsen if we continue the slow walk on climate action.

Engaged and informed citizen action has never been more important.

Growing from the Petrochemical Lunch and Learn Series of 2023, we saw great interest in further exploration of environmental-related health harms and how to address and prevent them. I am partnered with the Black Appalachian Coalition (BLAC) and with the Ohio River Valley Institute to dive deeper into the connection between environmental pollution and our health. https://blackappalachiancoalition.org/
Our first sessions of the series are:

  • February 15 – Health Is a Human Right
  • March 21 – Air Pollution: Sources, Health Harms, and Mitigation
  • April 18 – Water is Life
  • May 16 –  The Land Beneath Our Feet

This series of workshops empowers people with information and guidance for action, especially in communities affected by petrochemical and extractive industries. A healthy environment is necessary for healthy people; it is a human right for people to have clean air, water, and access to health care.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApcuqqrz0vGdSlxRBjkfkT4FusY64Cpz_2?blm_aid=0#/registration

Personal Focus for 2024:

I have ended my term as an elected official on December 31st 2023., and I have been appointed to the Forest Hills Community Alliance, the community development corporation for Forest HIlls.  To structure and organize my consulting activities,  I have joined The Main Street Associates in Braddock as a Principal Associate.https://www.themainst.org Work here includes developing Community Benefit Plans and Agreements required by grant recipients under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. I have a focus on the regulatory infrastructure necessary to promote and enable renewable energy systems to thrive in PA. Shifting from a central fossil fueled power station with distant customers must give way to a Distributed Energy System. We are working to build a shared prosperity for our communities.

I continue writing as a Pittsburgh centered author. ReImagine Appalachia- Healing the Land and Empowering the People is In Press now. I have two new writing projects. I am collecting stories and resources to develop the story of the Mon Valley- its past and its future as a journey from the industrial extractive era to the clean manufacturing era. With the passing of my Aunt Rosa, I received the mantle of Matriarch of our Family. With this honor, I will be collecting the multi-generational story of our family from the mountains of Campolieto Campobasso in the Abruzzi region of Italy to the interwoven branches across America.

This will be a year of challenges and trials. Our country seems painfully divided and polarized. But we can come together as a people affirming what is good and true in our culture; learning and sharing with those who bring tradition and wisdom to bear on our common problems, and restore the attribute of treating each person politely with dignity and respect. Without justice, there is no peace. Without compassion, there is no healing. We can build a shared prosperity, a better future, if we work together and respect the laws of Nature as a guide to our way forward.


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Empowering Independence from Petrochemicals

Archbishop Marcia Dinkins, founder and leader of the Black Appalachia Caucus, Patricia DeMarco, with ReImagine Appalachia, Ben Hunkler of the Ohio River Valley Institute have come together to present a five-part webinar series- “Petrochemical Lunch and Learn.” We hope to give people the information they need and some guidance and direction for responding to the climate crisis and the global pollution associated with burning fossil fuels. This informational series is designed to empower people, especially people of color who are most likely to experience the environmental, health and economic harms from proximity to petrochemical facilities. We will discuss how the petrochemical industry came to be such an integral part of our lives, how we can reduce dependence on burning fossil fuels, and how we can build a resilient, equitable and shared prosperity as we move toward a bio-based economy that can be sustained.

You can register for the whole series or any session here bit.ly/petrochemical-lunch-and-learn-series

May 25, 2023 Session I: Overview: the sources and uses of petrochemicals; the history of the petrochemicals industry; how we can move away from fossil fuels and some of the environmental and social justice issues associated with petrochemical extraction, transportation and use.

May 25, 2023 Session I Overview slide presentation is here:

5-25-2023-petrochemical-lunch-and-learn-iDownload

Here is the recording of Session I: Overview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-a2V0ztRrs

June 22, 2023 Session II: Health Harms– This session explains how petrochemical industry pollution of air water and land affects our health; and some of the environmental justice issues that result from petrochemical industry operations. Presentation by Patricia DeMarco is here :

6-22-2023-pd-petrochemical-lunch-and-learn-ii-health-harms-1Download

The recording of Session II: Health Harms including the presentation and discussion by Dr. Claire Cohen is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN73DBK4S50

If you have questions, you can e-mail me at demarcop6@gmail.com

July 27, 2023 Session III: What We Can Control. Patricia DeMarco will be joined by experts from Women for a Healthy Environment for practical things you can do to protect your exposure to petrochemical health harms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8e8fUSzWeM

August 25, 2023. Session IV. Empowering Independence from Petrochemicals- Better Choices. Building a fossil-free future: developing renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, recycling, and sustainable design.

Petrochemical Lunch & Learn- Better ChoicesDownload

We hear from Derrick Tillman, passive solar developer to share the impetus for passive solar design for affordable housing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o_ZUd5eqRE

September 28, 2023. Empowering Independence from Petrochemicals. Call To Action We end the 2023 Petrochemical Lunch & Learn series with a Call to Action for communities, for individuals, and of all concerned about having a healthier, more robust shared prosperity. The presentation is here:

9-28-2023 Petro L& L V Call to ActionDownload

and the video is here.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r1JqISylJk

This series has Brough people together across the United States from communities suffering long years, decades from the silent and slow toxic suffusion of pollution of air, water and land from petrochemical operations.

We continue this series in 2024 with a deep dive into the health harms of the petrochemical industry. See Petrochemical Lunch & Learn 2024: Your Health and Your Environment.


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“Make It in America”  …A Challenge for a Shift in Values

Patricia M. DeMarco

March20,2023

I spent some time this week with a group of students from the Carnegie Mellon University Urban Systems Studio and the North Braddock Residents For Our Future thinking together about the Past, Present and Future of the Edgar Thompson Steel Plant. It was a remarkable conversation, because the students reconstructed the history of this industrial operation from archives and historic records but wanted to include the lived experience of the people from the community.  As the community conversation progressed, I began to reflect that we are once again at a major inflection point in the history of this place.

The Edgar Thompson Steel plant has been in operation since 1875, originally owned by Carnegie Steel Company. Generations of people have lived in the communities surrounding this 200-acre industrial site. At first, they were the workers, mostly immigrants who walked from homes on the hillsides and streets that bordered the plant to take their shifts.  The Edgar Thompson plant was the site of the Battle of Homestead in 1982 when workers went on strike for better wages and working conditions.  Carnegie famously broke the strike with Pinkerton Guards and scab workers.  But the legacy of organizing and workers challenging managers for more equitable treatment stands as a hallmark in the struggle for workers’ rights. Even as they were reaping tremendous profits, Andrew Carnegie and Henry Frick successfully suppressed the movement for more equitable treatment of workers.[i]  They treated workers as units of production to be paid as little as possible to maximize the profit margin.  This industry has been the epitome of the extractive industry era that supported the Industrial Revolution.

Is there a better way forward for the future?

     The Braddock Residents for Our Future believe there is.  When invited to add their ideas to the scenario for the future of the Edgar Thompson Works site, several expressed the apprehension that US Steel would leave, and walk away from the mess that local taxpayers would have to clean up.  Others were concerned that the operation could be taken over by an even less responsible foreign operator and conditions could become even worse.  But several people thought about converting the area to farmed land, or to place a solar array with pollinator-friendly ground cover and beehives on the site to power the surrounding communities.  Some thought there would be a good space for “green steel” instead. The possibility for non-polluting industries emerged as inquiries.

      I felt that a pebble had been dropped in a still pool of despair and was now sending out ripples of hope.  U.S. Steel ultimately owns this land, but perhaps there will be a moment of enlightenment with the catalyst of new federal dollars and programs to allow a new concept for industrial development to emerge.  A new industrial operating system that includes community benefit agreements to build truly shared prosperity. A way forward that moves away from the extractive industries as a base of operation and adopts a system based on recovery of resources. Steel is ideally suited to a recovery and reshape operation. I thank the students of the CMU Urban Systems Studio for opening this avenue for imagination.  Without a vision, nothing changes, but with a new vision, inspired innovation follows. If we are to achieve a vision for manufacturing based on “Made in America” it will be important to restructure the process.  We cannot continue to use fossil fuels to power production- we need to look at technologies such as direct reduction using hydrogen from renewable resources to support manufacturing.[i]

     Beyond looking at non-fossil fueled technologies, we need to examine the entire approach to generating economic activity.  The process of producing inexpensive goods to be replaced frequently, with designed obsolescence, is inherently wasteful.  To thrive into the future, we can return to a society that values durability, high quality and lasting usefulness, instead of the immediate gratification of convenience and buying things designed to be discarded. Made in America can be “Made to last.” It can be a hallmark of quality and legacy.

Read the full article here:

make-it-in-america.-3-19-2023Download


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Out of the Shadows and Into the Light: 2022-2023

On this Winter Solstice, I reflect on a time of closure, and a time for planning new beginnings.  I have shared my life for the last 15 years with my partner, Tom Jensen as we had adventures to other countries, explored the places of his ancestors, and significant historical places.  We found spontaneous dancing happened at any time, especially when we were both working at home. We took on several construction and reconstruction projects – and we laughed a lot…until he fell to a long and valiant battle with cancer.  Chronic terminal illness challenges the character and erodes at the very soul of a relationship, but in lucid moments between bouts of delirium and rage, we were as close as ever.  I will treasure those few precious times and remember the wonderful experiences we shared, and let the pain and sadness recede slowly into the past. I know I will miss Tom every day of the rest of my own life.

He was always there to cheer me on and encourage my work. It is ironic that my second book came to print the week of his passing. Writing “In the Footsteps of Rachel Carson- Harnessing Earth’s Healing Power” captured my own struggle to recognize my mortality.  I am acutely aware that as a four times cancer survivor I am living on borrowed time. So, I make the most of every day.

All of the crises of the world have continued swirling around me as I have been in a cocoon of slow grieving and caregiving as Tom receded into the clutches of the tumors that consumed him over 18 months.  I have swatted at them like irritating flies, keeping focus only on the most immediate and pressing needs.  Now, I reflect on what is ahead, and set my priorities for this coming year.

Recognizing the amazing accomplishments of our collective action over the last year sets the stage for what comes next.  Much of the ReImagine Appalachia Blueprint is now incorporated into law! (See https://reimagineappalachia.org ) Climate action policy, recovery of abandoned mine lands, broadband expansion, assistance for neglected communities, support for regenerative agriculture, requirements for community benefit agreements attached to federal grants, and many more actions now have the force of law.  The tools for creating a more just, equitable and sustainable future are at hand.  Now comes the challenge of implementing with intent and keeping the goals in the forefront.

The success story of ReImagine Appalachia needs to be celebrated, and documented.  This is the subject of my next book, to be published through the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences. ReImagine Appalachia is quite a testament to the power of the people. It began with 45 listening sessions in which 1,500 people contributed ideas, concerns, life experiences, hopes and dreams – all on zoom because of COVID-19. With only a few paid staff and with amazing leadership from Amanda Woodrum, Stephen Herzenburg, Ted Boetner and Dana Kuhlein, and Natalia Rudiak, teams of working groups sorted the issues and ideas into issue papers, documented policy proposals and case studies illustrating the need for new laws. Visionary leaders like Rev. Marcia Dinkins inspired us to act. Fifty collaborating organizations across four states- Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia – worked together to brief critical members of Congress, and their key staff. We were at the table when the laws were being crafted, when the budgets were being set, and we turned out hundreds of engaged citizens at all stages for comments, support, and intervention when things got sticky. Faith communities, people of color, local government officials came together to press for changes that would heal the land and empower the people.

As I sit in my 76th year of life, I recognize the need to mentor and coach successors in my path as a compelling drive. All of my activities and engagements align to build a better future for the coming generations.  The legacy of the Baby Boomers has been a mixed bag, and I feel a responsibility to show a vision forward that corrects some of the mis-steps.  I think our civilization is ready for a renaissance of attention to cultural and spiritual values reflected in care for the natural capital of the Earth – fresh air, clean water, fertile ground and the vast diversity of species that constitute the great Web of Life.  Restoring our life support system ties so many conflicting factions together.  Seeking common ground and shared purpose in building a better future for our children and for their grandchildren allows us to rise above the petty conflicts that impede progress.

I am honored to be drawn in to the efforts of my colleagues and friends in the Mon Valley- Tina Doose, Lisa Franklin-Robinson, Chad FitzGerald, Lori Rue, and Derrick Tillman. Rather than moaning with horrors hidden behind a veil of nostalgia for the “heyday of Steel,” we are working for a new vision for the Mon Valley. Rising from the ashes of the extractive industries of the past, we are creating a future built around renewable resources, non-toxic production systems that are compatible with healthy neighborhoods, and circular supply chains that conserve resources and build local and regional resilience. We are developing major projects with community benefit agreements, and including workforce development pathways to careers that include returning citizens, high school students, and recovered addicts. People will not move to a vacuum.  But they will embrace a movement that meets community needs and builds on the endurance, resilience and determination of people long ignored and suppressed. The Mon Valley will rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the past and soar to a finer future.

For this New Year of 2023, we step out of the dark shadows and into the light.