Patricia DeMarco Ph.D.

"Live in harmony with nature."

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Moving from Awareness to Action

January 2015

This month two new tools have come forward from the expanding team of people working with and around me to engage solutions to the climate change challenge and the subversive threat embodied in endocrine disrupting chemical contaminants in our biosphere.  We feel an increasing sense of urgency to make meaningful changes to address these serious global problems.  Taken together, the problem appears overwhelming.  A sense of powerlessness and being overwhelmed with the complexity of it all yields denial and paralysis.

But, we take courage from our heroes!   In the new documentary “The Power of One Voice- A 50 Year Perspective on the Life of Rachel Carson” we see how her one voice raised fearlessly and courageously in spite of vicious, personal attacks, did change the world. We can see in “Sustainability Pioneers” regular people making changes in their own lives, in their communities and in their businesses to move to a more resilient future.

We have the tools to take action moving toward a more sustainable future.  We must address the barriers entrenched in our current way of doing things.  How can we connect the unionized labor movement to environmentally sound solutions?  The labor movement was instrumental in organizing the first Earth Day and pressing for environmental protections in the 1970’s.  Now, the divide artificially pitting a clean environment against jobs makes collaboration more difficult.  Yet, the need has never been greater.  Solutions that reshape a robust economy based on renewable energy systems, organic agriculture practices and green chemistry principles for producing goods, will require changing some laws!  We need to have a broader coalition of people involved, and we need to reach beyond environmental advocates talking to each other with increasing passion and frustration.

Everybody wants healthy children.  Everybody needs clean water and air.  Everybody needs a wholesome, secure food supply. Every worker needs a living wage in a secure career path. To make a transition from a fossil based economy to a renewable and sustainable economy, we need a strategy and a plan for an orderly transition.  Allowing the fate of our children to fall from “market forces” as a policy will not work.  Our policy process is currently based on markets with government regulation seen as a negative interference. To make a successful transition, we must have a longer view than a three month business cycle; we must recognize the costs and risks the current practices are imposing on our current life and on the lives of our children and their grandchildren. We must make a strategic plan to reach a fossil-free future within the next 30 to 50 years, or our children will face life threatening conditions.

Business as usual scenarios based on continued fossil fuel use projected 650 parts per million levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is not a viable condition!  Reaching this level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be catastrophic for humans, and other creatures that breathe air.  We need to get serious about choosing more viable options.

Jobs in the renewable energy industries are growing at 22% per year for the last five years, compared to a falling profile for coal, oil and gas jobs at 8.7% over the last five years. If we make a policy commitment to support and accelerate the penetration of renewable energy systems into the economy, instead of throwing up roadblocks and objections on all fronts, we could jump start a period of prosperity and sustainable enterprise that will lead the world.

Change the laws to stabilize the tax incentives and investment incentives for the renewable energy industry.  No emerging industry will thrive in an uncertain regulatory environment, where the rules change each year and vary vastly from state to state! Shift the subsidies and tax advantages from fossil fuels to renewable systems to fund the emerging and growing technologies.  We know climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels, so it makes no sense as a public policy in the public interest to continue providing $72 billion in subsidies for fossil fuel industries. Especially since much of that benefit accrues to multinational corporations who do not necessarily invest their earnings here.

The choices we have to make are not limited by technology.  We have lots of technology to do many things from the simple to the extreme.  The question is, just because we can, whether we should pursue extreme fossil development.  We can make choices that have more favorable consequences for our life support system.

Look at your own energy supply this month.  How can you reduce your own footprint, and shift your electric supplier to renewable fuels? Make a commitment to start now!

 


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A Wish for The New Year 2015

My wish for the New Year:

I reflect as we close out 2014 on the strong voices for change that have influenced our time- Pete Seger, Theo Colburn, and the legacy of Rachel Carson and Jonas Salk.  We see the impact of concerted community voices in the New York ban on hydraulic fracturing for fossil gas development, and we have hope for shifting our economy to a more viable future.

May we raise a chorus of strong voices –IMG_1254
Pleading to protect the living environment so we can be healthy;
Working together for justice so we can have peace;
Standing for social equity so we can all share prosperity; and
Demanding accountability from those in power so we can all have freedom.

In this Season of sharing thanks and blessings among those we care about, I thank all of you my Colleagues and Friends for all you do to make the world a better place!


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A Reflection on the “Energy for the Power of 32” Conference

Energy for the Power of 32 Conference was organized to establish a baseline and catalyze a regional energy plan and strategy for the 32 contiguous counties encompassing western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.  The preparations included a regional compilation of the Energy Flows in a Sankey diagram of Production, Consumption, Net Imports/Exports, and Losses.  the full report and analysis can be found at www.energy4p32.org

Regional Energy Flow showing Production, Consumption, Net Imports/Exports, and losses is a critical starting point for analysis. The three issues that emerge from this set of data are:

  1. the dominance of coal for electricity generation and as an export product
  2. Net exports (1,470 Trillion Btu) far exceed the regional consumption of energy for all uses (520 trillion Btu).
  3. The largest sources of “Unused Energy” result from electricity generation and transportation, Both sectors rely predominantly on technologies from the 1800’s- the Rankine cycle thermoelectric steam turbine and the internal combustion engine.

Data showing the global context creating an impetus for a change in our energy system was not allocated to a regional profile. Data adapting the EPA Sankey diagram on greenhouse gas emissions[1] to a regional profile would be helpful in isolating principal targets for change. Coal combustion for generating electricity is the most significant source of greenhouse gas emissions in the region.

A large data void exists in the failure to present, or even discuss, the ecosystem service components of the economy. There were some presentations about health effects and costs related to loss of productivity associated with pollution. However, the positive attributes derived from ecosystem services such as water purification, oxygen generation, food production through photosynthesis etc were not included. To the extent that the strategic plan seeks metrics and indicators to track economic conditions forward, it is essential to include metrics that reflect the health of the environment, our life support system. Measures for clean air, water quality, soil fertility and species diversity reflect not only quality of life conditions but also the resilience and sustainability of conditions upon which the economy ultimately depends. The failure to consider such parameters in economic development planning has largely contributed to the climate changing circumstances we are facing today. The classic papers of Robert Constanza et al. may be helpful in addressing this critical component of a regional strategic plan.[2] [3]

A second major omission in this discussion may be due to the absence of the presentation on environmental justice that would have been covered by Mustafa Ali. It is critical to recognize that the options for future development in energy are not limited by technology, but must be shaped by choices grounded in the ethics and values of our society. It is an ethical criterion to preserve our life support system for future generations, and indeed this is a part of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Article 1, Section 27, the Environmental Rights Amendment.[4] It is an ethical criterion to transition from a resource extraction based economy to a value adding economy, a legacy of manufacturing and innovation well rooted in our region’s history. It is an ethical criterion to establish conditions that reflect social equity among workers past and future. It is an ethical criterion to plan for a healthier solution to our energy requirements than we have done in the past.

Establishing an energy system that provides for a robust economy requires that we recognize the absolute need to rapidly move away from burning fossil fuels, in all aspects of our economy. In our region, the conditions are not favorable to take maximum advantage of the natural flows of renewable and sustainable energy. The myth that renewable energy is insufficient to serve our needs must be addressed directly. The flow of solar energy to the surface of the earth exceeds our current and projected needs by many orders of magnitude. [5] The energy uses in the region for all sectors – residential, commercial, industrial and transportation – require only 520 trillion Btu. The Unused (wasted) portion to deliver this amount of energy in useful form 1,400 trillion Btu, represents the compelling reason to change our system. If we focus on the work that needs to be delivered, rather than the replacement of the fuels that are mostly being wasted in the current system, the options are far more exciting.

WindStax Vertical turbine- Made in Pittsburgh

WindStax Vertical turbine- Made in Pittsburgh

The work of Lovins et. al. illustrate ample ways to move toward a much less wasteful energy system focus on suiting the energy source to the energy need, and addressing appropriate technologies for the task.[6] Thus as a goal, buildings will operate in net zero profile for energy, water and waste. We have current illustrations for the realistic achievability of this approach in the Phipps Living Building example, and even retrofit examples in the innovation workplace. [7] [8]

Transportation systems will require two types of transition first, to renewable fuels, most likely recovered from wasted food sources, but also new technologies such as methane gas fired or electric engines., ultimately to hydrogen driven systems. Transportation system solutions require better integration of non-mechanized mobility options such as designing communities for easier pedestrian access to services, recreation and workplace centers. Our region was once heavily dependent on pedestrian mobility, as the many remnants of pedestrian stairways testify. Walking distances to transit was normal as recently as 1968.

Industrial and manufacturing sector presents the largest challenge, but also the largest opportunity. As a strategic goal, think about converting the raw export component of the regional economy to value added production where raw materials convert n the regional economy to finished goods. Such activity can occur as part of creating a sustainable stream of energy system supports, including the technology and communication interconnects for a distributed electric system where the load and source are balanced. New categories of utility services emerge from such an inverted paradigm of utility system including DC as well as AC segments, load leveling and voltage regulation , and storage (including not only batteries but fly wheel, compressed ait, pumped hydro storage and chemical phase change crystals.) Making and installing adaptive technologies for existing buildings can also offer increased production opportunities, such as ground source heat pump auxiliary heating/cooling systems that tap into the existing water pipes with external heat exchangers.

Transformation from fossil fueled enterprise to renewable energy flow based enterprise seems daunting and “unrealistic” according to my working group colleagues. But, many times in our history we as a country have taken on major transformations in a very short span of time, often less than a decade. The industrial mobilization that shifted production to make vehicles machines and munitions for World War II happened in a span of three years. The rural electrification of America took only five years. The shift from horse and buggy to automobile took only 20. The shift from regulated communication to unregulated and competitive communications took less than a decade. What is needed in order to mobilize this kind of capability is a clear and urgent motivating force that enables cooperation among competing interests. That force can be national security in time of war, market opportunities opened by innovative technology, or collective moral outrage.

What we cannot lose sight of in this discussion is the essential truth that the climate of the earth is changing rapidly, irreversibly, due to human activity that we can control. If we defer meaningful action to contain the conversion of sequestered carbon into atmospheric carbon dioxide, the atmosphere will no longer support aerobic living organisms…that includes people. A graph projecting 600 to 800 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was presented as if it were a normal expectation for continued practices. This cannot be construed in any way as “Business as Usual” but as a catastrophe! Every year that we delay in addressing this situation narrows our options and reduces our chances of shifting successfully away from a course of disaster. Because carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for 200 years or more, our actions today determine the fate of the unborn generations who have no say in determining their fate. We must consider the legacy we are leaving to them. We have seen the accumulated damages from mining and burning coal for fifty years, including the 3,000 miles of Pennsylvania streams permanently contaminated with acid mine drainage. We must take precautions going forward to preserve, protect and if possible restore the health of the living earth we depend on for our own survival.

As you develop the formal strategic plan for the Power of 32, I urge you to seek out and consider seriously the voices who speak for the living parts of our community, our economy and our selves. If we only focus on the infrastructure and technology, we will not preserve our own survival.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia DeMarco

[1] EPA greenhouse gas emissions by source http://www.epa.gov

[2] Constanza, Robert et. Al. “The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital. Nature. May 15, 1997. Vol 387. Pages 253-260.

[3] Hunter Lovins. Natural Capitalism. 2010. Earthscan. London.

[4] Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Article 1, Section 27

[5] NASA Chart on energy flow comparisons renewable vs fossil resources

[6] Amory B. Lovins and Rocky Mountain Institute. Reinventing Fire – Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era. 2011. Chelsea Green Publishers. Vermont.

[7] Phipps Living Building see http://www.Phippsconservatory.org

[8] Hartkopf and Loftness – innovation workplace Carnegie Mellon University


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Wonder and Joy

images-1
At the close of this year, I reflect on the two centenaries we celebrated this year- the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon and the birth of Jonas Salk.  The tragic consequences of human exploitation sent the passenger pigeon population from millions to one, then none in the span of less than 50 years.  People did not take heed of the life cycle of this abundant bird, nor did we consider that this population of birds played a significant role in shaping the landscape and the fertility of the ground.  Jonas Salk conquered a crippling disease through studying and understanding the forces of immunity and resistance in human physiology.  His wisdom combined with knowledge and confidence in his findings saved millions from the scourge of polio, now nearly eliminated from the world except for a few war-torn places.  As we look to the future, we can take precaution from the lesson of the Passenger Pigeon, and inspiration from the work of Jonas Salk.

We face serious challenges in this coming year.  We stand at a turning point in the course of civilization.  Can we lift our eyes from the instant pursuit of profits without regard for the consequences beyond the next quarter, or will we take to heart the needs of the future generations and change our pattern of destruction and waste?  I see many emerging trends in the direction of changing the system that is accelerating climate change. Vandana Shiva standing up to Monsanto over GMO seeds and chemical dependent agriculture gives me courage.  She give voice to many all over the world who would expand diversified farming practices that restore and regenerate the fertility of the ground and preserve biodiversity and resilience in crops.  The Energiewende in Germany stands in challenge to both fossil fuels and nuclear energy with aggressive pursuit of renewable resources and sustainable energy practices. Edward O. Wilson continues his prolific prose urging us to preserve the wondrous biodiversity of the living earth. And, my grandchildren are vegetarian, earth loving, gardeners who want to make bread by hand and camp outside.  I have hope for our future!

In this Holiday Season as we prepare for another year, may we reflect on the wonder of Nature and be joyful that we live in a time when our actions make a tremendous difference for the course of humanity.  We decide every day the fate of those unborn who are not here to ask that we save the fresh air, clean water, fertile ground and biodiversity of species for them. Let us celebrate Nature and Celebrate the Spirit in all of us that will rise to preserve our living earth!

Buon Natale!


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Thanksgiving Blessing

To The Spirit of The Living Earth, who we call by different names,

We give thanks for this beautiful, bountiful planet that provides everything we need – fresh air, clean water, fertile ground and the millions of living things that create the web of life that supports us. As we gather today to celebrate this cultural tradition, we are thankful for our wonderful family. We hold in our memories our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents who worked and sacrificed for us to have the opportunities we enjoy today. We hold in our hearts those of us scattered to other cities in places  across the country and around the world who are not with us today, and wish them all safe travels. As we share this celebration, may we remember those who have little, and take this time to dedicate our efforts to becoming responsible stewards of the earth.  May we become good ancestors by preserving this special, living earth for our children, and their great-grandchildren for years to come.

Blessed Be

(Grace for Thanksgiving Dinner- 11-27-2014)


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A Plea from the Youth for a Safe Climate Future

19Nov2014

I come from the generation of explosive activists who held sit-ins and teach-ins and street demonstrations for the clean air act, civil rights, women’s rights and opposing war and nuclear power.  We passed many laws through the 1970s addressing the most obvious signs of pollution, and the most egregious of injustices. In most cases, these laws dealt with the symptoms without really changing the underlying problems.  They put corks in the smokestacks, stoppers in the emission pipes and liners in the landfills, but did not address the underlying sources of pollution, or injustice and inequality.

Now we see the accumulated effects of our continued poisoning of the earth.  Even with permits and regulations, the US alone spews 3.6 Billion pounds of toxic materials into the biosphere. (EPA Toxic Release Inventory) Much of this comes from the continued combustion of fossil fuels, especially coal.  The laws of physics and chemistry and the responses of living organisms and ecosystems to this barrage of poison will proceed, with consequences that are not negotiable.  Nature wins, always.  We ignore the evidence of damage at our own peril.

But, we children of the 60s, who now dominate the governance of our country, must take heed to the voices of our children, whether they vote or not! The decisions we make today about our energy use, our ways of using resources and our food supply system determine the fate of millions who are not at the table to speak.  The fate of the unborn generations is in our hands.  Whether our personal ideology includes accepting the evidence of a screaming earth or not, it is prudent to err on the side of caution when dealing with issues with consequences spanning hundreds of years.

Listen to the wisdom of our youth. If we decide to accept the moral obligation to provide for their future, we will treat climate change as the emergency it is.  In the words of Jonas Salk, “We must be good ancestors.”  Preventing the destruction of our fragile life support system is a worthy legacy.

See the letter of the Australian Youth Coalition to the G-20 below, and take heed of their plea.

http://www.aycc.org.au/g20

 

 


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Interview on The Union Edge Radio 770 AM Pittsburgh

18 Nov 2014

I was pleased to be the guest of Rosemary Trump on the Charles Showalter show  The Union Edge on 770 AM in Pittsburgh.  We talked about the Keystone XL Pipeline and some of the implications for jobs, the environment the potential and benefits of renewable resources, and climate change.  The Senate Vote failed to approve the project this evening. You can hear the transcript of the show here:

http://www.theunionedge.com/?p=8243


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A Billion Rising

A Billion Rising
We dare to dance
Though joints are creaking.
We dare to dance!
Our hearts are speaking.
Rejoicing in the gathered force
Of earth’s power
Inspiring release of life’s
Renewing light
From within.
We dare to dance
In defiance of violence
In defiance of suppression
In joy
For the right to live free
We dare to dance!

In solidarity with the women of the Arab Spring


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Thank a Farmer this Thanksgiving

In this week of Thanksgiving we celebrate the bounty of the earth and the robust harvest delivered by the farmers who serve the land. In Western Pennsylvania we are blessed with an abundance of fertile agricultural land, enough to sustain the population within 120 miles of the cities.

Pennsylvania has seven million acres of agricultural lands, about half in Western Pennsylvania. We have 481 organic farms in Pennsylvania, about 10% of the USDA Certified Organic Farms. In addition there are many other farms practicing sustainable agriculture that have not completed organic certification yet. The National Farmland Trust has identified nearly all of Western Pennsylvania agricultural land as threatened because of the development pressure from urban encroachment, and from gas development. We are losing agricultural land at the rate of 125 acres per day.

The organic certification requires separation from industrial activities and any synthetic substance not specifically authorized for organic use. The National Organic Program (NOP) regulations specify the processes by which organic food may be produced. They do not directly prohibit industrial activity on or near the property, but certified farms could be affected by nearby drilling operations.

Primarily, the regulations bar the use of “prohibited substances,” require distinct boundaries and buffers to prevent the unintended application of prohibited substances to the crops or pasture, and require that measures be taken to prevent organic products from contact with prohibited substances. Because the definition of prohibited substances is very broad, including all synthetic substances unless otherwise permitted and selected non-synthetic substances,1 contact with pollutants from nearby drilling operations, or the lack of appropriate buffers, may jeopardize a farm’s certification.  The regulations also require that production practices “maintain or improve the natural resources of the operation, including soil and water quality.”2

Again, land application of polluted water may be interpreted as a violation of this section.  Farmers who do not own their mineral rights are especially concerned, as noted by Stephen Cleghorn of Paradise Gardens and Farm:

“In our case, at the very least, we
would lose for years, if not forever, the 5-10 acres carved out of our farm by a well pad if
that happens. If we find our water threatened from above or below, we could see the
entire operation decertified, losing our livelihood.”

Many farmers have sold or leased their mineral rights without fully understanding the extent of industrial activity that would take place with Marcellus Shale drilling, compared to the older technology associated with shallow well drilling.

Also of interest is that the National Office of Homeland Security (yes, those guys) have directives to protect our nation’s food production resources from terrorists, disasters and emergencies. Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio are declared as “Critical Foodshed” which is being touted as a model for the nation.

The gas fracking industry is operating under a federal exemption from the protection the Safe Drinking Water Act provides to communities. In Pennsylvania, the Oil and Gas Act requires that property owners provide access to mineral rights, even if such development compromises their basic livelihood, even if it compromises the community watershed. The contaminants may take years, even decades, to penetrate from the depths to the groundwater, or from surface spills to the groundwater.

As citizens we should demand precaution in going forward with Marcellus Shale development. We must insist on preventive actions that can deflect the environmental and health effects evident in other locations where hydraulic fracking has been going on for several years. Is it really our intention to salt the fertile ground as Romans did in ancient times to guarantee the starvation of their enemies?

Choices we are making today directly affect the options available to our grandchildren. What can we do now to preserve the choices available to them and for future generations? We can choose to protect fertile ground, especially organic farms and drinking watersheds, from incursion of contaminants injected to extract natural gas.

The abundance of our earth flows from a fragile, living ecosystem, easily poisoned and rendered sterile by carelessness and greed. So, in this Thanksgiving harvest time, thank a farmer!

Patricia M. DeMarco, Ph.D.
With collaboration of Stephen Cleghorn Paradise Gardens and Farm
and Gregory Boulos, Blackberry Meadow Farm

 

1 7 CFR § 205.105
2 7 CFR § 205.200