Patricia DeMarco Ph.D.

"Live in harmony with nature."

Tag Archives: news


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Government of the People, by the People and FOR the People- now under attack!

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

I have just read in full the enclosed Memorandum  on “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence” issued by President Trump on September 25th.  https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/countering-domestic-terrorism-and-organized-political-violence/

Wrapped in legal-sounding language, this memorandum asserts the intention of the President to quell dissent by defining those who disagree with his policies as terrorists.  Followed by his charge to the gathered military generals last week, this, to me, is a declaration of civil war against those who oppose the policies and positions of this President.  Evidence of retributional practices toward his detractors was made plain with the barring of Congressionally authorized funds specifically from states with Democratic leadership and his intent to target “Democratic favored programs” for layoffs and reductions. https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/10/03/government-shutdown-senate-cant-end-standoff-will-continue-through-weekend/ This includes environmental protection, any climate, renewable energy or emissions reduction actions, and any “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/white-house-cancels-nearly-8b-in-clean-energy-projects-in-blue-states

Federal agents clash with demonstrators outside the ICE Detention Center in suburban Chicago. (Dominic Gwinn/Getty Images)

 This is not “Government for the People under any interpretation of the law! I Implore those with power to act to assert sanctuary in our State, County and Borough.  I ask for Resolutions of objection to this perversion of American values. I ask my fellow citizens to speak out to your elected officials at all levels to object to this divisive violence and ask for justice. I am not willing to stand silent while fellow citizens are hauled away in the dark of night, even children, with no notice of charges, refusal of legal representation, or refusal of communication.  This is not the America my Father fought for.  This is not the America I have served for over 50 years. The greatness of our country is not weighed by the number and fame of its billionaires but by the wellbeing of the least of its citizens- the children, the elderly, the infirm and the poor. Living in fear destroys our communities, our quality of life and our future.  We must restore the sense of confidence in the rule of law, in securing liberty and justice for ALL. 

It is time to call ENOUGH! to this abuse of power, corruption and terrorization of our communities.  Is “Innocent until proven guilty” no longer the law here?  Is the right of due process no longer applicable in America if your Governor is a Democrat? Have we lost the basic freedom of speech in the First Amendment of the Constitution that protects the public expression of opinions? Are peaceful protests now to be subject to tear gas, arrest and incarceration, as occurred in Chicago, Portland and Los Angeles? 

This kind of evil will only prevail if good people stand by and say nothing.  We should flood the White House with Resolutions of Objection, signed by the millions who seek to preserve our representative democracy, or the  “government of the people, by the people and for the people” may indeed perish from this Earth in our time.

Patricia DeMarco

Live in harmony with nature


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2024 Petrochemical Lunch & Learn Series

Your Health and Your Environment

the Black Appalachian Coalition partnering with the Ohio River Valley Institute is continuing the Petrochemical Lunch & Learn Series in 2024. Archbishop Marcia Dinkins and Patricia DeMarco have collaborated in producing this series taking a deep dive in 2024 connecting the health of people with the health of the environment. We recognize that too many front line communities experience daily conditions of air, water and land pollution that seriously deteriorate the health of people, especially children and the elderly. We also recognize that the mainstream systems for health care often do not reach communities of color living in the shadow of industrial facilities.

This series of webinars proposes to arm people who live and work with frontline communities with information, resources and tools to understand the situations they face. We hope to provide connection by sharing lived experiences from people who have food solutions and are moving forward.

We believe that health is a human right, not a privilege for those who can buy enough health insurance. We believe that to have healthy people we must have clean air and water, land that provides safe, fresh food accessible to everybody, and free of contamination. We are working together to build connections among communities with common problems from the Appalachian region, to the Gulf South, to the industrial East Coast. We have a common vision of a better future we can build together.

We depend on the living Earth for fresh water, clean air fertile ground and the wonderful array of living things in the interconnected Web of Life, of which humans are but one part. If we preserve our Mother Earth, we will have all we need to survive and to thrive for generations and generations.

2024 Petrochemical Lunch & Learn:  Your Health and Your Environment Production

Archbishop Marcia Dinkins- Convenor and Welcome

Ben Hunkler- Ohio River Valley Institute -Technical support and evaluation surveys

Patricia DeMarco, Ph.D. – Research and Background

Kidest Gebre- BLAC Fellow – Communication and Coordination

Esther Baldwin- BLAC Fellow – Organizing and Support

The 2024 Petrochemical Lunch & Learn Series addressed these topics:

1. Health is a Human Right Feb 21, 2024 explored the connection between people and the environment; every person has the right to breathe clean air, have safe water and freedom from pollution

2. Air Pollution March 21, 2024- sources, health harms and mitigation

3. Water is Life– April 18, 2024 water pollution, health harms and mitigation

4. The Land Beneath Our Feet– May 16, 2024- abandoned mined lands, abandoned oil and gas wells- health effects, amelioration and reclamation

5. Forever Plastics- Everlasting Poisons June 20, 2024 Addressed plastics in our everyday life, avoiding and substitutes

6 When Disaster Strikes– Protecting Vulnerable Populations August 15, 2024

7. Environmental Justice and Building a Clean Energy Economy Sept. 19, 2024

8. Healthy Mothers and Children in a Healthy World Oct. 31, 2024

9. Action Strategy- November 21, 2024. Mobilizing and empowering people to hold polluters accountable. Freedom to Breathe Campaign

Here is a link to the Toolkit assembled by Ben Hunkler including recordings, all speaker presentations and resources for all of the sessions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FLSdlMwHfr20pow0Afqhj7llhDH1Mp3cfXkLC-IEIGo/edit?tab=t.0. You can select a single session at a time.

The programs reached over 1,500 registered attendees from 28 states and three countries. Clearly, there is much work yet to do in bringing frontline communities into a greater state of awareness and empowerment to take action against the chronic and damaging pollution that has become an accepted part of industrial might. This cannot be contiued at the expense of the health of millions of people exposed to toxic materials exposure through contaminated air, land and water.

As we look toward 2025, we will focus on moving from awareness to action. We will harness the power of informed citizens to hold the polluters accountable. BLAC launched the Right to Breathe Campaign at the end of this series. This will carry forward the momentum for health as a human right into the next year.

It has been my honor to be involved with this highly impactful series of programs. Archbishop Marcia Dinkins has inspired many discussions and brought hope to people enduring situations that cannot be considered normal and right, sometimes for generations. Ben Hunkler of the Ohio Valley Research Institute has kept the whole operation operating technically smoothly and has assembled and added to the resources in the Petrochemical Lunch & Learn Toolkit.


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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.