Embedded Files
I thought RFK Jr. wanted to get rid of dangerous chemicals?! More doublespeak from this administration!
EPA Approves Four New Pesticides That Qualify as PFAS
This article came from the Chicago Tribune, and it's about data centers leading to water shortages. While it is about the Great Lakes area, it is relevant because this is happening all over the country.
Surging number of data centers around the Great Lakes could lead to water shortages, report says
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/10/great-lakes-data-centers-water-threats/
A Lake in Crisis: The Reality of Climate Denial
This article from Climate Reality caught my eye, because we just came back from a train trip where we road along the shore of the Great Salt Lake. A girl from China was sitting next to me and asked me why no one was at the beach. https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/lake-crisis-reality-climate-denial
We are leaving for a trip to this part of the country soon, so I wanted to share this article from Sierra about the beautiful Colorado River. Lots of great photos.
Colorado River Run
A photographer embarks on a journey to rediscover the river that helped make the west
By Pete McBride , Nick Paumgarten , Kevin Fedarko
Photos by Pete McBride March 30, 2025
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-1-spring/feature/colorado-river-run
Explore Your Local
Nature Preserves!
That what this e-mail from The Nature Conservatory said! To help us find them they have provided a handy map showing us where they are. The weather here has finally cooled a little, so I think this is a great idea!
https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/
Are trees natural resources? I think so! Does this hot weather make you want to be in a shady forest? Here is a good story from Sierra about some surprises west coast forests have for those who study them.
This Ecologist Is Rewriting the Story of California Landscapes
Redwood trees hold secrets in "fairy rings"
Text and photographs by Jeremy Miller
May 28, 2025
RFK jr. was in the news again today, and that reminded me about this article from HEATED that I hadn't yet reviewed:
RFK Jr. is full of crap
Emily Atkin May 13, 2025
While the health secretary posts environmental theater, the environmental group he co-founded is fighting Trump.
Using science and approaching problems in different ways to solve them can make interesting reading.
This article from Sierra is a good example.
Lightning-on-Demand Could Create the Green Fertilizer We've Been Waiting For
Organic farmers expose
RFK Jr.'s delusion
Turns out you can't "Make America Healthy Again" when the fossil fuel industry calls the shots.
Emily Atkin Mar 4
Here is a recent story from HEATED about RFK Jr.'s promises, how organic farming is affected, and data purges. https://heated.world/p/organic-farmers-expose-rfk-jrs-delusion
I learned about this project at a conference last year from a representative of the EPA. Without the funding for this, it is very likely that the carp will get into the Great Lakes and destroy their ecosystems. This story is from the Chicago Sun-Times.
"Pritzker halts Joliet Great Lakes carp project until Trump promises not to yank federal funds
By Tina Sfondeles Feb 10, 2025, 6:00pm CST
The $1.15 billion project in the Des Plaines River near Joliet is seen as a vital way to stop invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. Without a barrier, the carp could decimate the $20 billion fishing and boating industries and upend the freshwater ecosystem. The species has already made it into the Illinois River from the Mississippi River."
Here's something (from Sustainable Jungle) that I didn't know:
"ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
IS GIVING OUR PLANET A HANGOVER!
If you’re taking part in Dry January, you’re already giving your body a break—but here’s something you might not know: reducing alcohol consumption also lightens your environmental footprint."
https://preview.mailerlite.com/x5p1o3w6b4/2660397467664651585/a3f1/
I usually don't post things that are essentially advertisements, but this is for a book that tells the story of 2 farmers in Mexico who came up with a great idea that can improve the soil and reduce the effects of climate change. It's a positive thing that I missed in June, and was happy to read, even later.
The Regenerative Agriculture Solution:
The Regenerative Agriculture Solution:
A Revolutionary Approach to Building Soil, Creating Climate Resilience, and Supporting Human and Planetary Health
A Revolutionary Approach to Building Soil, Creating Climate Resilience, and Supporting Human and Planetary Health
https://www.amazon.com/Regenerative-Agriculture-Solution-Revolutionary-Resilience/dp/1645022692/
Did you know that Congress has already taken action to save the climate with regenerative organic agriculture?
They did it back in the 2008 Farm Bill, when they created the Conservation Stewardship Program.
The Conservation Stewardship Program could help every farmer adopt “climate-smart” regenerative organic agriculture practices— if Congress fully funded it.
More than three out of four farmers who want to participate in the Conservation Stewardship Program are closed out.
Do you live in a state that borders one of the Great Lakes? You are lucky if you do! We have great fresh water access that makes us attractive to people considering where to live, as water supplies become more scarce. Our property values may even go up! Illinois borders Lake Michigan, and my former home state, New York, bordered 2 Great Lakes! Here is a message and a link to The Great Lakes Alliance website:
"Each year, the Alliance for the Great Lakes develops a comprehensive federal Great Lakes policy agenda. We outline action items needed to protect the lakes and the communities that depend on them."
https://greatlakes.org/2024/02/top-5-great-lakes-federal-policy-priorities-for-2024/
You might find this an interesting concept.
I hope it works and can be another sign of progress in fighting the climate crisis.
Farmer Takes Part
in an Unusual Experiment
to Help Farm Thrive Amid Rising Temperatures
More Retailers Are Requiring Produce To Be Certified As Pollinator-Friendly
More Retailers Are Requiring Produce To Be Certified As Pollinator-Friendly
June 13, 2024 | Source: Xerces Society |
by Cameron Newell and Eric Mader
In a big win for conservation, Kroger, one of the top 5 food retailers in the USA, will now require all fresh produce suppliers to use more pollinator-friendly practices by 2030! With similar recent commitments by Walmart and Giant Eagle, more and more major companies are making an effort to protect pollinators.
Ways to Help our Rivers
Because our water sanitation systems are efficient and do a great job of supplying clean drinking water to households throughout our cities and towns, people do not realize that they may still be harming the rivers through use of different household products. There may be dangerous chemicals in your shampoo, dish soaps, laundry soaps, body soaps, and garden supplies.
Keep an eye out for sulfates in shampoo. When shopping, purchase sulfate-free and organic products.
Impact: The average person will use 1 bottle of shampoo every 2 months. So, the average household is using about 20 bottles of shampoo a year. If 20,000 households switch to sulfite free or organic shampoos, our waterways will be clear of about 400,000 dangerous chemicals in the span of one year.
Keep an eye out for phosphates in dish soaps. When purchasing dish soaps, keep an eye out for phosphate-free soaps. Also, consider making your own dish soap!
Impact: According to the EPA, the average American household is using about 64 gallons of water daily when doing things like washing the dishes. Assuming a load of dishes is done once a day, if 20,000 households switched to phosphate-free soaps, about 12,800,000 gallons of water would flow into our waterways phosphate free.
Switch from fertilizers to compost. Runoff and rain can cause the nitrates and phosphates in fertilizers to end up up in our rivers.
Impact: The price of a small bag of fertilizer is $15; the cost of composting is $0. Fertilizer companies recommend that your grass be fertllized every 6-8 weeks. By switching to compost for your garden needs, you can save just under $100.
From the Friends of the Chicago River
Links: www.chicagoriver.org/think
womwnsvoices.org/avoid-toxic-chemicals/diy-recipes/
ecocycle.org/hazwaste/ecofriendly-cleaning/
How to Regreen Chicago
How to Regreen Chicago
(and other cities)
This local nonprofit has big dreams of a new Chicago
Taking a look through the archives, I found this article from Sierra, that is just as relevant as it was last July. Trees do so much for our neighborhoods, especially keeping the temps down in hot weather! I feel lucky to live on a street with lots of trees! https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2023-2-summer/notes-here-there/how-regreen-chicago-and-other-cities?utm_source=insider&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter
Have you heard of PFAS? One of the Chicago online news sources, Axios, had this story about them:
"Removing 'forever chemicals' from water"
"Local scientists just got a boost in funding to develop technologies that remove toxic "forever chemicals" from the Great Lakes.
Why it matters: These chemicals — collectively called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — have been found in about 45% of U.S tap water, and they're linked to cancers and other health problems.
Threat level: Used extensively in nonstick, water- and oil-repellent and fire-resistant industrial and consumer products, PFAS can bioaccumulate in people, livestock, wildlife and fish if they enter the environment and water sources, Axios' Jacob Knutson writes.
A recent study found PFAS present in all tested Lake Michigan sport fish. But Northwestern University scientist William Dichtel notes that levels in Lake Michigan, so far, appear to remain below the proposed EPA limits.
Driving the news: Chicago innovation hub Current recently won a $160 million federal grant for its ReNEW initiative, which aims to remove contaminants, including PFAS, from the Great Lakes.
As part of the project, a new technology developed by Dichtel is being tested at the O'Brien filtration plant on the Chicago-Skokie border.
It uses a material derived from corn that's "able to bind PFAS" quickly as water flows through it, Dichtel tells Axios.
What they're saying: If successful, Dichtel notes it could allow industries to pretreat and clean contaminated water before discharging it.
What's ahead: Developing the technology "will take several years at the small scale and longer for large-scale implementations," Dichtel says.
The intrigue: Researchers hope the tech could even recover valuable substances from contaminated water, such as "nutrients we can use for fertilizer and critical minerals like lithium, which we can use in chip and battery production," Alaina Harkness, CEO of Current, tells Axios."
Water
Water
Aside from being part of a climate disaster, the shortage of fresh water is already showing signs of being a real crisis on it's own. On one extreme we have global warming melting the glaciers and causing the seas to rise. On the other, we have droughts caused by changing climate patterns. Our own southwest states have had to ask their citizens to use much less water, cattle raising has become nearly impossible, and the mighty Mississippi has at times not been able to support boat traffic. South and Central American crops have failed to the point of causing mass migrations. Can we afford to spend our shrinking water resources on something as inefficient as raising livestock? Here is an opinion from Forks Over Knives, along with a handy chart and some links:
Aside from being part of a climate disaster, the shortage of fresh water is already showing signs of being a real crisis on it's own. On one extreme we have global warming melting the glaciers and causing the seas to rise. On the other, we have droughts caused by changing climate patterns. Our own southwest states have had to ask their citizens to use much less water, cattle raising has become nearly impossible, and the mighty Mississippi has at times not been able to support boat traffic. South and Central American crops have failed to the point of causing mass migrations. Can we afford to spend our shrinking water resources on something as inefficient as raising livestock? Here is an opinion from Forks Over Knives, along with a handy chart and some links:
"IT'S BETTER FOR THE PLANET"
"IT'S BETTER FOR THE PLANET"
"Plant-based diet benefits also extend beyond your own body: Switching to a WFPB lifestyle is one of the best things you can do for the environment.
The main reason is that raising animals for food is an incredibly inefficient use of resources. Growing crops to feed animals “introduces a major extra step of waste relative to the efficiency of us just eating the plant foods directly,” explains David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM. “If you just eat the plants, you cut out the middleman.” A 2018 analysis found that livestock provides just 18% of calories consumed globally but takes up 83% of farmland. Vegan and plant-based, whole-food diets are also associated with fewer climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.
Learn more about your diet’s impact on the environment here."
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