Tag: environment

‘Green’ renewable fuel plants are releasing MORE pollution than oil refineries, report claims

So-called ‘green’ fuel refineries have used loopholes in federal regulation to become massive polluters, according to a new report. 

The 275 Biofuel and ethanol manufacturers in the US released 12 million tons of toxic materials into the air in 2022 compared to 15 million emitted by oil refineries, the report detailed. 

Further, these plants released more of four kinds of toxic chemicals that can cause vomiting, diarrhea and shortness of breath in the short term, and have been linked to cancer in the long term. 

These green fuel companies use products like corn or vegetable oil to make fuel instead of petroleum. 

A majority of the biofuel facilities are located in the Midwest, with one in Illinois that generated the largest source of Hexane, a toxin that can cause nerve damage.

Courtney Bernhardt, Director of Research for the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), the group that released the report, said: ‘Despite its green image, the biofuels industry releases a surprising amount of hazardous air pollution that puts local communities at risk – and this problem is exacerbated by EPA’s lax regulation.’

The EIP is a nonprofit watchdog group focused on environmental law, and has been calling for increased federal regulation of the ‘green’ fuel industry. 

Their report reviewed 2022 data that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released from 191 ethanol plants, 71 biodiesel plants and 13 renewable diesel plants. 

Not only were the ‘green’ manufacturers emissions nearly on par with oil and gas, they also released more of particularly potent toxins than the petroleum manufacturers – including hexane, acetaldehyde, acrolein and formaldehyde than traditional oil and gas refineries. 

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The ‘E’ in ESG: How the Left Injects Climate Alarmism into America’s Boardrooms

The “E” in ESG – “Environmental” – is how anti-fossil fuel climate activism has captured corporate America to the detriment of our economy, our energy security, and our national security.

Daniel Cameron, CEO of the 1792 Exchange, explains how it works in an interview with Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow.  The 1792 Exchange exposes coercion and ideological bias in corporations and works to get America’s businesses back to business.

Marlow notes that the “E” in ESG (which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance) is “stifling America’s energy sector” and “ultimately harming the economy.”

“But these corporations are still compelled to go along with some of these new leftist measures. Why are they embracing this? What’s going on?” Marlow asks Cameron.

Cameron explains that the “E” in ESG is about inserting anti-fossil fuel “climate alarmism” into America’s corporate boardrooms. Cameron, who served as the Attorney General of Kentucky, says he saw firsthand the dangers of these policies for his coal-producing state.

“I hail from the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Cameron says, “And when you hear either the Biden administration or Larry Fink at BlackRock or other of these asset fund managers talk about wanting to destroy the fossil fuel industry by 2030 or 2050… that was a big red flag for me because in Kentucky, we are the seventh largest generator of coal.”

Kentucky’s abundant coal resources give the state a “competitive advantage” in providing reliable and affordable energy, Cameron explains. “When you have somebody that wants to destroy that, what you’re saying to me as a state official is that you’re trying to destroy our livelihood,” he says.

Cameron notes that this destructive climate activism is “playing out all across the country” in states with economies dependent on coal, oil, or natural gas. And this activism not only hurts the states’ economies; it also hurts U.S. energy security by making America more dependent on unstable and potentially hostile foreign regimes for our energy.

He also adds that this corporate environmental “virtue signaling” hurts the profitability of American companies and also hurt the retirees whose pensions are managed by asset funds.

“What this is ultimately about is using the hard-earned dollars of shareholders of retirees—about using the money of teachers, firefighters, and police officers—to virtue signal so that corporate leadership and hedge fund managers can ingratiate themselves to the climate alarmists,” Cameron says. “This is bad for America. It’s bad for our energy independence because what it ultimately does is makes us rely on foreign adversaries.”

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Climate Change ‘Solutions’ Are Harming the Environment

Big government environmental “fixes” often result in unintended environmental or human health consequences that are worse than the original problem the government solution was meant to solve.

Nowhere is this clearer than with government efforts to fight climate change, an effort in vain if ever there was one.

In Climate Change Weekly, I have detailed the high environmental costs and dangers to people that come with electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels — from fires, to the human and environmental impact of the mining and refining of the minerals necessary to produce and operate them, to the waste problems they create.

As whale deaths mount on the East Coast, The Heartland Institute along with our allies at CFACT and the National Legal and Policy Center have filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order on Dominion Energy’s plans to begin pile driving for construction of the base and tower portions of 176 giant offshore wind turbines it plans to erect at great economic and environmental costs off the coast of Virginia as part of President Biden’s “all of government” approach to fight climate change.

CFACT has established a great resource devoted to the myriad environmental problems — including the threat to the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) from the push for offshore wind along the East Coast. These turbines are being erected right in the middle of NARW and other protected marine mammals’ habitat and migration routes. In the rush to erect these turbines quickly, the federal government and Dominion played fast and loose with the rules and permits, in particular failing to follow the law and proper procedures in accounting for potential comprehensive, cumulative whale impacts.

Research released after Dominion had already received permission from the federal government to proceed, shows that, contrary to what Dominion and the Biden administration have claimed in their reports, the ships contracted to do the pile driving produce an amount of noise during operations that exceeds what federal biologists have determined to be safe for whales.

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Lawmakers to examine influence of ‘extreme’ environmental activist groups in the Interior Department

House lawmakers will hold an oversight hearing Tuesday to scrutinize the influence of what Republicans call “radical” environmental activist groups in the Department of the Interior.

“Under Secretary Deb Haaland, the Department of the Interior has cultivated intimate and potentially improper relationships with radical NGOs [non-governmental organizations] driving the Biden administration’s extreme environmental agenda,” GOP lawmakers on the oversight and investigations panel of the Natural Resources Committee said.

Republicans on the panel, led by Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, say the influence of “extreme environmental activist” groups over policy and politics in the U.S. is on the rise.

They list examples how Ms. Haaland allegedly coordinated with the Pueblo Action Alliance, a left-wing Native American activist group with which Ms. Haaland had a relationship prior her joining the Biden Cabinet, to advocate to withdraw more land in Chaco Canyon from natural resource development.

They contend that the administration is beholden to many activist groups, specifically those on the Left with social and environmental justice agendas.

These NGOs must comply with rigorous ethics requirements, but their influence within the rule-making process is growing.

Republicans say their influence is often hidden from the public through off-the-record exchanges during the informal rule-making process.

The Interior Department refused to comment.

The committee is expected to explore whether the department coordinates with leftwing activist organizations and violates the Administrative Procedure Act when engaging in the rule-making process.

Formal rulemaking is, according to the statute, “on the record” and requires a trial-type agency hearing. This seldom happens today during the rule-making process, while informal rulemaking, known as “notice and comment,” happens more often.

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Rejecting the Facade: Unveiling the Ecological Toll of War

On Earth Day, prepare for the annual spectacle of U.S. lawmakers donning their environmentalist hats, waxing poetic about their love for the planet while disregarding the devastation their actions wreak. The harsh reality is that alongside their hollow pledges lies a trail of destruction fueled by military aggression and imperial ambitions, all under the guise of national security.

Take Gaza, for instance. Its once-fertile farmland now lies barren, its water sources poisoned by conflict and neglect. The grim statistics speak volumes: 97% of Gaza’s water is unfit for human consumption, leading to a staggering 26% of illnesses, particularly among vulnerable children. Israel’s decades-long colonial settler project and ethnic cleansing of Palestine have caused irrefutable damage to the land, air, and water, consequently contributing to the climate crisis. In fact, in the first two months of the current genocide campaign in Gaza, Israel’s murderous bombardment, which has killed nearly 35,000 people, has also generated more planet-warming emissions than the annual carbon footprint of the world’s top 20 climate-vulnerable nations. Yet, despite these dire circumstances, U.S. lawmakers persist in funneling weapons to Israel, perpetuating a cycle of violence and environmental degradation.

The ripple effects of militarism extend far beyond Gaza’s borders. In Ukraine, the Russia-Ukraine War has left a staggering $56.4 billion environmental bill, with widespread contamination of air, water, and soil. Landmines and unexploded ordnance left litter 30% of the country, posing long-term risks to both the environment and human health. The United States’ answer to all this has been to reject diplomacy and fuel a long, protracted war with a seemingly endless supply of weapons and military support. A war that most experts will tell you is not a winnable war. The proxy war the United States is funding not only leaves Ukrainians at risk of never achieving peace but also significantly contributes to the ever-growing climate crisis.

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Harvard scrubs ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ film info from website

Harvard Law School scrubbed its website of an event page advertising a screening of the film “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” amid concerns about endorsing violence.

Internet archives show the event page was removed sometime between Friday and Tuesday when The College Fix noticed it was gone. A post advertising the screening on Harvard’s Systemic Justice Project website also was removed prior to the event.

“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” is a fictional story about climate activists who blow up a section of pipe in Texas, according to the film’s website.

The trailer opens with a man building a homemade explosive and ends with police arriving at the site of a pipeline that has been blown up. The characters call the bombing “justified” and “an act of self-defense.”

It is unclear if the Wednesday evening screening was canceled, rescheduled, or still took place.  The Fix contacted the HLS Film Society, communications office, and event moderator Professor Jon Hanson by email and phone Tuesday asking if the event had been canceled. None replied.

The Fix also reached out to the film society, Hanson, and the communications office March 28 with questions regarding the concerns about the film endorsing violence and university organizers’ stance on peaceful advocacy.

The film screening drew criticism online in recent weeks, including concerns that Harvard may be supporting violent activism. Critics include U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, an Illinois Republican, who said in a March 28 post on X that violent acts like those portrayed in the film are the reason he supports harsher penalties for eco-terrorism.

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GREEN NEW DEAL? All But One Of World’s 100 Most Polluted Cities Are in Asia

All but one of the world’s 100 most polluted cities are in Asia, according to a new report, underscoring how powerless the U.S. is in combatting the supposed threat of global warming.

The study, published by IQAir, focused on measuring fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, which gives an estimate of air pollution. Just nine percent of the over 7,800 cities analyzed worldwide managed to meet WHO’s standards, many of which were in America.

A majority of these cities are in India, with 83 cities identified as pollution hotspots. All these cities exceed the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines by around 1000 percent. Other heavily polluted countries including Bangaldesh, Pakistan and Burkina Faso.

The world’s most polluted city is Begusarai, a city of around 500,000 people in northern India, with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 — 23 times higher than World Health Organization guidelines.

IQAir Global CEO Frank Hammes argued that such pollution is shortening people’s life spans.

“We see that in every part of our lives that air pollution has an impact,” he said. “And it typically, in some of the most polluted countries, is likely shaving off anywhere between three to six years of people’s lives. And then before that will lead to many years of suffering that are entirely preventable if there’s better air quality.”

Hammes added that there will be no improvements unless such countries implement “major changes in terms of the energy infrastructure and agricultural practices.”

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Pfizer Chemical Spill in Michigan Causes No Contact Advisory of Kalamazoo River

A no-contact advisory was issued for the Kalamazoo River after a chemical spill occurred at Pfizer’s manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

According to city health officials, Pfizer released over 1,057 gallons of methylene chloride in its manufacturing facilities processing area, which was then discharged into the Kalamazoo River.

Methylene chloride is a colorless liquid that Pfizer and other pharmaceutical manufacturers use as a solvent in their pharmaceutical medicines.

After the chemical spill occurred, Kalamazoo County Health Officials warned residents not to come into contact with the Kalamazoo River.

Kalamazoo County Health Officer Jim Rutherford stated, “We decided to issue a no-contact advisory for the stretch of river impacted by the methylene chloride release as a precautionary measure.”

“This advisory will remain in effect until further investigation and sampling indicates that there is no risk to public health,” added Rutherford.

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Biden Admin Preparing “Toughest Ever” Auto Emission Standards

Despite pretty much the entire country making it clear that EV mandates are hurting the industry (with major automakers like Ford and GM slashing investment), President Biden is forging forward with his “green agenda” even further.

This go-round, Biden is “preparing to roll out the toughest-ever” emissions restrictions, according to Bloomberg. 

The report says that the Environmental Protection Agency is poised to implement emissions limits that (Biden thinks) could significantly boost electric vehicle sales, requiring EVs to constitute about two-thirds of new car and light truck sales by 2032, a sharp increase from less than 10% last year. 

Unless, of course, people stop buying new cars. 

Regardless, this regulation supposedly aims to cut down on pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, and marks a major action under President Joe Biden’s administration and a step toward meeting the US’s Paris Agreement goal of slashing its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The transportation sector is currently the largest contributor to the US’s climate pollution, Bloomberg writes. 

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FBI sent several informants to Standing Rock protests, court documents show

Up to 10 informants managed by the FBI were embedded in anti-pipeline resistance camps near the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation at the height of mass protests against the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016. The new details about federal law enforcement surveillance of an Indigenous environmental movement were released as part of a legal fight between North Dakota and the federal government over who should pay for policing the pipeline fight. Until now, the existence of only one other federal informant in the camps had been confirmed. 

The FBI also regularly sent agents wearing civilian clothing into the camps, one former agent told Grist in an interview. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or BIA, operated undercover narcotics officers out of the reservation’s Prairie Knights Casino, where many pipeline opponents rented rooms, according to one of the depositions. 

The operations were part of a wider surveillance strategy that included drones, social media monitoring, and radio eavesdropping by an array of state, local, and federal agencies, according to attorneys’ interviews with law enforcement. The FBI infiltration fits into a longer history in the region. In the 1970s, the FBI infiltrated the highest levels of the American Indian Movement, or AIM. 

The Indigenous-led uprising against Energy Transfer Partners’ Dakota Access oil pipeline drew thousands of people seeking to protect water, the climate, and Indigenous sovereignty. For seven months, participants protested to stop construction of the pipeline and were met by militarized law enforcement, at times facing tear gas, rubber bullets, and water hoses in below-freezing weather.

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