by Eoin Carroll

Two months ago I told you that the three largest pollutants of the Chesapeake Bay are sediment and excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus).

Last month I explained that the majority of these pollutants ended up there via surface transportation caused by stormwater runoff and talked about ways homeowners could help reduce this.

This month I am going to talk about ways that everyone can become more watershed friendly regardless of where they live.  I have taken these tips from WatershedFriendlyPA.org which has many other ideas as well.

First I will talk about reducing contaminants in wastewater.  Sewage plants are marvels of technology but there are many things that they are not equipped to process.  Here are some of the most common ways you can help out:

• Proper storage and disposal of unused cleaning products, medicines, pesticides, old paint, etc.
• Use non-toxic cleaning products in moderate amounts.
• Putting grease and cooking oil down your sink is hard on your kitchen drain, your pipes, sewage pipes, and sewage plants.  At sewage plants, fats are hard to break down and so are mostly skimmed off and sent to landfills.  Why not send it there in the first place and avoid the clogs that they will cause in your kitchen.
• Compost food waste
• Pick up pet waste immediately and dispose of it properly.
• Use a commercial car wash (most car washes filter and reuse their water)
• Next is conserving water.  As we have discussed before, there is a limited amount of freshwater on earth.  Conserving it is important everywhere.
• Reduce water use inside the house by turning off the water while brushing your teeth and limiting shower time.  
• Do not pre-rinse the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher and only run the dishwasher when it is full.

Lastly you can get involved in community-based actions.

• Participate in community tree planting.
• Help plan or install a rain garden or native plant garden in a public space.
• Participate in an organized litter pick-up or pick up trash in your neighborhood on your own.
• Adopt a nearby storm drain and keep it clear of obstructions.

Your Watershed Circle will be trying to spread the word about upcoming events.  If you hear of one, please let us know so that we can help publicize it.  We will be adding these to the congregational announcement email that is sent out each week.

by Eoin Carroll

Last month I told you that the three largest pollutants of the Chesapeake Bay are sediment and excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus).

The majority of these pollutants ended up there via surface transportation caused by stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff is precipitation (rain or snow) that flows across the land.

Undisturbed land can absorb most precipitation and produce almost no runoff.
It can do this by interception (keeping the precipitation from even reaching the ground), evapotranspiration (releasing water from its leaf pores), and by infiltration (allowing the precipitation to permeate into the ground).

Trees can intercept between 2000 gallons (deciduous) and 4000 gallons (conifers) per year per tree.

Infiltration rates

• Trees                                                                            17 inches/hour
  
• Shrubs and meadows                                             6 inches/hour
• Lawns                                                                           1 inch/hour
• Pavement and other impermeable surfaces    0 inches/hour

For stormwater planning purposes, lawns are categorized as impermeable surfaces due to their low rates of infiltration.

As land is developed, rain that falls on roofs, driveways, sidewalks, patios, and lawns runs off the surface rapidly picking up pollutants as it goes.  This can also cause flooding and stream bank erosion.  It also reduces groundwater recharge.

The old way of dealing with stormwater was to collect, channel, and remove the water as quickly as possible.

The new way is to spread it out, slow it down, and infiltrate as much of it as possible.

If you are a homeowner, you can help reduce stormwater runoff by:

• Reducing the amount of impervious areas (for example, reducing the size of your lawn)
  
• Planting native trees, shrubs, and plants
• Using healthy lawn care practices (most importantly minimizing fertilizer and herbicides)
• Installing rain gardens and rain barrels

Penn State Extension has a great guide called The Homeowner’s Guide to Stormwater which is available on their website and from Extension offices. It has lots of information and ideas to help reduce the amount of stormwater runoff from your property.

by Eoin Carroll

Pennsylvania has lots of water.

We have over 86,000 miles of streams (2nd only to Alaska).

While we are certainly not drought-proof, we usually enjoy an adequate amount of precipitation such that we can grow a wide variety of plants.

We have sufficient groundwater such that you can dig a well in most of Pennsylvania and expect to find suitable amounts of water.

When you view the earth from space you see a big blue ball.  This is because 2/3’s of the earth’s surface is covered in water.

So why should we care?

Humans are very dependent on freshwater and there is a great deal less of this.
Only about 3% of the water on earth is freshwater.
2/3’s of this is locked up as ice meaning that we are dependent on 1% of the earth’s water.

As Unitarian Universalists,  our 7th Principle is “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”  We are a community that highly values the environment and are always looking for ways we can help protect and improve it.

Water is the foundation of life. The cleaner the water the healthier the ecosystem.

There is no economical way to create new water, so we must make good use of the water we have.

How we treat our water has a big impact on those downstream of us.

Here at the UU we are in the Abraham’s Creek watershed.  Abraham’s Creek flows through Francis Slocum park and then continues on to connect to the Susquehanna River which flows down to the Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay is an amazing environment rich in natural resources. Unfortunately its health is poor.  Its largest problems are excess sediment and excess nutrients.

The major supplier of freshwater to the bay is the Susquehanna River.  Unsurprisingly, the major problems of the Susquehanna are excess sediment and excess nutrients.

If we want a healthy bay then we need healthy rivers.
If we want healthy rivers then we need healthy streams and creeks.
If we want healthy streams and creeks then we need healthy watersheds.

Our new Watershed Circle has formed to be part of the solution.  In future talks, we will be sharing information on things we can do to improve the health of our watershed.

by Brian Dugas

Once again Northeast Pennsylvania is being targeted by corporations looking to take advantage of its rich natural resources and easy access to enormous markets.

It began with the Anthracite Coal Mines which fueled the industrial revolution, but left a legacy of environmental destruction and societal upheaval that still remains to this day.

Next it was the fossil fuel industry drilling and building pipelines to transport the fracked gas found in the Marcellus Shale field.

Now we have a new industry coming our way that takes advantage of many of the same natural resources, and is able to capitalize on the same infrastructure built for fracking.

Data Centers - I think that most of us are taking advantage of the new AI resources available through Google and other apps. Corporations are working hard to incorporate AI into their businesses as well, replacing the inefficient humans that need things like breaks, medical benefits and vacations. In fact there is significant risk being posed by the unregulated growth of AI, but that is a topic for another day. I put a short Ted Talk on the UUCWV FaceBook page for those of you who are interested in learning more. Please sign up for the Facebook account if you haven’t done that yet. Communication may become a valuable asset in the near future.

Back to data centers - these facilities are needed to house and operate the massive computers required to run the computations required for AI operations. They have enormous energy, water, and land requirements, and there are 6 of them planned for NEPA in the near future.

When I’m talking massive I’m talking a scale unimagined in the past. There is already one of the largest data centers in PA operating at the Berwick Nuclear Power plant, using 25% of the energy that the plant produces. The enormous increase in energy production along with the amount of water that is needed to cool these massive computers is hard to imagine. 5 Million gallons of CLEAN water a day for each facility.

NEPA is famous for its natural resources which will serve this industry well. Water from the Susquehanna and the Delaware Rivers, the close proximity to the Marcellus Shale field, and the pipelines needed to transport the gas needed to produce the energy are already in place. Additionally, there are plenty of wooded areas available to clear in order to build their new facilities. Places that already have data centers report an increase in noise, light, and air pollution, along with an increase in the cost of energy for the other consumers using power.

And this is already in motion in NEPA and across PA, there are numerous videos of contentious community meetings where residents want to learn more, and are actually resisting the construction of these data centers in their communities. It is very important for communities to get ahead of the problem by learning more about what they are doing, and passing ordinances and regulations that restrict and regulate the companies.

And guess who's coming to town? Blackstone - Blackstone plans to invest $25 billion in data centers and energy generation in northeast Pennsylvania. It also plans to partner with Allentown-based PPL Corp. to build natural gas generation plants. PPL Corp. is investing $6.8 billion through 2028 to expand grid capacity in order to support increased power demand from data centers.

If you had an issue with all the pipelines built for Marcellous Shale, they have more in mind. TC Energy announced plans to invest $400 million to modernize its gas pipeline network in Pennsylvania.

The bottom line is that we can allow the industries that have abused NEPA throughout history to do what they want, whenever they want, or we can stand up, organize, and let our voices be heard before it’s too late.

The NEPA Climate Reality group has taken this issue on as one of its primary missions, and there is a growing coalition of environmental organizations across the state getting engaged. Anyone interested in getting involved can speak to me, or contact any of these organizations.

Join us at the next Social Action Committee meeting this Tuesday, at 8:00PM. The Zoom Link is in the announcements.

by Chavah Granovetter

For the 6th consecutive year, indigenous tribal communities in interior Alaska are not permitted to catch King Salmon. A staple in diets and culture. Fishing camps are crumbling to ruin as once again, indigenous cultures are suffering. Subsistence lifestyles will die out in these villages if we do not change our behaviors in the lower 48. Two main causes of the decline of salmon, leading to the restriction against subsistence  fishing: climate change and trawling. While many countries are banning trawling, America is not. Trawling is a type of commercial fishing where large nets are dragged across the ocean floor, or just above it. This destroys the ocean floor and catches everything in its path despite these commercial fisheries targeting specific fish. Their target, pollock.  The cheaper fish used for mass production for  fast food. Long John Silvers, McDonalds, Gorton fish sticks. When we eat trawl caught fish, we are directly taking away from subsistence lifestyle, indigenous tribes.

by Johanna Perez

The monarch butterfly, known for its breathtaking migration across North America, is facing a perilous decline due to habitat loss, climate change, and the destruction of its primary food source—milkweed. This iconic species now faces a dramatic decrease in numbers, signaling an urgent need for action. It is estimated that by 2080, monarch butterflies will be extinct on the west coast, and there is a 50-80% that it will also be extinct on the east coast. Monarch butterflies are pollinators and losing this species could have disastrous consequences on our food crops.

Adding the monarch butterfly to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) would provide critical protections, allowing for the preservation and restoration of the habitats that support their survival. Milkweed, the monarch’s primary host plant, and nectar-rich plants like goldenrod, coneflower, and bee balm are vital to their lifecycle, offering sustenance during their migration. By safeguarding these plants and designating critical habitats, we can help restore monarch populations and protect biodiversity. The monarch’s plight is a call to action: if we protect this beautiful butterfly, we are also protecting countless other species that rely on these ecosystems. Ensuring the monarch’s survival is essential, not only for nature but for the health of our entire environment. Besides planting seeds that benefit the monarch butterfly, please send a comment to the Fish and Wildlife Commission stating that you support protecting the monarch butterfly - it only takes a minute.

Leave your comment supporting the proposed rule at:  https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FWS-R3-ES-2024-0137-0001

Read the text of the proposed rule, Endangered and Threatened Species: Species Status with Section 4(d) Rule for Monarch Butterfly and Designation of Critical Habitat, at: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FWS-R3-ES-2024-0137-0001

by Dave Nichols

I want to use this time to bring our attention back to the subject of Climate change and how we, living in the industrial age, are making the planet hotter. We are making it hotter because we are putting more greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. The best known is carbon dioxide.

Prior to the mid-18th century, before the industrial age, there was some carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which contributed to warming. The average global temperature then was about 59F. A good deal of the warmth that allows life to exist is due to the presence of greenhouse gases. It has been known since the early 1800’s that, absent greenhouse gas, the global temperature would be slightly below zero Fahrenheit. The planet would be lifeless and frozen solid. A certain amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is necessary to trap and then emit some of the planet’s heat loss back to the planet. At the beginning of the industrial age the concentration of carbon dioxide was just under 300 parts per million. Since then, it has been rising at an accelerated rate and is now about 420 parts per million. This increase has supercharged the warming effect. The last time it was this high was 3 million years ago, before humans, when the global temperature was 4.5-7.2 degrees higher than during the pre-industrial period. The sea level was at least 16 feet higher and possibly 82 feet higher at that time. Over the past 1/ 2 million years geologic data has shown that sea level change tracks closely with carbon dioxide concentration.

The current average temperature is about 2.5 degrees above the pre-industrial temperature. The 10 highest average global temperatures in the last 50 years have all occurred in the last decade.

Climate scientists generate theoretical models, and they look back at geologic data to make predictions about the impacts of climate change. Their predictions of rising sea level, extremes in heat, and the disruption of the biosphere present us with challenges that we must address. With advances in terrestrial and satellite sensors we can closely monitor the effects of climate change at a detailed level. Two good sources of information on this topic can be found on the nasa.gov website and a recent book by Lawrence Krauss, The Physics of Climate Change. My focus for future social action minutes will be to discuss not only the dangers of man- made global warming but also ways that it is being addressed and how we can help.

by Chavah Granovetter

Our crumbling infrastructure has led to multiple breaks in the sewer system including at least 8 known leaks of raw sewage into local waterways. Currently, the fish & game commission has recommended not consuming fish out of the Susquehanna River due to high levels of contaminants due to the sewage problem. The sanitation authority has dragged their feet on this issue and has over a six month estimation to replace the broken pipes.