There’s a modern-day gold rush happening in the attempt to dig green-energy rare earth minerals out of the ground. Some believe Wyoming could be America’s answer to China’s lock on the market.
And one of a handful of Wyoming companies in the rush may have hit the mother lode.
American Rare Earths Inc. has its sights on thousands of acres of land near Wheatland, Wyoming. The company disclosed in a technical report on Wednesday that it found 64% more rare earth minerals than it had originally envisioned in a March 2023 assessment of the land.
The newly disclosed figure of 2.34 billion metric tons of rare earth minerals found southwest of Wheatland by American Rare Earths Inc. could dwarf in size the 1.2 million metric ton estimates in northeastern Wyoming that one of its competitors claimed was one of the biggest discoveries in the world.
A metric ton equals about 2,200 pounds while a ton is 2,000 pounds.
“This exceeded our wildest dreams, and we only drilled on about 25% of the property,” said Donald Swartz, CEO of American Rare Earths.
The company is the U.S.-based unit of an Australian-founded exploration company working in Wyoming.
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With a new legislative session underway in Trenton, climate activists are renewing their push to ban New Jersey public worker pension funds from being used to back investments in the fossil-fuel industry.
A measure that would force those managing public-worker pension funds in New Jersey to shed any stakes in the 200 largest publicly traded fossil-fuel companies won strong support from climate activists and other environmentalists Monday during a Senate Environment and Energy Committee hearing.
No formal votes on the legislation were taken during the hearing, but divestment advocates called for increased urgency, echoing concerns that have been raised during recent meetings of the New Jersey State Investment Council, a group that sets policy for the more than $90 billion pension fund.
Feeling the effects of climate change
As proof, the advocates cited ways climate change has begun to impact life in New Jersey on a routine basis, including dangerous flooding from heavy storms and alarming wildfire-induced air-quality alerts.
“It’s a feedback loop, and we’re in it, and there’s a real urgency right now,” said Tina Weishaus, who serves as co-chair of the DivestNJ Coalition.
They also reminded lawmakers that New Jersey has filed a lawsuit in recent years against the fossil fuel industry seeking compensation for damages being caused by climate change.
“What kind of retirement can we expect to provide for our public employees when we are investing in the very companies that are destroying the health of our people, our communities, our economy, our natural resources, and our futures?” Weishaus asked during the hearing.
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The USEPA today finalized a significantly stronger air quality standard to better protect America’s families, workers, and communities from the dangerous and costly health effects of fine particle pollution, also known as soot.
By strengthening the annual health-based national ambient air quality standard for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from a level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 9 micrograms per cubic meter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s updated standard will save lives — preventing up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays, yielding up to $46 billion in net health benefits in 2032. For every $1 spent from this action, there could be as much as $77 in human health benefits in 2032.
Recommendations of the independent advisors comprising the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and CASAC PM expert panel were considered when deciding on whether to strengthen the PM standards.
Based on the scientific evidence, technical information, recommendations from CASAC, and public comments on the 2023 proposed standards, EPA has set two primary standards for PM2.5, which work together to protect public health: the annual standard, which EPA has revised, and a 24-hour standard, which the agency retained. EPA also retained the current primary 24-hour standard for PM10, which protects against coarse particles. EPA is also not changing the secondary (welfare-based) standards for fine particles and coarse particles at this time.
A broad and growing body of science links particle pollution to a range of serious and sometimes deadly illnesses. Many studies show that these microscopic fine particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and that long- and short-term exposure can lead to asthma attacks, missed days of school or work, heart attacks, expensive emergency room visits and premature death.
Due to the efforts that states, Tribes, industry, communities, and EPA have already taken to reduce dangerous pollution in communities across the country, 99% of U.S. counties are projected to meet the more protective standard in 2032, likely the earliest year that states would need to meet the revised standard. That’s even before accounting for additional actions on the horizon to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act investments and to update source-specific emission standards.
EPA is also revising the Air Quality Index to improve public communications about the health risks from PM2.5 exposures.
Some PM is emitted directly from combustion sources, construction sites, industrial processes, and older diesel engines, while other particles are formed in the atmosphere in complex chemical reactions with other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that are emitted from power plants, gasoline and diesel engines, and certain industrial processes. Particle pollution from industrial processes and other sources is controllable, with readily available and cost-effective technologies to manage emissions, and EPA will build on decades of experience in providing flexible options to states and Tribes across the implementation process.
EPA carefully considered extensive public input as it determined the final standards. The agency held a virtual public hearing and received about 700,000 written comments before finalizing today’s updated air quality standards.
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Hurricane Lee, seen by the GOES East weather satellite. Lee rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane in September after it formed over the Atlantic. (RAMMB/CIRA)
By Scott Dance, Washington Post
When meteorologists began using the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale to measure hurricane intensity in the 1970s, a Category 5 storm represented oblivion. Such a cyclone, with sustained winds of at least 157 mph, could flatten any structure of the era, so there was no reason to give the most ferocious tier of hurricanes an upper bound.
But as the planet warms, storms are increasingly surpassing what was once considered extreme, according to research published Monday. Now, two scientists are proposing a new label they say a growing number of storms already merit: Category 6.
“Climate change has demonstrably made the strongest storms stronger,” said Michael Wehner, a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “Introduction of this hypothetical Category 6 would raise awareness of that.”
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The DRBC is sharing information about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) public process, which is now underway, in support of a proposed rule to upgrade water quality standards in the Delaware River Estuary. The rule would update the “designated use” for aquatic life and the water quality “criteria” for minimum dissolved oxygen values applicable to the portion of the tidal Delaware River that flows past Philadelphia, Camden, Chester, and Wilmington.
The publication of this proposed rule represents a milestone in the effort to reach a Delaware River that fully supports aquatic life and is one step in an ongoing process to improve dissolved oxygen levels in the Delaware River Estuary.
The DRBC has been an important part of the process leading up to this proposal and will continue to be involved, working with the EPA, our state environmental agencies and stakeholders to plan for the implementation of revised aquatic life use standards to improve water quality in the Delaware River.
We encourage all stakeholders to learn about the proposed rule and engage in the public process.
Public Hearings
EPA will hold two hearings, each allowing members of the public to offer oral comments of up to 5 minutes. You can register to speak, or simply listen in, at the links below:
EPA requests that individuals in need of special accommodations contact Hannah Lesch at Lesch.Hannah@epa.gov, 202-566-1224, at least three weeks prior to the hearing (by Tuesday, January 16, 2024.)
Written Comments
The comment period is now open, and EPA will accept written public comments on the proposed rule through February 20th, 2024. See regulations.gov (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0222) to learn how to submit written comments.
Questions about the proposed rule or public processes should be directed to the EPA.
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The Minnesota Department of Transportation is testing a solar snow fence near Moorhead. The dual-purpose fence prevents snow from drifting onto a nearby highway while generating electricity from solar panels. Dan Gunderson | MPR News
About the only place to find snow in the Red River Valley this winter is near an obstruction where the incessant winds leave drifts. This part of the state can see 500 hours of windblown snow each winter.
Snow fences play a key role in keeping the blowing snow from clogging highways.
You might have seen snow fences along Interstate 94, or state highways in western Minnesota. Some are simply rows of corn left in a field. Others are structures made of composite materials.
They all have one job: Break the wind so drifting snow piles up before it reaches the highway.
North Dakota State University associate professor Mijia Yang walks through ankle-deep snow to get to a snow fence stretching about a third of a mile along U.S. Highway 10 east of Moorhead.
“This is our solar snow fence,” said Yang, who is leading a research project in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is testing a solar snow fence near Moorhead. North Dakota State University Associate Professor Mijia Yang is leading the research project.
This 100-foot section of fence is dual-purpose. Instead of brown rails made of flexible composite material designed to stop snow, this fence is made of 6-inch-wide solar panels with spaces in between to look and act like a fence.
It’s the first of its kind in the U.S., according to Yang.
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