EnviroPolitics Blog

Watch Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier Wipe Out a Juneau Home

This Alaskan glacier holds back billions of gallons of water. Until it doesn’t.

A bus crosses over the Mendenhall River on Aug. 8 in Juneau. Mendenhall Glacier is seen on the horizon. (Christopher S. Miller for The Washington Post)

By Joshua Partlow, Washington Post

JUNEAU, Alaska — On the morning of the flood, Amy Ballard arranged her twins, Brighton and Broderick, on a hummingbird-and-butterflyblanket for their photo. The note between their smiling faces read: “We are 7 months old today.”

It had been a tough year for Ballard, an elementary school teacher and single mom. She spent months on bed rest in Anchorage, followed by weeks for her infants in intensive care. But she was backin her third-floor condo overlooking the Mendenhall River, a tranquil, glacier-fed waterway that coursed through her wooded neighborhood before flowing out to sea.

By the end of that sunny Saturday in early August, Ballard had watched the Mendenhall transform into a terrifying torrent of gray glacial silt that ripped down towering fir trees, devoured dozens of feet of riverbank and washed away neighbors’ homes. That evening, sherecorded the scene from her balcony, her voice almost drowned out by the roar of the water: “This may or may not be the last video I get to take from my porch,” she said.

This torrent of meltwater — normally held back by the giant glacier looming above Juneau — known as a glacial outburst flood, dwarfed any that have occurred since the phenomenon began here a dozen years ago.

The destruction has exposed just how unpredictable these floods can be, as glaciers around the world recede amid warming temperatures. Each year, more than a half-million people visit the Mendenhall Glacier, and scientists have a detailed understanding of how meltwater builds up and then pours out of it.

Read the full story and see home destroyed

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Offshore wind opponents applaud Orsted’s delay announcement

Orsted proposes to build a wind farm 15 miles off the South Jersey coast. This photo shows the turbines for an Orsted project overseas. (Photo credit Orsted)

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI and MADDY VITALE, Downbeach

Opponents of what would be New Jersey’s first offshore wind energy farm are celebrating the announcement that the project will be delayed until 2026, but vowed to keep up their fight until it fails altogether.

After suffering a series of legal and regulatory setbacks in the past year, the opponents are encouraged that they are finally gaining the upper hand in their efforts to block the Danish energy giant Orsted from building the wind farm 15 miles off the coast from Atlantic City to Stone Harbor.

“I think this is a sign that the tide is turning. While this is a positive step, this is not the time to pop the champagne corks,” said Bob Barr, a former Ocean City councilman who now serves on the Cape May County Board of Commissioners, the elected body overseeing county government.

Ocean City and Cape May County officials have been among the most outspoken critics of Orsted’s plan to build 98 towering wind turbines as part of the controversial Ocean Wind 1 project, which some opponents believe will cause irreparable harm to the shore’s economy and environment.

“It is a terrible project, the worst I’ve ever seen. This project has no redeeming qualities at all,” Barr said.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, another high-profile opponent of the Ocean Wind 1 project, broadly criticized Orsted’s plans on several fronts.

Read the full story here

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‘Forever’ contaminant PFAS found in 70% of PA rivers and streams

Water flows down the Wissahickon Creek in view of the Autumn foliage Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

By Zoë Read, WHYY News

Several rivers and creeks around Philadelphia contain the toxic class of chemical PFAS — from the Schuylkill River, to the Wissahickon, Neshaminy, and Valley creeks — according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

PFAS can remain in the bloodstream for years, and the chemicals are linked to serious health problems, including some cancers, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, and developmental delays in children. That has led to numerous lawsuits against companies that make the products, such as DuPont and its successor companies, and 3M.

The USGS tested 161 Pennsylvania rivers and streams for PFAS, and found 76% contained one or more types of the chemical. The highest concentrations of PFAS were found in high-population areas, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The study was a collaboration between the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.

Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are commonly used in products from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam, and can remain in the environment for years. So, experts say detecting PFAS in waterways is not surprising.

However, the USGS report determines the sources of contamination in each waterway. Researchers say that could guide PFAS regulations statewide, and help water providers determine whether they need to monitor PFAS in surface water.

Read the full story here

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Danish energy firm Orsted delays New Jersey wind farm until 2026

By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press

Ørsted, the global wind energy developer, says its first offshore wind farm in New Jersey will be delayed until 2026 due to supply chain issues, higher interest rates and a failure so far to garner enough tax credits from the federal government.

The Danish company revealed the delay during an earnings conference call Wednesday, during which it said it could be forced to write off about $2.3 billion on U.S. projects that are worth less than they had been.

It also said it had considered simply abandoning the Ocean Wind I project off the southern New Jersey coast.

But Ørsted still believes the wind farm, to be built in waters off Atlantic City and Ocean City, will be profitable in the long run.

“As it stands today, we believe the best direction is to continue to invest in these projects,” said David Hardy, an executive vice president and CEO of the company’s North American operations. “It still is the better choice than walking away today.”

The company did not say when in 2026 its Ocean Wind I project will be fully operational, and a spokesperson could not say Thursday what the new timetable is. Previously, Ørsted had said power would be flowing to customers sometime in 2025.

Ørsted has federal approval for the Ocean Wind I project, and has state approval for a second New Jersey project, Ocean Wind II.

However, during Wednesday’s call, the company said it is “reconfiguring” Ocean Wind II and its Skipjack Wind project off the coasts of Maryland and Delaware because they do not currently meet its projected financial standards. It did not give details of what that reconfiguration might entail.

Read the full story here

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Major New Jersey utilities suspend used-appliance recycling program

By Karin Price Mueller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

New Jersey’s largest utility companies have canceled or put their appliance recycling programs on hold after the contractor they were using to pick up the recycled items from homeowners is not operating.

The program, which pays residents up to $50 to recycle old refrigerators, air conditioners and other appliances, has recycled tens of thousands of appliances over the past several years.

It’s unclear whether ARCA Recycling, the Minnesota-based company that did the pickups for PSE&G, JCP&L and other utilities is still operating, but the programs stopped earlier this month. Calls and emails to the company and its officials were not returned.

“The suspension of the program is due to ARCA Recycling, the contractor for the program, unexpectedly ending operations,” said JCP&L spokesman Christopher Hoenig. Information about how many customers are affected was not immediately available.

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Yet another whale washes up on a NJ beach and is euthanized

The pygmy whale was alive when she was stranded, but her prognosis was poor and she had to be euthanized

By Veronica Flesher, Patch Staff, Wed, Aug 30, 2023 at 4:25 pm ET

*A live pygmy sperm whale was discovered stranded on the beach at Seaview Drive in Loveladies on Aug. 29, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) said. (Shutterstock)*

LOVELADIES, NJ — A live pygmy sperm whale was discovered stranded on the beach at Seaview Drive in Loveladies on Aug. 29, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) said.

The whale, a 10-foot 9-inch long adult female weighing more than 800 pounds, was rescued by the MMSC with help from members of the Long Beach Township Beach Patrol.

The whale was rushed to the MMSC Center veterinarian.

“Upon examination, the whale was very lethargic and unresponsive, and had labored breathing,” the MMSC said. “After the medical assessment, it was determined that her prognosis was extremely poor, and she was unlikely to survive.”

The impact of stranding is traumatic on whales and dolphins as their body weight and organs are normally supported by the water surrounding them, according to the MMSC, but when they are stranded their own body weight causes crushing damage to their internal organs.

“The decision was made to humanely euthanize the whale to prevent further suffering,” the MMSC said.

The whale was immediately taken to Animal Health Diagnostic Lab for necropsy, the MMSC said.

“The laboratory will be following NOAA protocols for sampling freshly deceased cetaceans, and preserving samples for analysis of the ears and other organs,” the MMSC said.

Read the full story here

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