EnviroPolitics Blog

September 8, 2021 summary of all wildfires burning in California

*The Golden Gate Bridge is barely visible through smoke from wildfires on Wednesday morning, September 9, 2020, in this view from Fort Baker near Sausalito, California*

As of Wednesday morning (9/8/210, nearly 15,000 firefighters are making progress on 14 major wildfires and three extended attack wildfires in California. Yesterday, firefighters responded to 32 new initial attack wildfires across the state, quickly containing them all.

Since the beginning of the year, over 2 million acres have burned across California. While firefighters continue battling the current major wildfires, CAL FIRE and fire departments across the state remain prepared for potentially more significant wildfires due to critical fire weather.

Six of the seven largest wildfires in California history have occurred since 2020, with the Dixie Fire now the 2nd largest wildfire in California history, the Caldor the 15th, and the Monument the 18th. This year’s wildfires have also been destructive with nearly 3,000 structures being destroyed.

Unusually warm and dry conditions will continue for most of Northern California today under the influence of a strong upper-level ridge. Incoming mid-level monsoonal moisture and the breakdown of the upper-level ridge will bring a variety of critical fire weather concerns to Northern California Thursday and Friday.

Peak gusts of 20-30 mph combined with minimum relative humidity in the upper single digits and teens and hot temps will create localized areas of enhanced area fire weather conditions today.

Southern California temperatures will remain above average through Saturday. With moisture ramping back into the region today, minimum humidity will be in the teens and 20’s away from the coastal areas through Friday. Isolated to widely scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms (a mix of wet and dry) will be possible over the mountains and deserts of Southern California today through Friday.

Fires of Interest:

**CAL FIRE Fires**
Bridge Fire, Placer County (more info…)
Northeast of Auburn
*411 acres, 50% contained
*Evacuation warnings have been lifted
*Road closures in the area

**Unified Command Fires**

Caldor Fire, El Dorado County (more info…)
South of Grizzly Flats – El Dorado National Forest
*217,569acres, 50% contained
*15th largest and 17th Most Destructive Wildfire in California history
*Evacuation orders and warnings remain in place
*More than 24,600 structures remain threatened, 996 structures destroyed
*Damage inspection is ongoing
*Repopulation ongoing where safe to do so

Dixie Fire, Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Tehama & Shasta Counties (more info…)
Feather River Canyon
*922,192 acres, 59% contained
*Almost 6,000 structures threatened, 1,282 destroyed
*2nd Largest and 14th Most Destructive Wildfire in California history
*Evacuation orders and warnings in place for multiple communities
*Repopulation ongoing where safe to do so
*Damage assessment is ongoing
*Unified Command CAL FIRE, USFS, BLM, and National Park Service
*CAL FIRE IMT 1 and Great Basin IMT 1 are in command

Click for data on all additional fires

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

September 8, 2021 summary of all wildfires burning in California Read More »

Tracking the future of recycling policy in Congress

Spurred by market challenges, the Hill has seen a historic influx of big bill

By Megan Quinn and Cole Rosengren WasteDive

The proposed legislation could dramatically change the way the U.S. handles recycling in the next few years, whether it’s through infrastructure investments, organics recycling, education, product bans, or bottle bills and extended producer responsibility initiatives.

Don’t miss urbanscapes like this, Click for free updates

Bill to watch	Current status	Sponsors
Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act	Reintroduced March 25; referred to the Senate Committee on Finance	Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.)
CLEAN Future Act	Introduced March 2; multiple committee hearings as recently as June 29	Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.)
COMPOST Act	Introduced July 16; referred to the House Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry Aug. 11	Reps. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH); Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act	Introduced July 9, RECYCLE ACT text added late July. Passed Senate Aug. 10 and sent to House Aug. 16.	Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.)*
Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act	Introduced June 8 and referred to multiple committees; approved by House Committee on Natural Resources July 14	Rep. RaÃºl Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
PAPER Act	Reintroduced April 27; referred to Senate Committee on Finance	Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act	Reintroduced April 22; referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology	Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) and Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okl.)
RECOVER Act	Reintroduced April 5; referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce	Reps. Tony CÃ¡rdenas (D-Calif.) and Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.)
RECYCLE Act	Full text added to INVEST in America Act in July, see entry for more information	Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.)
REDUCE Act	Introduced Aug. 5 and sent to Senate Committee on Finance	Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
Secure E-Waste Export and Recycling Act	Reintroduced May 7; referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs	Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio)
Zero Food Waste Act	Introduced July 16 and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce	Reps. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH); Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Zero Waste Act	Reintroduced March 19 and referred to the House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change March 22	Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)

Tracking the future of recycling policy in Congress Read More »

As fire threatening South Lake Tahoe slows and evacuation orders are lifted, three new wildfires erupt in California

By Kelly McCleary and Alta Spells, CNN

(CNN) Firefighters in California made significant progress against the Caldor Fire over the weekend, allowing for some evacuation orders in the Lake Tahoe region to be downgraded.

But as residents there began to breathe a sigh of relief, three new fires ignited in the state Sunday, according to Cal Fire. Evacuation orders for the city of South Lake Tahoe were downgraded to evacuation warnings, nearly a week after thousands in the resort town clogged roadways when officials told them to get out because flames were racing into the area.

Lighter winds could bring relief to firefighters battling the Caldor Fire as it threatens the Lake Tahoe region Other parts of El Dorado County saw their evacuation orders downgraded to a warning Saturday while other warnings were lifted, according to Cal Fire.

The areas of Fallen Leaf Lake, Christmas Valley, Meyers, and North Upper Truckee remain under an evacuation order.

Across the state border in Nevada, mandatory evacuations in Douglas County were downgraded to precautionary evacuations Saturday, according to an announcement on the county’s website, opening the door for some residents there to return home.

Read the full story here

As fire threatening South Lake Tahoe slows and evacuation orders are lifted, three new wildfires erupt in California Read More »

Methane released legally is still methane

It can happen when energy companies are doing maintenance. It is no less vexing.

Energy Transfer’s Mariner East system is being built to deliver such natural gas liquids as propane from Western Pa. to Marcus Hook. File Photo

By Naureen Malik and Aaron Clark Bloomberg News

Plumes of the super-warming greenhouse gas methane were spotted over the Midwest last month. U.S. pipeline giant Energy Transfer said the releases were triggered by “routine work” on its natural gas infrastructure.

The emissions were likely limited in scope. By one estimate if they lasted an hour they would have roughly the same short-term climate impact as the annual emissions of about 700 cars. A spokesperson for Energy Transfer, which also owns the contentious Mariner East pipeline in Pennsylvania, had no information on the amount released.

However, the releases raise questions about the urgency and ability of operators to respond to the climate crisis, and whether these emissions can be avoided. “During this time routine work was being performed,” the spokesperson said in an email. “All appropriate notifications were made.”

Many global oil and gas operators have said they are committed to reducing the methane intensity of their operations by cutting back on intentional emissions of the greenhouse gas. The industry is under pressure to improve operations to tackle climate change and respond to increasing investor scrutiny on environmental issues. Still, multiple operators continue to justify releases as a part of normal operations.

Halting intentional releases and accidental leaks of methane, the primary component of natural gas, could do more to slow climate change than almost any other single measure. Methane has more than 80 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide over the short term.

Scientists are targeting methane emissions from the oil and gas industry because they offer the biggest potential cuts at the cheapest cost. The U.S. was the world’s second-largest methane emitter last year after Russia, according to an estimate from the International Energy Agency.

Read the full story here

Methane released legally is still methane Read More »

Lancaster Clean Water Partners Update

Clean Water Plan Implementation

Posted by David E. Hess
PA Environment Digest

On August 31, Lancaster Clean Water Partners provided an update on the implementation of the county’s Clean Water Plan. The updated included:

— Overview of East Cocalico Township streambank stabilization and buffer project (photo);

— November 19-20 Lancaster-Lebanon Watershed Forum & Science Symposium

— Invitation to share riparian buffer success stories

Click Here to read the entire update.

For more information on programs, technical and financial assistance, and how you can get involved, visit the Lancaster Clean Water Partners website or follow them on Facebook. Click Here to sign up for regular updates.

PA Chesapeake Bay Plan

For more information on Pennsylvania’s plan, visit DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Office webpage. Click Here to sign up for regular updates.

How Clean Is Your Stream?

DEP’s Interactive Report Viewer allows you to zoom in on your own stream or watershed to find out how clean your stream is or if it has impaired water quality using the latest information in the draft 2020 Water Quality Report.

Don’t miss environmental news like this Click for free updates

Lancaster Clean Water Partners Update Read More »

Methane released legally is still methane

The EF-3 tornado decimated a neighborhood Wednesday in Mullica Hill.

By Payton Guion | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The ominous black cloud was getting closer.

Mark Kobylinksi was rapt, standing on his back deck Wednesday with his camera pointed at the sky.

The tornado roiled in the near distance, spinning behind a thin stand of trees as a patio umbrella whipped in the roaring winds.

“Sounds like a freight train,” Kobylinski said for the camera just after he stepped inside his Gloucester County home.

The twister hit about a minute later.

He rushed into the basement with his dog, taking one last peek just as his windows began to explode. For the next 25 seconds, the destructive storm was no longer merely outside the house. The lights went out as the winds knocked out the power and pitched debris throughout the first floor.

Kobylinski emerged just in time to see the tornado barreling away as he looked through a shattered window near his front door. The EF-3 twister, spawned by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, brought winds of up to 150 mph, the National Weather Service later said. New Jersey had not seen such an intense tornado in decades, according to experts.

The damage was significant. But even more remarkable is this harrowing scene played out not in Kansas, Mississippi, or elsewhere in Tornado Alley, but in Mullica Hill.

Experts can explain why that tornado and at least six others touched down in New Jersey and Pennsylvania during the storm. What they don’t know is whether twisters will become more common in the Garden State due to climate change after a marked increase in them this year.

But some are asking the question.

That said, a warming planet — the effects of which the state saw clearly this week — is unlikely to lead to the expansion of Tornado Alley to include New Jersey, despite the intensity of the Gloucester County twister, experts say.

“At this point, we don’t have enough evidence to say that we are even sure that there will be more or stronger tornadoes in New Jersey, let alone that tornadoes would become as common as they would be in the South or Midwest,” Tony Broccoli, a Rutgers University atmospheric scientist, told NJ Advance Media.

But Broccoli added that the relationship between climate change and tornadoes is “unsettled science.”

Read the full story here

Methane released legally is still methane Read More »

September 8, 2021 summary of all wildfires burning in California

Tracking the future of recycling policy in Congress

As fire threatening South Lake Tahoe slows and evacuation orders are lifted, three new wildfires erupt in California

Methane released legally is still methane

It can happen when energy companies are doing maintenance. It is no less vexing.

Energy Transfer’s Mariner East system is being built to deliver such natural gas liquids as propane from Western Pa. to Marcus Hook. File Photo

Lancaster Clean Water Partners Update

Methane released legally is still methane

The EF-3 tornado decimated a neighborhood Wednesday in Mullica Hill.By Payton Guion | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The EF-3 tornado decimated a neighborhood Wednesday in Mullica Hill.

By Payton Guion | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com