Wildfires burn across US west as lightning sets off blaze near Arizona city

A fire burned in a national forest in southern New Mexico.
A fire burned in a national forest in southern New Mexico. Credit…USDA Forest Service, via Associated Press


By The Guardian staff

Dozens of wildfires were burning in hot, dry conditions across the US west, including a blaze touched off by lightning that was moving toward northern Arizona’s largest city.

The mountainous city of Flagstaff was shrouded in smoke on Monday and ash was falling from the sky as a blaze was encroaching on the city. The national forest surrounding Flagstaff announced a full closure set to begin later this week – the first time that has happened since 2006.

Intense heat that has hampered firefighting efforts was expected to moderate in the coming days. But, the National Weather Service (NWS) noted it could bring uncertainty for fire crews. “The humidity and the possibility of some scattered rainfall is a good thing,” said the meteorologist Andrew Taylor. “The lightning is not a good thing.”

In California, firefighters still faced the difficult task of trying to contain a large forest fire in rugged coastal mountains south of Big Sur that forced the evacuation of a Buddhist monastery and nearby campground. The Willow fire has burned more than 2,800 acres since it broke out on Thursday evening. More than 500 firefighters are battling the blaze.

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Arizona is at the highest level of preparedness for wildfires, and new fire starts have required constant shifting of resources. While humans are to blame for an overwhelming majority of the blazes, lightning started the 31-sq mile (80-sq km) blaze west of Sedona that was moving toward Flagstaff.

Some campers were forced to evacuate, and residents of rural areas have been told to prepare to leave on a moment’s notice, said Jon Paxton, a Coconino county sheriff’s spokesperson.

If the fire continues its north-eastern push, hundreds of people in Flagstaff – a college city about two hours north of Phoenix – also could be affected, Paxton said.

Two national forests in northern Arizona have made the rare decision to close completely to visitors starting Wednesday because of concerns they won’t have enough resources to respond to any future wildfires.

“We have limited resources, and we’re tapped right now,” said Brady Smith, a spokesperson for the Coconino national forest, which surrounds Flagstaff.

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Cooking up a greener world in the chem lab

Winners recognized for developing greener products and processes

20210615lnp1-clemson.jpg

Clemson University researchers work on a bio-based polyurethane foam. The research won a 2021 EPA Green Chemistry Challenge Award. Credit: Srikanth Pilla
By Sam Lemonick, Chemical and Engineering News

Five winners of the 2021 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (two of them New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giants) were announced at a virtual ceremony on June 15.

One academic researcher and four companies were honored for work that includes making pharmaceutical molecules more efficiently and safely, finding greener alternatives to chemicals found in consumer products, and creating a material that can absorb nutrient pollution and release it elsewhere as fertilizer.

The EPA’s Michal Freedhoff, principal deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, presented the awards at the Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, which is being held online for the second year in a row.

“Talking about these success stories and finding ways to apply these practices in real-life situations is an investment in our future, ensuring all generations will have access to clean air, water, and land,” Freedhoff says in an email. Over the 25-year history of the awards, winners have collectively reduced the use of hazardous chemicals and solvents by hundreds of millions of pounds, and also reduced water use and air pollution, she says.

Two pharmaceutical companies with headquarters in New Jersey among the awards winners.

Merck & Co., which also won a Green Chemistry Challenge award in 2020, redesigned its process for making gefapixant citrate, a drug to treat chronic coughs. Merck scientists reported reducing both the amount and cost of materials needed to make gefapixant citrate, while increasing the yield by 44%. The researchers also claimed the new flow process is safer than the initial proposed route to the molecule.

Bristol Myers Squibb scientists developed with collaborators a new family of phosphorus reagents that can be used to make oligonucleotides, short DNA or RNA sequences that are being explored as possible new drugs ChemRxiv is a preprint server and the paper has not been peer-reviewed. The company claims the new reagents are safer than traditional alternatives and facilitate reduced solvent and reagent use.

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Oil company cut nearly 2,000 jobs – and reaped $2.1 billion in pandemic benefits

Marathon Petroleum received more tax benefits than any other US oil company while also cutting about 9% of its workforce

Credit: iStock


By Christopher Staudinger for the Louisiana Illuminator and Floodlight

One morning in September, word of layoffs began to spread quickly through Marathon Petroleum’s refinery in the small industrial community of Garyville, Louisiana.

Seven months into the pandemic, workers at the oil refining plant thought they would be spared the fate of their colleagues at other facilities, who had already been jettisoned into a daunting job maket.

“Through the morning, we were seeing people get the phone call and not come back,” said one maintenance engineer, who lost his job after nearly a decade at the facility. “Everybody was on pins and needles waiting for the call.”

Last year, Marathon laid off 1,920 workers across the US despite taking $2.1bn in federal tax benefits meant to cushion the pandemic’s blow to the economy, according to a report from BailoutWatch. The worker interviewed for this story, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of difficulty finding a job, is still unemployed. He and his wife had plans to start a family, which are now on hold. And he is competing with more than 18,000 oil, gas and manufacturing workers in Louisiana who lost jobs last year.

“I’m a born and raised Louisianan. So I’m very much trying to stay in the area,” he said.

Over a year after Congress approved the Cares Act to provide emergency economic relief in response to Covid-19, the oil and gas industry has emerged as a major recipient of stimulus funds, despite heavy job cuts. Marathon Petroleum received more tax benefits under the legislation than any other US oil company, according to BailoutWatch, while also cutting about 9% of its workforce, including 45 Garyville workers.

The company spent millions lobbying in Washington, including on specific Cares Act provisions. Marathon is also defending local government tax breaks it receives as part of a controversial Louisiana subsidy program and meant to create jobs. According to SEC filings examined by BailoutWatch, Marathon came to receive roughly $1.1m in federal dollars for every job the company eliminated.

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California is cooking

BBC News – California declares state of emergency amid heatwave

Tourists take pictures with a thermometer at the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center at Death Valley National Park in California (Getty Image)

An excessive heat warning is in place for much of Arizona and California, and southern areas of Nevada and Utah.

People are being told to stay in air-conditioned areas and out of the sun.

Californians have also been urged to conserve energy during peak times, as temperatures are expected to remain between 100-110F (37-43C) until Sunday.

Governor Gavin Newsom said the state of emergency, which is in effect until 23:59 on Saturday (06:59 GMT on Sunday), was to “reduce the strain on the energy infrastructure and increase energy capacity”.

The California Independent System Operator, which controls most of the state’s power grid, asked people to set thermostats to 78F (25C) or higher, avoid using major appliances and unnecessary lights.

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250+ homes in Bergen, Hudson County, NJ to be Powered by Community Solar

Solar Landscape

From a Solar Landscape news release

Solar Landscape, one of New Jersey’s leading solar developers, has announced one of its first-year community solar projects is energized and delivering clean energy to Bergen and Hudson County residents. The project, located on Catherine Road in Teterboro, is generating more than 1.9-kilowatt hours of electricity annually, powering 260 homes and preventing more than 1,300 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the local atmosphere every year.

The company also announced the completion of construction on three additional projects located in North Bergen, Wood Ridge and Edison. All of the projects are part of Year 1 of the NJBPU’s Community Solar Pilot Program, which is administered by New Jersey’s Clean Energy ProgramTM. Collectively, across all four projects, 51% of the electricity generated will be sold to low- and moderate-income households.

“It is great to see the Governor’s Energy Master Plan already making a meaningful impact in North Jersey,” said Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli. “Community solar will bring environmental justice to marginalized communities and cleaner air and lower utility costs to NJ residents. We support statewide clean energy initiatives as we continue on the path to 100% renewable energy by 2050.”

Community solar projects give all residents the chance to participate in the benefits of clean solar energy without the need for solar panels on their rooftops. Residents enroll online and the solar power from a large, local solar project is delivered to their homes.

Enrollment is open to renters and property owners with no cost to join, no long-term contracts and guaranteed cost savings. In addition to developing the projects, Solar Landscape is working with non-profit organizations and community leaders to educate residents about the benefits of community solar.

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