Thursday, May 6, 2021

Making the connections -- fracking/pipelines/plastics and health/environment/climate/human rights.

[This is an open letter to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald;  please click here to sign on as an individual or organization -- whether or not you are in Allegheny County.]


Pennsylvania and adjacent states have long been a sacrifice zone for fossil energy extraction — oil, coal, and natural gas — and now we are being asked, with your backing, to sacrifice our health and environment for the production of plastics, as well.  Where will this end?  


You have stated that “We believe in science around here.  However, while claiming to be climate-aware, you have done little to address the climate crisis, and you’ve been a longtime cheerleader for fracking and petrochemical development in our region.  The science is mounting to demonstrate how damaging these industries are to human health, local economies, and the climate.  With the industry spreading through our region, the time is right to change your stance.  


Now that the science is clear — details below — we ask that you issue a statement withdrawing your support for the fracking and petrochemical industries;  that you endorse the new PA bills HB1353/SB645, HB1354/SB644, and HB1355/HB646 to close the hazardous waste loophole;  and when relevant County legislation comes before you (like the ban on fracking in County parks now in Council), that you stand on the side of public health and a sustainable economy with your decision.  These are among the facts you can marshall to protect the citizens you have sworn to represent:
  • The International Energy Agency has determined that in order to preserve a livable climate, there can be no further investment in fossil energy extraction.  The Shell ethane cracker will emit half as much CO2 as the city of Pittsburgh, so just this one plant will undo our laudable climate goals.  And with thousands of new gas wells needed to provide ethane for the plant in the coming years, even more climate-disrupting carbon dioxide and methane will be emitted elsewhere —  meaning more heat waves, cold snaps, and big storms.  In addition to all the present and future impacts of climate change itself, most air pollution is directly linked to fossil fuels.  A recent study out of Harvard  found that 1 in 5 early deaths worldwide are due to ultrafine particle pollution from fossil fuel combustion.  That’s 8 million people a year — of which about 300,000 are people in the U.S. who die prematurely from fossil fuel pollution every year — half as many as we’ve lost to COVID over the past 14 months, but this is year after year after year!
  • Shell’s plant in nearby Beaver County will also emit up to 500 tons of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) each year, and 30 tons of hazardous air pollutants, including known carcinogens like benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde.  About one in five Pennsylvanians die of cancer, and Allegheny County is already in the top 2% for cancer risk across the nation due to hazardous air pollutants.    Similarly, Beaver County residents, living even closer to the plant, are beginning to realize what they’re in for.  
  • What is this all for?  The plant will produce up to 1.6 million tons per year of polyethylene pellets called “nurdles” — much of which will become wasteful single-use plastics.  This will escalate the global plastics crisis — by 2050 there will likely be more plastic in the oceans than fish!  Long-lasting plastics break up into smaller pieces easily mistaken for food, and harm life all the way up the food chain.  Microplastics have been found in every Pennsylvania waterway tested in a recent survey,  in drinking water around the world, and even in our bodies.

At least four more ethane cracker plants are under consideration as the industry seeks to turn the tri-state region of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio into a huge petrochemical hub.  The region where this industry has held sway for decades, in Louisiana, is known as Cancer Alley!  Is this what we want for the Ohio River Valley?  Is it what any leader wants for a legacy?  We are urging you to do all you can to help in the transition to clean renewable energy and away from single-use plastics.  


The undersigned individuals and community groups ask you, Mr. Fitzgerald, to detail your response to the intertwined pollution, climate, and plastics crises — and to publicly withdraw your support from the fracking and petrochemical development of our region.  


(Signatures are shown on the presentation page.)


[click here to sign on as an individual or organization.]


References: 

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/01/21/senator-ted-cruz-paris-climate-accord-pittsburgh/

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/fossil-fuel-air-pollution-responsible-for-1-in-5-deaths-worldwide/

https://www.momscleanairforce.org/ethane-cracker-plants/

https://www.ehn.org/cancer-in-pittsburgh-pollution-hampers-prevention-progress-2628074364.html

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2013/11/21/Report-Allegheny-County-in-top-2-percent-in-U-S-for-cancer-risk-from-air-pollution/stories/201311210326

https://www.heinz.org/UserFiles/Library/PRETA_HAPS.pdf

https://breatheproject.org/patrolling-our-air/

https://www.desmog.com/2018/09/12/pipeline-exploded-pennsylvania-part-sprint-build-fracking-reliant-petrochemical-corridor/

https://www.ehn.org/here-are-the-25-zones-along-the-proposed-shell-falcon-pipeline-at-risk-of-explosions-due-to-landslides-2604629860.html  

https://www.fractracker.org/2021/04/2021-pipeline-incidents-update-safety-record-not-improving/

https://www.fractracker.org/2021/03/shells-falcon-pipeline-under-investigation-for-serious-public-safety-threats/

https://triblive.com/local/regional/im-just-so-angry-residents-welcome-grand-jury-report-slamming-pa-oversight-of-fracking-industry/

https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/press-releases/43rd-statewide-grand-jury-finds-pennsylvania-failed-to-protect-citizens-during-fracking-boom/

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374103118

https://www.ehn.org/fractured-series-on-fracking-pollution-2650624600.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972035765X

https://www.ehn.org/health-impacts-of-fracking-2634432607.html

https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2020/fracking-chemical-may-interfere-with-male-sex-hormone-receptor

https://www.psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/too-dirty-too-dangerous.pdf

https://concernedhealthny.org

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988321001286

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/ungsetbacks/

https://www.foei.org/news/these-eight-scandals-prove-shells-long-history-of-contempt-for-people-and-planet

https://www.fairplanet.org/dossier/eco-crimes-shell-and-the-niger-delta/

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/toxic-oil-found-half-million-dollar-california-homes/story?id=10647662

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/north-sea-oil-rigs-concrete-legs-oil-sediment-shell-decommissioning-a7567956.html

https://www.ecowatch.com/shell-oil-spill-dumps-nearly-90-000-gallons-of-crude-into-gulf-1891130324.html

http://priceofoil.org/2020/10/08/stretching-back-a-decade-shell-is-once-again-brought-to-court-over-landmark-pollution-case/

https://en.milieudefensie.nl/news/after-12-years-the-oil-pollution-lawsuit-against-shell-in-nigeria-is-almost-over

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/29/961997652/shell-ordered-to-compensate-nigerian-farmers-affected-by-oil-spills

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56041189

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/oil-gas-fracking-radioactive-investigation-937389/

https://time.com/4186250/ocean-plastic-fish/

https://pennenvironment.org/news/pae/new-report-microplastics-found-100-percent-tested-pennsylvania-waterways

https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/microplastics-in-drinking-water/en/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2020/08/18/microplastics-found-in-human-organs-for-the-first-time

https://11bup83sxdss1xze1i3lpol4-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/The-Economic-Climate-Fiscal-Power-and-Demographic-Impact-of-a-National-Fee-and-Dividend-Carbon-Tax-5.25.18.pdf

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pennsylvanias-fossil-fuel-industry-received-37-billion-in-tax-breaks-in-2019-says-report/Content?oid=18993877

http://www.greenchoices.cornell.edu/publications/

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/report-shows-natural-gas-fracking-didnt-produce-promised-jobs-to-pa-and-appalachia/Content?oid=18902088

https://newrepublic.com/article/161937/fossil-fuel-companies-job-killers

https://ieefa.org/ieefa-report-financial-risks-loom-for-shells-pennsylvania-petrochemical-complex/

https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2014/12/fracking_brought_spikes_in_vio.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X21000214  

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/04/navajo-nation-fracking

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/11/plastics-appalachia-next-cancer-alley-fracking-public-health-ethane


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8 comments:

  1. The health impacts from fracking affect people both close to and far away from frack sites. Hazardous chemicals produced by the fracking operation, transport, storage, and accidents are in the air and water. They cause overweight in people and animals. They also cause cancers, lung disease, infertility, and other health threats. For the sake of all your constituents, Mr. County Executive, pay attention to this excellent letter and take its advice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There is no way to frack or dispose of fracking waste that is safe for human health. Take the advice of this letter.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have better choices for a prosperous, sustainable future for Western PA and the entire Ohio River Valley evident in the specific plans of ReImagine Appalachia Blueprint, the THRIVE Agenda, and the Marshall Plan for Middle America. Extending the fossil extractive industries for another generation deflects investment and resources from activities that build better communities.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It has become increasingly evident that climate change will have a negative impact on our future unless we act as soon and as much as possible. Fracking moves us in the exact opposite direction from where we need to go. We also need to use less plastics, especially single use stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It has become increasingly evident that climate change will have a negative impact on our future unless we act as soon and as much as possible. Fracking moves us in the exact opposite direction from where we need to go. We also need to use less plastics, especially single use stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It has become increasingly evident that climate change will have a negative impact on our future unless we act as soon and as much as possible. Fracking moves us in the exact opposite direction from where we need to go. We also need to use less plastics, especially single use stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's time to stop putting money over matter. The quality of life in our area has to start meaning more than short-term economic gain. Please give the content of this letter some much needed attention!

    ReplyDelete
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