nationalobserver--2020-07-24--'Covert genocide': Province gets a 'D' on suicide prevention

The walk is in protest of the province 's failure to adopt an Opposition bill to address suicide prevention by Cumberland NDP MLA Doyle Vermette this spring .
Métis fiddler Tristen Durocher has passed the halfway mark on his walk from La Ronge to Regina to press for a legislated suicide prevention strategy .
He intends to fast in front of the legislature building until something is done about it .
Durocher is putting together a collection of 200 photos from families who have lost loved ones to suicide that he plans to exhibit at a park in front of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a person by suicide is felt not only by family and friends , but by the entire community .
We want to assure the public that suicide prevention is a priority for the government of Saskatchewan , ” government spokesperson Matthew Glover told Canada ’ s National Observer .
“ It ’ s a violation of their fiduciary responsibility to the residents of this province to provide mental health services , ” Durocher said .
Durocher called the province “ criminally negligent ” for not working on a legislative solution to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saskatchewan had the highest suicide rate among the provinces as of 2018 , which Hicks said is the most recent nationally comparable data .
“ The government of the province with the highest rate of suicide in the country becomes the first province in Canadian history to vote down a totally polite , sane motion calling for serious action on suicide prevention .
That ’ s something , ” Hicks told Canada ’ s National Observer in an interview Monday .
Jack Hicks , an adjunct professor of community health and epidemiology at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Saskatchewan , was highly critical of the province 's move to reject the bill .
But Durocher and others remain unconvinced .
“ It ’ s not a legislated document and there ’ s no accountability for following through on any of those vague suggestions ...
It does not inspire a lot of confidence and neither does Warren Kaeding , '' Durocher said .
“ This plan will guide activities specific to suicide prevention based on Saskatchewan ’ s context .
It was informed by careful consideration of approaches across the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Rural and Remote Health minister Warren Kaeding said the government 's action plan released in May would address those issues .
“ There was one family that sent me a photo of a boy , and then four days later wrote me to say , ‘ We didn ’ t think that we ’ d be sending you another photo ( of another death ) so soon , but this is our niece , and we lost her yesterday.
’ That to me made this epidemic real , beyond statistics on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the five pillars of the plan align with those set out by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and include specialized supports .
“ Released on May 8 , Pillars for Life : The Saskatchewan Suicide Prevention Plan is our plan to address suicide prevention .
Pillars for Life was created to guide suicide prevention initiatives and activities specific to the cultural and social landscape of Saskatchewan , ” Glover said .
“ If it was a class assignment , I would give it a 'D ' , ” Hicks said of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Glover said the plan calls for specific engagement with First Nations and Métis leadership as the work progresses .
“ Ensuring a community-driven approach honours the fact that each community is unique and the solutions they present will produce meaningful change , ” he said .
Hicks worked with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations ( FSIN ) to produce the first provincial suicide prevention plan for Indigenous people in Canada .
He also worked on the Inuit suicide prevention strategy and the Nunavut strategy .
“ The situation in northern Saskatchewan is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done about it is not complicated , ” Hicks said , adding the path to a solution has already been laid out for the provincial government in FSIN ’ s strategy .
“ I think Tristen Durocher is absolutely right in his characterization of the provincial strategy .
“ I almost hate to use the word strategy because it barely lives up to the term.
” Hicks said the federal government ’ s approach hasn ’ t been much more successful than Saskatchewan ’ s and gave it a C-minus , noting Canada @ @ @ @ @ @ @ developed countries in the world with no national suicide prevention legislation.
” He said suicide by Indigenous people is ghettoized in Canada on both provincial and federal levels .
“ They should reflect on the pain that has driven ( Durocher ) to do this , they should pick up the FSIN strategy and read it .
They should call FSIN and the Métis Nation and sit down and rethink this in a spirit of full partnership , recognizing this is a largely preventable public health issue , ” Hicks said .
Glover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ representatives of the FSIN and Métis Nation–Saskatchewan to discuss Pillars for Life .
“ We are appreciative of the work that went into the development of the Saskatchewan First Nations Suicide Prevention Strategy and look forward to working with Health Canada and First Nation communities to find solutions to address suicide in communities across the province , ” Glover said .
Hicks also noted that while death by suicide disproportionately impacts northern and Indigenous communities , it was a spike in non-Indigenous suicide that pushed Saskatchewan ’ s rates above those of Manitoba @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meili joined Durocher on his walk in Prince Albert and Saskatoon and said he ’ s ready to work with the Saskatchewan Party government to pass legislation .
He said the government could pass legislation “ any time , ” but doesn ’ t because it does not care about northerners .
“ There ’ s no question it ’ s politically motivated .
They wanted this to go away .
They introduced a plan that is not a plan .
It ’ s not a recognized suicide prevention strategy ...
It will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Premier Scott Moe addressed the issue in the legislature in June and called Pillars of Life “ the very first steps ... on a journey that we need to travel… together as individuals in communities right across this province.
” Hicks said that in jurisdictions where suicide prevention plans have worked , such as the province of Quebec , it ’ s because it has been a bipartisan issue .
But he said that ’ s not the case in Saskatchewan .
Meili said he worries the rejection of the bill was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because the government feels helping northerners and First Nations people is unpopular with its supporters .
“ This is not a frivolous ask .
This is an ask to save lives , and it ’ s worth them listening to.
” Hicks said he does n't think the province is deliberately hurting northerners .
“ I think they ’ re averse to spending money on Indigenous social realities that differ from the mainstream approaches… ” Glover said that in 2020-21 , the government is investing a record $ 435 million in mental health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Durocher is also calling for Kaeding ’ s resignation .
Glover said Kaeding has offered to meet with him .
Durocher confirmed this , but said he declined to meet privately .
“ That ’ s not how ... northern Indigenous people do things .
We work together .
We are together trying to keep our communities on literal life support , ” Durocher said .
“ When we ’ re speaking to one of the premier authorities on rural and remote health , it shouldn ’ t just be me speaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s focused on getting to Regina , and he hopes the premier will meet with him once he is there .
“ I would speak to Scott Moe because when I give some statistics to him , and when I articulate some realities that I ’ ve lived through ... the funerals I ’ ve been to since I was a child , I want to see if he has a look of shame .
I ’ d really like to know where his heart is.
” “ Our government is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can make improvements to the challenges of mental health and suicide , ” Glover said .
If you are or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts , help is available at all hours .
Support can be found at the Canada Suicide Prevention Service website .
If you are in immediate danger , you can call 911 .
You can learn more about suicide prevention in the province at Saskatchewan.ca .

“It’s a violation of their fiduciary responsibility to the residents of this province to provide mental health services,” Durocher said.
Durocher called the province “criminally negligent” for not working on a legislative solution to a problem that “should be bipartisan.”
The walk is in protest of the province's failure to adopt an Opposition bill to address suicide prevention by Cumberland NDP MLA Doyle Vermette this spring.
Métis fiddler Tristen Durocher has passed the halfway mark on his walk from La Ronge to Regina to press for a legislated suicide prevention strategy. He intends to fast in front of the legislature building until something is done about it.
Durocher is putting together a collection of 200 photos from families who have lost loved ones to suicide that he plans to exhibit at a park in front of the legislature.
“The tragic loss of a person by suicide is felt not only by family and friends, but by the entire community. We want to assure the public that suicide prevention is a priority for the government of Saskatchewan,” government spokesperson Matthew Glover told Canada’s National Observer.
But Durocher and others remain unconvinced. “It’s not a legislated document and there’s no accountability for following through on any of those vague suggestions... It does not inspire a lot of confidence and neither does Warren Kaeding," Durocher said.
“This plan will guide activities specific to suicide prevention based on Saskatchewan’s context. It was informed by careful consideration of approaches across the country and international best practice,” Kaeding said.
Rural and Remote Health minister Warren Kaeding said the government's action plan released in May would address those issues.
“There was one family that sent me a photo of a boy, and then four days later wrote me to say, ‘We didn’t think that we’d be sending you another photo (of another death) so soon, but this is our niece, and we lost her yesterday.’ That to me made this epidemic real, beyond statistics on deaths,” Durocher said.
Saskatchewan had the highest suicide rate among the provinces as of 2018, which Hicks said is the most recent nationally comparable data .
“The government of the province with the highest rate of suicide in the country becomes the first province in Canadian history to vote down a totally polite, sane motion calling for serious action on suicide prevention. That’s something,” Hicks told Canada’s National Observer in an interview Monday.
Jack Hicks , an adjunct professor of community health and epidemiology at the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, was highly critical of the province's move to reject the bill.
The procession crossing Sid Buckwold Bridge in downtown Saskatoon on July 17. Photo submitted by Brandon White/Local Journalism Initiative/MBC Radio.
“If it was a class assignment, I would give it a 'D',” Hicks said of Saskatchewan’s suicide prevention plan.
“Released on May 8, Pillars for Life: The Saskatchewan Suicide Prevention Plan is our plan to address suicide prevention. Pillars for Life was created to guide suicide prevention initiatives and activities specific to the cultural and social landscape of Saskatchewan,” Glover said.
Glover said the five pillars of the plan align with those set out by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and include specialized supports.
Glover said the plan calls for specific engagement with First Nations and Métis leadership as the work progresses.
“Ensuring a community-driven approach honours the fact that each community is unique and the solutions they present will produce meaningful change,” he said.
Pillars for Life: The Saskatchewan Suicide Prevention Plan, takes a collaborative approach to suicide prevention to reduce risk factors in the province. The Opposition says it doesn't go far enough. Graphic source: Saskatchewan Government.
Hicks worked with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) to produce the first provincial suicide prevention plan for Indigenous people in Canada. He also worked on the Inuit suicide prevention strategy and the Nunavut strategy.
“The situation in northern Saskatchewan is not complicated and what needs to be done about it is not complicated,” Hicks said, adding the path to a solution has already been laid out for the provincial government in FSIN’s strategy.
“I think Tristen Durocher is absolutely right in his characterization of the provincial strategy.
“I almost hate to use the word strategy because it barely lives up to the term.”
Tristen Durocher smudges Cumberland MLA Doyle Vermette, who tabled the suicide prevention bill at the Saskatchewan legislature. Photo by Michael Bramadat-Willcock.
Hicks said the federal government’s approach hasn’t been much more successful than Saskatchewan’s and gave it a C-minus, noting Canada and the Netherlands are “the two only developed countries in the world with no national suicide prevention strategy.”
He said suicide by Indigenous people is ghettoized in Canada on both provincial and federal levels.
“They should reflect on the pain that has driven (Durocher) to do this, they should pick up the FSIN strategy and read it. They should call FSIN and the Métis Nation and sit down and rethink this in a spirit of full partnership, recognizing this is a largely preventable public health issue,” Hicks said.
Glover said that the province has met with representatives of the FSIN and Métis Nation–Saskatchewan to discuss Pillars for Life.
“We are appreciative of the work that went into the development of the Saskatchewan First Nations Suicide Prevention Strategy and look forward to working with Health Canada and First Nation communities to find solutions to address suicide in communities across the province,” Glover said.
Hicks also noted that while death by suicide disproportionately impacts northern and Indigenous communities, it was a spike in non-Indigenous suicide that pushed Saskatchewan’s rates above those of Manitoba in 2018.
Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili joined Durocher on his walk in Prince Albert and Saskatoon and said he’s ready to work with the Saskatchewan Party government to pass legislation. He said the government could pass legislation “any time,” but doesn’t because it does not care about northerners.
Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili joins Tristen Durocher's march as it approaches Saskatoon via Hwy. 11 on July 17. Photo submitted by Brandon White/Local Journalism Initiative/MBC Radio.
“There’s no question it’s politically motivated. They wanted this to go away. They introduced a plan that is not a plan. It’s not a recognized suicide prevention strategy... It will not save lives,” Meili said.
Premier Scott Moe addressed the issue in the legislature in June and called Pillars of Life “the very first steps... on a journey that we need to travel… together as individuals in communities right across this province.”
Hicks said that in jurisdictions where suicide prevention plans have worked, such as the province of Quebec, it’s because it has been a bipartisan issue. But he said that’s not the case in Saskatchewan.
Meili said he worries the rejection of the bill was “more of a cynical move” because the government feels helping northerners and First Nations people is unpopular with its supporters.
“This is not a frivolous ask. This is an ask to save lives, and it’s worth them listening to.”
Hicks said he doesn't think the province is deliberately hurting northerners.
“I think they’re averse to spending money on Indigenous social realities that differ from the mainstream approaches… ”
Construction workers working on the Sid Buckwold Bridge in Saskatoon look on as the procession advances up the ramp to the bridge on July 17. Photo submitted by Brandon White/Local Journalism Initiative/MBC Radio.
Glover said that in 2020-21, the government is investing a record $435 million in mental health and addictions services and supports across Saskatchewan.
Durocher is also calling for Kaeding’s resignation. Glover said Kaeding has offered to meet with him. Durocher confirmed this, but said he declined to meet privately.
“That’s not how... northern Indigenous people do things. We work together. We are together trying to keep our communities on literal life support,” Durocher said.
“When we’re speaking to one of the premier authorities on rural and remote health, it shouldn’t just be me speaking on behalf of everybody.”
Durocher said he’s focused on getting to Regina, and he hopes the premier will meet with him once he is there.
Premier Scott Moe addressed the suicide prevention bill put forward by Cumberland NDP MLA Doyle Vermette and thanked him for championing the issue. Photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Government.
“I would speak to Scott Moe because when I give some statistics to him, and when I articulate some realities that I’ve lived through... the funerals I’ve been to since I was a child, I want to see if he has a look of shame. I’d really like to know where his heart is.”
Glover reiterated the government’s willingness to talk.
“Our government is always open to conversations about how we can make improvements to the challenges of mental health and suicide,” Glover said.
Michael Bramadat-Willcock/Local Journalism Initiative/Canada's National Observer
If you are or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, help is available at all hours. Support can be found at the Canada Suicide Prevention Service website. If you are in immediate danger, you can call 911.
You can learn more about suicide prevention in the province at Saskatchewan.ca.


nationalobserver--2020-07-27--Ontario Liberals say $3.2B needed to reopen schools safely

Ontario 's Liberals sought to get a jump on the governing Progressive Conservatives with the unveiling on Monday of a mock budget for what they say needs to be done to get students back to classes full time in September .
The Liberals ' total pandemic-specific budget is for $ 3.2 billion , with the largest chunk of it going toward the hiring of elementary teachers and caretakers to keep class sizes low and schools clean and sanitized , the party said .
The move puts a dollar figure on plans that are central to the province ’ s gradual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or rising transmission rates tied to their reopening could force a return to quarantine on parents who may have themselves just started working again .
When Lecce said in May that schools would remain closed for the rest of the school year , he said the province would announce reopening plans for the fall by the end of June .
However , the government changed its tune last month and put the onus on boards to figure out reopening , asking them to come up with plans for full-day classes , fully-remote learning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Liberals said their plan is fully costed , while also noting the expanded budget is a one-time deal for now since a vaccine “ may likely be available ” in time for the 2021/22 school year .
The @ OntLiberal say they would spend $ 3.2 billion to ensure the safe return to school in September , naming a dollar figure before @ fordnation and @ sflecce make their own spending announcement The plan says that hiring 15,000 elementary teachers would enable a reduction in class sizes to 15 , as per guidance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a cost of $ 1.3 billion .
Hiring 2,000 more secondary teachers would cost $ 170 million , it said , and 1,500 more special education professionals would add $ 120 million .
$ 500 million would bring in 10,000 caretakers to keep sites clean .
The Liberal plan also says 14,000 new classrooms could be created in community centres , campuses and even arenas for $ 200 million .

Ontario's Liberals sought to get a jump on the governing Progressive Conservatives with the unveiling on Monday of a mock budget for what they say needs to be done to get students back to classes full time in September.
The Liberals' total pandemic-specific budget is for $3.2 billion, with the largest chunk of it going toward the hiring of elementary teachers and caretakers to keep class sizes low and schools clean and sanitized, the party said.
The move puts a dollar figure on plans that are central to the province’s gradual economic reopening; any outbreaks in schools or rising transmission rates tied to their reopening could force a return to quarantine on parents who may have themselves just started working again.
The Ford government has faced staunch criticism from parents, teachers, teachers’ unions and even some school boards for its handling of the return to learning due in early September.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce is expected to unveil the government’s spending plan this week.


nationalobserver--2020-07-27--COVID-19 making it harder for couples seeking divorce

As the COVID-19 pandemic makes it harder for couples seeking a divorce to appear before a court , some family lawyers in Ontario say there may be more incentive for people to turn to alternative methods such as mediation .
Court operations , including divorce and other family matters , were largely put on hold in mid-March , with only emergency cases being heard .
In-person court appearances began to gradually resume earlier this month , and more matters are also being heard remotely , but experts say a backlog of cases will cause further delays for ongoing and new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some family lawyers in the province say the demand for such services has not diminished during the pandemic — and some report it appears to have increased .
In Ottawa , a group of family lawyers launched the Virtual Family Law Project to help provide remote alternatives to the court system , such as mediation or arbitration by videoconference , during the health crisis .
• HAPPENING NOW EVEN IN CANADA : 'It 's embarrassing being American' • Are the Wet'suwet'en on the brink of destruction ?
I went to find out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawyers behind the project , says he hopes more people will consider these avenues even after the courts return to full operations .
`` The court process is fundamentally necessary , particularly for the higher conflict situations , '' such as those involving domestic violence , Yemensky said .
`` But for very many people , the court system is overkill .
And mediation , collaborative family law , arbitration on specific issues can be far more effective .
But it takes one element , and that element is that the parties want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreements reached through mediation or a combination of mediation and arbitration are enforceable by the courts , and decisions made by an arbitrator are binding , Yemensky said .
`` All of these things can be done ... in a virtual process where it 's appropriate , '' he said .
In cases where it 's a good fit , private resolution is likely to become more appealing in light of the court backlog , said Diana Isaac , a family lawyer and partner with the Toronto firm Shulman & Partners .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couples seeking a divorce to appear before a court , some family lawyers in Ontario say there may be more incentive for people to turn to alternative methods such as mediation .
`` There 's every incentive for someone to say , 'Can we get this done quicker , can we get this done more cost-effectively , with less of an emotional toll , ' '' she said .
`` It is something that 's very attractive to clients . ''
Going to court can be more expensive than mediation , and more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imposed rather than reaching a mutually acceptable agreement , she said .
The pandemic has already created difficult conditions that contribute to stress and test many relationships , said Isaac , whose firm has seen a 40 per cent surge in inquiries related to separation during the crisis .
Most of those people have then moved ahead with the process , she said .
Having both spouses at home around the clock and possibly working there `` acts as a catalyst for situations which were on the cusp of separation , or there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` But you also get these newfound , ' I did n't know that we would never get along until we were confined in this space , ' so you get a mixture , '' she said .
`` But I do n't think these conditions are making it easier for anyone . ''
Russell Alexander , whose family law firm has offices in several cities including Toronto and Oshawa , said the province 's efforts to modernize the justice system during the pandemic will help when it comes to tackling the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's probably going to be 18 months to two years before it returns to anything close to normal . ''
Still , people will continue to be able to get divorces , said Alexander , whose upcoming book on divorce includes a chapter on the impact of COVID-19 on the process .
`` We 're still processing divorces and we 're still going through the process , we 're just doing it in a different way , '' he said .
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 26 @ @ @

As the COVID-19 pandemic makes it harder for couples seeking a divorce to appear before a court, some family lawyers in Ontario say there may be more incentive for people to turn to alternative methods such as mediation. Court operations, including divorce and other family matters, were largely put on hold in mid-March, with only emergency cases being heard. In-person court appearances began to gradually resume earlier this month, and more matters are also being heard remotely, but experts say a backlog of cases will cause further delays for ongoing and new divorce proceedings. At the same time, some family lawyers in the province say the demand for such services has not diminished during the pandemic — and some report it appears to have increased. In Ottawa, a group of family lawyers launched the Virtual Family Law Project to help provide remote alternatives to the court system, such as mediation or arbitration by videoconference, during the health crisis.
Gerald Yemensky, one of the lawyers behind the project, says he hopes more people will consider these avenues even after the courts return to full operations. "The court process is fundamentally necessary, particularly for the higher conflict situations," such as those involving domestic violence, Yemensky said. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions "But for very many people, the court system is overkill. And mediation, collaborative family law, arbitration on specific issues can be far more effective. But it takes one element, and that element is that the parties want to resolve these issues."
Separation agreements reached through mediation or a combination of mediation and arbitration are enforceable by the courts, and decisions made by an arbitrator are binding, Yemensky said. As the COVID-19 pandemic makes it harder for couples seeking a divorce to appear before a court, some family lawyers in Ontario say there may be more incentive for people to turn to alternative methods such as mediation. "All of these things can be done ... in a virtual process where it's appropriate," he said. In cases where it's a good fit, private resolution is likely to become more appealing in light of the court backlog, said Diana Isaac, a family lawyer and partner with the Toronto firm Shulman & Partners. "There's every incentive for someone to say, 'Can we get this done quicker, can we get this done more cost-effectively, with less of an emotional toll,'" she said. "It is something that's very attractive to clients." Going to court can be more expensive than mediation, and more stressful, given that a decision is imposed rather than reaching a mutually acceptable agreement, she said.
The pandemic has already created difficult conditions that contribute to stress and test many relationships, said Isaac, whose firm has seen a 40 per cent surge in inquiries related to separation during the crisis. Most of those people have then moved ahead with the process, she said. Having both spouses at home around the clock and possibly working there "acts as a catalyst for situations which were on the cusp of separation, or there was resentment pre-COVID," she said. "But you also get these newfound, 'I didn't know that we would never get along until we were confined in this space,' so you get a mixture," she said. "But I don't think these conditions are making it easier for anyone."


nationalobserver--2020-07-27--They spent millions to protect polluters. Then they got busted by the FBI.

This story was originally published by Mother Jones and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration A year ago , the Ohio legislature rammed through a law to save four unprofitable nuclear and coal-fired power plants from retirement , while it rolled back energy efficiency and renewable targets and passed on the $ 1.3 billion cost to customers .
Opponents of the HB6 law , which included an unlikely alliance of environmentalists and the natural gas industry , began to organize a referendum to repeal it , saying it amounted to a corporate bailout for the utility player @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and bizarre counter-campaign launched by a set of mysterious actors that didn ’ t disclose their donors , all singularly focused on preventing the referendum from gathering enough signatures before its deadline .
One single-issue group began running ads with false claims that the Chinese government had orchestrated the referendum .
Another group , Generation Now , hired the Democratic firm Fieldworks to deploy “ petition blockers ” who stood near signature gatherers and tried to discourage people from signing the referendum .
At one point there was a physical confrontation between a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and police responded .
When corporations do their work right , they can prevent an initiative from ever reaching a vote—without the public even realizing it could have been a choice .
By October , it was clear the referendum failed to gather enough signatures , and the debate over the corporate bailout seemed settled—until Tuesday , when federal agents arrested the main architect of the law , Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder , for a racketeering conspiracy .
The FBI charged that Householder , his aide , a former Ohio GOP chairman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a “ conspiracy to participate , directly or indirectly , in the conduct of an enterprise ’ s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity.
” The 82-page complaint outlines an enterprise that steered $ 61 million into campaign contributions to ensure Republicans gained control of the House , bribes , and shadowy groups all to pass and protect the controversial bailout .
• HAPPENING NOW EVEN IN CANADA : 'It 's embarrassing being American' • Are the Wet'suwet'en on the brink of destruction ?
I went to find out .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that drove this conspiracy .
They are only Company A , B , and C , because of other ongoing investigations .
But the identity of Company A , the primary actor that spent $ 60 million , is obvious enough for US Attorney David DeVillers to say , “ Everyone in this room knows who ‘ Company A ’ is , ” in a press conference .
It is FirstEnergy , the utility in the state that was the primary benefactor of the law .
The charges describe some especially egregious examples @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Householder ’ s Florida home and campaign financing for 21 Republican candidates .
More importantly , we get a rare glimpse of how easy it is for corporations to subvert democracy simply by throwing tons of money at blocking ballot initiatives .
When they do their work right , they can prevent an initiative from ever reaching a vote—without the public even realizing it could have been a choice .
Most of the $ 60 million from Company A did not go to bribes or to get the bill through the House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Generation Now—which , because it ’ s a 501 ( c ) ( 4 ) , doesn ’ t have to disclose its donors .
That group , the same one that orchestrated the counter-campaign to block the referendum from gathering enough signatures , used a fascinating tactic : There are only so many companies specialized in ballot signature-collecting in the country , and Generation Now bought out 15 of them so the referendum ’ s organizers couldn ’ t find any top-tier firms to work for them .
The complaint says : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by hiring signature collection firms in an effort to conflict them from working for the Ballot Campaign.
” Neil Clark , Householder ’ s staffer , “ advised his clients that if they would retain as many of the signature collection firms as possible , then those firms could not work for their opposition , which would decrease the likelihood that the referendum would collect the requisite number oof signatures for a ballot initiative.
” In one meeting the FBI recorded , he wired $ 450,000 to a firm repeating he had “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The money really went to staging a coup of the Ohio state government , ” says David Pomerantz , executive director of the utilities watchdog Energy and Policy Institute .
That ’ s only one example of how hard utilities fight to block environmental initiatives at the ballot .
In 2018 , Arizona Public Service funded a campaign for town administrators to pass resolutions against Prop 127 , which would have required APS generate half of its electricity from renewables .
And in 2016 , Florida Power and Light spearheaded a confusing ballot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would promote solar power—but really hindered the spread of rooftop solar .
“ These tactics are fairly typical of what we see monopoly utilities do around the country , ” he says .
They have “ limitless money and a captive customer base that has no choice but to pay what regulators say they have to pay every month.
” The strange Ohio case offers juicy details on how corporations block environmental campaigns .
Ohio ’ s FirstEnergy bailout was so unpopular that in one part of the complaint , Householder ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Polling shows the more we explain it , the worse it does.
” The federal case means an unusual spotlight on common bad-faith tactics .
And now there might be some justice : Many of the original backers of the law , including Ohio Gov .
Mike DeWine ( R ) , who signed it last year , reversed course this week and called for its repeal .

This story was originally published by Mother Jones and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration A year ago, the Ohio legislature rammed through a law to save four unprofitable nuclear and coal-fired power plants from retirement, while it rolled back energy efficiency and renewable targets and passed on the $1.3 billion cost to customers. Opponents of the HB6 law, which included an unlikely alliance of environmentalists and the natural gas industry, began to organize a referendum to repeal it, saying it amounted to a corporate bailout for the utility player FirstEnergy. What ensued was an aggressive and bizarre counter-campaign launched by a set of mysterious actors that didn’t disclose their donors, all singularly focused on preventing the referendum from gathering enough signatures before its deadline. One single-issue group began running ads with false claims that the Chinese government had orchestrated the referendum. Another group, Generation Now, hired the Democratic firm Fieldworks to deploy “petition blockers” who stood near signature gatherers and tried to discourage people from signing the referendum. At one point there was a physical confrontation between a referendum staffer and a petition blocker, and police responded. When corporations do their work right, they can prevent an initiative from ever reaching a vote—without the public even realizing it could have been a choice. By October, it was clear the referendum failed to gather enough signatures, and the debate over the corporate bailout seemed settled—until Tuesday, when federal agents arrested the main architect of the law, Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, for a racketeering conspiracy. The FBI charged that Householder, his aide, a former Ohio GOP chairman, two lobbyists, and Generation Now of a “conspiracy to participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of an enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity.” The 82-page complaint outlines an enterprise that steered $61 million into campaign contributions to ensure Republicans gained control of the House, bribes, and shadowy groups all to pass and protect the controversial bailout.
The complaint never mentions by name the companies that drove this conspiracy. They are only Company A, B, and C, because of other ongoing investigations. But the identity of Company A, the primary actor that spent $60 million, is obvious enough for US Attorney David DeVillers to say, “Everyone in this room knows who ‘Company A’ is,” in a press conference. It is FirstEnergy, the utility in the state that was the primary benefactor of the law. The charges describe some especially egregious examples of quid-pro-quo politics, like a payoff for Householder’s Florida home and campaign financing for 21 Republican candidates. More importantly, we get a rare glimpse of how easy it is for corporations to subvert democracy simply by throwing tons of money at blocking ballot initiatives. When they do their work right, they can prevent an initiative from ever reaching a vote—without the public even realizing it could have been a choice. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions Most of the $60 million from Company A did not go to bribes or to get the bill through the House and Senate, but was routed through Generation Now—which, because it’s a 501(c)(4), doesn’t have to disclose its donors. That group, the same one that orchestrated the counter-campaign to block the referendum from gathering enough signatures, used a fascinating tactic: There are only so many companies specialized in ballot signature-collecting in the country, and Generation Now bought out 15 of them so the referendum’s organizers couldn’t find any top-tier firms to work for them.


nationalobserver--2020-07-27--The future of beef might be in this gene edited calf

This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration In April , a little black calf with dabs of white on his back hooves was born .
It was the first time Joey Owen , a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California , Davis , had ever seen a cow give birth , and he watched in wonder as the calf , Cosmo , stood up and took its first steps on wobbly legs .
Owen had spent the better part of five years working toward this moment , refining the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eggs , fertilized them to create zygotes , and injected genome editing reagents into these one-cell embryos .
One of those zygotes became Cosmo .
On Thursday , Owen , along with , Alison Van Eenennaam , an animal geneticist at U.C .
Davis , and a team of seven other scientists , revealed Cosmo ’ s existence .
It ’ s the first time anyone has produced a bull-calf that could sire 75 percent male calves — rather than the normal 50 percent .
It could also be a win for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ produce the same amount of beef .
Bulls have fewer methane belches per hamburger patty .
They simply grow more efficiently , requiring less water , less feed , and less land than females to bulk up .
“ They are more like a Prius than a Hummer , ” Van Eenennaam said .
This comes at a time when the livestock industry is searching for ways to fix up its image as a climate villain .
Burger King recently tried to do some brand PR with a yodeling kid acknowledging the problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ techniques .
And big companies are partnering with environmentalists to keep forests from turning into pastureland ( with mixed results ) .
But the biggest value in creating Cosmo might be in the breakthrough he represents in the field of gene editing .
• HAPPENING NOW EVEN IN CANADA : 'It 's embarrassing being American' • Are the Wet'suwet'en on the brink of destruction ?
I went to find out .
Back in 2015 , Van Eenennaam asked Owen if he wanted to try his hand at genome editing a bull so all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one had ever done anything like this before , and Owen said he figured the chances of success were slim to none .
“ OK , ” he said , “ let ’ s do it.
” Van Eenennaam planned to take a gene that initiates the development of male physiology from the Y chromosome and add it to the X chromosome .
( Reminder : male is XY ; female is XX ) That way , even genetically female cows with two X chromosomes should develop as males .
The scientists chose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t seem chockablock with important genes , one where they might add a gene without messing anything up .
It appeared to be a blank spot on the map of the bovine genome .
But it was only blank because it was unexplored : As soon as Owen edited this spot , the embryos died .
After a lot more hard work and experimentation , the scientists discovered the techniques necessary to add a gene to a cow zygote , which might be the most revolutionary element of this research , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much better knowledge of hot to add genes to protect animals from getting all sorts of gruesome diseases .
“ This opens up the possibility of tackling a lot of issues related to livestock , ” he said .
It will also help scientists understand what happens when gene editing gets a little messy .
After Cosmo was born , Van Eenennaam took some of the calf ’ s blood so that he could look closely at the spot where the new gene had entered the DNA .
It was in just the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ copy of the gene , there were seven .
There was also a bit of DNA wedged in there , left over from the genetic delivery mechanism the scientists had used .
These scrambled genes may conjure images of monstrous mutants , but it ’ s likely they won ’ t cause problems .
Gene duplication and mixing happens all the time during normal reproduction .
And Cosmo seems , well , strong as a bull .
Still , the fact that the genes are untidy could mean that the early vision of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tool were overly optimistic .
Van Eenennaam said that a major thrust of the research was meant to identify and fix potential problems like this .
That ’ s why the U.S. Department of Agriculture paid for the research as part of its biotechnology risk assessment program .
She only hopes that she can keep tinkering to fix these issues .
“ You get a result and say ‘ Hmm , well , that ’ s not what we wanted , but I think we can learn from this and try a different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ That ’ s science !
If any little unexpected thing shuts down the entire field of investigation forever onwards we wouldn ’ t get anything done.
” Get the science nailed down , and then there ’ s regulation and public opinion to contend with , which are likely more imposing barriers than the gene editing .
A lot of things will have to fall into place before gene-edited cattle roam the range , let alone the butcher counter .
As for Cosmo , no one is allowed to eat him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not a steak .

This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration In April, a little black calf with dabs of white on his back hooves was born. It was the first time Joey Owen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, had ever seen a cow give birth, and he watched in wonder as the calf, Cosmo, stood up and took its first steps on wobbly legs. Owen had spent the better part of five years working toward this moment, refining the process of gene editing as he collected eggs, fertilized them to create zygotes, and injected genome editing reagents into these one-cell embryos. One of those zygotes became Cosmo. “It was surreal,” Owen said. On Thursday, Owen, along with, Alison Van Eenennaam, an animal geneticist at U.C. Davis, and a team of seven other scientists, revealed Cosmo’s existence. It’s the first time anyone has produced a bull-calf that could sire 75 percent male calves — rather than the normal 50 percent. It could also be a win for the environment, with fewer cattle needed to produce the same amount of beef. Bulls have fewer methane belches per hamburger patty. They simply grow more efficiently, requiring less water, less feed, and less land than females to bulk up. “They are more like a Prius than a Hummer,” Van Eenennaam said. This comes at a time when the livestock industry is searching for ways to fix up its image as a climate villain. Burger King recently tried to do some brand PR with a yodeling kid acknowledging the problem. Ranchers are investigating more climate-friendly management techniques. And big companies are partnering with environmentalists to keep forests from turning into pastureland (with mixed results). But the biggest value in creating Cosmo might be in the breakthrough he represents in the field of gene editing.
Back in 2015, Van Eenennaam asked Owen if he wanted to try his hand at genome editing a bull so all its offspring grew like males. No one had ever done anything like this before, and Owen said he figured the chances of success were slim to none. “OK,” he said, “let’s do it.” Van Eenennaam planned to take a gene that initiates the development of male physiology from the Y chromosome and add it to the X chromosome. (Reminder: male is XY; female is XX) That way, even genetically female cows with two X chromosomes should develop as males. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions The scientists chose a location on the X chromosome that didn’t seem chockablock with important genes, one where they might add a gene without messing anything up. It appeared to be a blank spot on the map of the bovine genome. But it was only blank because it was unexplored: As soon as Owen edited this spot, the embryos died.
After a lot more hard work and experimentation, the scientists discovered the techniques necessary to add a gene to a cow zygote, which might be the most revolutionary element of this research, Owen said. Now other scientists have much better knowledge of hot to add genes to protect animals from getting all sorts of gruesome diseases. Meet Cosmo, a gene-edited calf taking on climate change. “This opens up the possibility of tackling a lot of issues related to livestock,” he said. It will also help scientists understand what happens when gene editing gets a little messy. After Cosmo was born, Van Eenennaam took some of the calf’s blood so that he could look closely at the spot where the new gene had entered the DNA. It was in just the right place, but instead of one copy of the gene, there were seven. There was also a bit of DNA wedged in there, left over from the genetic delivery mechanism the scientists had used. These scrambled genes may conjure images of monstrous mutants, but it’s likely they won’t cause problems. Gene duplication and mixing happens all the time during normal reproduction. And Cosmo seems, well, strong as a bull. “He’s a really cute calf,” Van Eenennaam said.
Still, the fact that the genes are untidy could mean that the early vision of gene editing as an easy, typo-free tool were overly optimistic. Van Eenennaam said that a major thrust of the research was meant to identify and fix potential problems like this. That’s why the U.S. Department of Agriculture paid for the research as part of its biotechnology risk assessment program. She only hopes that she can keep tinkering to fix these issues. “You get a result and say ‘Hmm, well, that’s not what we wanted, but I think we can learn from this and try a different approach,’” Van Eenennaam said. “That’s science! If any little unexpected thing shuts down the entire field of investigation forever onwards we wouldn’t get anything done.” Get the science nailed down, and then there’s regulation and public opinion to contend with, which are likely more imposing barriers than the gene editing. A lot of things will have to fall into place before gene-edited cattle roam the range, let alone the butcher counter.


The burning issue

When you voyage down Ironbound ’ s Doremus Avenue , you immediately notice the heavy concentration of industrial facilities , warehouses , and travelling freight trucks within the roughly 10-mile stretch that residents call the “ chemical corridor.
” Hop on traffic-choked Interstate 95 nearby , and you might glimpse a large garbage incinerator emanating a thick patch of smoke , a sewage treatment plant that has historically led to chemical spills , the Newark International Airport , and the Port of Newark , one of the largest shipping ports in the country .
Before the COVID-19 pandemic , Maria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her community in Newark , New Jersey , which is known as Ironbound .
She calls the neighborhood a “ sacrifice zone ” because its residents of color are disproportionately clustered in close proximity to a series of industrial facilities and polluting infrastructure .
For years , Ironbound residents have endured the disquieting prevalence of asthma and cancer among their friends and neighbors , and they can not help but connect that fact to the unpleasant odors and thick smog carried by the air they breathe .
The bill takes aim at “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is “ the way the state issues permits as if they don ’ t take into consideration the vulnerabilities that exist ” in a given area , said Lopez-Nuñez , who is also the deputy director of the Ironbound Community Corporation ( ICC ) , a Newark-based nonprofit that works on multiple issues including environmental justice and housing , a few weeks before Murphy endorsed the bill .
Newark and Camden both contain census tracts that would qualify as “ overburdened ” under the new law — and so do more than 300 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Roughly half of New Jersey ’ s 8.9 million total residents live in one of these communities , Murphy said during a news conference last month .
The bill requires the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection ( DEP ) to make and maintain a list of all overburdened communities across the state .
The legislation defines an “ overburdened community ” as any census tract with at least half of households qualifying as low-income under federal guidelines , or at least 40 percent identifying as Black , Hispanic or Latino , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When applying for a permit , an industrial applicant would need to prepare a thorough report evaluating the “ cumulative impacts ” that the facility would have on the overburdened community , which means also assessing the area ’ s preexisting exposure to environmental health risks .
The DEP would then ensure that the report was publicized prior to a public hearing .
After assessing both the report and testimonies made at the public hearing , the DEP would make a decision to approve or deny permits based on whether or not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ burden to the community .
Activists in Newark and Camden say that the state of New Jersey is finally taking seriously the public health risks that they have raised the alarm about for decades .
On Monday , the New Jersey state Assembly ’ s Environment and Solid Waste Committee approved an environmental justice bill intended to protect these areas from further harm by essentially blocking any new industrial facility or expansion in pollution-burdened communities like those in Camden and Newark .
Governor Phil Murphy took the unusual step of endorsing the legislation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approval of the bill last month .
The bill is soon expected to get the approval of the full state Assembly and become law after receiving Murphy ’ s signature .
This is despite considerable opposition from the state ’ s business lobby : Ray Cantor , vice president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association , told NJ Spotlight that the bill will drive manufacturing from the state .
On the opposite end of New Jersey from Newark ’ s Essex County , Camden — one of the nation ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — faces similar environmental threats .
Essex and Camden counties have the highest rates of asthma hospitalizations and asthma-related emergency room visits in the entire state .
In Camden County , one in three children is diagnosed with asthma ; one in four children suffers from asthma in the city of Newark .
The state ’ s asthma mortality rates overall are three times higher for Black and Latino residents , who are disproportionately exposed to the polluting industry in these cities .
It was roughly the fifth time Covanta Essex released pink @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Last October , one particularly robust purple plume prompted ICC , represented by the nonprofit Earthjustice and the Vermont Law School Environmental Advocacy Clinic , to write a letter to the state DEP and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal , demanding that they reanalyze Covanta ’ s previous air permit violations and investigate the purple plumes coming out of its incinerator .
Though Covanta has a history of violating the Clean Air Act , the DEP has consistently granted its permit renewals .
In April , as the COVID-19 pandemic reached full swing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ along Interstate 95 caught sight of thick purple plumes of smoke coming out of the waste incinerator ’ s smoke stack .
The new vibrant coloring alarmed Ironbound residents , given that the smoke usually appeared in unremarkable black and white .
The Covanta Essex incinerator , built in Newark in 1990 , burns nearly 3,000 tons of trash each day .
Most of the garbage comes from New York City and other parts of Essex County outside of Newark , but the Ironbound community bears the brunt of its pollution .
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facility emits the highest amount of lead of any municipal solid waste incinerator in the country , with over 600 pounds of lead reported in 2014 .
A study published by the New School ’ s Tishman Environment and Design Center last year found that roughly 8 out of 10 waste incinerators in the U.S. are located in low-income communities of color .
Approximately 4.4 million Americans live within a 3-mile radius of an incinerator .
These facilities , which exist due to a shortage of space for landfills , emit toxic chemicals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particulate matter , sulfur dioxide , nitrous oxide , and carbon monoxide — all of which pose health hazards to nearby communities .
But the decades of pollution experienced by large parts of Newark , Camden , and many other Garden State communities will take far more than a single bill to rectify .
While the bill prevents the addition of new acute pollution sources in overburdened communities , it does little to address massive sources of legacy pollution that produce ongoing harms .
The mammoth waste incinerators operated by the international energy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are a case in point .
Industrial facilities that stand to be turned away from overburdened communities under the new bill include landfills , power plants , sewage treatment plants , waste transfer stations , recycling and solid waste facilities , garbage incinerators , and other major sources of air pollution under the Clean Air Act .
“ The way our laws are written are catered towards the industry to make sure they ’ re not being unfairly denied , ” she told Grist .
“ But it doesn ’ t consider years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ puts specific people — Black and brown working-class people — next to industry.
” Covanta told Grist that the company has been engaging in ongoing discussions with the DEP since they first noticed the purple-tinted smoke and has launched a mitigation system that would help identify iodine-tainted materials to prevent the release of purple plumes again .
Medical researchers as well as a New Jersey Department of Health fact sheet say that exposure to the burning of iodine can lead to lung irritation and kidney and liver damage .
The purple plume incidents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the facility is also one of the largest emitters of particulate matter in the city .
( The latest incident occurred during the same week the Harvard School of Public Health released a study suggesting a link between particulate matter pollution and severe COVID-19 outcomes . )
After the October incident , Covanta reported that they tracked the source of the purple plumes to the unintentional burning of iodine that got into their trash pile , likely from photography or print studios and other manufacturing sites .
But iodine is also found in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facility was burning unregulated medical waste in addition to its normal load of municipal solid waste .
Nevertheless , the company deemed the plumes low-risk and encouraged residents not to worry .
“ The combustion of [ iodine ] , because it was such small concentrations , was not dangerous to the people living or working in that area , ” James Regan , Covanta ’ s director of communications , told Grist .
He denied that the facility ever processed medical waste .
“ The facility does not process regulated medical waste @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that waste stream is collected separately , processed separately at different facilities .
We obviously don ’ t want these events .
We ’ ve done everything we can to get to the bottom of why this happened.
” Earthjustice attorney Jonathan Smith , who has been working with ICC since 2018 , said that the incinerator has a record of violating air permits over the years .
He also said that Covanta needs “ to have a better inspection of what ’ s getting thrown ” into the incinerator .
Earthjustice has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prevent issues such as the purple plume emissions from happening again .
Though the latest incident happened in April , Smith said that the DEP has not shared any new information about a proposed prevention plan .
“ These purple plumes are conspicuous permit violations , but there ’ s all sorts of other permit violations going on that aren ’ t pink or purple , and not readily seen by people in Newark , ” Smith told Grist .
“ We want to make sure the state adequately fines Covanta for all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ makes sure it doesn ’ t happen again , and has Covanta change its practices so that it ’ s actually aware of what is thrown into their incinerators.
” Waste incinerators , like fossil fuel companies , have tried to rebrand themselves in the last two decades as producers of renewable energy .
Covanta promotes itself as a source for sustainable and renewable energy through its waste-to-energy process , in which waste is burned , and the heat from incinerations creates steam , which then generates electricity .
Both the Newark and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But local activists say that this process won ’ t put a dent in the pollution that the incinerators pump into their communities .
“ Burning trash is toxic , regardless of what you say , ” Lopez-Nuñez said .
“ As a person who lives in the community who struggles with a respiratory illness myself , it ’ s unacceptable that this is the way we deal with trash .
There are other options and different alternatives that won ’ t make our community a dumping ground.
” Ana Baptista , associate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center at the New School and co-author of the incinerator study , says that converting waste to energy is actually one of the worst ways to generate electricity out of all fuel sources , because it involves the unsustainable practice of burning plastic and other inorganic materials , which then produces high levels of persistent pollution such as fine particulate matter .
“ As incinerators age , they create more pollution , more financial burden , and ultimately they ’ re really bad for any kind of real and more sustainable waste management @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There ’ s no incentive [ for incinerators ] to recycle , or to reduce waste , or to compost or divert waste from waste streams , if [ they ] are locked into contracts that require volume to keep their business profitable.
” Regan , the Covanta spokesperson , told Grist that the company is aware that waste incinerators are unwelcome in these communities , and that it understands its contributions to the cities ’ environmental burdens .
However , he argued that the incinerators are “ very small contributors to local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as vehicles on highways .
He also said that the company supports the state ’ s new environmental justice bill and is also taking its own measures to prioritize environmental justice , pointing out that it launched a community outreach and environmental justice policy in 2011 .
“ The policy extends our overall EJ commitment to involving local citizens in major permit activities that we may be considering in a given community at a given point in time , ” Regan said .
“ To our knowledge , we are still one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. that not only maintains an EJ policy but has continued to actively participate and report on improvements for net environmental benefit in our communities.
” Baptista told Grist that the best alternative to transition away from dependence on waste incinerators is through structural change , starting with zero-waste proposals .
States and municipalities , she said , need to make funding recycling , composting , and waste diversion programs a priority , so that the demand for incinerators is diminished .
“ If you reduce your waste brought to the Covanta incinerator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent , the company will no longer be profitable , ” Baptista said .
“ So if New York City actually adopted a zero-waste plan and started sending 100 less trucks a week to the facility , they may not be able to operate any longer .
That ’ s the key alternative — really shifting towards composting , recycling and reuse , and creating more jobs and economic opportunities.
” Longtime Camden resident and activist Christoff Lindsey , 59 , remembers when the international environmental organization Greenpeace came to his hometown in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protest the city ’ s waste incinerator .
Lindsey said that a Greenpeace activist climbed up to the top of the incinerator ’ s smokestack and dropped a massive banner showing the group ’ s name .
“ I knew about Greenpeace at the time , but I couldn ’ t believe they came to Camden , ” Lindsey told Grist .
“ I was both impressed and also alarmed , like : ‘ Oh hell , what is going on in there ?
’ If this is on Greenpeace ’ s radar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had an impact on me.
” The incinerator began its waste management operations in 1991 .
Covanta acquired the facility in 2013 despite a rallying cry from environmental advocates to shutter the facility .
Covanta Camden now burns approximately 1,050 tons of solid waste each day .
Unlike the Newark facility , the Camden facility has not even yet installed a baghouse , a pollution-control device that filters particulate matter and reduces overall emissions .
Covanta ( and its emissions ) aren ’ t leaving Camden anytime soon .
In fact , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s infrastructure .
In May , the Camden City Council approved a study of the feasibility of a microgrid to be located in the Waterfront South neighborhood .
Microgrids are miniature , renewable-powered networks that act as backups for the primary electricity grid , in the event of a major power outage , like that which occurred during Superstorm Sandy .
The only caveat is that this microgrid would be powered by the Covanta Camden incinerator .
Local activists allege that community input was not sought prior to the vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote , they launched a petition to prevent the city from moving forward with policies that would “ extend the life of this dirty trash incinerator.
” So far , the proposed microgrid is still moving forward , though it will be subject to another city council vote .
Some residents say that city officials promised them community benefits such as the installation of a baghouse and residential utility cost reductions if the microgrid plan was approved .
But Kathryn Cruz , environmental justice coordinator with the nonprofit Center for Environmental Transformation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promises .
The utility cost reduction is limited to businesses rather than residents , and the installation of a baghouse is not a requirement tied to the microgrid .
“ What was proposed as this really sustainable , innovative , never-been-done microgrid idea has changed into something very different that seems to benefit Covanta over benefiting the community , ” Cruz told Grist .
“ Rather than being concerned about the impact they are having on the community , Covanta is looking at it financially , and it looks like they stand to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this microgrid — because not only would it look good for them , but it would also be a source of income for them.
” Regan , Covanta ’ s spokesperson , told Grist that plans to install a baghouse were already underway before the microgrid idea , and that it ’ s one of the projects the company is committed to executing by 2023 .
He added that a microgrid is “ a no-brainer ” that will allow the city to maintain power during events like Superstorm Sandy .
Regan also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting the feasibility study for the microgrid passed by the city council , saying that they were just “ as surprised as others to hear the vote ” results .
Environmental advocates say that these are the kind of systemic environmental injustice issues that New Jersey ’ s new climate initiatives and policies need to address head-on .
The state still has a long way to go , but it ’ s taking steps toward a more sustainable and equitable path .
In addition to the state ’ s environmental justice bill , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fiordaliso vowed last month to establish an Office of Clean Energy Equity that would handle projects like the microgrid plan , a promise that was included in a bill introduced by Senator Troy Singleton — an ally of the Ironbound community — that ’ s already making its way to the Senate floor .
The bill would help low-income New Jerseyans afford clean energy improvements such as solar panels .
But without a broader , region-wide sustainability plan that eliminates the waste that keeps Camden and Newark ’ s incinerators humming , acute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ persist .
For now , residents like Lopez-Nuñez and Lindsey are focused on reimagining what a sustainable and equitable planet could look like — starting with their community gardens .
Lopez-Nuñez said that every pound of food waste they put in the compost bin , rather than the waste incinerator , feels like a step closer to a just transition away from polluting industry .
Lindsey , an urban gardener himself , continues to tend to his garden , growing eggplants , multiple varieties of tomatoes , cucumbers , and more .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family — and our goal is to feed people , ” Lindsey said .
“ We could probably commoditize or make profit later , but no one needs to go hungry .
My mother and grandmother remember picking cotton in the south , so it ’ s in my DNA.
” “ We need to remain connected to the ground , because truthfully , land is wealth , ” he added .
“ Pollution takes away that opportunity.
” *Correction : This article originally paraphrased a 2019 New School study stating that Covanta @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are among the top 12 largest U.S. emitters of fine particulate matter , lead , mercury , and nitrogen oxides .
In fact , the study indicates that , among all U.S. incinerators , both facilities were among the top 12 largest emitters of lead and particulate matter , but not mercury and nitrogen oxides , according to 2014 Environmental Protection Agency data .
Due to an editing error , the article also originally stated that Covanta publicly identifies both facilities as recycling plants .
The text has been amended to remove this @ @

Activists in Newark and Camden say that the state of New Jersey is finally taking seriously the public health risks that they have raised the alarm about for decades. On Monday, the New Jersey state Assembly’s Environment and Solid Waste Committee approved an environmental justice bill intended to protect these areas from further harm by essentially blocking any new industrial facility or expansion in pollution-burdened communities like those in Camden and Newark. Governor Phil Murphy took the unusual step of endorsing the legislation even before the state Senate’s approval of the bill last month. The bill is soon expected to get the approval of the full state Assembly and become law after receiving Murphy’s signature. This is despite considerable opposition from the state’s business lobby: Ray Cantor, vice president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, told NJ Spotlight that the bill will drive manufacturing from the state.
On the opposite end of New Jersey from Newark’s Essex County, Camden — one of the nation’s poorest cities and a predominantly Black community — faces similar environmental threats. Essex and Camden counties have the highest rates of asthma hospitalizations and asthma-related emergency room visits in the entire state. In Camden County, one in three children is diagnosed with asthma; one in four children suffers from asthma in the city of Newark. The state’s asthma mortality rates overall are three times higher for Black and Latino residents, who are disproportionately exposed to the polluting industry in these cities.
When you voyage down Ironbound’s Doremus Avenue, you immediately notice the heavy concentration of industrial facilities, warehouses, and travelling freight trucks within the roughly 10-mile stretch that residents call the “chemical corridor.” Hop on traffic-choked Interstate 95 nearby, and you might glimpse a large garbage incinerator emanating a thick patch of smoke, a sewage treatment plant that has historically led to chemical spills, the Newark International Airport, and the Port of Newark, one of the largest shipping ports in the country.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Maria Lopez-Nuñez conducted “toxic tours” of her community in Newark, New Jersey, which is known as Ironbound. She calls the neighborhood a “sacrifice zone” because its residents of color are disproportionately clustered in close proximity to a series of industrial facilities and polluting infrastructure. For years, Ironbound residents have endured the disquieting prevalence of asthma and cancer among their friends and neighbors, and they cannot help but connect that fact to the unpleasant odors and thick smog carried by the air they breathe.
The bill takes aim at “a larger regulatory issue,” which is “the way the state issues permits as if they don’t take into consideration the vulnerabilities that exist” in a given area, said Lopez-Nuñez, who is also the deputy director of the Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC), a Newark-based nonprofit that works on multiple issues including environmental justice and housing, a few weeks before Murphy endorsed the bill.
Newark and Camden both contain census tracts that would qualify as “overburdened” under the new law — and so do more than 300 of the state’s 565 municipalities. Roughly half of New Jersey’s 8.9 million total residents live in one of these communities, Murphy said during a news conference last month.
The bill requires the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to make and maintain a list of all overburdened communities across the state. The legislation defines an “overburdened community” as any census tract with at least half of households qualifying as low-income under federal guidelines, or at least 40 percent identifying as Black, Hispanic or Latino, or members of a state-recognized tribal community. When applying for a permit, an industrial applicant would need to prepare a thorough report evaluating the “cumulative impacts” that the facility would have on the overburdened community, which means also assessing the area’s preexisting exposure to environmental health risks. The DEP would then ensure that the report was publicized prior to a public hearing. After assessing both the report and testimonies made at the public hearing, the DEP would make a decision to approve or deny permits based on whether or not the facility would add an additional pollution burden to the community.
A study published by the New School’s Tishman Environment and Design Center last year found that roughly 8 out of 10 waste incinerators in the U.S. are located in low-income communities of color. Approximately 4.4 million Americans live within a 3-mile radius of an incinerator. These facilities, which exist due to a shortage of space for landfills, emit toxic chemicals such as mercury, lead, fine particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, and carbon monoxide — all of which pose health hazards to nearby communities.
But the decades of pollution experienced by large parts of Newark, Camden, and many other Garden State communities will take far more than a single bill to rectify. While the bill prevents the addition of new acute pollution sources in overburdened communities, it does little to address massive sources of legacy pollution that produce ongoing harms. The mammoth waste incinerators operated by the international energy giant Covanta in both Newark and Camden are a case in point.
Industrial facilities that stand to be turned away from overburdened communities under the new bill include landfills, power plants, sewage treatment plants, waste transfer stations, recycling and solid waste facilities, garbage incinerators, and other major sources of air pollution under the Clean Air Act.
“The way our laws are written are catered towards the industry to make sure they’re not being unfairly denied,” she told Grist. “But it doesn’t consider years and years of lack of planning that puts specific people — Black and brown working-class people — next to industry.”
In April, as the COVID-19 pandemic reached full swing in the region, Ironbound residents and drivers along Interstate 95 caught sight of thick purple plumes of smoke coming out of the waste incinerator’s smoke stack. The new vibrant coloring alarmed Ironbound residents, given that the smoke usually appeared in unremarkable black and white.
The Covanta Essex incinerator, built in Newark in 1990, burns nearly 3,000 tons of trash each day. Most of the garbage comes from New York City and other parts of Essex County outside of Newark, but the Ironbound community bears the brunt of its pollution. According to the New School study, the facility emits the highest amount of lead of any municipal solid waste incinerator in the country, with over 600 pounds of lead reported in 2014.
It was roughly the fifth time Covanta Essex released pink or purple-colored smoke since June 2019. Last October, one particularly robust purple plume prompted ICC, represented by the nonprofit Earthjustice and the Vermont Law School Environmental Advocacy Clinic, to write a letter to the state DEP and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, demanding that they reanalyze Covanta’s previous air permit violations and investigate the purple plumes coming out of its incinerator. Though Covanta has a history of violating the Clean Air Act, the DEP has consistently granted its permit renewals.
After the October incident, Covanta reported that they tracked the source of the purple plumes to the unintentional burning of iodine that got into their trash pile, likely from photography or print studios and other manufacturing sites. But iodine is also found in medical supplies, sparking concerns that the facility was burning unregulated medical waste in addition to its normal load of municipal solid waste. Nevertheless, the company deemed the plumes low-risk and encouraged residents not to worry.
Medical researchers as well as a New Jersey Department of Health fact sheet say that exposure to the burning of iodine can lead to lung irritation and kidney and liver damage. The purple plume incidents worried the Ironbound community, especially since the facility is also one of the largest emitters of particulate matter in the city. (The latest incident occurred during the same week the Harvard School of Public Health released a study suggesting a link between particulate matter pollution and severe COVID-19 outcomes.)
Covanta told Grist that the company has been engaging in ongoing discussions with the DEP since they first noticed the purple-tinted smoke and has launched a mitigation system that would help identify iodine-tainted materials to prevent the release of purple plumes again.
“The combustion of [iodine], because it was such small concentrations, was not dangerous to the people living or working in that area,” James Regan, Covanta’s director of communications, told Grist. He denied that the facility ever processed medical waste.
“The facility does not process regulated medical waste,” he said. “Instead that waste stream is collected separately, processed separately at different facilities. We obviously don’t want these events. We’ve done everything we can to get to the bottom of why this happened.”
Earthjustice attorney Jonathan Smith, who has been working with ICC since 2018, said that the incinerator has a record of violating air permits over the years. He also said that Covanta needs “to have a better inspection of what’s getting thrown” into the incinerator. Earthjustice has tried to work with the DEP to prevent issues such as the purple plume emissions from happening again. Though the latest incident happened in April, Smith said that the DEP has not shared any new information about a proposed prevention plan.
“These purple plumes are conspicuous permit violations, but there’s all sorts of other permit violations going on that aren’t pink or purple, and not readily seen by people in Newark,” Smith told Grist. “We want to make sure the state adequately fines Covanta for all these violations over the past years, makes sure it doesn’t happen again, and has Covanta change its practices so that it’s actually aware of what is thrown into their incinerators.”
Waste incinerators, like fossil fuel companies, have tried to rebrand themselves in the last two decades as producers of renewable energy. Covanta promotes itself as a source for sustainable and renewable energy through its waste-to-energy process, in which waste is burned, and the heat from incinerations creates steam, which then generates electricity. Both the Newark and Camden facilities participate in this process. But local activists say that this process won’t put a dent in the pollution that the incinerators pump into their communities.
“Burning trash is toxic, regardless of what you say,” Lopez-Nuñez said. “As a person who lives in the community who struggles with a respiratory illness myself, it’s unacceptable that this is the way we deal with trash. There are other options and different alternatives that won’t make our community a dumping ground.”
Ana Baptista, associate director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center at the New School and co-author of the incinerator study, says that converting waste to energy is actually one of the worst ways to generate electricity out of all fuel sources, because it involves the unsustainable practice of burning plastic and other inorganic materials, which then produces high levels of persistent pollution such as fine particulate matter.
“As incinerators age, they create more pollution, more financial burden, and ultimately they’re really bad for any kind of real and more sustainable waste management practices,” Baptista said. “There’s no incentive [for incinerators] to recycle, or to reduce waste, or to compost or divert waste from waste streams, if [they] are locked into contracts that require volume to keep their business profitable.”
Regan, the Covanta spokesperson, told Grist that the company is aware that waste incinerators are unwelcome in these communities, and that it understands its contributions to the cities’ environmental burdens. However, he argued that the incinerators are “very small contributors to local emissions relative to other sources,” such as vehicles on highways. He also said that the company supports the state’s new environmental justice bill and is also taking its own measures to prioritize environmental justice, pointing out that it launched a community outreach and environmental justice policy in 2011.
“The policy extends our overall EJ commitment to involving local citizens in major permit activities that we may be considering in a given community at a given point in time,” Regan said. “To our knowledge, we are still one of only a few companies in the U.S. that not only maintains an EJ policy but has continued to actively participate and report on improvements for net environmental benefit in our communities.”
Baptista told Grist that the best alternative to transition away from dependence on waste incinerators is through structural change, starting with zero-waste proposals. States and municipalities, she said, need to make funding recycling, composting, and waste diversion programs a priority, so that the demand for incinerators is diminished.
“If you reduce your waste brought to the Covanta incinerator in Newark by like 15 to 20 percent, the company will no longer be profitable,” Baptista said. “So if New York City actually adopted a zero-waste plan and started sending 100 less trucks a week to the facility, they may not be able to operate any longer. That’s the key alternative — really shifting towards composting, recycling and reuse, and creating more jobs and economic opportunities.”
Parallel state
Longtime Camden resident and activist Christoff Lindsey, 59, remembers when the international environmental organization Greenpeace came to his hometown in New Jersey in the early 1990s to protest the city’s waste incinerator. Lindsey said that a Greenpeace activist climbed up to the top of the incinerator’s smokestack and dropped a massive banner showing the group’s name.
“I knew about Greenpeace at the time, but I couldn’t believe they came to Camden,” Lindsey told Grist. “I was both impressed and also alarmed, like: ‘Oh hell, what is going on in there?’ If this is on Greenpeace’s radar, it must be bad. That had an impact on me.”
The incinerator began its waste management operations in 1991. Covanta acquired the facility in 2013 despite a rallying cry from environmental advocates to shutter the facility. Covanta Camden now burns approximately 1,050 tons of solid waste each day. Unlike the Newark facility, the Camden facility has not even yet installed a baghouse, a pollution-control device that filters particulate matter and reduces overall emissions.
Covanta (and its emissions) aren’t leaving Camden anytime soon. In fact, they might soon become even further entrenched in the city’s infrastructure. In May, the Camden City Council approved a study of the feasibility of a microgrid to be located in the Waterfront South neighborhood. Microgrids are miniature, renewable-powered networks that act as backups for the primary electricity grid, in the event of a major power outage, like that which occurred during Superstorm Sandy. The only caveat is that this microgrid would be powered by the Covanta Camden incinerator.
Local activists allege that community input was not sought prior to the vote on the feasibility study. After the vote, they launched a petition to prevent the city from moving forward with policies that would “extend the life of this dirty trash incinerator.” So far, the proposed microgrid is still moving forward, though it will be subject to another city council vote. Some residents say that city officials promised them community benefits such as the installation of a baghouse and residential utility cost reductions if the microgrid plan was approved. But Kathryn Cruz, environmental justice coordinator with the nonprofit Center for Environmental Transformation, said that the written plan broke those promises. The utility cost reduction is limited to businesses rather than residents, and the installation of a baghouse is not a requirement tied to the microgrid.
“What was proposed as this really sustainable, innovative, never-been-done microgrid idea has changed into something very different that seems to benefit Covanta over benefiting the community,” Cruz told Grist. “Rather than being concerned about the impact they are having on the community, Covanta is looking at it financially, and it looks like they stand to really benefit if they can be part of this microgrid — because not only would it look good for them, but it would also be a source of income for them.”
Regan, Covanta’s spokesperson, told Grist that plans to install a baghouse were already underway before the microgrid idea, and that it’s one of the projects the company is committed to executing by 2023. He added that a microgrid is “a no-brainer” that will allow the city to maintain power during events like Superstorm Sandy. Regan also denied that the company was involved in getting the feasibility study for the microgrid passed by the city council, saying that they were just “as surprised as others to hear the vote” results.
Environmental advocates say that these are the kind of systemic environmental injustice issues that New Jersey’s new climate initiatives and policies need to address head-on. The state still has a long way to go, but it’s taking steps toward a more sustainable and equitable path.
In addition to the state’s environmental justice bill, New Jersey Board of Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso vowed last month to establish an Office of Clean Energy Equity that would handle projects like the microgrid plan, a promise that was included in a bill introduced by Senator Troy Singleton — an ally of the Ironbound community — that’s already making its way to the Senate floor. The bill would help low-income New Jerseyans afford clean energy improvements such as solar panels.
But without a broader, region-wide sustainability plan that eliminates the waste that keeps Camden and Newark’s incinerators humming, acute pollution in those cities is likely to persist. For now, residents like Lopez-Nuñez and Lindsey are focused on reimagining what a sustainable and equitable planet could look like — starting with their community gardens. Lopez-Nuñez said that every pound of food waste they put in the compost bin, rather than the waste incinerator, feels like a step closer to a just transition away from polluting industry. Lindsey, an urban gardener himself, continues to tend to his garden, growing eggplants, multiple varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, and more.
“In Camden, we’re a family — and our goal is to feed people,” Lindsey said. “We could probably commoditize or make profit later, but no one needs to go hungry. My mother and grandmother remember picking cotton in the south, so it’s in my DNA.”
“We need to remain connected to the ground, because truthfully, land is wealth,” he added. “Pollution takes away that opportunity.”
*Correction: This article originally paraphrased a 2019 New School study stating that Covanta’s facilities in Newark and Camden are among the top 12 largest U.S. emitters of fine particulate matter, lead, mercury, and nitrogen oxides. In fact, the study indicates that, among all U.S. incinerators, both facilities were among the top 12 largest emitters of lead and particulate matter, but not mercury and nitrogen oxides, according to 2014 Environmental Protection Agency data. Due to an editing error, the article also originally stated that Covanta publicly identifies both facilities as recycling plants. The text has been amended to remove this statement.


nationalobserver--2020-07-27--Suncor Energy facing seven environmental charges

Suncor Energy Inc. is facing seven environmental charges for an incident alleged to have occurred two years ago at its @ @ @ @ @ Alberta .
The Alberta government says in a news release the company faces five charges @ @ @ @ @ condition of an approval relating to the July 2018 incident .
It says the company @ @ @ @ @ a substance into the environment that may cause an adverse effect and failing to report @ @ @ @ @ manner .

Suncor Energy Inc. is facing seven environmental charges for an incident alleged to have occurred two years ago at its refinery in Stratchona county, Alberta.
The Alberta government says in a news release the company faces five charges for contravening a term or condition of an approval relating to the July 2018 incident.
It says the company is also charged with releasing a substance into the environment that may cause an adverse effect and failing to report the release in a timely manner.
The government did not provide detailed allegations about which substance was released or which conditions the company contravened.
Suncor Energy could not immediately be reached for comment.