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Smithsonian: In Russia, even rocks emit greenhouse gases
The melting Siberian tundra north of the Arctic Circle released millions of tons of methane last year as regional temperatures rose to 11 degrees (°F) above average.
Methane has a shorter effect than carbon dioxide on global atmospheric change but is still 70 times more potent than CO2 in its overall global-warming potential. Its accelerated release on such a vast scale represents an immediate challenge to restricting overall global warming to less than 3 degrees (°F) by the end of the century, which scientists agree is necessary to prevent dramatic climate change. Methane’s potent global warming potential is why many conservationists oppose the use of natural gas as an energy source.
But in Siberia, even the rocks are emitting methane. Scientists were surprised to find that limestone exposed by disappearing permafrost itself generated high levels of methane. Tundra fires have also accelerated the release of methane and other gases, and have come at great cost to the Russian government and the rural inhabitants of the vast region.
That means economical and practical means must be developed elsewhere, at least, for methane management.
But according to the United Nations Economic Council for Europe:
“Despite methane’s short residence time, the fact that it has a much higher warming potential than CO2 and that its atmospheric volumes are continuously replenished make effective methane management a potentially important element in countries’ climate change mitigation strategies. As of today, however, there is neither a common technological approach to monitoring and recording methane emissions, nor a standard method for reporting them.“
ORNL’s comprehensive mapping of built environments aids disaster response
Written by Thomas FraserCompass: ORNL mapping effort will aid rescue, risk assessment
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists spent five years mapping virtually every structure in the U.S. and the data is bearing early fruit as it is used for response to disasters such as hurricanes and severe floods.
Mark Tuttle and Melanie Lavardiere, the team leaders of the project, have mapped “virtually every single structure in the United States and its territories,” Compass reports.
The information is used by disaster responders from the FEMA level and down. During a hurricane, for example, authorities can focus response efforts on the most vulnerable areas using the building-mapping database.
The database can also be used by insurers to charge rates more according to risk, and for structures covered under the National Flood Insurance Program, as is already happening.
But the data is most valuable for saving lives and determining the most likely location those lives will have to be saved.
“After disaster strikes, the data can give a rapid indication of the scope of the damage and point responders in the right direction to assist in the recovery. Using the powerful computers available at ORNL, the team can process data quickly — producing in a matter of hours work that used to take months — and get it into FEMA’s hands for analysis,” Compass reports.
Another slice of the wild preserved in Cumberlands
Written by Thomas FraserKnox News: Nearly 12,000 acres added to Skinner Mountain preserve on the Cumberland Plateau
The Conservation Fund and state wildlife and forestry officials reached a deal to conserve and manage thousands of wild acres in Fentress County.
The expanse was previously held by an out-of-state speculative investment company likely originally tied to timber companies.
The Cumberland Plateau and escarpments have been increasingly recognized for their biodiversity along with the Smokies to the east beyond the Tennessee Valley. The Cumberlands are along a songbird and fowl migration route, and host a niche population of mature timber, mosses, lichens, fungi, mammals and amphibians. Elk were reintroduced a decade ago, and black bears have begun to range across the Cumberlands and their base.
The area is pocked with caves and sinkholes, some containing petroglyphs and other carvings from previous populations.
"On the Cumberland Plateau, the key to maintaining biodiversity is to retain as much natural forest (both managed and unmanaged) as possible," a forestry expert told the News Sentinel's Vincent Gabrielle.
The Foothills Land Conservancy has also helped protect thousands of acres along the plateau and its escarpments in recent years.
Deadly natural disasters have ravaged hardscrabble Knoxville for generations. Covid-19 takes the cake.
Written by Thomas Fraser
Hard Knox Wire: A brief history of Ktown's worst natural disasters
The Covid-19 pandemic currently could go down in history as Knoxville's worst hard time (to borrow a phrase from Timothy Egan), but a litany of natural disasters preceded the international outbreak of respiratory disease that killed 629 people in Knox County as of Sept. 8, according to the Knox County Health Department. Only half of the county's residents have been vaccinated, according to a New York Times database, and more than 10 percent of the population has been infected with Covid-19, which can carry life-long health implications.
Hard Knox Wire has a great rundown of the Covid crisis and other natural disasters that the city and region have faced in its ongoing Knoxville history series. They include the far-flung effects of the New Madrid earthquake; periodic flooding that devastated downtown and outlying areas before TVA dammed the Tennessee River; a Cocke County plane crash that killed all aboard, including noteworthy Knoxvillians; and, perhaps, appropo, the smallpox and cholera breakouts that struck the city in the 1800s.
History is a great teacher, and thanks to JJ Stambaugh of Hard Knox Wire and Jack Neely of the Knoxville History Project for keeping us on our toes in regard to the past.
Dozens of oil spills tracked in Gulf of Mexico nearly two weeks after Hurricane Ida
Written by Thomas Fraser
Washington Post: Thousands of reports spill in about pollution following Hurricane Ida
It was a perfect storm of imperfect planning that led to southern Louisiana's prominent role as both a producer and transporter of fossil fuels -- and its vulnerability to storms such as Hurricane Ida.
Ida pitched one of the highest hurricane gusts (175 mph) ever recorded in the U.S. when it came ashore at Port Fouchon. Its storm surge also inundated and destroyed both residential neighborhoods and refineries, pumps, pipelines and petroleum storage facilities associated with the high-dollar, polluting petrochemical complex of southern Louisiana.
The Coast Guard is tracking 350 documented oil spills that have occurred since Ida's violent arrival on Aug. 29. Overall, the Washington Post reported "the Coast Guard has received 2,113 reports of pollution or contamination in the waterways to date, with plans to follow up on each.
"The most significant incident so far has been the oil spill off Port Fourchon, in a lease area known as Bay Marchand Block 5," the Post reported.
The Gulf Coast and gulf itself are littered with thousands of miles of abandoned pipelines and imperfectly capped wellheads. Ida ruptured many, but this is a common headline every time a hurricane strikes the Gulf Coast. It just seems to be getting worse.
From the Gulf Coast to the most densely populated American corridor, Ida laid bare our flimsy climate-change preps
Written by Thomas FraserHurricane Ida hit the Gulf Coast with flooding rains, catastrophic winds, storm surge and the highest wind gust (170 mph) ever recorded in the United States.
The hurricane devastated Louisiana barrier islands and left at least 10 people dead and millions without electricity before it peeled off for a destructive jaunt up through the Mid-Atlantic region, where it joined with a slow-moving Northeastern warm front for what was truly the perfect storm.
Many forecasters, once again, said that climate change was largely responsible for the devastation that spanned the good part of a nation.
Record rain amounts were registered at both Central Park and Newark (New Jersey) airport.
Abrams Falls and motorcycle crash claim two lives in Smokies area
Written by Thomas Fraser
Two people died while on outings in the Smokies area.
One man drowned at the base of Abrams Creek Falls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park; the other was killed when his motorcycle veered off Foothills Parkway into a drainage ditch, according to the National Park Service.
In Friday's incident, Stephen Musser, 73, of Roswell, Georgia, was pushed under while swimming beneath the falls at about 2:15 p.m. His body, which was entrapped in debris under the surface, was recovered about seven hours later by divers from the Blount Special Operations Rescue Team.
Park officials warned visitors about the risks involved in entering park waters, noting unexpectedly strong currents and sieve-like debris common in streams and rivers.
Sixty people have drowned within the national park over its 85-year history; 10 of those have perished near Abrams Falls, according to the park service.
Rangers also responded at about 11:35 a.m. Saturday to a fatal motorcycle crash on Foothills Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley.
Park officials said David Birdsong, 57, was heading south at mile marker 24 when he lost control of his motorcycle and left the roadway. He was pronounced dead while en route to a hospital.
Rangers said speed appeared to be a factor in the crash.
Birdsong was the fourth motorcyclist to die on the parkway or in the national park this year.
Car crashes account for 40 percent of fatalities along the parkway or in the national park. Twenty percent of those fatalities involve motorcycles, national park officials said.
Respected environmental reporter Jamie Satterfield leaving Knoxville News Sentinel
Written by Thomas Fraser
Compass: Unknown if Jamie Satterfield’s exit tied to impassioned, personal pleas she made to Anderson County Commission
Jamie Satterfield, a journalist known for her aggressive coverage of the deadly TVA coal slurry spill in 2008 in Kingston and other environmental problems related to coal ash and its storage, is departing the Knoxville News Sentinel at the end of the month, Compass reported in its daily newsletter.
The News Sentinel declined comment on her departure; she did too — until Sept. 2.
Satterfield’s byline was always a comfort to see because you knew you were reading something written by someone who not only knew how to tell a good story, but how to do it with intelligence, talent, passion, accuracy and grace.
In addition to her award-winning environmental reporting, mainly focused recently on the dangers of coal ash after at least 50 workers perished after coal-spill remediation efforts in Kingston, she was a keen crime reporter who could tell a great, if ultimately sad, story.
Satterfield is a native of Gatlinburg.
The News Sentinel’s highest-profile reporter will depart the paper Sept. 1, Compass reported.
Her departure follows a heart-felt address to the Anderson County Operations Committee during an August meeting in which she implored them to shut down a playground where Duke University researchers concluded there was coal ash toxicity. The exchange was captured on YouTube, according to Compass.
It was an apparent breach of journalistic etiquette and ethics for a seasoned, traditional news reporter who is expected to be a dispassionate observer.
Climate change brings historic rains and ruin to Southern Appalachians and Middle Tennessee
Written by Thomas Fraser
Washington Post: Devastating Middle Tennessee floods latest consequence of climate change
Training thunderstorms dumped 17 inches of rain within 24 hours last week in Middle Tennessee, causing a cascade of runoff that led to localized flash flooding of creeks and rivers that killed at least 20 people and destroyed the small town of Waverly. That amount of rain, which a climatologist said had a 1 in 1,000 chance of occurring, would set a record for the highest amount of daily rainfall recorded in the entire state.
A lesser-noted flood of the Pigeon River just over the state line in Haywood County, North Carolina a week ago killed at least five people and destroyed homes and property as the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred moved over the region. The towns of Canton and Clyde were particularly hard hit. A rain gauge in Cruso recorded nearly 15 inches of rain in less than three days, according to the Smoky Mountain News. Nine inches fell within a 24-hour period.
Deadly floods in Germany and the European lowcountry this summer that killed 200 people were also attributed to climate change.
A warmer atmosphere holds exponentially more moisture, so such intense rainstorms will increase in coming years as climate change reshapes the Earth, scientists told the Washington Post.
"It’s yet another example of how climate change has loaded the dice for disaster, experts say. The floods that people lived through in the past are no match for the events that are happening today. And what in 2021 seems like an unprecedented catastrophe may by 2050 become an annual occurrence," the Post reported.
The flooding threat promised by a warming planet is exacerbated by continuing urbanization and inadequate public stormwater infrastructure. More impermeable surfaces means more runoff.
Tennessee Theatre latest major venue to require vax proof or test result for entry
Written by Thomas FraserThe Tennessee Theatre announced Monday it will require proof of inoculation against Covid-19 or a recent negative test for the virus before entry into the historic, storied theater on Gay Street in Knoxville. The theater will also require that all audience members be masked. The new rules are effective immediately.
The theater said in an email that increasing rates of infection in the Knoxville area and elsewhere in the country — predominantly in the Southeast — prompted the public-safety decision.
”Because of this, the Tennessee Theatre is enacting some new (Covid) protocols to allow us to continue presenting events while doing our best to keep our audiences safer and healthier.“ The rules will be in place at least through Halloween, according to the theater.
”While we take these necessary steps to remain open and serving the community while providing a safer environment for all, we ask for patience and understanding as we continue to navigate a challenging period in the Tennessee Theatre’s 93-year history.”
The negative test must have been administered within the preceding 72 hours.
Some upcoming shows and events at the Tennessee Theatre into October include this week’s screening of the Goonies; three Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series performances; the Righteous Brothers; and an Alton Brown appearance.
WATE: Commercial fishing pulls out 10 million pounds of exotic carp from Tennessee River system
If you never thought there’d be an Asian carp commercial fishery in Tennessee waters, you were wrong.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Asian Carp Harvest Incentive Program has yielded 10 million pounds of the exotic fish since 2018, the bulk caught downstream on the Tennessee River system at Kentucky and Barkly reservoirs. The fish has been spotted as far upstream as Knox and Anderson counties.
The Tennessee Valley Authority and TWRA are experimenting with acoustic barriers to prevent further upstream spread of the fish, which compete with native fish for food and habitat.
“There are four types of Asian carp: bighead, silver, black and grass,” WATE reported. “Experts say the species threatens to disrupt aquatic ecosystems and starve out native species due to their ability to out-compete native species for food like plankton.”
So what do fishermen do with 10 million pounds of carp?
It can be sold to wholesalers for distribution abroad and also makes for really good fertilizer.
In face of crushing drought, feds cut Colorado River water use for first time
Written by Thomas FraserNYT: Arizona farmers first affected but more cuts likely in future
The Bureau of Reclamation declared a water shortage Monday in Lake Mead, a huge reservoir below Hoover Dam that lies along the Colorado River, a historical, natural and national landmark and economic engine that ultimately provides water to seven Western states.
It was the first such dire Level 1 declaration since construction of the reservoir, the largest in the Colorado River impoundment system, in the 1930s. The surface of Lake Mead is projected to soon reach about 1,000 feet above sea level; it's only at about 35 percent capacity, the New York Times reported. Lake Powell in Utah is also at historically low levels.
In an example of drought affecting areas beyond the Colorado basin, a California reservoir, Lake Oroville, near the site of the huge and destructive Dixie Fire, recently dropped below levels suitable for pumping water.
Arizona stands to lose 20 percent of its allotment of river water because of the federal restrictions. Many farmers and others have said they will have to drill for groundwater, itself a resource of concern.
The river provides water to 40 million people in seven states across the West from Wyoming to Mexico, which has a say in how the water is distributed before it reaches the border. Increasingly low-level flows are due to reduced runoff from sparse rainfall and snow packs reduced by worsening drought linked to climate change.
An Audubon Society representative on the board that governs the distribution of the river water foresees more cuts, some of which are predicated on protections of natural habitat and wildlife. “Once we’re on that train, it’s not clear where it stops," she told the Times.
A lot of aquatic life is now swimming, crawling, balling and growing in a weird pharmaceutical stew
Written by Thomas FraserThe Revelator: Residual drugs largely unfiltered by existing wastewater plants
Aquatic species around the world are exposed to at least 600 types of residual drugs, ranging from anti-inflammatories to antidepressants, and it’s not fully understood how these chemicals will ultimately affect marine ecosystems.
Some research indicates that a species of crayfish is emboldened by antidepressant compounds in the presence of predators, lessening its flight response. Scientists have also noted the presence of pharmaceuticals among invertebrates, as well as seaweed.
More work is needed to further document the effects of the chemicals on the behavior and reproduction of aquatic life, but people can temper the introduction of pharmaceuticals in the first place by never flushing medications down the toilet or any other drain, and checking in on the filter technologies in place at their local wastewater treatment plant. Some advanced carbon filters can successfully remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater before it’s released into the environment.
News Sentinel: Anderson County ball fields built atop TVA coal ash
Written by Thomas FraserNews Sentinel: Toxic ash fill at Claxton ball field uncapped and unsealed
Tennessee Valley Authority used a mix of coal ash and dirt for fill during construction of a playing field that was later leased to Anderson County and the local Optimist Club for public use, reported Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel.
She had earlier reported an adjacent playground was contaminated by coal ash byproducts, including heavy metals and multiple other toxins. The contaminants likely originated from coal-ash piles at the nearby Bull Run Fossil Plant.
Anderson County and the Claxton Optimist Club operate the playground and sports fields, which are still owned by TVA.
The playground was built about 20 years ago, during which time coal ash disposal was lightly regulated. The disposal of coal ash from facilities such as Bull Run coal plant, which will be closed by 2023, has proven a major environmental problem and challenge for utilities across the country.
United Nations climate report: We are in dire straits and it’s getting too late
Written by Thomas FraserWashington Post: Carbon dioxide levels at highest point in 2 million years
A United Nations climate report authored by 34 people mining 14,000 scientific studies concludes that substantial climate change and its effects are now largely unavoidable but nations, municipalities and individuals can still take steps to minimize the consequences as much as possible.
Here are some key points from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report:
— Human-caused global climate change is an irrefutable fact. Now the debate is what we do about it.
— Few if any signatories to the 2015 Paris Climate Accord met their pledged reduction targets.
— At current emissions rates, the Earth will have heated to or beyond 2.7 degrees (F) above pre-industrial levels by the 2030s.
— Hurricanes, cyclones, droughts, heat waves and other weather anomalies will worsen.
The report comes as many present disasters linked to global warming unfold around the world. The second-largest wildfire in California history burned in the drought-stricken state; Greece dealt with historic wildfires; and Germany and the European Lowcountry reeled from an unprecedented rainstorm that destroyed entire towns and killed more than 200 people. Another heat wave is supposed to arrive in the Pacific Northwest this week.
More...
Summers are getting hotter. Your lifetime is proof.
Written by Thomas FraserNYT: Database allows you to track the local increase in 90-degree days every summer since your birthday
If you were born in Knoxville in 1970, it got hot in the summer, sure. But you and your parents could expect temperatures to exceed 90 degrees only about 37 days a year, generally at the height of summer, according to an interactive database from Climate Impact Lab.
But if you were born in 1985, there were an average 44 days per year when the temperature rose above 90 degrees. Now there are about 63 such days each year in Knoxville. I think you can see the pattern here.
To use the climate-change database, simply key in your birthdate (it goes back to 1960) and locality and you will see how summer temperatures (as measured by the number of daily high temperatures at or above 90 degrees) have steadily tracked upward over the course of your lifetime.
(If you have any doubt as to how this affects you, check your utility bill).
Knoxville-area transportation planner maps region’s most dangerous roadways
Written by Thomas FraserCompass: TPO mapping will hasten safety fixes
A map compiled by the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization denotes the most dangerous intersections, streets and roads in the Knoxville region.
Transportation planner Ellen Zavisca crunched crash and related injury data to highlight the most dangerous roadway stretches in the region over 3.5 years, according to Compass.
The database will be updated with real-time data, and will allow a quantified approach to prioritizing safety improvements in the planning region.
“One of the things that stands out is the major arterial roads tend to see more of these (serious accidents) even than the interstates,” Zavisca said, referring to commercial corridors like Chapman Highway, Clinton Highway and Kingston Pike," Compass reported.
“Because those are the roads that have this, unfortunately, really unsafe combination of high speeds, high volumes, and just a lot of access points,” Compass reported.
“(The) ... map shows the location of 2,326 traffic crashes in the Knoxville region that resulted in a fatality or serious injury between January 2016 and June 2019,” according to the TPO website.
“There were 321 crashes involving a fatality, and 2,005 serious-injury crashes.
“Every 13 hours in our region, someone experiences a fatal or life-altering traffic crash,” according to TPO.
Tour de France champion will build bikes in Knoxville
Written by Thomas FraserWATE: Greg LeMond will manufacture and sell bicycles in Knoxville
Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond christened a new bike shop in Knoxville this week accompanied by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon.
LeMond has been researching and integrating carbon fibers into his bikes for a few years, but the Knoxville shop will sell electric bikes along with other bicycle styles.
“LeMond moved to Knoxville in 2016 and has a goal to build and sell bikes in the city and by the end of 2022, he plans to be making all of his bikes in East Tennessee,” WATE reported.
“The store is selling a range of bikes including road bikes, mountain bikes and electronic bikes. LeMond also stated that Tennessee has some of the best bike riding in the country.”
The store is on Deermont Lane in Knoxville.
Report: Children exposed to coal-ash pollutants in Knoxville-area playground
Written by Thomas FraserNews Sentinel: Playground near TVA’s Bull Run Fossil Plant contaminated by coal ash
Testing by independent Duke University researchers indicates a playground in the Claxton community contains dangerous levels of coal-ash byproducts.
The playground is near the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run steam plant, which has historically used vast amounts of coal to produce electricity and stored the resultant coal ash in huge landfills near the facility on Melton Hill reservoir near Oak Ridge. The plant will be decommissioned within two years, but questions remain about how TVA will handle the tons of remnant coal ash produced over the lifetime of the plant.
Duke University researchers sampled soil from the site, and results showed high levels of heavy metals and other toxins typically present in coal ash.
TVA maintains its testing has not detected harmful levels of contaminants in the area, but the News Sentinel’s Jamie Satterfield, who was been relentless in her investigations of TVA coal-ash policies and the disastrous Kingston coal slurry spill of 2008, noted that “There are no human health guidelines, however, for substances like coal ash that combine many toxins or radioactive metals.”