Happy October everyone, and welcome to another edition of Good News Friday! Today, we’re covering the decline of the Scottish oil industry, international climate change litigation, and greener building codes in California.
Scotland reassesses its oil industry: After pressure was successfully placed on the British government this year to revisit offshore oil field licenses, Scotland has faced a reckoning over the future of its oil industry. Previously a booming business, North Sea oil outputs have been on the decline for the last several years and stand in opposition to British climate goals. As a result, attention has increasingly been paid to offshore wind, which is well-suited to the region and could replace the economic loss caused by the decline of oil.
Image Credit: Jan-Rune Smenes Reite via pexels.com
2. Wave of climate litigation expected: After a Dutch court ruled in May that Royal Dutch Shell must cut its emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, activists are hopeful that further litigation against pollution corporations can help pick up the slack left by weak environmental regulations. With that in mind, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) recently launched its #SeeYouInCourt campaign. To date, the campaign has seen multiple NGOs and human rights organizations file lawsuits against major polluting companies, which often bear the biggest responsibility for climate change.
3. California announces greener building codes: After California made headlines in 2018 by establishing a mandate for rooftop solar on all new residential construction, the state is back at it again with new laws to reduce energy consumption. The California Energy Commission recently approved new codes that encourage electrification, the use of more efficient appliances, and less energy-intensive heating and cooling systems in new homes and some businesses. Given that “fossil-fuel combustion attributed to residential and commercial buildings accounts for roughly 29 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions” (C2ES) and approximately 12% of the U.S. population lives in California, these new regulations could have a serious impact on carbon emissions.
That’s all for this week! Until next time, and feel free to contact us if you have any positive environmental news you would like to contribute!
Trained as a sociocultural anthropologist, Jerry Zee, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and the High Meadows Environmental Institute, just about does it all. His research looks through the lenses of geophysics, literature, feminist studies, ethnography, aerosol science, and more, to fill gaps in our current knowledge of Chinese geopolitics in relation to changing weather patterns. Read this interview to dive into his complex and interdisciplinary world!
Image Credit: Jerry Zee via https://environment.princeton.edu/people/jerry-zee
What does sustainability mean to you? How do you engage with sustainability outside of your work?
Sustainability is an idea that […] there is an ethical, technical, political demand for us to think about what would be necessary that the planet outlasts us. It’s a concept that has roots in the fantasy of the sustainability of the planet for capitalism, but I think that we can tinker it, or tweak it, or undo it, so that it can orient us more broadly toward a relationship with things we can’t possibly imagine yet. I would like to think about it as an open ethical and political injunction, you know, our responsibility to both the past and the future. As an anthropologist, one cannot draw a clear distinction between work and not work.
Could you give a brief overview of your current research? What makes it interesting to you?
I write about what I call modern weather, or a meteorological contemporary in China. What I mean by this is that accounts of modern China are given in political and geopolitical terms, and parallel to this, I try to make sense of how the period that we understand as China’s modernity (its different adventures with socialism, late socialism, experiments with markets, and different kinds of political reform) has also been a time in which the weather across China has been changing in ways that are deeply linked to political transition. The things I think most specifically about are dust and aerosol events, so I’m interested in how in the last several decades, a crisis of large-scale land degradation across China’s interior, most conventionally known as desertification, has deep-rooted relations with the changing nature of Chinese institutions, politics, and society. There’s a tremendous number of strange things happening which confounds conventional ways of understanding what we think the Chinese state is and does, and what we think about the horizons of liberal environmental politics.
A sweeper walks with a broom along a road during morning rush hour as Beijing, China is hit by a sandstorm.
Image and Caption Credit: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-weather-sandstorm/beijing-choked-in-duststorm-stirred-by-heavy-northwest-winds-idUSKBN2B703
How do you approach your research problems? What resources do you use to navigate a research journey?
I’m trained as an anthropologist, but I think across a couple of different fields that inform the way I do research. I really like engaging with the humanities, especially in literature, and then I think across feminist traditions and science studies. Ethnographic research in the way I understand is based both on long term fieldwork and what we call participant observation, which means going and living in the rhythms of a certain kind of community or place for a long time – thinking from within the logics and tensions and textures of lives in these places. To think concretely my research involves working with state bureaucrats, scientists, and everyday people in China. That means everything from working with ecologists and geophysicists at state environmental research stations to forestry officials and planting teams from China and Korea to aerosol scientists in the US, to living with herders and pastoralists as they figure out how to manage the degradation of their pastures.
How do you avoid observer bias?
You can’t. We are all people who have backgrounds and who come from places and who are trained in certain ways. One of the questions that, as an ethnographer, I think about all the time is, “How is it that the specificity of who I am shapes the kinds of claims and arguments I make?” One of the things you learn to do is undercut your own arguments and think about the ways that you may be deeply committed to them. I fully believe that if another person did exactly the same project it would be a different question, but at the same time, I’m committed to an empirical truth as it appears through the encounters I’ve had.
What are some issues with our current understanding of Chinese geopolitics?
I think we need better accounts of China as an environmental agent and state. Many of the accounts that we get in the US either oppose China as an environmental hellscape in which the environment is collapsing in freefall, when in fact there are many kinds of political experiments that are emerging in tandem with the ecological catastrophe that is modern China. On the other side, there are sort of very hopeful and messianic accounts of Chinese environmental politics that pose it as a viable alternative to what people see as impasses in either the American or the international systems. Often people will point to China’s energy sector and its investment in clean energy transition as proof that the Chinese system is somehow better, and I wanted a way of doing research that doesn’t fall either into one of these pools, so that’s what moves me.
Are there any sustainability or climate science resources you know of that you would suggest for readers?
I would check out an organization called APEN, which is the Asian Pacific Environmental Network. They are at the very cutting edge of doing environmental justice work and research in communities that are affected, and they are good at thinking about the inter-relationship of environmental and social processes.
Check out my syllabi – I’m learning new things all the time. One of the more compelling things over the last couple of years since I’ve started teaching is that I learn a lot from the passion and energy and creativity and resolve of students. Learn from yourself.
Thank you again for tuning into Good News Friday this week! We’re definitely getting into the swing of the semester, so a few positive reminders are always helpful. Today we’ll learn about urban agriculture in Paris, a plan to protect against heatwaves and the end of outsourced coal-fired power in China.
Futuristic Urban Greenhouses: The Garden City Project of the Crescent Moon in Paris stunningly showcases how sustainability can be incorporated into urban design. Located in the city’s largest park, the project includes rooftop gardens, small greenhouses, and even a cattle farm. Urban agriculture has a variety of social and environmental benefits, including recreation, improved air quality, and food production.
Biden’s Extreme Heat Protection Plan: The climate change-exacerbated heat waves of this past summer have had a devastating toll throughout the US. In response, the Biden administration has launched a plan to protect against extreme heat, which disproportionately affects the elderly and marginalized populations. The initiatives include, but are not limited to, increased workplace inspections and an expanded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. However, we hope that the administration can tackle the root of the problem in addition to mitigating the consequences.
China Exits Overseas Coal: Nearing the November climate summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that the heavily fossil-fuel dependent country would stop investing in coal-fired power plants abroad. This is part of his commitment to carbon neutrality by 2060. This decision is given in the wake of Japan and Korea’s termination of overseas coal power last year.
Thank you for reading this week’s summary of positive environmental updates. If you’d like to share some Good News with us, please feel free to get in touch!
Welcome to another edition of our Good News Fridays series! Today we are looking at environmental aspects of the upcoming federal budget reconciliation bill, a new way to store electricity generated by solar power, and a study on mitigating the impact of oil palm forests.
House committee approves environmental provisions: The federal House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Monday voted to advance several aspects of the upcoming reconciliation bill, including provisions related to air pollution, hazardous materials, and water. These provisions contain a fee on methane emissions and funding for lead pipe replacement, a green bank, Superfund cleanup and environmental justice grants.
2.Companies to test electric vehicle batteries for solar storage: OCI Solar Power, CPS Energy, and Hyundai Motor Group signed an agreement to test recycled electric vehicle (EV) batteries for solar energy storage. The goal is to have a trial energy storage system installed by September 2022. EV sales and solar power installations have steadily grown over the last decade, priming this initiative to help combat the future problem of what to do with increasing numbers of EV batteries as they reach the end of their lifecycle.
3. Making oil palm plantations more sustainable: A new study targeting the environmental impact of palm oil plantations found that intercropping—growing two or more crops in close proximity—can reduce the environmental degradation caused by oil palm farming without impacting palm oil yield. This study is impactful because it confronts the common belief among some palm oil farmers that monocultures are essential to maximize crop output, paving the way for a new, more sustainable way of doing business.
That’s all for this week! We hope to see you again next Friday, and feel free to contact us if you have any positive environmental news to share in the meantime!
Welcome back to another semester of Good News Fridays! We thought that this would be a great way to kick off the blog again, and we are so excited to share positive environmental news with you each week. In this post, we’ll cover the recovery of panda populations in China, a carbon-sinking cement, and a drought-resistant seed coating.
Giant Pandas Rebound: Wild giant pandas in China have reached a population of approximately 1,800, and the Chinese government has officially designated them as no longer an endangered species. They are still classified as vulnerable, but this is a promising result of conservation efforts. Additionally, there have been increases in the number of other threatened species such as snow leopards, crested ibis, and Tibetan antelope.
Carbon-Sequestering Paint: A graduate from the Royal College of Art, Kukbong Kim, has developed a paint made from concrete residue which can sequester 20% of its weight in carbon dioxide. Approximately 8% of global carbon emissions are due to the cement in concrete. Thus, Kim hopes that this carbon sinking paint, deemed Celour paint, will eventually offset the emissions from the cement it is manufactured from. The product has the dual benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and diverting concrete waste from landfills where it can have detrimental effects on the surrounding environment.
Drought Resistant Seed Coating: Scientists have developed a seed coating made of biodegradable waste products which can allow seeds to survive and germinate in water scarce conditions. The coating consists of an outer layer of pectin derived from orange peels and an inner layer of beneficial bacteria and material from silkworm cocoons. The hope is that this will reduce the need for fertilizer and increase crop yields.
Thank you for reading our first Good News Friday of the semester! We wish you a great start to your new schedules, and hope that you will stick around for the weeks to come.
To be frank, I began my work with the Plant Conservation Team at NYC Parks this summer with floor-low expectations about the City’s vegetation. This was my first experience in conservation work, and New York City seemed quite the unlikely focus for biodiversity preservation. America’s largest city, and the epitome of urban life, I’d always carried the impression that such a place would be ‘biologically sterile.’ Situated on poisoned soils and polluted waterways, NYC had to be a lost cause for nature. But I was wrong. I just didn’t have the eyes to see it yet.
Do you remember anything of the wilderness you pass on the side of the road? The scenes of a stroll through Brooklyn’s Prospect Park? Hiking at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx? For me, I only saw green, and I only remembered green. That’s just how it always went. I was plant blind.
“Plant blindness” is pervasive in our culture. Save for botanists and other plant experts, we don’t really notice vegetation. We don’t distinguish between plants as individuals, and we fail to remember them afterwards.
But, imagine you learn the language of the trees, the shrubs and bushes, the grasses and sedges. You hop on the Northeast Regional Train and head up to NYC for the weekend to explore vegetation in the City’s natural areas. What do you expect to find? A lack of biodiversity or a lot? Widespread foreign monocultures, or persevering populations of native growers?
This summer, I learned to see the worst of plant invasions and the best of native resilience. One conservation site is now infested with a species originally imported for horticulture. The same few agricultural weeds dominate habitats across the five boroughs, and one sensitive species was squeezed out to extinction. But, beneath it all, there are plants that have grown here since time immemorial. And while there are indeed some native populations that thrive, many species tell the story of rebellion. Ten slick, fragrant herbs that poke between the grasses. Three short, spiky golden flowers growing defiantly in the shadows of a million foreign giants. One majestic lily that finally gets the chance to flower.
Plant blindness is a bidirectional buffer. We can’t understand the extent of ecological degradation in an ocean of green. Nor can we appreciate the extent of natural perseverance when it’s hidden in plain sight. In overcoming plant blindness, I have developed a new understanding of urban biodiversity. A new set of expectations; a new brand of optimism. It is not a battle of a million versus one––a million invasives closing in on a final plant rebel. Rather, conservation is the hope that one can grow into a million. Don’t give up yet on New York City.
A photo of me helping manage a native population of mint at a conservation site in Staten Island.
When nuclear power is used on a commercial level to produce electricity, one unavoidable byproduct is high-level nuclear waste (HLW) in the form of spent fuel rods. Currently, the only strategy the United States has to manage this waste, which takes thousands of years to decay, is to build a site underground, known as a permanent repository, where the waste can be stored until no longer dangerously radioactive. The only problem with that plan? The U.S. does not have a permanent repository built, and the only substantive plans for a storage site in Nevada have been plagued by political obstacles and local opposition.
For my junior independent work as part of my task force for the School of Public and International Affairs, I analyzed the current state of repository policy, why climate change might make the need to figure out a permanent solution even more urgent, and what policy changes could be implemented to streamline federal decision making on nuclear waste. My paper is titled “Commercial High-Level Nuclear Waste in the United States: Overcoming Political Barriers to Short- and Long-Term Storage Solutions.” I chose to examine nuclear waste because with climate change growing worse, there are a lot of questions about whether nuclear power, as an emissions-free electricity source, should be part of a renewable energy transition; these questions, however, tend to ignore existing issues of nuclear waste, which will only grow if nuclear power increases. I also was really interested in the idea of bringing climate change directly into this debate.
Map of the continental United States with all on-site temporary storage locations for spent nuclear fuel (SNF), a type of high level waste (HLW). My independent work focuses on the commercial SNF storage sites, especially those on the coasts, which could potentially be threatened by climate change-driven sea level rise. (Image Credit: Congressional Research Service, 2020)
On-Site Waste Storage, Political Obstacles, and Climate Change
Due to the lack of a permanent repository, America’s 80,000 metric tons of domestic HLW from commercial nuclear power (CNP) is temporarily stored on-site at nuclear power plants, as the map above shows. The operation of existing nuclear power plants increases that HLW by 2,000 metric tons/year. In my analysis of the causes and consequences of this on-site storage dependence, I found:
The federal government is obligated to build and manage a national permanent repository under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982;
Utility companies that produce nuclear energy have been forced to manage on-site HLW, leading to lawsuits against the Department of Energy (DOE) that have resulted in $8 billion worth of payouts to utilities;
Many temporary storage sites are financially unsustainable, threatened by the limited lifespan of temporary facilities, and at risk of flooding from climate change-driven sea level rise;
Yucca Mountain, the only possible repository location currently capable of being licensed under the NWPA, is not in operation mostly due to political opposition rather than technical obstacles; and
Funding mechanisms for the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) hinder the DOE’s ability to implement short-term solutions made necessary by the above financial and environmental concerns and which would reduce some of the urgency to build a permanent repository.
In other words, my analysis found that the United States’ nuclear waste problem will grow more expensive, unsafe, and dire the longer a solution is delayed.
Dry cask storage barrels, a common type of temporary on-site storage for HLW. At best, this storage method can last for approximately 100 years, far less than the thousands of years required for HLW to lose its dangerous radioactivity. (Image Credit: Nuclear Information and Resource Service)
Fixing the Problem
In light of my findings, I made a list of policy-based recommendations which could reduce the current strain on temporary on-site storage in the short term and/or bring the United States closer to constructing and operating a permanent repository in the long term:
A working fund for DOE and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) repository siting/licensing efforts (i.e., finding and approving new feasible repository locations) should be established outside of the NWF. Fees on nuclear power producers should be reinstated and added to this fund.
The NWPA should be amended to allow for the use of federal and private consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs) to fulfill the growing need to move HLW away from on-site storage.
A consent-based repository siting approach should replace the existing process to overcome political hurdles. Yucca Mountain should be reevaluated under this new siting system.
HLW that is most threatened by sea level rise and/or is most expensive to keep in temporary storage should be prioritized for transportation into CISFs and/or repositories, once available.
America’s nuclear waste storage problem is a complicated one, but that is all the more reason why it cannot continue to be ignored. Questions of nuclear power’s role in America’s energy transition to confront climate change cannot be fully and accurately answered until short- and long-term HLW storage solutions are implemented.
Sea-level rise is a local phenomenon just as much as it is a global one. While melting ice sheets, mountain glaciers, and the expansion of the oceans all have far-reaching impacts, every coastline will experience sea-level rise differently. I focused my senior independent work for the Department of Geosciences on the effects of sea-level rise in one location in particular: the Chesapeake Bay.
In my senior thesis, titled Sea-Level Rise on the Eastern Shore of Maryland: Vulnerability, Adaptation, Environmental Justice, I analyzed sea level rise data in Cambridge, Maryland, and conducted a survey to understand residents’ experience with rising sea-levels and their adaptation preferences. I chose to study the Eastern Shore because it is an area close to my own home in Washington, DC. Having visited the Bay many times, I’ve seen the beauty of the environments and the wonderful residents. The Eastern Shore is home to a large African American population, a group that is particularly vulnerable to the effects of sea-level rise because of a lack of access to resources, lack of representation in decision-making circles, and historical discrimination.
Map of the Chesapeake Bay with Percentage of African American Population by County; The highlighted counties (Talbot, Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset) are the counties that I will be focusing on in this study. Adapted from the United States Census Bureau 2010
Sea Level Rise Analysis
From an analysis of local sea-level projections until 2100, I found that the sea level may increase by an average value of 88 cm, relative to mean sea level in 2000, if global temperatures rise 2˚C by the end of the century. If global temperatures rise by 5˚C, then the average sea levels may rise by an average of over 140 cm. Additionally, there is around a 36% probability that sea levels will rise by 1 meter or more in a 2˚C scenario and about 75% probability of this in a 5˚C scenario.
For some historical context, Hurricane Isabel made landfall in Maryland on September 19th, 2003 and caused water levels to rise to 1.26 m. This event flooded almost half of Dorchester County, cut off power to 1.4 million Maryland residents, injured 200 people, and even killed 1 person. The current frequency of a 1.26 m water level rise occurring is 1 in 286 years. By 2100, we will see these events amplified by 2000 in a 2˚C warming scenario with 7 events per year, and amplified by over 8500 in a 5˚C warming scenario, with 30 events per year.
Survey of Residents
In my survey, I asked if residents would support a seawall, a barrier parallel to the shoreline which defends the coast against sea-level hazards, or would rather a relocation program such as managed retreat. The majority of residents supported a seawall, but had mixed feelings towards relocation, with a most opposed to leaving their homes. Community preservation was a big explanation for supporting seawalls, which many saw as a plausible solution when used with other techniques. Some saw managed retreat as the best option while others saw it as a last resort. Others believed that by relocating their homes, their land would be given to more wealthy individuals, which made them unwilling to move. Residents gave many reasons for taking different positions on adaptation efforts, yet many of them are rarely heard by the groups that make decisions. When the voices of the community are not heard, the people that need the most help could actually end up being more hurt than helped by adaptation efforts.
The bar chart demonstrates the survey respondents’ answers (Yes, Maybe, No) to 1) Whether or not they would participate in a government-sponsored voluntary buyout of flood-prone property, and 2) Whether or not they would support the construction of a seawall along the coast.
It is important to remember: How we take action is equally important to or even more important than taking action. The people who make adaptation decisions should change how they operate to accommodate these communities. This could mean increasing the transparency in decision-making process, increasing the consideration of social injustices in long-term adaptation planning, and engaging in participatory planning. Improving these practices can help to decrease the environmental injustices present in the Chesapeake Bay, but we shouldn’t stop there. These practices should be implemented beyond the Chesapeake Bay in order to pursue environmental justice on a global scale.
As an ending to this environmental justice series for the semester, it is important that we shine light on the positive things being done and how you all can continue with this forward momentum. Although the history of environmental injustices is grim and its toll on low-income/minority communities has proved detrimental, we can continue showing up for these communities and making a difference. All around the country and world, there will continue to be people in need of our help so that they can be provided with the contaminant-free water, non-toxic air, and clean natural environment that they deserve. One’s socioeconomic status or race should not factor into whether or not they are afforded a clean environment. It should neither impact the decisions of whether large corporations find it admissible to put certain communities in danger. As a collective, we have the privilege of being in a position to mitigate the effects of past environmental injustices and prevent future instances from occurring.
One particular way that students and community members can use their voices to speak out against environmental injustices is to contact their state representatives. States like Arizona, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and plenty more have environmental justice committees that focus on not only the preservation of natural resources but also its outstanding impact on particular communities in the state. By reaching out to representatives and asking questions, we can all become more knowledgeable about the efforts being made and the laws being enacted to help disproportionately disadvantaged communities. Through actions such as cold-calling, sending emails, holding protests, etc. we can make a substantial difference if enough pressure is applied to get some of these proposals approved by the committees. Through these actions and partnering with grassroots organizations with common goals, the Princeton community can do its part and embody the values that make this campus so special. Through service and advocacy, we have already been able to push forward many really important sustainability initiatives, and I am confident we will continue to make positive contributions to surrounding and distanced communities.
To give tangible examples, in the state of New Jersey, there are numerous grassroots organizations and departments such as the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, Clean Water Action, and the Clean Air Council. They all focus on unique aspects of the environmental justice movement to help impact the water quality, air quality, and the quality of life in areas around the state. Many students can get in touch with these organizations to see what ways that can help, whether that be attending cleanup events, cold-calling for increased funding for projects, or simply spreading awareness to other students through social media. There are so many ways we can help out so I hope that everyone leaves this environmental justice series with more knowledge and an eagerness to help in any way that is best for you!
