Nacero Plant Would Endanger Residents' Health, Property Values and Quality of Life
Barbara Brandom,MD and Tonyehn Verkitus
Unlike previously published articles, The Citizens’ Voice published a more critical view of the plans for the $6 billion dollar gasoline refinery in Newport Twp., which stated, “A closer examination of Houston-based Nacero Inc.’s plans reveals the environmental benefits are not as simple or clear-cut as portrayed in the glowing news releases issued by the company and local legislators in October” (“Is this gas greener?” Dec. 19).
To simply answer the title’s question, no, unfortunately, Nacero’s gas would not really be greener. In reality, it will inevitably add toxicity to the environment that will negatively impact the health of the community, especially those who already struggle with chronic health issues. In a broader perspective, it will add to the dangers that climate change poses.
The more than 500 annual tons of nitrogen oxides that the Nacero refinery is allowed to emit would be associated with a two-fold risk of asthma with allergic rhinitis in children nearby who breathe air with greater than 20 parts per billion of nitrogen oxides. The greater than 600 tons of volatile organic compounds and other hazardous air pollutants produced yearly by the Nacero refinery are likely to be associated with more cancers in adults who live within 30 miles of the refinery.
Scientists are clear that climate change is widespread, rapid, intensifying and that strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases would limit climate change. We know that at least 70% of Pennsylvanians acknowledge climate change and over 80% of Americans wish that more research and tax incentives were focused on renewable energy sources.
Scientists are clear that climate change is widespread, rapid, intensifying and that strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases would limit climate change. We know that at least 70% of Pennsylvanians acknowledge climate change and over 80% of Americans wish that more research and tax incentives were focused on renewable energy sources.
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Mid-Atlantic Climate and Health
Alan Greenglass, MD
Past President of PSR national and
Supporter of PSR Pennsylvania
There are many people and organizations passionate about and working on environmental and climate change issues. The public now generally understands that climate change is largely a result of human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and that humans can and should do more to stop it. There is also now the sad realization by the majority of the public that we are already experiencing devastating affects of climate change, including drought, floods, storms, and fires, and that things are likely to get worse before we can stem the impact.
Why then has there been so little progress in making things better? Maybe our efforts are fragmented, and can’t exert the needed pressure on our political leaders. So many organizations are pursuing their own work, often without coordination, collaboration, or sharing knowledge and resources.
Maybe part of the reason for a failure of public demand for action is that for many those storms, floods, and other disasters are still somebody else’s problem, far away.
What is not far away, but which depends upon every part of the world, is the air we breathe and the water we use to sustain ourselves and our food supply. Air and water don’t obey town, state, or federal boundaries. It’s that air and water which bring, right now, Climate Change into the lives of everyone, everywhere, not just where there has just been a natural catastrophe.
Climate Change and environmental degradation is hurting our health, and that of our families and neighbors, right now. To improve the health of our communities we need to organize, learn, teach, speak-out, offer solutions, apply pressure.
The Mid-Atlantic Alliance on Climate and Health is a new group that came out of discussions between Tonyehn Verkitus and Dr. Pouné Saberi of PSR Pennsylvania, Dr. Elizabeth Cerceo of Cooper Health System/Rowan Medical School, and myself. We saw a need to have health professionals and organizations, and community groups, to work together on Climate and Health issues, on a regional basis. Not just to talk, but to make a difference. We saw that many different groups had the same interest, but they didn’t know what other groups were doing, nor seemed interested in helping. There are resources being committed, but no one group has enough to leverage their impact. Community groups want to highlight that people’s health is being hurt due to poor air and water quality, but don’t know the details or how to get that message across.
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Interactive Curriculum To Teach Medical Students Health And Climate Change
Teaching about the impacts of climate change on the health and wellbeing of patients poses unique challenges to medical educators but is increasingly important in the face of the local and global disruptions in the climate. The American Medical Association, the National Academy of the Sciences, and many medical schools have highlighted the need for a basic understanding of the science of climate change and its impacts on health. Medical students themselves have recognized the potential impacts on their practice and want to be equipped to deal with a changing future. Within the past decade, we are beginning to see publications that provide guidance to medical educators interested in integration of climate health into medical curricula. Additionally there are suggestions of frameworks and guidelines that can be instructive in creative content. Such efforts are certainly foundational to this effort. However, there are few publications that offer educational products for educators to employ in practice.
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Introducing New PSR PA Board Members |
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Julie Becker, MA, Ph.D., MPH
Senior Public Health Scholar and Climate Change Advisor
I re-joined the PSR PA board to expand the educational programs identifying the nexus between climate change and health. PSR PA is uniquely suited to be a trusted voice for health professionals in developing resilience to the health effects of climate change.
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Francine Frezghi MSN, RN
Nursing Informatics Specialist, Temple University Health
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Waste Coal and Cryptocurrency in Pennsylvania |
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When: February 11th at 1 PM
The creation and use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies requires huge amounts of electricity to run hundreds of thousands of special-purpose computers around the world. This webinar will address how the health of Pennsylvanians is being impacted as companies burn massive amounts of waste coal to power these operations and ratepayers are handing them huge subsidies to do so.
Rob Altenburg is Senior Director for Energy and Climate at PennFuture.
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Fossil Fuel Companies' Increasing Use of Trade Agreements to Attack Climate Initiatives - and How We Stop Them |
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When: March 11th at 1 PM
In late November, the company TC Energy proceeded with the next stage of its suit against the United States under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) challenging the Biden administration’s decision to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. The company is demanding $15 billion in compensation for their “lost expectation of profits.” This is just one of dozens of similar trade suits designed to challenge and undermine climate policies around the world.
The increasing use of such trade attacks is serious threat to climate policy, but we have an opportunity now to eliminate this threat altogether. Please join the Executive Director of the Trade Justice Education Fund for a quick briefing on this topic and easy ways you can help make a difference.
Arthur Stamoulis is the Executive Director of the Trade Justice Education Fund.
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PSR PA Educational Events! |
Join us as we explore topics related to environmental health, violence prevention, and climate solutions, with a special focus on PA. |
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PAST EVENTS:
Cradle to Grave:
The Reverberating Health Hazards of Oil and Gas Industry
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Building Pennsylvania’s Bright Climate Future
The Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium invites you to attend Pennsylvania’s Climate Future. This TED-style event convenes leaders from business, state and local government, NGOs, and colleges and universities to share what’s happening now on climate change, what intermediate goals we should set, what challenges and opportunities we face, and how we can work together to achieve them. Registration is free. The event is open to the public.
When: February 4, 2022 from 9–11 am
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What: 1st Arm in Arm National Assembly
When: February 18-21, 2022
Where: We will be staying at a Summer Camp near Birmingham, AL
What: Make relationships, get trained, and build up your disruptive humanitarian skills
How: Buses from your area will bring you to a camp outside of Birmingham, AL
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Hope in a Changing Climate
Conversation w/ Julie Becker, MA, PhD, MPH, Senior Public Health Scholar and Climate Change Advisor with Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, and Rose Schneider, MPH RN, Senior Public Health and Climate Change Advisor, about causes of climate change, health impacts on older adults, and solutions to reduce climate change effects
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PSR PA supports a number of actions throughout the year. Below are a few of the recent letters we've signed on to. Please click the titles to see the full letter.
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Have questions or suggestions for PSR PA? Email us at info@psrpa.org. |
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