In this month's newsletter
September 2022 Newsletter
Fact Annual Meeting Fact Ohio p1 The Myth of Green Hydrogen Dr. Randi Pokladnik p2-4 Stories from the Oil and Gas Field Ron Prosek p4
Fact Ohio Faith communities together for a sustainable future
We are excited to announce our keynote speaker, Dr. Randi Pokladnik. Dr. Pokladnik was born and raised in the Ohio Valley. She has earned an associates degree in Environmental Engineering, a BA in Chemistry and an MA and Ph.D. in Environmental Studies. She is certified in Hazardous Materials Regulations and holds a teaching license in Science and Math. Dr. Pokladnik worked as a research chemist for eleven years at National Steel Research Center in Weirton, WV. She has taught both secondary and post-secondary science courses. She now volunteers for several environmental non-profits in the Ohio Valley including the Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action and Concerned Ohio River Residents. Dr. Pokladnik has received numerous awards including Eastern Gateway Community College’s Outstanding Alumnus of 2018, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition’s Community Networker of the Year for 2015, Fractivist of the Year in 2018 and in 2020 the Laura Forman Passion for Justice Award. She was nominated for a Community Sentinel Award in 2019 for her efforts to educate the public on the hazards of plastic cracker facilities. Dr. Pokladnik's research includes examining the threats to non-timber forest products in Appalachia. She is focused on climate change and how forests can be used to mitigate carbon emissions. FaCT's Annual Meeting will follow Dr. Pokladnik's discussion. All are welcome! Register for this online event here. Check for updates on our website and at the facebook event
Annual Meeting: September 24 at 3pm Keynote Speaker: Dr. Randi Pokladnik
The Erie Situation Northeast Ohio Sierra Club p5 Kent Students Petition to Divest Justin Thompson p6 From the Treasurer Ron Prosek p7
Another false solution: Green Hydrogen Once again, oil and gas companies are trying to use some well-crafted messaging to greenwash their industry. A press release titled “Mountaineer NGL Storage LLC Exploring Green Hydrogen Storage touted the launch of “a non-binding open season to gauge interest in bulk storage of carbon-free hydrogen” for the proposed Appalachian Storage Hub in Monroe County, Ohio. All hydrogen is carbon-free. But the reality is only 0.1% of hydrogen produced today is truly green hydrogen. The Appalachian Storage Hub will most likely be storing grey hydrogen or hydrogen derived from fossil fuel sources. Green hydrogen is produced through a complicated and expensive hydrolysis process that uses energy generated from solar, hydroelectric, and wind to split water. Green hydrogen is four times more expensive to produce than “gray hydrogen”. In order to call hydrogen green and carbon neutral, renewable energy must be used to separate water into oxygen gas and hydrogen gas. A 2017 report titled Hydrogen Production Team Technical Report showed that currently the Ohio Valley region has virtually no potential for producing green hydrogen. This is mainly due to the lack of large-scale renewable energy development. The same report also shows that all of the hydrogen production in our area is from either coal or methane sources; this is not green hydrogen. Hydrogen is the first and lightest weight element on the Periodic Table. It is found in nature as a colorless, odorless gas, and is the most common element in the universe. Because it is hard to extract hydrogen from underground deposits, it is usually obtained in other ways using various processes. There are different color-coded classifications of hydrogen. Each classification is based on the type of process used to obtain it, as well as the source of the hydrogen atoms. Most hydrogen produced today uses fossil fuels as the source of hydrogen atoms. Black or brown hydrogen is generated through a process called coal gasification. In this process coal is heated to extremely high temperatures (700 C) in the presence of a limited amount of oxygen. This creates a mixture of gasses called syngas. This mixture includes carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen. The hydrogen is captured and stored while the other gasses are released into the environment. This process creates a large amount of air pollution, especially pollutants considered to be greenhouse gasses. Gray hydrogen accounts for the majority of hydrogen produced today. In a process known as “steam reforming”, water is used to strip hydrogen atoms from natural gas (CH4). Carbon dioxide is also a by-product of this process, and this greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere at a rate of about 10 pounds of CO2 per 1 pound of hydrogen produced. Blue hydrogen is created in the same manner as gray hydrogen, except the carbon dioxide by-product is not released to the atmosphere but instead captured and stored in a method called Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS). The method is not totally carbon neutral however, because “around 10-20% of the generated CO2 cannot be captured”. There are three additional classifications of hydrogen, all of which are generated via electrolysis. You may have seen electrolysis demonstrated in a chemistry class using a battery operated device. Basically, water (H2O) is separated into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas using electricity. Different sources of electricity can be used for this process. If you use nuclear energy to separate the hydrogen it is called pink hydrogen, if you use a mixture of energy sources it is yellow hydrogen, and if you use renewable energy such as hydroelectric, solar or wind, the hydrogen generated is carbon neutral and thus truly green hydrogen. According to the International Energy Agency, less than 0.1% of hydrogen today is produced through water hydrolysis using green energy sources. Recently, media sites across the globe and especially in the European Union have had an enormous surge of articles proclaiming the benefits of green hydrogen. On close examination, it appears a major fossil fuel PR company, FTI Consulting, is behind much of the media blitz touting green hydrogen as the new bridge fuel. A hydrogen lobby has even been formed with most of the members being associated with fossil fuels, especially fracked gas companies. This lobby spent over 72 million dollars trying to influence Brussels’ policy-making last year. Industry officials are not being truthful or transparent about issues surrounding the use of hydrogen as a fuel source. They are selling EU leaders on “green hydrogen” when in fact what is currently being produced is anything but green. Several questions remain unanswered: what percentage of hydrogen can be combusted in power plants; how much of the hydrogen will actually come from renewable sources; what other air emissions are produced; can existing pipeline infrastructure be used; and will this fuel move us away from fossil fuels? Clean Energy Group, a non-profit advocacy group, raised concerns in December that “burning hydrogen for power production has never been done before in the USA and is untested with potentially problematic environmental issues.” The claim that this will be a “silver bullet” for climate change is based on the premise that the technology will advance to a point where power plants can use 100% hydrogen as their fuel sources. So far, the highest amount of hydrogen in the blended fuels is 30% hydrogen. A 5% hydrogen with 95% methane blend is being proposed to power plants in New York, Southern California, Florida, and even Ohio. An article on Mitsubishi Power’s website discusses construction of the 1,084 MW Harrison Power Project in Cadiz. It is supposedly “the first hydrogen-capable project to reach operation east of the Mississippi River '' but it too is using only five percent hydrogen blended with methane as the fuel source, and the hydrogen is not green hydrogen. While it is true that burning hydrogen does not create carbon dioxide, it does however create another dangerous gas: nitrogen oxide. In some cases, the NOx emissions are up to six times higher than when burning methane. Air pollution has been studied as one reason that cases of Covid 19 are higher in poorer, polluted areas. Even Mitsubishi has said that the (30 hydrogen/70 methane) blended plants “will produce NOx and carbon emissions equivalent to those from modern natural gas plants.” The gas industry points out that existing fracked gas pipelines can be used to carry the hydrogen gas in the event that someday the energy source might be used instead of methane gas. However, studies show that hydrogen causes steel pipelines to become brittle. Hydrogen is a much smaller molecule than methane as well and can leak out of pipelines much more easily. This push for hydrogen blended fuel appears to be just another ploy by the fossil fuel industry to encourage the production of methane and the construction of more gas-fueled power plants. The source of the hydrogen used for these power plants will still be climate destroying fossil fuels, not green hydrogen. The gas industry also fails to acknowledge the high costs of capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions. An article in Nation of Change states the obvious. The main reason green hydrogen isn’t a good choice to decarbonize the economy is that the production of green hydrogen takes enormous amounts of renewable electricity. It would be much more efficient to use this electricity to directly subsidize the grid or to charge battery storage systems. Bloomberg NEF estimated that in order to generate enough green hydrogen to meet one-fourth of our energy needs, it would take an investment of $11 trillion in production, storage, and transportation. Hydrogen may play a vital role in our future energy needs, but today 99% of hydrogen is still made using fossil fuels. There is no doubt that the hydrogen intended for the Appalachian Storage Hub will be dirty fossil fuel derived hydrogen, not green hydrogen. Until the USA can produce enough cheap green hydrogen to power gas turbines, the power plants in the USA will primarily be burning methane, not green hydrogen.
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The Myth of Green Hydrogen Dr. Randi Pokladnik
Myth of Green Hydrogen, continued from page 2
Myth of Green Hydrogen, continued from page 3
Stories from the oil/gas fields: Workers exposed to severe exhaustion, hazards, toxins, racism by Ron Prosek I’ll call him Brian rather than using his real name—just in case the oil/gas industry might happen to read this article. He’s a young African American who has recently gone into business for himself after leaving the life of a worker in the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota and in the Fairbanks area in Alaska. I had hired Brian to do some work for me on my house, and he did an excellent job. But as he was finishing up on a bit of repair in my kitchen, we got to talking. Brian shared with me that before he started in business for himself he had worked in the oil fields in North Dakota. I said, “Oh, you worked in the Bakken then.” He replied, “Yes. How did you know that name?” I explained that I had been working on the issue of oil/gas development from an environmental perspective. Then Brian opened up. He said it was really a rough life. He said that in recruiting, the companies made many promises of the fabulous pay and benefits. But he said the reality was that he and other workers were given extremely long shifts and worked to the point of utter exhaustion. He added that the racism he encountered was terrible—that he and other minority workers were always given the worst jobs. I asked if he had to live in man camps on these jobs. “Oh, yes,” he replied, “and it was pretty rough.” He said when he worked near Fairbanks, Alaska the drinking water seemed strange. He said he thinks they took water directly from nearby streams and that it likely wasn’t treated—just water straight from the streams. Brian said he was really glad to get out of that line of work and start his own business. This all reminded me that workers in the oil/gas fields face great hardships, mistreatment, hazardous work, and exposure to toxins that can ruin their health or even kill them. And, if they happen to be minorities, they face the added burden of racism and extra mistreatment and exploitation. So as we work to defend our communities, let’s also work to defend the workers. We are truly all in this together. Thank you, Brian, for sharing your story with me. So glad you are in a better place now. Good luck in your new business and in your new life! For a great read based on real experiences, take a look at Kate Beaton’s Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands. See how exploitation of nature is carried over into the abuse of women and indigenous people, racism, and economic exploitation of workers.
A North Dakota rig was still smoldering the day after a 2011 explosion, when federal investigators drove to the scene and began their work.Credit:Courtesy of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
For updates and reminders, register here: http://bit.ly/3zY1kdO To learn more about the film and Lake Erie’s algal blooms, click here https://www.theeriesituation.com/ Sponsored by: Northeast Ohio Sierra Club & JCU Department of Sociology
Fossil Fuel Sacrifice Zones
Kent Students Petition the University to Divest from Fossil Fuels Justin Thompson
Kent State University’s Future Environmental Professionals Club (FEPC) is a student organization consisting of students from a wide variety of academic majors with a passion for the environment. The club formed out of the Environmental Studies program but soon after expanded as students from other majors became interested in joining. The group works to educate members about job and internship opportunities, develop leadership potential, learn about different certifications, attend conferences and network, and participate on and off campus in service, education, and other fun outdoor activities. This diverse set of students predominantly intends to become environmental professionals after graduation in fields such as sustainable fashion, environmental policy, oceanography, sustainable architecture, zoology, conservation biology, land and/or field research, political science, parks and recreational management, environmental education, communications and marketing, and in a number of other areas as well. Being an interdisciplinary club with a focus on the environment FEPC recognizes how interconnected complex systems and communities are. With that in mind, FEPC students also recognize that Kent State University’s community is much larger than just that of the Kent, Ohio. The University’s larger community consists of faculty members and administrators (both past and present), students along with their parents and families, the alumni throughout the country and around the world, and all of the community members around each of the University’s eight campuses across the state. It is with this broad sense of community and recognition that our impact goes beyond our day-to-day interactions that we also recognize that where and how we spend our money also has an impact as well. In the United States we vote democratically twice a year, once in a primary election, and once in the general election. However, that is not our only form of voting, we also vote with our dollars every time we make a purchase or an investment. The law of supply and demand is directly influenced by these choices; when we chose to invest in fossil fuel industry stocks and bonds, or the mutual funds or exchange traded funds that hold those fossil fuel investments, we are voting to perpetuate the systems that is actively and directly contributing to climate change. It is with this understanding that FEPC has decided to petition KSU to divest its endowments and any other investments that it may have from the fossil fuel industry. As a public institution, the University is allocated funding from tax dollars and much of the student tuition, fees, and costs are paid with federal student loans. We, the signers of the KSU Fossil Fuel Divestment Petition, do not feel that our tuition and/or tax dollars should be used to fund the (already federally subsidized) fossil fuel industry which is directly contributing to climate change. With that being said, I would invite those reading this article to sign and share our petition using this link, (https://chng.it/T979zQjm), or by scanning the QR code on our petition flyer. Over 1500 other colleges, universities, and institutions have already signed a pledge to divest from fossil fuels including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and more locally Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Dayton. Kent State has already advocates for sustainability on campus during their ‘Sustainability Month’ (October), and ‘Earth Month’ (April). We just ask that the University commit to voting for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future by divesting their investment dollars from the climate change inducing fossil fuel industry before it is too late. Justin Thompson is a member of the FaCT Ohio Board of Directors and is also the President of the Kent State University Future Environmental Professionals Club
Guernsey County is in the center of beautiful Ohio with rolling fields and a historic state park. Kevin and Marlene Young have owned property in Guernsey for 47 years, investing time, savings, and labor into their 21 acres. They built their home here, with space for horses, stables, a half-mile race track, and workspace to modify street rods. As the Youngs neared retirement they looked forward to enjoying the land that they worked on for so long. In 2016 Caithness Energy took over the land across from their home. The massive Guernsey Natural Gas Power Station is now under construction in their front yard. Read More
From the Treasurer by Ron Prosek
Thank you for your generous donations to FaCT. They are really helping FaCT to confront the environmental challenges facing Ohio families. To make a donation, please make your check out to FaCT. Please mail with check to: FaCT, P.O. Box 1235 Mentor, OH 44061 Or donate via FaCT’s secure PayPal link at: www.factohio.org -------------------------------------------Clip and mail with your check----------------------------------------- Name:_______________________________________ Phone:_____________________________________________ Email:___________________________Address:__________________________________________________________ Amount of this donation: $____________ THANK YOU! [September 2022] Contributions to FaCT are tax-deductible as FaCT is an IRS-designated 501c3 public charity I would like to make an ANNUAL PLEDGE of $________________. THANK YOU!
Thanks to East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church for splitting their monthly Sunday collection in July with FaCT. This is the second year in a row East Shore has donated this way. Some churches, like West Shore UU Church in Rocky River, have made significant annual donations. Please consider asking your faith community to help support FaCT. On August 3 the FaCT Board of Directors has approved a new budget for Fiscal Year 2023, which begins October 1, 2022. Thanks to the Finance Committee and our Development Consultant, Judy Comeau-Hart, for helping to develop the new budget. Along with continuing funding for current programs, the budget includes funding for a new program on climate change education for faith communities and an extension of our commitment to renew our contract with our Development Consultant through September 2023. The budget also includes additional funding from major grant sources we will be working to obtain. The foundation for this has been laid by our work with the Institute for Conservation Leadership and though the efforts of our Development Consultant. We are also planning for a major giving campaign from our membership, including our major year-end Annual Fund Campaign in October-November. Your monthly donations and major gifts to FaCT are a very important part of our budget and program picture. Not only do your dollars go to direct support, they also encourage major grantors to fund our work. This month, if you can, please consider making a donation. Your continued support is essential and most deeply appreciated.
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