Distinguished Speaker Series Anne Caruso p1 Canada's Tar Sands Mining and Ohio Dr. Randi Pokladnik p2-3 In Thanksgiving for Dirt Farmers Kathleen Webb p4 Icebreaker Wind Farm Pushes Ahead Kim Mann p5-6 Injection Well Accountability Take Action Today Campaign p7 Still Poisoned After All These Years Bill Lyon, Tish O'Dell p8-9 Annual Campaign Ron Prosek p10-11
In this month's newsletter
Fact Ohio Distinguished Speaker Series presents: Dr. Mary Finley-Brook
November 2022 Newsletter
Fact Ohio Faith communities together for a sustainable future
In May of 2020 the Securities and Exchange Commission held public hearings on the $346 million Header Improvement Project (HIP) proposed by Virginia Natural Gas. Dr. Mary Finley-Brook said in her comments opposing this project that the decision-making process for pipelines in Virginia over the last five years is “absolutely broken … with too little transparency and an industry with too much clout." For anyone who follows natural gas infrastructure in Ohio, her comments resonate. In her book, Climate Crisis, Energy Violence, and Environmental Racism, Professor Finley-Brooks frames energy injustice and related topics as acts of violence. She illustrates this concept using examples of coal mining, oil production, unconventional drilling, biofuels, hydroelectric dams and solar panel construction in the US and around the world. Mary calls energy justice her “project." She uses her expertise and communication skills to highlight how our continued reliance on fossil fuels is destroying not only our climate but the resources of our poorest communities as well. Mary Finley-Brook grew up playing in the Vermont woods near her home. Her childhood was spent outside in nature and inside reading. The family rarely watched TV so nature and reading were her pastimes. At 14, Mary discovered that she loved international travel. When she traveled to Mexico and Guatemala at age 17, she began a lifelong interest in Central America. In 1997 her travels brought her to Nicaragua and it was there that she met her husband. They have 2 daughters and a son. Mary received a BS degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont, a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Tulane University, and a Ph.D in Geography from the University of Texas at Austin. Presently, she is an Associate Professor of Geography, Environmental Studies, and Global Studies at the University of Richmond. She serves on the Virginia Governor’s Advisory Council on Environmental Justice. She also works with the Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative and the Southeast CARE Coalition. Mary has written countless articles on environmental justice, the dangers of natural gas and other energy infrastructure, and environmental racism. We are excited to present Mary Finley-Brooks on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 3 pm as the next speaker in the FACTOhio Distinguished Speaker Series. Please join us. Register for this online event HERE.
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A few weeks ago, my hubby and I spotted a flock of birds in a tree by our home. We discovered they were Evening Grosbeaks. This was the first time either of us had seen this species. They spent a few days eating black oil sunflower seeds at our platform feeders, and then moved on. I went online to do some research about the species and was saddened when I read about their decline. An article published by the National Resource Defense Council said that at one time this bird could frequently be seen in backyards of homes in southern Canada and northern United States. However, in the past 40 years, the populations have declined by 70-80 percent. The main reason is the loss of northern boreal forest habitat in Canada. This species, as well as others like the Whooping Crane and Green-throated warbler, use the forests in Alberta, Canada as their nesting range. The expansion of tar sands oil extraction into the region has created what many call ecocide. Each day nearly 500 Olympic swimming pools-worth of earth are dug up to mine tar sands. Companies like Exxon Mobil and the Canadian giant Suncor have transformed the pristine wilderness into a sprawling landscape of toxic waste ponds and processing plants, which spew nitrogen and sulfur oxides into the air for miles. The Biden administration revoked the permit of the Keystone XL Pipeline on his first day in office. This 1700-mile pipeline would carry roughly 800,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. Most of this oil would then be exported to foreign countries. Keystone XL has been criticized by environmental groups from the USA and Canada as well as Native American groups. The pipeline would pollute ecosystems, negatively impact health, and would be a major contributor to climate change. It would also pose a major threat to the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest aquifers. Tar sand, a mixture of sand, clay, water and a thick tar-like substance called bitumen, is the dirtiest fossil fuel. The bitumen is made up of hydrocarbon molecules that can be used to make fuels and other petroleum-based products. The world’s largest deposits of tar sands are found in Alberta, Canada near Athabasca, Cold Lake, and Peace River. There are two ways in which the tar-like bitumen can be extracted from the mixture: open-pit mining and in-situ drilling. In order to do open-pit mining, the forested land must be cleared. Top soil and shale strata are then removed to reach the tar sand, which is excavated to depths of up to 300 feet. The sand mixture is thinned out by combining it with large amounts of water, and this slurry is taken to a facility to extract the bitumen. Less than 20 percent of the tar sands reserves can be open-pit mined, which employs massive machines to dig up soil and load it into dump trucks the size of houses. For every barrel of oil produced, four tons of earth are excavated. In an in-situ drilling operation, multiple wells are drilled and steam is pumped underground to liquify the bitumen for pumping and transport. In-situ mining is less damaging to the environment according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum and 80 percent of the tar sands can be accessed in this manner. But in 2011, in-situ tar sand companies used 370 million cubic meters of fresh water from the Athabasca River alone, more water than the city of Toronto, Canada used that year. Regardless of the technique used, it takes large quantities of energy to access tar sands oil. Approximately 14-25 percent of the energy obtained from tar sands is lost through processing compared to 4 percent for conventional oil drilling processes. Like any fossil fuel, tar sands oil destroys air, water, and land as it is extracted and refined for use. Tar sands oil is thicker, more acidic, and more corrosive than conventional oil. This means that pipelines carrying it are more likely to corrode and leak oil. Since 2010, the original TransCanada Keystone pipeline has leaked over a dozen times and in 2019, spilled 378,000 gallons of tar sands oil in North Dakota. An internal study by TC Energy revealed that pipes stored outside for long periods of time cause anti-corrosion coatings to fail. Tar sands oil refining produces large quantities of a carbon-dense by-product material referred to as petroleum coke or petcoke. In South Chicago, residents are confronted with enormous piles of petcoke created by refineries and stored near their neighborhoods. The wind carries the heavy-metal containing dust into their homes on a daily basis. Most of the petcoke from the USA is exported to China as a replacement for coal even though it produces ten percent more carbon dioxide than coal. Other problems occur when tar sands oil spills out of pipelines as it did on July 2010, when the Enbridge-owned pipeline leaked bitumen into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. Because the oil contains heavier elements, it sinks to the bottom of water, which makes it more difficult to recover it from the environment. Some of the pollutants that are released as a result of tar sands mining are naphthalene acids, mercury, arsenic salts, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. These are found in sediments of watersheds around tar sands and are toxic to invertebrate species. According to a report by Environmental Defense, “The Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Chemical Valley is experiencing disturbing impacts from the pollution as twice as many girls are being born as boys. Moore Township next to the reserve is also experiencing a lower male birth rate, and scientists have found evidence of “feminized” turtles in the St. Clair River that runs through the area.” Tar sands oil is extremely capital intensive and today, many investors are questioning dumping billions into tar sands development when much of the world is turning away from fossil fuels and towards more sustainable, less carbon-intensive fuel sources as a way to address the climate crisis. However, there are still plans to invest an estimated 379 billion dollars in Canadian tar sands through the year 2025. If plans are enacted, we will be fueling the climate crisis with this carbon intensive fuel that generates 3-5 times more emissions than conventional oil. If we continue to expand this dirty fuel source in Canada and other areas of the world, it is highly likely that the earth will see a 6o C rise in average global temperatures rather than the 1.5oC suggested by the Paris Climate Accord. The economic and social impacts of 6oC will be catastrophic. Additionally, the removal of millions of acres of boreal forests in Canada will only exacerbate the climate crisis. Indigenous people in the region liken the removal of these forests to “skinning the earth alive.” Photographs of the region testify to the moonscapes left behind after valuable, diverse forests are stripped away. (photo) Some refineries of tar sands oil in the Midwestern USA include PBF in Toledo, Ohio and Husky Energy in Lima,Ohio. Husky Energy is owned by the Chinese billionaire Li Ka-Shing. In 2019, the plant increased its capacity to refine tar sands oil to 40,000 barrels a day. PBF refinery in Toledo refines 170,000 barrels of oil a day. Tar sands oil extraction is causing forest destruction, polluted air, tainted water, poisoned land, and has led to environmental injustice and worsening climate change. These effects can be felt in Ohio and throughout our country. Please speak up and share what you know about the damage and inequity caused by this open pit mining process and what we need to do to stop it.
Canada’s Tar Sands Mining and Ohio Dr. Randi Pokladnik
Canada's Tar Sands Mines and Ohio, continued from page 2
In Thanksgiving for Dirt Farmers Kathleen Webb
Gratitude permeates this time at year’s end, from Thanksgiving Day, through December Holidays, and on to the closing of the old year and welcoming the New. What to be thankful for? Simply, everything. In the Northern Hemisphere the year-end months align with harvest and Winter Solstice. Traditions celebrate the things that sustain us body and soul: food, shelter, family and friends, fruitful labors and well-earned rest. It all comes down to the elements that make life possible: fertile soil, clean water, fresh air. Things seen and unseen. Human skills and relationships combine with these elements to provide home and harvest, companionship and celebration. Shared meals can be central to our seasonal traditions. Gathered around the table for the feast, farmers come to mind as individuals to give thanks for as we bless and share a meal. Although industrial agriculture produces much of the food items that stock supermarkets, it’s a faceless enterprise. I live in Geauga County, Ohio, where we are fortunate to have family farms close by. Some are fifth generation. At a local restaurant, the servers wear t-shirts printed with the question, “Who’s your farmer?” I believe most of their customers can answer with a name and a face. As modern and urban as our society has become, we have not completely lost our connection to the land and the source of our sustenance. Even the biggest cities have farmers markets, and some farmers, like Lee Jones of the Chef’s Garden in Huron, Ohio, have achieved superstar status. The popularity of “locally grown” is a hopeful sign. We find ways to preserve and protect what we value. Our society needs to value family farms and indigenous ways of working with the land. Mega farms and industrial agriculture, dependent upon byproducts of the oil and gas industry for fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, are not sustainable. Wendell Berry, a farmer, poet, environmentalist, and author offers a prophetic perspective of farming in his Sabbath Poem VII where he envisions “…an economy of widest worth…”. Sabbath Poem VII (1982) The clearing rests in song and shade. It is a creature made By old light held in soil and leaf, By human joy and grief, By human work, Fidelity of sight and stroke, By rain, by water on The parent stone. We join our work to Heaven's gift, Our hope to what is left, That field and woods at last agree In an economy Of widest worth. High Heaven's Kingdom come on earth. Imagine Paradise. O Dust, arise!
Fossil Fuel Sacrifice Zones
Icebreaker Wind Farm Pushes Ahead Kim Mann
On October 12th, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority hosted a luncheon to provide updates on the Icebreaker Project to elected officials, grassroot leaders and other interested parties. The mood in the room was cautiously optimistic following the recent Ohio Supreme Court decision affirming the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) issuance of a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need to Icebreaker in May of 2020. Since applying for that certificate in 2017, the project stagnated as regulatory delays stretched into years and litigation followed. The idea of a wind farm on Lake Erie was conceived in 2003 by Ronn Richard, who moved to Cleveland as the new president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation. Support built through 2008 when state legislation was introduced to permit leasing of the submerged land for this purpose. In 2009 the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo), a non-profit public-private partnership, was formed to spearhead the effort. Icebreaker Wind Project was born - six wind turbines, eight miles offshore from Cleveland, intended to demonstrate the environmental safety and economic viability of the concept. It is expected to generate 500 jobs, $253M in economic impact, and 20.7 MW of electricity, enough for 7,000 homes. Proponents argue that offshore wind farms are preferable to land based ones as turbine noise and flicker are rendered inconsequential. Land is freed up for other uses. Furthermore, freshwater development beats oceanic development for lower construction costs due to shallower depths and closer proximity to grid connection. Lake Erie is especially well suited for turbines. Strong, consistent winds blow across the water in correlation to hours of peak energy demand. Plus northeast Ohio has sufficient grid capacity to handle the energy production and there is no lack of manufacturing offtakers with large energy needs. With grants from the Department of Energy and financial and technical inputs from private partners like Norwegian wind developer, Fred. Olsen Renewables, Icebreaker progressed. Extensive studies were conducted and reviewed at the federal, state and local level, proving the project posed no significant impact to water quality, fish and wildlife, or air traffic. Approval of the project was granted by the US and Ohio EPAs, the Sierra Club, Ohio Environmental Council, and others. Permits were obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers, and the OPSB. An interconnection agreement was signed with PJM, owner of the region's transmission infrastructure. Power purchasing agreements were negotiated with the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County for a third of the projected electricity production. But establishing Ohio as a leader in the renewable energy market proved too laborious a task for LEEDCo as the fossil fuel industry worked to organize opposition, delay progress, or kill the project entirely. Ohio’s Republican legislators, long allied with oil and gas interests, refused to approve a small surcharge on FirstEnergy customers’ bills that would’ve subsidized competitive pricing for Icebreaker. The “poison pill” requiring nightly turbine shutdowns that made Icebreaker economically infeasible, was added as a condition to the certificate issued by OPSB. This happened after the board had previously agreed that nighttime shutdowns were unnecessary. It was later discovered that OPSB chairman, Sam Randazzo, had accepted over $4M in bribes from FirstEnergy. Litigation brought by two Bratenahl residents, contending that the OPSB certificate was improperly issued, was secretly funded by Murray Energy, a coal mining company. To provide perspective as to how effective these tactics were, the Block Island Wind Farm, an oceanic offshore demonstration project started contemporaneously with Icebreaker, went online in 2016. Though the “poison pill” and resident litigation were resolved in Icebreaker’s favor, the combined delays and uncertainty resulted in LEEDCo’s loss of its development partner, Fred. Olsen Renewables, and LEEDCo’s president, who left to manage a wind development project in New York. LEEDCo has relinquished stewardship of the project to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. The delays have also jeopardized Ohio’s commanding lead in the race to establish dominance of the renewable energy market in the Great Lakes region. Multiple offshore wind projects are now proposed in the Great Lakes with Buffalo, New York particularly eager to compete. The tasks that lie ahead for the Port Authority include restaffing LEEDCo; identifying ways to make their power pricing competitive as markets have evolved over time; obtaining purchasing agreements for the unsold two thirds of Icebreaker’s production; and finding a new developer if Fred. Olsen Renewables doesn’t reengage. Attendees at the October luncheon were asked to keep the Port Authority apprised if they hear of any new efforts to stall the project. Once Icebreaker is completed and proven successful, future wind farms in Lake Erie could be constructed quickly, meeting 10% of the country’s energy needs by 2030. Taken together, the Great Lakes have the potential to power the entire US. The realization of Ronn Richard’s 2003 vision of freshwater offshore wind farms not only promises rejuvenation for the environment and the economy of our region. It provides hope to the country and the world that America’s love affair with dirty fuels has finally ended.
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
Icebreaker Wind Farm Pushes Ahead, continued from page 6
In Ohio, oil and gas drilling produces millions of barrels of toxic radioactive waste every year. The waste, both solid and liquid, is produced from unknown chemicals and water mixing with deep shale deposits miles below ground. The solid waste is brought back up to the surface before the well starts producing. The liquid waste is brought back to the surface during the entire life of the well. Since 1985, the State of Ohio has allowed radioactive oil and gas liquid waste to be spread on roads for deicing and dust control. What happens to radioactive oil and gas waste when it is not being spread on roads? The process: Ohio accepts on average 20-30 million barrels of radioactive oil and gas liquid waste per year. This waste comes from fracked gas wells and conventional gas wells in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. This waste is disposed of in class II injection wells. These disposal wells are old oil wells, or new wells drilled just for injecting oilfield waste. These injection wells work because Ohio bedrock is full of cracks, fissures, and faults and they leak. These disposal wells are a threat to our health, our drinking water, fish, and wildlife. If this seems like a bad idea, you are on the right track! Ohio’s 226 class II wells are located all over the state except in Southwest Ohio. See map of well locations here. Why are these wells a threat to our health? Oil and gas waste contains high levels of radioactive Radium 226 and 228. Radium is a bone-seeking, cancer-causing substance that mimics calcium in the body. Class II wells are linked to earthquakes in Ohio, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Ohio communities have been living with leaking class II injection wells, accidents, blowouts, and spills. Loading and unloading oil and gas waste cause one of the highest levels of toxic air pollution during the entire process. Ohio rules only require 100 feet between a Class II injection well and private drinking water well, rivers, streams, and wetlands.
Buckeye Environmental Network, Sierra Club, EarthJustice, FaCT, and 30 grassroots organizations petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency, (US EPA) to revoke Ohio’s authority to manage Ohio’s class II injection well program because the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has failed to: (1) meet basic requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act that are designed to protect underground sources of drinking water and public health (2) carry out its environmental justice obligations under federal law
Injection Well Accountability - Take Action Today
MAKE A PHONE CALL TODAY: Contact US EPA Administrator Debra Shore’s office, at 1-888-445-5134 Phone Script: Hi, this is (insert name), I live in (insert city in Ohio), and I’m calling today to ask Administrator Shore to begin actions to remove Ohio’s authority to manage the class II oil and gas waste Injection well program. The program managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), continues to endanger underground drinking water sources and public health.
Petitioners request that the United States Environmental Protection Agency begin to remove Ohio’s authority over its Class II injection program under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
In 1986 – one year after the state of Ohio sanctioned oil & gas waste “brine” spreading on roads – it was discovered that brine contains high levels of benzene. State protection agencies were alarmed and lobbied for a ban of brine spreading, but the practice continued. In 2017, tests by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) confirmed that brine also contains high levels of radioactive radium, but still no ban. After 36 years of spreading toxic and radioactive oil well brine on Ohio roads with the silent acquiescence of state officials, the people are clamoring to end this poisonous practice. On Tuesday, November 15, 2022, Ohio residents delivered a letter to sundry cabinet-level Ohio officials, demanding a ban on the continued use of brine from oil and gas operations as a road deicer and dust suppressant. The letter was delivered to the directors of Ohio’s Department of Health (ODH), Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OHEPA), the Governor, Speaker of the Ohio House, President of the Ohio Senate, Chair of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Chair of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. In the letter, the Ohio Community Rights Network (OHCRN) – along with 27 other organizations throughout Ohio – asserted that state agencies and elected public officials have long known about the dangers of oil & gas waste “brine” (O&G brine) but have nevertheless allowed the hazardous practice of “brine” spreading on Ohio’s roads to be inflicted upon the public and the environment for nearly four decades. The letter was also sent to Representative Mary Lightbody in support of House Bill 579 – which she introduced -- to prohibit road surface application of brine from oil and gas wells in Ohio. OHCRN members have advanced local lawmaking to protect freshwater ecosystems across the State of Ohio, and in many cases the state has put obstacles in their way. All 28 organizations have worked for environmental and health justice for all Ohioans. "The spreading of toxic and radioactive well waste brine on Ohio roads and other surfaces threatens all Ohioans,” stated FaCT Brine Education Committee Chair, Ron Prosek. “You could be living or traveling anywhere in Ohio and potentially be exposed to this dangerous material. This is one of the most reckless practices that the State of Ohio has ever allowed." Citizen researchers discovered newspaper articles from 36 years ago that revealed tests conducted by ODNR reporting high benzene concentrations in O&G brine as the environmental surprise of 1986. The articles (see references) also stated that ODH, ODNR, and OH EPA were so alarmed, they called for a ban on oil well brine spreading. However, during 2017-2019, ODNR – the agency with authority from the state legislature to oversee this practice – conducted tests on O&G brine from 151 wells (tests summary) that revealed high concentrations of radium which exceeded both federal and state radioactive limits into the environment, yet state officials continue to allow its spreading on Ohio roads. According to a 2020 investigation published in Rolling Stone Magazine, the O&G industry is fully aware of these radiation issues and has been since the early 1900s. “It is just unfathomable that these state agencies, which are supposed to protect Ohioans’ health and the environment, have allowed this dangerous practice of “brine'' spreading to continue for the past 36 years with their silence," stated OHCRN President Bill Lyons. Alarmingly, the Ohio Legislature has repeatedly introduced bills that would commodify “processed” brine and would authorize astonishingly high concentrations of 20,000 picocuries/liter for Radium-226 and 2,500 picocuries/liter for Radium-228. Most recently, House Bill 282 and Senate Bill 171 have attempted to authorize these unacceptable levels of radioactivity. Ra-226 has such a long half-life that, at these concentrations, it would take more than 10,000 years for it to decay to a safe level. Even more disturbing, these bills would allow this “processed” brine to be used in portable restrooms with no mention of where that waste will be deposited. “The people are revoking any semblance of permission to be used as guinea pigs for toxic and radioactive “brine” spreading on our roads that poisons the water, the soil, our bodies, and all life within the ecosystem – all for the convenience and profit of disposing this hazardous waste from the oil & gas industry," stated Susie Beiersdorfer, OHCRN Board member from Youngstown. “If the legislature passes a law making this O&G byproduct a commodity, it gives the producers liability protections, makes it even more difficult for residents to sue for harm, and we can then expect to see it on store shelves, just like RoundUp.” “OHCRN and the undersigned organizations, as well as a growing number of concerned residents, will no longer tolerate the pollution for profit that destroys the health and well-being of Ohio's people and the environment. We all agree that the egregious practice of O&G “brine” spreading in Ohio must end immediately,” stated Tish O’Dell, OHCRN Board member from Cuyahoga County. “Our elected officials must represent and legislate for the health and well-being of people and Nature, and not be influenced by O&G industry lobbyists. When state agencies do not protect the environment, including the health and well-being of residents, we must speak out to expose the harms and the corrupt system that allows this, and hold accountable those who are responsible.” We must stop the poisoning NOW so that our children, and their children, never go back to this "future".
Back to the Future: Ohioans Still Poisoned After All These Years Bill Lyons, Ohio Community Rights Network Tish O’Dell, CELDF Organizer, Ohio Community Rights Network
Still Poisoned, continued from page 8
Cleveland skyline and Lake Erie viewed from Lake Erie Nature Preserve
From the Treasurer: Time for End-of-Year Campaign Ron Prosek
Many thanks to all of FaCT’s donors. Your continued support has kept FaCT going and growing! In November we will be launching our end-of-the year Annual Fund Campaign. Our campaign last year was successful, though our target was rather modest, having raised some some $4,500. This year, our budget goal for the end-of-the-year Annual Campaign is significantly more ambitious at $14,000. Can we achieve this? Yes we can! First of all, we found two generous anonymous donors who decided to match each other to kick off our campaign with advanced pledges. So we are off to a great start in our campaign! And, to incentivize moving folks from our average donation range of $50 to $150, up to $500 or more in this special end-of-the year campaign, we will offer a premium for those who donate $500 or more. That premium will be a copy of Walking to the Sun by Tom Haines, our distinguished speaker for November 5. Alternatively, five hundred dollar or greater donors may choose End of the Megafauna by Ross MacPhee, our September speaker. A third choice will be Drawdown by Paul Hawken: https://www.allencheng.com/drawdown-book-summary-paul-hawken/ Second, as the end of the year approaches, the easiest way to make a large donation is to tap your IRA mandatory withdrawals if you’re in the age category that requires it. That’s what my wife Judy and I do. We’d rather give our withdrawn money to FaCT, which is 501c3 tax-exempt organization, than to have to pay federal taxes on it. Yeah, I know the stock market is volatile, but still, if you have to take something out of your IRA by the end of 2022, why not donate some of it to FaCT? Even if you don’t have an available IRA, you may have other funds you can tap. If we each do what can to dig a little deeper this year, we can fully fund our programming. If we all pitch in, I think we can even exceed our $14,000 goal for this Annual Fund Campaign!