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Staff Reporter

New gear: Aegina-Pure water purifier

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Ultraviolet water purification systems are all the rage at the moment, and the Aegina-Pure water purifier is designed with boats in mind.

The Aegina-Pure water purifier is designed by PRP Optoelectronics in Swindon and uses UVC light generated by low-energy LEDs to neutralise the water coming from your tanks. What is more, it can communicate its parameters to your MFD or via a smartphone app.

Aegina-Pure produces Class A pure water that is 99.99% clean, eliminating germs, bugs and pathogens. The UV light acts on the cell walls of viruses and bacteria, damaging its DNA or RNA. Unable to recover or reproduce, the pathogen loses its potency. This process is known as thymine dimerization.

The technology has found traction in off-grid situations, such as mobile homes and boats. It is well suited to marine use because it is low power and runs easily off a 12V battery supply. The entry-level unit can purify 3 litres of water per minute using just 39W. The display consumes just 2W when the device is not in use.

Higher capacity Aegina-Pure units can deliver 6, 12 or 18 litres of clean water per minute. These naturally consume more power: 72W, 144W and 216W. Larger units can be engineered as custom projects.

The Aegina-Pure water purifier is fairly compact, with all units measuring 304mm x 202mm. The depth varies according to the capacity, but starts at 112mm. Water input and output hosetails are designed to fit standard 1/2in (12mm) water hoses.

There are no consumables in the system, but PRP recommends installing a prefilter of 5 microns or finer. An annual service can quickly be accomplished by the boat owner using no tools or spare parts.

Whether you’re drinking from the tanks or filling up from an unreliable water source – this intelligent UVC water purification system would provide peace of mind, especially to bluewater cruisers. It also eliminates the need for bottled water on board, saving plastic and space.

The 3-litre unit costs £1,974 and stock is expected back by the end of Q1.

Buy it now from aegina-pure.com

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

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Originally Appeared Here

Workplace hygiene is everyone’s business

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As Australia opens up, the key question is how do we ensure that newly adopted hygiene habits from the last two years are not forgotten about, he says.

“There has been so much advice from health brands and government bodies that it can be difficult to determine what are the right measures and products needed to protect your space,” Rankine says.

Disturbingly, despite all the sturm und drang around germs and the virulence of successive COVID strains, research undertaken by Reckitt Health found nearly half of the people surveyed are unlikely to wash their hands before they eat and one in four (26 per cent) are unlikely to wash their hands after going to the bathroom [3].

For Rankine, ongoing vigilance is the only way forward and “that means washing our hands regularly, social distancing when we need to, and providing clean and sanitised environments for people when they are out and about within the community”.

“Public health advice changes regularly and often without a lot of notice so businesses have a responsibility to ensure they remain up to speed and are as prepared as they can be to respond to today’s ever-changing environment,” Rankine says.

Reason being is employees want to feel that they are protected from germs when they do eventually return to the office and “want to know that you are cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces regularly”.

“That’s where a solid and trusted program such as Dettol Pro Solutions can make a big difference.”

Rankine says the high-profile organisations utilising the Dettol Pro Solutions program is testament to its effectiveness and importantly, it’s providing people with peace of mind.

For example, Dettol Pro Solutions is being used by hotels and organisations as diverse as the MCG, and Mirvac.

According to Director of Partnerships and Commercialisation at Mirvac, Michael Hariz, their partnership with Dettol couldn’t have come at a better time for Mirvac’s shopping centres and retail partners.

Personal hygiene is an expectation. Dettol

“It is our highest priority that our customers, retailers and employees have confidence we are protecting their health and hygiene,” Hariz says.

He says while Mirvac Retail continues to deliver industry-leading health, hygiene and cleaning protocol, the association with Dettol “instils an even greater sense of confidence in our customers”.

“Whether having a coffee with friends, buying a gift or shopping to provide for their family, the message is clear that Mirvac and Dettol are protecting these moments that matter,” Hariz says.

Mirvac have worked hard in recent years to ensure everyone using their centres are well-protected by installing clear signage advising of COVID protocols in high traffic areas as well as positioning QR codes at all entry points as required.

“All spaces follow the strict density guidelines and over the past two years, we have implemented increased cleaning protocol to ensure hygiene is of the highest standard,” Hariz says.

“Hygiene is no longer a ‘nice to have’. It is now expected that we as an industry get this right.”

And the reward for getting hygiene right for a business like Mirvac is “greater trust and goodwill across our retailers, communities, customers and centre teams,” Hariz says.

Rankine says when businesses put solid hygiene measures in place, it helps protect staff and patrons from germs (maintaining wellness and productivity) as well as have “higher levels of confidence, particularly when using hygiene products and brands people know and use regularly at home such as Dettol”.

“Good hygiene means we can all get back to living our lives with confidence and Dettol’s purpose is to protect what we love. For Australians that means our freedom and ability to be out and about in the community whether with family, friends or even for work.

“In that capacity, we have partnered with like-minded organisations to build bespoke hygiene protocol programs which protect their customers from germs in the moments they need most.”

Rankine says businesses, no matter their size or shape, are “capable of adopting good hygiene habits and implementing thorough cleaning and disinfection protocols so that staff can return to work in person knowing they are protected”.

“We encourage all businesses to step up and make hygiene a priority in 2022 and beyond.”

[1] Reckitt Toluna Tracker, Wave 16, June 2021.

[2] B2B SME U&A Study, December 2020.

[3] Dettol Winter Hygiene Habits survey of 1,034 Australians aged 18 years and over. Commissioned

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Originally Appeared Here

White House pivots to air quality focus for COVID-19 infection control – Clinical Daily News

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The White House has embraced a model of COVID-19 transmission that could help shift infection prevention efforts toward indoor air quality and industrial hygiene. A public webinar set for Tuesday, March 29 at 12:30 p.m., EST, will discuss this.

In a blog post released last week titled “Let’s Clear the Air on COVID,” a top science adviser to President Biden highlighted a commonly accepted theory of transmission. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is spread via tiny aerosolized particles that remain suspended in the indoor or outdoor air from minutes to hours after an infected person has been in the area, Alondra Nelson, M.D., wrote.

“Just as chemicals can build up in the air, viruses can as well,” wrote Nelson, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and deputy assistant to the president. “That requires different sorts of controls in the air, and different sorts of respiratory protection.”

HVAC measures reduce risk by 50%

In the White House blog post, Nelson generally encouraged readers to use evidence-based hygiene procedures ranging from opening windows and using portable air cleaning devices to installing built-in air purification technology. This includes constant indoor room air exchange using highly effective filters in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, she said.

All of this can cut the spread of COVID-19, with studies showing that five air changes an hour reduce transmission risk by 50%, she wrote.

“While there are various strategies for avoiding breathing that air – from remote work to masking – we can and should talk more about how to make indoor environments safer by filtering or cleaning air,” Nelson said.

The Tuesday White House webinar will include experts from public health, the social sciences, engineering and journalism. “It is time for a national conversation on how better indoor air quality can help us all live healthier lives,” Nelson wrote.

The official acknowledgment underscores the importance of clean air,” epidemiologist David Michaels, Ph.D., of the George Washington University School of Public Health, told CIDRAP News. “It parallels clean water and outdoor air quality. We expect clean water, and we demand pollution be eliminated to make outdoor air clean. Now people will demand clean indoor air quality.”

A White House first

This attention to air quality may be overdue, some experts said. 

“This is the first time the White House has formally acknowledged that aerosol transmission has been the primary driver of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota.

The aerosol transmission model is currently “underplayed” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lisa Brosseau, ScD, a research consultant at CIDRAP, told the organization’s news arm. But there’s been strong evidence since the early part of the pandemic of long-lasting airborne particles, and examples of viral RNA found in air filters and air exhaust pipes in COVID-19 patients’ rooms, Brosseau said. 

“If aerosol transmission is the dominant way the virus is spread, cloth and surgical masks are inefficient face coverings,” CIDRAP reported. Mitigation strategies should therefore focus on the most effective respiratory protection such as N95 respirators, and on ventilation and air quality,” Brosseau and other experts told CIDRAP News.

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Originally Appeared Here

Rick Bright, Others Offer Advice for Holding Back Another COVID-19 Surge

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COVID-19 cases are soaring in China, Hong Kong, the U.K. and parts of Europe. At the same time, the U.S. focus is transitioning from developing vaccines and therapeutics to dealing with endemic COVID-19. The Demy-Colton Virtual Salon, Getting to the Next Normal: A Roadmap for Living with COVID, explored what we can expect in the near future.

“The challenge is two-fold: the virus keeps throwing curveballs, and the public is done with the virus even though it isn’t done with us,” Michael Osterholm, Ph.D., director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said. “What we’re seeing in Europe is a harbinger of things to come here.”

Looking at China, which recently – again – enacted large-scale quarantines, “We’re seeing a highly vulnerable population that has little immunity,” he said. “We’re also seeing that some vaccines – namely Sinovax – aren’t as effective as others. Who you vaccinate matters. Hong Kong, for example, vaccinated relatively few of its elders, so it’s seeing higher death rates now.”

Health experts also are coming to believe that a mix of vaccine types may be more effective than just one type at conferring longer-term immunity. “The immune response made against the first strain of the virus doesn’t neutralize the new variants as well as against the first strain, so there is some antibody escape,” Rick Bright, Ph.D., CEO, Pandemic Prevention Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, said. However, “The T cell protection from the vaccines and from prior infections remain robust over time, even as the virus evolves. We are gambling with time, as the virus changes in new ways. We can’t be overly confident the vaccines will hold.”

Therefore, Bright advises companies and regulators to be nimble to enable a swift response when needed. That entails learning more about waning immunity, virus evolution and “staying on top of the technology. We can’t look the other way. This virus is ready to surge again, so we must bolster our efforts to hold it back.”

Panelists also advocated expanding the COVID-19 surveillance program, which Bright called “an unfilled gap.” The Rockefeller Foundation is trying to close that gap by strengthening existing surveillance structures to identify early signals and – importantly – to share the data so scientists and public health officials have better knowledge of what’s happening.

“Variants are the Achilles heel,” Bright said. “The world is being blindsided and is reacting inappropriately. We have the technology to know and understand what’s happening to the virus, where it’s going and its impact, but the data is siloed in different formats and contexts so it’s hard to make sense of it.” Data standardization is necessary.

Bright also advocated moving awareness of COVID-19 emergence farther upstream by looking not just at data from COVID-19 tests but also conducting wastewater and air sampling.

“Most are surprised we could pick up the omicron variant in the New York public wastewater before it was discovered and made known in South Africa,” Osterholm added. “We’ve seen that time and again, including with the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009.” The message from that experience, he said, is that “Travel bans don’t work…in the era of modern travel.”

To minimize the spread, Ezekial Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., vice provost for global initiatives, University of Pennsylvania, advised improving building ventilation systems as a first step. “SARS-CoV-2 is airborne. So, bring outdoor air in, improve the HVAC systems of sealed buildings, and if you can’t improve an HVAC system, put in a HEPA filter.” This will help reduce respiratory pathogens and allergens in the air, as well as – potentially – the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “There are funds in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan that schools can use for this purpose.”

Emanuel also suggested grading public buildings on indoor air quality and posting the results prominently, just like food inspectors do for restaurants.

New vaccines and therapeutics also should continue to be developed. “It’s a pay now, or pay later scenario,” Osterholm said. “What we invest now will pay an amazing return,” in terms of healthier populations, which results in less money paid out for disability and health care, for example. Congress is debating the new expenditures, but it’s not just a question of whether to pay the extra funding, but where that funding comes from. “The states are enjoying a surplus of revenue,” he pointed out.

“Now isn’t the time to stop investing (in pandemic preparedness),” Bright agreed. “We’re not even through the crisis and already are beginning to neglect it. This pandemic cost so much because we didn’t invest earlier.”

Some of the new, exciting technologies that can help minimize the next pandemic include more accessible, lower-cost testing, second-generation vaccines that are stable at room temperature or normal refrigeration, needleless vaccines and drugs that can be used in combination therapies without the risk of treatment resistance.

“So far, government funding for COVID-19 has gone largely to the big multinational companies. It’s time now to look at smaller, innovative companies and accelerate their approaches into our arsenal,” Bright said.

The way clinical trials are conducted at the NIH also needs improvement, Emanuel pointed out. “We need to break down the narrow academic mind frame and change the paradigm of how to do research in a public health crisis.” For example, opening up clinical trial enrollment to everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 could get innovative therapies to people sooner and also create a large, real-world sampling. Medicine has advanced through empirical approaches, and physicians need the ability to use that approach now, even as the biological data is being gathered and assessed, he said.

COVID-19 is a moving target and there are many questions to which no-one has answers. “We need accelerated research programs to get those answers quickly,” Bright insisted, citing the unknowns involving the implications of the cytokine storm, lectin pathways, complement systems and other factors in disease severity and in the development of long COVID.

To return to normal, Emanuel said, COVID-related deaths should be below 165 per day in the U.S. “Right now, we’re far from that, with the average daily deaths above 1,000.” Meeting that goal depends upon population immunity, whether natural or through vaccination, as well as a range of public health measures to reduce transmission.

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Originally Appeared Here

World Water Day being marked today « Khabarhub

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KATHMANDU: Nepal is also observing the World Water Day (WWD) by organizing various programs across the country today. The WWD is marked every year on March 22.

The WWD was announced by the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Reo de Janeiro, a city in Brazil in 1992. Internalizing the framework on Agenda 21 of the conference, the WWD is observed every year since 1993.

Life without water is impossible. For quality survival of animal and plant lives, clean water is imperative. It is said human can avoid 80 percent of diseases if the drinking water is ensured pure and safe.

Two-thirds of the earth is covered with water. But, all water is not pure and drinkable. The water in the sea and ocean is salty. Only 2.5 percent of water is considered safe, fresh and potable. Out of this too, most of (1.71 percent) is in a frozen state in north and south poles of the earth. Similarly, 0.74 percent of it is groundwater.

Of the total groundwater, 0.04 percent is fresh and drinkable.

Although Nepal is considered the second richest country in terms of water resources, many markets and cities including the federal capital face acute shortage of drinking water. The government record, however, states 88 percent households have access to pipe-water supply.

It is worrying that news stories on shortage of drinking water resulting in migration become recurring media headlines in the recent days though the constitution has ensured fundamental right to pure drinking water.

This year, the WWD slogan is ‘Groundwater: Making Invisible Visible’.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of the WWD, President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba have given messages of best wishes.

President Bhandari extended best wishes, stating that this Day would inspire all to contribute to ecological balance by conserving water resources. In a message given today, the President said groundwater resource is important natural heritage and helps make ecosystem sustainable and lessens impacts of climate change.

She urged all to encourage the tasks of recharge of groundwater through the use of new technology including ‘check dam’ by launching a nationwide campaign to plant saplings of different flowers and plants that help recharge the underground water.

Similarly, PM Deuba has stated that conservation of available water resources and quality of water by identifying the water resources and ensuring its sustainability is the common responsibility of one and all as a huge chunk of population is heavily reliant on use of groundwater.

In his message of the best wishes on the occasion of the WWD today, the PM has urged all to make contributions from one’s side for the conservation and promotion of groundwater.

Moreover, the experts concerned have underscored the need for proper management of groundwater. Speakers at the program organized by Smart WASH on Monday expressed worry over depleting water resources in the Kathmandu city.

Conservation of water resources including spring is imperative for sustainable development, they emphasized.

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Originally Appeared Here

Why do I (and my kids) get so many colds? And with all this COVID around, should we be isolating too?

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As we head towards winter, the likelihood of picking up a pesky cold increases. But COVID changes how we approach sore throats and runny noses.

If you have cold symptoms and return negative rapid antigen tests, isolating isn’t mandatory – but it’s a good idea. But how long should you stay away from others when you have a cold?

Generally, you’re infectious until your symptoms clear, and should stay away until you’re well again. Passing your cold onto others can mean unnecessary COVID testing for them.

Some people may have a lingering cough or other symptoms when they’re past the normal infectious period. If your RAT is clear for COVID and your symptoms linger, it’s a good idea to consult your GP to rule out other infections or complications.


Read more:
Health Check: I feel a bit sick, should I stay home or go to work?

What causes ‘the common cold’?

Unlike other infectious diseases with one specific cause – such as COVID, which is caused by SARS-CoV-2 – the “common cold” is a viral upper respiratory tract infection with a set of classic signs and symptoms, but which is not caused by one specific virus.

Common colds affect the upper respiratory tract.
Shutterstock

The common cold is most frequently caused by more than 100 different human rhinovirus serotypes (viruses within one species with the same number and type of surface proteins).

Colds can also be caused by multiple other viruses including common cold human coronaviruses, parainfluenza viruses, adenoviruses and others.

We repeatedly get colds because when we develop immunity to one type of virus that can cause colds, another comes along to which we don’t have immunity. Some of these mutate over time and “escape” from the antibodies we have produced to a previous infection.

While we tend to think of colds as harmless, in the very young, the elderly or others with less robust immune systems they can cause serious illness. This can result in hospitalisation and can trigger asthma in susceptible people.

How are colds transmitted?

Cold viruses are transmitted through touching your eyes, mouth, nose or food with hands contaminated by viruses, by direct contact with others, or by inhaling contaminated aerosols.

Pre-school children have six to eight (or more) colds per year.

Children appear to be key drivers of community transmission and bring the infection home from pre-school or school.

Man washes hands with soap.

Good hand hygiene reduces the chance of catching a cold.
Shutterstock

Adults then take the infections into their workplaces. Poor ventilation in workplaces may increase the risk of exposure to cold viruses.

Colds are more common in autumn, winter and spring, or in the rainy season if you live in the tropics.

Common cold life cycle

The median incubation period (the most common time it takes to develop symptoms) can vary greatly from about half a day to five and half days, depending on which virus is involved.

In a rhinovirus infection it’s roughly two days, although symptoms can occur in as little as half a day.

Generally, you’re likely to be infectious one to two days before developing symptoms and while you have symptoms.

Adults and adolescents usually recover from their symptoms in around seven to ten days. Coughs may last longer for some people, particularly younger children.

What symptoms do you get and why?

Inflammation from the infection can cause a number of symptoms, including a sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing and cough.

The runny nose occurs because a chemical called histamine makes your blood vessels more leaky. Your snot starts out clear and runny. Over time it will tend to thicken.

As your immune cells fight off the infection, some white blood cells will die, changing snot colour. As the immune response kicks into high gear, white blood cells called neutrophils produce an infection-fighting chemical (myeloperoxidase) that has a green colour.

When lots of neutrophils die in the process of fighting the virus, the myeloperoxidase causes green snot.

If your runny nose persists for an extended period, or you develop facial pain, you may have acquired a sinus infection.


Read more:
Curious Kids: Why does my snot turn green when I have a cold?

How to prevent catching and transmitting colds

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the following precautions to reduce the risk to others:

  • stay home while symptomatic (and keep sick kids home from school or daycare). For most people, this will be about seven to ten days

  • if you need to cough or sneeze, do so into your elbow. If using tissues, dispose of contaminated tissues and wash your hands afterwards

Child coughs into her arm

Cough into your elbow.
Shutterstock

  • wash or sanitise your hands frequently because rhinoviruses can linger on fingers and objects for several hours

  • transmission occurs when you’re in close proximity to others. So you may choose to work from home, if possible. If you can’t, keep your distance from your co-workers

  • given aerosol transmission is possible, depending on the virus involved, you could also wear a mask at work for a week or two after your symptoms have cleared or if you have returned to work with a lingering cough

  • disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

Finally, train yourself to avoid touching your face. One study compared upper respiratory tract infections in two groups – one that handwashed only, and one that handwashed and used a Smartwatch with a sensor to track hand movements and give reminders about not touching the face.

The group with the hand-tracking and reminders touched their faces less frequently and had a 53% reduction in upper respiratory tract infections.

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Originally Appeared Here

The Fighter | University of Notre Dame

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There’s a clear correlation between race and household income in the area and the number of chemical plants sited nearby. The 4th and 5th districts, which contain more plants than any other districts in St. James, are home to populations that are 64 percent and 90 percent Black, respectively, with nearly a third of residents living below the poverty line.

“The Civil Rights Act and the Louisiana Constitution are supposed to protect Black communities from this type of environmental racism. They have not in Cancer Alley.”

A 2014 land use plan adopted by the St. James Parish Council exacerbated that disparity when it rezoned residential areas in the 4th and 5th districts as “residential / future industrial” to allow for further development.

“The Civil Rights Act and the Louisiana Constitution are supposed to protect Black communities from this type of environmental racism. They have not in Cancer Alley,” Lavigne said. “Our agencies are rubber stamping every permit that comes across their desks.”

Less than two years after the land use plan was adopted, the local government sold St. James High School, where Lavigne taught for 38 years, to a chemical corporation. Teachers and students — who learned of the sale only after it was complete — were forced to relocate to other districts.

A chemical plant located in a region nicknamed “Cancer Alley” in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

It was then that Lavigne, who decided to retire, found herself reflecting on the changes she’d seen in the area — from an increase in the number of children with asthma and developmental disabilities in her classroom to the growing number of friends and family with cancers, respiratory issues and other illnesses.

“We saw a lot of people getting sick and a lot of people dying. But we didn’t know where it was coming from at that time,” she said. “We didn’t have a clue that it was coming from industry. And I thought the world was about to come to an end because we had so many people getting sick. I thought that the sun might be wiped out after a while. That’s the way I felt.

“But I was wrong. It was not the end of the world — it was the plants.”

***

Lavigne herself was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis in 2016, and has since learned that she has elevated levels of aluminum and lead in her bloodstream. The turning point came for her when she researched the disease and discovered that it can be triggered by environmental toxins. As she continued to look into the environmental and health impacts of the industries that surrounded her, she began attending meetings of a local nonprofit organization focused on curbing the pollution.

A woman writes something down on a wall calendar.
Lavigne writes down her appointments on a calendar in the kitchen at her home.

A woman works on her laptop at a cluttered kitchen table.
Lavigne works on her computer in her kitchen.

But two years later, another corporation received the greenlight to build a multibillion-dollar chemical plant in St. James Parish, two miles from Lavigne’s home. While many in the community believed that fighting the proposed facility was a lost cause, Lavigne felt called by God to take action.

“I would sit on my porch and read my Bible. I was depressed because I thought we had to move, and I didn’t know where I was going to move,” she said. “And that’s when I prayed. I sat on this porch and watched the birds and prayed.

A woman sits in a chair on her front porch. A 'Rise St. James' yard sign in the foreground.
Lavigne sits on the front porch at her home.

“I went to him and asked him what I should do, and I waited for his answer. When his voice spoke to me, I cried. Because it was so amazing. And that’s when I got my answer — he told me to fight.”

***

Lavigne launched Rise St. James with an informal gathering of 10 people in her living room. She now manages a small staff and more than 20 regular volunteers.

Chasity White, a fellow resident of St. James Parish’s 5th district, has been with her from the beginning.

“Sharon has been a source of hope and inspiration to both myself and the community. She is always working to help the people of St. James. And when she speaks out on behalf of them, she speaks passionately.” —Chasity White, resident of St. James Parish

White first met Lavigne when she was 15 and a student in Lavigne’s high school. When Lavigne found out that White wanted to join the pep squad but didn’t have transportation, she volunteered to drive her to every football game that year. Along the way, the two became friends.

“Sharon has been a source of hope and inspiration to both myself and the community,” White said. “She is always working to help the people of St. James. And when she speaks out on behalf of them, she speaks passionately.”

White now lives just down the street from the former St. James High School. Her son was attending the school and was able to walk there at the time it was sold. She said she joined Rise St. James, in part, because she wants her children to be able to have the same experiences and sense of heritage she had growing up.

“St. James means a lot to me, because I have history here. My granddad’s store is still operating after 50 years,” White said. “And people may ask the question, ‘Well, why fight?’ Why fight? Because this is my home. This is my roots. This is where I grew up. This is where love is, where family is.”

***

Lavigne and the members of Rise St. James have spoken out at town hall and parish council meetings, organized a march from New Orleans to the governor’s mansion in Baton Rouge, allied with other environmental justice organizations and produced signs, ads and reports on the negative effects of the industry’s pollutants.

They had their first win when they successfully campaigned against a proposed $1.25 billion chemical plant from Wanhua Chemical. In September 2019, the corporation withdrew its land use application.

Lavigne and members of Rise St. James attend a hearing in Baton Rouge, as part of their lawsuit against Formosa Plastics.

But the organization continues to fight another Goliath — the construction of a $9.4 billion Formosa Plastics complex that would double the level of toxic emissions in St. James Parish.

Along with their grassroots efforts, Rise St. James and their community partners have initiated a lawsuit against Formosa in response to its repeated failure to meet Environmental Protection Agency standards.

In recognition of her work, Lavigne received the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2021 and has been named to the Forbes “50 over 50” impact list.

Lavigne’s father — an activist in his own right — was an inspiration and an early role model for her. He served as president of the local chapter of the NAACP and worked to integrate St. James schools in the 1960s. He liked to remind her that God has a plan, she said.

Outside a woman speaks into a microphone. Blurred out behind her is a tall chain linked fence with red flowers.
A group of volunteers wearing the same yellow shirt sit and stand clapping in a field.
Three people stand in front of a tall chain linked fence. One person holds their fist in the air.
Lavigne speaks to community members at the Rise St. James’ first annual African American Celebration at the gravesite of enslaved ancestors at the Buena Vista Cemetery. The land was purchased by Formosa Plastics for a proposed petrochemical complex. (Photos: Goldman Environmental Prize)

“He was a fighter, and he always walked by faith,” she said. “He said his prayers, and he always said prayer changes things. And I hear his voice all the time, telling me prayer changes things. And I can see it. I see it.”

As she continues to fight — and pray — Lavigne has faith that they will defeat Formosa’s proposal, too, and that the tides are turning as more people become aware of the disproportionate impact of industrial pollution on marginalized communities. Last fall, she welcomed EPA Administrator Michael Regan to St. James Parish, and she will be traveling to Washington, D.C., in June on behalf of Rise St. James.

“So, we have a lot of work to do. Rise St. James is cut out to do work. And Rise St. James will make a difference in St. James Parish, because we are here to save the lives of the people.”

Ultimately, her goal is to restore the health of their community and its members.

“We want to rebuild St. James Parish, especially the 5th district. We want our young people to want to live here; we want to build more homes here,” she said. “We want to get to the point where we have clean air, where we don’t have to buy bottled water, we can drink our own water. And we want to vote out the public officials that are not helping us.

“So, we have a lot of work to do. Rise St. James is cut out to do work. And Rise St. James will make a difference in St. James Parish, because we are here to save the lives of the people.”

Produced by the Office of Public Affairs and Communications

  • Writer: Carrie Gates
  • Videography: Zack Dudka
  • Photography: Barbara Johnston

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Originally Appeared Here

Trumansburg Elementary closed Monday, remote Tuesday, as staff cases spike

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The Trumansburg Elementary School “has twenty-one (21) staff members that are either COVID-19 positive or home ill with symptoms,” said Trumansburg superintendent of schools Kimberly Bell in a message to families on Sunday morning. “We cannot safely provide classroom coverage with this volume of absent teachers. For this reason, we have made the difficult decision to close the elementary school on Monday, March 28. On Tuesday, March 29, we will provide elementary students with (at home) asynchronous instruction.”

“That means that our teams of teachers will support each other and provide work for each grade level available for your child via a learning platform,” the message continues. “Children may access the instruction on Tuesday at a time convenient for them and you as a family. Therefore, there will be no instruction for elementary school students on Monday. Tuesday, students will access their learning platform (at home) for instruction.”

Related: Dozens of new cases likely tied to Trumansburg high school musical

“It is still chilling and somewhat unreal to realize the continued impact of the pandemic,” Superintendent Bell says. “I appreciate your partnership as we work together to continue efforts in providing education continuity, remote learning, and student support services.”

“Please continue to test regularly if you have had known exposure or are experiencing symptoms. To reduce the spread and impact of COVID-19, we continue to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and our local Department of Health. We are staying in close communication with local and state health officials to ensure we are taking the appropriate steps under the current circumstances.”

  • Enhanced infection control precautions, such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), increasing hand sanitizer availability, and more frequent cleaning and disinfecting of high-touch surfaces.
  • Availability of testing for students for the virus causing COVID-19 based on current protocols and availability of tests.
  • Availability of masks in each central office and health office.

“Our middle school and high school will be open as planned and ready to receive students in person on Monday and Tuesday,” Bell said. “We anticipate resuming in-person instruction on Wednesday, March 30, for elementary school children.”

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Related: Coronavirus coverage in 14850 Today

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Originally Appeared Here

Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively donate to Indigenous drinking water effort

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The Student Advocates for Public Health (SAPH), a group of U of A grad students, hosted a media availability last week calling for clean drinking water for all Indigenous communities throughout the country.

During the media availability, Randal Bell, a member of SAPH, said 43 per cent of all First Nations drinking water systems in Canada are currently labeled as medium to high risk of contamination, with 36 long-term drinking water advisories in effect as of March 14.

The goal of the event was to bring awareness to the situation and Bell said seeing high-profile people step up with donations means a lot.

“I think anytime a superhero in disguise like Blake Lively and her sidekick Ryan Reynolds can draw some national attention to this issue, I think it is a wonderful thing,” said Bell. “It builds awareness, it starts conversations, and it inspires people, like it did me.”

The Vancouver-born Reynolds and Lively donated to Water First, a group running local programs in Canada supporting the provision of clean drinking water to Indigenous communities. Water First also trains Indigenous youth on how to use clean drinking water systems and environmental water science.

“Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right,” Reynolds said in the announcement of the donation.

“Canada is home to over 20 per cent of the planet’s freshwater — an abundance that’s envied around the world … there’s absolutely no reason Indigenous communities should not have access to safe, clean water.”

Reynolds and Lively said they appreciate Water First’s focus on training and opportunities for Indigenous youth, which ensures sustainable access to safe, clean water.

The donation, and a Ryan Reynolds interview, got Bell thinking of what he would like to do next once SAPH’s Thirsty For Change Project is completed.

“I really wanted to keep that momentum moving. So, I made the decision to start a non-profit that will raise national awareness about the Indigenous water crisis,” said Bell.

Bell said his non-profit, Indigenous Water Now, will launch its website on May 1 to kick off Drinking Water Week.

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twitter.com/kellentaniguchi


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Originally Appeared Here

Biomass is not health neutral

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Even as Congress declares that biomass is carbon neutral, burning it puts thousands of lives at risk.

In the $1.5 trillion spending bill recently passed by Congress, lawmakers codified a declaration that biomass taken from forests is “carbon neutral.” Putting aside the many questions and conditions that need to be met in order for this to be true and the potential impacts on biodiversity, encouraging the use of biomass for energy will increase air pollution, public health impacts and environmental justice issues around the siting of these facilities. We recently published a peer-reviewed paper quantifying the health impacts of burning wood and biomass in residential and commercial buildings, industry and power plants. In it, we found that burning wood and biomass in buildings and in industry had a combined public health burden of at least 18,000 deaths, higher than that of coal-fired power plants. 

Biomass mostly comes from firewood, waste wood, wood pellets and wood chips, but it can also come from farm waste, such as the waste from corn and soybean harvesting, paper, cotton, wool and food from trash. These biomass sources are then burned to produce heat and power for buildings and industry, and to produce electricity. Like other combustion fuels, air pollution from burning biomass can cause asthma exacerbations, hospitalizations for heart attack and respiratory disease, birth defects, neurodegenerative diseases and death, among many other health impacts. 

Our research found that in 2017 in the U.S., air pollution from burning firewood in homes was responsible for 9,800 to 16,000 deaths, burning biomass in industrial boilers had a health burden of 8,000 to 15,000 deaths, and using it in commercial buildings had a health burden of 640 to 1,200 deaths. This is comparable to the 9,100 to 11,000 deaths due to the coal-fired power plants that were operating in 2017. Wood and biomass was the most impactful fuel in homes in all states, except for New York and Illinois.  

This is an underestimate since it does not include the health harms due to exposure to indoor air pollution from wood stoves. A recent study found massive increases in indoor air pollution from wood stoves, an exposure that is associated with increased respiratory illness in children, along with the many other health impacts from air pollution. 

Our study, along with many others, demonstrates that swapping out one combustion fuel for another, even if Congress considers the new fuel to be “carbon neutral,” is not a pathway to a healthy energy system. Increasing reliance on biomass fuels, at minimum, will be a missed opportunity for big public health gains. Alternatives to wood and biomass for home heating exist. These include air-source heat pumps, ground-source heat pumps, and GeoGrids — a novel home heating and cooling technology with six demonstration projects underway in Massachusetts. Biomass plays an extremely minor role on the electrical grid — generating only 1 to 2 percent of total electricity — and could be replaced with wind, solar and other renewables. 

While the use of wood and biomass has increased in both high- and low-income households and commercial buildings, declaring biomass “carbon neutral” could encourage further investment in biomass-related infrastructure. These kinds of infrastructure investments are made across the supply chain with decades-long lifetimes in mind. This makes these facilities difficult to decommission or retire early once installed, similar to the existing fossil fuel infrastructure.  

While carbon neutrality of biomass requires a variety of conditions to be met, solely focusing on carbon emissions without considering other air pollutants and health impacts can lead to shortsighted energy system planning with negative health consequences. Declaring biomass to be carbon neutral with no regard for the health consequences may set us onto a path toward further investing in an energy system with an already-serious health burden, ambiguous climate benefits and environmental justice issues in the supply chain. Committing to alternatives, or better yet, making major energy decisions using a systems-level approach with both climate and public health in mind, can set us on a pathway toward an energy system that is healthier, more just and more compatible with the recommendations of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Jonathan Buonocore, Sc.D., is a research scientist at the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Parichehr Salimifard, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the Oregon State University College of Engineering.

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Originally Appeared Here