• Supreme Court upholds EPA rule limiting cross-state pollution. Appeals court hands EPA a victory on soot rules
• U.S. emerges to top three in solar installations behind China and Japan
• Supreme Court validates the EPA's plans to regulate major sources of green-house gas emissions
• In U.S., carbon emissions are the lowest they've been since 1994 due to more efficient cars and appliances and internet efficiency (source: US Energy Information Administration)
• 300,000 climate change activists marched on 9/21/14 in NYC to rally for new political policies
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund will begin divesting in fossil fuel stocks
• The Arlington County Board and Falls Church City Council unanimously passed resolutions to prohibit the use of horizontal fracturing in the George Washington National Forest. The D.C. City Council passed a similar resolution earlier. 

In what city in the U.S. does the water authority claim that street planters, rain gardens and permeable pavement soak up 60% of storm-water runoff?

Visit michellesearth.org for the answers!

Health outcomes, such as stress relief, recovery time decrease, mental health and social health, can be improved by access to nature. Studies have demonstrated the positive impact on the patients that nature contact can have in healthcare facilities. Although this correlation is acknowledged, there is still disconnect of evidence and contemporary
medical practices. By observing how nature contact influences cancer patient and caregiver well- being at the Vermont Cancer Center, I have made recommendations as to how the space can be improved in the future for further patient care improvement. The healing garden, located beside the infusion bays, serves as a place that patients and visitors can observe or visit during their visits to the clinic; however this feature is currently underutilized. In order to understand the intention of the space, current use patterns and how to improve the space to better meet the needs of cancer patients I used three strategies: (1) a series of eight interviews with individuals involved in creating and maintaining the garden, (2) 17 surveys completed by nursing staff at the Vermont Cancer Center and (3) 28 surveys completed by patients and visitors in the waiting room and infusion bay. Responses indicated that individuals who have spent time in the garden or observing it from the window have experienced respite, stress relief and a deeper understanding and appreciation for life outside of the hospital. Typically responses indicated that increased awareness of the space, water features and spaces for tables would increase the number of patients positively impacted by visiting the space each year. Through these findings, recommendations regarding outreach and accessibility have been made to those involved in developing and maintaining the space.

Colleen Whitcomb majored in Environmental Health at the University of Vermont. Her senior thesis is on how healing gardens in hospitals can benefit the health outcomes of cancer patients. Colleen was in a community service fraternity and was also a site leader for 'alternative' spring break at UVM.  She spent a semester of her junior year in Perth, Australia. Colleen likes hiking, camping, photography and reading. She lives in Maine.

 

by Stephanie Lewis

Located in the Mojave Desert in California, Ivanpah shines like a futuristic playground: hundreds of thousands of glittering mirrors direct sunlight to the tops of three towers, creating a halo-like glow and heating them to a sweltering 1,000°Fahrenheit. Water located inside these towers boils and creates steam, which in turn spins turbines and ultimately generates electricity. This method of converting the sun's energy is called concentrated solar power (CSP) and is still relatively new. A more familiar approach is the use of solar panels, which directly convert the sun's rays into electricity via photovoltaic cells in the panels. Though photovoltaic plants are much cheaper to build than those using CSP, they are more susceptible to massive swings in production on cloudy days, making CSP a more reliable option. Spain was one of the first countries to implement CSP technology on a large scale, which I discussed in an earlier article from the Summer 2010 newsletter. Spain's Solucar complex located in Andalusia is the largest solar power complex in Europe and supplies clean energy to 94,000 households annually.

Completed earlier this year, Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is the largest solar thermal facility in the world and produces half of the total thermal power in the state of California. It is comprised of three separate plants and 347,000 garage door-sized mirrors, which are paired across 173,500 heliostats. Computers guide the heliostats to follow the sun as efficiently and for as long as possible each day. On June 1, it generated a record 3,300 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy, and annually it can produce about 400 MW of electricity, or enough for roughly 140,000 houses. At peak hours and max capacity, however, it may generate more than twice that number.


Over the next two decades Ivanpah is projected to remove 13.5 million tons of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be created by fossil fuels - that's like taking 72,000 cars off California's roads annually. Ivanpah is just one sprawling, glowing example of how innovation can come together with clean energy initiatives to create something truly inspiring. Clean energy technology is critical to the success of a sustainable future for our planet, and the sky itself is the limit - or the sun, perhaps!

Thelma Selders and Komal Brown screening for lead levels in children

Michelle's Earth is moving from creating lead safe playgrounds to testing children for elevated blood lead levels. Thanks to Magellan Equipment, which provided the test kits and analyzer and the generous support of friends in New Orleans, we've started an education and screening campaign to reach out to preschoolers who live in areas where tests by Dr. Howard Mielke of Tulane University have shown high levels of lead contamination in the soil.

We screened more than 50 children and adults at the New Orleans Earth Day Festival and the St. Luke's Episcopal Church Health Fair. The last event was at St. Luke's Episcopal Church - which is one of two historically black churches in New Orleans and located in a heavily lead contaminated area. A quarter of those tested showed lead levels at 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The Center for Disease Control's standard is 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The screening is a simple finger prick. The blood is analyzed within five minutes and the results explained.

For those with high results, we offer the names and addresses of low or no cost clinics if they don't have a family doctor. We also share information about the source of the lead and how families can reduce their risk. Lead exposure can come from lead-based paint in older buildings and in soil where children play. In some parts of New Orleans, 58.5 percent of the children are at risk!

Our end goal is to accumulate enough screenings to demonstrate to the State Legislature in Baton Rouge that Louisiana needs a state law like those in at least a dozen states that calls for mandatory screening/assessment for lead levels for all children heading to school.

 

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
                                          T.S. Eliot