EP 94: Advanced Chemical Recycling - The Wave of the Future or More of the Same?

Episode 94

EP 56 Advanced Chemical Recycling - The Wave of the Future or More of the Same?

Tom Irwin, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, joins me on this podcast along with Roger Stephenson of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Biologist Dr. Cynthia Walter of the NH Network, to discuss one of the newer technologies in solid waste management called Advanced Recycling. Tom succinctly outlines the scope of the problem with respect to dealing with plastic waste

But plastic waste is only one of the issues that we need to address moving forward. Reduction and substitution is also a critical component of building a future where plastics do not pose the threat that faces us today. Finally, there is the overarching issue of climate change and the question of whether Advanced recycling will improve carbon emissions associated with the disposal of plastics or make the problem worse.

Listen here: https://feeds.podetize.com/sxbId8lBs.mp3

Show notes: https://nhsecrets.blogspot.com/2023/05/ep-94-advanced-chemical-recycling-wave.html

"Advanced Recycling" is the abbreviated version of the more revealing terms used by scientists who call it  " chemical recycling" or "plastics recycling" . It generally describes a series of processes employed to convert used plastics to their chemical components and thence to products and fuels.

The philosopher George Santayana said that "Skepticism is the Chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the firstcomer." and skepticism seems to be the watchword when it comes to these processes.

The companies that are investing in this technology are largely the same fossil fuel companies, companies like Exxon Mobil, that have spent three decades denying the effects of climate change.

If the thought of recycling plastics brings to mind the April 2023 fire at a plastics recycler in Richmond, Indiana, that made national news, you are not alone. That fire forced the evacuation of 2,000 nearby residents. The towering plumes of black smoke were dramatic, but, according to experts, this is far from an isolated incident in the world of facilities that store or recycle plastic waste.

Twice Told Autumn Rain Origs      Open Edition Prints

Though they rarely receive the amount of attention that the Richmond facility did, according to  Richard Meier, a private fire investigator in Florida who worked for 24 years as a mechanical engineer in manufacturing, including in plastics companies, there are - in fact - hundreds of such fires in the United States and Canada every year. and most of them never make the news.

So, given the extent of the problem as described by Tom,  we are left to answer the questions: is "Advanced Recycling"  really advanced and really recycling; or is it neither. 

Is it a safe and responsible approach to dealing with a growing national and international problem with plastic waste?

However you come down on the issue, my guests today are clear that all of us should exercise skepticism, not only because of the historic record of the fossil fuels industry on climate but also as it relates to safety and health issues and what they term as "Cumulative impacts" - the subject of a bill currently before the NH legislature.

Conflagration on Long Pond Road

I have to say that after speaking with Roger, Tom, and Cynthia, I am more skeptical than ever of Advanced Recycling. That skepticism began with a general mistrust of the fossil fuel industry and their motives and methods.

But more important - and I may sound like the country boy I am here - it just seems a matter of horse sense.

If we need to reduce plastics in our environment - and we clearly do - why begin halfway through the cycle? Why give the industry a reason to keep manufacturing plastics from raw materials simply because they are working to convince us that - now, magically, they are the source of the answer to the problem they have created to begin with?

There is no doubt that we have an existing problem that we must confront and perhaps - perhaps - Advanced Recycling can play a role in doing that, but not if it requires us to continue to feed the marketplace with new plastics, rather than a safer, more sustainable set of alternatives.

The fossil fuel industry is in its final stages - they are staring down the barrel of a new day where green technologies have eclipsed their relevance and their profits. Every industry that has ever existed has been through the same thing. We can feel for those who are seeing their way of life disappearing but it is part of the social evolution of the capitalist ecosystem. We are under no obligation to help them create a new source of wealth, especially if that source delays the green transition that we need to keep our planet habitable for all of us: two-legged, four-legged, winged and otherwise mobile.

Refilleries

What is a refillery & why is refilling important?

Let's Go Zero Waste

https://letsgozerowaste.com› Blog

Aug 28, 2021— a refillery store – which is a retail store with a physical location that is dedicated to refills. This also includes zero waste grocery stores.

Refilleries in New Hampshire

Rayne Refillery

5.0(5)· Store

Alton, NH

Closed⋅ Opens 10 AM Wed· (603) 393-0327

In-store shopping·In-store pickup·Delivery

Replenish Refillery

5.0(9)· Home goods store

Dover, NH

Closed⋅ Opens 10 AM Tue· (603) 507-0852

In-store shopping·Curbside pickup·Delivery

The Refill Station

4.9(11)· Store

Portsmouth, NH

Closed⋅ Opens 10 AM Tue· (603) 498-8963

In-store shopping

Bona Fide | Eco + Refill Shop

4.7(40)· Boutique

Concord, NH

Closed⋅ Opens 10 AM Tue· (603) 224-9700

In-store shopping·Curbside pickup·Delivery

Leave No Trace Refillery, llc

5.0(1)· Delivery service

Closed⋅ Opens 8 AM Tue· (833) 733-4558

Witching Hour Provisions | New Hampshire (NH) bulk store & small-batch coffee roaster.

5.0(8)· Home goods store

Hopkinton, NH

Closed⋅ Opens 10 AM Tue· (603) 505-8107

In-store shopping·In-store pickup·Delivery

Climate resilience in New England: How does New Hampshire stack up?

https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2023/03/02/climate-resilience-in-new-england-how-does-new-hampshire-stack-up/

New Hampshire Network: Environment • Energy • Climate

Home:  https://www.newhampshirenetwork.org/

Events:  https://www.newhampshirenetwork.org/events

Roger Stephenson

Northeast Regional Advocacy Director

Union of Concerned Scientists

(603) 770-9484

Twitter: @RogerAPR

https://www.ucsusa.org/about/people/roger-stephenson

https://blog.ucsusa.org/author/roger-stephenson/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerstephensonapr/

Tom Irwin, Esq.

Vice President and Director of CLF New Hampshire

27 North Main Street

Concord, NH 03301-4930

P: 603.225.3060

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-irwin-1159727/

Conservation Law Foundation. https://www.clf.org/

About Tom:  https://www.clf.org/about/our-team/tom-irwin/

@TOMIRWINNH |

Cynthia Walter, Ph.D.

Retired Biologist

NH Network for Environment, Energy and Climate Plastics Working Group

cawalter22@gmail.com

412-610-4327

NH Network for Environment, Energy and Climate

https://www.newhampshirenetwork.org/

NH Network for Environment, Energy and Climate Plastics Working Group

Corn Washout

Winter Wind on Breckenridge

Crimson Spring

Welton Falls

Borne on a Beam

EP 93 Judge Richard Daschbach - "A Lucky and Blessed Life"

 Richard J. Daschbach

Judge Richard Daschbach

 "A Lucky and Blessed Life"

I first met "Dick" Daschbach when we served together in the NH House of Representatives (1986-1988). Dick and I formed an immediate bond and along with our colleagues, particularly V. Michael Hutchings and Deborah "Arnie" Arnesen, we formed the backbone of a "peanut gallery" sitting at the back of Reps Hall together and offering a running commentary on the proceedings to one another.

Listen here: https://feeds.podetize.com/GR9KEX01gy.mp3

Show notes: https://nhsecrets.blogspot.com/2023/04/ep-93-judge-richard-daschbach-lucky-and.html

Youtube: https://youtu.be/5ubdppwQals

Dick's first job after college but before Law School was as a worker in the US Senate Post Office. He worked a half day and went to Law School the other half.

In 1967 He and his wife vacationed in NH on Lake Spoffard and fell in love with NH. Shortly after that they bought a home in Walpole, NH. He became a legal services lawyer for the area.

New Hampshire would turn out to be Dick and Virginia's "Spot on the Porch" for the balance of their lives (so far!)

Spirit Pony in a Franconia Dusk

On the last day of class in his first year of Georgetown Law School Dick received a call from the office of Senator Russell Long asking him to come and work for Sen. Long. On that same day his first child was born and Dick was appointed as Maritime Counsel to Long's Merchant Marine Committee. US Senate: Office of the legendary Senator Russell Long of Louisianna. Senator Long was the son of Huey Long, also a legendary figure in Louisiana politics.

He was appointed Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. Richard retired from that position upon the election of Ronald Reagan.

Assistant to the President: Seafarer's Union, a Union representing the men and women who work on US flagged ships. Trying to raise the work standards all over the world so US ships, and employees, could be more competitive.

At 74 he was appointed Chief Judge of the Federal Workers Compensation Appeals Board, a position he would hold for 4 years before returning to New Hampshire full time in his retirement.

Note: About a pocket veto, mentioned in the podcast: 

Sundown Wash Line in Jefferson

Timing is everything with a pocket veto. Congress has the authority to override a pocket veto. However, the process for overriding a pocket veto is different from the process for overriding a regular veto.

When the President takes no action on a bill and Congress is in session, the bill becomes law after 10 days without the President's signature. However, if Congress adjourns before the 10 days are up, the President can use a pocket veto to effectively kill the bill.

If Congress is still in session after the 10-day period has elapsed and the President has not signed the bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, if Congress has adjourned before the 10-day period has elapsed, there is no opportunity for Congress to override the pocket veto. In this case, the bill dies and must be reintroduced in the next session of Congress.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-j-daschbach-111138187/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-j-daschbach-3653a628/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-j-daschbach-3653a628/overlay/50021181/single-media-viewer?type=IMAGE&profileId=ACoAAAXAuH0B0nH_6YK4dVPrYR0drJplhl_gUU4

An Outlaw's Lament

Pow Wow Parade Dancer''

Apple in Autumn Open Edition             Signed Originals

Arch Window on a Surreal World - Signed Original

The Big Wash

Washday in the Tall Tower

EP 92 Edith Tucker - Journalism and Life: Purpose Driven and Down to Earth

 

Edith Tucker

Edith Tucker

Journalism and Life: Purpose Driven and Down to Earth

Described by the great John Harrigan as a first-rate journalist, Edith Tucker had already experienced a full and consequential life before a later life conversion to journalist. She dropped out of college to marry and then, in addition to raising four children, she got involved in local government, first in Pelham, NY and then in Wellesley, MA where she served as Chair of the Finance Committee and on the school board for nine years. She became an activist in the women's movement and fair housing and attended the 1976 Republican National Convention. After meeting the great Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith, Galbraith hired her to work for him,  assisting him in the transcription and writing of his books and speeches and later serving as his appointment secretary.

Edith was not the kind to let any grass grow under her feet so when a later employer moved his business to her hometown, saving her more than an hour commute each way, she decided to fill in those two hours by going back to college. She was accepted at Wellesley College as a Davis Scholar, majoring in Government. As a non-traditional student she was nervous about her ability to jump back into academic life - especially while working full time. She didn't need to worry, because she graduated summa cum laude and won the Erasmus Prize in history, bolstered by a paper that she wrote about the treatment of Chinese laborers in Massachusetts' Shoe Factories, a paper that influenced the State's adoption of the Chinese Inclusion Act.

In 1994 she and her husband moved to New Hampshire and she went to work at the Berlin Reporter and later moved to the Coos County Democrat, owned by John Harrigan.

A three-term state legislator during the last six years Edith has done a lot of thinking about some of the great issues we face in our country. The wisdom of her thoughts will make this podcast very enjoyable for you.

Support NH Secrets through the purchase of art from our gallerys.

Highland Storm #1 - Dreams of the Storm
Signed Original Edition of 5
Open edition print - unsigned

Butternut Mist Originals        Open edition Prints

On the Wings of Eagles

Dreaming in Gold - Signed Originals

Pumpkins and Wash Original               Open Edition Images

Purple Shirts in a Window Original            Open Edition

Highland Storm #2 - Rain on the Lupine
Signed Original Edition of 5
Open edition print - unsigned

Colors Over Franconia Notch

Autumn Rainstorm Fine Art Poster

Special Offer

Signed Limited Edition 250

29" x 36"

$195.00

To order a different size poster in open 

edition or a different size, click here:

Corn Washout

Donald Hall & Jane Kenyon - Outlaws in their Time

 An Outlaw's Lament

Remembering Jane Kenyon and Donald Hall

An Outlaw’s Lament

Kenyon and Hall stand

Wordsmiths to a threatened land

Outlaws in their times

~ Wayne King

April is National Poetry Month

There is grave danger to any writer or artist in the act of writing a poem about an internationally renowned poet - to say nothing about two of them. Yet, as usual, I am drawn to the task as a moth to a flame.

Among the great love stories of our time was the love shared between the poets Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon. Theirs was a love for the ages but it wasn’t just a love for one another, it was a love for the land.

I met them in 1989 when we teamed up to save a large swath of land on the side of Mount Kearsarge, introduced by our mutual friends Kenison Smith and Mary Lyn Ray. As a State Senator, my task was to work on efforts to help with the funding of the purchase of conservation easements in the area.

In 1989, the Kearsarge Regional Land Trust was established to protect the land around Mt Kearsarge. The organization works to conserve and protect the natural resources and scenic beauty of the region, as well as to promote public access and education.

Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon, as well as another very prominent Poet, John Hay, were supporters of the Kearsarge Regional Land Trust and played a part in its preservation efforts. They were passionate about the natural beauty of the region and recognized the importance of preserving it for future generations.

In 2001, the Donald Hall-Jane Kenyon Literary Trail was established by the Kearsarge Regional Land Trust as a way to honor the contributions of Hall and Kenyon, to encourage visitors to explore the natural beauty of the area. The trail includes stops at places that were important to them, such as their homes and favorite hiking trails.

Original signed image

https://www.waynedking.com/workszoom/4301559/an-outlaws-lament#/

Ep 91 OUR Children - The State of the State On Public Education Funding - Reps Mel Myler & Dave Luneau

 

OUR Children - The State of the State On Public Education Funding

Listen here: https://feeds.podetize.com/BIjvIDwDD.mp3

When it comes to public education,  Representative Mel Myler and Representative David Luneau remind us that we are talking about OUR children. Not just yours or mine but all of our children.

Rep Mel Myler & Rep David Luneau, both of Merrimack District 9 are the Ranking Democrat members and the Deputy Ranking Member respectively of the NH House Committee on Education. They have been leading the charge within the legislature for greater accountability and equity in public education, particularly with respect to the new Educational Freedom Accounts that provide annual grants to families who place their children in private schools, with virtually no accountability, educational standards, or oversight.

Dreaming in Gold - Signed Originals

When you listen to this podcast you will find yourself both disgusted by the unjust and likely-unconstitutional (soon to be adjudicated) use of millions of dollars of taxpayer funding being doled out to thousands of families whose children were already in private, often-religious, schools before the passage of the Education Freedom Account law, administered by a private contractor - not the NH Department of Education, and not subject to any legislative oversight.

Parents who enroll their children in the program forfeit all special education assistance to the child, leaving their child as the primary victim of the transition.

The only requirement to qualify for this grant is that the household is beneath an approximately $80,000/year income level but this requirement is only for the first year. If a family enrolls a first grader in the program this year, irrespective of how high their income goes over the course of their child's education, they will be eligible to collect the grant through the end of high school, with no recertification of income level.

Highland Storm #2 - Rain on the Lupine
Signed Original Edition of 5
Open edition print - unsigned

3,200 children are enrolled in this program, receiving a public grant of between $7-$9,000 per year per child. 3,100 children were already in private schools before the program went into effect and only 100 students applied to move from public schools to private schools. This represents a direct transfer of wealth, from communities throughout the state to families who were already sending their children to private schools.

Then there is the hopeful news.

For the first time in more than 20 years, a committee was appointed, Chaired by Rep Luneau, with support from the Carsey Center at UNH, a think tank, to do a broad assessment of educational funding, based on empirical data now available. What they discovered is that funding for public education is adequate but that changes to the formula for distribution are needed to provide a more equitable use of those public funds..

That's right. More money is not the problem. How that money is allocated could substantially improve the equity of public education for all of our kids.

Report of the Commission to Study School Funding.

The Commission released its final report on Dec. 1, 2020. You may read the pdf here:  https://carsey.unh.edu/sites/default/files/media/2020/12/final_report_forcommission_v5_12012020.pdf

https://nhsecrets.blogspot.com/2023/03/ep-91-our-children-state-of-state-on.html

Colors Over Franconia Notch

Video link

https://youtu.be/K3htKB7yMn0

Video link

" https://youtu.be/K3htKB7yMn0 "

Mel Myler (Democratic Party) is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Merrimack 9. He assumed office on December 7, 2022. His current term ends on December 4, 2024.

Myler (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the New Hampshire House of Representatives to represent Merrimack 9. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Committee assignments

This membership information was last updated in March 2021. Ballotpedia completes yearly updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

Conflagration on Long Pond Road

2023 Ranking Dem House Education Committee

2019-2020 House Education Committee, Chair

Mel Myler Experience:

Representative, NH House of Representatives (2012 - present); Former Executive Director, National Education Association of NH; Former President, California Teaching Association Student Association

Home Address:

PO Box 82Contoocook, NH 03229United States

Email: Mel.Myler@leg.state.nh.us
Home Page: https://gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/member.aspx?pid=758

Education:

BA, California Western University, San Diego; MA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Links

https://www.citizenscount.org/candidate/mel-myler

https://www.billtrack50.com/legislatordetail/17481

https://trackbill.com/legislator/new-hampshire-representative-mel-myler/821-10224/

https://www.facebook.com/mel.myler.5/

Corn Washout

Representative Dave Luneau

Deputy Ranking Dem - Education Committee

https://www.billtrack50.com/legislatordetail/20051

https://ballotpedia.org/David_Luneau

email: dluneauNH@gmail.com

603-661-0990