The LookOut is a monthly
review of climate issues and recent developments in our neighborhood.

 

Nordic
Aquafarms no longer plans to raise Atlantic
salmon
on the Samoa Peninsula. The plan to raise yellowtail kingfish instead
takes a few steps in the right direction. Scott Thompson, spokesman
for Nordic, briefed members of 350 Humboldt and other environmental
organizations as a courtesy prior to the press release.

Raising
kingfish, a Pacific native found south of here, uses much less fresh
water than the two to four million gallons per day required for
Atlantic salmon. Because kingfish are used to warmer water, chillers
will not be needed to chill the water from the bay. In fact, it will
have to be warmed, but the hot water heat pumps will not use as much
energy as the chillers, helping to lower the energy usage of the
original plan by ten percent. Also, the water discharge will be
closer to both the temperature and the salinity of the bay.

The
scale of the project has shrunk. The main building will be somewhat
smaller at full build-out, and the amount of fish product is targeted
at 15,000 metric tons instead of 25,000 metric tons, requiring about
half of the number of truck trips in the original plan. The project
will still be built in stages, and the goal of the first stage is now
3,000 metric tons—which is still much larger than what Nordic’s
facilities in Denmark or Norway produce. (To watch Supervisor
Arroyo’s presentation of her tour of Nordic’s Denmark facility
that produces 600 tons of kingfish, click here.)

The
switch to kingfish is largely motivated by the corporation’s
difficulty in obtaining a permit from California Fish and Wildlife to
raise Atlantic salmon. All the other required permits also seem to
promise a longer process than Nordic had previously thought, delaying
full build-out to a decade or so from now. The company’s plans to
build another largest-in-the-world-by-far onshore recirculating
aquaculture system facility in Belfast, Maine has been dealt some
serious blows. If that project isn’t dead, it’s in a coma.

If
Nordic’s plans for Humboldt county come to fruition in a decade,
the offshore wind farm might be in full swing. A large amount of
clean renewable energy nearby would be the best-case scenario for the
facility’s energy needs. 17 MWs of battery storage at the DG Fairhaven plant could also supply valuable power when the wind
isn’t blowing.

 

courtesy of Lost Coast Outpost

 

 

 

Another
year, another Earth Day.

As is often the case on the North Coast, April 22 was not your
stereotypically sunny, warm spring day. No, it was overcast, windy,
and downright cold at times.
But it was Saturday, and there was music playing, and good food, and
hardy
Humboldters
strolling around the Plaza checking it all out. 350 Humboldt
partnered with Climate Action Campaign to attract the attention of
passerbys with
petitions and pledges.

The
pledges were
written by those who stuck around long enough to read the
engagingly displayed placards about what any of us can do to lower
our personal emissions. Topics included plant-based diets, making
lawns more climate-friendly, sustainable clothing choices, talking to
others about the climate crisis, reducing transportation emissions
and boycotting banks that are funding the climate crisis. Written
on
small multi-colored slips of paper, the
pledges were hung on a trellis where they
whipped back and forth in the wind.

The
other table had everything available for kids
to color and make
animal
masks
while
grateful parents loitered nearby.
Tigers and bears frisked
around the Plaza
afterwards.

The
Northcoast Environmental Center, Coalition for Responsible
Transportation Priorities, and Moon Cycles
collaborated to hold a free bicycle maintenance workshop with a group ride afterwards to Mad River Bridge.

Dana Utman

 

 

Freaking the California Trucking Association right out,
the state Air Resource Board voted unanimously to require all new
medium and heavy-duty vehicles sold and registered in California to
be zero-emissions in 2036. That definitely includes the ubiquitous
diesel semi-trucks civilization supposedly can’t survive without.
Before the ruling on April 28th, the CTA warned of
“a supply chain crisis of our own making.” The ruling affects
only 7% of the vehicles in operation in California, but they cause
70% of its nitrogen oxide emissions and 80% of carcinogenic diesel
particulates.

In anticipation of its Advanced Clean Fleets ruling, ARB passed
the Advanced Clean Trucks rule in 2020 to require manufacturers to
build enough suitable electric trucks. According to this electrek article, hundreds of electric models in every truck class are
now available, including now the much anticipated Tesla Semi-Truck.

As much as trucking industry lobbyists like to complain that the
ACF is a premature, draconion, across-the-board ban, it doesn’t
affect the lifespan of existing equipment. Theoretically, one could
buy a brand new diesel truck in 2035 though it’s fairly unlikely
that anyone would wish to do so at that point. And the 2036 deadline
only applies to the large commercial lines at first, giving more time
to smaller operators and also long-haul truckers. Other special
niches include emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks
Garbage trucks and other fleets that run on biogas also get more
time. (This acknowledgment of biogas emissions does seem a little at
odds with how much California subsidizes the creation of
biogas through its Low Carbon Transportation Fuels program.)

Fleets owned by state and local agencies are being held to a more
stringent deadline—50% ZEV purchases by 2024 and 100% by 2027.
(Billions and billions of dollars in purchase incentives available.)
Drayage vehicles, however, are the most drastically affected by the
new regulations. Drayage trucks transport cargo
from ports to distribution centers. Sales of these new vehicles must
be all-electric in 2024. The reason for this very early
deadline has as much to do with pollution and environmental justice
as the climate.

Thanks
to drayage traffic, some of the most polluted urban areas in the
country are in California despite the state’s regulatory emphasis
on clean air. The container ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have
given rise to the two
largest complexes
of warehouses and distribution centers in the country, both areas
nestled between mountain ranges that trap air pollution.

Environmental justice organizations, like EarthJustice,
campaigned hard for the diesel ruling, making sure that many people
who suffered from the pollution testified to the Air Resources Board.
Typical testimony from one mother referred to strictly limiting how
much time her children spend outdoors because of the resulting
headaches, allergies, nosebleeds, and asthma.

I
can think of no better ending for this article than this quote from
the electrek article cited above. “Given that industry constantly
complains about the difficulty of complying with regulations, it
would be nice if they acknowledged the difficulty they foist on
others through noncompliance.”

>>><<<

 

Continuing
with the transportation theme

 

GM
betrays

its utter indifference to the future.

After
killing the Bolt
,
what will GM do for an encore?

On
a more optimistic note
,
economy geeks are convinced that the death knell of the ICE
has already sounded.

EV
incentives smartly focused

on “superusers” would greatly maximize climate benefits.

The
US could learn

a thing or two from UK when it comes to small, affordable EVs.

Problems
besetting urban public transit starve its potential for climate benefits.

 

What
to listen to

 

Cool Solutions finds out about the Herculean quest of New York City’s
biggest landlord to electrify heat and hot water for 160,000
apartments for the poorest people.

The Eco-News Report talks about environmentalists shucking their
anti-development reputation.