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Tag: environment

  • Green Junction: Hydraulic Fracturing by Julie Peller, Ph.D.

    Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, is an advanced technological process for mining natural gas and oil from the depths of the earth, typically 1000 to 4000 feet. The process requires huge amounts of fresh water, 1.5 million to 16 million gallons per well, that are mixed with chemicals to pressurize the wells and…

  • Green Junction: Train Wrecks! by Julie Peller, Ph.D.

    The recent train derailment and explosion in Ohio that released toxic chemicals was newsworthy given the magnitude of the crash, toxic releases and affected area. Our chosen way of life is dependent on all types of industrial chemicals and processes, and chemical spills and releases are common. Another fact is that these unhealthy contaminant discharges…

  • A new era of “working class”

    “This world of ours is a new world, in which the unity of knowledge, the nature of human communities, the order of society, the order of ideas, the very notions of society and culture have changed and will not return to what they have been in the past.” ~ Robert Oppenheimer, l963 In the industrial…

  • Green Junction: Waterways by Julie Peller Ph.D.

    The James River in Virginia is the longest river in the state and it flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. For centuries, hundreds of thousands of James spinymussels, small fresh water mussels less than three inches in length, inhabited the James River. They filter water (up to 15 gallons of water a…

  • Green Junction: By Julie Peller, Ph.D., “one of the largest contributors to the climate and ecological crisis.”

    A November 2022 publication of The United Nations Environment Program describes the fashion industry as “one of the largest contributors to the climate and ecological crisis. It is nature intensive, reliant on fossil fuels, polluting throughout its value chain and wasteful to the extreme. It is also predicated on a culture of overproduction and consumption,…

  • Green Junction: latest research on micro and nanoplastics on Monday, January 23rd. By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    When the statistics on plastic waste are analyzed, it is quite clear that recycling of plastics has mostly failed. The vast majority of this waste has been buried, burned or is polluting in the environment. The plastics industry has been a strong force behind plastic recycling.  In the 1970s and 1980s, it encouraged American municipalities…

  • Green Junction: Are Plastic Waste Bags Our Best Choice? by Julie Peller, Ph.D.

    A walk around a typical neighborhood on garbage collection day (especially after Christmas) confirms our entrenched throwaway culture and the acceptance of plastic bags for garbage disposal.  A convincing yet erroneous message on waste disposal is that plastic garbage bags are the best choice. However, the reality is that the widespread use of plastic garbage…

  • Green Junction: Climate, Advent, and Hope by Julie Peller, Ph.D.

    Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese recently wrote an article in Earthbeat (National Catholic Reporter) expressing his profound concern about climate change: the inaction, the minimal communication, and general apathy toward human/earth rights. “Advent should be a time of hope. As a social scientist, I have little hope. As a Christian, I must have hope. This Advent, I will…

  • Are politicians the “product” of Artificial Intelligence?

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a significant role in politics today. Since 2006 as the 2008 election cycle started, the introduction of AI has proved to be the most disruptive technology innovation in political history, and it is just the beginning. Politicians current and many new and upcoming movements are embracing AI and machine learning and…

  • Green Junction by Julie Peller, Ph.D. ~ Thinking about school buses.

    According to the US EPA, “school buses travel about four billion miles yearly, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million American children daily.” One problem with diesel-powered school buses is the toxic fumes that are emitted. Thanks to government mandates requiring cleaner diesel fuel and updated engine technologies, there…