Pierce Land Clearing has just included a new feature to their services recently which includes free lectures for the residents of the community of Texas.

WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS - Pierce Land Clearing (Waxahachie) has announced a new offer for their services. As a result of rising demand for land clearing and tree removal, which is Waxahachie forestry mulching, a new innovative and more efficient method of land clearing in Waxahachie, which involves the clearing of land with a specified machine to get more work done in a short period with optimum results. The CEO of the company further explained in a conference held early this year that the company has noticed that the people of Texas have little or no understanding of what method is best used when it comes to land clearing. Hence the introduction of forestry mulching Waxahachie, site prepping and mesquite removal, and many other things that relate to the clearing of land.

Furthermore, in line with the compliance with the Covid19 guidelines and precautions, the company also organizes a free consultation for the citizens on the various types of services offered by the company. The residents of the community turned up in masses with their face masks on. They also observed social distancing during the lecture and consultation sessions.

Nevertheless, the free consultation is only opened to our clients who observe the Covid19 guidelines and precautions. This is to help individuals keep safe and to prevent the further spread of the virus.

About Us

Pierce Land Clearing (Waxahachie) is a land clearing company that offers all kinds of land clearing services in Waxahachie, TX. The company has gained much relevance in the community since its establishment due to the quality of services provided.

Media ContactCompany Name: Pierce Land ClearingContact Person: Taylor PierceEmail: Send EmailPhone: (512) 883-1944Address:106 Hacienda Dr City: WaxahachieState: TXCountry: United StatesWebsite: piercelandclearing.com/

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Pierce Land Clearing (Waxahachie) adds a new feature to its services for the residence of Waxahachie, TX. - Press Release - Digital Journal

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Flights canceled at Nashville International Airport due to winter storm - WSMV Nashville

Steven Spearie|State Journal-Register

Editor's note:The State Journal-Register is making this story about winter weather free for everyone to view as a public service. If you already subscribe, thank you. If not, please do so today at sj-r.com/subscribenow.

The Springfield area was expected to get close to eight inches of snow Monday accompanied by single-digit temperatures and wind gusts of up to 25 MPH making for wind chills in the 20-below range.

The snow affected areatravel and schools.

Alex Erwin, a meteorologist with theNational Weather Service in Lincoln, said Springfield and Sangamon County remains under a winter storm warning until 6 a.m. Tuesday

The University of Illinois Springfield, Lincoln Land Community College and Lincoln College all went to remote learning on Monday. Midwest Technical Institute was not in session Monday because of Presidents Day.

Lincoln Land Community College announced all of its facilities would also be closed Tuesday with classes operate remotely. Students with face-to-face classes should check Blackboard/Canvas for instructions.

District 186 schools will be conducting remote learning only for all students on Tuesday.

There will be no in-person hybrid learning for A-day learners. Tuesday will be a remote learning day, and not an emergency snow day. Remote attendance will be taken and students will be expected to engage in synchronous and/or asynchronous learning, as assigned.

The SCOPE child care program will be closed.

District 186 will be serving meals remotely from 7 to 11 a.m.at Springfield,Southeast and Lanphier high schoolsas well as Franklin and Washington middle schools.

There will be no school in the Auburn school district Tuesday due to the extreme weather. It is a traditional snow day and will be made up at the end of the school calendar, according to the district's website.

Sangamon Valley schools (Illiopolis, Nianticand Harristown) will go to remote learning Tuesday as will Ball-Chatham schools.

Jacksonville public schools and Routt Catholic High School and Our Saviour's Grade School, alsoin Jacksonville, are closed Tuesday.

Also closed Tuesday are Springfield Catholic grade schools, Calvary Academy Williamsville-Sherman schools, Riverton schools and Edinburg

The winter storm warning remains in effect until 6 a.m. Tuesday with six to eightinches of snow predicted. Counties in that warning area include Sangamon, Christian, Menard, Macoupin, Montgomery and Greene.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for Cass, Morgan and Logan counties.

Light snow began fallingin the Springfield area in the early morning hours of Monday, with the brunt of the snowfall--about four to six inches--falling Monday afternoon.

A Wednesday storm system was thought to have more of an impact south of Interstate 70, Erwin said. There could be minor accumulations in the Springfield area at the time, Erwin said.

Lincoln hit another record cold highof 4 degrees on Sunday, eclipsingthe old record of13 in 1943. The city also tied a record low temperature of minus-6 Sunday. The old record was from 2020.

Lincoln also set a pair of temperature records Saturday.

A map of Sangamon County roads showedall roads either covered in snow and ice or mostly covered in snow and ice.

Menard County sheriff's deputies were reporting that east/west roads are drifting shut in some areas. Motorists are also advised to use cautiontraveling on State Park Road where cars are sliding down the hill onto Route 97.

Illinois State Police District 9 units respondedto several crashes in the surrounding Springfield area along Interstates 55 and 72.

Motorists were urged to useextreme caution if traveling through the area and allow extra time to get to a destination.

Taylorville Police reported a number of slide-offs, but no serious accidents, said Chief Dwayne Wheeler. There were up to two-hour waits for tow trucks, he said.

Sangamon Mass Transit District was asking passengers "to prepare for the possibility of suspended service Tuesday morning."

The City of Springfield has declared a snow emergency continuing through7 a.m. Friday. The declaration means the public is required to remove cars parked along snow emergency routes.

"It allows us to more efficiently remove the snow," said Nate Bottom, director of the Office of Public Works, about the snow emergency routes.

Sangamon County declared a Level 2 winter weather emergency late Monday afternoon until further notice.

County spokesman Jeff Wilhite said motorists are encouraged to stay off county roads unless it is absolutely necessary.

Under the Level 2 emergency, roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow and maybe icy. There are areas where the roadways may be partially closed by the elements.

The Villages of Southern View and Jeromealso declared snow emergenciesthrough 7 a.m. Friday. The City of Jacksonville was under a snow emergency until at least Wednesda

Bottom said he anticipated the backshift drivers plowing most of the overnight into early Tuesday.

"We're definitely focusing our attention on the major arterials and then we'll move into the secondary roads," Bottom said.

Crews were using salt sparingly on trouble spots, Bottom added. While salt is less effective with the colder temperatures, it is alighter snow that crews were able to push off more easily, he said.

With the winds, snow has been drifting on Lenhart Road and Bissell Road "so we need to make sure we're clearing those areas as efficiently as possible," Bottom said.

It was light year in terms of use of salt until the pasttwo weeks when itpicked up substantially, Bottom said.

Public Works has used approximately 4,500 tons of its 6,000 ton allotment, though that cane be added to, Bottom said. Both of its salt domes are about three-quarters full, he said.

Motorists are reminded to watch for snowplowcrews and give them space to do their work. Residents and private snow removal crews clearing sidewalks and parking lots are prohibited by city ordinance from plowing the snow into the streets.

During a severe winter storm, residents can call the Office of Public Works toreport any problems or concerns at (217) 789-2246.

Residents and businesses need to make an effort to clear their sidewalks as a safety precaution, according to the city.

An ordinance cites that all sidewalks adjacent to their property shouldbe cleared of snow by 10a.m. on every morning of a snow event. Residents or businesses could be subject to a $250 fine for refusal to comply with the city ordinance.

Any concerns or complaints regarding sidewalk obstructions should be sent to the Citys Housing Division at (217) 789-2167.

Contact StevenSpearie: 622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

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Springfield area hunkers down: What to know about road conditions, upcoming weather - The State Journal-Register

Ocala Star-Banner

I never did get around to reading English novelist George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel (frequently shortened to the minimalist 1984) but my parents decided we would see a movie based on that book decades ago when I was a teenager. It was playing at the old Boulevard Drive-In Theater in Miami.

I was a bit too young back then to fully appreciate what the production was trying to portray with its depiction of a totalitarian society, but I do remember thinking the film was interesting but thoroughly unbelievable with its Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Peace, Newspeak, Doublethink, Room 101, Thought Police, Big Brother and other plot devices dreamed up by Orwell. The film was aimed at American audiences, while a later version with Richard Burton released in October 1984 targeted United Kingdom audiences. The one we saw was the 1956 version with Edmund OBrien in the starring role.

I re-watched the entire film a few days ago, and no longer found it so thoroughly unbelievable as I had all those decades ago.

COVID VACCINE: I received a note fromLynn Miller,who wrote: We signed up for the Marion County Board of Health site in late December. We got numerous emails and finally Wednesday, a call for one of us to get a shot at Paddock Mall.

Last week I signed us up for the statewide list to ensure we were on all lists. The Publix one is a 1 hour 45 minute wait and when the window opens up, if you are lucky, you get an option to get a shot in DeLand or St. Augustine. You have to have your Medicare number for Publix but not for the Board of Health. The BOH only requires proof of residency. We used our drivers licenses but you can use a photo ID if you live in a 55 plus community.

My husband asked the fine lady who called from the Board of Healthif I was on the list, and I was. Later at 7:30 p.m., I got a call from them asking if I still wanted the shot. Of course I said yes. It is the Pfizer vaccine.

We got our first dose last Thursday night with staff from AdventHealth and some great folks from the EMTs of Marion County at the Paddock Mall. My left arm is still sore, though at the time of the shot I felt nothing. They had a great group of people and were very organized.

However, though we have had cancer and bypasses, other pals and neighbors have not gotten the call yet. Some have who are much older than we are.

I believe it is because there are not a lot of doses.Some neighbors have gotten shots previously from the Marion Department Of Health and one from Publix. We just have to sit tight, I suppose.

PLEASED CLIENT: I have written several times aboutRobert Hughesof B&H Tree Services. Hes a crackerjack handyman who can take care of most chores around your home, including land clearing, painting and many other tasks.Teresa Kerznerwrote: I would like to thank you for the recommendation of B&H Tree Services. He came the same day I called to give me an estimate, and showed up with a crew the next day. Theydid an excellent job in a very tight space. The wrangling they had to do to avoid damaging fence, landscaping, and non-replaceable lighting was amazing to watch. They were done in one day and left my yard cleaner than they found it. Thanks!

Yes, Teresa, Bob and his crew do a great job. Other readers who may want to use his services can contact him at 572-9911 and tell him Emory (and Teresa) sent you!

Please send your comments toslyguy73@gmail.comand include your FULL name, town and telephone number. This column appears eachThursday and Saturday on the Local & State page and atocala.com

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Emory Schley: Reflecting on the meaning of '1984' - Ocala

When considering sustainable building materials, timber is an obvious option. As a renewable resource we can replace the timber we cut down and grow more. Other building materials are finite, with raw materials being depleted rapidly.

However, this is only one consideration of the sustainability of materials. Other factors, using the Declare label criteria, are: what is it made of, what is the life expectancy, where is it made, what is the embodied energy and where does it go at the end of its life.

Briefly addressing the first two points, timber is a natural material which can be very durable if properly maintained. Glue and varnish/paint used for fixing and finishing can have high VOCs so their use should be carefully considered.

The timber industry in Australia is well regulated and relies on plantation timbers and harvesting of natural forests. Land clearing iis a major contributer to carbon emissions and increases biodiversity loss, but according to the ABC, the primary reason for land clearing in Australia is agriculture, not the timber industry.

The use of Plantation timber from USA, Canada and Europe is acceptable, provided it is certified. There are certification programs for timber sourced elsewhere overseas, but the validity and transparency of logging and manufacturing are harder to verify.

Although timber is carbon neutral and renewable, it has to be correctly sourced. There are great opportunities for saving carbon emissions by using timber as a structural material rather than concrete or steel. Using locally sourced plantation timber reduces transportation related emissions. The most sustainable option is recycled timber. (A conversation for another time).

Timber lends itself beautifully to prefabrication, being easy to dismantle and reuse and perfect for frameworks such as Buildings As Material Banks (BAMB), where circular economy principles drive the design process. It means that buildings are designed to be dismantled, and the components can be reused in other buildings, rather than using new materials and creating waste. Fixing methods are critical, as mechanical fixings make deconstruction and reconstruction easier.

Overall, considering timber through the above criteria, it is a sustainable option, provided it is correctly sourced and certified. By understanding how to work with timber as a structural element while maintaining fire and acoustic performance, we can unlock the potential for economic and environmental sustainability benefits. There are benefits for using prefabricated timber structures for reduced construction time and waste. There are also possibilities for modular construction that can be deconstructed for reuse. The agility and flexibility of timber make it ideal for adaptive construction systems while reducing the carbon footprint of construction.

Yaara Plaves is the head of the National Sustainability Forum (NSF)

*Hames Sharley has established the National Design Forum (NSF), tasked with promoting and educating ourselves and our clients about sustainability.

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Yaara Plaves: ' Is building with timber really sustainable?' - Architecture and Design

SOLOK, Indonesia Clipped onto a rope, climbing high up in a tree swaying in gusts of wind, Topher White finally reaches the roof of the rainforest and opens a laptop to run checks on a machine he built to transmit 24-hour live sound from the surrounding forest.

The machine is one of 27 so-called Guardian sensors eavesdropping on forests in Indonesias West Sumatra province, to listen for chainsaws as a way to tackle illegal logging in the region.

Over the next five or six years, White hopes to install tens of thousands of these audio sensors in forests around the world.

Were basically building a nervous system for the natural world, he said.

White, 39, got the idea to use sound in environmental protection 10 years ago, while volunteering at a conservation project for gibbons in Borneo.

You couldnt really monitor (the forest reservation) with people walking around, but sound seemed like a good way to capture really anything, he said.

With a background in engineering, White spent nearly a year building an audio detection sensor using an old mobile phone, solar panels and a microphone, then returned to Indonesia to test the system.

Today, Whites nonprofit, Rainforest Connection, is recording sounds to protect nature in a dozen countries with funding from some of the worlds largest technology companies, including Google and Huawei.

Incoming audio streams, from the Amazon to the Philippines, are analyzed by artificial intelligence trained to pick out desired information, from the sounds of logging to bird calls.

If the system hears a chainsaw, it sends an alert via an app to community patrols, who can check on the ground for logging.

Since it was installed more than a year ago, local monitors say the system has made their jobs easier as they help with Indonesias crackdown on forest encroachment, which includes tougher law enforcement.

(Logging) has totally stopped people are afraid of coming to this area, said patroller Jasrialdi, who goes by one name like many Indonesians.

The canopy sensor White was checking in West Sumatras Solok regency is less than an hours walk through the forest from the road leading to Sirukam, a village sustained mainly by farming.

Until recently, about 200 of Sirukams 6,000 residents opted instead for better-paid work illegally extracting timber from the forest, according to Medison, who heads the LPHM, a local forestry agency.

While cutting down some trees for community use such as building a house is often tolerated in Indonesia, logging timber to sell is illegal, he explained.

There used to be no protection of the forest, said Romi Febriandi, the elected head of the village government.

Arief Wijaya, senior manager of climate, forests and oceans at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Indonesia, said most deforestation in the country occurs due to land clearing for extractive industries.

But addressing the issue of improper community logging is also crucial, he said in an online interview.

According to Global Forest Watch, a satellite monitoring service run by WRI, Indonesias humid old-growth forest seen as vital for storing carbon dioxide and helping curb climate change shrank 10% from 2002 to 2019, but the rate of tree loss decreased in the last few years.

WRI data show production from Indonesias logging concessions declined between 2013 and 2018, but timber harvested by communities from forests like Sirukam increased by more than 50% during the same period.

In Sirukam, a tougher approach to enforcing rules against cutting down forest trees has squeezed timber trading in the area, according to former loggers and the local government.

The crackdown led Afriadi, not his real name, to ditch logging for rice farming in 2018.

The middle-aged man, dressed in a cap and batik shirt, who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, had taken up logging nearly two decades ago.

There were no other jobs, he said.

Using chainsaws and ropes, Afriadi hauled trees out of challenging terrain hazardous work that saw one of his team die in an accident for which he earned up to 1.5 million rupiah ($107) per month.

Today, he makes a fraction of that as a casual laborer while barely feeding his family with what he grows on the farm.

He still fears arrest for his past as a logger. Its better to work on the farm because of that risk, he said.

As well as tracking forest sounds, Whites technology is also listening out for whales wandering into Vancouvers shipping lanes and gunshots in a Greek national park to stop hunting.

The AI has gone through six updates, deepening its understanding of the natural world with each iteration.

White said he can tell just by glancing at a spectrogram if the system is hearing a bird or a primate.

And with engineers training the AI to identify more than 100 species with precision, he hopes Rainforest Connections systems could prove a goldmine for researchers.

We would have to be doing something very wrong not to make some major ecological discoveries over the next few years, he added.

The sensors stream audio to the cloud over a mobile phone network, which has so far limited their application to areas with viable phone reception.

To tackle that problem, the group is planning to install 32 new satellite sensors in Brazil in March, and a cheaper offline model which stores the audio recording for someone to pick up later is being manufactured for about $100.

Yozarwardi Usama Putra, head of West Sumatras forestry department, said he would like to expand the projects early-warning system beyond the 27 sensors currently installed around the province.

Besides cracking down on logging, Indonesia is also working to encourage non-timber forest enterprises, he noted, adding the West Sumatra government is helping communities access equipment to cultivate and process goods from oyster mushrooms to coffee.

This year, Rainforest Connection plans to finish collecting data for peer review from Indonesia, Peru and Romania to prove the system does help curb logging, which White hopes will prompt governments to consider using the technology at a larger scale.

But some ex-loggers say protecting Indonesias forests comes at the cost of their livelihoods and their voices have yet to be heard.

Afriadis small rice field produces just enough for his family to eat. His work as a laborer brings in 70,000 rupiah per day, but he only earns that on a handful of days each month.

Without the income from tree-cutting, he fears he may not be able to provide for his children.

I am very worried, he said.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

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Treetop sensors help Indonesia eavesdrop on forests to curb illegal logging - The Japan Times

By Paul Pedro February 14, 2021 6:00am

The Ministry of Environment has ordered a landowner in Thamesville to stop cutting down trees on a property that may have multiple plant and animal species at risk after receiving several complaints.

Local environmentalists, including CK Woodlot Preservation said the tree clearing on Spence Line is hurting tree cover in the area, which they added is already very low compared to other municipalities across Ontario. They said there is species at risk in that woodlot and the land clearing is killing their habitat.

A ministry spokesperson said environmental enforcement officers visited the site and issued a verbal stop order under the Endangered Species Act to allow the ministry time to determine if any laws were broken.

The land is owned by Luiken and Hilary Huisman but Hilary said she had no time for a comment when contacted by Blackburn News.

CK Woodlot Preservation said Chatham-Kent has the lowest tree coverage in all of Southern Ontario at 3.5 per cent and dropping. The World Health Organization recommends a tree coverage of 10 per cent for a healthy community. The woodlot conservation group is contemplating a lawsuit against elected municipal officials, citing negligence regarding the issue of deforestation. They calculate approximately 200 acres of forest has been lost between 2009 and 2016 in a small part of Eastern Chatham-Kent, North of the 401.

How could any counselor say in good faith that more study is needed? We can see with our own eyes that the Natural Heritage Implementation Strategy (NHIS) has not conserved a single acre of forest. Forests are not replaced by tree plantations! posted CK Woodlot Preservation on its Facebook page.

Chatham-Kent does not currently have a forest conservation bylaw. Chatham-Kent General Manager of Community Development Bruce McAllister said that the municipality is one of the few remaining municipalities that does not currently have a regulatory tree management bylaw or site alteration bylaw of some type. However, he added collaboration continues with the the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA) and willing landowners to increase forest, wetland and native prairie cover in Chatham-Kent.

The LTVCA said it doesnt regulate woodlands and the woodlot in question is out of its jurisdiction.

The LTVCA has no legal authority or means to prevent or stop the clearing of this woodlot, said Jason Wintermute of the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority. It is not occurring in a regulated area, so no permit is required from us. The Conservation Authorities Act legislation doesnt apply to this type of activity.

Link:
Mass tree cutting in Thamesville draws outrage - BlackburnNews.com

Aberdeenshire Council Roads Service along with partner contractors and farmers have been continuing throughout Tuesday working to reopen and widen paths on roads affected by drifting at the weekend.

This work will continue over the next few days on a prioritised basis and road users are again being asked to be patient while work is ongoing on the network of over 3300 miles of roads and more than 800 miles of footway.

A spokesman for the council said: "Clearing 3300 miles of road is the equivalent of driving from John OGroats to Lands End and back then doing it all again for a second time.

"That demonstrates the scale of the task we have been facing this week getting the road network fully operational again.

"Many of the roads were affected by snow drifts up to 14 feet deep and some roads had extremely deep drifts extending over miles of road including the A93 at Glenshee and the A920 Dufftown to Huntly Corsemaul Road, which we managed to get open again with our neighbours in Moray."

The list of roads which still remain closed due to drifting include: A93 Glenshee (at snow gates), A939 Lecht (at snow gates), A939 Gairnshiel - Colnabaichin, A941 Cabrach, B974 Cairn OMount (at snow gates) and the B976 Crathie to Gairnshiel, but work is continuing on these roads at present.

Many minor roads will still be closed, impassable, or only passable with extreme care.

Further information on our winter service operations can be found at:

In light of the extreme cold weather road surfaces will be severely affected by pot-holing in places.

Council staff are now working through a programme of repairs on a prioritised basis and road users are therefore asked to continue driving with appropriate caution.

Sign up today and get 50% off a six-month subscription with promo code '50OFF'.

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Roads crews, partner contractors and farmers continue with snowdrift clearing in Aberdeenshire - Grampian Online

Jesse Keenan, an associate professor of real estate at Tulane Universitys School of Architecture,told the New York Times in a widely read article in 2019 that Duluth, Minnesota, could experience a real estate boom from climate migrants moving north. But the Rhodium Group also identified the Ohio River basin, New England, and parts of the mid-Atlantic as equally attractive.

Will climate change really reverse decades of slow or negative population growth in Michigan and the Upper Midwest? Every year since 2000 the annual United Van Lines national moving study identified Michigan and its neighbors as the top region for outmigration to other states.

Still, some of the preparation for projected growth has already started, the result unanticipated until now of innumerable projects that respond to rising carbon levels in the atmosphere. Heres a sampling:

Great Lakes forests are the foundation of a $100 billion annual recreation, manufacturing, and real estate economy that employs hundreds of thousands of workers. The forests absorb and store carbon, reduce flooding and erosion, keep streams clean, and provide habitat for plants and animals. The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, a research unit of the U.S. Forest Service, is one of the leading groups that has dispatched teams of forest specialists to build partnerships with businesses and communities, conduct public education workshops, and assist land managers across the eight Great Lakes states in adapting practices that enhance the capacity of forests to thrive in changing conditions.

In response to rain and snowmelt inundating water treatment plants and polluting rivers, Detroit is a leader among American metropolitan areas. Reacting to a lawsuit brought by the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the Rouge River, Detroit and 47 other cities in three southeast Michigan counties spent $500 million from 1994 to 2000 to end the combined sewer overflows that poured untreated filth into the river during storms. Since then, Detroit has spent $528 million more to build eight retention basins and treatment plants for storing and disinfecting 131 million gallons of stormwater that otherwise would drain into the Rouge and Detroit rivers during heavy rains and snows.

Three years ago, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department increased drainage fees to raise $150 million to pay for its state-of-the-art stormwater system. The fees were based on a monthly $750-per-acre charge on impermeable surfaces for Detroit properties. Up to 80 percent discounts were offered, in particular for parking lot owners and manufacturers who reduce or eliminate storm water flowing off their property.

Those offers spurred myriad innovations in the city. For instance, Chip Letts, chief executive of Letts Industries, a Detroit-based auto parts manufacturer, installed a $1 million green roof and ground level rain garden at the companys 70,000 square-foot building on Bellevue Street. Letts received a $50,000 grant from the city to help pay for the roof and garden.

He receives an 80 percent discount on drainage fees for the 104-year-old building that hes renovating into spaces for offices and workshops. The green roof and rain garden, viewed as attractive amenities, have raised the occupancy rate of Letts new Beltline Center to over 70 percent. Its all working well, he said in an interview. Im happy.

In September, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order that called for cutting emissions 28 percent by 2025, compared with 1990 levels, and set 2050 as the deadline for the state to reach carbon neutrality. Michigans conservative legislature could be an impediment to achieving those goals, but the state is clearly moving in that direction.

Almost a fifth of Michigans electrical generating capacity comes from renewable sources, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission; a decade ago it was under four percent.

Similarly, Michigans big electric utilities, for decades the largest carbon producers and water users, are steadily making the transition to reduce both. As recently as 2010, 27 coal-fired power stations operated in Michigan; now there are 12.

Consumers Energy, Michigans largest utility, announced three years ago that it would close its coal-fired plants by 2040. DTE Energy, the second largest utility, announced it will be carbon neutral by 2050, a target that could be met earlier, said Greg Ryan, the companys manager of environmental sustainability and climate change.

Carbon reduction is a primary goal, he said. Were getting there as fast as we can.

Whether they are big or small, climate-related responses are complex, expensive and take years to complete. The Detroit stormwater drainage network started in 1977 with a federal order, took four decades to build, and cost over $1 billion. This massive project also did nothing to improve the D+ grade that The American Society of Civil Engineers awarded Michigan in 2018 for the condition of its infrastructure.

Smaller projects are hardly easier.

High water levels and less ice on Lake Superior, for example, produced huge winter waves that steadily turned 1-mile-long Lakeshore Boulevard in Marquette to rubble. Fixing the damage involved moving the road 300 feet inland and converting more than 30 acres of city-owned property into a natural buffer zone and public park to absorb the lakes energy.

Sounds like a readily achievable solution. In concept it was. In practice it was not, according to Tyler Penrod of Superior Watershed Partnership, a Marquette-based conservation group that helped lead the project. The new road was built last year. Next summer the shoreline buffer and park will be planted in native species of grass and trees. The $12-million project took 12 years of public discussion, community meeting, engineering, design, fundraising and construction to complete.

The Marquette project is a distillation of the need to unsnarl the process for updates required to respond to climate change in the Great Lakes states. Beth Gibbons and her ASAP colleagues have set out to use climate science to help answer another riddle about human migration to the region.

Mother Earth is not waiting. She is pushing back hard with heat, fires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, tornados, earthquakes and plagues. If anything is true about the hotter, harder, illogical and alarming era that weve entered, its this: Climate disruption will force the Great Lakes states to scrub clean the rusted parts, and add innumerable new ones to the regional workbench of governance and management.

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Water could make the Great Lakes a climate refuge. Are we prepared? - Bridge Michigan

Radiation under a Staten Island park from a 1940s landfill and a fight over who should clean it up has again halted progress on the East Shore Seawall, a key climate resiliency project.

The radiation in the planned 5.3-mile seawalls path comes from Great Kills Park, where radium-226 was first found during an anti-terror aerial survey conducted by the NYPD in 2005. The vast majority of the park has been shut since 2009.

The seawall originally was supposed to be completed this year. But now more than eight years after Superstorm Sandy devastated parts of the borough and about six years after the project was announced, construction remains stalled as the feds, city and state differ on whos responsible for getting rid of the radiation.

Now it could be 2026 before the work gets done, officials say.

The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) told its state and city partners in August that it couldnt undertake the planned removal of hazardous materials on the land without a policy waiver from the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, according to various city and federal officials.

But the Army Corps would first have to recommend the policy waiver, which it hasnt done.

Given there is very little precedent for [radioactive waste] remediation work to be undertaken by USACE as part of a civil works project, there is no guarantee a waiver would be approved, Jennifer Gunn, a spokesperson for the Army Corps, told THE CITY last week.

Citing federal environmental protection laws, Gunn asserted that the contamination is ultimately not her agencys responsibility.

USACE is not a potentially responsible party for the contamination located within the project site, said Gunn.

Remediation [is] the responsibility of the non-federal sponsor, New York State. USACE has every expectation the non-federal sponsor will comply with the terms of the agreements they sign, said Gunn in a statement Friday.

The Army Corps, city and the state signed an agreement in 2019 that assigned clean-up duties to the state, Gunn noted. The Army Corps has also suggested that either Albany or City Hall could take on the hazmat effort, since it is on land owned by the city, officials told THE CITY.

First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan told the Army in a January letter that making the city find a contractor to do the work would delay construction, currently set to end in 2025, by at least 12 months.

But Fuleihan affirmed that, as outlined in its 2019 agreement with the Army Corps, the city would pay for the entire cost of the Army Corps or state removing the radioactive waste.

Staten Islanders were devastated by Hurricane Sandy and must be protected from future storms without delay, Jainey Bavishi, director of the Mayors Office of Resiliency told THE CITY in a statement. The city, state, and both of New Yorks senators are united in urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to undertake the radioactive waste remediation work that will allow this project to move forward.

The state Department of Environmental Conservations commissioner, however, didnt acknowledge any responsibility to clean the site and implored the Army Corps to take on the task in a Jan. 8 letter seeking to clarify New Yorks position regarding waste cleanup.

It was the understanding of New York State that USACE would manage any radioactive material that might be excavated during the construction of the levee/floodwall, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos wrote, citing a project agreement.

A DEC spokesperson, Maureen Wren, pointed THE CITY to the letter when asked about the states responsibility to carry out the remediation.

Gunn said the Army Corps can provide technical oversight for clean-up sites, but it would still likely also need to contract out the work.

The urgency of the 5.3 mile seawall, which would stretch from the foot of the Verrazzano Bridge at Fort Wadsworth to Oakwood Beach, near Great Kills Park, is twofold for Staten Islanders.

The marine structure is intended to protect thousands of residents from potential rising waters, but it will also trigger immediate decreases in flood insurance premiums for East Shore homeowners once the project is half built.

Construction hasnt even started, according to Gunn. The original completion date for the project was 2021, but its been plagued by delays since its inception in 2015.

A formal contract among governmental partners wasnt signed until four years after the seawall project which includes a new boardwalk, drainage improvements, road elevation and tide gates was announced.

Staten Island Borough President James Oddo told THE CITY that this latest obstacle is especially frustrating because the city, state and federal agencies all knew about the issue of radiation when they entered into an official agreement in February 2019 to jointly execute the $615 million project.

The issue of the radiological material and the need for a clean up was not necessarily new news, said Oddo, who said that all parties were aware of this as far back as 2015.

Oddo said the key to forward momentum may lie with now U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who also implored the Army Corps to take on the clean-up in a December letter with fellow Democratic New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand

An inability of the Army Corps to move forward with remediation threatens to significantly delay completion of the seawall estimated to be at least two years, the senators and then-Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island, Brooklyn) wrote.

The stalemate likely means that the clean-up contract likely wont be awarded anytime soon, but the state and Army Corps will initiate construction at other segments, to expedite coastal storm risk reduction for this long-suffering, low-lying community.

New York City dumped about 15 million cubic yards of waste fill from 1944 to 1948 into the parks low lying wetlands. The National Park Service took over jurisdiction in 1972.

Chemical contaminants, including incinerator residue, sewage sludge and coal ash from a city-run incinerator used at the site are also present in the park, according to a 2017 report from NPS.

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Staten Island Seawall Delayed Over Radiation Cleanup Fight, Years After Sandy - THE CITY