FracTracker Alliance Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship
Do you know an extraordinary individual working to confront the harms of fossil fuels and injustice in their community? We’ve extended the deadline to nominate environmental advocates and community activists for the Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship until November 4, 2022.
FracTracker Alliance created the Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship to celebrate individuals whose noble actions exemplify the transformative power of committed and engaged people. This year, in collaboration with our sponsors and partners, the award will be presented to multiple recipients at a virtual reception on Thursday, December 8, 2022. Tickets for the virtual ceremony are available now!
FracTracker Alliance created the Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship to celebrate individuals whose noble actions exemplify the transformative power of committed and engaged activists and advocates. In collaboration with our sponsors and partners, the Sentinel Awards are presented to multiple recipients at a virtual reception before fellow activists, allies and conspirators, all of whom are working towards a healthier and more just future.
Each awardee receives $1,000 and is recognized at the 8th annual Community Sentinel Awards ceremony, to be held virtually on Thursday, December 8th, 2022. We also welcome our partners and community members to submit the names of activists who have passed away over the last year, so that we may honor their lives and their work during the Legacy of Heroes presentation during the awards ceremony.
Eligibility criteria and nominate an environmental justice hero for the 2022 Community Sentinel Award by November 4, 2022.
Environmental Blog – Interesting Articles / Looking for Authors
Submit Your Environmental Organization to the Global Database
Dimock Pennsylvania – Well by Well Review – Natural, Natural Gas Developing, Fracking or something else.
Forever Chemicals – Frac Fluid, but many other sources (PFOA)
Interesting Online Training Course
Modern Shale Gas Development –The course provides an overview of modern shale gas development, as well as a summary of federal, state, and local regulations applicable to the natural gas production industry, and describes environmental considerations related to shale gas development.
Pipelines – Public Awareness – Gas pipeline safety is critical – not just for your employees but for public safety as well. Therefore, it is imperative that gas operators have an effective awareness program to inform the public; public officials; emergency responders; as well as excavators as to the location and safe work practices around gas pipelines and what to do in an emergency.
Education and Training Biofuels Energy Renewable LEED
Open Letter to website visitors
This is Mr. Brian Oram. I am the current manager of the Carbonwaters.org blog and the Keystone Clean Water Team. As part of our effort, we have been attempting to provide fact based information on environmental issues, energy issues and other matters using a fair, honesty, and balanced approach. In many ways, I believe we have accomplished this goal. Since I have over 30 years experience in training professionals (trades and licensed professionals), we have attempted to provide information and links to solid educational opportunities. In many cases, we have search for solid training programs or assisted training programs. This webpage is a link to some of the recent education programs that we have found on the topics of energy, renewable energy, and related topics. In order to help and support the 501 c3, we are informing you that for some of these links we receive a referral fee or commission. We are attempting to make the organization sustainable and this is one of the branches we are attempting to create:
Courses
The Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) “Green Associate course is designed to educate candidates on the cutting edge green building and sustainable design practices, and enables participants to designate that expertise with an internationally recognized professional credential. Developed and backed by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED Green Associate and credential has gained national and global notoriety. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is one of the most widely used standards for green building and design. The Tier 1: LEED Green Associate training course and exam covers general information on green building practices for residential and commercial projects, and prepares individuals to support other professionals working on projects seeking LEED certification. This course will also prepare you for the LEED Green Associate Credential from USGBC (US Green Building Council). This is an internationally recognized certification that designates expertise in green building and design principles. The exam fee is included with the course.”
Solar Power Professional -“Get the renewable energy training you need as you learn the basics of solar systems, their benefits, and their many applications. Examine the history of photovoltaic solar power, and gain a sense for where the PV industry is headed. We’ll start with basic safety, including how to avoid potential accidents and how to create a safe work environment as well as the use of protective equipment. You’ll master the fundamentals of electricity and solar energy, including how to calculate simple circuit values and predict solar position using solar path diagrams. Upon completion of this course, you’ll have a thorough understanding of PV applications, working safety as it pertains to this field, basic electricity, and PV module fundamentals.”
Biofuel Production – “At the present time, hundreds of facilities worldwide are producing biofuels. Over the next few decades many advances will be made in this field, and hundreds of new facilities will be built to produce this type of fuel. This opens a new field for potential workers. For decades to come, biofuels will be produced and consumed in the United States, creating an ongoing demand for biofuel production workers. The Biofuel Production Operations Online Training course will give you the education you need to begin an exciting career in biofuel production. As a biofuel production operator, your job will be to ensure the quality and purity of the biofuel your plant produces. This involves inspecting and repairing equipment, operating computer systems, and handling lab equipment. This online course will ensure you have the skills you need to handle these tasks.”
Others
Natural Gas Plant Operations – “Natural gas plant operators monitor and control the systems and equipment that take gas from its natural state and convert it into a usable product. Your job is to ensure that the gas produced is free of impurities. The purified gas is then separated into products such as ethane, propane, butane, and methane. You’ll also be responsible for the flow of this processed gas into the pipelines that carry it to the various industries and homes that use it for fuel. In addition, you’ll make gas flow changes to the supply system to keep pace with customer demands. Natural gas plant operators earn above-average wages and enjoy good job security and potential to advance into supervisory or management positions. This is a user-friendly course, designed for people who have no prior exposure to technical aspects of hydrocarbons, energy, or industrial processes. No prior science or math education is necessary; the course includes all of the necessary basic science and technology elements.”
Power Plant Operations – “If you want a career with high pay and a stable work environment, our Power Plant Operations Online Training course will get you on the right track. Now is an excellent time to start an exciting career as a power plant operator—there are thousands of power plants in the United States alone, and a large portion of the workforce is retiring, creating open power plant operator jobs for many years to come. Power plant operator training will prepare you to fill the ongoing need for entry-level positions in this industry. We offer a unique, user-friendly course designed for people who have minimal knowledge of the industry, math, physics, or chemistry. The necessary science concepts are built into the course modules. Very few institutions provide power plant operator training and certification programs for entry-level operators, so your certificate from this course will give you an edge over others in the field. After you complete this course, you will be fluent in how to operate a power plant with safety as the prime consideration. You’ll be able to make adjustments to keep system process variables, such as flows, temperatures, and pressures, within acceptable ranges; detect both potential and actual problems and analyze operational trends as well as take corrective actions. You’ll also learn important strategies to sustain communication with other operators, as well as maintenance and management.”
Using Plants to Clean Things Up – “In the United States, there are thousands of chemical manufacturing facilities, run by chemical plant operators. These operators are highly paid and enjoy a stable work environment, and there is an ongoing need for entry-level personnel. Currently a large portion of the workforce is retiring, creating a critical shortage of technical workers for many years to come. This course can help you get started. There are very few institutions that provide training for entry-level operators. This Chemical Plant Operations Online Training course is unique and user friendly, designed for people who have minimal knowledge of the industry or math, physics, or chemistry. The necessary science concepts are built into the course modules. Get started in the field by taking the Chemical Plant Operations Online Training course!”
Oil Refinery Operations – “The United States is home to thousands of oil refineries, all of which need experts to run their operations. Oil refinery operators are highly paid and enjoy a stable work environment, and there’s an ongoing need for entry-level personnel. Sounds great, right? The Oil Refinery Operations Online Training course will teach you everything you need to know to enter the energy industry as an oil refinery operator. Our oil refinery training is unique and user-friendly, designed for people who have minimal knowledge of the industry. The energy industry is ever-changing, encompassing everything from power plant operations, to petrochemicals like oil and natural gas, to renewable energy sources. Taking an oil refinery operations course offers you a path to a growing sector of the field. A large portion of the workforce is retiring, creating a critical shortage of technical workers for many years to come—which is great for entry-level workers.
Currently very few institutions provide entry-level training and courses in oil refinery operation. Generally, oil refinery operators enter the workforce in entry-level positions and work their way up, sometimes to senior management positions. In their day-to-day tasks, oil refinery operators have the responsibility to make sure unit and process systems function properly. They consider personnel safety the primary objective and ensure production processes are operating safely. They continually monitor instrumentation and the operation of equipment and make adjustments to keep system process variables within acceptable ranges. Oil refinery operators also detect potential and actual problems and take corrective action to prevent the interruption of system operations. You will learn how to perform all these oil refinery processes in our course, and more.”
Other courses in the Trades Programs
We are hoping to add more course on Geothermal Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Audit, and much more. If you have a course, you would like to see link to this webpage: Please leave a message in the comment section. If the comment section is closed email bfenviro @ ptd.net.
Thanks for understanding
Brian Oram
Solar Energy – The Power of the Sun
See Related Article – The Great Earth Engine and 100% Renewable Realistic Goal or Pipe Dream or by Brian Oram
All energy of the planet Earth has it source from the power of a past or current Sun. The universe has been estimated to be about 14 billion years old, but our Sun is only about 5 million years old. Because of the presence of heavier elements, we know that the Sun and our system was likely created by the remnants of a second or third generation star. (WE are all children of a Star and Star dust). This means that the universe recycles and our Sun was created after a previous Sun went through least two or three supernovas. This left behind the building blocks for our current solar system. How did the first building blocks start? (I will let that up to you, but a good book worth reading by [amazon_textlink asin=’1621578984′ text=’Dennis Prager’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’webdespro-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8d849250-ec9c-43ce-b576-b95d430ee359′]).
Quote:
“Second-generation stars, such as the sun, contain some heavier elements. These elements could not exist just based on nuclear fusion inside stars. Instead, some of this material must have come from the supernovae of other stars. Hence, second-generation stars like our sun were formed after first-generation stars.” Source
Since the solar energy we get from our current Sun provides the solar radiation that is used by solar panels and creates the thermal differences on the planet to support wind and the water cycle, the gravitational pull creates the tides, and the radioactive particles help to support the molten core – The Earth is really powered by past Suns and our current Sun. Since we have to be honest, fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas, in reality are nature’s way to store solar energy. This means that fossil fuels are actually part of the natural storage system for the Earth, but they are not renewable in our short life-times, but they are renewable in geologic time. Because of this condition, we must learn and invest on other technologies, plus focus on conservation, hardening grid, adapting to a planet that has always changed, we must not rebuilding on unstable landscapes (“build on rock, not sand”), and we must make sure we have diversification in our energy platform. Since we are human, we must also use energy as “soft power” as an alternative to “war and the funding of totalitarian regimes”.
In this post, we are going to attempt to highlight some of the basic information related to traditional solar energy systems for residential and commercial applications and link to solid educational resources. To get a little in the weeds, we do not have an Energy Crisis, we have an energy waste and lack of storage crisis. In the USA, we waste over 50 % of the energy we use and we have a lot of “energy vampires”. Solar energy systems work well, but it depends on location, location, location, system design, system orientation, building efficiency, and building orientation. To take the first in the process of proactive positive change, it is critical to learn. The first steps in this learning process of making a difference and a proactive positive change is to “Learn, Question, and Act/Test”, but this must happen after your are ready to “Stand UP and Look for the Facts” and not play to the “Fear”.
Solar Power Systems
Solar power systems can be divided into three basic types, which includes active solar energy, passive solar energy, and solar thermal energy system. In active solar energy systems, the system includes a “panel” that may be roof, or land mounted with residential and commercial applications. The panels are photovoltaic cells that convert solar energy into an electrical current. With passive solar energy, the goal is to attempt to intercept and store or block and redirect the radiant energy created by the sun. Passive solar energy is managed primarily through building design, material selection, and building orientation. Solar thermal energy system typically is limited to storing the radiant energy of the sun and using it to heat water, such as in roof mounted water heating units to create hot water or systems to heat pools.
If you are interesting in learning about solar energy and its application for your home and may be ready to ask more question or act, we would recommend reviewing the website created by Consumer Affairs. Consumer Affairs created a helpful resource that allows consumers to determine whether their house is a good fit for solar panels and allows them to compare popular solar energy companies. With the help from contributing editor, Zachary Shahan, the guide addresses the types of solar energy technology and how solar panels work. You can read more and determine if solar energy is right for you on The 10 Best Solar Energy Companies guide.
Other Interesting Resources and Educational Information
Training Courses to Learn More
Energy Audits Training Programs
Professional Engineers Continuing Education (PDHs) – Renewable Energy (Solar and More)
LEED for New Construction
Desk Reference for the DIY Group
[amazon_link asins=’153953670X,1591866642′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’webdespro-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’6f6d27d0-4ced-4435-a518-dacbd10354ba’]
Putting the Words Timely and Geology Together with Climate
“Sedimentary layers record the history of Earth. They contain stratigraphic cycles and patterns that precisely reveal the succession of climatic and tectonic conditions that have occurred over millennia, thereby enhancing our ability to understand and predict the evolution of our planet. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, — together with colleagues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and American and Spanish scientists — have been working on an analytical method that combines observing deep-water sedimentary strata and measuring in them the isotopic ratio between heavy and light carbon. They have discovered that the cycles that punctuate these sedimentary successions are not, as one might think, due solely to the erosion of mountains that surround the basin, but are more ascribable to sea level changes. This research, which you can read in the journal Geology, paves the way for new uses of isotopic methods in exploration geology.”
Read More at “Sea level as a metronome of Earth’s history”
Different Perspective on Climate (Climate Science News)
Suggested Reading:
Global Warming-Alarmists, Skeptics and Deniers: A Geoscientist Looks at the Science of Climate Change Paperback – Illustrated, January 20, 2012.
Green Gangsters Rip Off While Enriching Themselves ? (Sounds like a “Hillary’s America Movie”)
Gangsters has been a common theme in this election cycle. Cruz mentioned, Movie Creator used to describe a candidate (Hillary’s America), and media used to question the ethics of another candidate, but applied to alternative energy seems interesting. I do not normally link to this site, but for this article I will.
Mary Kay Barton
Silver Lake, NY – Retired Health Educator and Small Business Owner
Wind energy subsidies are financing green gangster projects intended to enrich the 0.1% at the expense of ratepayers and taxpayers. A recent Joe Mahoney article, “NY looks to the wind to replace its fossil fuel diet,” was full of half-truths and misinformation. There is nothing “free,” “clean” or “green” about industrial wind. Quite the contrary: the true costs of industrial wind development are astronomical. Yet, the wishful thinking of Governor Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, “green” ideologues, and “renewable” energy hustlers and subsidy seekers who benefit from this massive taxpayer and ratepayer rip-off has been repeated by countless “journalists” without question for years now. (Link to the Article)
Chart 1 – Cost per Energy Output
Chart Makes me think that running a car on electricity or natural gas (LNG) may be advisable.
Chart 2- Cost
Clearly shows that on a cost basis – onshore wind and offshore wind becoming more viable. Solar still very expensive.
Personal Note:
Please note – I did see Hillary’s America. I did enjoy the movie. Learned a lot about the history of the United States and the two party system. I would recommend seeing the movie.
Webinar Identifying Urban and Industrial GHG Sources Using Continuous d13C Observations
Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) come from a variety of natural and anthropogenic sources and have a powerful global warming impact. Understanding the magnitude and distribution of these emissions spatially and temporally is critical to evaluating present and future climate impacts. Stable isotope signatures of methane and carbon dioxide are often employed to investigate the relative importance of various sources (and sinks).
Picarro invites you to a webinar on Identifying Urban and Industrial GHG Sources Using Continuous d13C Observations. This live webinar, featuring Felix Vogel (Researcher, LSCE) and David Kim-Hak (Product Manager, Picarro), will focus on GHG source identification. Felix will share his experiences in monitoring atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane concentrations and stable isotopes. David will present information about how Picarro technology has enabled continuous and in-situ measurements of stable isotopes, including providing information on the Picarro G2201-i for best-in-class greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration and isotopic measurements. If you are interested in learning about urban and industrial GHG source identification, this is the webinar for you!
Picarro Live Webinar:
Identifying Urban and Industrial GHG Sources Using Continuous d13C Observations
Register
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Other Training Courses
Watershed Management – Stream Ecology-Wetlands
Fracking- Hydraulic Fracturing
AAPG American Association of Petroleum Geologists Training Courses
Training Courses Offered by the AAPG – AAPG Education Program
The American Association of Petroleum Geologists is an international organization with over 38,000 members in 100-plus countries
Fluvial Sedimentology and Geomorphology
John Holbrook, Ph.D. | 14 January 2016 | 2 p.m. CST
This short webinar will focus mainly on “source-to-sink,” and will detail methods used to quantify and qualify the sediment mass transported from the hinterland to the depocenter and the storage sites in route. This segment will train in the “fulcrum” approach for quantitatively approximating the sediment budget for ancient source-to-sink systems.
Ambient Seismic Imaging Throughout the Life Cycles of Unconventional Fields
Alfred Lacazette | 21 January | 2 p.m. CDT
This e-symposium provides an overview of a new ambient seismic imaging method and applications of the method throughout the lifecycles (exploration through refracing) of unconventional oil and/or gas fields. These applications include: direct imaging of hydraulic fractures, hydraulically stimulated natural fractures, stimulated reservoir volumes, and producing volumes; stress mapping in three dimensions before, during and after fracing; and Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) frac and reservoir simulation.
Petroleum Geology Fundamentals
Susan Nash | 1st of Each Month | 2 p.m. CDT
This course provides an overview of petroleum geology, from exploration to development. It provides foundational information required to work in the current industry environment, with content that ranges from a historical overview to methods of exploration, new technologies, subsurface geology, petroleum generation, reservoirs, traps, seals, petroleum systems, unconventional reservoirs, shale plays, geophysics, geochemistry, and more.
Courses are typically excellent – but can exceed most budgets. For other training courses that are for basic continuing education – you may want to visit Training Professionals.
Colorado Snowmastodon Mammoths and Mastodons – Global Warming Glacial Interglacial
“While expanding a reservoir in Snowmass Village, Colorado, workers stumbled upon a big bone. And then another, and another, and another. Realizing they found something special, the workers called in the experts at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS), who drove several hours to examine the site. Scientists quickly realized that this was no ordinary boneyard. Work on the reservoir halted, as DMNS scientists called in dozens of volunteers and experts from around the country to help excavate the site before construction continued. In a few weeks of excavating, the scientists and volunteers of the Snowmastodon Project uncovered an entire Pleistocene ecosystem, including fossils of giant ground sloths, long-horned bison, North American camels, mammoths, mastodons, insects and ancient plants.
The dig site was as renowned for its geologically unique setting as the community around it is known for skiing. The setting, an ancient alpine lake on top of a terrestrial high-point, meant that it once attracted animals as a watering hole, but was able to evade the destructive processes associated with glaciations. Learn more about what the site is showing scientists about past glacial and interglacial periods and what the site might suggest for the future, and explore the thousands of bones found at this unique site in the January 2016 EARTH Magazine cover story: http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/snowmastodon-project-mammoths-and-mastodons-lived-high-life-colorado.
Alongside exclusive features like the Snowmastodon Project, EARTH Magazine continues to bring you unique and groundbreaking stories, such as new research that suggests intentionally burned floors in African huts can record Earth’s magnetic field, ongoing research that suggests the Midcontinent Rift may be a hybrid rift-large igneous province, and breaking news indicating that treated water from Southern California is so pure that other, more ominous elements are leaching into it from strata surrounding the aquifer. Don’t miss our feature on the great debate about whether mantle plumes exist. All this and more is available at www.earthmagazine.org.”
Education Corner
More on Climate, Geology, Etc
Earth Dynamics: Geologic Time
Plate Tectonics – We are floating on magma.
Global Warming
The Great Earth Engine – Geothermal Energy for the USA
Reprint of article I wrote for Natural Awakenings Magazine
“When people think of renewable energy, their first thought is typically solar power or wind energy. As snowbirds return to their cooler climates, one natural and reliable renewable energy system is a geothermal or a ground-source heating and cooling system. These systems come with a variety of configurations, and a single system can heat or cool a home without natural gas, coal, oil or biomass. However, some electric power is required to run the system. This relatively obscure technology is robust, proven and available now to those willing to understand the simple beauty of these systems.
A geothermal system moves and stores energy rather than producing energy through combustion or resistance. Geothermal systems work by exchanging hot or cold air from the home with the stable stored energy in the ground, rather than by converting chemical energy to heat. This is a renewable energy system that is very efficient and has enough flexibility to fit a variety of applications. Some added benefits in addition to efficiency are that geothermal energy creates no pollution to our air or water and, other than electricity, they eliminate the need to purchase highly processed petrochemical fuel from less than environmentally conscious producers.
While the air temperature in northern climates can vary from season to season, the Earth’s temperature a few feet under the surface is essentially the same in winter and summer. In the winter, the system can heat a home using the Earth’s relatively warm core energy. In the summer, the same system can cool the home with the Earth’s relatively cool mass. Year-round, geothermal systems can produce hot water.
Geothermal heat pumps have an efficiency of over 300 to 500 percent (meaning they get a payback of three to five times the energy used to run the system). This efficiency provides the heating/cooling needs at a cost that is 30 to 70 percent less expensive than conventional energy systems, without combustion, carbon dioxide, methane, water pollution or the waste generated by other energy systems.
Geothermal ground-source heating and cooling systems work during the night, when the sun is blocked by clouds and when the wind is not blowing. While electricity costs may vary, geothermal costs don’t fluctuate like natural firewood, gas, coal and heating oil. The ground-source system comes in a variety of configurations to easily fit new home construction or homes with a more conventional, existing duct-based heating and cooling system.
The geothermal system has three main components: connection to the Earth, delivery and distribution system and a geothermal heat pump. The Earth connection allows the system to pull or store heat in the Earth. In heating mode, the system uses the Earth connection to pull a small quantity of heat from the Earth to heat a person’s space. In cooling mode, the system does the reverse and transfers heat from the air back to the Earth. The distribution system can be a series of vertical connections or loops buried in the ground that transfer and help to distribute the energy.
The geothermal heat pump is very efficient energy transfer system that moves the energy from the building to the transfer fluid. The system does require an electrical source to run the heat pumps and circulation system, and it is critical that an existing home have a formal energy audit done prior to installing a system.
New construction should use green building and energy efficient insulating systems so the system can be properly sized.
Users can benefit from lower energy costs, elimination of water and air pollution and a significant reduction of the expensive and environmentally destructive infrastructure of fossil fuels by adapting geothermal systems as soon as possible. ”
Recent presented a training course on “Ground Source and Geothermal Energy in Archbald, PA” – Valley View Great Class !
We do not have an energy crisis – We have an Careers in Energy – The Great Earth Engine– We have an Energy Waste Crisis
Note:
Training Courses in the Energy Sector
Energy Auditor Training and Certification