New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG) serves central, eastern, and western New York State, an area which, though mostly rural, includes the cities of Binghamton, Elmira, Corning, and Ithaca. Its territory includes one-third of the state's land area and a tenth of its population. With more than 775,000 electric customers and almost 220,000 gas customers, NYSEG serves a diversified population of industry, agriculture, recreational facilities, and colleges and universities.
NYSEG traces its history back to October 28, 1852, when six Ithaca businessmen pledged a total of $75,000 and incorporated as the Ithaca Gas Light Company. The fledgling company soon laid mains and built a coal gas plant. In 1853 Ithaca's streets saw their first lamps.
This map shows the location of surface mining of coal by removing material which lies above the coal seam. Includes, but is not limited to, strip, auger, quarry, dredging, and leaching mines. You might get a better view of the mines by zooming in and switching to the satellite view.
Data Source: PASDA, 2018 Coal Mining Operations Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. http://www.pasda.psu.edu/uci/DataSummary.aspx?dataset=271
Last week the Adirondack Council issued a statement on acid rain in the Adirondacks, linking increasing pollution from Midwest power plants to a rise in the acidity of clouds here and saying, “It is troubling to see acid rain re-emerge as a threat to the Adirondack Park.”
The researchers who collected that cloud data, while agreeing with the Council on the need to keep acid rain at bay, disagreed that the cloud pH levels have “reversed their previous trends.” They said a drop between 2016 and 2017 was “minor” and “a natural variation.” They also said that the latest data shows the acidity of Adirondack clouds continues to improve.
I think it's a mistake to say that running flue gas desulfurizaiton is free or universally good. Just because a few plants are operating without using the FGD stacks running due to equipment failure, doesn't mean that the acid rain cap and trade program is not working. Sulfur credits are cheap, because it's working so well. Capturing sulfur dioxide is both very energy intensive (more carbon emissions) and uses a lot of space to landfill the often contaminated gypsum.
America can reduce our overall energy use 40 to 60 percent below current levels by midcentury by using better technologies and eliminating waste. This shouldn’t be surprising when you consider that, in 2018, more than two-thirds of the energy we produced went to waste.
Even if we used polluting and dangerous fuels more efficiently, damage from activities such as drilling, mining, pipeline construction, coal trains and the discharge of radioactive waste still do tremendous harm to our world. But when you consider the tremendous amount that is wasted in the production and use of energy, it only makes matters worse.
The Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica has just produced its biggest iceberg in more than 50 years.
The calved block covers 1,636 sq km in area - a little smaller than Scotland's Isle of Skye - and is called D28.
The scale of the berg means it will have to be monitored and tracked because it could in future pose a hazard to shipping.
Not since the early 1960s has Amery calved a bigger iceberg. That was a whopping 9,000 sq km in area.
"Sadly they stared and sank in their chairs
And searched for a comforting notion.
And the rich silver walls looked ready to fall
As they shook in doubtful devotion.
The ice cubes would clink as they freshened their drinks."
- Phil Ochs
