Turning Wastewater Into Drinking Water? | EarthxNews Full Episode - video Dailymotion

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EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/   California turns wastewater into drinking water; concerns grow over CO2 pipelines; gray wolves are reintroduced to Colorado; new tech protects killer whales; prescribed burners prevent wildfires.   About EarthxNews:  A weekly program dedicated to covering the stories that shape the planet. Featuring the latest updates in energy, environment, tech, climate, and more.   EarthX & EarthXtra  Love Our Planet.  The Official Network of Earth Day.    About Us:  At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.     EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.       EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/    Follow Us:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthxmedia/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthxmedia  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthXMedia/  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthxmedia  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EarthXMedia  Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/earthxmedia    How to watch:    EarthX - Cable:  - Spectrum  - AT&T U-verse (1267)  - DIRECTV (267)  - Philo  - FuboTV   EarthXtra - Streaming:  - Plex  - Fire TV  - Xumo  - Sling    #EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #EcoFriendly #Conservation #EarthX

Transcript

00:00an Oregon court decision finds some regulations for the state's climate

00:06program are invalid. What the ruling could mean for the state as Oregon

00:10strives for a low carbon energy future. Plus a new initiative in California

00:15aims to turn wastewater into drinking water. We'll have more on how the plan

00:20could offer a solution in confronting the challenges of a crucial depleting

00:24resource. And in Colorado, five gray wolves are now able to call a remote

00:29section of the Rocky Mountains home. We'll talk about what led to their

00:33reintroduction into the wild.

00:43Hello and welcome to Earth X News, where we focus on sustainability and the

00:47environment. I'm Christina Thompson. Let's get into some of the biggest headlines

00:51facing our planet. The Oregon Court of Appeals decided that a state program

00:55designed to limit and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil

01:00fuel companies is invalid. The program, which started in 2022, is one of the

01:05strongest climate programs in the nation. The court says the Oregon Department of

01:09Environmental Quality's Climate Protection Program failed to comply with

01:13disclosure requirements when adopting rules under the federal Clean Air Act.

01:17The Climate Protection Program adds limits on greenhouse gas emissions from oil and

01:22natural gas companies with a target of 90% reduction by 2050. The program also allows for fossil fuel

01:29suppliers to reduce emissions through the program's Community Climate Investment

01:33Credit Program. According to the Department of Environmental Quality, the decision is

01:38limited to administrative mistake and is not effective immediately. Environmentalists say

01:43this is a step backwards in relation to net zero, but agree this ruling doesn't

01:47undermine the department's authority to set emissions limits on the oil and gas industry. Fossil fuel

01:53companies in Oregon sued the program back in March 2022, arguing the agency exceeded its

01:59authority by creating the rules. They wanted to block the program entirely. One of the petitioners

02:04said in a statement that it was pleased with the court's decision and remains committed to

02:09moving towards a low carbon energy future. New Mexico environmental officials have proposed a new

02:14regulatory framework for reusing wastewater, focusing on the byproducts of oil and natural gas drilling in

02:21the state. The proposal aims to address water demands and protect freshwater aquifers amid drought conditions.

02:28The goal is to provide a supply of treated water for various industrial uses like microchip

02:33manufacturing and hydrogen production. New Mexico, the number two state for oil production behind Texas,

02:39is looking to its energy sector and water intensive fracking as a potential source of treated water

02:45for industrial applications and to offset water demands that are depleting freshwater aquifers amid

02:51droughts. Critics are worried that the plan might encourage more petroleum drilling. There are also

02:56concerns about water overuse, including depletion of the vast underground aquifers that sustains

03:01communities in eastern New Mexico and extends to the Dakotas and Wyoming. California is set to become the

03:09second state to okay turning wastewater into drinking water. Meaning water from sinks, showers, bathtubs,

03:16toilets, washing machines and dishwashers can be treated and end up right back in your drinking glass.

03:22California regulators voted to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it back into the pipes that

03:28carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses. The Golden State has struggled for decades to have

03:33reliable sources of drinking water for its more than 39 million residents. California has been through

03:39multiple extreme droughts, including the most recent one that scientists say was the driest three-year period

03:44on record and left the state's reservoirs at dangerously low levels. So now they're getting creative.

03:51Wastewater in California, it's been recycled and reused for decades for things like irrigation,

03:56ice skating rinks and even artificial snow. The difference is California's new rules would require

04:01wastewater be treated for all pathogens and viruses, even if the pathogens and viruses aren't in the

04:06wastewater. California says the treatment is so stringent it removes all of the minerals that make

04:11fresh water taste good, meaning they have to be added back at the end of the process. Now it's very

04:16expensive and time consuming to build these treatment facilities, so this will only be an option for bigger,

04:22more well-funded cities, at least at first. So that includes San Diego, where city officials have a plan to

04:27build a water recycling program that they say would account for nearly half the city's water by 2035.

04:34And agencies will, of course, need to tell customers about the recycled water before they start doing it.

04:40The growth of the hydrogen power industry is raising a question, how to cleanly power the production of

04:46the clean energy. The Biden administration has released proposed guidance for the hydrogen credit

04:51created through the Inflation Reduction Act in an effort to encourage hydrogen fuel production with a

04:57climate-friendly approach. The guidance includes requirements for companies to qualify for the

05:01hydrogen credit, such as relying on relatively new low-emission energy, adhering to geographic and

05:08time-based constraints on hydrogen production energy sources, and meeting labor standards. The proposed

05:14rules aim to prevent a surge in energy use from existing, less environmentally friendly power sources,

05:20and ensure that the hydrogen production process is environmentally sustainable.

05:25Industries will need to rely on either clean power sources initiated within the last three years,

05:30or new power capacity added to existing power sources to meet geographic limitations.

05:35This clean power must come from the same region as the facility producing the hydrogen.

05:40The time-matching mandate will require any clean power consumed to be generated within the same hour it is

05:46used. By 2028, companies will have to switch from year-based matching to by the hour. Treasury

05:52representatives say these restrictions didn't come from Congress and could threaten to steer investment

05:57elsewhere, which would harm effort to reduce emissions in hard-to-decarbonize industry sectors.

06:03The Treasury is trying to troubleshoot, including coming up with a process for incorporating existing

06:08nuclear plants into the credit guidance, as well as existing hydropower, biomass facilities,

06:14and fossil-based sites with carbon capture attached. The Biden administration is giving Louisiana

06:20regulators new power to attract and approve carbon capture projects. Louisiana will be able to issue

06:26permits for wells that store carbon dioxide, a critical component of carbon capture and removal technology.

06:33In most other states, the Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for permitting.

06:38Those in support of the change say it will speed up approvals of new projects that are critical for

06:42reducing climate warming greenhouse gas emissions. However, environmental groups are skeptical.

06:48They say they doubt that a state with such concentrated stretches of oil, gas, and

06:52petrochemical plants, commonly called Cancer Alley, is capable of proper industry oversight,

06:58as well as safeguarding residents. First responders in Iowa are fearing the danger and

07:04uncertainties about emergency planning and response strategies surrounding CO2 pipelines.

07:09If a pipeline were to rupture, first responders say they won't be able to carry out rescue operations

07:15because of outdated and improper equipment, inadequate evacuation plans, and lack of personnel and

07:21training. One chief concern is CO2 is heavier than normal air, and if released, it acts as an

07:27affixient in high concentrations, which means firefighters need heavier-duty, longer-lasting air tanks.

07:33The tanks necessary to respond to a disaster like a pipeline bursting cost $9,000 a pop. That's why

07:40many Iowans fear such a disaster is increasingly likely as developers, spurred by more than $12 billion

07:46in federal incentives, propose to build lengthy CO2 pipelines across the Midwest. As the projects advance,

07:53many community members have questioned whether the proposed routes come too close to their homes and

07:58gathering places. An analysis by Inside Climate News found that some of the proposed routes fall within

08:03a couple miles, sometimes less than half a mile, from public schools, assisted living facilities,

08:08hospitals, and state prisons. As for how close is too close, experts say that's really hard to say.

08:15There are two pipelines currently proposed that would run through Iowa. Scientists are sounding the alarm

08:21over the effect of extreme heat on trees and plants in the Pacific Northwest. The warning comes after

08:26researchers suggested a heat wave in 2021, also known as the heat dome, scorched trees across the region.

08:34In a paper published in the journal Tree Physiology, one scientist argued the damage to the tree foliage

08:40during the extreme weather event was driven by heat and solar radiation rather than indirectly by

08:46drought caused by the extreme heat. The report comes as scientists in the Pacific Northwest have also linked

08:52the decline of 10 native tree species to drought in recent years. In many cases, conditions that have

08:58brought about the decline are known as hot droughts, characterized by above normal temperatures that dry

09:05out soil and air. Scientists say hot droughts can be far more damaging to trees than droughts that simply

09:11result from a lack of moisture because they can cause hydraulic failure, a process where the water

09:16carrying tissues inside them collapses. The White House made a deal with Native American tribes and

09:22conservation groups to study 14 dams on the Columbia River Basin. The settlement, which includes provisions

09:28geared towards the eventual removal of four of those dams, could end one of the nation's most high

09:32profile legal disputes over the future of hydropower. It also adds to a growing national debate over what is

09:39and isn't clean energy. As part of the deal, the government will put about $300 million towards salmon

09:45restoration projects in the Pacific Northwest, including upgrades to existing hatcheries that

09:50have helped to preserve native fish populations. Native tribes in the area say the dams have hurt

09:56those native fish populations. The deal also includes a five-year stay on litigation and a pledge to develop

10:02upwards of three gigawatts of tribally sponsored renewable energy production. The Biden administration

10:08said it expects the deal to spur more than $1 billion in new federal investments to wild fish

10:13restoration over the next decade. Five gray wolves have been released into the wild by Colorado Parks

10:20and Wildlife, but their release didn't come without some opposition from local ranchers. They're worried

10:25livestock could potentially become prey. Still, a federal judge denied a request from Colorado's cattle

10:31industry to temporarily delay the wolf reintroduction in the state. The release also comes after Colorado

10:37voters passed a proposition during a statewide election in 2020, allowing state wildlife officials to take

10:44steps to begin reintroducing wolves to the state. The animals came from Oregon and are two young females,

10:50two juvenile males and one adult male. They have been outfitted with GPS collars, which will help

10:56scientists keep track of their movements. The big hope now is that these wolves and others to be released in the

11:01future could create and maintain a self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado, something that has not

11:07existed for almost a century. And coming up, some new tech is helping a group of wildlife veterinarians

11:14monitor the health of an endangered pod of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest. More on their efforts is

11:20just ahead. Stay tuned. This population is really small, about 75 animals, and they're facing a lot of threats,

11:28you know, boat disturbance and noise, loss of salmon, things like that, contaminants that are legacy in

11:36the system. And because the population is so small, we are now realizing that the health of every single

11:42individual animal is important.

12:07Welcome back. A major discovery may hold some significant

12:11promise in the fight against plastic pollution. Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan

12:16genetically engineered a new plastic-eating bacterium. The recently identified microorganism

12:22can break down polymers, a specific type of eco-friendly plastic, commonly found in a variety of

12:28single-use items and packaging. The group's groundbreaking work, which was reported in a study published in

12:34Environmental Biology, aimed to devise some innovative solutions for addressing plastic pollution,

12:40as well as understanding plastic behavior in marine environments. Scotland's king of fish has been

12:47officially classified as an endangered species. The question now, can we save it? The International

12:53Union for Conservation of Nature added Atlantic salmon to its red list, warning that numbers are in steep

12:59decline and set to fall even more. It is predicted the population in Scottish rivers will have fallen by 63%

13:07between 2010 and 2025. Scientists are worried that Scotland's world-famous rivers filled with leaping

13:14salmon could one day be empty. As environmental groups sound the alarm over the declining numbers of salmon,

13:20a group of scientists are growing concerned about the well-being of a small population of orcas living

13:26in the Pacific Northwest. They say the pod of about 75 killer whales is in trouble as they face threats from

13:32pollution, boat traffic, and a lack of their primary food source, wild salmon. Researchers suggest the

13:39degradation of resources has caused some orcas in the pod to die recently, but now a team of

13:45veterinarians, marine biologists, and engineers are using some new tech, such as drones and infrared

13:51cameras, to track the whale's health. Joining us now to discuss is the Director of Science at SeaDoc Society,

13:58a marine conservation group at UC's Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Joe Gaydos. Dr. Joe,

14:04thanks for coming in. Can you describe what the researchers discovered when they approached a pot of

14:09orcas, killer whales, recently in the Pacific Northwest? Right, so Christina, we were out on the water in

14:16September and we were pilot testing some of the scientific tools that we use to measure health in

14:22these animals. And we came up behind a group and we noticed that a terrible breath, kind of like you

14:28go to a party and you walk by somebody and you're thinking, gosh, something is wrong here. And the more

14:33we positioned the boat, we were able to realize that that foul-smelling breath was actually coming from

14:39one adult female animal. And it was a bad sign because we had seen that before in animals that didn't survive.

14:46But fortunately, we were able to take a drone, fly into her expired breath, collect some samples,

14:55and then do some measurements, check her body temperature using an infrared camera

15:00to see that it was probably something transient, something that was not going to kill her, but

15:07something that probably had happened. And then the next day we were able to go out and check on her,

15:11and she was actually better, didn't have the smell, swimming normally and everything.

15:15They're so incredible. I'm just watching this footage on the screen of the orcas swimming by your boat.

15:20I mean, they're fascinating animals. And I know that you'll probably use this technology

15:26for a long time in the future. What can you guys expect to do long-term?

15:32Right. So we're working with NOAA, the federal agency working with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance,

15:38Center for Whale Research, Wild Orca, SR3. All of us are developing these different tools

15:44that we can use to measure their health. And the idea is that one day we'll be able to keep the boat

15:49so far away that those animals won't even know that we're there. They will come up to the boat,

15:54they're interested, but what we don't want to do is be a part of the problem. So we're trying to get

15:59all of these things that we can remotely sense. And then if we have to, we can do something like

16:04deliver a medication through a dart rifle, or maybe by providing oral medication through food,

16:09or something like that. We want to be able to intervene when it's something that we've done.

16:14They've been hit by a propeller or something like that. We don't want an animal to die on our watch.

16:19Is this just for orcas or can we use it for other animals like dolphins?

16:24That's a really good question. And I think that we can use this technology for a lot of other

16:30marine wildlife. And so these are big animals. You can't get them onto the boat. You can capture a

16:36dolphin, treat it and let it go. But with the larger animals, humpback whales, killer whales,

16:41things like that, it's just not tenable to do that. So I think these technologies will be

16:45transferable to a lot of other marine wildlife. You seem very passionate about this. What got you

16:51into this? Why do you do this work? Well, I love this. I mean, look at the,

16:54look at the film of those animals. They're amazing. They're just beautiful. They're really smart.

16:59They live as long as we do. They have these relationships. It's just incredible to be able to work

17:05with them. And so I love animals probably like you do and everybody else out there.

17:09I want to be a part of finding solutions to make sure they're around for a long time to come.

17:14Because it's important, right?

17:15It's critical. Yeah, we have to take care of our environment. Our environment takes care of us.

17:20In veterinary medicine, we call this one health, the health of humans, the health of animals,

17:25the health of the environment. They're all integrately connected. If we don't have salmon,

17:30we don't have salmon for us to eat. If these animals are getting contaminants through their salmon,

17:34we're getting contaminants by eating those salmon. We're all connected.

17:38Great points. Dr. Joe Gaydos, thank you so much for coming on.

17:41Thank you. And stay with EarthX News. There's more coming up.

18:04A group of private landowners are turning to controlled burns as part of an effort to bolster

18:12forest health in the southeastern United States. Here's that story.

18:16The longleaf pine in the United States is facing an existential crisis,

18:20and those looking to protect it are turning to an unlikely ally, fire. Prescribed burn associations

18:27are intentionally setting fires to certain areas in order to prevent uncontrollable wildfires that

18:32threaten the ecosystems that allow the pine and other plants to flourish.

18:36This is called cane. It used to be very common in the sand hills, almost gone now because it requires fire.

18:46This is the reason my family burned right here for this plant. And the reason this plant was

18:52important to my family, as I said, we were originally turpentiners. We burned to protect those

18:58turpentine trees from wildfires because they had sap on them, they would burn up.

19:02In order for the plan to be a success, the prescribed burners have to work with private

19:06landowners. It's an operation that takes place across 140,000 square miles across the southeastern

19:13United States. But by focusing on specific areas, conservationists can pinpoint vulnerable areas

19:19to decrease the risks. You look at your weather parameters and you look at especially things like

19:26your wind conditions and your atmospheric stability to choose when that window, that ideal window.

19:36Together, the group of private landowners is intentionally setting fires to prevent

19:40uncontrollable wildfires from devastating the region, depriving them of the fuel necessary to cause

19:44widespread destruction. This is what it looked like before we took fire off the landscape. You would

19:51see these two-foot burn scars, burn marks on the trees because that's as tall as the fire guy. There

19:57was not much fuel, so it came through at this level, burning everything up. Now because we have so much

20:02fuel in the forest, it's catastrophic fires. Thousands of landowners across the country are picking up the

20:08cause, starting their own new burn cooperatives by limiting blazes one at a time, connecting residents to

20:14their land, neighbors and environments. We were the first one and I think now 52 counties out of our 100 counties

20:22in North Carolina are now covered by a PBA and they've blown up in California, all over the southeast.

20:28I think there's two dozen in California now. Using fire to prevent wildfires also comes with an

20:34additional benefit. It shaves undergrowth from the forest floors that would otherwise prevent seeds

20:38from germinating on bare soil, again providing that what could be a destructive force is

20:43also one that could promote life. You can't come at fire without respect and it is a powerful force,

20:51but it's also a healing source, a very tangible way to connect to the past and also

21:01guide the future. And the future certainly looks a lot brighter for local forest thanks to the

21:06volunteers at Sand Hill's Prescribed Burn Association and the unlikely ally of fire. For EarthX,

21:13I'm Alex Salvi. Alex Salvi, thank you. And before we leave you, polar scientists have recorded what

21:19they are calling a very lazy penguin. The group of researchers from the Ukraine recently shared this

21:24amazing video of the Arctic bird sliding down a hill on its tummy. The video was taken during an

21:30expedition at a research base in Antarctica and researchers say this type of land movement is common

21:36for penguins to save energy, as penguins prefer to conserve energy whenever possible. The scientists

21:42also said they can accelerate up to three to six kilometers or just about four miles per hour.

21:48That's all the time we have for this edition of EarthX News. Please join us again next week. I'm Christina Thompson.

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