FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 8, 2015
Contact: Katie
Huffling, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, 240-753-3729, katie@envirn.org
New peer-reviewed
study finds increased risk of premature birth and high-risk pregnancies among
pregnant women living close to heavy drilling and fracking in Pennsylvania
Baltimore, MD — Researchers
at John’s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published a new study in
the premier public health journal Epidemiology linking birth
outcomes and proximity to drilling and fracking operations during
pregnancy. The analysis included more than 9,000 pregnancies in the
heavily fracked state of Pennsylvania. The study found that preterm births were
40 percent higher among women living in areas with intense drilling and
fracking operations compared to women who did not live near drilling and
fracking. Women living in heavy drilling areas during pregnancy were also more
likely to have high-risk pregnancies, as reported by their healthcare provider.
Members of Concerned Health Professionals of Maryland
made the following statements:
“Fracking is a public health disaster unfolding before
our very eyes,” said Dr. Gina Angiola, Board Member of Chesapeake
Physicians for Social Responsibility. “As a retired
Ob/Gyn physician and a mother, I am appalled that this industry continues to
expand operations in the face of a rapidly growing body of research showing
serious, often irreversible, health harms. A premature birth can
lead to a lifetime of health problems and expenses. Families suffer, while
industry profits. Unacceptable.”
“As a nurse-midwife, I help women have the healthiest
pregnancies possible”, said Katie Huffling, a nurse-midwife and
Director of Programs for the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. “Fracking
in Pennsylvania and other states makes it increasingly difficult for us, as
providers, to help our patients have healthy pregnancies. This new study
further highlights the need to keep this toxic industry out of Maryland when
harms to human health and our next generations are so clear.”
######
Concerned Health Professionals of Maryland seeks to amplify the voices of clinicians,
researchers, and other health professionals who are concerned about the
potential health effects of unconventional natural gas development and
production (“fracking”) in Maryland. Concerned Health Professionals of Maryland
is a project of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, with the
support of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and the Maryland
Environmental Health Network and other health professionals concerned about the
impacts of fracking.
Tim Whitehouse
Executive Director
Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility
325 East 25th Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
@chesapeakePSR
240-246-4492 (cell)
Monday, September 21, 2015
'It Can Be Done': New Report
Details Path to 100% Renewables by 2050
Greenpeace says world leaders must not let the fossil fuel
industry stand in the way of the necessary—and attainable—transition to a clean
and safe energy future
100% renewable energy for all is achievable by 2050, says
Greenpeace, and is the only way to ensure the world does not descend into
catastrophic climate change. (Photo: fotolia.com)
With scientists and experts from around the world telling world
leaders with increasing urgency ahead of upcoming climate talks in Paris that
"It must be done," a new report says "It can be
done."
As the planetary impacts of global warming become more apparent
with every passing day, the goal of building and maintaining an energy system
run on 100 % renewable power has become one of the driving demands of the
world's environmental and climate justice movements, new research presented by
Greenpeace on Monday shows that if the political will can be mustered, there
are neither technological nor economic barriers preventing humanity from
building a fossil fuel- and nuclear-free world by 2050.
"I urge all those who say ‘it can’t be done’ to read this
report and recognize that it can be done and must be done for the benefit of
people around the world." —Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace
"The phase out of fossil fuels and transition to renewable
energy is not only needed, but can be achieved globally by mid-century,"
said Kelly Mitchell, the climate and energy campaign director for Greenpeace
USA. "In the US, we must prioritize keeping coal, oil and gas in the
ground while accelerating the transition to clean energy like wind and solar.
Doing so would both create new jobs and ensure a healthier planet for future generations."
According to the report:
100%
renewable energy for all is achievable by 2050, and is the only way to ensure
the world does not descend into catastrophic climate change. Dynamic change is
taking place in the energy sector. Renewable energies have become mainstream in
most countries, and prices have fallen dramatically. The report
shows we could transform our energy supply, switching to renewables, which
would mean a stabilization of global CO2 emissions by 2020, and bringing down emissions
towards near zero emissions in 2050.
Produced in collaboration with researchers at the German
Aerospace Centre (DLR), the new Greenpeace report—titled
—is the latest global energy
analysis which shows that not only is the transition to cleaner energy sources
possibly in the coming decades, the actual financial costs of taking on a such
a massive transition would actually be cheaper over the coming decades than
retaining the "dirty energy" status quo in the face of climate
change.
Greenpeace admits the cost of its plan is "huge" but
that "the savings are even bigger." According to their estimates, the
global average of additional investment needed in renewables is roughly $1
trillion a year until 2050. However, because renewables don’t require
continuous fuel inputs, the savings over the same period would be $1.07 trillion
a year, more than covering the costs of the required up-front investment.
Calling for a strategic phase-out of both fossil fuel and
nuclear energy by mid-century, the Greenpeace plan targets the most
carbon-intensive fossil fuels first—including lignite and coal—before moving on
to less-polluting sources like oil and gas.
"We must not let the fossil fuel industry’s lobbying stand
in the way of a switch to renewable energy, the most effective and fairest way
to deliver a clean and safe energy future," said Greenpeace International
Executive Director Kumi Naidoo. "I urge all those who say ‘it can’t be
done’ to read this report and recognize that it can be done and must be done
for the benefit of people around the world."
What's more, the group says, this energy transformation would be
a source of millions upon millions of jobs, more than enough to replace those
lost by the shuttering of the coal, oil, and gas industries.
The report says that nearly 20 million jobs in the renewable
energy sector could be created between now and 2030, because of strong growth
and investment in renewables. The solar photovoltaic (PV) industry alone, the
research estimates, will provide 9.7 million jobs, equal to the number of
people now working in the coal industry today. In the wind sector—which has
shown unprecedented growth in recent years--job growth will continue grow to
over 7.8 million jobs, twice as many as are employed in oil and gas today.
"The solar and wind industries have come of age, and are
now cost competitive with coal," said Greenpeace’s Sven Teske, the lead
author of the report. "It is very likely they will overtake the coal
industry in terms of jobs and energy supplied within the next decade. It’s the
responsibility of the fossil fuel industry to prepare for these changes in the
labor market and make provisions. Every dollar invested in new fossil fuel
projects is high risk capital which could end up as stranded investment."
With the UN climate talks in Paris fast-approaching, Greenpeace
says the urgency of the crisis must compel political leaders to finally act—and
act boldly—on the message that the scientific community and civil society
leaders have been issuing with growing levels of intensity in recent years.
With their new report as a blueprint for what's possible, said
Naidoo, "the Paris climate agreement must deliver a long term vision for
phasing out coal, oil, gas and nuclear energy by mid-century, reaching the goal
of 100% renewables with energy access for all."
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