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#wastewater — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #wastewater, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Unfortunately, both articles are behind paywalls -- but you get the gist...

    #GallupNM #datacenter water deal draws #Navajo concerns

    By Donovan Quintero | May 14, 2026

    "A proposed data center on Gallup’s eastern industrial edge has raised questions about water, jobs, public notice and whether the project could affect the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.

    "The Gallup City Council is considering whether to extend a long-term reclaimed water option tied to #TeraplexDataCentersLLC, a Virginia limited liability company identified in city documents as seeking to develop industrial and commercial uses, including a data center, on roughly 330 acres in Gallup.

    "Public materials describe Teraplex as a modular data center and power infrastructure company focused on #AI computing, integrated power systems and factory-built infrastructure. Publicly available company materials do not clearly identify completed or operating data center campuses owned by Teraplex."

    navajotimes.com/reznews/gallup

    Gallup data center proposal raises water, jobs and notice concerns

    Marcus Williams, 5/17/2026

    "A 330-acre #GallupTradeport data center could send nearly 110 million gallons of #wastewater a year into a water-stressed region already waiting on #NavajoGallup deliveries.

    "Gallup City Council put off action April 29 on a wastewater deal tied to a proposed 330-acre data center in the Gallup Tradeport, and the scale alone sharpened the stakes: nearly 110 million gallons of wastewater a year could be routed to the project if the agreement advances.

    "That number is now colliding with a much larger question in McKinley County and across the Eastern Navajo Nation, who bears the risk if a private technology campus moves ahead in a region where water is already scarce. At a May 14 discussion, speakers raised concerns about water use, public notice and whether the project could affect the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, the long-delayed system meant to carry municipal and industrial water from the #SanJuanRiver to Gallup, the eastern #NavajoNation and the southwestern #JicarillaApache Nation."

    prismnews.com/local/mckinley-n

    #ClimateCrisis #ExtremeDrought
    #Dine #WaterIsLife #WaterShortage #NoWaterForDatacenters
    #NativeAmericanNews #AIDatacenters

  2. #PlasticRain Is the New #AcidRain

    Plastic rain could prove to be a more insidious problem than acid rain.

    by Matt Simon
    June 12, 2020

    "Hoof it through the national parks of the western United States—Joshua Tree, the #GrandCanyon, Bryce Canyon—and breathe deep the pristine air. These are unspoiled lands, collectively a great American conservation story. Yet an invisible menace is actually blowing through the air and falling via raindrops: #Microplastic particles, tiny chunks (by definition, less than 5 millimeters long) of fragmented plastic bottles and microfibers that fray from clothes, all #pollutants that get caught up in Earth’s atmospheric systems and deposited in the #wilderness.

    "Writing in the journal Science, researchers report a startling discovery: After collecting #rainwater and air samples for 14 months, they calculated that over 1,000 metric tons of microplastic particles fall into 11 protected areas in the western US each year. That’s the equivalent of over 120 million plastic water bottles.

    "'We just did that for the area of protected areas in the West, which is only 6 percent of the total US area,' says lead author Janice Brahney, an environmental scientist at Utah State University. 'The number was just so large, it's shocking.'

    "It further confirms an increasingly hellish scenario: Microplastics are blowing all over the world, landing in supposedly pure habitats, like the #Arctic and the remote #FrenchPyrenees. They’re flowing into the #oceans via #wastewater and tainting #deepsea #ecosystems, and they’re even ejecting out of the water and blowing onto land in sea breezes. And now in the American West, and presumably across the rest of the world given that these are fundamental atmospheric processes, they are falling in the form of plastic rain—the new acid rain.

    "Plastic rain could prove to be a more insidious problem than acid rain, which is a consequence of #SulfurDioxide and #NitrogenOxide emissions. By deploying #scrubbers in power plants to control the former, and catalytic converters in cars to control the latter, the US and other countries have over the last several decades cut down on the #acidification problem. But microplastic has already corrupted even the most #RemoteEnvironments, and there’s no way to scrub water or land or air of the particles—the stuff is absolutely everywhere, and it’s not like there’s a plastic magnet we can drag through the oceans. What makes plastic so useful—its hardiness—is what also makes it an alarming pollutant: Plastic never really goes away, instead breaking into ever smaller bits that infiltrate ever smaller corners of the planet. Even worse, plastic waste is expected to skyrocket from 260 million tons a year to 460 million tons by 2030, according to the consultancy McKinsey. More people joining the middle class in #EconomicallyDeveloping countries means more #consumerism and more #PlasticPackaging. "

    Read more:
    getpocket.com/explore/item/pla

    #Crapitalism #BanPlastics #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife

  3. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  4. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  5. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  6. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  7. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has finally released recent #wastewater #COVID results to the State monitoring page (but not yet to the City Open Data portal).

    The #COVID19 concentrations vary, but are trending higher, consistent with case, hospitalization and death rates.

    To reduce summer waves we need to reduce #ClimateChange that drives people indoors.

    New Yorkers can do that by starting #CongestionPricingNow

    cc @noneck

    coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covi

    #CovidIsNotOver

  8. Good Muggy Morning SARS2PAians! ☁️💐☁️

    I hope you are having a safe Spring!

    #VOCs

    The top news lately are the newest variants causing country-wide summer waves including Spain: ibb.co/hRpvjt5

    and Portugal: ibb.co/khTtyJX

    They are KP.3.x.y and LB.x.y.

    These new immune evasive variants are filling up hospitals and causing notable increases in deaths.

    KP.3 is now the variant "grandfather" that is the fastest, the most immune evasive, and the most easily bound to cells. Specifically, the most watched upcoming variant is its grandchild, KP.3.1.1.

    The newest variants that have a very good chance of causing a sizeable increase in numbers, if not a full blown-out wave, are variants of KP.3 that already have immune evasive mutations (FLuQE) but also have an advantageous specific spike deletion (S:S31del).

    These new and fastest variants are immune evasive to BOTH current vaccinations, AND prior infections.

    Nationally, KP.2 is still just barely at the top of the leaderboard. KP.2.3 is right behind it, already a variant that is being watched.: ibb.co/p0d8G8n

    🔴KP.3.1.1 is absolutely blazing fast and burning through Spain, Portugal and other countries, and is part of KP-DEL31.

    _____

    NOTE: "KP-DEL31" is gonna be my nickname for it, not variant hunters or virologists. Just to call it something easily condensed and recognizeable for now. They might decide on a different nickname soon. These names are just for convenience. (You don't call your cousin Mister James Robert Smith every time, do you? You call him JimBob or Smitty. It just makes talking easier.)

    _____

    I've highlighted FLiRT in pink on the national screenshot but I'll drop it soon as KP-DEL31 becomes more and more relevant.

    There's no specific results for PA on the Tableau site. Probably not enough testing here.

    In NY/NJ, I've highlighted KP-DEL31 in green on the NY/NJ leaderboard, and as you can see, all the top 5 variants there have this very important spike deletion. But KP.3.1.1 is the variant to keep eyes on.: ibb.co/Jcv0rF7

    KP.3.1.1 is already found (in only a few days!) in TX, NY, CA, CO, NJ, WA, and VA.

    🔴If you've dropped wearing respirators for now you might want to reconsider putting them back on as KP.3.1.1 makes gains and spring moves along.

    ________________

    #Wastewater

    Wastewater has returned to HIGH levels in the Eastern and Southern states. KP.2, KP.3 and LB.x.y variants are working together on driving this.: ibb.co/0nHqQPS

    In our region, specifically testing in Maryland is showing a return to higher levels.: ibb.co/99MSpy0

    The PA wastewater dashboard is showing LARGE increases in Philly, and sizeable increases in Centre and Indiana counties.: ibb.co/0J14Tty

    MASK UP, oh my Philly ❤️️!

    ________________

    #Vaccines

    Whoa I had a whole angry thing typed out here and juuuuuuust checked back on Twitter, and Dr. Eric Topol wrote just 2 hrs ago that the US FDA has changed its decision for the upcoming vaccine base!!: ibb.co/xzB6GVb

    The newest mRNA vaccines will be based on KP.2 and NOT JN.1!

    This is a wise decision and fantastic news!!

    This will certainly better prepare us for Summer.

    (NOTE: **Novavax** will have a JN.1 based booster. Novavax is completely different as it has proven effective through multiple years with ONE base so that vaccine will probably not have to be changed as often.)

    _______________
    🔴Even with vaccines, there are always other things we can do to practice source control!

    keep those windows OPEN

    wear a respirator

    keep the air clean

    move meetings outside

    work from home

    build a Corsi-Rosenthal box

    stay home if you are sick!

    Continue to have a great and safe Spring!! 💐💐💐

    #COVID19 #COVID #COVIDisNotOver #SARS2PA #Pennsylvania #PA
    #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_f456l #spike_r346t
    #FLuQE #Q493E
    #KP2 #KP3 #LB1 #Moderna #Pfizer #Novavax
    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #VaccinesSaveLives #StayHomeIfSick !

  9. Update for 5/6/2024!

    Good Morning SARS2PAians!

    Yes I have an update today aaaaand unfortunately that's kinda never a good thing. You DON'T want to hear from me here!

    (I am asking you once again....to please make this hobby of mine obsolete 🙏😔 Filter the air, be aware of social contacts, wear a quality respirator, and wash hands for the gastro stuff.)

    __________
    VOCs

    We are dealing with FLiRT now, but there are two groups of incoming variants that are becoming concerningly successful in other countires including right next door in Canada.: ibb.co/fkG3gpg

    One is an earlier-new group consisting of JN.1.32 and KP.3.

    Another, far off-new yet, is KW.1 and its child, KW.1.1.

    All of these variants have been proven faster than FliRT in Australia, UK, etc. KP.3 is exceptionally fast.

    🔴Due to antigenic drift, vaccines and previous infection are NOT as effective to protect you with these upcoming variants.

    🔴This does NOT mean vaccines don't work, so do not go spreading that. (You should also be mightily shunned for spreading that.)

    Again: Vaccines are safe and effective...but these incoming variants are starting to yet again DRIFT TOO FAR AWAY from the current XBB vaccines.

    I've highlighted the upcoming concerning variants in teal, as opposed to the FLiRT group which is in pink. KW.1.1 isn't above the fold yet nationally at 0.16% so I made a note on the image so I remember to keep track of this number.

    Nationally, JN.1.7 and JN.1 are a tthe top of the board. JN.1.32 at 2.23% and KP.3 also at 2.23%. KW.1 at a little under half a percent. These numbers might be higher in actual meatspace because there is not nearly enough labwork/sequencing available to make laser-focused predictions.: ibb.co/bRpvDP7

    In PA, we do not have group 2 of the far-off variants yet here but we do have KP.2. Gotta watch this one.: ibb.co/3kPMBwM

    In NY/NJ, whoa, KP.3 already clocking in at over 3%, in the top 10 of random sequencing already. I haven't been watching this one so when I have more time I'll go back and check this one out.: ibb.co/qM7C4CY

    KP.2 already at over 10%. That's fast, and antigenic drift is absolutely not helping here as any protection we might have had against this new stuff is starting to slip away.

    We might be in for a bump up in numbers this spring, as something similar last year happened too.

    Just giving everyone a heads-up on what we might be in for this spring/summer.

    We can keep it in control by practicing some very comon-sense, easy things!

    Have a safe spring!! 💐💐💐

    #covid #Covid19 #SARS2PA #CDC #CovidIsNotOver #Wastewater #Pennsylvania #PA #JN1 #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_r346t #spike_f456l

    #KP2 #KP3 #JNOne32 #JN132 #KS1

    #KW1 #KW11

    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #StayHomeIfSick !

  10. Good Morning/Afternoon SARS2PAians!!

    I hope you are enjoying this GORGEOUS Spring weather 💐💐💐

    1/2 Update for May 3, 2024!

    __________
    :all_the_things: State of the Subreddit/Fediverse posts:

    There's not much new to report for COVID right now except some closely watched new mutations, so basically TL;DR is that COVID levels are very very low, enjoy it but please keep source control safety always on the backburner.

    So. I don't mean to only have this as a once-a-week thing but it's kind of turning into that. I also don't mean to have people waste their time checking in here if I don't post, but I'm always hesitant to call it a once-a-week-thing as COVID is so volatile and mutations can always manifest something very weird in a short amount of time.

    I have no idea when info will be available so I'm keeping it a "twice-a-week thing", Monday and Friday but sometimes I just don't have enough info/anything new/time for a Monday, so Friday is always much better for a full post for me.

    I hope you continue to find this informative useful and I suuuuuper apologize if you check in and I don't post. 🙏

    But even better, go check out the links for yourself and follow people smarter than me for COVID stuff!

    __________
    VOCs

    Nationally, JN.1 and JN.1.7 still at the top of the leaderboard. FLiRT variants JN.1.4 and KP.2 keeps chipping away at their lead.: ibb.co/JqWkBSD

    KP.2 seems to be the fastest mover of the whole FLiRT mutation block and the one the virology world is keeping their eyes on.

    In PA, we don't have KP.2 showing up on Rajnarayanan's Tableau site so far, whcih is good but we still have quite a few FLiRTs here.: ibb.co/vP5yH4G

    In NY/NJ, we can see here KP.2 has climbed above all the other FLiRTs, is in 4th place at >8% and is right behind JN.1 now.: ibb.co/ZzLcRxJ

    The WHO is now looking to JN.1 being the next mutation that will be the base of the newest COVID vaccine.: who.int/news/item/26-04-2024-s

    🔴PLEASE GET VACCINATED if available. Don't be a tuff guy. Go get it.

    Upcoming fast variants are KP.3 and JN.1.32👀, which are not FLiRTs but very fast. I have them highlighted in teal on the charts as they are both already up to almost 5% of national sequencing.

    In PA, we have JN.1.32 in low but measurable amounts at a little over 3% of random sequencing and these two variants wil have to be watched.

    __________
    CDC

    CDC has stopped requiring reporting COVID hospital admissions, hospital capacity or hospital occupancy data at the beginning of May. 🙄 This plus nowhere near enough testing and sequencing makes this....hard to keep up with the virus.

    "Effective May 1, 2024, hospitals are no longer required to report COVID-19 hospital admissions, hospital capacity, or hospital occupancy data to HHS through CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). CDC encourages ongoing, voluntary reporting of hospitalization data. Data voluntarily reported to NHSN after May 1, 2024, will be available starting May 10, 2024, at COVID Data Tracker Hospitalizations."

    "The source of hospital information on the COVID Data Tracker home page will change from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) to COVID-NET. Instead of displaying national counts of new hospital admissions, it will show COVID-19 hospitalization rates per 100,000 people. More information on COVID-Net is available on COVID-NET Laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 Hospitalizations."

    covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-track 🙄

    __________
    Other Pathogens

    WastewaterSCAN now has SARS2 as LOW! YEAH! :canparrot:

    Also FluB and RSV! Woohoo! :canparrot:

    Still HIGH though are FluA, Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), parainfluenza, and gastro bugs Noro and Rotavirus.: ibb.co/By0g9Xt

    __________
    H5N1 follows in second post......

    #covid #Covid19 #SARS2PA #CDC #CovidIsNotOver #Wastewater #Pennsylvania #PA #JN1 #FluB #Influenza #Norovirus #HMPV #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_r346t #spike_f456l

    #H5N1 #CleanFeedNOW

    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #StayHomeIfSick !

  11. Good Afternoon SARS2PAians!

    I hope your spring is healthy and productive! 💐💐💐

    __________
    VOCs

    Nationally, the most concerning variants are, as I posted last week, the FLiRT variants that have specific mutations enabling fast transfer. JN.1.4 and KP.2 are already almost at 10% of variant share but remember the amount of testing and sequencing right now is dismal and it makes everything harder to evaluate.: ibb.co/KDt0Bh4

    FLiRT variants are highlighted in pink on my screenshot. Expect these to push further and further near the top in the next few weeks (and the CDC NOWCAST confirms this prediction.)

    In PA, we still have a few FLiRTs here and you can already see them starting to move toward the top of the variant chart.: ibb.co/kc9CQyZ

    In NY/NJ, FLiRTs KP.2, JN.1.4, JN.1.16.1, and JN.1.18 already account for ~20% of random sequencing.: ibb.co/TrcS9rW

    __________
    Wastewater

    The GOOD news is COVID is stil fairly low; we've gone below the higher level of two years ago, and are at the lower level of last year at this time!: ibb.co/Q83BR3k

    We still must watch to see if the FLiRT crew push this metric upwards.

    __________
    CDC

    The new hospital admits map has changed. High increases all through Central PA excepting Centre Co. and also over tehre in Mercer Co. Philly and Pitt looking very good!: ibb.co/Xp8tCJV

    The Inpatient Beds Map looks pretty good, some increases in McKean, Potter, and Cameron counties and also around Somerset and Cambria Cos.: ibb.co/fD7JYTf

    ICU beds over all showing stability, with lots of counties in Central PA and the old coal region on the decrease! Some increases from Lycoming over to McKean though.: ibb.co/jMTdyCT

    __________
    NOWCAST

    The CDC Nowcast is now including multiple fast-moving FLiRT variants in its tracking: KP.2, KP.1.1, KQ.1, JN.1.18.: ibb.co/wBY45FV

    According to current estimates, these variants combined account for over a third of illnesses already.

    These are moving FAST.

    __________
    NonSARS2 Pathogens

    More good news: according to WastewaterSCAN, there are now lots of pathogens considered LOW nationally!

    Just be warned that they are still showing HIGH in the Northeast, like FluB, which is LOW nationally but regionally still HIGH. Hopefully these numbers will lower even more as the Spring enables more outdoor/well ventilated activity.: ibb.co/vYGmTd1

    __________
    H5N1

    H5N1 particles have been found in dairy milk, and are assumed to be inactivated due to the pasteurization process.

    We MUST demand healthy cows, testing and tracking of sick herds, and transparency from the meat and dairy insustries.

    This is not necessarily to keep H5N1 out of dairy products.

    The more IMMINENT concern than being found in dairy milk is letting this thing percolate until it gains new mutations, whether to infect swine or enable human-to-human transfer.: ibb.co/FVbNnky

    Some things you can do that are obviously proactive and not panicking about this:

    🔴Demand clean feed for cattle and swine.

    🔴Demand transparent testing, tracing of cattle illness.

    🔴Demand high levels of sampling and sequencing of sick herds.

    🔴AVOID raw dairy products. Seriously, people, DO NOT contribute to this thing by consuming raw dairy products, even if your State allows its sale (and Pennsylvania DOES as far as I know!)

    🔴Try ultra-pasteurized milk, it's the most common milk sold in European countries.

    Here's a nifty guide that compares pasteurized/ultra-pasteurized/UHT (ultra high temperature) methods of treating dairy products:

    britannica.com/technology/past

    🔴Avoid undercooked or rare meats. Meats must be heated to 162 degrees for at least 15 seconds to destroy pathogens like tuberculosis.

    🔴Switch to providers that are not battery farms and practice humane farming. This is NOT just to be kind to animals (although that's a huge bonus), it is PRACTICAL and keeping herds not densely packed will lessen disease transmission. So far, H5N1 has a 50% kill rate even in non-bird species and we MUST keep outbreaks of it controlled.

    I hope you have a FANTASTIC, well-ventilated, healthy and fun Spring!! 💐💐💐

    #covid #Covid19 #SARS2PA #CDC #CovidIsNotOver #Wastewater #Pennsylvania #PA #JN1 #FluB #Influenza #Norovirus #HMPV #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_r346t #spike_f456l

    #H5N1 #CleanFeedNOW

    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #StayHomeIfSick !

  12. Good Afternoon SARS2PAians!

    It's going to get a bit chilly the next few days , butin spite of that I hope you're haivng a great Spring! 💐💐💐

    🔴Reminder: If you've built a Corsi-Rosenthal box, you can get lots of seasonal allergy relief by running it! CR boxes have many, many practical uses besides just controlling air particles that carry pathogens.

    There was nothing much new to post on Monday plus I had a bunch of family things to handle (and doing this, admittedly takes time) so I apologize again for not posting. But you know the saying "no news is good news" and that defintiely applies to these updates.

    I'm going to try and update the link list ASAP.

    I hope you still find all this useful and informative. I hope the medical community finds these accurate and reliable.

    __________
    VOCs

    While we are experiencing a MOST welcome lull in COVID numbers right now, disease modelers are predicting a bump up in numbers at the end of this month.: ibb.co/YpnpfMF

    This is due to a variant block that have specific mutations. Together they are nicknamed the FLiRT group and are named so because their most important mutations are located at S:F456L and S:R346T within the structure of the pathogen.

    🔴Right now FLiRT mutes have an 8% advantage even over JN.1. That's fast.: ibb.co/NshJLK6

    The most important VOCs out there right now are the variants that have the FLiRT designation, and I've highlighted these mutes on these screenshots in pink.

    Remember that there is nowhere near the amount of national testing or sequencing that should be implemented, so it makes trying to predict growth activity more difficult.

    Nationally, lots of FLiRT mutations out there. It is unknown whether they are fast enough to cause a wave altogether, but they're fast enough to compete with JN.1 to eventually take over quite a bit of the current leaderboard.: ibb.co/S7kCkpH

    In PA, we have quite a few FLiRT mutation here but these mutes are in relatively low numbers, so far.: ibb.co/bdhJwKv

    In NY/NJ, FLiRT mute JN.1.4 already in second place on the leaderboard at over 9% of random sequencing. The other FLiRT variants will undoubtedly catch up.: ibb.co/ZBgYP2G

    Here you can see FLiRT's innate growth advantage compared to JN variants.: ibb.co/3swYQ4r

    Here you can see JN.1's innate growth advantage compared to older variants.: ibb.co/DfH6j53

    __________
    Wastewater

    Nationally we're still on the bottom of the lull. This might be the lowest point of the whole year as our numbers ongoing could match 2022/2023, where we had quite a bump up in the middle of the summer (because, reminder: COVID doesn't have a "season", it can bump those numbers up anytime it gets lucky with a new mutation!).: ibb.co/3mVzfx9

    In PA, wastewater still low pretty much everywhere which is great. MontCo SMASHING it, going way below national levels!!: ibb.co/TbrQgk7

    __________
    CDC

    The counties showing high increase in hospital admits has shifted around. Now the counties with the highest increases are along the NY border and down in the Southwest corner surrounding Greene Co. Adams and York also showing high end increases. Philly corner showing moderate increases.: ibb.co/cQRgbwM

    The % inpatient beds map looks very good! stable or decreasing everywhere, except some increases in Columbia Co up going Northeast to Wayne Co.: ibb.co/Q8JMZvh

    Staffed ICU beds in the vast majority of counties steady or going down...except Columbia, Luzerne and Wyoming in the eastern half of the State and Centre, Clearfield and Jefferson in Central PA.: ibb.co/5kXgcYR

    __________
    Other Pathogens

    We're still high in non-SARS2 respiratory pathogens according the WastewaterSCAN. FluA, FluB, and Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) are still HIGH.

    Gastro stuff is very high too, Norovirus and Roitavirus.

    🔴Keep the air clean, be aware of social contacts and wear a quality respirator in crowds and in places where air filteration is suboptimal. Stay home of you are sick to beat the respiratory stuff.

    🔴WASH HANDS with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds to beat Noro and Rota. Rinse off fruits and veg before you eat them. Be aware of food handling safety in the kitchen. Don't send kids to school with this.

    Mostly because...Noro and Rota are not only extremely contagious, they're also just...gross. 🤢

    I hope you have a GREAT and safe Spring!! 💐💐💐

    #covid #Covid19 #SARS2PA #CDC #CovidIsNotOver #Wastewater #Pennsylvania #PA #JN1 #FluA #FluB #Influenza #Norovirus #Rotavirus #HMPV #FLiRT #F456L #R346T #spike_r346t #spike_f456l

    #WearAMask #CleanTheAir #WashHands #StayHomeIfSick !

  13. #MaineTribes and Leading #Environmental Organizations Join Forces To Oppose Proposed #Mine in Shadow of #Katahdin

    Proposed #ZincMine at #PickettMountain being pursued by virtually unknown Canadian company

    June 28, 2023

    "Two Tribes in Maine today joined forces with leading environmental groups and a national public interest environmental law organization to oppose a proposed mine that would be located in the shadow of #BaxterStatePark and the #KatahdinWoods & Waters National Monument.

    "The proposed zinc mine at Pickett Mountain is being pursued by a virtually unknown Canadian company, #WolfdenResources, that has never operated a mine before. A previous version of Wolfden’s request was widely opposed because the region holds enormous cultural and natural significance to #Wabanaki Tribes, outdoor recreation businesses, and Maine people.

    "The #HoultonBandOfMaliseets, the #PenobscotNation, and the #NaturalResourcesCouncilOfMaine [#NRCM], represented by #Earthjustice and #Brann&Isaacson, joined the #ConservationLawFoundation in petitioning to intervene in the review of Wolfden’s permit application to the Land Use Planning Commission (#LUPC) to rezone the area for #industrial uses.

    "'The Penobscot Nation strongly opposes the rezoning of this #ecologically important area. We share significant concerns over impacts to the #water quality and f#isheries of the area, which our members rely upon,' said #ChiefKirkFrancis of the Penobscot Nation. 'The West Branch of the #MattawamkeagRiver contains abundant, high-quality, cold-water fish habitat and Designated #CriticalHabitat for #endangered #AtlanticSalmon, identified as necessary for the recovery of Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. This mine would impact our traditional territories and forever alter our ability to maintain our relationship to this place.'

    "The area Wolfden wants to mine is next to three State Heritage Fish Waters and is a centerpiece of the region’s growing outdoor economy. It contains the headwaters of the West Branch of the Mattawamkeag River, which is sacred to the Penobscot Nation and provides key, federally designated critical habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon.

    "'The Katahdin region’s wild beauty and clean water are extraordinary. One look at this landscape demonstrates that this is no place to put a mine,' said Nick Bennett, staff scientist at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. 'Wolfden’s claims that it will treat #wastewater more effectively than any mining company on earth are not credible. This is too big a risk for #Maine.'

    "'The legacy of metallic mineral #mining in Maine is one of empty promises of economic development, acid mine drainage #polluting waters and killing fish, and multi-million dollar c#leanups funded by taxpayers and not the fly-by-night mining companies like Wolfden,' said #SeanMahoney, vice-president and senior counsel at the Conservation Law Foundation. 'Rezoning this area to allow mining would fail to recognize the cultural and spiritual importance of the land to the #WabanakiTribes and threaten the natural resources and experiences valued by generations of Maine citizens.'

    "After withdrawing its initial request because it was riddled with errors, Wolfden submitted a second rezoning petition in January that sparked another review by the LUPC. Comments by Wolfden’s CEO disrespecting Maine tribes and #MininLlaws have prompted outrage from the Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and #conservationists. The company has lost tens of millions of dollars over the past decade.

    "'This is one of the absolute worst areas to rezone for a mine,' said Aaron Bloom, a senior attorney with Earthjustice. 'The region is known for its vast contiguous forest, pristine streams, high-quality lakes, and aquatic species like wild brook trout and landlocked salmon. Why would we risk that, along with the outdoor economy that depends on it, on a half-baked proposal from an unproven mining company? The Commission must put Maine’s unique natural resources, and the well-being of the people of Maine and Maine’s Wabanaki Tribes, before short-term industry profits.'

    "More than 700 hundred Mainers and local businesses, including Bradford Camps, Chandler Lakes Camps and Lodge, and the #MaineWildernessGuidesOrganization, have spoken out against Wolfden’s plans. In May 2022, residents of #Pembroke voted overwhelmingly to ban industrial-scale metallic mineral mining in their town in response to Wolfden’s plans to develop a mine there."

    Source:
    earthjustice.org/press/2023/ma

    #WaterIsLife #Maine #WabanakiNations #Environment #Mining #CorporateColonialism #NoMining