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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Doable Renewables ~ Engineers Detail a Clean Energy Future

Stanford University researchers, led by civil engineer Mark Jacobson, have developed detailed plans for each U.S. state to attain 100 percent wind, water and solar power by 2050 using currently available technology. The plan, presented at the 2014 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference in Chicago, also forms the basis for the Solutions Project nonprofit. “The greatest barriers to a conversion are neither technical nor economic. They are social and political,” the AAAS paper concludes.

The proposal is to eliminate dirty and inefficient fossil fuel combustion as an energy source. All vehicles would be powered by electric batteries or by hydrogen produced by electrolysis, rather than natural gas. High-temperature industrial processes would also use electricity or hydrogen combustion.

Transmission lines carrying energy between states or countries will prove one of the greatest challenges. With natural energy sources, electricity needs to be more mobile, so that when there’s no sun or wind, a city or country can import the energy it needs. The biggest problem is which companies should pay to build and maintain the lines.

 

Source: SingularityHub.com

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Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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