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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Clever Collaborations ~ Renewables Gain Ground Worldwide

Excess heat from London subway tunnels and an electric substation will soon be funneled into British homes, slashing energy costs and lowering pollution, according to the Islington Council.

Germany’s renewable energy industry has broken a solar power record, prompting utility company RWE to close fossil fuel power plants that are no longer competitive. RWE says 3.1 gigawatts of generating capacity, or 6 percent of its total capacity, will be taken offline as it shuts down some of its gas- and coal-fired power stations.

In China, wind power is leaving nuclear behind. Electricity output from China’s wind farms exceeded that from its nuclear plants for the first time in 2012, and out-produced it again last year, generating 135 terawatt-hours (1 million megawatts)—nearly enough to power New York state. Also, while it takes about six years to build a nuke plant, a wind farm can be completed in a matter of months.

China also employs a recycling-for-payment program in Beijing subway stations that accept plastic bottles as payments. Passengers receive credit ranging from the equivalent of five to 15 cents per bottle, which is applied toward rechargeable subway cards.

In the U.S., a newly installed working prototype of a pioneering Solar Road project has attracted sufficient online crowd-funding (Indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways) to seed the manufacturing process.

Watch a video at Tinyurl.com/NewSolarRoadways.

Primary Source: Earth Policy Institute

 

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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