Good morning and welcome to the sixth installment of our bi-weekly newsletter. Two days ago, President Donald Trump was sworn into office. For more information as to what a Trump administration may look like for the environment, refer to these articles we’ve written (Left on Red, What a Trump Administration..).

In this issue, we will explain why Trump’s policies will not stop progress for environmental protection. We will also cover the role climate change plays in Los Angeles’ wildfires and how to recycle plastics not accepted by your local recycling system with Hefty ReNew.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

Los Angeles is going up in flames.

We’ve seen it in the news, over social media, and we’ve rarely gotten through a day in the past few weeks without hearing a comment about it. At the time of publication of this issue, there have been twenty-seven recorded deaths related to the fire and tens of thousands of acres of land are currently engulfed in flames in Los Angeles. 

I need not express the extent of the horrors of the fire any further. What I’d like to discuss, however, is the extent to which climate change plays a part. 

The wildfires in L.A. were likely not caused by climate change. The origins of the fires are unknown, and it may never be clear exactly how they were ignited. Once ignited, climate change stepped onto the field as the closer. 

Climate change’s first pitch was too hot. One of the most basic concerns regarding climate change is that it’s causing our world to heat up. Our globe is warming. It’s much easier to perpetuate a flame in warmer conditions than the nagging cold, as anyone who’s ever tried to do so may tell you. The count is now 0-1. 

The second pitch was too fast. Fast because of an excessive wind behind the ball, sending the ball speeding and whipping around in different directions. This same wind, of course, is a perpetrator of the L.A. wildfires. The wind accelerates the spread of the fire by spreading embers and heat around, often in unpredictable directions. In a study conducted by Nature Climate Change, upper-level jet streams will accelerate by about 2% for every degree celsius the world warms. Jet streams influence surface winds by transporting high and low pressure systems across land; these systems directly influence wind speed. High winds also prevent helicopters and planes from flying, vehicles which are used to dump water and Phos-Chek onto the flames. The count is now 0-2.

The hitting team (Los Angeles) has two outs. The series is tied 3-3. It’s the bottom of the ninth. The batter desperately needs to avoid getting another out. The pitcher is calm and collected. The batter grips his bat with sweaty hands. Sweat drips off the players ball cap and onto home plate below him. 

The pitch is thrown. The crowd is on the edge of their seats; eyes glued to the batter. The howling wind is the only thing heard in the stadium, not even a murmur is heard as each fan braves the merciless sun beating down on them. 

The ball barely leaves the pitcher's hand when the batter swings his right foot out—the batter is going for a bunt. The ball strikes the bat at a place that sends the ball bouncing off at a high angle. The catcher quickly reacts, rushing towards the ball as it now descends through the air. 

As the catcher lunges towards the ball, he places his back foot on home plate in an attempt to propel himself forwards. The plate, however, is covered in sweat; the catcher’s foot slips; the ball falls; the batter makes it to first base safely. 

But the hitting team hasn’t won yet. The game was played on an extremely hot, windy and dry day—optimal conditions for the spread of fire—and the little bit of moisture in the day from the sweat of the batter happened to be focused onto the one spot where the catcher placed all his trust to make the saving play.

This tiny concentration of moisture is only a small fraction of the amount of water and Phos-Chek used to fight the fires in L.A. These fire-retardants are deployed by hundreds of fearless firefighters working to curb the scope of the fires in their area. 

Climate change didn’t start these fires. Climate change has perpetuated these fires into what is becoming the worst natural disaster in United States history. No matter what role climate change plays in these fires, humanity will triumph over them. These fires will be put to an end; the hitting team will hit a home run. 

What cannot be put to an end is the discussion about climate change. Snuffing out this flame does not mean we’ve averted climate change’s worst. As our world continues to warm, fires such as these may pale in comparison to what we may experience. 

The lessons we learn from these fires cannot be forgotten. The biggest lesson we can take away is that Mother Nature will retaliate; it’s best not to poke the embers of her power.

~ Seamus Haney

Ideas in this article guided by Carbon Brief.

The Hefty Renew Program

The decision of what to do with an item once it's served its use—throw away, reuse, or recycle it—is never easy. Knowing if you can even recycle it is another issue.

In the City of Omaha, plastics 1,2,3,5 are recyclable. If your plastic is listed as 4 (bags) ,6 (styrofoam), or 7 (other plastics), your item is not recyclable by placing it in your curbside recycling. 

But, notice I said “curbside recycling”. These items are still recyclable. It just requires a much more in-depth process in order to do so. So, how would one go about recycling them?

The Hefty ReNew Program offers this answer. Fundamentally, the process is simple. You must buy a Hefty ReNew bag (not an affiliate link), fill the bag up with items meant for it, and then drop it off at a designated location. 

The challenge lies in taking the time to buy the bags, to learn about what goes in them, and to take them to a designated location. The hyperlinks above all direct you to website links for the actions associated.

The plastic collected is often ground up and repurposed into new plastic items such as plastic lumber and construction materials. The plastic may also be used as a fuel source for cement manufacturing—a process which has received considerable opposition but has been deemed to be better for the environment than throwing these plastics in landfills.

The Hefty ReNew program offers an incredible solution to a big problem in recycling. We urge you to consider researching this program further and implementing it into your own recycling habits. 

~ Seamus Haney

In previous articles, we’ve discussed schools who have implemented this program. Schools such as Duchesne and Gross Catholic have established a school-wide system for these hard-to-recycle plastics.  Creighton Prep is working to evaluate the potential for effectiveness in the school.

Why Trump Will Not Stop the Clean Energy Revolution

Few things motivate political change more than money, which is why clean energy solutions won’t be stopped by the Trump presidency. With Trump being in office only two days and having outlined such an environmentally hostile plan for the future, it is easy to feel discouraged about America's chances at preserving our climate from man-made harm. He has run on a campaign of economic Reaganism and deregulation with much of those promises being related to slashing environmentally friendly policies and encouraging a heavier reliance on fossil fuels. However, despite this, the renewable energy industry will continue to thrive, helping traditionally red states the most. 

Consider Texas, a state famous for its oil industry that currently receives around 40% of its total energy from carbon free sources. According to Zeke Hausfather, a researcher at UC Berkeley, this is “not because Republicans in Texas love renewables, but because it's the cheapest form of electricity here.” This trend of rural, red states being leaders in renewable energy continues with Iowa, Oklahoma and Kansas all being the next top three states for wind power. This is partially due to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which has boosted manufacturing for technology like solar panels and EVs in overwhelmingly republican states, potentially creating 160,000 jobs. Furthermore, popular support for legislation dedicated to environmental protection is skyrocketing. Proposition 4 passed in California which dedicated $10 billion to funding projects related to the climate and 130 cities across the country signing a UN pledge to increase their  decarbonization efforts.

Simply put, green energy is often cheaper, more accessible and (obviously) far more sustainable than fossil fuels. And as the demand for alternatives to fossil fuel grows because of this, the industry will grow as well and create massive amounts of manufacturing jobs all over the country, particularly in rural areas of the country. So while federal support for clean energy may be ending with the Trump presidency, the benefits that come with clean energy will continue to push innovation and create a new economic sector starting on the state and local level.

~ Benjamin Whealy

The Leaflet’s Simple Steps to Sustainability

I’ve often heard that there is no word that rhymes with “orange”. For the longest time, I simply accepted this as fact, but upon researching the idea, I found that there is a word that rhymes with orange. The word is sporange. Sporange is a very old botanical term for a sac containing spores.

The term is closely related with processes associated with the reproduction of plants. Plants—as I’m sure is obvious—are great for the environment; but they’re also great for you.

There are seven important health benefits outlined in this article about the benefits of house plants to your health, of which I will outline here.

1. House plants may help you reduce stress levels.

2. Real plants sharpen your attention, as demonstrated by a very small study.

3. Working with plants can be therapeutic.

4. Plants may help you recover from illness quicker.

5. Plants may boost your productivity.

6. Plants may improve your whole outlook on work.

7. Plants may improve the air quality of your indoor work-space.

Although many of these studies are relatively niche and not well proven, the suggestion made from this research is that there is a very real benefit to house plants—both to you and the environment.

This Week’s Waste Management Tip: Zip Ties

I’d like to use this section to highlight a neat “life hack” that I discovered the other day. I discovered that you can reuse most zip ties. Before this discovery, I had only ever cut and thrown away zip ties when I was finished with them. Perhaps I am a lone wolf in this practice, but I thought that at least someone reading this article may not have known this.

It’s not easy to describe how exactly to reuse zip ties with words, so I’ve included a short video as to how to reuse them that I found helpful.

The Leaflet’s 2025 Goal: Status

Helpful Links for Your Own Research

1. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

2. Omaha Recycling Guide

3. Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

Thank you for reading this issue of The Leaflet.

The Leaflet is not affiliated with any organization or school.

Newsletter produced primarily by Seamus Haney