Analyze

Rick Mullin (Feb 9, 2023) reports about a railcar accident in Ohio in which several cars carrying vinyl chloride had to be released and burned. Mullin highlights that the event is one in a series of recent rail accidents in Ohio, calling into questions the safety of the railway infrastructure. He also mentions that, based on data from the Chlorine Institute  20,000 rail shipments of vinyl chloride in North America in 2021.

The Ohio train derailment underscores the dangers of the plastics boom: https://grist.org/transportation/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-p…

Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/FalconryFinance/status/1624051231554510848

In March 2021, the company Greenfield Louisiana LLC has proposed to build a new grain elevator, and has received air pollution permits. The project has raised concerns about grain dust emissions (Parker 2021). Further, Joy Banner, co-owner of the Fee-Fo Lay Cafe has pointed out the grain terminal's adverse effects on predominantly Black neighborshoods and nearby cultural heritage sites, including the Whitney Plantation. 

As outlined in this brief article by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, energy consumption by New York City alone has dropped significantly more than the surrounding areas. On a prima-facie observation, one could say the foregoing alleviates stress on the existing energy infrastructures. However, deeper analyses should consider the repercussions that demanding less energy may have on production, supply, and distribution, as well as transitions between larger and smaller electric microgrids. Given energy infrastructures in the United States are already vulnerable, can it be really said the pandemic alleviates stress on the existing energy infrastructures when everybody is connected to the internet and is generally using more technology at home?