– August 17, 2022 –
Rockin’ the glass recycling
If you wince every time you toss a glass bottle in the trash, knowing this infinitely recyclable material is headed to a landfill, Glasswrx LLC has a solution on the way. The Beaufort, S.C.-based company recently signed a deal with Savannah to collect the city’s waste glass from drop-off locations around town and upcycle it into pumice-like synthetic rocks that can be used as a building material, among other applications. Brunswick already has three glass drop-off locations that Glasswrx services and other coastal governments and waste collection companies are looking to get involved, too. Savannah’s collection bins are expected to be in place by Oct. 1. “I need all the glass out of South Carolina and part of Georgia,” said Glasswrx co-founder and general manager Chris Fisher.
Seeing is believing
The results of a recent survey by the Pew Research Center link experience with understanding of the climate crisis. Pew asked respondents if their community had faced extreme weather such as wildfires, drought, flood, a heatwave or sea level rise that eroded beaches. “Collectively, 71% of Americans say their community has experienced at least one of these five forms of extreme weather in the past year,” Rebecca Leppert of Pew reports. “Among those who have, more than eight-in-ten say climate change contributed at least a little to each type of event.” Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say climate change contributed a lot.
Pew didn’t examine beliefs by location, but the 2021 Yale Climate Survey Map does. It shows 70% of adults in Georgia’s First Congressional District, which is all of us along the coast, think global warming is happening. But only 42% say they’ve personally experienced the effects of global warming.
BEACH ADVISORIES: As of this writing, there are no new beach water bacteria advisories. It’s still jellyfish season on Tybee, the islands lifeguards warn.
Permanent advisories are in place for Clam Creek Beach and St. Andrews Beach on Jekyll Island, and for King’s Ferry County Park on the Ogeechee River.
Before you head to the beach, check the link to see current notices.
Irregular race for regulators
On Aug. 5 a federal judge pulled two races for Georgia Public Service Commission off the November ballot, saying the at-large system of voting for these utility regulators violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the Black vote. On Aug. 12, a three-judge panel ordered the races back on the ballot while the case is being appealed, saying it was too close to the election to make this change. Then on Monday the attorney for the Black voters who first brought the case two years ago asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take it back off the ballot.
It’s a longshot. The U.S. Supreme Court hears only about 100 to 150 appeals of the more than 7,000 cases it is asked to review every year, according to the website of the Federal Courts system. With those slim chances it seems unlikely that the PSC case will be heard. But we should know by later today. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, a Coastal Georgia native, requested a response to the application by 5 p.m. August 17, 2022.
If you have feedback, questions, concerns, or just like what you see, let us know at thecurrentga@gmail.com.
Company helps Coastal Georgia upcycle old bottles, jars to new uses
Glass is again being diverted from landfills in coastal Georgia after a hiatus in curbside glass recycling
Most Americans who have faced extreme weather see a link to climate change – Republicans included
As more Americans experience wildfires, floods and drought, more are accepting the connection to the climate crisis.
It’s hot. Is that normal or is it climate change?
Do you think hotter daytime temperatures in Georgia are due to climate change? A new tool shows why warmer nighttime weather is even more worrisome.
PSC races return to the November ballot
Despite a decision that the races violate the Voting Rights act, the state successfully argued that there was too little time before the election to remove the races from the ballot.
Federal judge: State Public Service Commission voting system dilutes Black vote, must change
Federal court judge orders PSC races off November ballot.
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