I am genuinely troubled. Not by us, not by our industry. I honestly believe we are trying to reduce our carbon footprint with recycling, reducing, and reprocessing. And, it’s our entire supply chain, not just suppliers. In fact, over the last 25 years since sending my messages through the venerable channel of Label & Narrow Web, I have witnessed a remarkable focus and interest in “doing the right
thing” environmentally.  

The changes have been very gratifying and exciting. No, you’re not the problem.

I am troubled by the polarization that has developed in our culture. Packaging is a really good example. This is good and that is bad. Paper (organic) is good and plastic (inorganic) is bad, for example. 

I am troubled by the messages coming from Washington, particularly over the last eight months. Middle ground doesn’t exist. Polarization is rampant. There is a total disregard for the environment. (You knew I was going there).  

There is a disbelief that climate change is an issue. In fact, it’s an outright “hoax” to quote our current administration. There is a philosophy of  “take,” “dig,” “use” – a complete disregard for projects that not only create jobs but reduce environmental impact.

As I began this column, I read that the “EPA plans to revoke legal basis for tackling climate change.” This was not only in the New York Times but in the Wall Street Journal, as well.  Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said, “The agency would rescind a 2009 declaration which concluded that planet warming, greenhouse gases, pose a threat to public health and underpins the government’s legal authority to combat climate change.”  

This statement was quoted on July 29. This is not fake news.

Over the last eight months the current administration has been like a bulldog in a china shop, attacking anything and everything environmental. The only constant metric has been to support fossil energy and specifically “coal power.” Do you realize that coal represents a minority of our energy sources? Do you realize we don’t have the workforce to mine coal, unless, of course, we use undocumented workers? Are you aware of the efforts by the current administration to stop construction of a multi-billion-dollar wind farm off the coast of Virginia? This is an interesting story because we will be short of energy supply to meet demand, whether fossil or renewal, by 2035. Listen up!

Twenty-seven miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, VA, sit 96 gargantuan steel cylinders arranged in a neat pegboard grid. They are the foundation of one of America’s largest industrial projects – an offshore wind development that’s slated to cover 150 square miles of the ocean – six times the size of Manhattan. The turbines that the company plans to install are skyscraper-like, too, reaching their apex at 830 feet.

The project’s power capacity rivals the Hoover Dam’s. And if all goes according to plan, the turbines will start spinning next year – just in the nick of time. 

Virginia has already seen some of the fastest growth in electricity demand in the country.  In addition to a growing population, the state hosts more data centers than anywhere else in the world.

Obviously, all of this has occurred at considerable expense and with some government financial support, aka the Inflation Reduction Act passed by congress in 2022. This entire project is now in jeopardy because the current administration is trying to dismantle the regulatory system designed to help off-shore wind projects. The permitting process is on hold, and this project, like others, is at risk. 

Dominion Energy has already spent billions, and now litigation is creating chaos. And, that’s a good word – chaos. Now think about this: the Hoover Dam contribution to energy supply in seven states in the west is diminishing. Climate change, mind you, is a hoax, yet reduced snowfall because of a warmer climate means less water, which means less energy. I don’t get it! “Hoax.”

The other aspect of energy that our current administration is ignoring is a need, an immediate need, to overhaul our current power grid. The clock is ticking. Princeton University “estimates that 80% of the potential environmental benefits of electrification will be squandered” because of inaction.

“We must expand, not reduce, renewable energy, wind and solar, to meet the demand.”

To summarize, we will have enormous increased energy demands by 2035. Much of this is a result of AI, data centers, etc., not population growth. Number two, we do not have enough fossil sources to satisfy this growth. Number three, we must rebuild our current grid of power lines to handle an enormous amount of increased energy. And number four, most importantly, we must expand, not reduce, renewable energy, wind and solar, to meet the demand.

Coating and laminating and printing and packaging require energy. As we grow our technology, our energy needs will also need to grow. The simple arithmetic says we do not have enough traditional energy. We need renewable sources. You can be on either side of the fence. You can be polarized, but we will never meet our needs if we don’t act together.

Another Letter from the Earth

Calvin Frost is chairman of Channeled Resources Group, headquartered in Chicago, the parent company of Maratech International and GMC Coating. His email address is cfrost@channeledresources.com.