Tag: pollution

US Military Ordered “Clandestine Burning” of Toxic Chemicals in Poor Neighborhoods

New research conducted by environmental justice scholars at Vermont’s Bennington College reveals that between 2016 and 2020, the U.S. military oversaw the “clandestine burning” of more than 20 million pounds of Aqueous Fire Fighting Foam in low-income communities around the country—even though there is no evidence that incineration destroys the toxic “forever chemicals” that make up the foam and are linked to a range of cancers, developmental disorders, immune dysfunction, and infertility.

“In defiance of common sense and environmental expertise, the Department of Defense (DOD) has enlisted poor communities across the U.S. as unwilling test subjects in its toxic experiment with burning AFFF,” David Bond, associate director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College, said (pdf) in a statement earlier this week.

Noting that scientists, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and even Pentagon officials have warned that “burning AFFF is an unproven method and dangerous mix that threatens the health of millions of Americans,” Bond characterized the decision of the military to dump huge stockpiles of AFFF and AFFF wastewater into “a handful of habitually negligent incinerators” as a “harebrained” operation as well as a manifestation of environmental injustice.

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More than 50 new environmental chemicals detected in people

Researchers have detected more than 50 new environmental chemicals lurking in people’s bodies, the vast majority of which are little known or unknown compounds.

These chemicals — which have never been observed in people before — were discovered in a study of pregnant women and their newborns.

The findings are concerning given that very little is known about these chemicals and their potential health effects, researchers from the new study say. What’s more, pregnant women and their newborns are a particularly vulnerable population.

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‘More Masks Than Jellyfish’: Covid Mask Pollution Is Destroying Ocean Ecosystems, Wildlife

While Covid face mask mandates have proved lucrative for governments, the pharmaceutical and PPE industries, and health officials, they have taken a devastating toll on the world’s oceans and wildlife according to ecological and environmental experts.

An extensive study from marine preservation group OceansAsia found that “the number of masks entering the environment on a monthly basis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is staggering.”

“From a global production projection of 52 billion masks for 2020, we estimate that 1.56 billion masks will enter our oceans in 2020, amounting to between 4,680 and 6,240 metric tonnes of plastic pollution,” OceansAsia reported. “These masks will take as long as 450 years to break down and all the while serve as a source of micro plastic and negatively impact marine wildlife and ecosystems.”

“Every single visit we find more masks,” OceansAsia’ Teale Phelps Bondaroff said, noting that since many masks are shredded and covered in algae, they may be consumed by fish and ocean creatures that mistakes the masks as food.

The global face masks market value was roughly $790 million in 2019, but exploded to over $166 billion by the end of 2020.

In a Facebook post from early in the mask and lockdown cycle, Operation Clean Sea nonprofit founder Laurent Lombard warned, “Knowing that over 2 billion disposable masks have been ordered, soon there are likely to be more masks than jellyfish in the waters of the Mediterranean…!”

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‘More HUMANE treatment’? Biden admin reopens contaminated FL detention camp for migrant kids that Trump shut down in 2019

Move over fancy-schmancy storage containers with bars on the windows because the Biden administration is reopening a detention camp in Florida that Trump shut down in 2019 … probably because it’s contaminated with military waste.

And they said Trump was cruel, wow.

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China Emits More Carbon In 2 Weeks Than Australia Does In One Year: Think Tank

China emits more carbon dioxide in 16 days than Australia does in one year, according to new research published by a free-market think tank.

Australia’s net-zero emissions target would therefore be cancelled out by China in just two weeks, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) said in a press release on Wednesday.

According to the report, China operates 57 times as many coal-fired power stations as Australia. This figure is set to increase with China currently constructing 92 coal-fired power stations.

The report also added that while Australia’s carbon emissions per capita have declined by 15.4 percent since 2004, China’s emissions per capita over the same period have increased by 83.5 percent.

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Global Warming Activist Matt Damon Flies Private Jet to Film Marvel Movie ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

Damon starred in the climate change and refugee-themed movie Downsizing. He also starred in the anti-fracking movie Promised Land.

Hollywood celebrities including Harrison Ford, Leonardo DiCaprio, John Legend, and Chrissy Teigen have been criticized for promoting climate change activism while taking private jets to fly around the world. In one instance, DiCaprio flew roundtrip from France to New York in a private jet to accept an environmental award in 2016.

Private jets emit as much as 20 times more carbon dioxide per passenger mile than a commercial airliner, according to studies.

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40% of Millennials Replace Wearable Devices Every 6-12 Months — U.N. Continues Warning about Toxic E-Waste

Environmentalists continue to warn that Apple AirPods (which also catch fire) are adding to already dangerously high levels of unrecyclable toxic E-Waste. Of course, AirPods aren’t the only popular wearables being manufactured, purchased, and fated to become E-Waste (see 1, 2, 3).

So those who buy wearables are being increasingly chastised even though tech proponents continue to promote Internet of Things (IoT) technology as being essential to a healthier environment. This doesn’t make sense.  IoT has a high failure rate as well as enormous cybersecurity and privacy risks (see 1, 2, 3, 4).  Therefore, frequent replacement of IoT technology will also create more E-Waste.  So it’s not unreasonable to suspect those who promote IoT for sustainability as being completely misguided.

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