Tag: pollution

Rejecting the Facade: Unveiling the Ecological Toll of War

On Earth Day, prepare for the annual spectacle of U.S. lawmakers donning their environmentalist hats, waxing poetic about their love for the planet while disregarding the devastation their actions wreak. The harsh reality is that alongside their hollow pledges lies a trail of destruction fueled by military aggression and imperial ambitions, all under the guise of national security.

Take Gaza, for instance. Its once-fertile farmland now lies barren, its water sources poisoned by conflict and neglect. The grim statistics speak volumes: 97% of Gaza’s water is unfit for human consumption, leading to a staggering 26% of illnesses, particularly among vulnerable children. Israel’s decades-long colonial settler project and ethnic cleansing of Palestine have caused irrefutable damage to the land, air, and water, consequently contributing to the climate crisis. In fact, in the first two months of the current genocide campaign in Gaza, Israel’s murderous bombardment, which has killed nearly 35,000 people, has also generated more planet-warming emissions than the annual carbon footprint of the world’s top 20 climate-vulnerable nations. Yet, despite these dire circumstances, U.S. lawmakers persist in funneling weapons to Israel, perpetuating a cycle of violence and environmental degradation.

The ripple effects of militarism extend far beyond Gaza’s borders. In Ukraine, the Russia-Ukraine War has left a staggering $56.4 billion environmental bill, with widespread contamination of air, water, and soil. Landmines and unexploded ordnance left litter 30% of the country, posing long-term risks to both the environment and human health. The United States’ answer to all this has been to reject diplomacy and fuel a long, protracted war with a seemingly endless supply of weapons and military support. A war that most experts will tell you is not a winnable war. The proxy war the United States is funding not only leaves Ukrainians at risk of never achieving peace but also significantly contributes to the ever-growing climate crisis.

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Chemical drums filled with toxic waste are dug up in New York ‘cancer hotspot’ – where families have been warning for years they are being poisoned

Chemical drums filled with toxic liquid have been dug up in a New York neighborhood where residents say there has been a mysterious rise in cancer over the years. 

Construction workers unearthed six barrels of chlorinated solvents and waste oil petroleum, which had been dumped within the Town of Oyster Bay in Long Island.

The drums were buried by North Grumman when it operated an aerospace facility in the town from the 1950s to 1990s.

Officials fear the waste may have leaked into the soil and is on the way to public drinking supply.

The town is home to more than 17,200 people who have long raised concerns about the Grumman Aerospace waste, specifically a four-mile-long carcinogenic plume flowing underground that they claim contributed to a rise in cancer diagnoses. 

Residents have also found toxic compounds in their attacks and the soil – and a family of three living close to the park were all stricken with cancer.

So concerned were locals about health issues that the state health department conducted a study into cancer diagnoses in the town in 2013.

The three-year researcher found no higher overall cancer rates in a 20-blocka area surrounding the former Grumman property.

But officials noted that there were scientific limitations that made it nearly impossible to link residential cancer clusters and pollution.

What officials did find is that within a one-block area, all those diagnosed with cancer were younger than expected.

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino told local ABC 7: ‘The discovery of the drums in these coffin-like vaults is further proof that Grumman created an environmental graveyard of contaminants right here in this park.’

Bethpage Community Park was closed around 20 years ago over soil contamination concerns, but the site is nestled among homes and community centers.

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Scientists uncover evidence that microplastics are contaminating archaeological remains

Researchers have for the first time discovered evidence of microplastic contamination in archaeological soil samples.

The team discovered tiny microplastic particles in deposits located more than 7 meters deep, in samples dating back to the first or early second century and excavated in the late 1980s.

Preserving archaeology in situ has been the preferred approach to managing historical sites for a generation. However, the research team say the findings could prompt a rethink, with the tiny particles potentially compromising the preserved remains.

Microplastics are small plastic particles, ranging from 1 μm to 5 mm. They come from a wide range of sources, from larger plastic pieces that have broken apart, or resin pellets used in plastic manufacturing which were frequently used in beauty products up until around 2020.

The study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, was carried out by the universities of York and Hull and supported by the educational charity York Archaeology.

Professor John Schofield from the University of York’s Department of Archaeology, said, “This feels like an important moment, confirming what we should have expected: That what were previously thought to be pristine archaeological deposits, ripe for investigation, are in fact contaminated with plastics, and that this includes deposits sampled and stored in the late 1980s.

“We are familiar with plastics in the oceans and in rivers. But here we see our historic heritage incorporating toxic elements. To what extent this contamination compromises the evidential value of these deposits, and their national importance is what we’ll try to find out next.”

David Jennings, chief executive of York Archaeology, added, “We think of microplastics as a very modern phenomenon, as we have only really been hearing about them for the last 20 years, when Professor Richard Thompson revealed in 2004 that they have been prevalent in our seas since the 1960s with the post-war boom in plastic production,”

“This new study shows that the particles have infiltrated archaeological deposits, and like the oceans, this is likely to have been happening for a similar period, with particles found in soil samples taken and archived in 1988 at Wellington Row in York.”

The study identified 16 different microplastic polymer types across both contemporary and archived samples.

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GREEN NEW DEAL? All But One Of World’s 100 Most Polluted Cities Are in Asia

All but one of the world’s 100 most polluted cities are in Asia, according to a new report, underscoring how powerless the U.S. is in combatting the supposed threat of global warming.

The study, published by IQAir, focused on measuring fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, which gives an estimate of air pollution. Just nine percent of the over 7,800 cities analyzed worldwide managed to meet WHO’s standards, many of which were in America.

A majority of these cities are in India, with 83 cities identified as pollution hotspots. All these cities exceed the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines by around 1000 percent. Other heavily polluted countries including Bangaldesh, Pakistan and Burkina Faso.

The world’s most polluted city is Begusarai, a city of around 500,000 people in northern India, with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 — 23 times higher than World Health Organization guidelines.

IQAir Global CEO Frank Hammes argued that such pollution is shortening people’s life spans.

“We see that in every part of our lives that air pollution has an impact,” he said. “And it typically, in some of the most polluted countries, is likely shaving off anywhere between three to six years of people’s lives. And then before that will lead to many years of suffering that are entirely preventable if there’s better air quality.”

Hammes added that there will be no improvements unless such countries implement “major changes in terms of the energy infrastructure and agricultural practices.”

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Pfizer Chemical Spill in Michigan Causes No Contact Advisory of Kalamazoo River

A no-contact advisory was issued for the Kalamazoo River after a chemical spill occurred at Pfizer’s manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

According to city health officials, Pfizer released over 1,057 gallons of methylene chloride in its manufacturing facilities processing area, which was then discharged into the Kalamazoo River.

Methylene chloride is a colorless liquid that Pfizer and other pharmaceutical manufacturers use as a solvent in their pharmaceutical medicines.

After the chemical spill occurred, Kalamazoo County Health Officials warned residents not to come into contact with the Kalamazoo River.

Kalamazoo County Health Officer Jim Rutherford stated, “We decided to issue a no-contact advisory for the stretch of river impacted by the methylene chloride release as a precautionary measure.”

“This advisory will remain in effect until further investigation and sampling indicates that there is no risk to public health,” added Rutherford.

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US govt. claims immunity from dozens of PFAS lawsuits, citing Federal Tort Claims Act

The United States government has asked a federal judge to dismiss more than two dozen lawsuits filed against it for allegedly contaminating water and soil at hundreds of sites near military bases and facilities across the country with toxic “forever chemicals.”

The U.S. told a federal judge in Charleston, South Carolina, late Monday that it is immune to the lawsuits filed by state and local governments, businesses and property owners who say the U.S. military is liable for property and environmental damage caused by its use of firefighting foams containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

PFAS are used in hundreds of consumer and commercial products including the firefighting foams, non-stick pans, stain-resistant clothing and cosmetics, and have been linked to cancer and hormonal dysfunction. The military has used PFAS-containing firefighting foams since the 1970s for things like firefighting training.

The chemicals are often referred to as forever chemicals because they do not easily break down in nature or in the human body.

The 27 lawsuits were filed in the past six years against the U.S. government by states including New Mexico, New York and Washington, cities, private property owners and local businesses near military facilities where firefighting foams were used.

The plaintiffs say they are seeking potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in damages to pay for groundwater and soil remediation near military sites across the country. Some businesses among the plaintiffs, including a dairy that claims PFAS-contaminated water caused its cattle to die and a property owner whose blueberry cropland was allegedly damaged by the chemicals, are also seeking punitive damages.

The government said it was immune to the lawsuits under a provision of the Federal Tort Claims Act that protects it from tort liability for the discretionary acts of government employees. That law allows plaintiffs to sue the U.S. government for damages only if the government violates specific, mandatory policies.

50 Years of Fraud: Big Oil, Plastics Industry Lied About Recycling, Documents Reveal

Plastic makers and petrochemical industry players have engaged in a decades-long fraud aimed at deceiving the public about plastic recycling, according to a new report that spotlights freshly uncovered industry communications and internal documents.

The report comes as the global plastic waste crisis deepens, and as environmental advocacy organizations are increasingly calling for major fossil fuel and petrochemical companies to be held responsible for plastic pollution that poses a threat to human and planetary health.

“Despite their long-standing knowledge that recycling plastic is neither technically nor economically viable, petrochemical companies — independently and through their industry trade associations and front groups — have engaged in fraudulent marketing and public education campaigns designed to mislead the public about the viability of plastic recycling,” asserts the new report, released by the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) on Feb.15.

In detailing the plastics industry’s campaign of deception that dates back more than 50 years, the report reveals how the industry deployed a familiar strategic playbook to push back on threats of regulation by promoting a misleading narrative and false claims about plastics and recycling, despite knowing all along that plastics’ recyclability was more of a public relations message than an effective solution to the waste management problem.

“This evidence shows that many of the same fossil fuel companies that knew and lied for decades about how their products cause climate change have also known and lied to the public about plastic recycling,” CCI President Richard Wiles said in a statement.

“When corporations and trade groups know that their products pose grave risks to society, and then lie to the public and policymakers about it, they must be held accountable.”

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Biden’s New Regulation Could Make Up to 1 Million Jobs Vanish, According to Manufacturing Leader

The Biden administration is in the process of putting in place a rule one manufacturing leader says could kill off a million manufacturing jobs.

Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, made his prediction in an advance copy of his annual state of manufacturing address, according to Fox Business.

The remarks said that while Biden claims to support manufacturers, “what he won’t tell you is that his federal agencies are, at this very moment, working to undermine his manufacturing legacy — those agencies are undermining your success.

“In fact, just two weeks ago, they announced one big regulation that could wipe out up to 1 million jobs. It’s referred to as National Ambient Air Quality Standards or PM2.5,” he said.

“It’s not the name that matters. It’s the consequences. It’s stricter than rules they have even in Europe,” he wrote.

“And in vast portions of the country, we will barely be able to build new manufacturing facilities as a result,” Timmons said.

The rule imposes a stricter air quality standard on what’s known as fine particle pollution.

“Michigan would be one of the states hit hardest. And if new manufacturing investments dry up, that spills over to the rest of the state economy,” Timmons said.

“It affects the family trying to sell their home, the teacher hoping for new investments in schools, the students looking for job opportunities here in the state,” Timmons said

Timmons said that forcing manufacturers to move to other nations defeats the goal of clean air rules.

“And to what end? You cannot solve the world’s environmental challenges by driving manufacturing investment away from the United States to countries with lower standards,” he said.

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US-Mexico border: 100 billion gallons of toxic sewage creating a ‘public health crisis’

The U.S.-Mexico border region faces a public health crisis as billions of gallons of contaminated sewage flow from Mexico into San Diego, California, according to a newly released report.

“South San Diego County is in a total state of emergency related to transboundary pollution, and this is a public health ticking time bomb,” Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre told ABC News. “We are living in conditions that nobody in this great nation should be living in.”

The Tijuana River – which has been classified as an impaired water body, according to the U.S. Clean Water Act — flows north for 120 miles from Mexico to California before reaching the Pacific Ocean on the U.S. side of the border in the Imperial Beach, San Ysidro and Coronado coastal areas.

Over the last five years, 100 billion gallons of untreated sewage, industrial waste and urban runoff have been dumped into the Tijuana River, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission.

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Atomic Radius: The legacy of America’s nuclear weapons testing program

Americans are typically told the story of the scientists who built the atomic bomb as an intellectual race for the world’s most powerful weapon during wartime.

More than 100 atmospheric weapons tests were conducted in the U.S. and its territories between 1945 and 1962. It resulted in widespread radioactive fallout across much of the U.S., largely spread by prevailing winds and rain. In addition, contaminated waste was shipped and haphazardly stored across the country, creating new toxic Superfund sites stretching from Colorado to New York.

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