Tag Archives: Pollution

Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Now the Size of Connecticut

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Source: donlichterman.wordpress.com

“We Need To Move Away From allowing these private oil companies to continue the Drilling In OUR Oceans (I assume Everyone Gets that our Gulf’s and Sea’s are part of what our the “Oceans” BTW).

“The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is mostly to blame for the dead zone’s growing size in the Gulf. Scientists now say that the dead zone is the size of Connecticut – a startling 5,052 square miles. The dead zone started forming, though, in our own backyards.

“How do we contribute to the dead zone? Phosphorous and nitrogen fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals that we use to encourage plant growth wash into rivers and streams. Streams and rivers drain into the Mississippi River, and then flow into the Gulf of Mexico. The freshwater of the Mississippi then floats on top of the sea-water, keeping oxygen from the atmosphere from getting into the deeper sea waters.”

Source: donlichterman.wordpress.com

GR:  Cleaning up environmental disasters such as this is the responsibility of the companies involved.  Why don’t businesses feel any responsibility for harm caused by their actions?  How did we ever let the companies take control of our government to the extent that the two collude to destroy our environment?

Red tide bloom moves in on Florida

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“A monstrous red tide bloom, the largest seen in Florida since 2006 is advancing on the state’s beaches. It has already killed thousands of fish in the Gulf of Mexico, and officials are now concerned about health risks if it washes ashore.”  Source: elispiritweaver.wordpress.com

GR:  August 11 (latest update:  August 9, map)  According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “Satellite images from the Optical Oceanography Laboratory at the University of South Florida show a patchy bloom up to 60 miles wide and 90 miles long, at least 20 miles offshore between Dixie and northern Pinellas counties in northwest and southwest Florida. This bloom has caused an ongoing fish kill.  FWC’s Fish Kill Hotline has received reports of thousands of dead and moribund benthic reef fish including various snapper and grouper species, hogfish, grunts, crabs, flounder, bull sharks, lionfish, baitfish, eel, sea snakes, tomtates, lizardfish, filefish, octopus, and triggerfish. Water discoloration and respiratory irritation have been reported offshore in the bloom patch. Forecasts by the Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides show little movement of the surface bloom and slow east/southeast movement of bottom waters, which should keep the bloom offshore within the next few days.”

GR:  Red tides have occurred in the Gulf of Mexico for at least 400 years.  There is evidence that they have become larger and more frequent over the past 50 years (Wikipedia).

Algae has now (August 11) fully covered the smallest of my three ponds.  Previous blooms killed all the fish, this one will have to be content with the smaller organisms.  The larger ponds are threatened, but the abundant waterlilies on those ponds are holding on for now.  By occupying the surface of the ponds the lilies physically block the algae. The excess nitrates that enrich the pond water and promote excess algae growth come from the farm just upstream of my place.  Or perhaps there is a huge bat guano deposit on the floodplain of the river, or perhaps prehistoric settlers polluted the area, or maybe it was just the Martians dropping flying saucer wastes.

Fracking’s Unlikely Opponents: German Breweries

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GR:  In the United States, people have begun filtering and drinking their urine.  How can the beer makers complain about recycling filthy water; the issue has been discussed ever since indoor toilets were invented.

Brewers say that contaminated groundwater would ruin a centuries-old tradition and industry.

“When the Bavarian Purity Law was first declared in 1487, not a single European had stepped on the land above the Marcellus Shale in the Eastern United States. The First Nations of Canada weren’t fighting natural gas pipelines, because as far as natural resources go, the Alberta tar sands were centuries away from being in the picture—as was the internal combustion engine.

“Yet the law, the Reinheitsgebot, which strictly dictates the ingredients that can be used in making beer, is giving the powerful German brewing industry historic ammunition against the creeping potential for new natural gas exploration.

Source: www.takepart.com

Canadians Can’t Drink Their Water After 1.3 Billion Gallons of Mining Waste Flows into Rivers

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Hundreds of people in British Columbia can’t use their water after more than a billion gallons of mining waste spilled into rivers and creeks in the province’s Cariboo region.

A breach in a tailings pond from the open-pit Mount Polley copper and gold mine sent five million cubic meters (1.3 billion gallons) of slurry gushing into Hazeltine Creek in B.C. That’s the equivalent of 2,000 Olympic swimming pools of waste, the CBC reports. Tailings ponds from mineral mines store a mix of water, chemicals and ground-up minerals left over from mining operations.

The flow of the mining waste, which can contain things like arsenic, mercury, and sulfur, uprooted trees on its way to the creek and forced a water ban for about 300 people who live in the region. That number could grow, as authorities determine just how far the waste has traveled. The cause of the breach is still unknown.

Source: www.nationofchange.org

GR:  Such a great waste of the land.  Ecological succession, the natural process of recovery after a landslide or flood can take hundreds of years.  However, the mined landscape looks almost as harsh as a lava flow.  Humans could be long gone by the time nature reclaims the land.  Oh Canada, what have you done?

Say NO to Arctic Drilling

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The U.S. government is starting to prepare a five-year program—spanning the years 2017 to 2022—that could open the Arctic Ocean to oil and gas drilling. Stand with us against new oil and gas leasing and protect the animals and people who depend on a clean, healthy Arctic Ocean.

Tell the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to say no to risky Arctic drilling.

Recipients

  • Sally Jewell

Source: secure.oceanconservancy.org

GR:  Fossil fuels pollute our air and water.  Overfishing, ocean acidification, and other human activities are already harming marine life.  Let’s stop looking for oil and focus on cleaning up the mess we’ve made.  Please sign the petition.

EFSA Finds Bisphenol A (BPA) Poses Health Risk

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The European Food Safety Authority EFSA Finds Bisphenol A Poses Potential Threats and Invites Comments through March 13, 2014.

Garry Rogers:  Any Human-made substance that can harm Humans can harm other animal species.  This is usually proven at great cost of injury and death in test animals.

“EFSA is launching a public consultation on its draft assessment of the human health risks posed by exposure to bisphenol A (BPA). The Authority has undertaken a comprehensive review of scientific literature and previous risk assessments from expert bodies on BPA. All stakeholders and interested parties are invited to comment on the document through an online public consultation that runs until 13 March 2014. EFSA particularly welcomes input from national risk assessment bodies that have previously evaluated BPA. As part of its commitment to openness and engagement, EFSA will also hold a meeting with stakeholders to discuss feedback received from the consultation. Continue reading →