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Author Topic: Pollution  (Read 59266 times)

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AGelbert

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He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #511 on: April 15, 2017, 12:57:42 pm »
April 10, 2017 | Rona Fried | Fossil Fuels

Maryland Bans Fracking   , As Activists Fight 9000 Miles of New Pipelines


Maryland is the third state to ban fracking, after New York and Vermont did a couple of years ago.

In a rare case of bipartisanship, Maryland’s Republican Governor, Larry Hogan, signed a bill passed overwhelmingly by the Democratically controlled legislature. He says, “The possible environmental risks of fracking simply outweigh any potential benefits. Protecting our clean water supply and our natural resources is critically important to Marylanders and we simply cannot allow the door to be open for fracking in our state.”

Activists have been pushing for a ban since 2012. Food & Water Watch talks about how it came to fruition. After lots of rallies and knocking on doors, they say:  “In March of 2013, we helped pass a ban on fracking wastewater in the Baltimore City Council, and in 2014, we worked with Montgomery County to ban fracking there. When the state legislature passed a fracking moratorium in 2015, things really started to pick up steam. Working with partners, we passed fracking bans in Prince George’s County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City and Friendsville in Garrett County. We also passed fracking resolutions in Frederick County and about a dozen other jurisdictions across the state. These local actions brought thousands of people into the anti-fracking movement, and set us up to win big at the state level.”

138 communities in the US have banned fracking, including Los Angeles, Mendocino, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Butte counties in California and Cincinnati and Athens in Ohio.  Colorado has been at outlier, suing towns that  have passed bans.

In the past, Hogan called fracking an economic goldmine, so we’re not sure what changed his mine  ;D  :exp-grin: – especially since he vetoed a bill to expand renewable energy in Maryland. Democrats overrode the veto, raising the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 25% renewables by 2020, up from 20% by 2022. A bill to expand energy efficiency – utilities must cut electricity demand 2% a year by 2020 – became law without the Governor’s signature.

Pipeline Spills All Too Common

Banning fracking is completely separate from the threat of pipelines, however. Even with 2.7 million miles of oil and gas pipelines across the US, there are plans for 9,000 more miles, according to The Gas Rush: Locking America into Another Fossil Fuel for Decades, by Sierra Club. 19 new pipelines are planned for Appalachia alone, and fights are on-going in 10 states.

Bayou Bridge pipeline, for example, would connect refineries in Louisiana with North Dakota oil fields, putting 700 watersheds at risk. And a bill introduced in the House would allow oil and gas drilling in 40 National Parks!

Last week, New York denied a permit for the Northern Access Pipeline – which would have stretched from Pennsylvania to Canada – after turning down another pipeline last year. Portland, Oregon passed a resolution that bars new fossil infrastructure and new terminals are blocked in Vancouver, Washington. 28 pipelines, oil-by-train, and terminals have been stopped by activism and market conditions.

Center for Biological Diversity

Incredibly, only 528 government employees are in charge of inspecting pipelines – one inspector per 5,000 miles of pipelines. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is severely understaffed with just 188 inspectors (the rest are state employees) and is due for big  budget cuts under Trump. Inspectors are also responsible for 148 liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and 418 gas storage facilities, many of them old and deteriorating.

About 16% of fracked gas wells rupture per year according to a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology.  Over the past 10 years, there have been 6,648 spills in Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota and Pennsylvania alone, where there are 31,481 wells. Half the spills are from pipelines and poor storage and the rest  from failed equipment and loading/unloading trucks.

Since 2009, over 175 million gallons of wastewater spilled from ruptured pipes, overflows from storage tanks and even deliberate dumping,” reports Associated Press, poisoning agricultural land and drinking water, and causing mass die-offs of plant and animals. There have been almost 22,000 spills in 11 states.


Watch this time-lapse video that shows significant spills since 1986 – causing a total $7 billion in damages, over 2,000 injuries and more than 500 deaths.  All told, 3 million gallons have spilled every year.


Agelbert GRAPHIC NOTE: SEE  BELOW
 



How About Offshore?


Fracking is also happening in the Gulf of Mexico. With a court order in hand, the Center for Biological Diversity found that 1200 fracking permits were issued by the Obama administration’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the EPA allowed the wastewater dumped in the Gulf – without environmental review, public input or monitoring. It’s also been occurring in federal waters off California.

“Fracking has largely been in a shroud of secrecy,” says Miyoko Sakashita, the group’s Oceans Director. “Even regulators, until recently, were not really aware it was happening. The EPA doesn’t know which chemicals   are being discharged into the Gulf of Mexico.”

76 billions gallons of wastewater were dumped in the Gulf in 2014 alone. On land, the EPA requires wastewater to be relatively clean before it goes into streams, for example, but there are no rules offshore.  They don’t even keep track of  wastewater dumping offshore, Sakashita told ThinkProgress.


Fracking locations in Gulf of Mexico:

Center for Biological Diversity

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/maryland-bans-fracking-activists-fight-9000-miles-new-pipelines/






The Fossil Fuelers   DID THE Climate Trashing, human health depleting CRIME,   but since they have ALWAYS BEEN liars and conscience free crooks, they are trying to AVOID   DOING THE TIME or     PAYING THE FINE!     Don't let them get away with it! Pass it on!   
« Last Edit: April 15, 2017, 02:14:12 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #512 on: April 15, 2017, 05:14:24 pm »
Seven Gulf Animals Worth Protecting

Posted On April 14, 2017 by Marja Diaz

It goes without saying that all Gulf animals are worth protecting. But we couldn’t share them all. So like a mother’s abundant, yet somewhat hierarchical, love for her batch of offspring, our list of seven Gulf animals exists with a twinge of favoritism.

In recognition of next week’s seven-year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, we’ve compiled a list of seven incredible Gulf animals. From ocean Einsteins to bus-sized carnivores, here are seven Gulf animals worth protecting:

1. Whale Shark


Visuals of whale sharks are breathtaking. These gigantic yet gentle globs of mass can live up to 150 years, and are often found gliding with mouths wide open—mouths as wide as five feet. As the largest fish in the world, whale sharks can reach up to 40 feet long and weigh up to 20,000 pounds.

While primarily solitary animals, whale sharks rely on a sixth sense (not the one you’re thinking) to detect the presence of other animals through electromagnetic fields. However, whale sharks are relatively harmless, choosing to feed on plankton instead.

As for the official debate of whale versus shark? Whale sharks are just plain sharks. This means they are fish, and not mammals—the classification of whales. The name “whale” simply comes from a denomination of its enormous size.


2. Bottlenose Dolphin


Fun fact: humans aren’t the only species on a first name basis.

Researchers discovered that, like us, dolphins have unique ways of addressing individual members of a pod. In the way that we use first names to call each other’s attention, dolphins use signature whistles to call specific members of their pod.

As Einsteins of the sea, dolphins are some of the smartest mammals around, known for their craft, cunning and social skills.


3. Sperm Whale


Perhaps best known for the role of “whale” in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, sperm whales didn’t have the best reputation in the past. These carnivores are known for their massive size (longer than the average transit bus) and gigantic heads—holding the largest brain of any living mammal on earth! While brain size does not equal intelligence, they are relatively vocal and communicative animals.

Sperm whales often travel in groups, up to twenty large, and even practice communal childcare! Pods are typically made up of female and their young, while males tent to travel solo, or drift between groups.

Finally, their heads account for one third of their body and are filled with a curious substance called spermaceti. Although scientists still aren’t 100% sure of its use, some believe the spermaceti help these toothed whales regulate their buoyancy, helping them to dive down to 3,000 feet deep.


4. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna


When you think of tuna, whether in the context of small metal cans on store shelves or gripping tales from tanned fisherman, these apex predators play a major role in a balanced Gulf ecosystem. Prized by recreational and commercial fisheries, bluefin tuna are the largest of the tuna species, reaching up to 6.5 feet and swimming at speeds up to 45 mph. Oddly enough, these top predators are warm-blooded, meaning they can regulate their own body temperature.


5. Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle


The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is one of the smallest turtles in the sea, weighing in at about 100 pounds. These stalwart swimmers will travel hundreds of miles to reach their nesting grounds, and often return to the same beach where they hatched.  Sadly, many of their nesting areas on the Gulf Coast are threatened by urban development and sea level rise, and the lives of these reptiles have become increasingly difficult since the BP oil disaster. Today, their female nesting population is estimated at only 1,000 individuals.


6. Brown Pelican


Brown pelicans are both stunning flyers and impressive divers. While relatively clumsy on firm ground, they spend their time between water and air, plunge diving into the ocean to stun small fish upon impact and scooping them up into their extendable throat pouch. They can also hold up to three gallons of water in their pouch.

Although pelicans were once placed on the Endangered Species List due to pesticide pollution such as DDT, they’ve since become a recovery success story.

7. Manatee


Everyone’s favorite sea cow comes in at number seven as a staple of the Gulf ecosystem. These warm water drifters can eat about 120 pounds, or 10% of their body weight, each day. As a distant relative of the elephant, these buoyant animals have thick, wrinkled skin that often hosts growing algae.  Finally, despite their small eyes and tiny ear holes, manatees can see and hear very well!

As we approach the seven-year anniversary of the BP oil disaster, we are seven years closer to fully restoring the Gulf and better understanding the ecosystem and wildlife that speeds, drifts and thrives off its shores. This month, the first payments of the $20.8 billion BP settlement are being issued—something we’re lucky to have seven years after the disaster began. The Exxon Valdez oil spill case dragged on for 20 years in court, resulting in a much lower penalty. This seven-year anniversary is an opportunity, and we are lucky to continue improving our Gulf ecosystem for the incredible wildlife beyond its shores.

Looking for more information on ocean animals? Check out our wildlife fact sheets.

Posted in Ocean Life | Tagged BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, gulf of mexico, manatee, manatee facts, Marja Diaz, ocean animals, whale sharks

About Marja Diaz

Marja G. Diaz is a RAY Marine Conservation Fellow and Digital Coordinator at Ocean Conservancy, based in Washington D.C. She grew up along the beaches of Southern California, and recently graduated from Stanford University, class of 2016. Her passion for travel has led her to every continent but Antarctica (it's on the list), and inspired a love for photography. She ultimately hopes to combine film and photography to spread awareness on the current and future state of the world's ocean and marine life.


http://blog.oceanconservancy.org/2017/04/14/seven-gulf-animals-worth-protecting/#more-14151
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #513 on: April 21, 2017, 03:09:10 pm »


21 Apr 2017 | Benjamin Wehrmann, Julian Wettengel   

The diesel fairy tale / Making nuclear exit a business

Tags: #Cars #Climate & CO2
 
tageszeitung (taz)

The diesel fairy tale

Diesel cars use more fuel and thus emit more CO₂ than carmakers specify, according to previously unreleased test results by Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), reports Bernhard Pötter for tageszeitung (taz).

In the course of investigations surrounding NOx emissions from diesel cars in 2016, KBA also examined CO₂ emissions and found that they were 10 to 36 percent higher than specified in the 30 inspected models, according to documents seen by taz. Tests were carried out according to the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), not real-life conditions, writes Pötter.

Until now, the transport ministry has not published the 2016 findings on CO₂ emissions. VW confirmed that they adjusted their models’ specifications in reaction to the KBA’s test results.

For background read the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.


Tags: #Cars #Climate & CO2
 
tageszeitung (taz)

Fraud and self-deception

By not publishing CO₂ emissions test results, the federal government is protecting Germany’s auto industry and thus hindering important innovation in efficiency and climate protection, writes Bernhard Pötter in an opinion piece in taz.

Quote
“If in ten years the auto industry collapses like the big power utilities do now, the federal government will also be to blame,” writes Pötter.

For background read the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.


 
Tags:  #Elections & Politics #Energiewende
 


BDEW: Energy transition to enter crucial stage only after next legislative period

Germany’s energy transition will face a critical phase after the next legislative period in 2021, according to the national utility association BDEW. “The real challenges lie between 2021 and 2030, when the nuclear exit has been completed and excess power capacities are drastically reduced," the lobby group’s head Stefan Kapferer told journalists in Berlin.

Germany's last nuclear plant will shut down in 2022. 

Quote
“After that, we’ll have to see how fossil power plant capacity, which will still be needed for the foreseeable future, will be structured,” Kapferer said.

Other crucial issues are building high-voltage transmission lines and electrifying the transport and heating sectors, he said. The BDEW expects wholesale power prices to pick up after 2022, he said. According to the BDEW, Germany's next government after September's elections had to prepare the right conditions for the critical 2020s.

This meant hurdles for storage solutions and decentralised supply had to be lowered, taxes and levies on power reduced, and a modernisation of the heating sector made a priority, it explained.

For more information, see the CLEW dossier Vote2017 - German elections and the Energiewende.



Tags: #Nuclear phase-out
 
WirtschaftsWoche

The most expensive construction site of our time  :P

Dismantling Germany’s nuclear power plants is a lucrative business for companies carrying out the task, and final costs are hard to predict, writes Konrad Fischer in WirtschaftsWoche. “Nobody has experience with such a task, so how is one supposed to calculate the costs?” asked Michael Klein, director of the nuclear power plant Stade in northern Germany, in the magazine.

In the future, companies that now gain experience in Germany will face a global market of dismantling nuclear power stations “virtually without competition,” writes Fischer.

For background read the CLEW dossier The challenges of Germany’s nuclear phase-out and the CLEW factsheet Nuclear clean-up costs.


Tags: #Finances #Fossil fuels #International
 
EurActiv

EU should pave the way for G20 fossil fuel subsidy phase-out  

The EU needs to take a leadership role in addressing fossil fuel subsidies and the G20 platform is “an obvious way for EU leaders and ministers to showcase their efforts and actions to eliminate” them, writes Maeve McLynn, finance and subsidies policy coordinator at Climate Action Network Europe, in a guest commentary for EurActiv.

http://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/opinion/eu-should-pave-the-way-for-g20-fossil-fuel-subsidy-phase-out/?nl_ref=36031397


Tags: #Wind
 
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Wind power can be cheaper 

Companies for whom offshore wind parks are a core business, but were not successful in Germany’s first competitive auction for the technology, will “have a problem”, as only one more auction was planned for offshore expansion until 2025, writes Andreas Mihm in an opinion piece in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

This explained the low average successful bid. “The result of the tender is a setback for companies like RWE carve-out innogy or Sweden’s Vattenfall,” writes Mihm.

On the topic, read the updated CLEW article Operators to build offshore wind farms without support payments.


Tags: #Efficiency #International
 
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

EU states say no to ambitious energy saving goals   

Several EU countries are rejecting an ambitious and binding energy efficiency goal proposed by the EU Commission in its winter package, reports Hendrik Kafsack in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). The EU Council Presidency, currently held by Malta, aims to make the target non-binding, according to documents seen by FAZ. Germany, France, Luxemburg, Denmark and other member states will now try to prevent this weakening of proposals, the article says.

For background read the CLEW article German reactions to the EU energy package and the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and Efficiency.



Tags: #Efficiency

Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) / The Energy Collective

Efficiency first: A crucial building block for the Energiewende 

Prioritising efficiency measures that cost less or deliver more value than planned investment in supply resources and infrastructure is “a crucial building block” for Germany’s Energiewende, writes Andreas Jahn of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) in an article carried by The Energy Collective.

Since the German government published its green paper on energy efficiency, it is now up to citizens and organizations to “step up to ensure that this topic becomes part of the next election platform and, thus, part of the next coalition agreement,” writes Jahn.

http://www.theenergycollective.com/raponline/2402729/efficiency-first-crucial-building-block-energiewende

For background read the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and Efficiency.




Tags: #Fossil fuels #International
 
Climate Home

EU should block Nord Stream 2 on climate grounds   

The EU should block the Russian-German gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2 not only for reasons of energy security,  but also on climate grounds, writes Marcin Stoczkiewicz, head of Central & Eastern Europe at ClientEarth in a guest commentary on Climate Home. “If EU member states are serious about their commitments to tackle climate change, they should use every tool in the box to stop Nord Stream 2,” writes Stoczkiewicz. Nord Stream 2 would risk locking in fossil fuel use for decades.

http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/04/20/eu-block-nord-stream-2-climate-grounds/

For background read the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and its implications for international security.

All texts created by the Clean Energy Wire are available under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0)”. They can be copied, shared and made publicly accessible by users so long as they give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/diesel-fairy-tale-making-nuclear-exit-business
« Last Edit: April 21, 2017, 05:37:59 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #514 on: April 21, 2017, 08:11:28 pm »
Epic Video Captures the Moment Rescuers Dive From a Cargo Ship to Save a Trapped Whale 


Plastic waste, the culprit behind one of the most burning environmental issues we are facing today, is an immense threat to a number of animals, especially marine mammals like whales. Whales, like many other animals, often mistake plastic trash for potential food and ingest it. During necropsies performed on whales after deadly in their consequences strandings, specialists found an increasing amount of plastic debris in the animals’ stomachs. Another danger posed by our waste is that of entanglement. For whales, even despite their size, abandoned fishing nets still pose a very serious risk.

In the video above we see the crew of a cargo ship “Sheikh Mokrani,” rescue a massive whale from a ghost fishing net. After struggling to free the massive animal, the crew managed to liberate the whale and send him back to deep waters!

This amazing rescue illustrates how real the dangers of plastic waste are for the animals in the oceans. Every year, we throw into the oceans around 8.8 million tons of plastic! Because of that unbelievable overflow of debris, 700 marine animals species are now faced with extinction, 50 percent of all sea turtles have plastic in their stomachs, and it is estimated that by 2050, 99 percent of all seabird species will have ingested plastic waste. The conclusions are obvious – we have to do something about our plastic problem now or else it will be literally too late for an overwhelmingly huge number of animals.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/rescuers-dive-from-a-cargo-ship-to-save-a-trapped-whale/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #515 on: May 01, 2017, 06:51:54 pm »
What is the Social Cost of Carbon Emissions?



THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON 
 
Douglas Hendren

Published on May 7, 2016

Fossil fuels are a lot more expensive than you might think. This music video explains why, and what you can do about it.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #516 on: May 01, 2017, 07:34:49 pm »

Oil and Gas Spills Are Happening So Regularly They're Barely Being Reported On


Thom talks with a caller concerned with various gas leaks and oil spills lately and their lasting effects on the environment around them, while mostly being ignored by the corporate owned media. Meanwhile, renewable energy prices continue to fall. Can we really afford fossil fuels any more?

 


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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #517 on: May 07, 2017, 03:21:19 pm »


WWF wins Survival’s “Greenwashing of the Year” award

2 May, 2017

Widespread logging has been an acute problem for rainforest tribes for many years. © Margaret Wilson/Survival

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has won Survival International’s “Greenwashing of the Year” award for partnering with seven companies logging nearly 4 million hectares of forests belonging to the Baka and Bayaka “Pygmies” in central Africa.

The award is given to companies or organizations who dress up the destruction of tribal peoples’ forests as conservation.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), based at the Bronx Zoo in New York, has been named as runner-up, also for its activities in the Congo Basin. It has partnered with two logging companies, neither of which have obtained the consent of the tribal peoples in the areas in which they work.

WWF describes logging companies as “forest operators.” According to WWF, its partnerships with these companies are intended to “advance sustainable forest management."

In reality, however, all of WWF’s partners have been accused of illegal logging and none have received the consent of the Baka and Bayaka “Pygmies.” A recent study found that approaches like WWF’s have failed to slow the break-up of the Congo Basin rainforest.

This picture was taken by Baka “Pygmies” in late 2016 when they reported finding Rougier employees logging illegally on their land. © Survival

In a 2011 report, the environmental NGO Global Witness said that the partnerships “allow some… member companies to reap the benefits of association with WWF and its iconic Panda brand while continuing unsustainable logging, conversion of forests to plantations, or trading in illegally sourced timber.”

The partnerships also violate WWF’s own policy on indigenous peoples, which requires all projects to be undertaken with the full consent of tribal communities.


Baka and other tribes have been forcibly removed from much of their ancestral land, and forced to live on roadsides. © Survival International

A Baka man said: “It’s the Baka’s forest, which we’ve conserved for a long time. It’s the loggers who bring guns and their brothers who hunt all the animals.”

A Baka woman added that “we need to fight against this because our forest is being finished off completely.”

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said: “WWF’s supporters might be surprised to learn that it’s working so closely with the loggers who are destroying one of Earth’s great rainforests. Congo Basin tribes, the original guardians, are being pushed aside and their societies wrecked. Across Africa and Asia, the big conservation organizations partner with industry and tourism and destroy the environment’s best allies. It’s a con, and it’s harming conservation. Perhaps this “award” might encourage people inside WWF and WCS to put pressure on their organizations for reform. It’s time to listen to tribal conservationists.”

VIDEO of Baka “Pygmy” at link:

http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/11677

Baka “Pygmy” speaks out against destructive loggersSome of the world’s largest logging groups are destroying the Baka’s ancestral forests in the Congo Basin.

This Baka man lives near logging concessions run by the French giant Rougier  , one of the World Wildlife Fund’s main partners.
Despite claiming it never partners with logging companies without the Baka’s consent, it has done precisely that for over 15 years.

Note to editors: WWF has partnered with: Bolloré Group, Danzer Group, Decolvenaere Group, Pasquet Group, Rougier Group, SEFAC Group and Vicwood Group. WCS has partnered with Danzer Group and the Olam Group. Full report here. at story link

http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/11677

“Pygmy” is an umbrella term commonly used to refer to the hunter-gatherer peoples of the Congo Basin and elsewhere in Central Africa. The word is considered pejorative and avoided by some tribespeople, but used by others as a convenient and easily recognized way of describing themselves.

http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/11677


He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #518 on: May 07, 2017, 06:40:44 pm »

Judge to Exxon: Pay $20 Million for Violating Clean Air Act More Than 16,000 Times

ExxonMobil must pay $20 million for violating the Clean Air Act more than 16,000 times at a Texas plant, a district judge ruled this week.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ruling against Exxon in a suit brought by Environment Texas and the Sierra Club found that the oil giant failed to update emissions-reductions technology at its Baytown, Texas refining and chemical plant.

In their suit, the groups alleged the plant illegally released more than 10 million pounds of pollutants between 2005 and 2013, while Exxon gained more than $14 million in economic benefits.

"Today's decision sends a resounding message that it will not pay to pollute Texas," Neil Carman, clean air program director for the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter, said in a statement. "We will not stand idly by when polluters put our health and safety at risk."

http://www.ecowatch.com/exxon-clean-air-act-baytown-2383090378.html
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Re: Pollution
« Reply #519 on: May 09, 2017, 10:58:47 pm »
Breakthrough In Plastics Recycling
Above Ground Mining
   
The UN estimates the amount of electronic waste alone is 85 billion pounds per year and growing.

 Over 90% of metals that end up at a recycling facility are in fact recycled because the process is much easier than plastics. By contrast, only 10% of plastics are recycled because they must be sorted into many different categories of density, color and type.

 So most plastic is in fact, not at all recycled.

 Mike Biddle, a plastics engineer, set out to find a solution. He set up a lab in his garage in Pittsburg, California, and began experimenting with complex-plastics recycling, borrowing ideas from such industries as mining and grain processing.

 Since then, Biddle has developed a patented 30-step plastics recycling system that includes magnetically extracting metals, shredding the plastics, sorting them by polymer type and producing graded pellets to be reused in industry. This process takes less than one tenth of the energy required to make virgin plastic from crude oil.

 His company's recycling process is a breakthrough solution for closing the loop on plastics. He has new plants opening all over the world, and companies are eager to buy the recycled pellets.

 -Bibi Farber

 This video was produced by Ted Talks
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Re: Pollution
« Reply #520 on: May 11, 2017, 06:48:42 pm »
 

Endangered Earth: Victory Protects 1 Million Acres From Drilling, Fracking

For Immediate Release, May 4, 2017

Contact:  Patrick Sullivan, (415) 517-9364, psullivan@biologicaldiversity.org
 Jeff Kuyper, Los Padres ForestWatch, (805) 617-4610 x 1, jeff@LPFW.org
 Greg Loarie, Earthjustice, (415) 217-2000


Legal Settlement Halts Effort to Open 1 Million Acres in California to Oil Drilling, Fracking

Agreement Preserves Moratorium on Leasing Public Lands to Oil Industry


LOS ANGELES— Conservationists have forced the Trump administration to halt plans to open more than 1 million acres of public land and mineral estate in California to oil drilling and fracking. The victory preserves a four-year-old moratorium on leasing federally owned land in the state for oil and gas development. 

The legal settlement, approved Wednesday, resolves a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch, represented by Earthjustice. The agreement requires the Bureau of Land Management to rework a resource-management plan that would have auctioned off drilling rights on vast stretches of public land in California’s Central Valley, the southern Sierra Nevada, and Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties. 

“This is a big victory for California and a major blow to Trump’s plan to turn our public lands over to oil companies,” said Brendan Cummings, the Center’s conservation director. “Despite the petroleum industry’s stranglehold on the White House, these beautiful wild places are still off limits to drilling and fracking. That protects our water, wildlife and climate from fracking pollution.”

The BLM has not held a single lease sale in California since 2013, when a federal judge first ruled that the agency had violated the National Environmental Policy Act by issuing oil leases in Monterey County without considering the environmental dangers of fracking. The new settlement will continue that de facto leasing moratorium.

“This agreement ensures that public lands along California’s central coast — and the communities that depend on them — are protected from the harmful effects of oil drilling and fracking,” said ForestWatch Executive Director Jeff Kuyper. “Our region’s wildlife, clean water and scenic landscapes are too valuable to sacrifice to development.”

 “Our hope is that this settlement puts the final nail in the coffin for BLM’s illegal practice of rubberstamping fracking in California without environmental review,” said Earthjustice attorney Greg Loarie, who represented the groups. “Fracking has no place in California’s clean, renewable energy future.”

The settlement means that the BLM must now complete a new analysis of the pollution risks of fracking, which blasts toxic chemicals mixed with water underground to crack rocks.

The public lands at stake in today’s settlement encompass “numerous groundwater systems that contribute to the annual water supply used by neighboring areas for agricultural and urban purposes,” a federal judge noted last year.

A 2015 report from the California Council on Science and Technology concluded that fracking in California happens at unusually shallow depths, dangerously close to underground drinking water supplies, with unusually high concentrations of chemicals, including substances dangerous to human health and the environment.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Los Padres ForestWatch is a local nonprofit conservation organization working to protect wildlife, wilderness landscapes, and the great outdoors in the Los Padres National Forest and other public lands along California’s Central Coast.
 
 
Agelbert NOTE: Thank you, conservationists. Anything that gives fossil fuel TOOL TRUMP some grief is welcome news! 
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #521 on: May 16, 2017, 06:52:45 pm »

12 Farmworkers Poisoned by Toxic Pesticide Only One Month After EPA Denies Ban  >:(

By Lorraine Chow

15 May 2017

More than 50 agricultural workers southwest of Bakersfield, California in Kern County were inadvertently exposed to pesticide drift from a nearby field earlier this month. According to local reports, 12 farmworkers reported symptoms of vomiting, nausea and one person fainted due to exposure to Vulcan, an organophosphate-based chemical.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notably, the active ingredient in the insecticide is chlorpyrifos, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Trump administration decided not to ban in March.

"Anybody that was exposed, that was here today, we encourage them to seek medical attention immediately. Don't wait. Particularly if you're suffering from any symptoms. Whether it's nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, seek medical attention immediately," Michelle Corson, public relations officer for Kern County Public Health, said.

As the Environmental Working Group detailed, research shows that even small amounts of chlorpyrifos can damage parts of the brain that control language, memory, behavior and emotion. Multiple independent studies have documented that exposure to chlorpyrifos impairs children's IQs and EPA scientists' assessments of those studies concluded that levels of the pesticide found on food and in drinking water are unsafe.

But on March 29, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt sided with the pesticide lobby over scientists in his decision to nix an Obama-era proposal to ban chlorpyrifos from use on food crops.

http://www.ecowatch.com/farmworkers-poisoned-chlorpyrifos-2408574673.html

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #522 on: May 19, 2017, 03:33:17 pm »
 

New method can remove small, but dangerous, amounts of chemicals from freshwater

Last updated on May 12th, 2017  at 6:30 pm by Elena Motivans

SNIPPET:

So many chemicals enter our water, often in tiny amounts. For example, pesticides from fields can run off into rivers, medicine is peed out into toilets, not to mention the chemicals produced by factories that enter rivers. With fresh water being increasingly scarce, it is important to have sources of safe, clean drinking water. One stumbling block is that it’s hard to remove small amounts of pollutants from water. Current methods use a lot of energy or chemicals. Now, researchers at MIT have created a very efficient method for removing even a tiny amount of pollutants from water. They use an electrochemical process that binds dangerous chemicals and lets clean water go through.

Taking out chemicals

MIT postdoc Xiao Su and a team of researchers at MIT and at the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany developed this new method to remove contaminants from water. Even small amounts of these chemicals can be harmful if consumed through drinking water. The researchers were able to remove even very small amounts of pesticides, chemical waste, and pharmaceuticals with 96% success.

Pesticides and other pollutants can enter drinking water in small quantities, and be hard to remove. Image credits: PROFrits Ahlefeldt Hiking.org.

So here’s how it works:



http://www.zmescience.com/ecology/pollution-ecology/new-method-can-remove-small-dangerous-amounts-chemicals-freshwater/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #523 on: May 19, 2017, 03:46:04 pm »
 

Diesel cars sold in 2015 emit 50% more NOx emissions than anyone thought

Last updated on May 16th, 2017  at 3:56 pm by Tibi Puiu

SNIPPET:
Quote
Key findings from the SEI report include:

•Heavy-duty vehicles, such as commercial trucks and buses, were by far the largest contributor worldwide, accounting for 76% of the total excess gas emissions.

•Five of the 11 markets that were analyzed, Brazil, China, the EU, India, and the US, produced 90% of that.

•For light-duty vehicles, such as passenger cars, trucks, and vans, the European Union produced nearly 70% of the excess diesel nitrogen oxide emissions.

•On-road diesel vehicles contribute 55% of global surface transportation NOx emissions, consistent with other estimates.

•The excess diesel vehicle NOx emissions in 2015 were linked to 38,000 premature deaths worldwide. Most of these deaths were linked to the European Union, China, and India.

Full article:


http://www.zmescience.com/ecology/climate/diesel-emissions-nox/

Agelbert NOTE: I am not surprised.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #524 on: May 21, 2017, 05:20:15 pm »


7 Potted Plants that Will Remove Indoor Air Pollution from Your Home, Proven by Science

Last updated on October 31st, 2016  at 5:03 pm by Tibi Puiu

Credit: Flickr // ProFlowers

The advent of agriculture some 12,000 changed human culture forever. Free from the stress of having to constantly scour the land in search for game and fruits, humans could now divide labour and massively expand their communities. Despite the domestication of plants and animals had a very practical purpose, it didn’t take humans too long for them to find out they could breed plants for aesthetic purposes.

A brief history of indoor plants

Credit: Public Domain

We don’t know who were the first to extensively use houseplants, but one of the first records suggests the Chinese used penjing trees and plants of different varieties in interior spaces as ornamental features as early as 4,000 years ago. These indoor plants were considered a sign of wealth and prosperity and gave many the chance to practice their gardening skills because the plants would grow and flourish all year round.

Perhaps the most famous example of both outdoor and indoor gardening dates from the time of Emperor Nebuchadnezzar who in 610 B.C.E. completed The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The widespread use of houseplants that we see today, however, can be traced back to Victorian England in the late 1800s. While the sumptuous outdoor British gardens kept their gates closed until springtime, many Brits began growing a wide variety of cheery and colourful plants. The included English ivy, dracaenas, and Chinese evergreens to name a few.

Things have moved on, thankfully, and the range of indoor plants available now has arguably never been greater.

But plants aren’t just for show

There’s a growing body of evidence that house plants help improve indoor quality not only by producing oxygen but also by absorbing various pollutants like allergy-irritating dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In today’s modern household, the latter quality is the most desirable out of your potted plants because VOCs have never been more abundant. These are produced or released by the household’s walls, paints, wood preservatives, cleansers, and disinfectants, glues and adhesives, and other chemical products.

“We all know, but most of the time we completely forget, that air is the most consumed material by humans,” said Vadoud Niri, a chemist at the State University of New York at Oswego, who is one of the authors of an important study that assessed the performance of various potted plants as VOC absorbers.

“Each of us breathes over 3,000 gallons of air each day, and even though you could go days without food and hours without water, you would last only a few minutes without air.”

“That’s why air quality is extremely important and air pollution is an important environmental threat to human health.”

Since the 1980s, NASA has been researching houseplants for the purpose of purifying space stations. Since then, various studies have come up with a list of particularly able plants which have a higher than average VOC filtering ability. Here are just a few.


Aloe vera

Credit: Pixabay

Aloe vera
, a common household plant, does more than provide a home decor boost. Research suggests its a great absorber of  formaldehyde and benzene, which are compounds commonly released by cleaning products and paints. The plant also has various therapeutic properties and has been used as a medicinal plant for at least 6,000 years. It’s used to treat skin conditions, accelerate healing of wounds, and even as a laxative.


Spider plant

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) likes to chow on benzene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and xylene, the latter being an air pollutant that clogs the atmosphere in leather, rubber, and printing shops.

Spider plants are very easy to grow, prefer dry soil and thrive in cooler homes.


Gerbera daisy

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Also known as Transvaal daisy, Gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii), is a daisy-like bloomer that comes in a variety of jewel tones. Besides splashing your home with colour, this daisy is very effective against trichloroethylene, which you might find on your dry cleaned clothes. This makes the houseplant great for bedrooms or laundries.


Snake plant

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Snake plant (Sansevieria Trifasciata), also hilariously known as the Mother-in-Law’s tongue, is one of the best formaldehyde filters, commonly found in cleaning and personal care products. It thrives in low light conditions so this makes it an ideal bathroom potted plant. If you’re particularly bad with plants, like I am, this may be your soul plant. It can go on for weeks without having to be watered.



Red-edged dracaena

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Dracaena (Dracaena spp.) is grown for its dramatic foliage and carefree nature. Besides freshing up your home, dracaena is an effective filter against xylene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde. But if you’re after air quality, look for the red-edged variety because there are many kinds of dracaena. Look for purple-red edges on ribbon-like leaves.


Bamboo palm

Credit: Flickr

Native to Mexico and Central America, this dwarf plant doesn’t grow taller than five feet. It loves bright light and humidity, but also benzene and trichloroethylene.


Peace lily 

Credit: Flickr

Perhaps the most beautiful VOC filter you’ll find on this list, the peace lily (spathiphyllum) topped NASA’s list for air quality  proving effective at absorbing all three main VOC compounds — formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene.

http://www.zmescience.com/science/potted-plants-air-quality-home-0423/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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