Category: Environment,

Why some countries are shipping back plastic waste

On By peanutgallerynhIn East Asia,, Environment,, Europe,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Southern Central Asia,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Many wealthy countries send their recyclable waste overseas because it’s cheap, helps meet recycling targets and reduces domestic landfill.

For developing countries taking in the rubbish, it’s a valuable source of income.

But contaminated plastic and rubbish that cannot be recycled often gets mixed in.

…Only a tiny fraction of all plastics ever produced has been recycled.

Often, materials that can’t be recycled end up being burned illegally, dumped in landfills or waterways, creating risks to the environment and public health.

 ….Until January 2018, China imported most of the world’s plastic waste.

But due to concerns about contamination and pollution, it declared it would no longer buy recycled plastic scrap that was not 99.5% pure.

…Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, Turkey, India and Poland all took up the slack.

…But the rubbish arriving in these countries wasn’t sufficiently recyclable, and it has caused problems.

…”What the citizens of the UK believe they send for recycling is actually dumped in our country,” said Malaysian Minister Yeo Bee Yin.

…However, there is still an overwhelming demand for locations to send plastic and other waste to for recycling, and the challenge of how to dispose of it remains.

…In 2016, 235 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated globally.

On current trends, this could reach 417 million tonnes per year by 2030.

Why some countries are shipping back plastic waste – BBC News

hmmm

Here and Now Episode: Carbon Capture Plant In Switzerland Opens To Sell CO2 For Reuse

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Europe,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

The first commercial facility that can extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then sell it for reuse opened earlier this month in Switzerland. …But critics say the technology uses too much energy and is too expensive.

Carbon Capture Plant In Switzerland Opens To Sell CO2 For Reuse | Here & Now

hmmm

Mississippi residents flooded out for four months think ecosystem-devastating pumps could save them

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Gulf Coast Region,, Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

“There are layers of reasons why this is a bad project,” said Melissa Samet, senior counsel at the National Wildlife Federation, who has followed the project for decades, ”but worst of all is it really gives a false promise of hope to people who are suffering from flooding.”

…Many residents believe there is a solution to their persistent, yearly flooding woes — if only the government would cut through the red tape to enact it. Locals like Deere believe that an unfinished Army Corps of Engineers project known as the Yazoo Pumps, a potential drain for the levee system that protects the Delta, would hold back the floodwaters that regularly threaten almost 20,000 people here.

…Residents of the region, local farmers and Mississippi politicians are calling for the revival of the pumps — a project vetoed by then-President George W. Bush’s administration, called “one of the worst projects ever conceived by Congress” by the late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain in 2004, and endlessly decried by environmental advocates.

…The project has been debated for almost 80 years, with frustration and anger building with the passing time.

….Environmental advocates and longtime civil servants who have worked on the project, however, argue that the pumps come at a high cost, potentially draining tens of thousands of vital wetland acres that supports one of the most unique wildlife habitats in the country.

…Conservationists say the Delta’s bottomland hardwood wetlands create one of the most important ecosystems in the country. Twenty percent of the nation’s ducks, 450 different species, including 257 species of birds, rely on these wetlands’ natural resources.

They [would] be devastated by the pumps, according to the EPA’s veto, which said that [up to] 67,000 acres of wetlands could be drained if the pumps were installed.

…“It was a hard decision because EPA knew the area needed flood protection but our analysis of widespread environmental impacts, costs, and other complications fully justified the veto.”

…Buyouts, wetland reforestation and raised homes and roadways are ideas proposed by Shabman in another report that he produced for the EPA about potential alternatives. Environmental advocates, however, claim local leaders were never curious to explore such ideas because they didn’t come with expensive construction contracts benefiting a small number of people in Mississippi.

…Because of those rising waters, Branning entered his property into the Wetlands Preserve Program in 1999, which provides him compensation for the land that he can’t farm if he allows it to be reforested.

“We did that because the program added value, in my opinion, to the land because the land had been cleared and being farmed unsuccessfully numerous years,” he said. “It may do okay for two years and then in two years the high water comes.”

…Branning said he’s happy that it’s helping the environment and noticed that some wildlife has returned, which is good for him as a hunter.

Mississippi residents flooded out for four months say the EPA could save them but won’t

Oy….

Pope says indigenous people must have final say about their land | Environment | The Guardian

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,, Religion,, The Americas,Leave a comment

In the 15th century papal bulls promoted and provided legal justification for the conquest and theft of indigenous peoples’ lands and resources worldwide – the consequences of which are still being felt today. The right to conquest in one such bull, the Romanus Pontifex, issued in the 1450s when Nicholas V was the Pope, was granted in perpetuity.

How times have changed. [Pope Francis] said publicly that indigenous peoples have the right to “prior and informed consent.” In other words, nothing should happen on – or impact – their land, territories and resources unless they agree to it.

…The UN’s Declaration – non-legally-binding – was adopted 10 years ago. Article 32 says “states shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.”

Pope says indigenous people must have final say about their land | Environment | The Guardian

hmmm

 

Agritech start-up Indigo to pay farmers for soil carbon capture

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Indigo said it hoped to sign up more than 3,000 growers, covering more than 1m acres this year. They will be paid $15 for every tonne of carbon dioxide that is stored underground.

…Farming practices such as minimal tilling of the soil when planting, planting cover crops in-between main crops, and crop rotation can all help the soil capture more carbon. Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, then release it back to the air and soil as they decompose.

…Indigo says it will use satellites and image analysis to measure soil carbon sequestration and on-farm emissions. The company is also participating in a decade-long study including tens of thousands of farms to study how carbon is stored in soil.

Agritech start-up Indigo to pay farmers for soil carbon capture | Financial Times

hmmmm

‘Free Willy’ bill bans dolphin and whale captivity in Canada

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Exceptions to the measure includes animals being rescued or rehabilitated, or those cleared for scientific research.

The bill reads, “A person may move a live cetacean from its immediate vicinity when the cetacean is injured or in distress and is in need of assistance.”

‘Free Willy’ bill bans dolphin and whale captivity in Canada

hmmm

Monterey Bay has more microplastics than Great Pacific Garbage Patch, researchers say – SFGate

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

“Our findings buttress a growing body of scientific evidence pointing to the waters and animals of the deep sea, Earth’s largest habitat, as the biggest repository of small plastic debris,” Anela Choy, an oceanographer, researcher at MBARI and the lead author of the paper, said in a press release about the study.

The two types of microplastics that were the most prevalent in the study of the bay were polyethylene terephthalate and polyamide. Polyethylene terephthalate is used in single-use drink bottles and packaging and polyamide is used in textiles and the automotive industry.

As a contrast, researchers found very few plastic particles that are typically found in fishing gear, and found more plastics offshore than near the shore of the bay.

Monterey Bay has more microplastics than Great Pacific Garbage Patch, researchers say – SFGate

““It may be virtually impossible to remove existing microplastic from the deep sea,” he said. “But when we slow the flow of plastic from land, we can help prevent the increasing accumulation of plastic in our global ocean.”

Virtually impossible? Like cars, planes, and wifi? You know, like technology that seemed unreal until it existed?

There’s always some namby pamby nay-sayer in these articles who acts surprised when they “learn” ocean currents distribute plastic particle and plastic sinks to the bottom when it breaks up. If this is the level of awareness of these “experts,” why are they quoted as such? These are not new concepts for anyone who has taken a look at this issue while their head was outside of their own ass…

And the article never even mention how much human plastic consumption has increased over the last two decades. If you truly thought the only way to solve this problem was the reduction of the use of plastic, why wouldn’t you bring up where all of it is coming from? Why bring up stemming the tide without acknowledging that every day that goes by corporations make this problem worse for the entire planet by increasing the amount of plastic packaging they use?

It’s almost as it they have no desire to actually have an impact on the problem.

#nestlebuysscientists

Trump administration announces major expansion of hunting and fishing access on federal lands

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

“This proposal is executing on that directive by opening and increasing more access to hunting and fishing by the Fish and Wildlife Service at more stations and across more acres than ever before,” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said.

….The Interior Department under President Trump has put a premium on weakening restrictions on hunting on national park land, reversing a slew of Obama-era regulations.

Trump administration announces major expansion of hunting and fishing access on federal lands | TheHill

short-sighted asswipes.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

People eat at least 50,000 plastic particles a year, study finds

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

The average person eats at least 50,000 particles of microplastic a year and breathes in a similar quantity, according to the first study to estimate human ingestion of plastic pollution.

The true number is likely to be many times higher, as only a small number of foods and drinks have been analysed for plastic contamination.

The health impacts of ingesting microplastic [have yet to be studied,] but they [have been known to] release toxic substances. Some pieces are small enough to penetrate human tissues, where they could trigger immune reactions [among other issues.]

…Some of the best available data is on water, with bottled water containing 22 times more microplastic than tap water on average. A person who only drank bottled water would consume 130,000 particles per year from that source alone, the researchers said, compared with 4,000 from tap water.

…The European commission’s chief scientific advisers said in a report in April: “The evidence (on the environmental and health risks of microplastics) provides grounds for genuine concern and for precaution to be exercised.”

“We are producing a lot of plastic and it is ending up in the ecosystems, which we are a part of.”

People eat at least 50,000 plastic particles a year, study finds | Environment | The Guardian

sigh….

Shrimp Are Testing Positive for Cocaine and Scientists Don’t Know Why

On By peanutgallerynhIn Drugs & Drink,, Environment,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Cocaine was the most commonly found drug and identified in every sample, as well as the anesthetic lidocaine. This is often used by dealers to bulk up the cocaine, according to the study authors. The scientists believe cocaine could have entered the water because of leakages or overflows from sewers.

Pesticides banned in the U.K. were also discovered, including fenuron. Ketamine, the animal tranquilizer which is used as a party drug, was also identified, as well as the opioid medication Tramadol and an antidepressant.

Shrimp Are Testing Positive for Cocaine and Scientists Don’t Know Why

hmmmm

Breakthrough Discovery Recycles Plastic From the Inside Out

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Scientists from Berkeley Lab have made a next-generation plastic that can be recycled again and again into new materials of any color, shape, or form.

Breakthrough Discovery Recycles Plastic From the Inside Out

….A development which does nothing create markets for recycled plastic, increases recycling of plastic, or cleans up the plastic already in our environment.

Just saying.