Monthly Archives: February 2019

Microplastic Contamination Found in Common Source of Groundwater

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Article: “Microplastic Contamination Found in Common Source of Groundwater”

Source: Science Daily

Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190125112312.htm

Citations:

Banjot Kaur. “For the First Time, Study Confirms Presence of Microplastics in Indian Cosmetics.” Down To Earth, www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/for-the-first-time-study-confirms-presence-of-microplastics-in-indian-cosmetics-60365.

“Causes and Effects of Groundwater Contamination (ULTIMATE LIST).” ALL ABOUT WATER FILTERS, 6 Sept. 2018, all-about-water-filters.com/causes-effects-groundwater-contamination/.

Louise Prance-Miles. “Japan Passes Bill to Reduce Microplastics in Order to Combat Pollution.” Global Cosmetics News, 22 June 2018, globalcosmeticsnews.com/japan-passes-bill-to-reduce-microplastics-in-order-to-combat-pollution/.

 

Santa Rosa Water. “Groundwater.” 2018 Ballot Measures | Santa Rosa, CA, www.srcity.org/857/Groundwater.

 

Steinmetz, Katy. “Microbeads: States Set to Battle Over Face Wash.” Time, Time, 10 Dec. 2014, time.com/3628392/microbead-ban-states/.

Tomiwa Isiaka. “Microplastic Pollution Is All around Us.” SustyVibes, 1 May 2018, sustyvibes.com/microplastic-pollution-is-all-around-us/.

 

The Questions:

  • What: Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic in the environment that are contaminating our water sources (both surface waters and groundwaters). Microplastics can be found as little beads in toothpaste, facewashes, etc. or can be broken down larger pieces of polluted plastic.
  • Who: University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign conducted a study to see how much microplastic is in groundwater around metropolitan St. Louis and rural northwestern Illinois.
  • Why: Wildlife is already being affected by microplastics due to them eating them and then either killing them, giving them health problems, or humans eating the wildlife and then we have the after effects of health problems because plastic is not meant to be in the human body. That was when we would eat wildlife but when it is directly in our water source it will cause more direct health problems.
  • When: Study was posted on January 25th, 2019 (does not mention when that actual study was conducted)
  • Where: Globally people are affected by microplastics, but this study was done in Illinois (metropolitan St. Louis and rural northwestern Illinois)
  • How:  Pollution of plastics or microplastics being found in cosmetics, toothpaste, or facewashes

 

Impact of the event:

We were already aware of the problems of microplastics in surface water and how it will affect wildlife and human health. It was through eating marine life that we would ingest plastic which could be very dangerous to human health let alone wildlife health. Now with this study it shows that humans could be directly drinking microplastics.

Relevance to society: 

Some people only have access to groundwater, and this could be a massive health issue if this is not fixed or there is not proper filtration of these microplastics. Although there is little research on microplastics and human health that does not mean that it is good for our health. It has been shown to migrate through intestinal walls and absorb toxic chemicals and release them in the digestive system.

Relevance to the course: 

This is clearly not a sustainable way to live due to the pollution of plastics. It affects the wildlife population, wildlife health, and human health. Clean drinking water is a essential this human life. Even if we stopped using plastic today, we would still have a long problem of pollution.

Any pertinent questions raised by the story: 

What is an alternative way to dispose of plastics and microplastics? How do we directly fix this? Where is it coming from most?

“A toxic crisis in America’s coal country”

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Article: “A toxic crisis in America’s coal country”

Source: BBC News

Citation:

Evans, G. (2019, February 11). A toxic crisis in America’s coal country. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47165522.

The Questions:

  • What: A type of surface mining for coal known as mountaintop removal has polluted the water in the Appalachian Mountains, leading to symptoms like rashes, restrictive airway disease, dermatitis, and generic skin disease along with general inflammation and cancer.
  • Who: CM Energy, owner of the surface mine in Wyoming County since 2017 (previously Dynamic Energy)
  • Why: Mountaintop removal leads to excess waste material that state licensing does not regulate disposal of.
  • When: First practiced in the 1970s, but practice continues today.
  • Where: Multiple counties across the Appalachian Mountains.
  • How: Companies dump overburden into valleys, covering streams. The water sources then have to travel through the waste, collecting acidic ions and metals.

Impact of the event:Residents are suffering health impacts listed above and many other effects. Taps, toilets, showers, appliances, and anything that comes into contact with the water are stained by the water. Drinking water isn’t safe, one man was told his clothes would be flammable in direct sunlight if washed in the water, and individual wells produce water that reeks of sulfur. The same man collects water from a local stream and treats it with swimming pool chemicals, which could lead to additional health impacts.

Relevance to society: People face health consequences, extreme costs for safe water, lengthy lawsuits, and poor living conditions. One man took out a loan against his property to drill a new well, not even knowing if it would result in clean water. A woman’s wedding ring corroded from the water. Neighbors have turned against each other due to differing opinions on litigation.

Relevance to the course: Water is an important provisioning service, necessary for human life and for the sustainability of the environment. Toxic chemicals are leeching into the water through mining waste, which in turn is spreading it into the ground, plants, and homes of residents. Dumping waste in this way is not sustainable, and allowing this dumping is polluting water that sustains life. The same life that supports the economy and is needed to do the jobs that sustain the way of life in the Appalachian Mountains.

Any pertinent questions raised by the story: What is an alternative way to dispose of the waste from mountaintop removal mining? What are less invasive methods that could be developed to mine for coal? Can the water be treated, or does it need to be disposed of entirely?

 

02/14/2019 EDIT: Union of Concerned Scientists & EPA article links if anyone would like to read more about this issue.

https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/coal-water-pollution#.XGQ5vC3MzR0

https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?Lab=NERL&dirEntryId=238504

This issue still has not been picked up by major news agencies besides a WV state newspaper.

The Changing Face of Public Health Emergency Response

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I attended the lecture “The Changing Face of Public Health Emergency Response” on January 28, 2019 in the new Rita Hollings Science Center. The speaker was Dr. Stephen Redd, deputy director of Public Health Service and Implementation Science and director of the Center for Preparedness Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He spoke about types of emergencies, how each is handled, and gave examples of two outbreaks that he has responded to as part of the CDC.

The types of response Dr. Redd discussed were predictable, predicated, and emerging. Predictable events are those that we know will happen but where, when, and how bad it will be are unknown. These are events like hurricanes, and the response is restoring infrastructure. Predicted events are those that we cannot predict how likely it is, but preparedness is expected. Bioterrorism is an example of a predicted event, and the response would be to deploy equipment and resources that are on hand. The final category was emerging events, or those that are almost completely unpredicted and unprecedented. The response to emerging issues like the opioid epidemic is trying to understand and adapt to what is happening.

Following this, Dr. Redd elaborated on specific responses the CDC enacted when outbreaks of H1N1 in 2009 and Ebola in 2014 occurred. After these two case studies, he gave an overall view of communicating with the public during emergencies. Among these strategies were listing the actions taken to address problem, employing empathy, setting expectations, and utilizing risk communication principles.

While these overall relate to sustainability in terms of resources and our consumption in times of emergency, the part of his talk that related most to class was when he discussed population changes. Globally, we know that population is steadily increasing. We also know that urban populations specifically are growing, through internal migration and immigration. In terms of numbers, Dr. Redd shared that there are currently thirty-three countries with populations over 10 million people.

With the rise in global population comes an increase in poverty levels, particularly in the areas of densest population. This tends to be concentrated in regions of South Asia and Africa especially. The combination of high population and high poverty rates feed off of each other, holding people stagnant in low qualities of life. Due to this, Dr. Redd stated that international border crossings are increasing on an exponential curve. The total number is doubling nearly every twenty years. Alternately, those who remain in the countries are exposed to growing numbers of domesticated animals used for food. These creatures can serve as hosts or reservoirs for certain diseases, which is one mechanism by which contagious diseases are spread. The proximity of people in crowded, urban areas also allows for easier transmission.

When listening to him speak, Dr. Redd’s brief but thorough commentary on increasing global population really stood out to me. Though this was a few weeks before we began discussing it in class, population growth is a wide-reaching issue. Not only does it have implications in public health and disease rates, but also in terms of resources. We need food, fuel, and land to support us, and eventually the Earth will not be able to support us. As population grows, so does the rate of resource consumption. The increase in disease rates that is expected will only require more resources to treat and prevent said diseases, further shortening the time in which we will have enough resources. As morbidity and mortality of diseases increases, people will be inclined to have more children in hopes of greater survival. This in turn will feed the population boom and the two will work in a cyclic system unless we are careful with our resource use now.

Sea Turtle Seminar: What have we learned and achieved?

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I attended the Sea Turtle Seminar on February 4th at the Rita Hollings building. The talk was held by Joe Pfaller who is apart of the Caretta Research Project also known as the CRP. The CRP is held in Wassaw Island in Georgia. Their primary focus is to conserve, research, and educate people about the loggerhead sea turtles that come ashore on Wassaw Island. They are a non-profit organization that has been the longest running project of 47 years! During the beginning of the talk, they discussed the tasks that they do at the CRP. Not only do they protect loggerheads, but they also sometimes help green sea turtles, leatherback sea turtles, and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles. Then going onto what life is like to be a sea turtle and the patterns they have learned to help them better understand conservation both regionally and internationally. The CRP achievements began in the ’70s when they began protecting the nests and creating the T.E.D also know as the Turtle Excluder Device. This device helps sea turtles from drowning in shrimp traps. The CRP is also volunteer friendly, this helps bridge the gap to help sea turtles. Although achievements are good, there are more problems that seem to be according. Such as climate change is the main focal point. Climate change is affecting sea turtles in many ways. This brings us to what we have been talking about in our class, and how certain environmental problems are viewed. The two views are anthropocentric and ecocentric. Anthropocentric is the view that tends to focus on one main area and the ecocentric view is more holistic and looks at the bigger picture zoomed out. For the sea turtles, an anthropocentric view will not fix the problems that climate change is causing, but to increase more. Looking at an ecocentric view it will let us look at all areas being affected by climate change, for example, like; sea-level rising, change in currents, pollution, and beach armoring. All these needs to be taken into consideration to completely be able to conserve sea turtles, because it is more than just protecting their nest, is it to create a more sustainable outcome for these sea turtles. That is why the CRP is a very good organization because it allows volunteers from all over to educated and participates in sea turtle conservation. I think that is the first step in any conservation is to bring everyone together to make a better solution.

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WHY A BORDER WALL COULD MEAN TROUBLE FOR WILDLIFE

Swartz, J. (2019, January 24). Why a Border Wall Could Mean Trouble for Wildlife. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/climate/border-wall-wildlife.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FSustainable%20Development&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=collection.

BASICS

  • Sourced from the New York Times, written by science writer and climate change expert John Swartz.
  • WHAT: There’s already 650 miles of border wall built, but Mr. Trump’s vision is an additional 1000 mile wall to almost completely extend across the 2000 mile border.
  • WHO: President Trump, Customs and Border Protection, and Congress are all involved in the wall building process
  • WHY: The wall’s intentions are to stop illegal immigration from Mexico to the U.S. Not only will it block the movement of people, but of plant and animal species as well.
  • WHEN*: There’s already 650 miles of border wall built, but Mr. Trump’s vision is an additional 1000 mile wall to almost completely extend across the 2000-mile border *Trump proposed his wall idea pre election, the conflict is continuing and ground has not been broken though progress is surely being made
  • WHERE: Almost the entire length of the border between Mexico and the U.S (FEDERAL LAND), including a large portion of the Rio Grande
  • HOW: Trump wants to spend over $5 billion dollars. The US Customs and Border protection completed building prototypes of the wall which can be found on their website. https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/border-wall-prototype-designs. (Ranging from 18-30 feet high and made of concrete and other materials with anti-scaling and and anti-tampering features)

IMPACTS

  • Customs and Border Protection has the power to disregard environmental laws and protections (such as the Endangered Species Act) – they aren’t required to do an environmental analysis of the project or monitor the safety of surrounding wildlife
  • The National Wildlife Federation called the border wall “one of the biggest potential ecological disasters of our time.”
  • ANIMALS will be unable to escape natural disasters, migrate for food/water and mating, or expand their population where they may need to
  • Small endangered populations in Mexico will be isolated (Mexican gray wolf, Sonoran pronghorn)
  • Species in Texas like the ocelot and the black bear in the Rio Grande face habitat fragmentation
  • PLANTS will also be impacted!!!! Endangered wildflowers and cactus’ only found in areas where the walls are proposed to be built
  • Low flying INSECTS will avoid the wall, NOT simply fly over it (butterflies and bees)
  • Light and noise pollution during construction will disrupted the nocturnal species in the area
  • Wildlife refuges will be divided
  • Ecotourism in the Rio Grande will face repercussions, especially bird watching.

 

SUSTAINABILITY:

Environmentally, the border wall is massively unsustainable because it will not allow for the continuation of species through time, we are curtailing their existence by creating a barrier in the middle of their natural and well deserved habitat. It is an ecological disaster and threatens the wellbeing of hundreds of native species in both Mexico and the U.S.

Economically, the wall will lead to the loss of ecotourism. Hunting, fishing and wildlife-watching contributed nearly $26 billion to border state economies in 2011.

 Politcally, the wall has created a social and emotional divide, whether it be Americans against Amerians, or Americans against Mexicans. This divide could produce major problems through society for years to come due to the oppressive, racist, and classist opinions being formed during current times.

 MORE BACKGROUND/SOURCES

https://cns.utexas.edu/news/proposed-border-wall-will-harm-texas-plants-and-animals-scientists-say

https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/68/10/740/5057517

https://earth.stanford.edu/news/how-would-border-wall-affect-wildlife#gs.gZ27EIgx

 

 

Event: Sea Turtle Seminar

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On Monday, February 4th, I attended a seminar on global climate change and sea turtles. Dr. Joseph Pfaller spoke at the seminar about the Caretta Research project which studies sea turtles, their migration/mating/laying patterns, their nests, etc. At this event, I learned about several different types of turtles that lay eggs along the east coast, primarily in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I learned that female turtles come onto dry land, dig a hole, lay their eggs, cover them up, and then return to the ocean. During their laying season, females will usually lay 4-8 batches of eggs 13 days apart; so, in all, they lay anywhere from 80-180 eggs. The Caretta Research project typically collects data from these turtles while they’re laying their eggs by tagging them with various forms of identification. They also protect the turtle nests by tagging them, covering them, and sometimes relocating them. After the eggs hatch, the research team uses the discarded egg sacks to determine more information about the babies and their mother.

This seminar was informational with regards to our class in the sense that it showed me how our pollution can harm and even kill these sea turtles. Global warming is forcing these turtles to move farther north (to colder weather) where places have not been prepared and made safe for them. This global warming is also causing future generations of turtles to become primarily female (which can lead to extinction) because turtle gender is determined by temperature (hotter temperatures mean more females). Rising sea levels and ravenous storms due to global warming have been washing away turtle nests as well. Rising temperatures have also changed and slowed the currents that guide these turtles to food, mating partners, and laying grounds. Also, some of these sea turtles eat primarily jellyfish and thus have downward pointing spirals in their throats to lock prey inside; it just so happens that our plastic bags and many other man-made debris look a lot like a meal to many sea turtles.

SC’s Coal Power Plant Turning to Natural Gas

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Title: SC’s Coal Power Plant Turning to Natural Gas?

Peterson, Bo. “Uncertainty in the air for workers at SC’s largest coal burning power plant.” The Post and Courier, 4 February 2019, https://www.postandcourier.com/news/uncertainty-in-the-air-for-workers-at-sc-s-largest/article_275fdfee-1e79-11e9-863a-9bf403ef4cfc.html. Accessed 5 February 2019.

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/uncertainty-in-the-air-for-workers-at-sc-s-largest/article_275fdfee-1e79-11e9-863a-9bf403ef4cfc.html

What? Santee Cooper Cross Generating Station debating to be sold and whether to be converted to natural gas (implications)

Who? Converting to natural gas would affect hundreds of workers and community members who have well paying jobs in this coal plant

Why? The switch from coal to natural gas has some pros and cons depending on the social, economic, and environmental impact it has.

When? The article was posted on February 4, 2019, so this is very recent news. The Santee Cooper is still being debated whether to sell to a buyer/converting to gas.

Where? Cross Generating Station, Pineville, SC rural Lowcountry area near Charleston, SC

How? Most buyers want to switch to natural gas because it is economically more beneficial

Relevance to Society?

This news affects our very own South Carolina land and communities, especially those living in or around Charleston, SC. The huge amounts of job losses and fluctuations in electricity bills would be detrimental to society.

Relevance to the course?

We learned about the Triple Bottom Line and how it is used to solve wicked problems, such as the converting of the Santee Cooper Cross coal plant to a natural gas plant. The triple bottom line can be seen at play here since it shows the social, economic, and environmental issues that arise and should be addressed. The social side is the workers losing their jobs, the economic side is the natural gas as the cheaper option but the pipelines are not cost-effective, and lastly, the environmental impact of both the coal and natural gas, which both largely contribute to global warming.

Pertinent Questions raised?

Is Natural Gas really the way to go? Can South Carolina take further steps towards renewable energy despite the job and economic complications? More solar/hydroelectric energy use?

Himalayan Glaciers are Melting

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Title: The Himalayan Glaciers are Melting

Citation & Link:

Schultz, K., & Sharma, B. (2019, February 04). Rising Temperatures Could Melt Most Himalayan Glaciers by 2100, Report Finds. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/world/asia/himalayas-glaciers-warming.html

 

  • The Himalayan Glaciers are melting from the New York Times article “Rising Temperatures Could Melt Most Himalayan Glaciers by 2100, Report Finds.”
  • Who: the people of India and other South Asian countries; What: the melting of the Himalayan Glaciers; When: now and by the year 2100, if not sooner; Where: India, Nepal, the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region; Why: Climate Change is causing unprecedented melting of the world’s glaciers; How: Countries’ greenhouse gas emissions are causing the climate to change in crazy ways, which is causing the Glaciers to melt due to increased global temperatures, decreased snowfall, and longer melting seasons.
  • This is impacting a quarter of the world’s population. The Himalayan Glaciers provide water resources to the people of India, Nepal, and other South Asian countries. The melting is also causing frequent landslides which is harming crop production.
  • This is relevant to our course because it relies heavily on policy. If we can implement policy that could drastically curb our greenhouse gas emissions enough to stop the projected 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2040, then we could have some chance of saving what is left of the glaciers.
  • Shouldn’t we, as humans, have a moral obligation to protect our fellow humans? Who should take the blame for this situation, the companies that are urging the use of fossil fuels and increasing greenhouse gas emissions or us as people who allowed this behavior to continue?

 

If anyone is interested I found this article as well!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-climate-report-2040.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer