Camp Lejeune Contamination – Health Impacts Not Fully Understood
By Scott Simonton In 1997 I ended up in the ER, and then admitted to the hospital, after I developed some significant pain in my feet and ankles along with a graying of the skin there. Over the next several days, the pain got worse, spread to my knees, and I was tested for everything […]
New Palestine Derailment…A Tale Repeated
The nearly five thousand residents of New Palestine, Ohio, in northeast Ohio near the Pennsylvania border, awoke on February 3 to the screeching metallic thunder of a trainwreck when 38 cars of a 159 car-long Norfolk and Southern train derailed, rupturing eleven tankers. A million pounds of vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene […]
Leaving no one behind – The United Nations World Water Development
As water demand increases proportionally with global population growth, it is the poor and disadvantaged who suffer disproportionally.
Fracking’s Wastewater: An Unregulated Environmental Hazard
As reported by the US Energy Information Administration, natural gas production in the United States is higher than it has ever been. This is largely due to the increase of shale gas over the past decade, made possible through hydraulic fracturing (fracking). However, this process creates large amounts of wastewater called brine or produced water, […]
The Realities About Fracking and Its Environmental Impact
Although hydraulic fracturing (fracking), is benefiting oil and gas drilling across the country, it can be dangerous to both people and wildlife if not done correctly. Fracking involves breaking up shale rock formations deep underground that contains natural resources like gas and oil. To do this, drillers must first create small explosions before pumping a […]
How Coal Mining Continues to Endanger Our Limited Water Supply
Mining can have devastating consequences for water supplies, typically resulting in rivers, lakes, and aquifers being contaminated with pollutants such as heavy metals and acidic water. This is commonly known as acid mine drainage, which occurs when exposure to air and water oxidizes certain substances (usually iron sulfide or fool’s gold). If left unchecked, the […]
The Relationship Between the Energy Industry and Water
Energy producers around the world are feeling the consequences when water risks arise. In 2011, a massive flood in Australia reduced its coal export volume, pushing worldwide coal prices up. Corn crops in the United States Midwest were devastated by drought in 2012, contributing to higher gasoline prices. According to BP, global energy consumption will […]
Unsafe Water Puts a Million Californians at Risk of Long-Term Health Issues
A new report warns that Californians could face long-term health problems, including liver and kidney damage as well as cancer, due to the consumption of polluted waters. The audit was highly critical of the State Water Resources Control Board, stating that it failed to act with enough urgency to address the state’s failing water systems. […]
Collapse in Water Systems Puts Rural America at Risk
A perfect storm of unsound agricultural regulation, dwindling populations, and old infrastructure is ravaging small water systems across rural America and endangering public health. In the United States, almost 60 thousand community water systems serve 93 percent of people living in areas with populations fewer than 10,000—67 percent serving populations of 500 or less. In […]
The Rising Crisis: Water Pollution
An expanding population, drought, and water inefficiency have all contributed to a freshwater crisis that is endangering our planet’s lakes, rivers, streams, groundwater sources, and eventually oceans. A range of pollutants from large pieces of garbage to invisible chemicals pollute these freshwater sources which we rely on for critical needs like drinking water. A recent […]
