Environmental Issues

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

This is a thread that is about Environmental Issues other than Climate Change which has its own thread in Current Events.

Here is an opening article of interest.

While this is not the work of a one-man-band, some people in this area do not realize that they are being saved.

[raynev1 1,886]

   That was a great read and thanks for starting this thread . I think many simtropians are our future , and this may fuel some inspiration . Sall , the person in the article is only one of a handful . It only takes just one with devotion to start big accomplishments . Hats off to Sall , for his charismatic approach to trying to make a difference . I too try to make a difference , but get looked at as if I were retarded , sad to say . 

    I too worry about tomorrow , and what it brings . I often go to my local water way with much dismay . Trash everywhere , it's really disgusting and the worst culprit is the local municipality . They add to the trash with even worse , raw sewage . I can't believe the people here don't even care . They wade in it , fish there and sometimes even swim without thought . The Dept. of Natural Resources stocks this river I talk about with trout . Yet there are signs posted here and there with an EPA permit # for discharge of waste . I don't understand , why stock the river with fish you probably should not even eat .

   And I'd like to also address the issue of lead in the water . We do know that lead is no good for anyone , right ? Does Not lead impair learning in children ? And there is a bad learning issue here as well and I wonder why . ADHD or just lead ? Many older homes have lead soldered  joints in their plumbing as well as more modern ones . Years ago I had to do some plumbing repairs . I went to one of the two local hardware stores to purchase solder and it had no lead free solder . The clerk noticed I was having trouble finding what I was looking for and offered assistance . I asked for solder , for copper pipes in my home . Clerk said "it's right here"  I said "that product isn't for potable water" he then handed me another . The same as the last one , just a different size . I wonder how he fixed his pipes ?

   And yet after all these years of knowledge of what lead does , fisherman still throw it in the waterways . I used to pick up nuts and bolts while walking around as a youngster . A friend asked "why did I pick them up" I replied "I use them for fishing weights" At age twelve I knew that lead is bad in water .

   Thanks again Nonny , I also think this thread was needed .

  Edited November 5, 2015 by raynev1  
Made correction

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Environment has always been an issue with me, my friend. 

In Canada we have had a lot of problems with paper industries dumping Mercury in some of the streams leading into the great lakes.  The Lake Superior fishery was found to be contaminated with Mercury, and warnings were issued limiting the consumption of the fish from there.  Ever since I was a little kid and went by the stream leading out of the local paper plant with its solidly coloured water (mostly a horrible blue) I've wondered what would happen to the downstream life.  Later on, I learned enough Chemistry to realize they were dumping copper and mercury salts into the water and no one could say them nay.  This is no longer true as it was in the 1940s when I was a kid.

Lately we have been having a flap over non-potable water that has been a problem for our Indigenous Peoples for a couple of centuries on their land, and that the government, which was supposed to look after this, has underspent its budget.  We now, as of yesterday, have a new government and they are much more concerned with this than the previous bunch which seemed only interested in squeezing loot out of the oil patch.  The old government was just knocked off by the third place party that arrived with a bang (majority).  If you have a look at the recent posts in the Canadian Politics thread over in Current Events you'll see my diary on this.

As far as lead poisoning is concerned, it is most insidious.  It can not only slow development of children, it can cause mental impairment in adults.  Probably the worst historical example of this is the destruction of the Roman Empire.  The patrician class liked sweet wines.  They sweetened their wines with sugar of lead (Lead Acetate).  Many forensic examinations of Roman tombs have shown that some of the most powerful men in that era were probably insane due to lead poisoning. 

Heavy metal poisoning is one of the worst things that can happen to a person, and there are some that are much quicker but more insidious than lead.  Historically, if one looks at Renaissance Italy, one need look no further than Lucretia Borgia whose Cantarella wiped out several prominent men who were considered a danger to the dominance of her family.  In this case, the agent was Bismuth.  Lucretia had a special dinner service with beautiful ceramic pictures of the Roman gods in the centre.  All of these were done by great artists of the time and all were carefully fired and glazed except one.  The plate with the portrait of Hercules was improperly fired and the underlying ceramic was exposed.  To get the startlingly beautiful colours in the work, Bismuth salts were used.  When Lucretia wanted to dispose of someone she threw a dinner party and made sure the target got the Hercules service.  She then served an acid sauce (tomato would do) with the result that the victim got a good dose of Bismuth Acetate with his entree.  He would die in a couple of weeks or so of kidney failure.  Poison?  Not at all, he was sick, wasn't he?

They say poison is a woman's weapon.  I think that means that all corporations are female.

  Edited November 5, 2015 by A Nonny Moose  

[raynev1 1,886]

   Wow ,what a witch . Funny thing is , a neighboring community recently annexed  to the city I live in is called Lucretia . A future site for a proposed wastewater treatment plant . What a coincidence .

   I have heard , that heavy metal poisoning is horrid . I have been experiencing technical difficulties , which have been getting worse as of here lately . I asked the nurse (one that draws blood) at my doctor's office about a test for heavy metals . She said , she heard of that kind of testing yet didn't know where to have such a test done . Really .

  Also speaking of heavy metals and related pollutants . Coal ash aka "Cinders" mixed with salt are being spread all over this state's roads in winter by their local municipalities as a type of traction control . I never heard of such , until moving here back in 1998 . Just this past winter a local TV news channel stated "if you have pets and let them go out to go to the bathroom , you should wash off their feet when they return  because they could get sick from the stuff they are walking in when they groom themselves . So if this stuff may make your pet ill . What about people ?

   The woman that lived here before me , had passed away with some type of cancer . Also her husband and another one before him had both died from bone cancer . After a couple consecutive years of planting vegetable gardens adjacent to my home . I found out that the previous owner had spread the said "cinders" over the same garden area I used ... Now I'm worried .

   A neighbor of mine passed away this past August after fighting cancer for thirteen years . (RIP Miss Donna). Before she passed we had spent many hours of conversation . She said , she thought she got her cancer from a common fertilizer used on her tomato plants beside her sidewalk . I don't know about the fertilizer , I think , more like the soil being contaminated by the cinders . She was diagnosed the year after consuming those tomatoes . Two other neighbors also passed with cancer within the past few years , all had different careers , all had gardens .

   Now that my whole body aches , from head to toe and all in between . As if my bones are broken and my guts shredded , I don't know what to do . I live in a country that has a Health Care Industry not a Health Care System , and can't get proper attention . I was told maybe I should move , Really ? I just hope I'm not another victim of circumstance . I feel my days are numbered and dwindling . Some days I just feel like I'm just losing my mind . 

  I hope this isn't considered a rant . This is on topic as it solely has to do with the environment I'm living in and subject too .

  May God help us all .

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

It is a fact of biology that no organism can long survive in an environment of its own waste.  Prime example, the yeast in bread.  The alcohol they make kills them.

Has anyone analyzed the road stuff for toxins?  Coal is pretty dirty stuff, and contains many contaminants.

A tox screen for heavy metals in blood costs about five grand.

  Edited November 8, 2015 by A Nonny Moose  

[raynev1 1,886]

   No one here seems to care about much of anything . Only what's in their best interest at that moment , usually cashola . A couple years ago , an Ohio man was making an issue over that stuff being used on their streets . Claiming it was unsafe , I tried to research more on the subject and only ran into dead ends . I figure there is more on it then what is being shared . Everything doesn't stay on the internet . Especially if it gains to much attention . 

   Last year a friend of mine in Baltimore,Maryland watching world news while drinking morning coffee, called to warn us not to drink the water because of a chemical spill . The call came in around 7:00 AM . It wasn't announced on TV here until after Noon . lucily , it was in a different part of the state . The Capital of West Virginia , over 300,000 residents without water . The local media wasn't very prompt to report on it . The CDC didn't have any knowledge of potential risk to health , just an advisory do not drink the water . Today , good luck finding much info on the subject , MSN was the first to pull their newsfeed on it . The chemical is used to make coal more combustible . 

   As for a screening for toxicology , I've had no success to be tested for heavy metals , but not giving up . I believe I was the first to ask for a drug screening , (passed it , no problem) substance abuse doesn't fly with me . You can't play in traffic (doing road work) while being high on something . That can have grave consequence .

   I am going to try to get a soil analysis done , maybe have a farming friend submit it with his samples . Wish me luck , fingers crossed . analysis usually come back pretty detailed about composition .

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Good luck.  One of the best ways to find out if the soil in a given area may be contaminated is the city archives.  Look for building permits over the years.  If you find a chemical plant or two that is a good indication that things may not be what current people are claiming.