Category Archives: Pollution

Chemical industrial farming is unsustainable. Why poison ourselves when pesticides don’t save more of our crops than in the past?

Posted on March 16, 2017 by

Pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides destroy soil, ecosystems, and a third of the crop is still lost to pests, just as in the many millennia of farming before chemicals. [ This is a book review of Dyer’s “Chasing the Red Queen”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture, Biodiversity Loss, Chemicals, Overshoot, Pesticides, Soil | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chemical industrial farming is unsustainable. Why poison ourselves when pesticides don’t save more of our crops than in the past?

The Devil’s Scenario – near miss at Fukushima is a warning for U.S.

Posted on March 9, 2017 by

[ The most likely event to trigger a loss of power long enough to cause a spent fuel pool zirconium fire meltdown and release of radioactive particles into the atmosphere is a nuclear or natural geomagnetic storm electromagnetic pulse (see … Continue reading →

Posted in EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Nuclear, Nuclear Power, Nuclear spent fuel fire, Scientists Warnings to Humanity | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book review of “Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste”

Posted on January 2, 2017 by

A book review by Alice Friedemann of “Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste” by William M. Alley & Rosemarie Alley. 2013. Cambridge University Press. [ It is outrageous that on top of climate change and using … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear, Nuclear, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Waste | Tagged , | 6 Comments

550,000 abandoned mines, $50 billion to clean up the worst of them

Posted on December 9, 2016 by

[ Abandoned mines can cause soil erosion, heavy metal contamination (i.e., cyanide, lead, arsenic, mercury, uranium), and acid drainage that threatens thousands of streams and rivers. The EPA estimates it would cost $50 billion to reclaim abandoned and inactive mine … Continue reading →

Posted in Congressional Record U.S., Mercury, Pollution, Water | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

There are over 300,000 contaminated soil and water sites in the U.S.

Posted on December 6, 2016 by

[ There are too many problems requiring too much energy to solve after oil decline that we should have spent our energy on while it was still bountiful for the sake of future generations.  Along with climate change and nuclear … Continue reading →

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Benefits of promoting soil health in agriculture U.S. House hearing 2014

Posted on August 8, 2016 by

                    [ At last, 10 years after I first published “Peak soil: Why biofuels destroy ecosystems and civilizations“, Congress had a hearing that educated house members on why preserving topsoil is … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Biomass, Infrastructure, Pesticides, Soil, Soil, Water | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Benefits of promoting soil health in agriculture U.S. House hearing 2014

Decommissioning a nuclear reactor

Posted on July 23, 2016 by

[ Below are excerpts from the 7 March 2012 NewScientist article: How to dismantle a nuclear reactor about the costs and challenges of dismantling nuclear power plants in Europe. Other decommissioning news: 2017-5-17 Lithuania RBMK plant clean-up cost forecast at … Continue reading →

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Toxic chemicals threaten health, reproduction, cause cancer, diabetes

Posted on March 8, 2016 by

September 29, 2015. Diabetes, obesity linked to chemical exposure – Endocrine Society.  www.rt.com Scientific research has increasingly linked common chemicals found in everyday products to diabetes, obesity, cancer, and other major ailments, according to a new policy statement.  Endocrine-disrupting chemicals … Continue reading →

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Chemicals banned in cosmetics

Posted on February 26, 2016 by

The environmental working group has this to say about cosmetics: “American families assume personal care products on the market today have been tested by the federal government. Unfortunately, the personal care products industry remains largely unregulated. The FDA does not … Continue reading →

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We’ll all be Flint Michigan someday: U.S. water infrastructure is falling apart

Posted on January 29, 2016 by

NRC. 2006. Drinking Water Distribution Systems: Assessing and Reducing Risks Committee on Public Water Supply Distribution Systems: Assessing and Reducing Risks.  National Research Council, National Academies Press. [ According to this Free National Research Council report, most water systems and … Continue reading →

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