The Environmental Issues Thread

My intent with this thread is to shine a light on environmental issues that may or may not be widely known and to discuss subjects and share information with forum members who may have a different perspective. I encourage non Americans to provide details about their own National and local issues and what is being done to alleviate them.
Ideally I’d like for people to learn more about the impact they have on the environment and to think about what they can change in their daily routine to shrink their personal footprint.
This thread isn’t intended to be a venue for sanctimonious comments or guilt trips. Frankly, I believe that sort of attitude gets in the way of a positive discussion and force’s a negative reaction in people who may otherwise be open to new ideas. Someone may lead a greener lifestyle than others, but that gives them no right to look down on anyone who doesn’t, so none of that here please.
I do encourage people to share what they may personally be doing to reduce their waste and consumption of resources.

More people are becoming aware of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. For those of you who aren't familiar with it here's some information:

[url]http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/june14/mw126-garbagepatch.html[/url]
This article does a good job of laying out the problem and its causes as well as why it is such a difficult issue to find a solution to.

[QUOTE=Zetsubou;1593283]Recently, a couple of trains derailed in 2 days in Wisconsin spilling either ethanol or crude oil into a river. That's a bad mess.[/QUOTE]
I've been reading articles about those derailments. Being so close on the heels of President Obama's quashing the Keystone XL pipeline project has given the projects supporters an imaginary air of credibility. The comments sections of news sights running articles about the derailments are rife with anti-environmentalist BS and "Thanks Obama" garbage.
What these assholes fail to acknowledge is that the pipeline was slated to run through South Dakota and Nebraska, directly over the [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer"]Ogallala Aquifer[/URL]. A spill in this region would contaminate one of the largest natural sources of water in the country, as well as pollute some of the richest farmland in the Midwest. The plan would put these resources at risk with very little actual profit to any of the people who would be directly affected by such an accident. Good luck getting Trans-Canada to pony up any costs for a clean up. Oil companies are not well known for their quick responses to oil spills.

At the end of the day it's best if the Canadian tar sands oil is just left where it is and money is invested in renewable, less polluting forms of energy production.

Ol' Maddow covers these train derailments/explosions pretty regularly. Only place I tend to hear about it (not counting this thread).

[QUOTE=CSTowle;1595333]Ol' Maddow covers these train derailments/explosions pretty regularly. Only place I tend to hear about it (not counting this thread).[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I'll look for that material later, when I have time. I like Maddows work. A couple of years ago she did a report on the period leading up to the Iraq war that described how the Bush administration worked up plans in partnership with a few major oil companies to manage and distribute the Iraqi oil amongst their own supply chains. This was before congress had approved any sort of invasion. At that time Bush and his cronies were still pumping out the misinformation about anthrax and WMD's.

I wouldn't blame Canadians so much as corporations willing to do whatever is necessary to maximize profits. Which is why I don't understand politicians who call for a libertarian "utopia" free of regulation. Like if the government just shuts up and slinks away people are going to have virtuous motivations and act altruistically for the good of all. This is why Repubs in the US call for state's rights, because it's a lot easier to control some pissant local politician than it is to tangle with Congress.

Don't get me wrong, I know they'll go ahead and buy up as many of those folks as they need provided it's worth it to their bottom line to get things done. But I'd rather they had to spread that money out as wide and as deep as possible so people can catch them and hopefully hold them accountable from time to time (though lawsuits and clean-up and the like are also considered part of "the cost of doing business").

[QUOTE=Zetsubou;1608018][URL="http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/11/14/canada-oil-tanker-ban?cmpid=tp-rss"]Canada’s Ban on Oil Tankers Could Be the End of Controversial Pipeline[/URL]

"Without tankers, crude oil has no place to go," said one environmental advocate.


Canadians work hard to keep Canada pristine, but don't give a darn about other nations that they pollute. They dump their garbage on others. For example 75% of the waste-carrying trucks that come to a land fill in upstate NY are from Canada but they will not let one U.S. waste truck in. For years industrial waste has been exported by the Canadians to third world nations[/QUOTE]
It will be interesting to see what policy changes Trudeau can effect during his time as Prime Minister. I hope he wasn't making empty promises.
With the increased production and distribution of tar sands oil from Canada and the U.S. the overall price per barrel has fallen giving the average consumer less incentive to conserve fuel. I'd like to think that costlier, more difficult methods of distribution would eventually translate into higher prices at the gas pump and eventually a movement towards smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The only positive result of cheaper North American oil is a decreased dependence on imported oil from the Middle East.

[QUOTE=CSTowle]I wouldn't blame Canadians so much as corporations willing to do whatever is necessary to maximize profits. Which is why I don't understand politicians who call for a libertarian "utopia" free of regulation. Like if the government just shuts up and slinks away people are going to have virtuous motivations and act altruistically for the good of all. This is why Repubs in the US call for state's rights, because it's a lot easier to control some pissant local politician than it is to tangle with Congress.
[/QUOTE]People forget the good old days when industrial waste could be disposed of cheaply and without any regulation or oversight. Does [URL="http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/153518/"]Love Canal[/URL] ring any bells for anyone? How about when the [URL="http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_River_Fire?rec=1642"]Cuyahoga River caught fire[/URL]?
Regulations exist for a reason.

[QUOTE=Zetsubou;2112958][URL="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-sign-toxic-chemical-rules-1st-overhaul-40-40035679"]Obama Signs Major Overhaul of Toxic Chemicals Rules Into Law
[/URL]

Any thoughts on this?[/QUOTE]

Sorry, your link doesn't seem to work.

[QUOTE=Zetsubou;4351954][URL="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/11/us/houston-tanker-barge-collision/index.html"]Tanker ship spills gasoline into Texas waters [/URL]

a related article:
[url]https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/11/gas-spill-houston-toxic-gas-product-leaks-after-waterway-collision/1177541001/[/url][/QUOTE]
It wasn't gasoline but rather a reformate product used in the refining process to heighten the octane rating. Unfortunately, one of the components of the reformate is benzene which is known to be highly carcinogenic.
Oil companies have been doing a great job of destroying the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico. With our present administrations attitude toward environmental regulations I'm sure nothing will be done to cause them to change their ways. Once the pipelines from the Canadian tar sands really get going it's likely to increase barge traffic in the gulf as well.