Clipmarks | Pollution Clips

Shell Hell

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:35:30 GMT

clipped by: Johanna_G

[Video]

Millions of people in the Niger Delta have seen their lives and livelihoods destroyed by Shell's approach to oil production. Water pollution has killed the fish they rely on for food and income. Land pollution has made it impossible to grow crops. And today 75% of the area's rural population have no access to clean water.

Shell has failed to meet its legal obligation to clean up its mess; it has even failed to meet its own stated business principles.

It's time to stop putting profit before people. It's time for Shell to clean up its act.

Why boys are turning into girls

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:17:21 GMT

clipped by: jay8h

Clip Source: www.1330weby.com

Why boys are turning into girls

Gender-bending chemicals are largely exempt from new EU regulations, warns Geoffrey Lean

Here's something rather rotten from the State of Denmark. Its government yesterday unveiled official research showing that two-year-old children are at risk from a bewildering array of gender-bending chemicals in such everyday items as waterproof clothes, rubber boots, bed linen, food, nappies, sunscreen lotion and moisturising cream.

The 326-page report, published by the environment protection agency, is the latest piece in an increasingly alarming jigsaw. A picture is emerging of ubiquitous chemical contamination driving down sperm counts and feminising male children all over the developed world. And anti-pollution measures and regulations are falling far short of getting to grips with it.

Young boys, like those in the Danish study, could end up producing less sperm and developing feminised behaviour.

We Owe Veterans and Active Duty Warriors Better Than This

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:00:07 GMT

clipped by: nedhamson1
clipper's remarks: Cheney's old firm let their sub-contractors expose US soldiers and Iraqi's to a burning toxic waste pit that will cause years worth of injuries and illness. Cotracting out is good for profiteers like the former- Vice President and his buddies but an evil brew for our troops.

Clip Source: crooksandliars.com

Lawsuit Filed Against Iraq Contractors Charges Soldiers Were Poisoned

Contractors working for the military in Iraq and Afghanistan are fouling the nests of U.S. soldiers with pollution, poisoning the troops in the very bases meant to be their sanctuaries.

"burn pits" at U.S. bases in both military theaters that contain "every type of waste imaginable."

"Tires, lithium batteries, Styrofoam, paper, wood, rubber, petroleum-oil-lubricating products, metals, hydraulic fluids, munitions boxes, medical waste, biohazard materials (including human corpses), medical supplies (including those used during smallpox inoculations), paints, solvents, asbestos insulation, items containing pesticides, polyvinyl chloride pipes, animal carcasses, dangerous chemicals, and hundreds of thousands of plastic water bottles."

Magnetic Leaves Could Indicate Pollution Levels

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:01:44 GMT

clipped by: celestialdancer

Clip Source: www.wired.com

PORTLAND, Oregon — Foliage on trees lining traffic routes could serve as low-tech pollution sensors, a new analysis suggests.

When Housen and university colleague Luigi Jovane analyzed leaves collected at several sites along streets in Bellingham, they found that the leaves along bus routes were as much as 10 times more magnetic than leaves collected on quieter residential streets. That boost in magnetism came from iron oxide particles in emissions that were trapped on the microscopically rough surface of the leaves, Housen reported October 18 at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.

Iron oxide particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers across are typically magnetic, while those larger than 10 micrometers aren’t. Rain washes away no more than 30 percent of all the particles stuck on a leaf, and even ultrasonic vibrations can’t fully cleanse the surface. These characteristics make tree leaves a good candidate for pollution monitoring,

America's Most Toxic Cities

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:58:51 GMT

clipped by: renerodz

Clip Source: www.forbes.com

Poor air quality, lack of clean water and a high rate of superfund sites make these metros most contaminated.

Tags: pollution, cities, america

Profits b4 People: 7 of the World's Most Irresponsible Companies

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:25:43 GMT

clipped by: NoRest

Clip Source: eco-chick.com

Nestle

More than 40% of the world’s chocolate comes from Côte d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) in Africa, where tens of thousands of children are estimated to be working in dangerous conditions on cocoa farms

Pfizer

Air and water pollution, disregard for safety standards and experimentation on Nigerian children:

Wal-Mart

A 2005 study found that Wal-Mart reduced the take-home pay of workers by an astounding $4.7 billion dollars annually,

ExxonMobil

The oil giant was ranked sixth on the Toxic 100 list of US corporate air polluters

Chevron

Dow Chemical

Two rivers downstream of Dow’s plant in Midland, Michigan are polluted with chlorinated furans and dioxins from the company’s past operations.

Monsanto

Monsanto is responsible for more than 50 Superfund sites including Anniston, Alabama, one of America’s worst man-made environmental disasters.

Species face extinction threat

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:22:40 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: english.aljazeera.net

More than a third of about 47,000 of the world's species are threatened with extinction, scientists have warned in a new biodiversity study.

The Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) examined 47,677 of the world's animals and plants for its annual Red List of endangered species, released on Tuesday.

The Kihansi spray toad of Tanzania has now joined the list of creatures that are extinct in the wild [AFP]

It found that 17,291 of them are at serious risk, including 21 per cent of mammals, 30 per cent of amphibians, 70 per cent of plants and 35 per cent of invertebrates.

"These results are just the tip of the iceberg," Craig Hilton-Taylor,

"There are many more millions out there which could be under serious threat."

Water resources strained

Scientists also examined 3,120 freshwater fish species and found that 1,147, or a third, are facing extinction due to a strain on global water resources caused by pollution and intensive usage.

Tags: extinction

11 Ways to save money and also the planet

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:48:32 GMT

clipped by: shaor
clipper's remarks: I'll try anything

Clip Source: green.ca.msn.com

11 ways to save money and the planet

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Given today's economy, the last thing you want to do is spend $10 on a single mango at Whole Foods or $80 on an organic cashmere scarf. (And with H&M increasing its organic cotton clothing and recycled clothing lines, you don't have to!) But seriously, there are lots of simple ways to reduce your expenses and your impact on the earth -- without buying a thing. It's easy, says Jennifer Foulds of the Toronto non-profit organization, Environmental Defence. "Just reduce, reuse and recycle -- and you'll save money and cut down on pollution." You're probably already using compact fluorescents and programmable thermostats to lower your electricity and heating bills, so try some of these fresh ideas to lighten your load on the planet and your pocketbook.

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Amazing Pictures...Pollution in China

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:43:13 GMT

clipped by: leevardi
clipper's remarks: ......viewing while eating NOT recommended

Clip Source: pimpinturtle.com

Amazing Pictures, Pollution in China

CHINA HUSH

[QQ] October 14, 2009, the 30^th annual awards ceremony of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund took place at the Asia Society in New York City. Lu Guang (卢广) from People’s Republic of China won the $30,000 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for his documentary project “Pollution in China.”

China's Boom: The Dark Side in Photos

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:59:33 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: blogs.nybooks.com

Some of his arresting images show plumes of pitch black and garishly colored yellow and red smoke belching out of factory and power plant chimneys - almost all caused by the burning of soft coal. They are reminiscent of the eerie, unnatural images and colors that blink out of a television set when the tint controls are turned all the way to one side.

His pictures of open-pit coal mines that have been illegally gouged into the Mongolian steppe, and the attendant mountains of tailings that tower beside them, bespeak a landscape so despoiled that millions of years of restoration will not be enough to heal it.

Everything you see in Lu’s photographs—whether desolate mines, gritty plants spewing out toxic smoke, grimy miners, poisoned bodies of water or tundras of trash—grows out of China’s use of coal

the photography of Lu Guang gives us a glimpse of this landscape, reminding us that these scenes of devastation are not isolated phenomena. They are ubiquitous.

Tags: 1-cimate change, 1-pollution, 2-increase, 2-record, 3-reported, 4-china

Club of Rome

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:21:01 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: "The real enemy then, is humanity itself."
According to its website, the Club of Rome is composed of "scientists, economists, businessmen, international high civil servants, heads of state and former heads of state from all five continents who are convinced that the future of humankind is not determined once and for all and that each human being can contribute to the improvement of our societies."
"Searching for a new enemy to unite us..."

See also "Comittee of 300"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crYO5Or-86M

"The threat of pollution, global warming, water shortages, and famine can be used to fulfill humanity's need for a common adversary"

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

The Club of Rome is a global think tank that deals with a variety of international political issues. It was founded in April 1968 and raised considerable public attention in 1972 with its report The Limits to Growth. According to the club's publications, the common enemy of humanity is man, so democracy may not be well suited to the tasks ahead. However, the threat of pollution, global warming, water shortages, and famine can be used to fulfill humanity's need for a common adversary

In 1993, it published the The First Global Revolution. According to this book, "It would seem that humans need a common motivation...either a real one or else one invented for the purpose....In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. All these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome

How To Be Beautiful Naturally - Ways To Stay Beautiful Naturally - How To Look Naturally Beautiful

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:57:55 GMT

clipped by: MichaelWilliam
clipper's remarks: Our body and especially the skin are constantly being exposed to pollution, chemicals and improper diet which damage the natural balance of the body.

Clip Source: www.ayurvediccure.com

How To Be Beautiful Naturally

Tags: how to be beautiful naturally, how to look naturally beautiful, ways to stay beautiful naturally

Children of Lead by Michael Mullady [PICS]

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:58:48 GMT

clipped by: clip-on-tie
clipper's remarks: Sobering photographs. Terribly sad....Many of the children suffer from bone disabilities due to the lead poisoning.

The slideshow is here with descriptions for each photograph: http://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/michael-mullady-children-of-lead/

Clip Source: www.the37thframe.org

At an altitude slightly above twelve thousand feet, in the Central Andean region of Peru, pollution is a fact of life for the inhabitants of La Oroya. Since 1922, the city of La Oroya has been exposed to toxic emissions released from the Doe Run Peru metal smelting plant.

Clip Source: www.copytaste.com

Children of Lead by Michael Mullady (BURN Magazine)

Tags: peru, pollution, la oroya, toxic emissions, smelting plant, metal, lead, children, sad, fact of life

Eco-friendly Ethiopian coffee methods

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:40:43 GMT

clipped by: BirdBarista

Clip Source: www.oxfam.org

Ethiopia's finest coffee is grown in the shade of native trees, which allows the coffee cherries to retain their moisture until they are ready to be picked. Without the shade of these generations-old trees, the coffee bushes would produce bitter tasting, inferior quality beans.

By utilizing eco-friendly coffee processing, the cooperatives will not only increase their income as a result of selling washed coffee but also address environmental pollution related to the conventional coffee processing method.

The eco-friendly method of processing reduces the amount of organic waste from the washing process and cuts water usage by 98.5 percent.

It was just a little over a year ago that 238 coffee growers in Werka came together to form a primary cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union.

organic by-products of washed coffee, can be converted into bio-fuel, fertilizer, and animal feed to boost the income of coffee growers

How does dry cleaning work?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:47:37 GMT

clipped by: odiedog
clipper's remarks: When you wash clothes at home in the washing machine, water is the solvent used to do the cleaning. Many types of fabric, however, do not handle water very well. For example, wool and water just don't mix. There are also many types of stains that water is not particularly good at removing.

Clip Source: home.howstuffworks.com

How does dry cleaning work?

When you wash clothes at home in the washing machine, water is the solvent used to do the cleaning. Many types of fabric, however, do not handle water very well. For example, wool and water just don't mix. There are also many types of stains that water is not particularly good at removing.

In dry cleaning, a petroleum solvent is used instead of water. It is "dry" only in the sense that it is not wet with water. In the early days of dry cleaning, this solvent was often kerosene or gasoline. Today the industry uses a solvent called perchloroethylene almost universally.

The clothes are washed in this solvent, and then the solvent is recovered in an extractor so it can be reused (and so that it does not evaporate into the air and cause pollution). Once the clothes are cleaned, they are pressed so they look like new.

There is a fair amount of controversy around perchloroethylene and its health effects at the moment.