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Most UK dairy farms ignoring pollution rules as manure spews into rivers

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Friday, April 19, 2024

The majority of UK dairy farms are breaking pollution rules, with vast amounts of cow manure being spilled into rivers.When animal waste enters the river, it causes a buildup of the nutrients found in the effluent, such as nitrates and phosphates. These cause algal blooms, which deplete the waterway of oxygen and block sunlight, choking fish and other aquatic life.Sixty nine per cent of the 2,475 English dairy farms inspected by the Environment Agency between 2020 and 2021 were in breach of environmental regulations, according to new data released under freedom of information laws.The problem is prevalent across the UK; in Wales 80% of the 83 dairy farms inspected by Natural Resources Wales between 2020 and 2022 were non-compliant with anti-pollution regulations. In Northern Ireland 50% of the 339 dairy farms inspected by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs between 2020 and 2022 were not compliant, and in Scotland 60% of the 114 dairy farms initially inspected by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency between 2020 and 2023 were in breach of regulations.Campaigners have linked this pollution scandal to that caused by the sewage crisis because it also involves ageing infrastructure and intensification of effluent discharges.They say that pricing pressures from supermarkets, where farmers are offered very little for milk, have caused producers to intensify their production by increasing the number of cows they keep.Charles Watson, the chair of the charity River Action, said: “The unacceptable pollution levels caused by the UK dairy industry is not dissimilar to the current UK sewage pollution crisis: aged infrastructure, designed for much lower volumes of effluent, being overwhelmed by the combination of intensification of use and more volatile weather conditions.”A pile of steaming manure. Campaigners are calling for better slurry management. Photograph: Wayne Hutchinson/Alamy“With a herd of 50 cows calculated to be capable of emitting the equivalent amount of pollution as a human settlement of 10,000 people, it is hardly surprising that the dairy industry is placing an unsustainable pollution burden on many river catchments across the country. Meanwhile, yet another chapter in the British river pollution scandal unfolds, our impotent regulators continue to watch on in a solely advisory capacity, and the giant supermarket groups happily count their profits at the cost of the continuous degradation of the environment.”River Action is calling for dairy processors to offer incentives to farmers who produce milk responsibly, either by less intensive farming or by investing to dispose of cow muck responsibly.It is also asking for a strengthened response from regulators, asking them to fully enforce existing anti-pollution rules. Many farms go years without inspections because regulators do not have enough staff owing to underfunding. River Action has asked the devolved national bodies responsible to expand and extend existing grant schemes to improve the infrastructure for slurry management.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We have set ambitious legally binding targets to reduce water pollution from agriculture and are taking wide-ranging action to clean up our waterways. This includes investing £74m in slurry infrastructure to help farmers cut agricultural runoff and rolling out new farming schemes to thousands of farmers to deliver environmental benefits and adopt more sustainable practices – all to reduce the amount of nutrients entering rivers.”

Exclusive: 80% of Welsh dairy farms inspected, 69% of English ones, 60% in Scotland and 50% in Northern Ireland breaching regulationsThe majority of UK dairy farms are breaking pollution rules, with vast amounts of cow manure being spilled into rivers.When animal waste enters the river, it causes a buildup of the nutrients found in the effluent, such as nitrates and phosphates. These cause algal blooms, which deplete the waterway of oxygen and block sunlight, choking fish and other aquatic life. Continue reading...

The majority of UK dairy farms are breaking pollution rules, with vast amounts of cow manure being spilled into rivers.

When animal waste enters the river, it causes a buildup of the nutrients found in the effluent, such as nitrates and phosphates. These cause algal blooms, which deplete the waterway of oxygen and block sunlight, choking fish and other aquatic life.

Sixty nine per cent of the 2,475 English dairy farms inspected by the Environment Agency between 2020 and 2021 were in breach of environmental regulations, according to new data released under freedom of information laws.

The problem is prevalent across the UK; in Wales 80% of the 83 dairy farms inspected by Natural Resources Wales between 2020 and 2022 were non-compliant with anti-pollution regulations. In Northern Ireland 50% of the 339 dairy farms inspected by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs between 2020 and 2022 were not compliant, and in Scotland 60% of the 114 dairy farms initially inspected by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency between 2020 and 2023 were in breach of regulations.

Campaigners have linked this pollution scandal to that caused by the sewage crisis because it also involves ageing infrastructure and intensification of effluent discharges.

They say that pricing pressures from supermarkets, where farmers are offered very little for milk, have caused producers to intensify their production by increasing the number of cows they keep.

Charles Watson, the chair of the charity River Action, said: “The unacceptable pollution levels caused by the UK dairy industry is not dissimilar to the current UK sewage pollution crisis: aged infrastructure, designed for much lower volumes of effluent, being overwhelmed by the combination of intensification of use and more volatile weather conditions.”

A pile of steaming manure. Campaigners are calling for better slurry management. Photograph: Wayne Hutchinson/Alamy

“With a herd of 50 cows calculated to be capable of emitting the equivalent amount of pollution as a human settlement of 10,000 people, it is hardly surprising that the dairy industry is placing an unsustainable pollution burden on many river catchments across the country. Meanwhile, yet another chapter in the British river pollution scandal unfolds, our impotent regulators continue to watch on in a solely advisory capacity, and the giant supermarket groups happily count their profits at the cost of the continuous degradation of the environment.”

River Action is calling for dairy processors to offer incentives to farmers who produce milk responsibly, either by less intensive farming or by investing to dispose of cow muck responsibly.

It is also asking for a strengthened response from regulators, asking them to fully enforce existing anti-pollution rules. Many farms go years without inspections because regulators do not have enough staff owing to underfunding. River Action has asked the devolved national bodies responsible to expand and extend existing grant schemes to improve the infrastructure for slurry management.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We have set ambitious legally binding targets to reduce water pollution from agriculture and are taking wide-ranging action to clean up our waterways. This includes investing £74m in slurry infrastructure to help farmers cut agricultural runoff and rolling out new farming schemes to thousands of farmers to deliver environmental benefits and adopt more sustainable practices – all to reduce the amount of nutrients entering rivers.”

Read the full story here.

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Costa Rica’s River Fence Prevents Ocean Plastic Pollution

One ton of plastic waste was recovered from the Virilla River. Since the installation of the floating waste collection fence, another ton of plastic waste has been prevented from reaching the sea. It is estimated that the Virilla River captures up to 80% of the floating waste from the water bodies of the Greater Metropolitan Area. These achievements result from partnerships with actors committed to environmental conservation in their respective areas. “Plastic Free Landscapes exemplifies the implementation of Goal 17: Partnerships to achieve the objectives of the SDGs in the 2030 Agenda. This effective intervention has significantly reduced pollution in one of the country’s most contaminated rivers, thereby protecting our Pacific coast,” said José Vicente Troya Rodríguez, UNDP Resident Representative in Costa Rica. This initiative is made possible through collaboration with CRDC PEDREGAL, Canal 7, Delfino CR, OneSea, the Transition to an Urban Green Economy project, OTS, Consumo 180, and UNDP. Floating fences are strategically placed at highly polluted points in rivers to intercept significant amounts of plastic waste, with collection rates increasing during the rainy season. Designed to minimize impact on aquatic life, these barriers also enhance downstream river conditions, representing a sustainable investment that improves the health of vital waterways over time. “We’ve prevented a ton of plastic waste from reaching the sea through our fence capture. However, our commitment extends further. This waste, which could have polluted rivers or landfills, is transformed into RESIN8, a synthetic sand used in construction, offering a long-term, sustainable solution,” commented David Zamora, Commercial Director of CRDC-PEDREGAL. According to the leaders of the project, replicating these efforts at identified pollution hotspots would positively impact national ecosystems and marine well-being. The recovery of one ton of waste by the Virilla River fence serves as a call to action for industry, commerce, government institutions, local governments, academia, civil society, and the general population. “Our reality indicates that waste leaks into the environment, partly due to inadequate waste management in our homes, as well as the lack of proper infrastructure and equipment for recovery, recycling, and final disposal,” suggested Juan Carlos Piñar, coordinator of the Plastic-free Landscapes Project. The post Costa Rica’s River Fence Prevents Ocean Plastic Pollution appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Pollution

Waste

Water

Toxic gas adds to a long history of pollution in southwest Memphis

The air in this part of the city has long been considered dangerous. An oil refinery spews a steady plume of white smoke. A coal plant has leaked ash into the ground and the groundwater.

For many years, Rose Sims had no idea what was going on inside a nondescript brick building on Florida Street a couple of miles from her modest one-story home on the southwestern side of town.Like other residents, she got an unwelcome surprise in October 2022 at a public forum held by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the historic Monumental Baptist Church, known for its role in the civil rights movement. The EPA notified the predominantly Black community that Sterilization Services of Tennessee — which began operations in the brick building in the 1970s — had been emitting unacceptably high levels of ethylene oxide, a toxic gas commonly used to disinfect medical devices.Airborne emissions of the colorless gas can increase the risk of certain medical conditions, including breast cancer. Sims, who is 59 and Black, said she developed breast cancer in 2019, despite having no family history of it and she suspects ethylene oxide was a contributing factor.“I used to be outside a lot. I was in good health. All of a sudden, I got breast cancer,” she said.The drivers of environmental racism include the promise of tax breaks for industry to locate a facility in a heavily minority community, said Malini Ranganathan, an urban geographer at American University in Washington, D.C. The cheaper cost of land also is a factor, as is the concept of NIMBY — or “not in my backyard” — in which power brokers steer possible polluters to poorer areas of cities.A manager at Sterilization Services’ corporate office in Richmond, Virginia, declined to answer questions from KFF Health News. An attorney with Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, a law firm that represents the company, also declined to comment. Sterilization Services, in a legal filing asking for an ethylene oxide-related lawsuit to be dismissed, said the use of the gas, which sterilizes about half the medical devices in the U.S., is highly regulated to ensure public safety.Besides southwest Memphis, there are nearly two dozen locales, mostly small cities — from Athens, Texas to Groveland, Florida and Ardmore, Oklahoma — where the EPA said in 2022 that plants sterilizing medical devices emit the gas at unusually high levels, potentially increasing a person’s risk of developing cancer.The pollution issue is so bad in southwest Memphis that even though Sterilization Services planned to close shop by April 30, local community leaders have been hesitant to celebrate. In a letter last year to a local Congress member, the company said it has always complied with federal, state and local regulations. The reason for its closure, it said, was a problem with renewing the building lease.But many residents see it as just one small win in a bigger battle over environmental safety in the neighborhood.“It’s still a cesspool of pollution,’’ said Yolonda Spinks, of the environmental advocacy organization Memphis Community Against Pollution, about a host of hazards the community faces.The air in this part of the city has long been considered dangerous. An oil refinery spews a steady plume of white smoke. A coal plant has leaked ash into the ground and the groundwater. The coal plant was replaced by a natural gas power plant, and now the Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides electricity for local power companies, plans to build a new gas plant there. A continual stream of heavy trucks chug along nearby highways and roads. Other transportation sources of air pollution include the Memphis International Airport and barge traffic on the nearby Mississippi River.Lead contamination is also a concern, not just in drinking water but in the soil from now-closed lead smelters, said Chunrong Jia, a professor of environmental health at the University of Memphis. Almost all the heavy industry in Shelby County — and the associated pollutants — are located in southwest Memphis, Jia added.Sources of pollution are often “clustered in particular communities,” said Darya Minovi, a senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit that advocates for environmental justice. When it comes to sterilizing facilities that emit ethylene oxide, areas inhabited largely by Black, Hispanic, low-income and non-English-speaking people are disproportionately exposed, the group has found.Four sites that the EPA labeled high-risk are in low-income areas of Puerto Rico. Seven sterilizer plants operate in that U.S. territory.The EPA, responding to public concerns and to deepened scientific understanding of the hazards of ethylene oxide, recently released rules that the agency said would greatly reduce emissions of the toxic gas from sterilizing facilities.KeShaun Pearson, who was born and raised in south Memphis and has been active in fighting environmental threats, said he is frustrated that companies with dangerous emissions are allowed to create “toxic soup” in minority communities.In the area where the sterilization plant is located, 87 percent of the residents are people of color, and, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center, life expectancy there is about 10 years lower than the average for the county and state. The population within 5 miles of the sterilizer plant is mostly low-income, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.Pearson was part of Memphis Community Against the Pipeline, a group formed in 2020 to stop a crude oil pipeline that would have run through Boxtown, a neighborhood established by emancipated slaves and freedmen after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.That campaign, which received public support from former Vice President Al Gore and actress-activist Jane Fonda, succeeded. After the ethylene oxide danger surfaced in 2022, the group changed the last word of its name from “pipeline” to “pollution.”Besides breast and lymphoid cancers, animal studies have linked inhaling the gas to tumors of the brain, lungs, connective tissue, uterus and mammary glands.Last year, with the help of the Southern Environmental Law Center, the south Memphis community group urged the Shelby County Health Department to declare the ethylene oxide situation a public health emergency and shut down the sterilizing plant. But the health department said the company had complied with its existing air permit and with the EPA’s rules and regulations.A health department spokesperson, Joan Carr, said Shelby County enforces EPA regulations to ensure that companies comply with the federal Clean Air Act and that the agency has five air monitoring stations around the county to detect levels of other pollutants.When the county and the Tennessee Department of Health did a cancer cluster study in 2023, the agencies found no evidence of the clustering of high rates of leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or breast or stomach cancer near the facility. There were “hot and cold spots” of breast cancer found but the study said it could not conclude that the clusters were linked to the facility.Scientists have criticized the study’s methodology, saying it did not follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for designing a cancer cluster investigation.Meanwhile, several people have sued the sterilizing company, claiming their health has been affected by the ethylene oxide emissions. In a lawsuit seeking class-action status, Reginaé Kendrick, 21, said she was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 6. Chemotherapy and radiation have stunted her growth, destroyed her hair follicles and prevented her from going through puberty, said her mother, Robbie Kendrick.In response to proposed stricter EPA regulations, meanwhile, the Tennessee attorney general helped lead 19 other state AGs in urging the agency to “forgo or defer regulating the use of EtO by commercial sterilizers.”Sims said she’s glad her neighborhood will have one less thing to worry about once Sterilization Services departs. But her feelings about the closure remain tempered.“Hope they don’t go to another residential area,” she said.KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism. This story also ran on USA Today. It can be republished for free.

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UN plastics treaty inches closer to reality as lobbyists tout plastics’ ‘massive societal benefits’

A deal to stop plastic pollution is in sight, but negotiators can’t agree on whether to produce less of the stuff.

Negotiators wrapped up the fourth round of formal discussions over the United Nations’ global plastics treaty early on Tuesday morning, inching closer to a final agreement that’s intended to “end plastic pollution.” Delegates made important progress on the treaty, the final version of which is due by the end of the year. They pared down a lengthy draft of the text and agreed on a formal agenda for “intersessional” work ahead of the next — and final — meeting, in Busan, South Korea, scheduled for November 25. That work will involve critical issues around funding the treaty’s provisions and identifying plastic-related chemicals that should be restricted. The agenda, however, doesn’t mention the elephant in the room: whether and how the treaty will limit plastic production. “Nothing happened that was particularly surprising, but this outcome is still quite demoralizing,” said Chris Dixon, an ocean campaign leader for the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency who attended the talks. Other groups called the outcome “disappointing” and said the negotiations had been “undermined by deep-rooted industry influence.” Dixon and other environmental advocates have spent the past three meetings fighting for a treaty that addresses the “full life cycle” of plastics — meaning one that goes beyond waste management to limit the amount of plastic that’s made in the first place. The world already produces more than 400 million metric tons of plastic per year, and fossil fuel companies are planning to dramatically increase that number over the next few decades. Plastics have been described as the fossil fuel industry’s “plan B” as the world pivots away from using oil and gas in transportation and electricity generation. This could have dire implications not only for plastic pollution but for the climate; according to a recent study, greenhouse gas emissions from growing plastic production could eat up one-fifth of the world’s remaining carbon budget by 2050. Just because production limits aren’t on the agenda for ad hoc working groups, however, doesn’t mean they’re out of the treaty; it just means delegates may arrive in Busan less prepared to discuss technical concepts related to plastics manufacturing. Language about the “full life cycle” of plastics is still in the treaty’s mandate — which countries agreed on in 2022 — and throughout the draft text. Countries can also host unofficial discussions on the topic between now and November. There’s already widespread support for addressing plastic production in the treaty. Dozens of countries supported a statement presented by Rwanda and Peru last week saying that a global plastic reduction target should be “a North Star” for the treaty. The paper suggested reducing production by 40 percent below 2025 levels by 2040. Another declaration, published on Monday and signed by 28 countries, called for the treaty to “achieve sustainable levels of production of primary plastic polymers.” Activists from Greenpeace urged treaty negotiators to place limits on plastic production. Photo by IISD/ENB – Kiara Worth Dixon said translating that support into binding treaty text is a matter of “political commitment.” On Monday, production was “the first topic to get dropped” as delegates scrambled to agree on an agenda for intersessional work, she said. They were trying to avoid a repeat of the previous conference, which ended with no agenda at all. Santos Virgilio, a delegate representing Angola, said during a panel on Monday that it is “too early to say” how his country and others will coax oil-producing states into accepting treaty provisions on plastic production. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar are among the countries most vociferously opposed to addressing plastic production as part of the treaty. Plastics industry lobbying groups also turned out in full force at the negotiating session to oppose production caps. Chris Jahn, council secretary of the International Council of Chemical Associations, said in a statement on Monday that the industry is “fully committed to a legally binding agreement all countries can join that ends plastic pollution without eliminating the massive societal benefits plastics provide for a healthier and more sustainable world.” Industry groups used the convening as a public relations opportunity, touting the benefits of plastic in ads placed throughout Ottawa. In a hotel, one collection of ads said plastics “save lives,” “deliver water,” and “reduce food waste.” The United States has also resisted plastic production limits as part of the treaty. A State Department official told the Financial Times on Tuesday that “overly prescriptive approaches” could alienate “major producers or consumers of plastics.” Instead of cutting the supply of plastics, the U.S. wants to focus on reducing demand and improving infrastructure for recycling and reuse. Despite frustrations, several observers noted a promising shift in the tone at this week’s negotiating session, compared to the previous meeting. “There was a different energy, it was more collaborative,” said Erin Simon, the vice president and head of plastic waste and business for the environmental nonprofit WWF. Bjorn Beeler, the general manager and international coordinator for the nonprofit International Pollutants Elimination Network, said it was “very significant” that the delegates were able to move from a 70-page “zero draft” of the treaty — a laundry list of options meant to represent everybody’s viewpoints — to a more formal version that’s been vetted by negotiators. Pro-plastic ads at an Ottawa hotel. Photo by IISD/ENB – Kiara Worth All of the most ambitious provisions of the treaty are still in the newly updated draft, Beeler said, meaning they’re still up for discussion. He also noted growing support for health-related aspects of the treaty, particularly a provision to limit potentially dangerous chemicals that are commonly added to plastics. Delegates agreed to create an expert group to focus on this topic during intersessional work. They tasked it with proposing a framework to identify the most problematic types of plastic and plastic-related chemicals, as well as product designs that increase plastic products’ recycling and reuse potential. Although countries disagree on whether certain substances should be banned or just restricted, and which criteria should be used to identify such substances, there is more convergence on regulating chemicals than on most other issues. Even Iraq, a major oil producer, submitted a statement supporting the creation of two lists of banned and restricted plastic chemicals. “Everyone knows there are hazardous chemicals in plastics,” Beeler said. Griffins Ochieng, the executive director of the Kenya-based Center for Environmental Justice and Development, said in a statement that a global plastics treaty that addresses chemicals in plastics “is an impetus toward eradicating plastic pollution.” One other expert group will focus on finance — where to get funding to help developing countries transition away from single-use plastics and test plastics for hazardous chemicals, among other treaty objectives, and how to distribute that money. Some countries and many environmental groups support the creation of a dedicated fund to help poor countries implement the provisions of the plastics treaty. Others say it would be simpler to use an existing mechanism like the Global Environmental Facility, a multilateral fund that provides grants to support government projects. With eight months remaining in 2024, delegates have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to wrap up a treaty by the end of the year, which is the goal countries agreed on when they decided to write a treaty in March 2022. Even if the treaty does not take its most ambitious form, it could still have a big impact. Policies to disincentivize the use of virgin plastic, for instance — like recycled content requirements — are relatively noncontroversial, and they could indirectly limit plastic production. Beeler said it’s also possible that new requirements on the measurement and disclosure of plastic production could eventually lead to production limits after the treaty is ratified. Simon, with WWF, said she feels cautiously hopeful following this week’s meeting. The conference was “not a failure, and definitely not a win.” she said. “But it is progress.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline UN plastics treaty inches closer to reality as lobbyists tout plastics’ ‘massive societal benefits’ on May 1, 2024.

Pollution

Activism

Chemicals

Developed countries accused of bowing to lobbyists at plastic pollution talks

Campaigners say last-minute compromise plays into the hands of petrostates and industry influencesCampaigners are blaming developed countries for capitulating at the last minute to pressure from fossil fuel and industry lobbyists, and slowing progress towards the first global treaty to cut plastic waste.Delegates concluded talks in Ottawa, Canada, late on Monday, with no agreement on a proposal for global reductions in the $712bn (£610bn) plastic production industry by 2040 to address twin issues of plastic waste and huge carbon emissions. Continue reading...

Campaigners are blaming developed countries for capitulating at the last minute to pressure from fossil fuel and industry lobbyists, and slowing progress towards the first global treaty to cut plastic waste.Delegates concluded talks in Ottawa, Canada, late on Monday, with no agreement on a proposal for global reductions in the $712bn (£610bn) plastic production industry by 2040 to address twin issues of plastic waste and huge carbon emissions.They agreed to hold more discussions before the last summit on the treaty in Busan, South Korea, in November.But two years on from a historic agreement in Nairobi to forge a global treaty to cut plastic waste, delegates said countries were just wasting time. A proposal from Peru and Rwanda to for the first time address the scale of plastic production in order cut plastic waste was supported by 29 countries including Australia, Denmark, Nigeria, Portugal, the Netherlands and Nigeria, who signed a declaration, the Bridge to Busan, calling on all delegates to ensure plastic production was addressed.The UK and US did not support the proposal to cut plastic production to tackle plastic pollution.Juliet Kabera, the director general of the Rwanda environment management authority, said: “Rwanda’s vision for the treaty is to achieve sustainable production of plastics. We need a global target based on science to measure our collective actions.”But as talks headed into the night on Monday, there was no agreement on putting plastic production at the centre of the treaty.David Azoulay, the director of environmental health at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), said while a handful of countries had taken a stand to keep ambitious proposals alive, most countries accepted a compromise at the last minute that played into the hands of petrostates and industry influences.“From the beginning of negotiations, we have known that we need to cut plastic production to adopt a treaty that lives up to the promise envisioned … two years ago,” he said. “In Ottawa, we saw many countries rightly assert that it is important for the treaty to address production of primary plastic polymers.“But when the time came to go beyond issuing empty declarations and fight for work to support the development of an effective intersessional programme, we saw the same developed member states who claim to be leading the world towards a world free from plastic pollution, abandon all pretence as soon as the biggest polluters look sideways at them.”The US was singled out for criticism for blocking talks on cutting plastic production.“The United States needs to stop pretending to be a leader and own the failure it has created here,” said Carroll Muffett, the president of CIEL. “When the world’s biggest exporter of oil and gas, and one of the biggest architects of the plastic expansion, says that it will ignore plastic production at the expense of the health, rights and lives of its own people, the world listens.”He said that despite signalling at the G7 summit this month that it would commit to reduce plastic production, in Ottawa the US failed to follow through on its promises.skip past newsletter promotionThe planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essentialPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionThe failure to pursue ambitious cuts to plastic production came after a record number of fossil fuel and petrochemical lobbyists attended the summit in Canada.Graham Forbes, Greenpeace’s head of delegation to the global plastics treaty negotiations, said: “The world is burning and member states are wasting time and opportunity. We saw some progress, aided by the continued efforts of states such as Rwanda, Peru, and the signatories of the Bridge to Busan declaration in pushing to reduce plastic production.“However, compromises were made on the outcome which disregarded plastic production cuts, further distancing us from reaching a treaty that science requires and justice demands.”Rich Gower, a senior economist at the NGO Tearfund, said: “An ambitious and effective treaty is still possible, but negotiations are on a knife-edge: time is short and strong opposition remains from the petrochemicals industry and states connected with it, even as their products pile up on street corners and in watercourses around the world.”Representatives of the petrochemical industry said they were committed to a global treaty to cut plastic waste. But they pushed back on reductions in plastic production, an industry worth $712bn in 2023.Chris Jahn, the council secretary of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), speaking on behalf of the industry group Global Partners for Plastics Circularity, said: “Our industry is fully committed to a legally binding agreement all countries can join that ends plastic pollution without eliminating the massive societal benefits plastics provide for a healthier and more sustainable world. We will continue to support governments’ efforts by bringing forth science-based and constructive solutions that leverage the innovations and technical expertise of our industry.”

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1 in 3 Americans Live in Areas With Dangerous Air Pollution

Climate change is increasing the number of days people are exposed to hazardous pollution, affecting already disadvantaged communities the most.

This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.Within five miles of Kim Gaddy’s home in the South Ward of Newark, New Jersey, lies the nation’s third-busiest shipping port, 13th-busiest airport, and roughly a half-dozen major roadways. All told, transportation experts say, the area where Gaddy and her neighbors live sees an average of roughly 20,000 truck trips each day.Researchers cite the exhaust produced by all of that road travel as a major reason why asthma rates among Newark residents is about twice the national average.“You hear of Newark every time somebody gets killed, it’s a homicide, but asthma is the silent killer—and that is a real health injustice,” said Gaddy, 60, who founded the South Ward Environmental Alliance, a local climate change advocacy group. “You know, asthma, heart attacks, respiratory illnesses—these are the things that harm our community.”Kim Gaddy, founder of the South Ward Environmental Alliance, said asthma is a “silent killer” in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey. Gaddy and her three children were all diagnosed with asthma; her eldest son died of a heart attack in 2021 at the age of 32. Courtesy of South Ward Environmental AllianceThe South Ward is hardly an outlier. A new report by the American Lung Association shows how polluted air continues to place the health of millions of other Americans in jeopardy.The lung association’s latest “State of the Air” report—an annual survey of air quality nationwide—found that more than a third of all Americans, or about 131 million people, are living in communities with unhealthy levels of air pollution.The report also found that from 2020 to 2022 the nation experienced more days with air quality that would be classified by the association as hazardous than at any other time over the past quarter century.While acknowledging the efficacy of a series of clean-air measures that have been enacted over the past 50 years, officials with the association said that the report also underscored how the warming planet continues to worsen levels of unhealthy air.

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Joe shares rare archival footage of the 2008 Basin Complex fire that burned most of the Big Sur wilderness. We see Ventana Wildlife Society biologists climb a burned redwood tree to save baby condor, Phoenix. Later, we meet Iniko, who captured the world’s heart during the Dolan Fire in 2020. We learn the stories of the condors and their incredible resiliency in the face of huge adversity. Kelly Sorenson shares his vision for the future.

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The world is a paradise but more and more natural and manmade disasters happen. A German professor and his students invent a tiny but ingenious bag to clean polluted water after environmental catastrophes without chemicals and electricity to save people's life.

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Rebel Bells is about an all-girls radical collective located in the Calumet region connecting southeast side Chicago, Illinois and East Chicago in northwest Indiana. The Calumet region is an economically precarious, environmentally-polluted industrial corridor in the U.S. Midwest. The Rebel Bells was started in 2016 by three mothers who are leaders in the environmental justice movements in their respective communities. The goal of the Rebel Bells collective is to teach young girls about social justice and community activism in an empowered and safe environment.

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Most UK dairy farms ignoring pollution rules as manure spews into rivers

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Most UK dairy farms ignoring pollution rules as manure spews into rivers

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Costa Rica’s River Fence Prevents Ocean Plastic Pollution

Toxic gas adds to a long history of pollution in southwest Memphis

UN plastics treaty inches closer to reality as lobbyists tout plastics’ ‘massive societal benefits’

Developed countries accused of bowing to lobbyists at plastic pollution talks

1 in 3 Americans Live in Areas With Dangerous Air Pollution

Suggested Viewing

A River Reborn

This Mortal Plastik

Giants of Big Sur: California Condor Stories Part 3: Born During Troubled Times

Waterbackpack PAUL

Rebel Bells

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