GreenWatch

B. McPherson Rio de Janeiro in Brazil will be hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics. They have the honour of being the first South American country to host them. The Games were awarded to Rio amid much hoopla and celebration. It is now likely that some of the Olympic Committee are having second thoughts. There is no debate about the stunning setting that Rio has with a combination of ocean, lagoons and mountains. Over six million people call it home. And many hold their nose while doing so. You can imagine the garbage and sewage that six million people produce daily. Now imagine the mess if two thirds of the people have no garbage pickup and two thirds of the sewage is not treated, but is allowed to drain into waterways and canals. It is not just those unfortunate to live in the slums that dump untreated sewage directly into nearby waterways. This weekend past, hundreds of people demonstrated their anger over a modern condominium block contributing to the city’s stench. Y...

Barbara McPherson When fracking approaches an old vertical well, blowouts can happen An environmental watchdog group, Environmental Integrity Project(EIP), has blown the whistle on frackers in Pennsylvania who have been pumping kerosene into their wells.  Much of the fracking liquid used in the petrochemical industry’s rock fracturing operations is unregulated in the USA. The Energy Policy Act 2005 makes most of the additives exempt from regulation except for diesel. Diesel and its products can be used if a permit is granted. EIP’s report Fracking Beyond the Law , alleges that using the companies’ own self-reported date that kerosene, derived from diesel, has been used in Pennsylvania operations. There have been no permits issued for its use. They go on to state that diesel has been used widely throughout the states to extract oil and gas. "Injecting diesel fuel into the ground to fracture shale and extract gas or oil is a potential threat to drinking water supplies...

China is an extreme example of water pollution. No water, no life B. McPherson Villagers in the central province of Shaanxi discovered that local officials secretly installed pipes to siphon off their clean well water, forcing them to purchase water of a lesser quality. A protester explained to RFA: He said the standoff was sparked when villagers discovered in early August that officials had secretly installed a pipeline to extract water from a well they rely on for drinking water, and villagers had cut it in protest. Radio Free Asia The protest and rally outside the local government offices was tame by Western standards. People converged on the space outside the offices holding banners, one of which read “Dismiss the Worthless Party Secretary”. However in the PRC even such mild objections to injustices can land a protester a lengthy jail sentence. Unconfirmed reports are that some of the villagers have been handed seven year sentences. Water is quickly becoming...

B. McPherson Gap brand clothing has been linked to the use of toxic chemicals in the manufacture of its clothing lines. This also includes their other lines Banana Republic and Old Navy. An Indonesian supplier PT Gistex has been found to be dumping toxic chemicals directly into the local drinking water supply. Despite being outed for its association with polluting manufacturers in China and Mexico, Gap Inc. has not signed on to the Detox campaign that Greenpeace has spearheaded. Clothing lines that have joined the Detox campaign are Zara, Uniglo, Levi’s and Mango. “Investigations into Gap branded clothing also revealed that 78% of the items tested contained traces of nonylphenol ethoxylate – a hazardous chemical that breaks down to form an even more toxic and hormone-disrupting substance when released into rivers, lakes and seas.” Greenpeace The toxic substance nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE), found in much of the Gap Inc. clothes is extremely toxic to aquatic life....

B. McPherson These titans move tonnes of coal for shipment to Asia.   Open pit coal mines in the Elk River Valley of BC are slowly poisoning the river. Excessive amounts of selenium, nitrate and sulphate are leaching into the formerly pristine waters, poisoning the fauna. Teck Resources operates five open pit coal mines in the area. They admit they are having some difficulties with leachate and are working to improve the situation. In the meantime, these environmental toxins are accumulating in the river and in the bodies of animals there. Teck’s plan to reduce these pollutants will still have these unwanted chemicals exceed provincial water quality standards. An uptick in the frequency of spinal and eye deformities of the cutthroat trout has been observed by scientists. A study conducted by scientists at the University of Montana released troubling figures. “Dr. Hauer said the Elk River data is “pretty alarming,” because it points to a chronic pollution p...

By B. McPherson Fracking for natural gas in the fields outside of Innisfail, Alberta, has seen a spectacular result. A pumpjack in a farmer’s field suddenly started spewing a black liquid into the air. Fracking fluid, nitrogen and oil from the well were sprayed onto the field. Crews are attempting to clean up the mess. Chief Executive for the fracking company, Midway Energy, Scott Ratushny was quoted in the Calgary Herald: “ Approximately 50 cubic metres of oil, fracturing fluid, nitrogen and sand were spilled on the surface and have been recovered from the site, Ratushny said.”  "We have drilled over 40 wells in the Cardium in the region without any incidents," Ratushny said. "We've never seen this before." Calgary Herald Fracking has become a hot environmental issue as the pace of this technology has increased exponentially in the past few years. The search for natural gas – the clean fuel – has corporations fracturing rock formations with e...