Mercury Rising

“More than 16,000 pigs were recently found floating down the Huangpu River in tributaries just outside of Shanghai. The shocking discovery came just a few days before 1,000 dead ducks were found floating down the Nahne River in the Sichuan Province on [March 25^th]. Both incidents come in the wake of the first significant recognition of the country's water pollution problem by the Chinese government.” iDigitalTimes.com, March 26^th. On January 13^th, the Wall Street Journal reported on the industrial seepage of significant doses of carcinogens into a river connecting two northern Chinese provinces, sufficiently dangerous to require officials to require locals to stop using their tap water for a while. “China’s water sources are amongst the most polluted in the world. A World Bank study found that 13 of the 15 major cities (including Shanghai) along the 7 main water source rivers in China are affected by severely polluted water.” PureLivingChina.com. Ewwww!

And while those in the PRC who can afford bottled water clearly don’t drink the tap stuff, it is clear that some chemical pollutants are absorbed through the skin, making even showering toxic! The new Chinese administration has sent a strong signal that pollution issues will be high priorities in the coming years, but pressures for continued growth could easily undermine those intentions.

“The cost of environmental degradation in China was about $230 billion in 2010, or 3.5 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product — three times that in 2004, in local currency terms, an official Chinese news report [released at the end of March noted]. The statistic came from a study by the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, which is part of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.” New York Times, March 29^th. You have to feel for those impacted in the PRC… and in regions all over the world where such issues define daily life. But before we feel bad about “them,” let’s ask some serious questions about “us.”

I’ve already blogged about the mystery chemicals used in fracking, a process that uses lots of chemically enhanced water (with specific statutory exemptions from EPA rules and regulations), to force various fossil fuels (like natural gas and petroleum) to the surface. You’ve seen fire from water taps already and know that ground water has absorbed way too many of these effluents.

But what I’d like to focus on today is the quality of water in America’s rivers. “The Environmental Protection Agency sampled nearly 2,000 locations in 2008 and 2009 — from rivers as large as the Mississippi River to streams small enough for wading. The study found more than 55 percent of them in poor condition, 23 percent in fair shape, and 21 percent in good biological health.” Washington Post, March 26^th. The EPA’s report was issued on March 26^th and determined that more than half of our nation’s rivers and streams were “in poor biological health, unable to support healthy populations of aquatic insects and other creatures.” The Post.

40 percent of our waterways show significant phosphorus pollution, typical from runoff of fertilizers and detergents. As land is cleared, forests cut back and urbanization creeps in, runoff accelerates. “In 9 percent of rivers and streams, bacteria exceeded thresholds protective of human health. And mercury, which is toxic, was found in fish tissue along 13,000 miles of streams at levels exceeding health-based standards. Mercury occurs naturally but also can enter the environment from coal-burning power plants and from burning hazardous wastes.” The Post.

70 percent of the waterways in the eastern part of the United States (from New Jersey to Texas) suffer from excess pollution, while the mountain streams in the West are in the best shape. Only 26 percent of western waterways are in poor health. Bad air and bad water inevitably impact both our quality of life as well as our longevity. Businesses rail against regulation; containing and stopping pollution costs money and often reduces profits. How, argue business leaders, are American firms to compete with overseas manufacturers free from such regulatory burdens? Good argument, right? Are you willing to give up a few years of life to let them make a few more bucks?

I’m Peter Dekom, and if you pollute your own lands, exactly where do you and your children really want to live?