Tag: pollution
Plastics are polluting our waterways
January 26, 2017If you’ve seen The Graduate, you might remember the immortal words of Mr. McGuire to Benjamin Braddock: “There’s a great future in plastics.” In the 50 years since that movie’s debut, it’s become clear that those were wise words — at least from an investor’s point of view: Civilization has become addicted to plastic. And…
From deep underground to deep trouble
August 1, 2016Can you name the next big thing in the mining industry? A newfound vein of gold or silver, perhaps? Rare earths that are used in cell phones? Previously untapped supplies of coal? Nope. It’s water. In India and other countries all over the globe, people have given up traditional farming and instead are selling water…
Aye, robot: Tiny techno tools can remove heavy metals from water
May 26, 2016Imagine a scene that sounds like it’s straight out of “Star Trek”: a scientist releases thousands of tiny robots into a heavily contaminated water supply. Within an hour, the water’s almost clean. According to an article from Water Online, this story isn’t science fiction at all. Researchers from Singapore, Germany and Spain have created…
Beware of the blob!
May 12, 2016According to the Ohio EPA, a toxic blob of PCB-laced sediment in Lake Erie is creeping closer and closer to a drinking water supply that’s used by 11 million people. Where’s Steve McQueen when you need him? While this blob may not be from outer space, its origins are just as creepy: It’s leftover sludge…
Let wildlife off the hook — clean up your trash this fishing season
April 14, 2016Trout season opens statewide on Saturday, and thousands of anglers will descend on the waterways of the Lehigh Valley to try their luck and test their skill. Yet fishing season also brings with it an increase in pollution in and around our lakes, rivers and streams. Anglers often leave behind discarded fishing line, bait tins, bottles…
Fertilize lawns, gardens responsibly to keep your water supply clean
March 30, 2016Spring has sprung, which means many of us are itching to get outside and start working on helping Mother Nature turn things green again. One springtime ritual, however, regularly leads to green, polluted waterways: over-fertilization of lawns and gardens. As the Penn State Extension office points out, “Lawn fertilizer contains the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus,…
The land of 10,000 lakes — and a lot of pollutants, too
June 25, 2015Apparently not even the far reaches of Minnesota — known as “the land of 10,000 lakes” — can escape source water pollution. A story from Pollution Online states that scientists have found a host of drugs in 11 lakes and four rivers, even in remote areas. Among the drugs found were those used in certain X-rays,…
A tail of a water-testing method that relies on common scents
June 4, 2015There’s a new reason to love man’s best friend, and it’s pretty doggone awesome: A company is training rescued dogs to sniff out contamination in water. According to a story from Water Online, a Maine couple’s company — Environmental Canine Services — is the first company to use “scent-trained canines” to discover and track down…
Put those dirty butts where they belong
December 15, 2014Can you name the most common piece of litter found on roads, parking lots, storm drains and beaches? If you said cigarettes and cigarette butts, you just answered the $16 million question (that’s the high-end estimate of the cost for major cities and municipalities to clean them up). In 2010, the Ocean Conservancy says, more…
40 years of the Safe Drinking Water Act
August 10, 20142014 marks an important date for the water coming out of your tap: Four decades of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act was, quite literally, a watershed moment for public health and safety. It set federally mandated standards regarding the quality of…