Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 25 October 2021
Elaine Hanford
![Elaine Hanford]()
Elaine Hanford
Retired Professional Geologist & Environmental Scientist; Consultant & Freelance Technical Editor; Consultant Family History e-Search
Electronic waste in 2021 will outweigh the Great Wall of China – contains 1,000+ toxic substances
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24 of 80 Hippos sterilized so far in Columbia – imported by drug lord & had huge environmental impact
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Hoping for glimpse of zebras running wild in the Maryland suburbs
Finally, a big city in California will impose mandatory water reductions
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“20-acre prescribed burn” in California gets out of control – burned more than 150 acres & not contained & prompts evacuations
Lausanne, Switzerland, discovered much of soil is polluted with highly toxic dioxin compounds from old incinerator
Cases of coccidioidomycosis “Valley Fever” on the rise – seasonality – multifactorial – improved surveillance & diagnostic methods
Now illegal to sell or propagate Japanese barberry in Pennsylvania – was a popular landscape shrub
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Link between epilepsy and serious health problems during childbirth
Tallest mountain of garbage in India is 18 stories high despite many waste pickers scavenging
·????????https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/nightmare-indias-tallest-rubbish-mountain-231030808.html
Indonesian coal-fired power plant belches noxious fumes into the air
Reverse discrimination leads to firing of highly trained volunteers & guides at Art Institute of Chicago
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Gators are thriving in Louisiana – black market eliminated – controlled hunting
More Heavy Canadian Crude to be shipped by rail – expect further increase in number of bitumen trains
USEPA actions to increase reporting & limit pollution from PFAS forever chemicals
Urban wastes used as fertilizers contain higher amounts of PFAS chemicals than livestock manure
Supply chain fiasco not a new problem but developed over a number of years
$4.5B “blue hydrogen” complex planned for southeast Louisiana in Ascension Parish – hurricane country
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Koalas getting new vaccine against chlamydia – STD that is ravaging the species by infertility
The role of “junk DNA” in evolution
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Electric vehicles do pollute – battery packs posed to be one of biggest new sources of pollution
Factory farming and emergence of diseases
Bahsahwahbee – Sacred Water Valley – could become the next national monument
A reminder to insurers of geologic & seismic risks
Global environmental impacts of growing demand for food in China
·????????Paper:?https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00784-6
Global warming alarmists disappointed that expansion of solar & wind energy is too slow to be a solution
US population continues to move westward – but what about water from the Great Lakes?
Nevada DEP asking for public comment on proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine
New USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) efforts to reduce salmonella illness linked to poultry
California finally declares drought emergency throughout the entire state – monitoring agricultural water use with satellites
Transplantation of kidney from genetically-altered pig to brain-dead human – is that a good thing? As Malcolm said:?just because they could but did they ask whether they should?
Twin Metals copper mining project in Minnesota wilderness will undergo environmental review
Colorado River humpback chub removed status lowered from ‘endangered’ to ‘threatened’ in midst of drought & “unprecedented water shortage on the river”
If you build it, will Austinites ride it?
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Slide show:?Worst flood in history
Benton Harbor, Michigan, declares emergency because of high lead levels in tap water
FEMA National Flood Insurance rates rising (as they should) to better reflect flood risk
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Fossil fuels are not a thing of the past – largest producers will continue use and will double production of fossil fuels in 2030
·????????Key report findings:?https://productiongap.org/
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Surviving an earthquake on the periphery of Mexico City – one of the most disaster-prone urban areas
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Visualizing the extent of human impact on the surface of the Earth as population approaches 8 billion
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Cement (concrete) is the 3rd largest source of emitted CO2
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“Listen to the Landscape” – Audio postcards?
·????????https://www.ehn.org/listen-into-landscape-podcast-2651194331/the-allure-of-regenerative-agriculture
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New concept:?wind turbine wall can be scaled from 8x25 feet to generate local power
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Poaching has led to “rapid evolution” of tuskless African elephants – survival of the fittest
After 17 months work is set to begin on stabilizing Sanford Dam that failed in Michigan in May 2020
·????????https://www.abc12.com/2021/10/19/work-set-begin-stabilizing-sanford-dam-17-months-after-disaster/
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Estimated cost of $750M to raise 155-miles of some roads in Florida Keys to reduce flooding
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California proposes new oil drilling ban near neighborhoods – Governor wants 3,200 feet buffer of schools, hommes & hospitals
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PFAS forever chemicals contaminating soil, lakes, fish, and drinking water wells in Wisconsin – in some locales rates of thyroid disease & testicular cancer in young men are “off the charts”
International human rights panel to hear Navajo petition on US violation of tribal rights in clearing way for uranium mining in western New Mexico – a legacy of death, disease & environmental contamination including largest (94M gallons) radioactive spill in US history
Negotiations complicated by US refusal to accept responsibility for leaking dome of radioactive waste in the Marshall Islands – 3.1M cubic feet of radioactive waste is legacy of Cold War weapons testing
CORONAVIRUS
Coronavirus COVID-19 statistics by country (click on USA to get State statistics) & CDC tracker
·????????interactive map s:?https://geodacenter.github.io/covid/map.html
·????????CDC Weekly Tracker:?https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/
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Evidence mounts in support of lab leak origin of viral outbreak
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Art (i.e., the film “Contagion”) & predictions do not replicate real life
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Book Review:?What Really Happened in Wuhan – the "father of gain-of-function research"
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Call for antibody testing to assess individual & population immunity – want recovery accepted as evidence of immunity
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Estimated 43,000 false-negative test results from lab in UK
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More paranoia:?30-day stay-at-home order for students who get vaccinated – “hold-off” till summer
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Japan never had anything close to a lockdown – now seeing cases plummet
·????????https://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-becomes-suprise-overnight-covid-success-story-01634539090
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Economic consequences of the plandemic
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Fraudulent scams abounding – cost Americans an estimated $586M since beginning of 2020
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A futile new effort by WHO to find the origins of the virus
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Follow the money – “shift risk & maximize profits” – especially when the contracts are secret
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“Fauci's record on the coronavirus pandemic has been pretty abysmal, the story of an incompetent public health bureaucrat whose mistakes cost lives and whose mistruths have cost the scientific community much of its credibility.”
In Florida, all restrictions lifted as of September - rate of hospitalizations plummeted 75% & seven-day average death toll down more than 50%
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Vaccines have altered death rates – now lower in the elderly and higher in younger people
Some clear perspective on the value of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat patients with the virus
·????????Legal opinion:?https://ago.nebraska.gov/sites/ago.nebraska.gov/files/docs/opinions/21-017_0.pdf
NIH admission that funding for gain-of-function research funneled to Wuhan Lab – not all science is good
Booster vaccine given emergency use authorization – but the question remains:?is it needed?
·????????https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/10/21/why-the-fda-isnt-thrilled-about-modernas-covid-19/
Miller Fisher Syndrome – auto-immune nerve disorder – recognized as vaccine complication
Mis-management of the plandemic – Wuhan Lab was conducting taxpayer-supported gain of function research – stigmatizing those not vaccinated