In the movie “A Civil Action”, the environmental problem was that trichloroethylene and silicone was placed into the water in the town of Woburn. It happened through a tanning company pouring chemicals on the hides of animals and it seeping out. The company also placed a lot of barrels with the dangerous chemicals into the ground and it seeped out into the wells of the town. The damage it caused to the environment and to the people was a huge amount. It poisoned the town and children were killed because of it. The chemicals caused the children to get Leukemia and they died. The people blamed the companies Beatrice Foods and W. R. Grace & Co for neglecting proper cleaning habits.…
Suppose you live in a new suburban community that combines all the amenities and benefits of a tight-knit small community with the benefits of living close to the big city. Some years pass, and several children and adults in the community start developing extensive and similar illnesses. You think this is clearly not a case of genetics, and you become suspicious that something has gone wrong in the development planning and execution of your community. You start researching possible causes for the illnesses plaguing the community and, upon further investigation, find out that a company’s unsafe chemical-disposal practices may be to blame for the calamity. You decide to notify your community of your findings so that everyone can unite in a fight for justice.…
“The EPA estimates that, of the 100 billion tons of hazardous waste produced each year in the United States, 90 percent is disposed of in an environmentally unsafe manner” (Rosoff, and Pontell, 2014). This statistic is staggering. Only 10 billion tons of waste are disposed of properly every year in the US. The Love Canal scandal is a prime example of a company producing toxic waste and disposing of it in an unsafe manner. This paper will give an overview of the Love Canal scandal, the cost, and the governments’ response.…
Nuclear waste is a radioactive waste that is dangerous, and a fair percentage of people would agree on this topic. However, is it really dangerous or is it just harmful to an extent? In society, many debates are held over trying to prove to the world that this substance is harmful. In the essay, “Nuclear Waste,” Muller states clearly that he sides with the anti-nuke of the debate and how he pinpoints the facts of nuclear waste with great persuasion. Yet, it is uncertain whether Muller clearly has a good argument and/or answers the questions that many people linger to know.…
In one of his lectures “Nuclear Waste” Richard A. Muller, discussing the nuclear waste problem, scientists’ attempts to find the solution, and the public’s fear around it, gives the audience his personal evaluation. He makes a point that since the nuclear waste is here, we have to store it and storing at Yucca Mountain is not the worst option, because the dangers of storing it there is smaller than the dangers of not doing so. This lecture makes me recall the tragic event in my country when one of the nuclear reactors exploded at Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986. The consequences of this accident were and still are terrible for people and the environment in Ukraine and in surrounding countries. Furthermore, recent consequences of earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan at Fukushima nuclear plant increase the importance of the scientific debate against nuclear power, and force people around the world to come out against the nuclear power. People using nuclear power cannot control the whole process of its generation, as well as they do not know what to do with nuclear waste. Since we have nuclear waste, we are facing the necessity of disposing it. Muller notes that storing nuclear waste will not seem such unacceptable if we evaluate the danger of waste storage in comparison with two other dangers: the danger of the uranium originally mined, and the danger of the natural uranium left in the soil. The point is that we cannot guarantee the absolute security, but even the nature cannot; and the possible waste leakage is not a kind of danger that cannot be minimized.…
The article “Food waste: Is America throwing away food too soon?” by Sean Rossman brought light to an epidemic we face in our country today, food waste. I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement while reading, as everything the author discussed was accurate. This got me thinking, and I came to the realization that my family is a part of the problem and were oblivious to it. We throw away food all the time and don’t see anything wrong with it. However, my point of view on the situation changed, and I learned to show more gratitude toward food. As someone who is living in poverty and barely getting by, I am fortunate enough to never go without a meal. And hearing that this food being thrown away could feed less fortunate people was a wakeup…
Within a production line the products that are being made will at some point be using something which is harmful to the environment. In countries like the US and most developed countries in Europe (EU) have laws set down on the disposal of harmful chemicals and pollution you are able to find more information about the pollution laws in the EU through this website http://www.environmental-innovations.biz/european-pollution-laws-and-environmental-regulations/ this website lists the law which companies and citizens of the EU have to follow to assure that they are causing minimal damage to the environment around them.…
Thompson, Cheryl A. “Return-and-Disposal Programs Commence at Health Systems.” American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (2002): 1248, 1254. Web. 15 June 2007.…
The Community Food Assessment Project was designed by the Faculty of Land and Food System in the University of British Columbia. The general focus of this project series is to address food related issues in different communities within British Columbia; therefore, more research and actions can be taken to improve these concerns. For the Agriculture Sciences 350 course in UBC, students take part in the project to help investigate various areas and research on plausible actions to polish the communities. One of the current conditions in the focused community, the City of Vancouver, is the overwhelming amount of food waste being sent to landfill. If the food waste were composted instead, not only does it reduce the space quantity waste going to the landfill, the organic matters are also reused. This paper discusses food waste management in the City of Vancouver and determines the most feasible method to handle the food waste rather than contributing more to the landfills. By interviewing professionals in the industry that have an extensive knowledge in the field and obtaining information from internet sources and books, a few possible methods were found, such as: composting, animal feed, anaerobic digestion and Gore Cover. The advantages and disadvantages of each method were then compared, by using indicators such as cost, efficiency and end products. The comparison presented the most feasible method for the food waste management not only because of the relative lower cost, sufficient efficiency and harmless end products, but also due to the possible improvement of the sustainability component within the community. The final conclusion drawn from this project is to use the Gore Cover technology to manage food waste in the City of Vancouver.…
Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations. In the most common usage, it refers to the municipal wastewater that contains a broad spectrum of contaminants resulting from the mixing of wastewaters from different sources.…
Remember what our grandmas always used to tell us: Do not waste food; think of all the hungry children in Africa.…
Asking the interviewees had wasted food the day before, 40% of the interviewees said ‘Yes’. Among these interviewees, 75% of them replied only 0-10% of food had been wasted while 11-20% of food had been wasted by the rest and no one wasted more. More than half of them said the reason why they wasted food was due to the excess amount of food whereas 2 of them thought the food was disgusting. (Refer to appendix 4 for the analysis)…
Fresh vegetables, ready-to-cook meals, and cheap meat is what a modern consumer’s supposed grocery list comprises of! Dump it all into your fridge full of deals, discount offers and feel happy. This is how the shop keeper gets a loyal customer. At the end o the story, it’s the food industry’s creed that the customer is always right…..…
According to the Department of Health (DOH) Health Care Management Manual, “The management of health care waste in the country is driven by concerns about adverse health and environmental effects, uncertainty regarding regulations, and the negative perceptions by waste handlers.” Improper disposal of such materials especially medicines which consist of different chemicals could contaminate our environment.…
Chemicals have been indispensable in the everyday lives of humans. Their uses have made life easier and better. However, their effects on the environment have been accumulating and can’t be ignored. The different hazards and biochemical effects of chemicals must be given proper attention and should be addressed appropriately.…