| ch_12.pdf |
Aral Sea
- 85 million dollar project funded by Kazakstan and the World Bank to dam the North Aral Sea
- Saved the northern part of the sea
- Increased health and living conditions for one million people in the region
- Making improvements in farming practices and irrigation canals (reducing water withdrawal)
- Introducing more salt water tolerant, less demanding crops
- Putting fines into place for too much water usage
- Creating new opportunities for residents of the region to work in tourism and craft making
- Putting into place protection policies for the land and wildlife
- Governments promising at least 1% of their GDP to projects to help with Aral Sea recovery
- Saved the northern part of the sea
Chernobyl
At 1:24 a.m. on April 25, 1986, an explosion rocked the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the city of Kiev in what is now the country of Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Nuclear power plants put uranium into a nuclear reactor, where it gives off energy that can be transformed into electricity. This electricity is then distributed to human populations for all of the things that need electrical power. During the Chernobyl accident, a fire got out of control, and an explosion spewed a huge cloud of radioactive dust into the air.
This cloud then moved north to Sweden, south toward Central Europe, and east across Asia. Hardest hit was Belarus, where 70 percent of the radioactive dust fell and contaminated the soil and water. People in Belarus suffered a high rate of cancer because of eating and breathing the radiation every day. Also, radiation polluted the reindeer herds and fishing grounds of Lapland, killing large numbers of fish and reindeer. Many people in Lapland depend on reindeer and fishing for their living, so they suffered from the loss of income.
This cloud then moved north to Sweden, south toward Central Europe, and east across Asia. Hardest hit was Belarus, where 70 percent of the radioactive dust fell and contaminated the soil and water. People in Belarus suffered a high rate of cancer because of eating and breathing the radiation every day. Also, radiation polluted the reindeer herds and fishing grounds of Lapland, killing large numbers of fish and reindeer. Many people in Lapland depend on reindeer and fishing for their living, so they suffered from the loss of income.
Acid Rain in Colorado
Research is producing mounting evidence that airborne pollutants from the region's numerous smelters are contributing to increasing acidity in high mountain lakes and streams in the Rockies, are cutting visibility in some national parks and are perhaps adding to health and respiratory problems of people living downwind of the factories. In the West it most often comes from copper smelters such as those in New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico.
The region's political leaders fear that if uncontrolled Mexican sulfur dioxide emissions are added to those from United States sources, air quality in their states will drop below Federal requirements and thus bar new heavy industry in their states, in accordance with the Federal Clean Air Act.
Governors and members of Congress from Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona are therefore pressing Washington to negotiate more stringent pollution controls on a large and nearly completed Mexican plant due to begin production soon just south of the Arizona line and on a second Mexican plant nearby that is being expanded
The region's political leaders fear that if uncontrolled Mexican sulfur dioxide emissions are added to those from United States sources, air quality in their states will drop below Federal requirements and thus bar new heavy industry in their states, in accordance with the Federal Clean Air Act.
Governors and members of Congress from Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona are therefore pressing Washington to negotiate more stringent pollution controls on a large and nearly completed Mexican plant due to begin production soon just south of the Arizona line and on a second Mexican plant nearby that is being expanded
Animas River Spill
The 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill was an environmental disaster that began at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado,[2] when EPA personnel, along with workers for Environmental Restoration LLC (a Missouri company under EPA contract to mitigate pollutants from the closed mine), caused the release of toxic waste water into the Animas River watershed. They caused the accident while attempting to drain ponded water near the entrance of the mine on August 5.[3] The maintenance by the EPA was necessary because local jurisdictions had previously refused Superfund money to fully remediate the regions' derelict mines, due to a fear of lost tourism