Climate Deniers, Covidiots and Conspiracy Quacks Really Have Nothing to Fear
By FRANK CARINI
Those outraged by having to wear a mask or not being able to dine indoors during a pandemic fear a loss of their freedom to infect others. (YouTube video/The Telegraph)
While
the climate crisis burns out West, a public-health crisis made worse by
covidiots burns everywhere, and the country’s remaining embers of democracy are
snuffed out, don’t forgot that our bodies, drinking water, and the environment
are being poisoned by a class of nasty chemicals and ubiquitous plastic.
But
don’t fear, climate deniers, anti-maskers, conspiracy theorists, and
free-market apologists. Our elected officials, both locally and nationally,
aren’t up for addressing the many challenges burning out of control.
In D.C., they’re too busy appointing white, male judges who are frequently labeled “not qualified” by the American Bar Association to lifetime appointments.
In
Rhode Island, the speaker of the House is too busy bragging about a bill
he introduced that would allow restaurants to continue to sell alcohol with
takeout orders through the end of next year, while putting off difficult budget
decisions until after the election and keeping the General Assembly quarantined
as students return to school.
As
for those nasty chemicals that have been found in the drinking water of more
than 1,400 communities in 49 states, including southern New England’s three
states, the Environmental Protection Agency, despite 20-plus years of information,
still hasn’t issued an enforceable nationwide standard for PFAS.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, of which there are about 5,000, are chemicals manufactured to make nonstick cookware, stain-resistant clothing, and firefighting foams. They’ve been linked to cancer, impaired liver function, chronic intestinal inflammation, elevated blood pressure during pregnancy, thyroid disease, low birth weight, and cardiovascular disease.
One would think
society would be doing all it could to curb the use of substances called
“forever chemicals” because the chemical bonds that hold the compounds together
don’t break down easily.
Fortunately
for the American greedy, the bond between politicians and lobbyists is just as
strong. The over-influential American Chemistry Council won’t let the people we
elect address the dangers of PFAS, even as evidence continues to accumulate
about human and wildlife exposure.
A
new study by a University of Rhode Island
graduate student found high levels of PFAS in seabirds from offshore
Massachusetts and coastal Rhode Island and North Carolina.
Chief
among the findings was the discovery that one type of PFAS,
perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, which hasn’t been manufactured since the early
2000s, is the most dominant PFAS compound found in the birds, further
illustrating how these chemicals don’t breakdown in the environment and can
remain in animal tissue for years.
“Wildlife
is being inundated with PFAS,” said Anna Robuck, a doctoral student at the URI
Graduate School of Oceanography who has been studying PFAS with professor
Rainer Lohmann since 2016. “We don’t really understand what that means for
wildlife health overall, since scientists are just catching up with what PFAS
means for human health. What we do know is that we’re seeing significant
concentrations that laboratory studies tell us are concerning.”
Robuck measured the levels of PFAS in the livers of herring gulls from Narragansett Bay, great shearwaters in the offshore waters of Massachusetts Bay, and royal and sandwich terns from Cape Fear, N.C. All of the birds were juveniles found dead near their breeding or feeding grounds.
The three sites were chosen to
represent birds from an urban area where PFAS exposure is common (Narragansett
Bay), an offshore area of birds that seldom approach land (Massachusetts Bay),
and an area downstream of a major PFAS producer (Cape Fear).
Among
her findings, Robuck discovered that the North Carolina birds that hatched
downstream from a PFAS production site contained several novel PFAS compounds
that have been created in recent years to replace those that have been phased
out.
Of
particular note, Robuck also found that as PFAS levels increased in the birds,
the phospholipid levels in their liver decreased, a finding that is especially
concerning.
“That’s
a really big deal because fats are important for reproductive health,
migration, raising their young successfully, and other elements of their life
cycle,” she said.
The
selfish ties that bind politicians and industry powers aren’t limited to
downplaying the danger and perseverance of PFAS. Plastic, touted as the “miracle
material” of the modern world, has rapidly become one of the planet’s biggest
environmental problems. It’s everywhere, pouring out into the natural world at
a rate of 8 million tons a year, or one garbage truck full a minute.
Since
plastic production took off in 1950s, it skyrocketed to 448 million tons by
2015, and half of all plastics ever made have been produced in the past 15
years. The largest end-use market for plastics, accounting for just over 40
percent of total usage, is packaging — most of which is single use. Just 9
percent of all plastic has been recycled, while 12 percent has been
incinerated, and 79 percent has ended up in landfills or the natural
environment, according to a report published this month.
Spanning
15 countries and regions across five continents, the global investigation by
the Changing Markets Foundation reveals how —
behind a veil of voluntary initiatives and empty promises — the industry has
obstructed and undermined proven legislative solutions for decades.
Industry
tactics to distract, delay, and derail legislation to curb plastic pollution
are often aided by friendly government officials procured by vigorous lobbying.
In the United States, the study shows how the industry has successfully shifted
the blame and responsibility for plastic pollution from corporations to
consumers and public authorities, all while promoting recycling as a convenient
excuse to produce ever more plastic.
The
overwhelming amount of plastic being produced, however, is problematic on many
levels, from extraction and refining to consumption and disposal. It’s causing
pollution on land and in water, threatening marine ecosystems, generating toxic
emissions, and undermining human and environmental health.
But
at least the unmasked spewers of virus, hate, and lies don’t have to worry
about government overreach when it comes to addressing these man-made problems.
Frank
Carini is the ecoRI News editor.
