WHAT'S WRONG WITH...?


People
The world's population remained relatively steady until the beginning of the 19th century. Since that time it has multiplied fivefold to over 5 billion, and grows at a rate of 92 million people a year. 83% of the world's income goes to 23°/o of its people. 140 plant and animal species become extinct every hour of every day. The population explosion is exacerbating all of the environmental ills perpetrated by the developed world by providing an ever-increasing number of Third World "victims" of its expansive, consumptive policies.

Global Warming
Six of the seven warmest years on record have occurred since1980. Few scientists dispute the theory that we are now facing a global temperature rise of three to eight degrees over the next century. This is a more extreme temperature change than our planet has seen for 10,000 to 15,000 years. A shift of even three degrees in such a short span of time will upset the balance of nature that all human civilization has been built on, reminding us that environmental issues are issues of human survival, not the planet's. Among the many predicted repercussions of global warming, the following:
•The polar ice caps will melt and cause a rise in sea level that will effectively submerge much of our existing shorelines, creating a new type of ecological refugee: those people who have literally lost their countries under water.
• Desertification will continue to expand, raising the threat of global famine. • Erratic weather patterns and "super-storms" wilt become increasingly common.
• Plant and tree species will be unable to move north fast enough and vegetation extinction will increase.
• In Northern America, species migration patterns will change radically and upset ecological balance between plants and animals.

Chlorinated Compounds
Chlorine is one of the 103 basic elements. Chlorinated compounds are organic chemicals produced by the petrochemical industry by adding chlorine atoms to other molecules, often hydrocarbons. Chlorinated compounds (like CFCs) are therefore entirely synthetic. These compounds are not found in nature and so can not be broken down by microorganisms. As a result, these compounds persist in the environment indefinitely, and are very destructive to natural systems.
•Chlorinated compounds are used as insecticides and herbicides. (DDT, which was banned in the U.S. in 1971, is still sold by U.S. companies to the Third World under other names)
• Chlorinated compounds are used in domestic products like typewriter correcting fluid and fire extinguishers. They are used as grease and stain removers by dry cleaning businesses and the microchip manufacturing industry.
• Chlorinated compounds are found in plastics/and during incineration produce dioxins, one of the most toxic substances known to man.

CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons)
CFCs are gases that have been used since the 30's as a coolant in refrigerators and air conditioners, and more recently as a propellant in aerosol cans and as a blowing agent for foam plastics in the manufacture of fast food containers, dashboards and insulation.
• CFCs take at least 100 years to break down once they are released in the lower atmosphere, so that even if we were to stop releasing them today, they would remain in the air for generations to come.
• CFCs in the lower atmosphere are "greenhouse gases," in that they allow solar radiation to pass through them to the earth, but keep the earth's radiation from escaping, thus contributing to global warming.
• CFCs are ozone depleting when they reach the upper atmosphere. They are broken down into chlorine molecules by the ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Each chlorine molecule can destroy up to 100,000 ozone molecules, destroying our shield from the sun.

Electricity Waste (C02)
Currently, all electricity produced in this country has an environmental toll. Most of our electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels, which produces C02, or carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by trees and plants. Coal and oil are fossilized plants and so, when they are burned, they release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. C02, CFCs and methane are the primary greenhouse gases which are trapping the earth's heat and warming the globe. (The other greenhouse gases are: nitrous oxide and tropospheric ozone
• Nuclear power is an unsatisfactory solution not only because of the threat of disasters like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, but because the waste generated while doing business as usual can not be safely discarded: A single plant produces about 30 tons of radioactive waste annually. In '1990 the world's 413 operating nuclear power plants, while producing 5% of the world's-energy, created a byproduct of 9,500 tons of irradiated fuel, bringing the total accumulation of nuclear waste since 1942 to 84,000 tons. This figure will expand to 450,000 tons by the middle of the next century. (The U.S. contributes one quarter of this figure)
• Currently, most waste is stored in buildings or dumped in drums into the ocean, pending further developments.
• These byproducts have on average a life span of a quarter of a million years, 12,000 human generations.

Paper Waste
Most paper is made from virgin timber. When we cut down our forests, we displace wildlife and destroy whole ecosystems. Most reforestation programs establish a single species, or monoculture, of fast-growing trees that do not provide the biological diversity of a forest. These monocultures are susceptible to disease and dependent on chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
• Trees play a major role in averting global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air.
• The white we have grown to think of as sanitary is actually the result of a highly toxic process. The bleaching of paper, as well as coffee filters, toilet tissue, and sanitary napkins, produces dioxins, one of the most toxic substances in existence.

Plastic
• Plastic is not biodegradable. Plastic lasts for 200-400 years in landfills and the environment. Biodegradable plastic only degrades into smaller "dust" where it is ingested by bacteria and pollutes the food chain.
• Plastic is a petroleum product. It is made from oil, which is a nonrenewable resource. Oil is dangerous to transport, and our dependence on oil has lead America into volatile political alliances with foreign governments.
• Plastic produces hazardous waste when it is manufactured and again when it is incinerated.
• Currently, plastic is not recycled to its own level again. Plastic bottles are not recycled back into bottles; they are recycled into benches, flowerpots, carpet backing, etc. Advances in this technology are being made (pgs. 44-45), and it is likely bottles will be recycled into bottles in the future.
• There are seven categories of plastic, each having different properties and requiring different recycling procedures. To date only two types of plastic are regularly recycled: type 1 and type 2. Even then, most recycling plants want materials by the ton, and with the lightweight of plastic this requires the amassing of an enormous volume of material, making storage a problem at most recycling centers (The recycling symbol can be found at or near the bottom of the container).
1. PET (polyethylene terphthalate) Usually Clear: used for soda and seltzer bottles; also microwave trays and boil-in-the-bag pouches.
2. HDP (high-density polyethylene) Solid colored; includes soap, bleach and detergent bottles, aspirin bottles and trash bags. Also opaque; used for cider, water and milk.
3. V (vinyl) Clear; used for cooking oil containers and packaging around meat. Blue tint; for some water bottles.
4. LDPE (low-density polyethylene) Clear: used for food wrap, grocery store vegetable bags.
5. PP (polypropylene) Solid; includes yogurt containers, shampoo bottles, straws, syrup bottles, margarine tubs.
6. PS (polystyrene) Better known as styrofoam. Hot containers, clamshell containers, egg cartons and meat trays.
7. Other; all other materials.

Soaps
Supermarket brand-name cleaning products contain highly toxic chemicals that pollute our lakes and oceans when they are washed down the drain. Few sewage systems are equipped to process these toxins, and-so, as we wash and clean our clothes, dishes, toilet bowls, cars and homes, we are dumping a bizarre array of poisons into our water supply. It is estimated that 25% of all toxic waste in the U.S. originates in the home.
• Detergents are made from petroleum, a nonrenewable which is toxic and does not biodegrade quickly.
• Phosphates are added to synthetic detergents to improve cleaning power. In nature, phosphates are a nutrient for plant life, but when large quantities are dumped into our waterways, algae growth is stimulated. Algae absorb oxygen and suffocate marine life. Chlorine bleach produces toxic and carcinogenic compounds when it breaks down in the water supply.
• Other additives such as enzymes and whiteners do not break down efficiently and end up collecting in the fatty tissues of fish and marine mammals.

Batteries
Non-alkaline batteries, the most common type, contain mercury,' which is released into the environment when the batteries are discarded, either by seeping into the water supply under a landfill, or by incineration. Mercury in any amount is toxic, causing brain and kidney disease.
• All batteries contain other heavy metals such as zinc, silver, lead, lithium, manganese, which are polluting to the environment. .
• Batteries consume up to 50% of the energy they put out just to be manufactured.

Meat
In the 20th century, meat has arisen as one of the most environmentally destructive products of modern life. Without the government, subsidies (tend, water, oil, grain) which support the beef industry, a pound of hamburger would cost $35. While it has taken the environmental movement decades to approach this controversial subject head-on; its severity has finally caught the attention of several organizations, which now recommend eating "lower on the food chain."
• Since1960, 25% of the Brazilian Rainforests has been cleared to produce beef for fast food restaurant chains in the U.S., displacing thousands of natives and encouraging the drug trade among farmers looking for cash crops.
• 55 square feet of Brazilian Rainforest are razed to produce a single pound of hamburger.
• Desertification around the world is the result of cattle grazing.
• Cattle consume 90% of the grain and soybeans grown in the U.S., food which could be fed directly to human beings.
• The cattle industry uses 90% of all the energy expended on agriculture in the U.S.
• 50% of all the water used in the U.S. is related to beef production.
•The extensive use of drugs to counteract the disease and stress of livestock rearing results in the contamination of the meat and dairy produced. In particular, the presence of antibiotics in animal products has reduced the effectiveness of these life saving drugs in human medical application.
• U.S. livestock produce 230,000 pounds of excrement per second, which contaminates waterways and air.
• 100,000 cows, chickens and pigs are slaughtered every day in the U.S. alone.

Modern Farm Practices
After World War II, there was a chemical revolution in farming. Chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have been employed by farmers in increasing quantities over the last 40 years to promote growth and protect their crops. But the miraculous benefits of chemical farming allowed many traditional farming methods to be overlooked, and recently, the ramifications, of this extraordinary innovation have begun to appear.
• Since 1945, over 450,000 tons of pesticides have been deposited on U.S. crops each year.
• The chemicals seep into the groundwater and concentrate in the fatty tissues of higher animals, contaminating food animals and wildlife and eventually humans. 99% of American women tested have some amount of DDT in their breast milk.
• Pesticides and fertilizers are dispersed in a mixture with water, causing excessive moisture in the soil, which weakens our topsoil by promoting erosion, and depletes the nutritional value of the plants.
• New strains of pesticide-resistant pests develop over their relatively brief generations, causing farmers to have to up the doses of chemicals. Crop loss to pests in the 90s is at about 30%, the same as it was in 1945 when chemical farming became the norm.
• Chemical farming has replaced many centuries-old agricultural methods that promoted nature's balance. For centuries, crops were planted so that the species of insect and plant life would cohabitate and predatory insects and birds would interact and keeps their numbers at bay.
• Other traditions such as crop rotation, which allowed the soil to replenish itself during alternating seasons, have been abandoned because the chemical fertilizers have artificially enriched the soil. As a result, we are losing our topsoil to mismanagement at a rate of 6 inches per year.
• The cost of running farms which depend on chemical and high technology is astronomical. It is driving more and more "family farmers" out of business each year, and agriculture is bought up by large corporations whose only relationship to the land is through its dollar value.

Animal Testing
The subject of animal rights is a very volatile one. Many environmental organizations have traditionally left this issue out of their agendas for fear of losing constituents by taking a stand on meat eating, hunting, fishing, and questions of human safety and medical progress. But in reexamining our relationship to the planet, the issue of our treatment of animals must in fact be addressed. One thing must be recognized in any discussion of animal rights: Those who are gaining financially, professionally or even recreationally from the exploitation of animals are going to defend their practices staunchly. Animals on the other hand, do not live by our rules, and will never be able to defend themselves on our terms.
• Everyone must decide for themselves if they believe it is morally acceptable to use other species for our own ends. There are philosophical and practical discussions of these questions in a number of important books.
• Animal testing, for cosmetics and cleaning products is largely a legal device to protect companies from suits filed against them by consumers suffering from adverse effects caused by the products.
• It should not be accepted at face value that animal experimentation in the medical field leads invariably to human betterment. These are claims made mostly by the scientists who are funded to conduct the experiments.
• There are cases of drugs proved safe through animal experimentation that have been disastrous to human health (Thalidomide.) The final "guinea pig" is the human patient.
• Many animal experiments have been repeated over and over during the past decades, by students in universities writing dissertations. Still other experiments are conducted to demonstrate and sell products. (U.S. Surgical Corporation continues to demonstrate its surgical stapler on live dogs)
• While animal rights groups and scientists continue the debate over the benefits of animal experiments throughout history, the real issues now are experimentation in the future. With the advent of computers and "in-vitro" (in-the-test-tube) research, the majority of animal research can legitimately be phased out.
• The $4 billion animal experimentation industry (breeders, suppliers, researchers, etc.) continues to lobby against reform.

Garbage
Americans dispose of about 180 million tons of garbage each year, about four pounds per person every day. Garbage is either dumped h a landfill or incinerated. Both of these methods pose problems.
• Incineration releases toxins into the air: sulfur and nitrous oxides, hydrochloric acid, heavy metals, and dioxins.
• Even after burning, the ash ends up in landfills.
• Garbage in landfills rarely, if ever, biodegrades. Even yard waste, which comprises 17.6% of landfills, does not biodegrade. The natural combination of sun, moisture and microorganisms does not have the opportunity to perform its regular functions.
• Half the landfills in the U.S. are predicted to be closed by the year 2000, either because they have reached capacity or are reaching toxins into the soil.
• Landfills pose a threat because toxins leach into the soil and enter local water sources.
• What's in a landfill?

40.0% Paper (71.8 million tons)
17.6% Yard waste (31.6 million tons
8.5% Metals (15.3 million tons)
8.0% Plastics (14.4 million tons)
7.4% Food waste (13.2 million tons)
7.0% Glass (12.5 million tons)
11.5% Other (20.8 million tons)