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Combining Policies to Reduce Agricultural Runoff in Delaware
Colin Brownlee
Noxontown Pond is a small part of Delaware’s rich history. In 1730, Thomas Noxon damned the head of the Appoquinimink to form Noxontown and build his mill. The small village of Noxontown was once used as the headquarters for Caesar Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Yet, in recent decades Noxontown pond has struggled. An EPA study from the 1970’s quotes the pond’s trouble with high nutrient levels. Large algae blooms have become regular in the summers and have diminished fish populations. As the First State, Delaware has been a leader since the founding of this country and should now take on a responsibility as a new type of leader.
Image Citation:
Image from Google Earth Pro
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Astoria is tired of nickname: "Asthma Alley"and Is calling for Clean Electricity
Sajju Chalise
As summer arrives every year, the most awaited day, the 4th of July brings friends and families together to either parks or backyards for a barbeque cook-off. Besides inhaling the juicy smell of BBQ as it is being prepared, the residents of Astoria in Queens, New York, also inhale polluted air released from an oil burning power station, nearby. According to HuffPost, Ravenswood Generating Station and The Astoria Generating Station located in northwestern Queens provides nearly half the city’s electricity by burning number 6 fuel oil, which is considered one of the most polluting energy sources in the world. The city council passed a law in 2015 that requires the power stations in the city to eliminate number 6 and number 4 fuel oils by 2020 and 2030, respectively, due to the serious health risks associated with these oils.
Image Citation:
"Eastern Power Generation Company." Eastern Power Generating Company, Astoria Comments, www.easterngeneration.com/portfolio/astoria/nggallery/image/portfolio_astoria_pic_revised-jpg
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In Situ Leach Mining as an Alternative to Open Pit
Nicole Cornell
Of all of the water in the world, only about 2.5% of it is freshwater that we can drink. Of that 2.5%, only 1% is available for us as the rest is frozen in glaciers, deep underground, etc. That 1% is 0.007% of the world’s total amount of water. Rising global temperatures due to climate change are melting glaciers which is just one of the events leading to a reduction in the freshwater we have available to us. We need to do what we can now to preserve what little freshwater we have for future generations. Open pit mining is destroying this water.
Image Citation:
Stierle, Donald. “Berkeley Pit.” Failure, Jason Zasky, Failure Magazine, December 4th, 2011, http://failuremag.com/article/the-berkeley-pit
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The Political Struggle Surrounding Nuclear Power
Kelci Gilot
Nuclear power plants are seen as an effective alternative to fossil fuels as they are more reliable than other alternative energies and cheaper to keep running. Countries like France and Sweden have already taken the leap to decarbonize by primarily using nuclear power. More often countries remain like the United States, weary of the implementation of an energy source that has the potential to bring catastrophic damage. They have not forgotten the accidents at Fukushima or Chernobyl. While governments may be more forgiving as they see the economic benefits that come with the risk, the opinion of the public is one that is harder to sway.
Image Citation:
“Yucca Mountain Archival Documents From the Former Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management,” United States Department of Energy. Accessed June 6, 2019. https://www.energy.gov/yucca-mountain-archival-documents
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Lead in Philadelphia’s Soils
Molly Goodman
Philadelphia has a long history of being a major player in the industrial revolution, particularly in the manufacturing of lead paint and varnishes. Philadelphia was home to manufacturers like ‘Philadelphia Lead Works,’ and the ‘National Lead Company.’ At one time, Philadelphia had 36 active lead smelters, almost twice more than any other industrial city, consequently causing higher lead concentrations than Flint, Michigan.
Image Citation:
Philadelphia Inquirer, https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-schoolslead- poisoning-children-reform-soil-asbestos-mold-cancer-fishtown-construction- 20181227.html
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Must the Dredging of Wells Harbor Continue?
Griffin Lamp
For the past 50 years Wells, Maine has had a busy seaport open to both commercial and residential fishermen. Maintaining this port has proven to be a rather arduous task, as the area must be routinely dredged to sustain a safe depth within the harbor for vessel travel. This maintenance is needed because the harbor is a natural marsh and was dredged into a harbor unnaturally over the years to provide safe-haven for seafaring vessels. Intermittently, due to the relatively flat underwater landscape and proximity to the coast, storm waters and high tides fill in the harbor with sediment and lead to low depths unsafe for travel. This means that dredging must be conducted every few years to remove the dregs and return the harbor to a safe depth. The process of dredging causes massive amounts of sediment to become suspended in the harbor waters, leading to unsightly murky seawaters, and increases bacteria counts within the area.
Image Citation:
https://marinas.com/view/harbor/eet5l_Wells_Harbor_Wells_ME_United_States
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Egregious Corporate Pollution – DuPont: Decades of Shocking Malpractice
William Martin
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas echoed the sentiment “Corporations were now armed with constitutional prerogatives” following the ruling of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. setting the precedent that under 14th Amendment, corporations are legal entities akin to that of a human being. Incapable of bleeding, breathing, or dying, the ruling of the case should not have granted corporations such rights. The big problem now, I’d say, is how the corporation’s concentration of power has exceeded the granted rights given to humans. We now ask our self: is it ‘just’ that companies are human? Plato described ‘justice’ as a sense of social consciousness that internally leads to a harmonious society. Unfortunately, such notion is a farce when looking at the current state of private firms in America.
Image Citation:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/26/9- us-residents-sue-dupont-co-over-cancer/3252015/
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Get Crackin’: True Cost of Almonds in Drought Stricken California
Tyler Thomas Mar
California’s top ambassador is a little brown nut often salted and packed in a vacuum-sealed can. Almonds are widely consumed around the world from confectionary goods to being served atop salads. Eat an almond and more likely than not it came from California. The Golden State produces over 80% of the world’s almond supply. Growing demand for the nutritious nut coincides with a series of intensifying droughts afflicting the state and disrupting the state’s water supply. Almonds have come under scrutiny as questions arise over whether using such a limited resource to grow a cash crop is worth the damage sustained by the environment and the toll its inflicted on public health.
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Op-Ed: Long Island Sound Degradation
Isabelle Riker
Fishing is a 2 billion dollar industry in the region surrounding the Long Island Sound. It is a pivotal part of the economy, and it is major source of income for people living in this region. However, because of the effects of climate change, this ocean-centric way of life is threatened. The health of the global oceans are rapidly declining, and the Long Island Sound, located in the Northeast, is degrading at one of the fastest rates in the world.
Image Citation:
Thorpe, Alida. “Jenna Lynn II.” Island Vision Photography, Stonington CT, 2019, www.alidathorpe.com/Portfolio/Nautical/i-F9s2kBj
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The PFOA Crisis in Hoosick Falls, NY
Grace Snyder
Would you drink water that’s poisoned? This sounds like a silly question of course, but to the residents of Hoosick Falls, NY not so much. After the death of Michael Hickey's father, he knew something was wrong in the small rural town. His father died of kidney cancer, which was unusual, as he was a healthy 68 year old man who did not drink or smoke. His dad’s death was among the many unexpected cancer related deaths in the town. After doing a simple google search, Hickey discovered a relationship between a chemical called PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and kidney cancer. Hickey’s father worked in a local factory called Saint Gobain (originally owned by Honeywell), where he produced Teflon products. One of the main chemicals in teflon happened to be PFOA. A coincidence? Hickey didn’t think so. After deciding to test his own water along with his father’s, the results confirmed his theory. All of the water he tested had PFOA levels well above the EPA’s recommended 400 ppt. To make matters worse, Hickey’s father’s house was on the same street as the Saint Gobain factory.
Image Citation:
Lyons, Brendan J. “Top Stories 2016: PFOA Water Pollution in Hoosick Falls.” Times Union, Times Union, 30 Dec. 2016, www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/Top- Stories-2016-PFOA-water-pollution-in-Hoosick-10825849.php