#acidrain — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #acidrain, aggregated by home.social.
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Wildfire rain to affect Upper Peninsula agriculture and forests
UPPER PENINSULA, Mich. (WLUC) – Recent rains have mixed with wi…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Environment #AcidRain #ash #CanadianWildfire #carbonmonoxide #EPA #farm #farmer #Forrest #Garden #JamesDeDecker #msu #MSUExtension #MSUUpperPeninsulaResearchandExtensionCenter #Nitrogen #plant #pollutant #Science #smoke #tv6 #U.S.GeologicalSurvey #weather #Wildfire #wluc
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/770881/ -
Wildfire rain to affect Upper Peninsula agriculture and forests
UPPER PENINSULA, Mich. (WLUC) – Recent rains have mixed with wi…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Environment #AcidRain #ash #CanadianWildfire #carbonmonoxide #EPA #farm #farmer #Forrest #Garden #JamesDeDecker #msu #MSUExtension #MSUUpperPeninsulaResearchandExtensionCenter #Nitrogen #plant #pollutant #Science #smoke #tv6 #U.S.GeologicalSurvey #weather #Wildfire #wluc
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/770881/ -
So, the rain we've gotten in Southern #Maine seems pretty clear (not full of ashes), but it does not smell good. No #petrichlor . Maybe an undertone of stale smoke? Not pleasant... Also #AlkalineRain is a thing like #AcidRain. While it would seem to neutralize Acid Rain, it ends up having the opposite effect.
Can Smoke Particles Neutralize or Enhance Acid Rain?
Smoke can neutralize acid if it contains alkaline ash, but often provides surfaces that accelerate acid formation.
"Smoke particles are chemically complex and can either neutralize or enhance the acidity of rain depending on their composition. Some wildfire smoke contains alkaline ash, which can help neutralize acidic gases in the atmosphere, potentially making the resulting rain less corrosive.
"However, many smoke particles also contain #sulfur and #nitrogen compounds that act as precursors to acid formation. Furthermore, the large surface area of fine smoke particles provides a platform for acidic gases to condense and react, which can lead to more concentrated acidic deposition.
The net effect depends on the type of fuel burned and the age of the smoke plume as it moves through the atmosphere."
Wikipedia - Alkaline Precipitation
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So, the rain we've gotten in Southern #Maine seems pretty clear (not full of ashes), but it does not smell good. No #petrichlor . Maybe an undertone of stale smoke? Not pleasant... Also #AlkalineRain is a thing like #AcidRain. While it would seem to neutralize Acid Rain, it ends up having the opposite effect.
Can Smoke Particles Neutralize or Enhance Acid Rain?
Smoke can neutralize acid if it contains alkaline ash, but often provides surfaces that accelerate acid formation.
"Smoke particles are chemically complex and can either neutralize or enhance the acidity of rain depending on their composition. Some wildfire smoke contains alkaline ash, which can help neutralize acidic gases in the atmosphere, potentially making the resulting rain less corrosive.
"However, many smoke particles also contain #sulfur and #nitrogen compounds that act as precursors to acid formation. Furthermore, the large surface area of fine smoke particles provides a platform for acidic gases to condense and react, which can lead to more concentrated acidic deposition.
The net effect depends on the type of fuel burned and the age of the smoke plume as it moves through the atmosphere."
Wikipedia - Alkaline Precipitation
-
So, the rain we've gotten in Southern #Maine seems pretty clear (not full of ashes), but it does not smell good. No #petrichlor . Maybe an undertone of stale smoke? Not pleasant... Also #AlkalineRain is a thing like #AcidRain. While it would seem to neutralize Acid Rain, it ends up having the opposite effect.
Can Smoke Particles Neutralize or Enhance Acid Rain?
Smoke can neutralize acid if it contains alkaline ash, but often provides surfaces that accelerate acid formation.
"Smoke particles are chemically complex and can either neutralize or enhance the acidity of rain depending on their composition. Some wildfire smoke contains alkaline ash, which can help neutralize acidic gases in the atmosphere, potentially making the resulting rain less corrosive.
"However, many smoke particles also contain #sulfur and #nitrogen compounds that act as precursors to acid formation. Furthermore, the large surface area of fine smoke particles provides a platform for acidic gases to condense and react, which can lead to more concentrated acidic deposition.
The net effect depends on the type of fuel burned and the age of the smoke plume as it moves through the atmosphere."
Wikipedia - Alkaline Precipitation
-
So, the rain we've gotten in Southern #Maine seems pretty clear (not full of ashes), but it does not smell good. No #petrichlor . Maybe an undertone of stale smoke? Not pleasant... Also #AlkalineRain is a thing like #AcidRain. While it would seem to neutralize Acid Rain, it ends up having the opposite effect.
Can Smoke Particles Neutralize or Enhance Acid Rain?
Smoke can neutralize acid if it contains alkaline ash, but often provides surfaces that accelerate acid formation.
"Smoke particles are chemically complex and can either neutralize or enhance the acidity of rain depending on their composition. Some wildfire smoke contains alkaline ash, which can help neutralize acidic gases in the atmosphere, potentially making the resulting rain less corrosive.
"However, many smoke particles also contain #sulfur and #nitrogen compounds that act as precursors to acid formation. Furthermore, the large surface area of fine smoke particles provides a platform for acidic gases to condense and react, which can lead to more concentrated acidic deposition.
The net effect depends on the type of fuel burned and the age of the smoke plume as it moves through the atmosphere."
Wikipedia - Alkaline Precipitation
-
So, the rain we've gotten in Southern #Maine seems pretty clear (not full of ashes), but it does not smell good. No #petrichlor . Maybe an undertone of stale smoke? Not pleasant... Also #AlkalineRain is a thing like #AcidRain. While it would seem to neutralize Acid Rain, it ends up having the opposite effect.
Can Smoke Particles Neutralize or Enhance Acid Rain?
Smoke can neutralize acid if it contains alkaline ash, but often provides surfaces that accelerate acid formation.
"Smoke particles are chemically complex and can either neutralize or enhance the acidity of rain depending on their composition. Some wildfire smoke contains alkaline ash, which can help neutralize acidic gases in the atmosphere, potentially making the resulting rain less corrosive.
"However, many smoke particles also contain #sulfur and #nitrogen compounds that act as precursors to acid formation. Furthermore, the large surface area of fine smoke particles provides a platform for acidic gases to condense and react, which can lead to more concentrated acidic deposition.
The net effect depends on the type of fuel burned and the age of the smoke plume as it moves through the atmosphere."
Wikipedia - Alkaline Precipitation
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why don't you #hear about #acidrain anymore? (because we solved it) #HazelThayer #yt
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why don't you #hear about #acidrain anymore? (because we solved it) #HazelThayer #yt
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Don’t mourn, organize: Remembering Rafe Pomerance https://www.byteseu.com/2074291/ #AcidRain #Climate #ClimateChange #CoastAlliance #GlobalWarming #GreenhouseGasEmissions #LosingEarth #organizing #RafePomerance #UpperLimitProject
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https://www.europesays.com/iran/47158/ The Causes and Effects of Black Rain #AcidRain #BlackRain #Iran #Israel #OilFires #Tehran #WarInTheMiddleEast
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Veja a letra da música “Acid Rain” de Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.com.br/chance-the-rapper/letra/acid-rain.html -
The Destruction of Nature is a Cost of War
by Ci Davis
We have become accustomed to seeing the human impacts of war, from starvation in Sudan to the almost 100,000 killed in Gaza, but most people will be less familiar with the environmental impacts. On February 28th, another Middle East war broke out when the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran. In the first few hours, the Supreme Leader was killed, followed by the bombing of a school, killing 150 Iranian schoolgirls, and soon after, columns of smoke began to rise from targeted hits on petrochemical infrastructures.
Over the past three weeks, oil refineries, gas fields, tankers, nuclear facilities, desalination plants, oil storage tanks, air bases, and industrial areas have all been attacked. The water, marine and toxic-air pollution are a consequence of the smoke from the multiple infernos, from the widely dispersed toxic fragments, and from the many chemicals and heavy metals that escape into the soil and water, caused by thousands of bomb and missile strikes
The human and environmental costs of another war prompted two protests in Sheffield. On 21st March, 150 people demonstrated outside the Town Hall to call for an end to the war on Iran and also made connections with other current conflicts, including Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine and Cuba.
Our media tends to represent the environmental impacts of war as collateral damage, an unfortunate side effect, but really, they are a deliberate and targeted means of disrupting the lives of people by making their connection to land fragile or even untenable. No clearer example exists than the use of Agent Orange to defoliate the forests of Vietnam that left millions of Vietnamese and hundreds of thousands of US veterans with multigenerational health disorders and birth defects. Environmental harm is one of the ways that war impacts lives that can last many decades.
The environmental impacts of war cannot be separated from the environmental costs of the military machine itself, which is responsible for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, which rose by a staggering 9.4% in 2024. The US military is the largest institutional emitter of GHGs that are responsible for climate change, burning 270000 barrels of oil daily. Countries are not required to produce figures for the wartime emissions, but recently it is estimated that the war in Ukraine has produced 237 million tonnes of CO2, the Gaza conflict 32 million tonnes and in the first 5 days of the Iran war 5 million tonnes. At a time when all countries should be doing everything to reduce climate and environmental damage, the resort to war is escalating the harm.
Apocalyptic images, showing clouds of black toxic smoke blocking out the sun over Tehran, following the bombings of local oil depots on 7th March, are haunting. The oily residues, soot and sulphur-laden smoke, combined with a rare rainstorm, produced acid rain, causing immediate respiratory impacts with a lasting health legacy. For people who had already experienced chemical weapons attacks during the Iran-Iraq war, this environmental warfare was experienced as chemical warfare again.
Impact of War on the Environment Author: Sayedqudrathashimy1991 Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Middle East is experiencing the climate crisis through water insecurity. The conflict in Syria, which displaced 1.5 million people between 2007 and 2010, was in part precipitated by drought. There are clear parallels to Iran today. After six years of drought, the water supply to Tehran was at just 11% capacity, and the shortage of water to drink or to supply agriculture contributed to protests in January 2026. War is exploiting this suffering, with all parties having targeted water and sewerage systems that, if continued, threaten to displace people throughout the region, as well as causing severe health impacts.
Most of us will be familiar with the skeletons of buildings and mountains of debris from TV images of Gaza. The 61 million tonnes of rubble are laden with asbestos, unexploded weapons, dead bodies, and untreated sewerage that has rendered the land unfit for agriculture. The clearance will take decades and burn through hundreds of thousands more tonnes of fossil fuel, and we are seeing the same thing being repeated across Iran and the Gulf.
Years after wars end, the land, air and sea will remain contaminated. Thankfully, the deliberate targeting of the environment is becoming recognised in International Law as a war crime or ecocide and can be punished under the ICC’s Rome Statute. If it is demonstrated that the military intentionally launched an attack, knowing that it will cause long-term severe damage to the natural environment, that is excessive to the military advantage anticipated, then prosecutions may follow.
As the war drags on, it risks total destruction of the oil-fields, spillage of nuclear material, and depleted Uranium contamination. These huge environmental threats will have global impacts, experienced as economic shocks and agricultural losses, threatening food security. War demonstrates our intimate connection with the land and the importance of environmental protection.
Most people oppose the war, the use of UK bases in support of it, and sending the military to the Middle East. We should make our voices heard, calling upon world leaders to respond to our opposition and pull back from the brink, for the sake of people and the planet.
For more information on what you can do, contact: [email protected]
References
Gayle, D. (2025, May 31). What is ecocide and could it become a crime under international law? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/28/what-is-ecocide-and-could-it-become-a-under-international-law
Gayle, D. (2026, March 20). From black rain to marine pollution, the war in Iran is an environmental disaster. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/19/down-to-earth-iran-us-israeli-war-environmental-destruction
Holmes, O., Gayle, D., & Ahmedzade, T. (2026, March 23). Tehran’s toxic cloud: Satellite images show oily fires burned for days. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/23/tehran-toxic-cloud-satellite-image-oil-fires
Meadway, J. (2026, January 15). How ‘day zero’ water shortages in Iran are fuelling protests. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/how-day-zero-water-shortages-in-iran-are-fuelling-protests
Moneer, Z. (2026, March 22). Water Infrastructure Has Become a Target in Modern Warfare. Earth.Org. https://earth.org/from-lifeline-to-strategic-weapon-how-water-infrastructure-becomes-a-target-in-armed-conflicts/
Neimark, B., & Mackintosh, K. (2025, November 4). How wars ravage the environment – and what international law is doing about it. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AB.4yt3f6ys7
New data reveals the Military Emissions Gap is growing wider. (2025, November 6). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/new-data-reveals-the-military-emissions-gap-is-growing-wider/
Palmer, M. G. (2005). The legacy of agent orange: Empirical evidence from central Vietnam. Social Science & Medicine, 60(5), 1061–1070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.037
Photos: Dire water shortages pile misery on Gaza’s starving population. (n.d.). Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 March 2026, from https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/8/4/unprecedented-water-crisis-in-gaza-amid-israeli-induced-starvation
The US-Israel war on Iran and how war and conflict are destroying the environment. (2026, March 19). Greenpeace International. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/82201/iran-lebanon-war-environment-climate-impacts/
Three days of Operation Epic Fury: Rapid overview of environmental harm in Iran and the region. (2026, March 3). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/three-days-of-operation-epic-fury-rapid-overview-of-environmental-harm-in-iran-and-the-region/
#AcidRain #AgentOrange #ChemicalWeapons #Cuba #DepletedUranium #environment #Gaza #GreenhouseGas #Iran #Iraq #Lebanon #nuclear #Oil #sewage #SheffieldAntiWarCoalition #Sudan #Ukraine #Vietnam #War #Water -
The Destruction of Nature is a Cost of War
by Ci Davis
We have become accustomed to seeing the human impacts of war, from starvation in Sudan to the almost 100,000 killed in Gaza, but most people will be less familiar with the environmental impacts. On February 28th, another Middle East war broke out when the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran. In the first few hours, the Supreme Leader was killed, followed by the bombing of a school, killing 150 Iranian schoolgirls, and soon after, columns of smoke began to rise from targeted hits on petrochemical infrastructures.
Over the past three weeks, oil refineries, gas fields, tankers, nuclear facilities, desalination plants, oil storage tanks, air bases, and industrial areas have all been attacked. The water, marine and toxic-air pollution are a consequence of the smoke from the multiple infernos, from the widely dispersed toxic fragments, and from the many chemicals and heavy metals that escape into the soil and water, caused by thousands of bomb and missile strikes
The human and environmental costs of another war prompted two protests in Sheffield. On 21st March, 150 people demonstrated outside the Town Hall to call for an end to the war on Iran and also made connections with other current conflicts, including Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine and Cuba.
Our media tends to represent the environmental impacts of war as collateral damage, an unfortunate side effect, but really, they are a deliberate and targeted means of disrupting the lives of people by making their connection to land fragile or even untenable. No clearer example exists than the use of Agent Orange to defoliate the forests of Vietnam that left millions of Vietnamese and hundreds of thousands of US veterans with multigenerational health disorders and birth defects. Environmental harm is one of the ways that war impacts lives that can last many decades.
The environmental impacts of war cannot be separated from the environmental costs of the military machine itself, which is responsible for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, which rose by a staggering 9.4% in 2024. The US military is the largest institutional emitter of GHGs that are responsible for climate change, burning 270000 barrels of oil daily. Countries are not required to produce figures for the wartime emissions, but recently it is estimated that the war in Ukraine has produced 237 million tonnes of CO2, the Gaza conflict 32 million tonnes and in the first 5 days of the Iran war 5 million tonnes. At a time when all countries should be doing everything to reduce climate and environmental damage, the resort to war is escalating the harm.
Apocalyptic images, showing clouds of black toxic smoke blocking out the sun over Tehran, following the bombings of local oil depots on 7th March, are haunting. The oily residues, soot and sulphur-laden smoke, combined with a rare rainstorm, produced acid rain, causing immediate respiratory impacts with a lasting health legacy. For people who had already experienced chemical weapons attacks during the Iran-Iraq war, this environmental warfare was experienced as chemical warfare again.
Impact of War on the Environment Author: Sayedqudrathashimy1991 Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Middle East is experiencing the climate crisis through water insecurity. The conflict in Syria, which displaced 1.5 million people between 2007 and 2010, was in part precipitated by drought. There are clear parallels to Iran today. After six years of drought, the water supply to Tehran was at just 11% capacity, and the shortage of water to drink or to supply agriculture contributed to protests in January 2026. War is exploiting this suffering, with all parties having targeted water and sewerage systems that, if continued, threaten to displace people throughout the region, as well as causing severe health impacts.
Most of us will be familiar with the skeletons of buildings and mountains of debris from TV images of Gaza. The 61 million tonnes of rubble are laden with asbestos, unexploded weapons, dead bodies, and untreated sewerage that has rendered the land unfit for agriculture. The clearance will take decades and burn through hundreds of thousands more tonnes of fossil fuel, and we are seeing the same thing being repeated across Iran and the Gulf.
Years after wars end, the land, air and sea will remain contaminated. Thankfully, the deliberate targeting of the environment is becoming recognised in International Law as a war crime or ecocide and can be punished under the ICC’s Rome Statute. If it is demonstrated that the military intentionally launched an attack, knowing that it will cause long-term severe damage to the natural environment, that is excessive to the military advantage anticipated, then prosecutions may follow.
As the war drags on, it risks total destruction of the oil-fields, spillage of nuclear material, and depleted Uranium contamination. These huge environmental threats will have global impacts, experienced as economic shocks and agricultural losses, threatening food security. War demonstrates our intimate connection with the land and the importance of environmental protection.
Most people oppose the war, the use of UK bases in support of it, and sending the military to the Middle East. We should make our voices heard, calling upon world leaders to respond to our opposition and pull back from the brink, for the sake of people and the planet.
For more information on what you can do, contact: [email protected]
References
Gayle, D. (2025, May 31). What is ecocide and could it become a crime under international law? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/28/what-is-ecocide-and-could-it-become-a-under-international-law
Gayle, D. (2026, March 20). From black rain to marine pollution, the war in Iran is an environmental disaster. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/19/down-to-earth-iran-us-israeli-war-environmental-destruction
Holmes, O., Gayle, D., & Ahmedzade, T. (2026, March 23). Tehran’s toxic cloud: Satellite images show oily fires burned for days. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/23/tehran-toxic-cloud-satellite-image-oil-fires
Meadway, J. (2026, January 15). How ‘day zero’ water shortages in Iran are fuelling protests. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/how-day-zero-water-shortages-in-iran-are-fuelling-protests
Moneer, Z. (2026, March 22). Water Infrastructure Has Become a Target in Modern Warfare. Earth.Org. https://earth.org/from-lifeline-to-strategic-weapon-how-water-infrastructure-becomes-a-target-in-armed-conflicts/
Neimark, B., & Mackintosh, K. (2025, November 4). How wars ravage the environment – and what international law is doing about it. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AB.4yt3f6ys7
New data reveals the Military Emissions Gap is growing wider. (2025, November 6). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/new-data-reveals-the-military-emissions-gap-is-growing-wider/
Palmer, M. G. (2005). The legacy of agent orange: Empirical evidence from central Vietnam. Social Science & Medicine, 60(5), 1061–1070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.037
Photos: Dire water shortages pile misery on Gaza’s starving population. (n.d.). Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 March 2026, from https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/8/4/unprecedented-water-crisis-in-gaza-amid-israeli-induced-starvation
The US-Israel war on Iran and how war and conflict are destroying the environment. (2026, March 19). Greenpeace International. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/82201/iran-lebanon-war-environment-climate-impacts/
Three days of Operation Epic Fury: Rapid overview of environmental harm in Iran and the region. (2026, March 3). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/three-days-of-operation-epic-fury-rapid-overview-of-environmental-harm-in-iran-and-the-region/
#AcidRain #AgentOrange #ChemicalWeapons #Cuba #DepletedUranium #environment #Gaza #GreenhouseGas #Iran #Iraq #Lebanon #nuclear #Oil #sewage #SheffieldAntiWarCoalition #Sudan #Ukraine #Vietnam #War #Water -
The Destruction of Nature is a Cost of War
by Ci Davis
We have become accustomed to seeing the human impacts of war, from starvation in Sudan to the almost 100,000 killed in Gaza, but most people will be less familiar with the environmental impacts. On February 28th, another Middle East war broke out when the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran. In the first few hours, the Supreme Leader was killed, followed by the bombing of a school, killing 150 Iranian schoolgirls, and soon after, columns of smoke began to rise from targeted hits on petrochemical infrastructures.
Over the past three weeks, oil refineries, gas fields, tankers, nuclear facilities, desalination plants, oil storage tanks, air bases, and industrial areas have all been attacked. The water, marine and toxic-air pollution are a consequence of the smoke from the multiple infernos, from the widely dispersed toxic fragments, and from the many chemicals and heavy metals that escape into the soil and water, caused by thousands of bomb and missile strikes
The human and environmental costs of another war prompted two protests in Sheffield. On 21st March, 150 people demonstrated outside the Town Hall to call for an end to the war on Iran and also made connections with other current conflicts, including Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine and Cuba.
Our media tends to represent the environmental impacts of war as collateral damage, an unfortunate side effect, but really, they are a deliberate and targeted means of disrupting the lives of people by making their connection to land fragile or even untenable. No clearer example exists than the use of Agent Orange to defoliate the forests of Vietnam that left millions of Vietnamese and hundreds of thousands of US veterans with multigenerational health disorders and birth defects. Environmental harm is one of the ways that war impacts lives that can last many decades.
The environmental impacts of war cannot be separated from the environmental costs of the military machine itself, which is responsible for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, which rose by a staggering 9.4% in 2024. The US military is the largest institutional emitter of GHGs that are responsible for climate change, burning 270000 barrels of oil daily. Countries are not required to produce figures for the wartime emissions, but recently it is estimated that the war in Ukraine has produced 237 million tonnes of CO2, the Gaza conflict 32 million tonnes and in the first 5 days of the Iran war 5 million tonnes. At a time when all countries should be doing everything to reduce climate and environmental damage, the resort to war is escalating the harm.
Apocalyptic images, showing clouds of black toxic smoke blocking out the sun over Tehran, following the bombings of local oil depots on 7th March, are haunting. The oily residues, soot and sulphur-laden smoke, combined with a rare rainstorm, produced acid rain, causing immediate respiratory impacts with a lasting health legacy. For people who had already experienced chemical weapons attacks during the Iran-Iraq war, this environmental warfare was experienced as chemical warfare again.
Impact of War on the Environment Author: Sayedqudrathashimy1991 Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Middle East is experiencing the climate crisis through water insecurity. The conflict in Syria, which displaced 1.5 million people between 2007 and 2010, was in part precipitated by drought. There are clear parallels to Iran today. After six years of drought, the water supply to Tehran was at just 11% capacity, and the shortage of water to drink or to supply agriculture contributed to protests in January 2026. War is exploiting this suffering, with all parties having targeted water and sewerage systems that, if continued, threaten to displace people throughout the region, as well as causing severe health impacts.
Most of us will be familiar with the skeletons of buildings and mountains of debris from TV images of Gaza. The 61 million tonnes of rubble are laden with asbestos, unexploded weapons, dead bodies, and untreated sewerage that has rendered the land unfit for agriculture. The clearance will take decades and burn through hundreds of thousands more tonnes of fossil fuel, and we are seeing the same thing being repeated across Iran and the Gulf.
Years after wars end, the land, air and sea will remain contaminated. Thankfully, the deliberate targeting of the environment is becoming recognised in International Law as a war crime or ecocide and can be punished under the ICC’s Rome Statute. If it is demonstrated that the military intentionally launched an attack, knowing that it will cause long-term severe damage to the natural environment, that is excessive to the military advantage anticipated, then prosecutions may follow.
As the war drags on, it risks total destruction of the oil-fields, spillage of nuclear material, and depleted Uranium contamination. These huge environmental threats will have global impacts, experienced as economic shocks and agricultural losses, threatening food security. War demonstrates our intimate connection with the land and the importance of environmental protection.
Most people oppose the war, the use of UK bases in support of it, and sending the military to the Middle East. We should make our voices heard, calling upon world leaders to respond to our opposition and pull back from the brink, for the sake of people and the planet.
For more information on what you can do, contact: [email protected]
References
Gayle, D. (2025, May 31). What is ecocide and could it become a crime under international law? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/28/what-is-ecocide-and-could-it-become-a-under-international-law
Gayle, D. (2026, March 20). From black rain to marine pollution, the war in Iran is an environmental disaster. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/19/down-to-earth-iran-us-israeli-war-environmental-destruction
Holmes, O., Gayle, D., & Ahmedzade, T. (2026, March 23). Tehran’s toxic cloud: Satellite images show oily fires burned for days. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/23/tehran-toxic-cloud-satellite-image-oil-fires
Meadway, J. (2026, January 15). How ‘day zero’ water shortages in Iran are fuelling protests. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/how-day-zero-water-shortages-in-iran-are-fuelling-protests
Moneer, Z. (2026, March 22). Water Infrastructure Has Become a Target in Modern Warfare. Earth.Org. https://earth.org/from-lifeline-to-strategic-weapon-how-water-infrastructure-becomes-a-target-in-armed-conflicts/
Neimark, B., & Mackintosh, K. (2025, November 4). How wars ravage the environment – and what international law is doing about it. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AB.4yt3f6ys7
New data reveals the Military Emissions Gap is growing wider. (2025, November 6). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/new-data-reveals-the-military-emissions-gap-is-growing-wider/
Palmer, M. G. (2005). The legacy of agent orange: Empirical evidence from central Vietnam. Social Science & Medicine, 60(5), 1061–1070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.037
Photos: Dire water shortages pile misery on Gaza’s starving population. (n.d.). Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 March 2026, from https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/8/4/unprecedented-water-crisis-in-gaza-amid-israeli-induced-starvation
The US-Israel war on Iran and how war and conflict are destroying the environment. (2026, March 19). Greenpeace International. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/82201/iran-lebanon-war-environment-climate-impacts/
Three days of Operation Epic Fury: Rapid overview of environmental harm in Iran and the region. (2026, March 3). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/three-days-of-operation-epic-fury-rapid-overview-of-environmental-harm-in-iran-and-the-region/
#AcidRain #AgentOrange #ChemicalWeapons #Cuba #DepletedUranium #environment #Gaza #GreenhouseGas #Iran #Iraq #Lebanon #nuclear #Oil #sewage #SheffieldAntiWarCoalition #Sudan #Ukraine #Vietnam #War #Water -
The Destruction of Nature is a Cost of War
by Ci Davis
We have become accustomed to seeing the human impacts of war, from starvation in Sudan to the almost 100,000 killed in Gaza, but most people will be less familiar with the environmental impacts. On February 28th, another Middle East war broke out when the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran. In the first few hours, the Supreme Leader was killed, followed by the bombing of a school, killing 150 Iranian schoolgirls, and soon after, columns of smoke began to rise from targeted hits on petrochemical infrastructures.
Over the past three weeks, oil refineries, gas fields, tankers, nuclear facilities, desalination plants, oil storage tanks, air bases, and industrial areas have all been attacked. The water, marine and toxic-air pollution are a consequence of the smoke from the multiple infernos, from the widely dispersed toxic fragments, and from the many chemicals and heavy metals that escape into the soil and water, caused by thousands of bomb and missile strikes
The human and environmental costs of another war prompted two protests in Sheffield. On 21st March, 150 people demonstrated outside the Town Hall to call for an end to the war on Iran and also made connections with other current conflicts, including Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine and Cuba.
Our media tends to represent the environmental impacts of war as collateral damage, an unfortunate side effect, but really, they are a deliberate and targeted means of disrupting the lives of people by making their connection to land fragile or even untenable. No clearer example exists than the use of Agent Orange to defoliate the forests of Vietnam that left millions of Vietnamese and hundreds of thousands of US veterans with multigenerational health disorders and birth defects. Environmental harm is one of the ways that war impacts lives that can last many decades.
The environmental impacts of war cannot be separated from the environmental costs of the military machine itself, which is responsible for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, which rose by a staggering 9.4% in 2024. The US military is the largest institutional emitter of GHGs that are responsible for climate change, burning 270000 barrels of oil daily. Countries are not required to produce figures for the wartime emissions, but recently it is estimated that the war in Ukraine has produced 237 million tonnes of CO2, the Gaza conflict 32 million tonnes and in the first 5 days of the Iran war 5 million tonnes. At a time when all countries should be doing everything to reduce climate and environmental damage, the resort to war is escalating the harm.
Apocalyptic images, showing clouds of black toxic smoke blocking out the sun over Tehran, following the bombings of local oil depots on 7th March, are haunting. The oily residues, soot and sulphur-laden smoke, combined with a rare rainstorm, produced acid rain, causing immediate respiratory impacts with a lasting health legacy. For people who had already experienced chemical weapons attacks during the Iran-Iraq war, this environmental warfare was experienced as chemical warfare again.
Impact of War on the Environment Author: Sayedqudrathashimy1991 Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Middle East is experiencing the climate crisis through water insecurity. The conflict in Syria, which displaced 1.5 million people between 2007 and 2010, was in part precipitated by drought. There are clear parallels to Iran today. After six years of drought, the water supply to Tehran was at just 11% capacity, and the shortage of water to drink or to supply agriculture contributed to protests in January 2026. War is exploiting this suffering, with all parties having targeted water and sewerage systems that, if continued, threaten to displace people throughout the region, as well as causing severe health impacts.
Most of us will be familiar with the skeletons of buildings and mountains of debris from TV images of Gaza. The 61 million tonnes of rubble are laden with asbestos, unexploded weapons, dead bodies, and untreated sewerage that has rendered the land unfit for agriculture. The clearance will take decades and burn through hundreds of thousands more tonnes of fossil fuel, and we are seeing the same thing being repeated across Iran and the Gulf.
Years after wars end, the land, air and sea will remain contaminated. Thankfully, the deliberate targeting of the environment is becoming recognised in International Law as a war crime or ecocide and can be punished under the ICC’s Rome Statute. If it is demonstrated that the military intentionally launched an attack, knowing that it will cause long-term severe damage to the natural environment, that is excessive to the military advantage anticipated, then prosecutions may follow.
As the war drags on, it risks total destruction of the oil-fields, spillage of nuclear material, and depleted Uranium contamination. These huge environmental threats will have global impacts, experienced as economic shocks and agricultural losses, threatening food security. War demonstrates our intimate connection with the land and the importance of environmental protection.
Most people oppose the war, the use of UK bases in support of it, and sending the military to the Middle East. We should make our voices heard, calling upon world leaders to respond to our opposition and pull back from the brink, for the sake of people and the planet.
For more information on what you can do, contact: [email protected]
References
Gayle, D. (2025, May 31). What is ecocide and could it become a crime under international law? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/28/what-is-ecocide-and-could-it-become-a-under-international-law
Gayle, D. (2026, March 20). From black rain to marine pollution, the war in Iran is an environmental disaster. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/19/down-to-earth-iran-us-israeli-war-environmental-destruction
Holmes, O., Gayle, D., & Ahmedzade, T. (2026, March 23). Tehran’s toxic cloud: Satellite images show oily fires burned for days. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/23/tehran-toxic-cloud-satellite-image-oil-fires
Meadway, J. (2026, January 15). How ‘day zero’ water shortages in Iran are fuelling protests. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/how-day-zero-water-shortages-in-iran-are-fuelling-protests
Moneer, Z. (2026, March 22). Water Infrastructure Has Become a Target in Modern Warfare. Earth.Org. https://earth.org/from-lifeline-to-strategic-weapon-how-water-infrastructure-becomes-a-target-in-armed-conflicts/
Neimark, B., & Mackintosh, K. (2025, November 4). How wars ravage the environment – and what international law is doing about it. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AB.4yt3f6ys7
New data reveals the Military Emissions Gap is growing wider. (2025, November 6). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/new-data-reveals-the-military-emissions-gap-is-growing-wider/
Palmer, M. G. (2005). The legacy of agent orange: Empirical evidence from central Vietnam. Social Science & Medicine, 60(5), 1061–1070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.037
Photos: Dire water shortages pile misery on Gaza’s starving population. (n.d.). Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 March 2026, from https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/8/4/unprecedented-water-crisis-in-gaza-amid-israeli-induced-starvation
The US-Israel war on Iran and how war and conflict are destroying the environment. (2026, March 19). Greenpeace International. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/82201/iran-lebanon-war-environment-climate-impacts/
Three days of Operation Epic Fury: Rapid overview of environmental harm in Iran and the region. (2026, March 3). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/three-days-of-operation-epic-fury-rapid-overview-of-environmental-harm-in-iran-and-the-region/
#AcidRain #AgentOrange #ChemicalWeapons #Cuba #DepletedUranium #environment #Gaza #GreenhouseGas #Iran #Iraq #Lebanon #nuclear #Oil #sewage #SheffieldAntiWarCoalition #Sudan #Ukraine #Vietnam #War #Water -
The Destruction of Nature is a Cost of War
by Ci Davis
We have become accustomed to seeing the human impacts of war, from starvation in Sudan to the almost 100,000 killed in Gaza, but most people will be less familiar with the environmental impacts. On February 28th, another Middle East war broke out when the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran. In the first few hours, the Supreme Leader was killed, followed by the bombing of a school, killing 150 Iranian schoolgirls, and soon after, columns of smoke began to rise from targeted hits on petrochemical infrastructures.
Over the past three weeks, oil refineries, gas fields, tankers, nuclear facilities, desalination plants, oil storage tanks, air bases, and industrial areas have all been attacked. The water, marine and toxic-air pollution are a consequence of the smoke from the multiple infernos, from the widely dispersed toxic fragments, and from the many chemicals and heavy metals that escape into the soil and water, caused by thousands of bomb and missile strikes
The human and environmental costs of another war prompted two protests in Sheffield. On 21st March, 150 people demonstrated outside the Town Hall to call for an end to the war on Iran and also made connections with other current conflicts, including Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine and Cuba.
Our media tends to represent the environmental impacts of war as collateral damage, an unfortunate side effect, but really, they are a deliberate and targeted means of disrupting the lives of people by making their connection to land fragile or even untenable. No clearer example exists than the use of Agent Orange to defoliate the forests of Vietnam that left millions of Vietnamese and hundreds of thousands of US veterans with multigenerational health disorders and birth defects. Environmental harm is one of the ways that war impacts lives that can last many decades.
The environmental impacts of war cannot be separated from the environmental costs of the military machine itself, which is responsible for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, which rose by a staggering 9.4% in 2024. The US military is the largest institutional emitter of GHGs that are responsible for climate change, burning 270000 barrels of oil daily. Countries are not required to produce figures for the wartime emissions, but recently it is estimated that the war in Ukraine has produced 237 million tonnes of CO2, the Gaza conflict 32 million tonnes and in the first 5 days of the Iran war 5 million tonnes. At a time when all countries should be doing everything to reduce climate and environmental damage, the resort to war is escalating the harm.
Apocalyptic images, showing clouds of black toxic smoke blocking out the sun over Tehran, following the bombings of local oil depots on 7th March, are haunting. The oily residues, soot and sulphur-laden smoke, combined with a rare rainstorm, produced acid rain, causing immediate respiratory impacts with a lasting health legacy. For people who had already experienced chemical weapons attacks during the Iran-Iraq war, this environmental warfare was experienced as chemical warfare again.
Impact of War on the Environment Author: Sayedqudrathashimy1991 Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Middle East is experiencing the climate crisis through water insecurity. The conflict in Syria, which displaced 1.5 million people between 2007 and 2010, was in part precipitated by drought. There are clear parallels to Iran today. After six years of drought, the water supply to Tehran was at just 11% capacity, and the shortage of water to drink or to supply agriculture contributed to protests in January 2026. War is exploiting this suffering, with all parties having targeted water and sewerage systems that, if continued, threaten to displace people throughout the region, as well as causing severe health impacts.
Most of us will be familiar with the skeletons of buildings and mountains of debris from TV images of Gaza. The 61 million tonnes of rubble are laden with asbestos, unexploded weapons, dead bodies, and untreated sewerage that has rendered the land unfit for agriculture. The clearance will take decades and burn through hundreds of thousands more tonnes of fossil fuel, and we are seeing the same thing being repeated across Iran and the Gulf.
Years after wars end, the land, air and sea will remain contaminated. Thankfully, the deliberate targeting of the environment is becoming recognised in International Law as a war crime or ecocide and can be punished under the ICC’s Rome Statute. If it is demonstrated that the military intentionally launched an attack, knowing that it will cause long-term severe damage to the natural environment, that is excessive to the military advantage anticipated, then prosecutions may follow.
As the war drags on, it risks total destruction of the oil-fields, spillage of nuclear material, and depleted Uranium contamination. These huge environmental threats will have global impacts, experienced as economic shocks and agricultural losses, threatening food security. War demonstrates our intimate connection with the land and the importance of environmental protection.
Most people oppose the war, the use of UK bases in support of it, and sending the military to the Middle East. We should make our voices heard, calling upon world leaders to respond to our opposition and pull back from the brink, for the sake of people and the planet.
For more information on what you can do, contact: [email protected]
References
Gayle, D. (2025, May 31). What is ecocide and could it become a crime under international law? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/28/what-is-ecocide-and-could-it-become-a-under-international-law
Gayle, D. (2026, March 20). From black rain to marine pollution, the war in Iran is an environmental disaster. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/19/down-to-earth-iran-us-israeli-war-environmental-destruction
Holmes, O., Gayle, D., & Ahmedzade, T. (2026, March 23). Tehran’s toxic cloud: Satellite images show oily fires burned for days. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/23/tehran-toxic-cloud-satellite-image-oil-fires
Meadway, J. (2026, January 15). How ‘day zero’ water shortages in Iran are fuelling protests. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/how-day-zero-water-shortages-in-iran-are-fuelling-protests
Moneer, Z. (2026, March 22). Water Infrastructure Has Become a Target in Modern Warfare. Earth.Org. https://earth.org/from-lifeline-to-strategic-weapon-how-water-infrastructure-becomes-a-target-in-armed-conflicts/
Neimark, B., & Mackintosh, K. (2025, November 4). How wars ravage the environment – and what international law is doing about it. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AB.4yt3f6ys7
New data reveals the Military Emissions Gap is growing wider. (2025, November 6). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/new-data-reveals-the-military-emissions-gap-is-growing-wider/
Palmer, M. G. (2005). The legacy of agent orange: Empirical evidence from central Vietnam. Social Science & Medicine, 60(5), 1061–1070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.037
Photos: Dire water shortages pile misery on Gaza’s starving population. (n.d.). Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 March 2026, from https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/8/4/unprecedented-water-crisis-in-gaza-amid-israeli-induced-starvation
The US-Israel war on Iran and how war and conflict are destroying the environment. (2026, March 19). Greenpeace International. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/82201/iran-lebanon-war-environment-climate-impacts/
Three days of Operation Epic Fury: Rapid overview of environmental harm in Iran and the region. (2026, March 3). CEOBS. https://ceobs.org/three-days-of-operation-epic-fury-rapid-overview-of-environmental-harm-in-iran-and-the-region/
#AcidRain #AgentOrange #ChemicalWeapons #Cuba #DepletedUranium #environment #Gaza #GreenhouseGas #Iran #Iraq #Lebanon #nuclear #Oil #sewage #SheffieldAntiWarCoalition #Sudan #Ukraine #Vietnam #War #Water -
…#Israel ofcls denied the 2 countries are misaligned, saying #Trump & #Netanyahu talk almost every day & are pursuing a divide-&-conquer strategy based on their strengths. “Israel coordinates everything with the US,” an Israeli ofcl said.
But other ofcls say significant cracks in the alliance emerged in the 2nd week of the #war as Israel’s attacks on #Iran #oil facilities unleashed clouds of #toxic smoke & #AcidRain & the economic impacts of Iran’s closure of the #StraitOfHormuz began to sink in -
…#Israel ofcls denied the 2 countries are misaligned, saying #Trump & #Netanyahu talk almost every day & are pursuing a divide-&-conquer strategy based on their strengths. “Israel coordinates everything with the US,” an Israeli ofcl said.
But other ofcls say significant cracks in the alliance emerged in the 2nd week of the #war as Israel’s attacks on #Iran #oil facilities unleashed clouds of #toxic smoke & #AcidRain & the economic impacts of Iran’s closure of the #StraitOfHormuz began to sink in -
https://www.europesays.com/iran/18376/ WHO Warns of Respiratory Risks as ‘Black Rain’ Hits Tehran #AcidRain #BlackRain #Iran #Tehran #WHO
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Letra da música “Acid Rain” de Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.com.br/chance-the-rapper/letra/acid-rain.html -
https://www.europesays.com/iran/16463/ Air strikes cause black rain in Tehran; WHO warns of serious health risks #AcidRain #BlackRainSmog #HealthRisks #Iran #Tehran #WHO
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https://www.europesays.com/ie/376472/ 'Black rain' falls on Tehran after Israeli strikes on oil depots release toxic chemicals into the sky – The Journal #AcidRain #BlackRain #BreakingNews #BreakingNews #ClimateCrisis #Éire #FeaturedNews #FeaturedNews #Headlines #IE #Iran #Ireland #Israel #LatestNews #LatestNews #MainNews #MainNews #News #OilDepots #Tehran #TopStories #TopStories #war
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Découvrez les paroles de la chanson “Acid Rain” de Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.art/chance-the-rapper/paroles/acid-rain.html -
Scopri il testo della canzone “Acid Rain” di Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.online/chance-the-rapper/testi/acid-rain.html -
Sehen Sie den Text des Liedes “Acid Rain” von Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.top/chance-the-rapper/liedtexte/acid-rain.html -
Letra da música “Acid Rain” de Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.com.br/chance-the-rapper/letra/acid-rain.html -
Découvrez les paroles de la chanson “Acid Rain” de Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.art/chance-the-rapper/paroles/acid-rain.html -
Lyrics for the song “Acid Rain” by Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.com/chance-the-rapper/lyrics/acid-rain.html -
Voir les paroles de la chanson “Acid Rain” de Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.art/chance-the-rapper/paroles/acid-rain.html -
Lyrics for the song “Acid Rain” by Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.com/chance-the-rapper/lyrics/acid-rain.html -
Sensor Package Aims To Predict Acid Rain https://hackaday.com/2025/12/01/sensor-package-aims-to-predict-acid-rain/ #preciptiation #arduinonano #acidrain #Science #rain
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Sensor Package Aims To Predict Acid Rain https://hackaday.com/2025/12/01/sensor-package-aims-to-predict-acid-rain/ #preciptiation #arduinonano #acidrain #Science #rain
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Sensor Package Aims To Predict Acid Rain https://hackaday.com/2025/12/01/sensor-package-aims-to-predict-acid-rain/ #preciptiation #arduinonano #acidrain #Science #rain
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Sensor Package Aims To Predict Acid Rain https://hackaday.com/2025/12/01/sensor-package-aims-to-predict-acid-rain/ #preciptiation #arduinonano #acidrain #Science #rain
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#Forests recovering from acid rain mine rocks for nutrients https://phys.org/news/2025-10-forests-recovering-acid-nutrients-term.html Paper by Emily Bernhardt et al.: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2419123122
"Both timber harvest and #AcidRain have removed large amounts of nutrients from ecosystems. In places where both occurred, regrowing #trees are starved for the nutrients they need to grow, and they invest growth below ground to build roots and fuel #microbes that can extract nutrients they need from underlying bedrock."
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‘We’ve done it before’: how not to lose hope in the fight against ecological disaster.
Some days it can feel as if climate catastrophe is inevitable.
But history is full of cases – such as the banning of whaling and CFCs – that show humanity can come together to avert disaster.
#Environment #ClimateCrisis #FossilFuels #CFC #OzoneLayer #Whaling #AcidRain #Lead #Pollution #GreenhouseGas #Longread
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See the lyrics for the song “Acid Rain” by Chance The Rapper
#ChanceTheRapper #AcidRain
https://daletra.com/chance-the-rapper/lyrics/acid-rain.html -
Worst bleaching on record for Western Australian coral reefs ~ BBC
”In a new report, the Aims researchers found the 2024-25 season was the "most severe coral bleaching on record" for WA coral reefs ....”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq877llq099o
#coralbleaching #globalwarming #acidrain #oceanacidification #wildlife #nature
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Worst bleaching on record for Western Australian coral reefs ~ BBC
”In a new report, the Aims researchers found the 2024-25 season was the "most severe coral bleaching on record" for WA coral reefs ....”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq877llq099o
#coralbleaching #globalwarming #acidrain #oceanacidification #wildlife #nature
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Industrial #pollution once ravaged the #Adirondacks − decades of history captured in lake #mud track their slow recovery
For decades, factories released this pollution without controls. By the 1960s and 1970s, their pollution was causing #acidrain that killed trees in forests across the eastern U.S., while airborne metals were accumulating in even the most remote lakes in the Adirondacks. https://theconversation.com/industrial-pollution-once-ravaged-the-adirondacks-decades-of-history-captured-in-lake-mud-track-their-slow-recovery-260182 -
Industrial #pollution once ravaged the #Adirondacks − decades of history captured in lake #mud track their slow recovery
For decades, factories released this pollution without controls. By the 1960s and 1970s, their pollution was causing #acidrain that killed trees in forests across the eastern U.S., while airborne metals were accumulating in even the most remote lakes in the Adirondacks. https://theconversation.com/industrial-pollution-once-ravaged-the-adirondacks-decades-of-history-captured-in-lake-mud-track-their-slow-recovery-260182 -
Scientists Are Warning of A Brand-New Kind of #AcidRain
Story by Darren Orf
Key points:
- While acid rain caused by sulfur dioxide is an environmental threat of the past (at least, for now), a new kind of acid is proliferating in rain water—as well as groundwater, ice cores, and even human blood.
- #TrifluoroaceticAcid (#TFA) is a subclass of “#ForeverChemical” that’s been steadily increasing in concentrations around the world.
- With calls to consider this rise in TFA a planetary threat, some governments are starting ban chemicals linked to TFA—but the threat will require global cooperation."Acid rain may have a sequel, and like most sequels, it’s arguably worse.
"While the world’s first bout of acid rain (at least, in modern times) came from increased concentrations of sulfuric acid produced largely from coal plants, this new #anthropogenic source is possibly more pervasive, more persistent, and more sinister. Its name is Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a kind of 'forever chemical' that, for decades, has been steadily increasing in #RainWater—but not just rain water.
"Countries around the world have found increasing concentrations in #groundwater, #ArcticIceCores, #wine, and even #HumanBlood. In fact, TFA is likely the most pervasive form of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl (#PFAS)—technically, a subclass known as ultrashort-chain perfluoroalkyl acid (#PFAA)—on Earth due in part to the fact that longer-chain PFAS degrade into TFA via #incinerators or #SewageTreatment plants. They’re also used in #refrigerants instead of #chlorofluorocarbons and #hydrochlorofluorocarbons, which were famously known to deplete the Earth’s #OzoneLayer.
"In October of 2024, a team of European environmental scientists raised the TFA alarm, stating that a rise in concentration could be considered a threat to '#PlanetaryBoundaries' — a system designed to make sure the planet remains #habitable for human life (which we are doing a real bang-up job at following).
" 'Since the 1990s, it has been suggested that hazard-related concerns of TFA and other short-chain PFAAs are much lower than those of PFAAs with longer perfluoroalkyl chains, which are more #bioaccumulative and generally more #toxic,' the authors wrote back in October. 'However, these early reports did not consider TFA’s ubiquitous accumulation in the environment, in particular its observed accumulation in water resources and #bioaccumulation in various plants, including crops.'
"One of the most dangerous things about PFAAs is what we don’t know about them. Unlike other PFAS (of which there are, sadly, thousands of different kinds), TFA is so small (a.k.a. ultrashort) that it’s water-soluble, meaning it likely passes through the human body pretty quickly. A new Nature article reports that some scientists find this evidence compelling enough to not even consider TFA a kind of PFAS, but a growing chorus of voices are raising concerns that increased concentrations of TFA in water and food sources could render TFA’s fast-moving nature a moot point.
"In fact, TFA’s water-solubility could be a long-term headache. If scientists and governments eventually decide that TFA does need to be removed from drinking water and other sources, current filtration technologies are not up to the task. In other words, ridding the world of TFA will not only be immensely difficult, it’ll also be incredibly expensive. Current regulations to eliminate certain forms of PFAS are already proving to be fiscally onerous.
"Thankfully, some governments are taking action. #Denmark, for example, banned 23 substances earlier this month known to contain PFAS that contribute to rising TFA concentrations. Meanwhile, the #US is lagging behind—the Environmental Protection Agency [#EPA] doesn’t even define TFA as a 'forever chemical,' much to the dismay of #environmentalist groups and to the merriment of many #industry leaders.
"Rising concentrations of TFA is the acid rain sequel no one wanted. But just like every terrible sequel ever made, it seems like we’re getting it anyway."
#WaterIsLife #Dupont #DowChemical #3M #ForeverChemicals #EPACuts #Deregulation #TrumpSucks #USPol #WorldPol #Environment #EnvironmentalDamage #GenXChemicals #3MLied
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Scientists Are Warning of A Brand-New Kind of #AcidRain
Story by Darren Orf
Key points:
- While acid rain caused by sulfur dioxide is an environmental threat of the past (at least, for now), a new kind of acid is proliferating in rain water—as well as groundwater, ice cores, and even human blood.
- #TrifluoroaceticAcid (#TFA) is a subclass of “#ForeverChemical” that’s been steadily increasing in concentrations around the world.
- With calls to consider this rise in TFA a planetary threat, some governments are starting ban chemicals linked to TFA—but the threat will require global cooperation."Acid rain may have a sequel, and like most sequels, it’s arguably worse.
"While the world’s first bout of acid rain (at least, in modern times) came from increased concentrations of sulfuric acid produced largely from coal plants, this new #anthropogenic source is possibly more pervasive, more persistent, and more sinister. Its name is Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a kind of 'forever chemical' that, for decades, has been steadily increasing in #RainWater—but not just rain water.
"Countries around the world have found increasing concentrations in #groundwater, #ArcticIceCores, #wine, and even #HumanBlood. In fact, TFA is likely the most pervasive form of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl (#PFAS)—technically, a subclass known as ultrashort-chain perfluoroalkyl acid (#PFAA)—on Earth due in part to the fact that longer-chain PFAS degrade into TFA via #incinerators or #SewageTreatment plants. They’re also used in #refrigerants instead of #chlorofluorocarbons and #hydrochlorofluorocarbons, which were famously known to deplete the Earth’s #OzoneLayer.
"In October of 2024, a team of European environmental scientists raised the TFA alarm, stating that a rise in concentration could be considered a threat to '#PlanetaryBoundaries' — a system designed to make sure the planet remains #habitable for human life (which we are doing a real bang-up job at following).
" 'Since the 1990s, it has been suggested that hazard-related concerns of TFA and other short-chain PFAAs are much lower than those of PFAAs with longer perfluoroalkyl chains, which are more #bioaccumulative and generally more #toxic,' the authors wrote back in October. 'However, these early reports did not consider TFA’s ubiquitous accumulation in the environment, in particular its observed accumulation in water resources and #bioaccumulation in various plants, including crops.'
"One of the most dangerous things about PFAAs is what we don’t know about them. Unlike other PFAS (of which there are, sadly, thousands of different kinds), TFA is so small (a.k.a. ultrashort) that it’s water-soluble, meaning it likely passes through the human body pretty quickly. A new Nature article reports that some scientists find this evidence compelling enough to not even consider TFA a kind of PFAS, but a growing chorus of voices are raising concerns that increased concentrations of TFA in water and food sources could render TFA’s fast-moving nature a moot point.
"In fact, TFA’s water-solubility could be a long-term headache. If scientists and governments eventually decide that TFA does need to be removed from drinking water and other sources, current filtration technologies are not up to the task. In other words, ridding the world of TFA will not only be immensely difficult, it’ll also be incredibly expensive. Current regulations to eliminate certain forms of PFAS are already proving to be fiscally onerous.
"Thankfully, some governments are taking action. #Denmark, for example, banned 23 substances earlier this month known to contain PFAS that contribute to rising TFA concentrations. Meanwhile, the #US is lagging behind—the Environmental Protection Agency [#EPA] doesn’t even define TFA as a 'forever chemical,' much to the dismay of #environmentalist groups and to the merriment of many #industry leaders.
"Rising concentrations of TFA is the acid rain sequel no one wanted. But just like every terrible sequel ever made, it seems like we’re getting it anyway."
#WaterIsLife #Dupont #DowChemical #3M #ForeverChemicals #EPACuts #Deregulation #TrumpSucks #USPol #WorldPol #Environment #EnvironmentalDamage #GenXChemicals #3MLied
-
Scientists Are Warning of A Brand-New Kind of #AcidRain
Story by Darren Orf
Key points:
- While acid rain caused by sulfur dioxide is an environmental threat of the past (at least, for now), a new kind of acid is proliferating in rain water—as well as groundwater, ice cores, and even human blood.
- #TrifluoroaceticAcid (#TFA) is a subclass of “#ForeverChemical” that’s been steadily increasing in concentrations around the world.
- With calls to consider this rise in TFA a planetary threat, some governments are starting ban chemicals linked to TFA—but the threat will require global cooperation."Acid rain may have a sequel, and like most sequels, it’s arguably worse.
"While the world’s first bout of acid rain (at least, in modern times) came from increased concentrations of sulfuric acid produced largely from coal plants, this new #anthropogenic source is possibly more pervasive, more persistent, and more sinister. Its name is Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a kind of 'forever chemical' that, for decades, has been steadily increasing in #RainWater—but not just rain water.
"Countries around the world have found increasing concentrations in #groundwater, #ArcticIceCores, #wine, and even #HumanBlood. In fact, TFA is likely the most pervasive form of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl (#PFAS)—technically, a subclass known as ultrashort-chain perfluoroalkyl acid (#PFAA)—on Earth due in part to the fact that longer-chain PFAS degrade into TFA via #incinerators or #SewageTreatment plants. They’re also used in #refrigerants instead of #chlorofluorocarbons and #hydrochlorofluorocarbons, which were famously known to deplete the Earth’s #OzoneLayer.
"In October of 2024, a team of European environmental scientists raised the TFA alarm, stating that a rise in concentration could be considered a threat to '#PlanetaryBoundaries' — a system designed to make sure the planet remains #habitable for human life (which we are doing a real bang-up job at following).
" 'Since the 1990s, it has been suggested that hazard-related concerns of TFA and other short-chain PFAAs are much lower than those of PFAAs with longer perfluoroalkyl chains, which are more #bioaccumulative and generally more #toxic,' the authors wrote back in October. 'However, these early reports did not consider TFA’s ubiquitous accumulation in the environment, in particular its observed accumulation in water resources and #bioaccumulation in various plants, including crops.'
"One of the most dangerous things about PFAAs is what we don’t know about them. Unlike other PFAS (of which there are, sadly, thousands of different kinds), TFA is so small (a.k.a. ultrashort) that it’s water-soluble, meaning it likely passes through the human body pretty quickly. A new Nature article reports that some scientists find this evidence compelling enough to not even consider TFA a kind of PFAS, but a growing chorus of voices are raising concerns that increased concentrations of TFA in water and food sources could render TFA’s fast-moving nature a moot point.
"In fact, TFA’s water-solubility could be a long-term headache. If scientists and governments eventually decide that TFA does need to be removed from drinking water and other sources, current filtration technologies are not up to the task. In other words, ridding the world of TFA will not only be immensely difficult, it’ll also be incredibly expensive. Current regulations to eliminate certain forms of PFAS are already proving to be fiscally onerous.
"Thankfully, some governments are taking action. #Denmark, for example, banned 23 substances earlier this month known to contain PFAS that contribute to rising TFA concentrations. Meanwhile, the #US is lagging behind—the Environmental Protection Agency [#EPA] doesn’t even define TFA as a 'forever chemical,' much to the dismay of #environmentalist groups and to the merriment of many #industry leaders.
"Rising concentrations of TFA is the acid rain sequel no one wanted. But just like every terrible sequel ever made, it seems like we’re getting it anyway."
#WaterIsLife #Dupont #DowChemical #3M #ForeverChemicals #EPACuts #Deregulation #TrumpSucks #USPol #WorldPol #Environment #EnvironmentalDamage #GenXChemicals #3MLied
