#environmentaldamage — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #environmentaldamage, aggregated by home.social.
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"Advocates began sounding the alarm over PFAS in pesticides in 2023. The #Biden EPA attempted to discredit the author of one study that identified PFAS in pesticides, and the agency appeared to have lied about whether some of the chemicals are in pesticides. Under Donald #Trump, the EPA has increased the number of PFAS proposed for use in pesticides."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/18/california-pfas-forever-chemicals
#USPol #EPAFail #ForeverChemicals #DowChemicalKnew
#3MKnew #BigAg #RoundupReady #Glyphosate #Bees #Extinction #Hubris #WaterIsLife #PFASContamination #EnvironmentalDamage #EPACuts #Pollution #PFOS #PFASPollution #PFASContamnation #ManMadeDisasters #3M #3MLied #GenXChemicals
#PFNA #PFHxS -
HT @ai6yr
#California farms applied millions of pounds of #PFAS to key crops, study finds‘#ForeverChemicals’ sprayed on #almonds, #grapes, #tomatoes and other crops as activists warn of ‘obvious problem’
by Tom Perkins
Tue 18 Nov 2025 07.00 ESTExcerpt: "California farms applied an average of 2.5m lbs of PFAS “forever chemicals” per year on cropland from 2018 to 2023, or a total of about 15m lbs, a new review of state records shows.
The chemicals are added to pesticides that are sprayed on crops such as almonds, pistachios, #wine grapes, #alfalfa and tomatoes, the review of California Department of Pesticide Regulation data found. The Environmental Working Group nonprofit put together the report.
The risk for uptake of PFAS is likely higher in water-rich fruits and vegetables, because water attracts the chemicals, and research has shown PFAS may concentrate at dangerous levels in some produce. The chemicals also pollute water supplies and present a higher risk to the often low income and Latino #farmworkers."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/18/california-pfas-forever-chemicals#ForeverChemicals #DowChemicalKnew
#3MKnew #BigAg #RoundupReady #Glyphosate #Bees #Extinction #Hubris #WaterIsLife #PFASContamination #EnvironmentalDamage #EPACuts #Pollution #PFOS #PFASPollution #PFASContamnation #ManMadeDisasters #3M #3MLied #GenXChemicals
#PFNA #PFHxS -
#MaineCDC recommends limiting fish consumption from 4 new bodies of water due to #PFAS contamination
Maine Public | By Nora Saks
Published June 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM EDT"The Maine Center for Disease Control is recommending that people limit consuming fish from four new bodies of water due to #PFASContamination.
"The new advisories apply to game fish caught in #LovejoyPond in #AlbionME, the #SebasticookRiver in #BurnhamME and #BentonCollyerBrook in #GrayME, and #AndroscogginLake in #LeedsME and #WayneME.
"The Maine CDC issued the new guidelines after elevated levels of PFAS, the group of man-made #ForeverChemicals, were detected in fish tissue sampled by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection last year.
"In the recommendations updated last week, the Maine CDC also expanded its advisories on #AnnabessacookLake in #MonmouthME and #WinthropME, and #MessalonskeeStream in #OaklandME and #WatervilleME.
"These additions bring the total number of rivers, lakes and streams that have game fish contaminated with unsafe levels of PFAS to 25.
"For more details on the consumption limits on numbers and species of freshwater fish in each waterbody, check out the Maine CDC website."
Maine CDC website:
https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/eohp/fish/#EPACuts #WaterIsLife #Maine #Pollution #PFAS #PFOS #ForeverChemicals #EnvironmentalDamage #Wildlife #PFASPollution #PFASContamnation #ManMadeDisasters #3M #3MLied #Scotchgard #Scotchban #BASF #Teflon #GenXChemicals #PFNA #PFHxS #Lubricants #Cosmetics #PFB #FireFightingFoam #DowChemical
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Just proving that #Trump's administration is TOXIC!
Trump #EPA withdrawal of #PFAS effluent limits is setback for #PublicHealth, #EWG warns
WASHINGTON – "On Tuesday, the Trump Environmental Protection Agency withdrew a pending Biden administration plan that would have protected public health from the chemical manufacturing sector by setting discharge limits on the toxic '#ForeverChemicals' known as PFAS.
"The Trump administration pulled the proposal from White House review – the last step before the agency could release the plan publicly and seek comment on it. The decision is a significant setback for efforts to address the growing public health crisis caused by industrial PFAS pollution of the water supply.
"Coupled with President Donald Trump’s executive order placing a freeze on any new federal regulations, the withdrawal prompts significant concerns from environmental and public health advocates about the future of PFAS regulation and whether tackling the PFAS contamination crisis will be an administration priority.
The following is a statement from Melanie Benesh, vice president for government affairs at the #EnvironmentalWorkingGroup:
"Yesterday’s action by the Trump administration to withdraw the long-awaited proposal on PFAS effluent limits is a devastating setback in the fight to protect our communities from toxic 'forever chemicals.'
"This move not only delays establishing critical federal standards but also sends a dangerous message giving polluters a green light to continue poisoning our water and communities without fear of consequence.
"It’s an unconscionable betrayal of the public’s health in favor of corporate interests, and it underscores this administration’s troubling shift in policy which threatens to roll back any progress to protect our #environment and hold #polluters accountable.
"PFAS contamination is already a public health crisis. The science is clear: PFAS are toxic at even the smallest levels, and they have been linked to serious health problems, including cancer, immune suppression and developmental harm. Communities across the country, especially those near PFAS-manufacturing facilities, have lived with the devastating consequences of this pollution for decades.
"State regulators have waited for the federal government to lead on this issue so they can incorporate effective monitoring and treatment requirements into their discharge permits. Without federal limits, those efforts remain stalled.
"The Trump administration’s refusal to act now puts even more lives at risk, leaving American communities to fend for themselves as polluters continue their unchecked discharges of toxic PFAS into our water."
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/statement/2025/01/trump-epa-withdrawal-pfas-effluent-limits-setback-public-health-ewg
#WaterIsLife #PFASContamination #EnvironmentalDamage #ManMadeDisasters #AFFF #Wildlife #OceansAreLife #PFASPollution
#FirefightingFoam #PFOS
#3M #ForeverChemicals #Environment #BigChemical #CorporateInterests #Corporatocracy #TrumptyDumpty #WhenIdiotsRule #USPol -
#Maine lawmakers introduce bill to create response program for #PFAS threats
February 6, 2025
AUGUSTA (WGME) – "State lawmakers have introduced a bill to create a response program to clean up and reduce threats created by dangerous chemicals known as PFAS.
"This comes months after toxic and potentially #cancer-causing #FirefightingFoam was accidentally sprayed at a former air base in #BrunswickMaine.
"While this bill would monitor PFAS levels, one Brunswick lawmaker says she and others are working on additional bills related to the fallout from that spill.
"'And we’re continuing to advocate for funding, whether it’s through the state budget or leaning on our federal partners, since that substance was put in by the Navy,' Sen. Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) said. 'Because one thing I stand firm to is my constituents, myself, my neighbors, the taxpayers of Brunswick and Maine should not be on the hook for a disaster they did not cause.'
"This bill would allow the state to buy, sell or transfer property contaminated by PFAS and deposit the proceeds into a fund to deal with contamination."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/maine-lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-create-response-program-for-pfas-threats/ar-AA1yz81L
#WaterIsLife #CascoBay
#PFASContamination #EnvironmentalDamage
#ManMadeDisasters #AFFF
#PicnicPond #Site8Stream
#MereBrook #MerriconeagStream
#HarpswellCove #Wildlife #OceansAreLife #PFASPollution #BrunswickNavalAirStation
#BrunswickStation #Maine #AndroscogginRiver -
High levels of #ToxicChemicals found in #BrunswickMaine airport hangar #sewers
#CitizenPFAS monitoring revealed concerning levels of toxic chemicals in the sewer outfall of #Hangar6 in Brunswick, though a company hired to assess risk at the hangar said there is no leak of the toxic firefighting foams on the premises.
by Kristian Moravec, The Times Record
Posted February 4, 2025, Updated February 5"A citizens group’s testing revealed that sewer water flowing from Hangar 6 at Brunswick’s airport has high levels of harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS.
"#FriendsOfMerrymeetingBay conducted testing on Nov. 26. The tests detected high levels of a particularly toxic #PFAS chemical compound known as #PFOS. The update comes the same day the owner of the hangar, the #MidcoastRegionalRedevelopmentAuthority, sent a letter to the town stating that tanks that stored the chemicals were not leaking."PFOS is a compound known to be harmful to human health and is found in high levels in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). Brunswick Executive Airport’s Hangar 4, which is owned by the Navy but operated by MRRA, dumped 1,450 gallons of AFFF concentrate mixed with 50,000 gallons of water on Aug. 19, 2024.
"The spill prompted ongoing cleanup and monitoring efforts as well as a push to get rid of the foam at the airport. Concern has grown around Hangar 6, which some have speculated is leaking harmful chemicals based on the testing data around the airport that Friends of Merrymeeting Bay has collected over the years. The sewage that flows out of Hangar 6, which is not treated for PFAS, ultimately flows into the #AndroscogginRiver."
Original article:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/04/high-levels-of-toxic-chemicals-found-in-brunswick-airport-hangar-sewers/Archived version:
https://archive.md/LlHx1#CitizenScience #WaterIsLife #CascoBay #PFASContamination #BrunswickMaine #EnvironmentalDamage #ManMadeDisasters #WaterIsLife #PFAS #AndroscogginRiver #PFASContamination #AFFF #PFOS #PicnicPond #Site8Stream #MereBrook #MerriconeagStream #CascoBay #HarpswellCove #Wildlife #OceansAreLife #PFASPollution #BrunswickNavalAirStation #BrunswickStation #Maine #FirefightingFoam #OceansAreLife
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Murders, #megaprojects and a ‘new Panama Canal’ in Mexico
#Activists suspect murders of 15 #Indigenous community members are linked to their opposition to a proposed megaproject.
By Eoin Wilson
Published On 13 Jul 2020Mexico City, Mexico – "The murders bore all the hallmarks of drug cartel executions. Fifteen victims – all members of the Ikoots Indigenous community – had been beaten, shot, and their bodies burned in a field just outside Huazantlan del Rio, a village in the municipality of San Mateo del Mar in Oaxaca, southern Mexico, in late June. An as-yet-unknown number of people were also 'disappeared'.
"At first the local government, headed by Mayor Bernardino Ponce Hinojosa, blamed the killings on a shadowy figure and an unnamed organised-crime group. Officials also acknowledged intra-community grievances and political infighting, caused by dissatisfaction with municipal elections and tension over last October’s mayoral election, which Ponce Hinojosa won.
"San Mateo used to be governed by an Indigenous 'popular assembly', which made decisions by consensus and served on a one-year rotation. But in 2017, this changed to a ballot-based electoral approach, leading to tensions that increased after the mayor’s disputed 2019 win.
"The Ikoots, most of whom consider the popular assembly to be the legitimate source of authority in the region, allege that the vote was fraudulent. They also accuse the mayor and a local businessman of being complicit in the wave of violence, sources told Al Jazeera, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
"Meanwhile, a collective of 15 civil society and teachers’ organisations, the National Coordination of Education Workers (CNTE), has accused the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) – one of Mexico’s most violent and territorially-ambitious cartels – of committing the murders.
"The allegations came in the same week that the CJNG was accused of the attempted assassination of Mexico City’s chief of police in an ambush with heavy weapons in which three people were killed.
"Although CNTE gave no evidence to support its accusation, many in San Mateo believe the claims because the cartel had already been active in their Istmo region, which boasts a wealth of mineral resources and a strategic location.
"The Istmo (or Isthmus in English) spans the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz at the narrowest point between the Pacific and the Atlantic. It is the site of the controversial 'Interoceanic' or 'Transistmico' corridor project, initiated by the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and opposed by many Indigenous communities."
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/7/13/murders-megaprojects-and-a-new-panama-canal-in-mexico
#Ikoots #IndigenousActivists #MegaInfrastructureProjects #CarbonIntensive #MegaCorridors #SDGs #CIIT #GulfOfMexico #IMFLoanSharks #SacrificeZones #CulturalGenocide #CulturalErasism #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalDamage #Capitalism #CorporateColonialism #IndigenousPeoples #CulturalSurvival #Oaxaca #Veracruz #IndigenousCulture #ExtractiveIndustries #InteroceanicCorridor #TransistmicoCorridor #Istmo #IsthmusOfTehuantepec #Tehuntepec
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From the Bretton Woods Project: Focus on #MegaProjects
"The [#WorldBank] ’s shift towards leveraging private sector finance for development (see Governance above), which has gained momentum since 2015, includes a particular emphasis on promoting ‘infrastructure as an asset class’, in order to crowd in institutional #investors. This policy initiative is highly dependent on mega-infrastructure projects – and, as noted by a letter sent by concerned economists in October 2018, currently lacks a framework for aligning such mega-projects with the Paris Climate Agreement or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"This is of major concern, given that many planned ‘mega-corridors’ in developing regions are predicated on building a new generation of carbon-intensive infrastructure. In many cases, the Bank continues to support such projects that, while not ‘fossil fuel investments’ per se, are part of such carbon-intensive mega-corridors (see Observer Autumn 2018)."
Paper: Infrastructure Megaprojects as World Erasers: Cultural Survival in the Context of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Author: Susanne Hofmann, November 8, 2024
"This article explores the meaning of infrastructural changes resulting from the Corredor Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec (CIIT) infrastructure project for the cultural survival
of Indigenous peoples resident in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region through the lens of ontological justice. The CIIT is being promoted as a multimodal road and rail transport corridor that will link the Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean, speed up global trade and benefit local residents. Based on interviews with affected residents in the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz, this research found that there is a strong desire for the continuity of existing, collective life
projects, Indigenous languages, cultural identities, beliefs, spirituality, established political and legal systems, and solidarity economy. De facto, the CIIT infrastructure project functions
as a technology of erasure of other lifeworlds, imposing integration into the One-World World (Escobar, 2016) and assimilation of Indigenous peoples and Afrodescendant communities.
Contemporary legal frameworks are not sufficient to guarantee alterlivability (Hamraie, 2020). Therefore, infrastructural megaprojects based on modern/colonial-extractivist-
developmentalist premises continue to threaten the futurity of Indigenous and
Afrodescendant life projects.[...]
"An increasing number of infrastructure corridors, such as the Corredor Interoceánico, are currently being built across the globe (e.g. the Belt and Road Initiative/China, Corredor Bioceánico/Paraguay; Corredor Interoceánico/Chile-Bolivia-Brazil; The Northern Transport Corridor in East Africa/Kenya-Ethiopia-South Sudan – just to name a few). These projects are directed at reducing ‘economic distance’ –i.e. speeding up the transport of goods across
geographical distance whilst lowering the cost (Hildyard, 2016: 20). In the process, infrastructure megacorridors restructure whole regions into purpose-specific zones for export, logistics, transit, housing development, resource extraction, manufacturing etc."Thereby, they fragment geographic space, generating a distinctive reterritorialisation of the space to develop sites of capitalist growth. Megacorridors connect what Lerner (2010) called 'sacrifice zones' – geographic areas where processes of natural resource extraction cause permanent environmental damage – to global circuits of capital. Across Latin America the social and environmental impacts of extractive megaprojects and resistance against them has
been widely documented (Aguilar Rivero & Echavarría Cango, 2019; Domínguez, 2015, 2017;
Domínguez & Corona, 2016; Ibarra García & Talledos Sánchez, 2016; Pérez Negrete, 2017; Rodríguez Wallenius, 2015). This article explores the meaning of infrastructural changes resulting from the CIIT project for the cultural survival of Indigenous peoples resident in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region through the lens of ontological justice."Original paper:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0094582X241294080?journalCode=lapaPDF version:
https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/120254/1/SHofmann_infrastructure_megaprojects_as_world_erasers_LSE_eprint.pdf#MegaInfrastructureProjects #CarbonIntensive #MegaCorridors #SDGs #CIIT #GulfOfMexico #SustainableDevelopmentGoals #DeGrowth #IMFLoanSharks #SacrificeZones #CulturalGenocide #CulturalErasism #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalDamage #Capitalism #CorporateColonialism #IndigenousPeoples #CulturalSurvival #IsthmusOfTehuantepec #OntologicalJustice #Tehuantepec #ExtractiveIndustries #Oaxaca #Veracruz #CorredorInteroceánico #BeltAndRoadInitiative #CorredorBioceánico #NorthernTransportCorridor #China, #Paraguay; Corredor #Chile #Bolivia #Brazil #EastAfrica #Kenya #Ethiopia #SouthSudan #IndigenousCulture #AfrodescendantCulture