Tag: Pollution

Graph showing global estimated deaths by major risk factor or cause; from 2019 study.

Pollution, contamination, and disease, mental health, and death: problems getting worse

Intersections

Background: “Pollution— ie, unwanted waste of human origin released to air, land, water, and the ocean without regard for cost or consequence—is an existential threat to human health and planetary health, and jeopardises the sustainability of modern societies. Pollution includes contamination of air by fine particulate matter (PM2·5); ozone; oxides of sulphur and nitrogen; freshwater pollution; contamination of the ocean by mercury, nitrogen, phosphorus, plastic,…

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5 ways data centers endanger their local communities and the country as a whole

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Neha Gour, George Mason University; Ed Maibach, George Mason University, and Luis Ortiz, George Mason University (from The Conversation) Every internet search, streamed video and AI-generated response depends on a data center somewhere. Driven by rapid growth in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cryptocurrency, data centers have become the backbone of the modern digital economy. But though their key role is in enabling virtual and…

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Drinking water quality is a chronic problem; what can phytoremediation do about nitrate and other pollutants? How does it work?

Intersections

Background: “Phytoremediation uses plants to clean up environmental contamination in soil, air, and water, offering a potentially cost-effective and less environmentally disruptive alternative to traditional methods of remediation. Phytoremediation methods include phytoextraction for inorganic pollutants, phytodegradation for organic contaminants, phytovolatilization for releasing volatile substances, phytostabilization for immobilizing pollutants, and phytostimulation for enhancing microbial activity in the rhizosphere.” From: Klein, M.A., Papoyan, A., & Kochian, L.V….

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Nitrates and drinking water: Impacts and disparities. Is there a safe level? Cancer and health effects on children (Part 2)

Intersections

Nitrates in drinking water sources have become a chronic problem especially in areas of intensive corporate agriculture–like the U.S. Midwest. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not updated standards for nitrates in water for decades. Research indicates that health problems can be caused by levels far below the current U.S. Federal maximum. Background: “Nitrate (NO 3−) is a compound commonly found in fertilizers, animal manures,…

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Nitrates and drinking water: Impacts and disparities. Is there a safe level? Intensive, corporate agriculture and the United States (Part 1)

Intersections

Nitrates in drinking water sources have become a chronic problem especially in areas of intensive corporate agriculture–like the U.S. Midwest. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not updated standards for nitrates in water for decades. Research indicates that health problems can be caused by levels far below the current U.S. Federal maximum. Background: “Nitrate (NO 3−) is a compound commonly found in fertilizers, animal manures,…

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Do you care? We need education, resolve, and action

Intersections

WMO report documents spiralling weather and climate impacts (March 2025). Land and water degradation, food and water supply shortages, drug-resistant infections from overuse of antibiotics, overuse of pesticides and disease, sea level rise affecting coastal areas, microplastics/single-use plastic pollution on land and in the oceans, rapidly melting ice at the Poles, heatwaves, droughts, extreme rainfall, powerful hurricanes, and more … leading to people and animals…

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Air pollution: one of the world’s greatest public health threats

Quick bibliographies

“Air pollution is one of the world’s greatest public health threats, reducing global life expectancy more than smoking, alcohol or childhood malnutrition. Recent studies estimate that fine particulate matter called PM2.5—pumped out by cars, factories, woodstoves and wildfires—causes nearly nine million premature deaths annually.” [Greenspan, J. (2023). Air Pollution Is Really Dangerous, Even More New Evidence Shows: Dirty air has been linked to poor health outcomes, ranging from suicidality…

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Wildfire smoke and dirty air are also climate change problems: Solutions for a world on fire

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Drew Shindell, Duke University from (The Conservation) As the eastern U.S. and Canada reeled from days of thick wildfire smoke in early June 2023, millions of people faced the reality of climate change for the first time. Shocking images of New York under apocalyptic orange skies left many people glued to air quality indices and wondering whether it was safe to go outside. What they…

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California (USA) wildfire smoke over city

How wildfire smoke can harm human health, even when the fire is hundreds of miles away – a toxicologist explains

Intersections

Christopher T. Migliaccio, University of Montana (from The Conservation) Smoke from more than 100 wildfires burning across Canada has been turning skies hazy in North American cities far from the flames. We asked Chris Migliaccio, a toxicologist at the University of Montana who studies the impact of wildfire smoke on human health, about the health risks people can face when smoke blows in from distant…

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Off-shore oil drilling can increase the spread of antibiotic resistance

Featured Article

Featured article: *Wang, J., & Jiti, Z. (2021). Petroleum exploitation enriches the sulfonamide resistance gene sul2 in offshore sediments. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 39(3), 946-954. “Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been considered as emerging contaminants in nature owing to their wide distribution and human health risk. Anthropogenic activities can increase the diversity and abundance of ARGs and promote their spread in environment. Offshore…

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