… on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Tag: pollution

  • Community action against genocide and worker’s strike: Rotterdam port brought to a halt

    Spread the love

    Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    Activists block railway track into Rotterdam port, April 2025. Source: Geef Tegengas

    The Port of Rotterdam faced major disruptions over the past several days as dockworkers and activists launched strikes and direct actions.

    The Port of Rotterdam, one of Europe’s most important logistics hubs, faced serious obstructions over the past several days as a result of dockworkers’ strikes and direct action against complicity in genocide, human rights violations, and pollution.

    According to the collective Geef Tegengas, approximately 800 people took part in a blockade of the port’s railway track as part of an international campaign organized by the network alongside Soulèvements de la Terre (France), Code Rouge, Stop Arming Israel, Soulèvements de la Terre Bruxelles (Belgium), and Disrupt Germany. Coordinated actions took place between October 10 and 12 under the umbrella of the International Days of Action Against Bombs, Barrels, and Bullshit.

    “The organizations are fighting back against the global, capitalist system that is raining down bombs, pumping out pollutants, creating inequality, colonizing lands, fracturing communities and destroying ecosystems,” the coalition said in a joint statement.

    Read more: British parliament votes to ban Palestine Action despite public outcry

    Nora Kilembe of Geef Tegengas warned about the role of Rotterdam’s port in what the groups term as the Logistics Empire: a global network of transport companies, port authorities, shopping platforms, and terminals that prioritize private profit over human life and the planet’s health. “The Logistics Empire, Port of Rotterdam up front, is destroying our planet,” Kilembe said. “Indigenous peoples are robbed of their self-determination whilst Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians. In the West, we are being brainwashed to keep on buying to fill our empty lives, leading to mass depression and alienation. All so the ultra-rich can further enrich themselves. This system of death can only be brought down if we fight back together.”

    Geef Tegengas emphasized the action targeted the sector’s deep complicity in Israel’s genocide and other human rights abuses. “We demand that the port of Rotterdam immediately implement a complete arms and trade embargo on Israel, stop importing products and raw materials from areas where human rights are violated, and make a plan to phase out all polluting waste as quickly as possible,” they said.

    Read more: “The law is protecting Total”

    With the blockade, the group stressed, activists are reclaiming public control over vital infrastructure. “The port belongs to the people, not to big business,” they said. “They are demanding control over this port.”

    The blockade coincided with the largest lashers’ – dockworkers responsible for securing cargo on vessels – strike in decades, which caused a backlog that port authorities say could take until the end of October to clear. Activists pointed out that the industrial action only reinforces the broader struggle for justice in Europe. “Their struggle for good wages and better working conditions is one that we wholeheartedly support,” they said, adding that the lashers’ demonstration of collective power should serve as an inspiration for all movements seeking a fairer society.

    Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
    Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
    Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
    Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
    Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government's support for Israel's Gaza genocide and the UK government and military's active participation in genocide.
    Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.

  • Thames Water creditors ask for up to 15 years’ leniency from river pollution rules

    Spread the love

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/02/thames-water-lenders-submit-new-rescue-plan-to-stave-off-collapse

    Thames Water has been crippled by huge debts. Photograph: Sam Oaksey/Alamy

    Lenders say a ‘full return to legal, regulatory and environmental compliance’ under new rescue plan would not be completed until at least 2035-2040

    Thames Water may not fully comply with rules on pollution of England’s waterways for as long as 15 years, according to a new plan by creditors who are scrambling to avoid the utility being forced into government administration.

    The creditors who in effect own Thames Water have said they will commit to paying fines for pollution, as well as writing off more of their loans and investing more in the company, in new proposals published on Thursday.

    However, the creditors also said that “a full return to legal, regulatory and environmental compliance” under their plan would not be completed until at least the 2035-2040 period, raising the prospect of sewage levels above legal limits in some places for at least a decade. They will argue for further leniency on fines from the regulator, Ofwat, during that period, and that it will be impossible for the company to make upgrades across London and south-east England more quickly because of the scale of the work needed after years of neglect.

    The group of financial institutions, under the new London & Valley Water holding company, has been locked in talks with Ofwat since May over acceptable terms for the hugely complex restructuring of Britain’s biggest water company.

    Thames Water has been crippled by huge debts built up over two decades by owners who have been criticised for paying out dividends without investing enough in its leaking pipes and malfunctioning treatment works. That contributed to widespread public outrage over the level of sewage in Britain’s rivers and seas.

    …

    Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/02/thames-water-lenders-submit-new-rescue-plan-to-stave-off-collapse

    April 2023 Surfers Against Sewage and Extinction Rebellion protests in St Agnes, Perranporth, Truro and Charlestown which unveiled spoof Blue Plaques to the MPs and Conservative Government who allowed raw sewage to be dumped in the sea (Image: Surfers Against Sewage)
    April 2023 Surfers Against Sewage and Extinction Rebellion protests in St Agnes, Perranporth, Truro and Charlestown which unveiled spoof Blue Plaques to the MPs and Conservative Government who allowed raw sewage to be dumped in the sea (Image: Surfers Against Sewage)

  • No wonder England’s water needs cleaning up – most sewage discharges aren’t even classified as pollution incidents

    Spread the love
    oneSHUTTER oneMEMORY/Shutterstock

    Alex Ford, University of Portsmouth

    England’s privatised water industry may one day be considered a textbook case study of failed corporate responsibility, regulation and governance. The Cunliffe review, the recent report into England’s privatised water industry, concluded that the financial regulator, OfWat, needs to be disbanded and a new water regulator will be introduced.

    For that to work effectively, better pollution monitoring and more clearly defined pollution incident criteria are essential. While politicians and water companies have claimed to be reducing pollution incidences, they might not strictly be tackling sources of pollution, so communications must be carefully scrutinised for disinformation.

    The UK’s environment minister Steve Reed MP has described the water industry as “broken”. The public have rising water bills. Water companies owe over £60 billion in debts and have left the country with uncertain water security in the face of climate change.

    The Environment Agency (EA) in England recently announced that serious pollution incidents in 2024 rose by 60% to 75 from 47 in the previous year. The EA classifies pollution incidents using a four-point scale called the common incident classification scheme. Trained EA officers consider the evidence reported via their incident hotline to assess its credibility and severity.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Category 1 is for major incidents, 2 for significant, 3 for minor incidents and 4 for no impact. Category 1 and 2 typically involve visible signs of dead fish floating. For salmon, if more than 10 adult or 100 young fish are dead, this is category 1. With fewer than ten adult and 100 young fish dead, it’s category 2.

    No dead fish, no serious problem? The EA can also record damage on protected habitats as “pollution incidents” but these are harder to substantiate without investigative research that takes time and money.

    Last year, more than 450,000 sewage discharges were recorded by event duration monitors. These are devices fitted to the end of overflow pipes that indicate when and for how long they have been discharging.

    These discharges represent 3.6 million hours of untreated sewage going into our rivers and coasts. These contain chemical contaminants including pharmaceuticals, detergents and human pathogens. Only 75 incidents were recorded as serious or significant in 2024. Another 2,726 were classed as minor.

    So lots of sewage discharges are not being classified as pollution incidents, despite containing pollutants. The EA advises its investigating officers to “record substantiated incidents that result in no environmental impact, or where the impact cannot be confirmed, as a category 4”.

    The EA has been criticised for turning up late to 74% of category 1 and 2 pollution incidents and for being pressured to ignore low-level pollution – all claims that they have denied. However, they admit they are constrained by finances. Any new regulator must be adequately resourced and independent.

    pollution from pipe out into environment
    Pollution isn’t always classified as an official pollution incident. YueStock/Shutterstock

    In their recent report into pollution incidences, the EA states that they respond to all category 1 and 2 (serious and significant) water industry incidents and will be increasing their attendance at category 3 (minor) incidents. They highlight that more inspections will identify more issues. This shows some acceptance that the more incidents they attend, the more would be substantiated or recorded appropriately.

    Most sewage discharges would not have been reported to, or recorded by, the EA as pollution incidents because they were permitted discharges from combined stormwater overflows. Water companies are allowed to discharge untreated wastewater under exceptional rainfall or snowfall conditions to prevent sewage backing up through the pipes.

    Extra water flow in rivers from rainfall is meant to dilute chemical contaminants in wastewater. However, some discharges can last days or weeks. The EA is currently investigating whether water companies have been breaching their permits and discharging untreated wastewater when there is low or even no rainfall.

    What counts as pollution?

    The UN classifies pollution as “presence of substances and energy (for example, light and heat) in environmental media (air, water, land) whose nature, location, or quantity produces undesirable environmental effects”. This definition differs markedly from the EA’s working definition of pollution incidents.

    Many sewage discharges containing low concentrations of pollutants won’t kill fish but might still be harmful to fish larvae or small insects, for example.

    However, the broad picture from EA data is that invertebrate communities at least are in a better state than they were three decades ago before wastewater treatment plants were upgraded following the EU’s Urban Wastewater Directive.

    Some pollutants bioaccumulate through the food chain, so they become concentrated in top predators such as orcas. Some chemicals mimic reproductive hormones even in low concentrations and can feminise fish, for example. High levels of nutrients from agriculture and sewage in rivers can cause fungal diseases in seagrass meadows.

    Other families of chemicals build up in wildlife and people, such as persistent “forever chemicals”, much of which comes from wastewater discharges. Continued discharges of antibiotics into waterways might not be classified as pollution incidents but still pose a substantial risk to human and ecosystem health through bacteria developing antibiotic resistance.

    The government has just committed to cut sewage pollution by 50% by December 2029 based on 2024 data. But it’s not yet clear whether these involve cutting the frequency of discharges, the duration or both.

    This data could also be manipulated so that a large number of small discharges can be consolidated into one official discharge event. Currently, the volume of discharges from stormwater overflows isn’t known. Without this vital data we can’t ascertain the risk posed by their contaminants.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Alex Ford, Professor of Biology, University of Portsmouth

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

  • The US Environmental Protection Agency’s retreat from science endangers the health of people and the planet

    Spread the love
    Andromeda stock/Shutterstock

    Scott Glaberman, University of Birmingham; H. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University, and Tamara Tal, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ

    Pollution causes more illness and early death than any other environmental threat, accounting for one in six deaths worldwide. For decades, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) has driven many of the biggest advances for safeguarding human health and ecosystems from chemicals. Now, this scientific research office is being closed down by the US government

    Earlier this year, the Trump administration began dismantling the office by terminating programmes, cutting staff, closing laboratories and moving remaining scientists into regulatory offices. Legal challenges temporarily blocked mass government layoffs.

    But that changed when a recent Supreme Court ruling gave the Trump administration the green light to proceed with widespread redundancies and the total elimination of ORD.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Now, in so doing, the US is not just gutting its own scientific foundation. It’s also putting decades of global progress in chemical safety, pollution control and public health at risk.

    ORD is the EPA’s independent science arm, conducting research that supports clean air, water and land. From detecting pollutants and assessing health risks to guiding environmental cleanup, it ensures EPA decisions are grounded in credible, evidence-based research. ORD develops this science under intense scientific, policy, political and legal scrutiny, which means it produces the best available science that is credible and robust.

    ORD doesn’t just study pollution, it uncovers threats before they become crises. Take North Carolina’s Cape Fear River, which supplies drinking water to an estimated 2 million people.

    While most scientists focused on known pollutants, ORD used advanced screening tools to detect GenX, a little-known synthetic “forever chemical”. Despite evidence that GenX was contaminating the river basin since the 1980s, not much was known about its potential to harm living systems.

    waterfront by cape fear river, sunny blue skies
    Forever chemicals were found to be polluting North Carolina’s Cape Fear River in the US. Kosoff/Shutterstock, CC BY-NC-ND

    ORD rapidly filled this void, linking GenX to decreased birth weight and increased mortality in newborn rats, prompting swift regulatory action against the manufacturer to ensure cleaner, safer water for local communities. No other government agency in the world delivers this kind of rapid, science-led response.

    It’s not just the strength of ORD’s science that sets it apart, but also its visionary thinking. Among ORD’s most influential ideas is a model that maps out how a chemical is causing harm.

    This works like a chain of building blocks, linking tiny effects (like a chemical disrupting a hormone) to much bigger problems, such as cancer or even extinction. Each step shows how one change leads to another until it reaches something we truly care about. This approach helps scientists detect danger early, before it leads to irreversible damage.

    Then there’s the EPA’s groundbreaking work in computational toxicology. Nearly two decades ago, leading scientists warned that chemical safety testing relied too heavily on outdated methods and animal experiments.

    In response, ORD built ToxCast, a system that uses tiny cells and computer models to screen thousands of chemicals for effects like endocrine disruption or cell damage. It’s faster, cheaper and more humane, and helps scientists predict which substances may pose serious risks.

    These scientific breakthroughs don’t come from policy offices. They require researchers with the independence to explore and innovate.

    Beyond the US

    Europe has bold goals to phase out animal testing. Much of the science driving this shift comes from ORD.

    Tools like Ecotox (the world’s largest chemical toxicity database) and the CompTox dashboard (a platform that links predictive models and non-animal test data for over a million substances) are widely used across the EU and UK. Without ORD, these vital resources, hosted by EPA, could disappear, stalling global progress toward safer, more ethical chemical testing.

    EPA also collaborates closely with European partners. It maintains formal agreements and joint programmes with the European Chemicals Agency and the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Areas of focus include air quality, computational toxicology and chemical risk assessment.

    ORD has been a leading scientific institution with global reach. Its tools and ideas have shaped how governments detect hazardous chemicals, understand their effects, and protect people and the planet. From toxicity databases to modern, non-animal testing methods, ORD has underpinned how we respond to pollution. Eliminating it could create a dangerous void, just as chemical and climate threats are accelerating.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Scott Glaberman, Associate Professor of Comparative Toxicology, University of Birmingham; H. Christopher Frey, Glenn E. Futrell Distinguished University Professor of Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, and Tamara Tal, Mechanistic Toxicology Group Leader, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ and Professor of Integrated Systems Toxicology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

    Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
    Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
    Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him. He says that Reform UK has received millions and millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
    Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him. He says that Reform UK has received millions and millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.

  • Pollution figures ‘the latest indicator of a water sector in total chaos’

    Spread the love

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/pollution-figures-latest-indicator-water-sector-total-chaos

     A tanker pumps out excess sewage from the Lightlands Lane sewage pumping station in Cookham, Berskhire

    CALLS to nationalise the water sector intensified yesterday after it emerged that serious pollution incidents in England jumped by 60 per cent last year.

    The Environment Agency reported 75 major incidents that fell under categories one and two, which can severely harm the environment and human health.

    Serious incidents doubled from 14 to 33 at crisis-hit Thames Water, the watchdog found.

    Southern Water was responsible for 15 of the incidents and Yorkshire Water for 13.

    Pollution incidents across all categories had increased by 29 per cent, with 2,801 recorded last year. 

    Thames Water recorded the most incidents again at 523, followed by Anglian Water (482) and United Utilities (376).

    The rise was attributed to underinvestment in new infrastructure, poor asset maintenance and reduced resilience due to the impacts of climate change. 

    We Own It founder Cat Hobbs said the figures “are the latest indicator of a water sector in total chaos.

    “The roots of this chaos extend all the way back to when Thatcher privatised water in the 1980s — effectively flogging the family silver for a quick buck.

    “Since then, private shareholders have stuffed their pockets with gold, amassing £80 billion in payouts. 

    “They’ve killed our rivers and let the infrastructure crumble, while bill-payers pick up the tab.

    “Recent research shows that the cost of public ownership could be close to zero. This solution could also save the public £3-5bn a year, making publicly owned water a source of income for the Treasury.”

    Article continues