The Issue Of Paper Mill Closures And A Bad Reputation For Being Wasteful Or Bad For The Environment

Having lived in Maryland all of my life, I’m extremely surprised by the amount of pollution that happens in my home state. The first example of water pollution that I’ve found is the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. I haven’t visited the area recently, but according to an article by author Alex DeMetrick, it has the dubious reputation of being one of Maryland’s polluted sections. DeMetrick states that “Trash is the most obvious pollutant, but that’s only the surface problem. A lot more spills out of storm drains.” (DeMetrick, 2011). Not only is the issue of trash and sewage affecting the area’s environmental stability and visual appeal, but is also taking a toll on income and revenue as well. One of the main attractions of the inner Harbor is its

Municipal solid wastes are leftovers made by the population such as food, plastic bottles, household wares and many more. These items referred by most as “the garage” or “trash”. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2015) In the early 1900’s, incinerators were used to burn waste however by the Mid-20th century, lawmakers enacted the first government regulations in an attempt to address increasing concerns about the environmental impact of unregulated waste management practices. With the first waste management legislation being passed in 1965, brought along the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, thus bringing us into a new world of waste management.(Vault, n.d.)

Pollution is a major issue in many communities. It affects the local population and the number of people moving to the area, in addition to the potential workforce. If externalities result in an unsafe community, it will result in fewer residents and less economic growth. Government controls on pollution is very effective if patrolled. Many regulations are not monitored, thus companies often find ways to avoid the regulations. Government officials need to

Recently, a contractor working for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unintentionally released 3 million gallons of toxic mine waste into the Animas River in the Mountain West state of Colorado. Right now, people in the US are debating the efficacy of the EPA (the right-wing is using the spill as anti-government propaganda) and the noxious aftermath the spill will undoubtedly have on local economies, communities and ecosystems.

Recently, a contractor working for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unintentionally released 3 million gallons of toxic mine waste into the Animas River in the Mountain West state of Colorado. Today, people in the US are debating the efficacy of the EPA (the right-wing is using the spill as anti-government propaganda) and the toxic aftermath the spill will undoubtedly have on local economies, communities and ecosystems. So far, the spill has "contaminated the Animas River, San Juan River, and the Colorado River in Utah."

Sappi North America owns a paper mill in Skowhegan, Maine and another in Westbrook. The article I read was predominantly about the Skowhegan Sappi Mill, which has been ranked among the worst polluters in the state of Maine. Sappi North America came out with their sustainability report for 2015 back in May after a tax agreement was completed with the town of Skowhegan. I live in Madison, which is the next town over from Skowhegan, and our paper mill stopped production of is paper this past May soon after Sappi released their sustainability report. The issue of taxes is something the town of Madison is still dealing with and something Skowhegan hopes they will not have to deal with. This, however, seems inevitable as evaluations continue to drop the value of mills in the state, forcing towns to find money somewhere else.

Turk, J., & Bensel, T. (2014). Contemporary environmental issues (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Have you ever stopped to consider what a privilege it is to have a clean environment that we depend on for many of our aspects of life, such as sports, food, and the remainder of what we need to survive and thrive? Unless from off-earth, which would be things that we get from space matter (which is a miniscule amount), everything we have is thanks to our earthly resources. However, there is a huge price to the benefits. Someone has to take care of the negative effects that impact the environment, and unfortunately they aren’t fully accredited to what they have to do to maintain order in many people’s lives and ensure the environment is providing for their profession. When we think of environmentally-dependent professions more locally, many of the people of North Carolina depend on our environment to sustain their livelihood, and even to make a living for themselves, like fishermen, farmer, hunters, and all kinds of employment options. That is why Environmental non-profits in North Carolina should receive more funding annually from the government, for all the things they do to make sure our resources aren’t degraded, people can continue to use our environment for their enjoyment and any other needs.

In spite of the fact that the earth is their home, they treat its streams and rivers as a sewer for their own personal gain. USS-Clairton Works Iron and Steel Mill, for example, dumped a reported 2,213,136 pounds of toxic chemicals into the Lower Monongahela River. This pollution will adversely affect the environment for years to come, even if we do our best to remove the chemicals. Studies have shown that most pollution incidents are due to negligence and bad practice. Obviously, this means that the pollution could have been avoided if these companies strictly adhered to a comprehensive pollution prevention program. Certainly there are a number of companies who have such a program in place and are committed to limiting their pollution, but the vast majority do not. As a result, the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory 2012 shows that various watershed regions in Pennsylvania are ranked among the top twenty most polluted in the United States.

The average U.S. citizen consumes eighteen tons of natural resources per year and generates an even higher volume of wastes. These wastes get dumped and unloaded into rivers, lakes, and oceans and other landfills; only a small portion are recycled. The spread of mass consumption over the U.S. and its effects are staggering. The production and processing of our wants and needs is done by the extraction of natural resources such as fossil fuels, wood, ore, and water. This requires the creation of factories which gives off poisonous byproducts, while the commodities create more pollutants and waste themselves. This process keeps cycling over and over to create a bigger and more detrimental problem on our environment. Who is paying for this? The Earth; our environment.

For example pigs are forced to live amongst the fumes of the own waste, which causes the causes the pigs to develop several types of illnesses. The article “Boss Hog”, by Jeff Tietz, and published in Rolling Stone, Tietz states that “The air, saturated almost to the point of precipitation with gases from feces and chemicals. can be lethal to the pigs.” Not only does poor waste disposal affect the livestock, but it also affects the surrounding environment. In “Boss Hog” Tietz also talks about how in neighborhoods around pig farms, locals can become so overpowered by the fumes that residents collapse. After interviewing a local couple, Tietz writes “Sitting in the kitchen. Charlotte tells me that she once saw Julian collapse in the yard and ran out and threw a coat over his head and dragged him back inside.” This is only because of the fumes; it would be hard to fathom what the waste itself can do. According to the National Resource Defense Council, or NDRC, “In 2011, an Illinois hog farm spilled 200,000 gallons of manure into a creek, killing over 110,000 fish.” In the same report the NDRC writes that “Runoff of chicken and hog waste from factory farms in Maryland and North Carolina is believed to have contributed to outbreaks of Pfiesteria piscicida, killing millions of fish and causing skin irritation, short-term memory loss and other cognitive problems in local people.” Because the toxic waste is managed so poorly, it is become a hazard to both the livestock, surrounding citizens, and the

In China, hazardous rivers flow in-between cities to which if one were to reach and touch the water, his skin would inflame due to the chemicals. We need to address this land pyramid ethic because China and the United States are not the only countries in the world that has hazardous waste issues. Leopard’s argument is not suggesting that we stop our industrialization, but rather having efficiency and organization in the process. We can keep producing hazardous technology, but we must clean up after ourselves and not let Mother Nature face the music. We just need to monitor our production rates and how much of it is actually hurting the environment. We have the capabilities to make use of it, so instead of letting Mother Nature take the heat, we can find ways of making that waste into reusable

Pollution is, without doubt, a serious global issue that needs attention and resolutions. As human technologies improve, water, land, air, noise, and light pollutions are all inevitable. Five and a half million deaths each year is caused by air pollution. More than a million sea birds and mammals are killed each year by water pollution. Hundreds of dolphins and whales are killed each year by noise . These shocking facts all shows the significance of enforcing laws to ensure all people are taking care of our environment by decreasing the amount of pollution.

The topic was based on " Toxic Passaic River to Get $1.38 Billion Cleanup Over 10 Years". Two weeks ago, Mach 4 2016 in Newark tons of garbage was seen along the Passaic River shore. A Environmental Protection Agency has broadcast a solution to this problem , which will dispose 3.5 million cubic yards of toxic sediment from the waterway. My overarching question : How can we protect the environment and at the same time improve people's standard of living? My guiding questions:Why are humans so careless of their environment?What are the sources and effects of water pollutants?

For years upon years companies have wormed their way into the minds of Americans to consume. The companies mask all of the real problems. Many logging companies associated with larger corporations have failed to make Americans aware of the pollution and the increase in toxic gases and waste that is being dispersed every where. All that matters to them is the flow of money that the businesses are