Chapter Fourteen Section Three
Environmental Issues
The Emergence of Environmentalism
Have you ever thought about what it takes to warm your home when you turn up the temperature at the thermostat? We often ignore the entire process to provide heat in our homes and simply expect that we will get warmer when the temperature is increased. You might heat your house with wood, electricity, natural gas, or propane. Whatever form of fuel that you use to make you feel more comfortable at home affects the environment. Think about it, if you cut wood to heat your house then that means fewer trees may be available to participate in the process of making oxygen necessary for life. The habitat of many creatures may be reduced because that tree is no longer there. What about the gasses used to heat our homes? Some of these come from the ground and can be called fossil fuels because they are generated from the decayed remains of ancient creatures buried under layers and layers of substance in our earth. Fossil fuels take thousands, if not millions of years to be created. That used for one winter season takes many, many years to be created. Fossil fuels are often called “non-renewable” resources because of the lengthy time needed to replace them. If you use electricity there are many ways it could be generated, such as through the hydroelectric process. Not only can the use of these materials but the results of their use be harmful to the environment at times.
The scene above is from Canada during World War One. This portion of forest was cut down to make way for the railroad that would travel through the area.
Environmentalism, or protecting our environment, is a national and worldwide concern, but most often it is up to local communities to deal with environmental problems. For many years state and local governments didn’t worry about environmental problems. Resources were used in abundance and wastes continued to grow. But the 1960s gave way to an increasing concern about the environment and the effects of man on nature. The Clean Air Act was passed by Congress in 1970 and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came into being.
We have seen the EPA run with the task of setting goals and standards to care for our environment, but states have also created environmental protections departments and programs to monitor air and water quality and inspect industrial facilities.
The management of solid waste-the technical name for garbage-is a huge problem for cities. In our own area, there used to be many locations where communities would dispose of their garbage. Often times referred to as the “town dump,” these places usually were landfills, places where large areas of land were dug down to allow the dumping of accumulated waste and then covered back up by the dirt that had been in that spot. This is how the term “landfill” came about; the land was filled with the waste and dirt so that it was no longer in contact with the atmosphere. But the increased concern about the stuff entering the landfill and how it was dealt with brought the closing of many of these landfills. Today, most of the waste in our area is transported to one location in the area of Macon, Missouri. Community after community got out of the business of landfills.
The above sign is declaring the this landfill is closed and directing people to another location. Many landfills have been closed in recent years in the state of Missouri, including a landfill located just outside of Kirksville.
One of the reasons this has happened is because we throw away a tremendous amount of solid waste in America. There is close to 250 million tons of solid waste created by Americans every year. That amount of waste was more than many landfills could handle. There has also been the concern of rainwater carrying chemicals and other things from the waste to the water system. Factories and other industries dispose of quite a bit of waste every year, the same as the average home, and that waste may be contaminated in the process of being created.
One of the other issues concerning landfills is “where should they be?” Milan’s landfill was located near their water plant. Kirksville’s government operated landfill was on Highway 6 where the Humane Society Animal Shelter is located. The increased construction of new homes in the area brought concerns by homeowners of having this site near their homes. Everyone agrees that there must be some place to dispose of our garbage, but no one wants it near their home. This is a classic example of the concept of “NIMBY,” or “not in my backyard.” Whether it’s a trash dump, a prison, or any other necessary location, many refuse to have it close to their homes. Opposition from citizen groups makes it difficult for governments to find new sites.
Incineration
Maybe your family has a burn barrel or two on your property. You take paper products, food waste, or other burnable waste to the barrel and burn it. Did you know that in many communities, such as Kirksville, this is illegal? Individual burning of trash in these communities can carry a very hefty fine.
Burning of solid waste can be an alternative to landfills, though. Some communities have huge incinerators, basically furnaces, to burn the community’s garbage instead of burying it in the ground. Many have concerns about the burning of solid waste. There may be toxic (poisonous) substances in the smoke from the burning that can cause serious air pollution. Unfortunately, pollution-control devices for the smokestacks on these incinerators can be very expensive.
Recycling
Have you ever known someone who has taken old appliances, cars, or other large metal waste to a recycling center? Maybe you know someone who works at one of these places. People exchange these items no longer useable for money at the recycling center instead of having them clutter their property or having them picked up by the trash collector. Both the community and the person benefit from this process.
It used to be common for kids to go around town and pick up discarded soft drink bottles to exchange for money at the local grocery store. These glass bottles had a “deposit” that was charged when the drink was purchased and the deposit would be given to the person redeeming the empty bottle at an established redemption center, often the local grocer. With the manufacture of larger sized drinks and the increased use of plastics for bottles, this is basically a thing of the past. Some states do the same with canned beverages, charging a deposit to be redeemed when the empty can is taken to the redemption center. Understandably, the keeping of these items until you “cash them in” would be messy. Our state does not charge a deposit on canned beverages, but many people do take their cans to the above mentioned recycling center and are paid for the weight of their total amount. But cans and cars aren’t the only things found at a recycling center.
Many communities in the United States have established recycling programs. A home might have two separate waste containers used for pick up, one for recyclable products and the other for more general waste. All of us are encouraged to recycle materials such as paper and cardboard, metal cans, plastic and glass bottles. Many schools and businesses even have containers for their people to put their recyclable items in instead of the garbage can.
Of course, not all waste is recyclable. Some people chose not to spend the time of separating their waste either. Another problem encountered is that the recycling industry may suffer economic slowdowns. The price for a pound of aluminum cans in February may be higher or lower than what is given in June. Local governments may feel less incentive to spend money on curbside pickup programs because the recycling companies pay them less for materials.
Conservation
Many communities with active recycling programs also encourage residents to practice conservation. Conservation is the careful preservation and protection of our natural resources. For example, you may buy peanut butter in recyclable glass jars instead of throwaway plastic containers. Some stores offer customers a rebate or discount if they return bags or use their own shopping bags. Businesses are encouraged, and sometimes required by law, to eliminate unnecessary packaging of products.
Threat of Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste, much of it toxic or by-products of industry that can cause cancer, is a major environmental danger. Perhaps the most serious form of hazardous waste is radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. Hazardous waste also includes runoff from pesticides that are improperly discarded. Things like motor oil, anti-freeze, and batteries have such hazardous products within them. Refrigerators and Air conditioning units also may contain such waste and must be disposed of properly.
Some environmentalists estimate that only 10 percent of hazardous wastes is disposed of correctly. Up until the late 1960s, this stuff was put in metal containers, which were encased in concrete, and duped into the ocean. This changed in 1970. Without ocean dumping, land disposal is the only way to dispose of hazardous waste. Most current disposal facilities are nearly full. Sometimes these containers have been discovered rusting away in a forgotten government facility. The years of deterioration on the containers have caused these wastes to be extremely volatile, or dangerous, and maybe contaminate the area. There simply is no completely safe method of disposing of hazardous waste. Sometimes entire communities have suffered from such contamination. Places like Love Canal near Niagara Falls, New York, and Times Beach, Missouri had to be abandoned because residents had so many serious health problems due to exposure to toxic waste.
Scenes of Times Beach, Missouri following the Dioxin evacuation of 1982.
Protecting the Air and Water
Pollution of air and water is a nationwide problem. The exhaust of cars and trucks produce fumes and factory smokestacks belch out toxic gases. Even cigarettes pollute the air. Air pollution can cause many health problems. It can also harm animal and plant life.
Water pollution often comes from factories, which produce all kinds of chemical waste. For a very long time some of these factories pumped waste directly into rivers and streams. Others buried it, allowing it to seep into underground water supplies. Polluted water kills fish and other sea life. Eating fish from contaminated waters can make people dangerously ill.
Water pollution often comes from factories, which produce all kinds of chemical waste. For a very long time some of these factories pumped waste directly into rivers and streams. Others buried it, allowing it to seep into underground water supplies. Polluted water kills fish and other sea life. Eating fish from contaminated waters can make people dangerously ill.
The federal government, through the EPA, has done a lot to stop industrial pollution of air and water. Federal regulations limit the amounts and kinds of waste that factories may discharge. Unfortunately, budget limitations keep many of these regulations from being strictly enforced.
Pollution from factories is far easier to regulate than pollution from individuals. Cars and trucks seem to be the worst air polluters in some cities. To reduce the pollution caused by these vehicles, the federal government mandated the removal of lead from gasoline. It also ordered the automobile companies to develop more efficient, cleaner-burning engines and equip cars with devices such as catalytic converters to remove pollutants from exhaust.
Pollution from factories is far easier to regulate than pollution from individuals. Cars and trucks seem to be the worst air polluters in some cities. To reduce the pollution caused by these vehicles, the federal government mandated the removal of lead from gasoline. It also ordered the automobile companies to develop more efficient, cleaner-burning engines and equip cars with devices such as catalytic converters to remove pollutants from exhaust.
Another important way to reduce urban air pollution is to persuade people to drive less. Local governments are trying to do this in two ways. First, they are building or improving public transportation systems to get more people to use subways and buses instead of individual cars. Second, they are encouraging drivers to carpool. In another school district where used to teach, there were several teachers who lived in the same distant community. They would take turns driving the entire group to school each week, using one car for a group of approximately five teachers instead of five separate cars. Many commuter highways now have separate, less congested carpool lanes for cars carrying two or more people.
Smoking is a far more serious threat to the health of people than to the natural environment, but it still is a source of indoor air pollution. Many cities and counties have passed no-smoking ordinances, even though restaurant and bar owners strongly oppose them. Both Kirksville and Columbia, Missouri have passed ordinances prohibiting smoking in public venues. This would include stores, restaurants, bars, and most other businesses. In 1998 the California legislature approved a statewide ban on smoking inside all restaurants. This marked the strongest antismoking law up to that point.
Almost all states regulate smoking in public buildings, but antismoking groups want to prohibit smoking inside all buildings. Montgomery County in Maryland went so far as to try to outlaw smoking altogether, even in private homes and outdoors. The ban caused a local uproar, and the county executive refused to let it stand.