#Environmental Hazards

[marithlizard]

Genuine question here: what about ponds? People spend a lot of time around them, and even swim in them. How much does the water have to move for it to not qualify as stagnant? (wind, insects, fish, etc, cause the water to move around but is that enough)

Is there a size threshold above which a body of water just isn't going to be stagnant? I'm thinking about the difference between a still small scummed-over pond and a clear lake. You absolutely would not want to drink from either of them, but I'm having a hard time believing that it would be dangerous to be around even the first one. Point very much taken about water in abandoned buildings and water cups left out for more than a day, though. Maybe we should be changing the pets' water daily too.

kids these days don’t know how lethal stagnant water is

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Gratitude for Community Spirit

Gratitude for Community Spirit: A Collective Effort to Keep Our Trails Clear and Accessible Snow Clearing at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, SK In the heart of winter, when snow blankets the ground and the trails are buried under a thick layer of ice and snow, it’s easy to forget the hard work that goes into maintaining our outdoor spaces. But thanks to the tireless…

[medicalmeowmeow]

Frostbite

With winter months quickly approaching, let's take a quick look at something a lot of people talk about: frostbite!

Frostbite is caused by freezing of the skin and tissues underneath, and the early stages are called frostnip. Exposed skin is at risk in freezing temperatures and windy, or wet weather.

Symptoms can be tingling, numbness, skin changing color, waxy or hard skin, joint stiffness, pain, and blistering after rewarming.

Frostbite is most common on the fingers, toes, ears, cheeks, chin, and tip of the nose. Because of numbness it may be hard to notice.

[slypuzzle]

The Missing 411 Phenomenon: Mystery or Misunderstanding?

Mysterious disappearances in national parks have fueled theories ranging from supernatural forces to simple accidents. Did you know the National Park Service doesn’t keep a centralized database of missing persons? What do you think is behind the Missing 411 cases?  

[cinturon-cadena]

The EJScreen site got deleted 🙃

Good news: I found some info on it, including a link to a rebooted copy of the tool!

call me a dirty communist radical but I think everyone should know if they live near toxic waste

[westvalleyfaultph]

Safeguarding Coastal Communities: MGB Conducts Vital Coastal Vulnerability Assessment in Caraga Town

Scan the QR code to get this post on the go. In a proactive move to monitor climate-induced hazards, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) recently conducted a comprehensive coastal vulnerability assessment in Caraga town, Davao Oriental. The aim was to analyze and address potential risks posed by erosion, tsunamis, storm surges, and sea level rise in these inherently susceptible coastal…

[gaiawisdom]

“false” plastics facility distracts from change

ExxonMobil’s new plastics recycling plant, one of the largest in North America, has been criticized by environmental advocates for generating hazardous pollutants and diverting attention from reducing plastics production. The company’s pyrolysis plastics technology is inefficient and worse for the environment than mechanical recycling. Many see the technology as a cover allowing oil giants to continue producing millions of tons of plastic yearly.                        --newsletter of the Price-Pottenger Foundation, 4/15/23

[breadcrxmbs-reblogs]

be so for real right now

[cerbaros]

Small collection of ostara and carbuncle cause @candycryptids made a new carby mod and its adorable. I just had to.

You can find the mod here

[mewniemoon]

A Poll to figure out who is the most hated Golden Fleece Run Killer. Sorry if u think Burrower enemies are the worse, my apologies that you've never made it past darkwood </3 /j

[nebulaad]

listen I'm not sourcing anything but bottom of my heart tradwives are what happens when you base an entire feminist movement on the idea that you're not allowed to tell a woman that she's not meaningfully doing feminism if she doesn't invest any effort towards materially changing her behaviours or conditions. you're not feminist for existing as a woman. many women are doing the same thing under much worse conditions than "that mean cunt online told me my eyeliner (sharp enough to kill a man) wasn't praxis she sounds like she has shitty eyebrows" which sounds like a strawman but was genuinely just something people on this godawful website said a lot, way back when

[noisytenant]

i bet working with a malleable metal feels good as fuck

[biomaterial]

as someone who works indirectly with utility construction, im so vehemently opposed to the boundless waste inherent in underground pipeline construction, and the ability for companies to functionally abandon an underground utility until it becomes a danger to public health and safety. it baffles me how little oversight or funds go into oil pipeline maintenance and restoration while it is still the primary fuel that drives our economy, while cleanup costs more than maintenance, and the financial damage to areas that can no longer engage in their prior industry safely. this is attempted distance, beyond my environmental outrage. nothing about the modern economy makes sense if it completely abandons the safety and futurity of the country it purports to uplift. greedy bastards all

[lele-o-north]

Recycling Centre Site Visit ✨

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Hazardous Waste Recycling Centre in Gateshead (i): a tour organised by Suez, the site owner ♻️

I am pleased with how transparent Laura and Hannah, our guides, have been while explaining what happens to the local recycling and general waste. No question has been left unanswered, and topics have been discussed with the most environmentally friendly tone: everything led to the concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle 🙌🏻

The overall experience exceeded my expectations as the amount of knowledge I gained was HUGE ⛰️

This is how I would summarise today’s experience in few points:

1. Disposable vapes are a PROBLEM 💨

Strangely classified by UK Legislation as “toys, leisure and sport equipment”, they have been responsible for numerous fires at the recycling centre. E-cigarettes contain lithium batteries, which can easily ignite when segregated with the other waste streams. Furthermore, recycling one 200L barrel full of disposable vapes costs more than £2000 😰

2. Machines that sort general waste out DO NOT EXIST ⚙️

Due to complex composition of general waste, there is no machine or automated process able to effectively separate non-recyclables from recyclables that ended up in the general waste. At Suez, sorting is done BY HANDS 🤲🏻

3. Energy-from-Waste (EFW) requires A LOT of ENERGY ⚡️

Suez’s EFW facility has the potential to generate enough electricity to power 30.000 homes via waste incineration. However, the majority of energy goes back into the facility to keep the process going: fire is on 24/7 🔥

4. Separate food waste segregation at home is COMING SOON 🍔

Around 6.5 MILLION tonnes of food waste come from households every year. The shocking thing is: around 70% of that food waste IS STILL EDIBLE when people dispose of it (4.5 MILLION tonnes). Suez compared it to 90 Royal Albert Halls! 😱

5. Load contamination is a serious thing ☣️

Staff works hard every day to ensure skips contain the waste they have been designed for. When hazardous materials get in the same bin with recyclables, the WHOLE load becomes hazardous. This means that all the waste contained in that bin is very likely to lose its recycling potential. As it has been said today: “It is better losing some recycling in the general waste than contaminating an entire load of recycling and losing all of it” 😞 This is such a powerful sentence.

For those interested in knowing about waste disposal and recycling, I strongly recommend this experience. Event details can be found on Eventbrite and many waste sites are available for tour booking 🤩

Ah, forgot this: IT’S FREE 🤯

References:

i. (Photo) https://lnkd.in/eYyWCWmp

[chlamydia-biohazard]

toxic waste

[weirdstrangeandawful]

Tree wells.