Project goal: To create an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to leather, in this case using fungi.
<p>Project partner: Indonesian startup <a href="https://mycl.bio/about" target="_blank">Mycotech</a> is supported through universities, research institutions and the DBS Foundation. In 2019/2020, the company also received from funding from the SEED Initiative (Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development) and the German Environment Ministry's <a href="https://www.international-climate-initiative.com/en/details/project/financing-and-capacity-building-for-micro-and-small-climatesmart-enterprises-filling-the-gap-of-the-missing-middle-13_I+_041-328?iki_lang=en" target="_blank">International Climate Initiative</a>.</p><p>Project budget: Mycotech has received $500,000 in funding since 2017.</p><p>Humankind has been using animal skin to produce leather for thousands of years. It's a textile with a long tradition, but critics say making it causes animal suffering, consumes a lot of water and pollutes the environment with chemicals and CO2.</p>
<p>Adi Reza Nugroho wants to change that with his startup Mycotech based in Bandung, Indonesia. Nugroho comes from a family of mushroom farmers and is using fungi to make a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vegan">vegan</a>, leather-like alternative to the animal-based textile.</p><p>According to the company founded in 2012, the material is breathable, robust and grows using agricultural waste such as sawdust. The waste is mixed with fungi spores, which form mycelium — a fine branching mass of threadlike structures. After a few days, it can be harvested from the waste blocks, tanned and further processed.</p><p>Scientists around the world are <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/5-sustainable-alternatives-to-plastics/a-53338938" target="_blank">researching mycelium properties</a>, believing it could provide the basis for new materials. Some fashion businesses are already using "mushroom leather" to make products like shoes and bags.</p>
<p><em>A film by Nicole Ris und A.B. Rodhial Falah.</em><br/></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/sustainable-fashion-eco/a-54867671?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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PFAS foam in Van Ettan Lake in Oscoda, Michigan near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base on Sept. 19, 2017. Michigan Department of Environment , Great Lakes, and Energy
By Kathryn Crawford
Nearly a year before the novel coronavirus emerged, Dr. Leonardo Trasande published "Sicker, Fatter, Poorer," a book about connections between environmental pollutants and many of the most common chronic illnesses. The book describes decades of scientific research showing how endocrine-disrupting chemicals, present in our daily lives and now found in nearly all people, interfere with natural hormones in our bodies. The title sums up the consequences: Chemicals in the environment are making people sicker, fatter and poorer.
<p>As we learn more about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, research is revealing ugly realities about social and environmental effects on health – including how the same chronic illnesses associated with exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds also increase your risk of developing severe COVID-19.</p><p>In the U.S. and abroad, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/chronic-diseases.htm" target="_blank">chronic disease</a> epidemic that was already underway at the start of 2020 meant the population entered into the coronavirus pandemic in a state of reduced health. Evidence is now emerging for the role that environmental quality plays in people's susceptibility to COVID-19 and their risk of dying from it.</p>
<h3>Why Endocrine Disruptors Are a Problem</h3><p>Endocrine-disrupting compounds, or EDCs, are a broad <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0273-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">group of chemicals</a> that can interfere with natural hormones in people's bodies in ways that harm human health. They include perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pfas">PFAS</a>, flame retardants, plasticizers, pesticides, antimicrobial products and fragrances, among others.</p><p>These chemicals are pervasive in modern life. They are found in a wide range of consumer goods, food packaging, personal care products, cosmetics, industrial processes and agricultural settings. EDCs then make their way into our air, water, soil and food.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYwMzk2OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MTgwMDY2M30.NuO4OQ1w-Mdh2hVXy0zE0gwUzKqzOj6EPAn5eleS4wg/img.jpg?width=980" id="f9756" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="504f29eed14fc84b0f1ea29621cbe115" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Research has shown that people who are exposed to EDCs are more likely than others to develop <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.reprotox.2016.10.001" target="_blank">metabolic disorders</a>, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, and they tend to have poorer cardiovascular health.</p><p>EDCs can also interfere with normal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.078" target="_blank">immune system function</a>, which plays a critical role in fighting off infection. Poor immune function also contributes to pulmonary problems <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2018.08.021" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">such as</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113539" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">asthma</a> and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2016.05.011" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chronic obstructive pulmonary disease</a>; autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease; and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2017-00882" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">metabolic disorders</a>. Many EDCs are also associated with different cancers.</p>
<h3>EDCs Can Mimic Human Hormones</h3><p>EDCs affect human health by mimicking our natural hormones.</p><p>Hormones are chemical signals that our cells use to communicate with one another. You might be familiar with reproductive hormones – testosterone and estrogen – which help distinguish male and female physiology and reproduction. Yet, hormones are responsible for maintaining virtually all essential bodily functions, including metabolism and healthy blood pressure, blood sugar and inflammation.</p><p>The chemical shape or structure of EDCs resembles hormones in ways that cause the body to misinterpret an EDC for a natural signal from a hormone.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYwMzk3MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MTA0OTAyN30.WZM6kvsKW3CZsI1nHJ7x-P9c_H6Jsnv6kr3yPHo3kFU/img.jpg?width=980" id="44189" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1559139d2b99e85a96221cb2106baa58" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A comparison of the structures of estradiol (left), a female sex hormone, and BPA (right), an endocrine disruptor found in plastics often used in containers for storing food and beverages. Wikimedia
<p>Because the human body is very sensitive to hormones, only small amounts of hormones are required to convey their intended signal. Therefore, very small exposures to EDCs can have dramatic, adverse affects on people's health.</p>
<h3>Environmental Quality and COVID-19</h3><p>Researchers are only just beginning to paint a picture about how environmental quality contributes to COVID-19 susceptibility, and there is much we still don't know. However, <a href="https://www.ehn.org/chemical-exposure-coronavirus-2645785581.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">scientists suspect that EDCs</a> <a href="https://www.healthandenvironment.org/webinars/96526" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">can play a role</a> based on clear scientific evidence that EDCs increase people's risk of developing chronic diseases that put people at greater risk from COVID-19.</p><p>Public health organizations such as the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> and the <a href="https://www.who.int/westernpacific/emergencies/covid-19/information/high-risk-groups" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Heath Organization</a> officially recognize underlying health conditions – including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, immunosuppression, chronic respiratory disease and cancer – as risk factors for critical illness and mortality from COVID-19.</p><p>Scientific evidence shows that EDC exposure increases people's risk of developing all of these conditions. Scientists are thinking about these <a href="https://www.ehn.org/chemical-exposure-coronavirus-2645785581.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">connections</a>, and research efforts are underway to answer more questions about how EDCs may be influencing the pandemic.</p>
<h3>Air Pollution and Other Environmental Risks</h3><p>In addition to EDCs, other environmental conditions are also likely playing a role in the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2020.04.035" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">multiple studies have reported</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053595" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increased risk of COVID-19</a> <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114732" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">illness and deaths</a>. The findings are consistent with those reported in China following the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-2-15" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SARS outbreak</a> in 2002-2003.</p><p>Recent evidence also shows that COVID-19 infection can lead to lingering health conditions, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/17/opinion/covid-19-heart-disease.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">including heart damage</a>. Environmental conditions such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz116" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">heat waves</a> are particularly dangerous for individuals with heart disease or heart damage. In places like California that are currently experiencing wildfires and heat waves, we can clearly see how multiple environmental conditions can combine to further increase risk of deaths associated with COVID-19.</p><p>In the U.S., regulations such as the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act have improved environmental quality and human health since the 1970s. However, the Trump administration has been trying to weaken them.</p><p>In the past three and a half years, about 35 environmental rules and regulations pertaining to air quality or toxic substances like EDCs were either <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks.html" target="_blank">rolled back</a> or are in the process of being removed, despite unambiguous evidence showing how poor environmental quality harms human health. Allowing more pollution threatens to exacerbate the trend toward a sicker, fatter and poorer America at a time when people's overall health is necessary for our collective resilience to COVID-19 and future global health challenges.</p>
<p>
<em>Kathryn Crawford is an assistant professor of environmental health at Middlebury College.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: Kathryn Crawford has received funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-chemicals-like-pfas-can-increase-your-risk-of-severe-covid-19-143167" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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A Lebanese boy cleans a damaged car in Beirut on August 11, 2020, after a huge chemical explosion devastated large swaths of the capital. AFP / Getty Images
By Kathleen Schuster
In the weeks since Beirut's deadly chemical blast, residents have been sweeping up the broken glass and wiping down surfaces caked in dust. And it's this dust that some say poses a major threat to the city.
<p>"The most dangerous thing" right now, according to Greenpeace's Middle East and North Africa program manager in Beirut, Julien Jreissati, is that no one knows "what actually exploded besides ammonium nitrate" and, therefore, how toxic the dust is.</p><p>"We don't know what kind of pollution, what level of pollution, what the potential impact is and, therefore, what the potential countermeasures" should be, says Jreissati.</p><p>On August 4, nearly 3,000 tons of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/lebanon-beirut-reform-explosion/a-54544805" target="_blank">the highly combustible chemical compound</a> exploded in Beirut's port, shooting a plume of orange smoke into the afternoon sky, followed quickly by a pressure wave that ripped through nearby buildings and blew out windows across the metropolis. </p><p>And while those toxic gases are believed to have dissipated after several days, authorities have yet to confirm what else burned in the port warehouse fire and subsequently exploded. They also don't know the magnitude or composition of the fine particulate matter released from the rubble and broken glass.</p>
Side Effects of Ammonium Nitrate
<p>What is known is that when heated, ammonium nitrate — commonly used in fertilizers and, due to its ability to speed up combustion, also in explosives — melts, releasing toxic gases like nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia gas (NH3).</p><p>These gases, both harmful to the human respiratory system and the environment, in turn break down and react with other chemicals. Nitrogen oxides, for example, when combined with other pollutants and sunlight form "bad ozone," that is to say, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/ground-level-ozone-basics" target="_blank">ozone at ground level</a>.</p><p>Not only would these gases mix with Beirut's already dangerous air pollution levels — a combination of fossil fuel combustion, <a href="https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/20/9281/2020/" target="_blank">sea salt, and mineral dust</a> — which were estimated at least 150% over the World Health Organization's (WHO) standards before the disaster, but also with demolition dust.</p><p>There's no up-to-date information on the level of air pollution at the moment: Beirut shut down its monitoring system to cut costs in 2019. In previous years, though, Lebanon has averaged roughly 30 micrograms of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) per cubic meter, far above the WHO recommendation of <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/69477/WHO_SDE_PHE_OEH_06.02_eng.pdf?sequence=1" target="_blank">10 micrograms per cubic meter</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU5Mzg1Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTc3MjQ2MX0.MtdeL2v5Rx1FgEcUcJxPR4oYvpZORDh2FxvCW70wOOs/img.png?width=980" id="4254a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0d23f927fc33f9d36e5769086b5fd89c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p><br>"There's the demolition construction, demolition waste from the buildings, the walls, the concrete. There's a lot of glass, obviously, also from the buildings and some from the high rises that were the curtain wall, so a lot of glass," says Jihan Seoud, who manages the UNDP's Energy and Environment Program in Beirut.</p><p>It's this uncertainty that makes Seoud cautious. There are too many unknown variables to jump to conclusions, she says – and running tests will take time.</p>
Political Instability Holds Up Testing
<p>One person familiar with those tests is Najat Saliba, a professor of chemistry at the American University of Beirut, where she also directs the Nature Conservation Center.</p><p>Her team has been taking air samples with their own sensors and expects results in about a month — double the wait of the usual procedure, she says, due to the economic collapse.</p><p>"We are really running very low on resources like quality standards and equipment to do the tests," Saliba says.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU5Mzg1Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDk3ODc0OX0.27EJx_2-WCG8HnVr0hBBWkYAveZVrX1a0Mywt_YApc8/img.png?width=980" id="349b8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1dca42e00bb9d881d6f8f7a387c0aa7e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>She emphasizes that <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/beirut-pollution-explosion-lebanon-dust-environment-garbage/a-54704363?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">at the heart of it all is political incompetence</a> — the same kind that has, for example, seen pollution levels worsen with the rise of diesel-powered generators across Beirut, where the power grid is unable to provide electricity for 24 hours a day.</p><p>And while the dust issue has been concerning, Saliba notes that a bigger problem is looming: garbage.</p>
Beirut's Epic Trash Problem
<p>That message doesn't bode well for Beirut, which has been dealing with a <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/trash-crisis-forces-lebanons-environmental-awakening/a-36765579" target="_blank">recurring trash crisis</a> for several years, and is now facing a cleanup to the tune of up to $15 million (€12.6 million). In 2015, the government failed to react quickly enough after a major trash dump was closed, leaving streets and beaches covered in mounds of solid waste.</p><p>In fact, one of the city's main landfills reached capacity in late April, prompting the government to approve a vertical expansion that would hold for roughly three months – or until around the time of the blast.</p><p>The question of what to do with the solid waste has been on the mind of some, like Salam Kabboul, a local freelance journalist and co-founder of "The Tent," a volunteer initiative launched the day after the blast. The name refers to their first project of offering victims snacks and a place to rest with the only thing they had on hand: a tent.</p><p>Now, they repair buildings and homes so life can return to normal. They take precautions for the dust, but when it comes to dealing with trash, they're also in the dark about what to do.</p><p>"It's not clear what happens to the waste," says Kabboul, who, like everyone else is aware of another imminent trash crisis.</p><p>A new aspect of this problem is the type of debris in the cleanup. According to Seoud from UNDP, there's a lot of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-e-waste/a-47210118" target="_blank">hard-to-dispose-of items</a> like air conditioners, compressors, electronics.</p><p>There's also medical waste from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fear of chemical waste – both of which could cause problems for the city's water. As things stand, Beirut is waiting to find out if all of its pipes are still intact post-explosion, and researchers still aren't allowed to test the already contaminated coastal waters, which are roped off as the search for the missing continues.</p><p>Beirut is facing one pollution problem on top of another. Now, with the magnitude of dust and debris putting the city under even more strain, civilians and NGOs alike hope that this disaster could mark a turning point as it moves forward.</p>
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Smoke rises from a burning chemical plant after the passing of Hurricane Laura in Lake Charles, Louisiana on Aug. 27, 2020. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images
When Hurricane Laura struck the Gulf Coast early on Thursday with record-setting winds and storm surges that caused flooding, it was bearing down on an area full of chemical plants. The fears about having toxic chemicals in an area increasingly vulnerable to tropical storms are playing out as a chemical plant caught fire and sent toxic plumes into the air throughout the day, as The New York Times reported.
<p>A fire ripped through a chlorine factory, burning throughout the day and into the night Thursday. It released a toxic smoke into the air that forced Louisiana's Governor Jon Bel Edwards to warn residents to turn off their air conditioners, seal off their windows and doors, and stay inside, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/08/27/hurricane-laura-fire-biolab/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>.</p><p>The fire took place at a BioLab facility that manufacturers chlorine for swimming pools and disinfectants. According to Louisiana State Police Superintendent Kevin W. Reeves, the chlorine in the factory started to decompose, which generated enough heat to start the blaze. From there, a small crew of employees tried, in vain, to extinguish the blaze before calling fire officials, as The Washington Post reported.</p>
<p>Chlorine can be dangerous to the lungs and respiratory passages if inhaled. It also causes blisters and rashes on the skin. State officials quickly installed air quality monitors. During an afternoon press conference, State Fire Marshall Butch Browning said no airborne chlorine was detected, according to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/hurricane-laura-live-updates/2020/08/27/906704215/chemical-fire-burns-near-lake-charles-in-aftermath-of-hurricane-laura" target="_blank">NPR</a>.</p><p>"What they have found is no low-level detection of chlorine offsite, where people walk and where people gather — which is a good thing," Browning said. "The cloud, the plume, as it goes in the air and moves out there is chlorine. Those chemicals are falling in the lake, which is the right place for it because it dilutes the chlorine. So that, we don't believe, is endangering anyone."</p>
<p>The burning chemical factory illuminates the danger the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate crisis</a> poses to the Gulf Coast, which is dotted with chemical factories and oil refineries, many of which are adjacent to poor and racial minority communities. BioLab, near the community of Mossville, is one of more than a dozen industrial facilities in the area. In Mossville, residents have long breathed air pollutants from the nearby industrial facilities, according to The New York Times.</p><p>"The Biolab facility that's burning out of control right now is part of the toxic soup that Mossville residents have been exposed to for decades," said Monique Harden, assistant director of law and policy at the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in New Orleans.</p>
<p>The exposure to toxic air is reminiscent of the plight of Reserve, Louisiana, a few miles up the Mississippi River, which is home to a chemical plant and was the focus of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2019/may/06/cancertown-louisana-reserve-special-report" target="_blank">The Guardian's Cancer Alley</a> series. Residents there are 50 times more likely than the general population to develop cancer.</p><p>While residents of Mossville have to deal with the air pollution from industry, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also warning people about creating their own air pollution. Now that power is knocked to out to hundreds of thousands of homes, the CDC issued a <a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00435.asp" target="_blank">health advisory</a> warning about the dangers of carbon monoxide, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/27/health/cdc-hurricane-co-poisoning/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>The CDC is worried that people will use gasoline-powered generators or gas and charcoal grill in the wrong setting. "If used or placed improperly, these sources can lead to CO build up inside buildings, garages, or campers and poison the people and animals inside," the CDC said, as CNN reported.</p><p>The CDC is advising people in the area to look out for <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/features/copoisoning/index.html#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20symptoms%20of,CO%20poisoning%20is%20entirely%20preventable." target="_blank">symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning</a>, which are fairly non-descript, but may include nausea, vomiting and dizziness, especially if several people have the same complaint and do not have fever, according to CNN.</p><p>"Appropriate and prompt diagnostic testing and treatment are crucial to reduce morbidity and prevent mortality from CO poisoning," the CDC said. "Identifying and mitigating the CO source is critical in preventing other poisoning cases."</p>
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Research has revealed PFAS compounds — even some that have been previously phased out of production — in manatees, loggerhead turtles, alligators, seabirds, polar bears, dolphins and whales. Fadhilahmedh1357 / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 4.0
By Max G. Levy
In seabird after seabird, Anna Robuck found something concerning: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, lurking around vital organs.
<p><br/></p>
<p><em><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/maxglevy/" target="_blank">Max G. Levy </a>is a freelance science journalist. He writes stories about the environment, public health, basic science, and how technology shapes policy.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/pfas-ocean-wildlife/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>
<p>"Brain, liver, kidney, lung, blood, heart," Robuck says, rattling off a few hiding spots before pausing to recall the rest. Robuck, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, quickly settles on a simpler response: She found the chemicals everywhere she looked.</p><p>PFAS — a group of synthetic chemicals — are often called "forever chemicals" due to their quasi-unbreakable molecular bonds and knack for accumulating in living organisms. That <em>foreverness </em>is less of a design flaw than a design feature: The stubborn, versatile molecules help weatherproof clothing; smother flames in firefighting foam; and withstand heat and grime on nonstick pans.</p><p>Through consumption and disposal, the chemicals seep into ecosystems and bodies, where they have been <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/index.html" target="_blank">linked to</a> cancers, pregnancy complications, and reproductive and immune dysfunction. Recent attention has focused on the prevalence of PFAS in drinking water.</p>
<p>"Over the past 10-15 years we've really developed this super negative picture of what PFAS do to humans," Robuck says. "But we've barely scratched the surface of that in wildlife."</p><p>One particular area of concern is the marine ecosystem. Long seen as a bottomless sink for pollutants, the ocean is a final stop for PFAS trickling into the ecosystem. Once in the ocean, PFAS can persist for decades or longer — and travel long distances. As a result, a growing body of scientific research suggests that marine wildlife are accumulating dangerous amounts of "forever chemicals."</p><p>"If we continue to emit PFAS, then the capacity of the ocean to dilute them is going to be exceeded," says <a href="https://pharmacology-toxicology.ecu.edu/dewittj/" target="_blank">Jamie DeWitt</a>, an environmental toxicologist at Eastern Carolina University. "For all we know, oceans could be reservoirs that re-pollute the land."</p>
Journeying Across the Globe
<p>Coastal environments seem especially vulnerable to PFAS seeping from the <a href="https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article235963052.html" target="_blank">chemical plants</a> and military bases <a href="https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2020/04/updated-map-suspected-and-confirmed-pfas-pollution-us-military-bases" target="_blank">responsible for heavy contamination</a>. <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/ccwagner" target="_blank">Charlotte Wagner</a>, a researcher at Harvard University studying the global transport of pollutants, says it's still unclear what fraction of PFAS pollutants remain contained at their source, and what fraction has already leached into other environments.</p><p>But the fact that they do spread — and far — is clear. They generally wind up in oceans, according to Wagner. And not just the ones nearby. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15913661/" target="_blank">Studies</a> in the early 2000s showed that PFAS survived decades-long journeys from manufacturers to remote ocean basins without breaking down.</p><p>"The ocean is not this static pool or bathtub," she says. Large-scale ocean circulation moves pollutants huge distances across the globe. Some varieties of PFAS may degrade slightly over the course of years, until they convert into one of the more stable "terminal PFAS" subgroups, including PFAAs.</p><p>"To the best of our knowledge PFAAs don't degrade at all under natural environmental conditions," says Robuck. Rather than diluting PFAS to infinitely low concentrations, oceans carry them to remote areas, like the <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.0c00228" target="_blank">Arctic</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1309104215304190" target="_blank">Antarctic</a>.</p><p>Other pollutants that reach the ocean, like <a href="https://therevelator.org/toxic-plastic-pollution-food-chain/" target="_blank">DDT and PCBs</a>, will stick to algae and sediment that eventually fall to the ocean floor. "That is a really important removal process," Wagner says. "For PFAS, that process is minor." Plants, algae and sediment only remove a small fraction of PFAS from the water column. That leaves more to accumulate in animals, reaching concentrations thousands of times higher than surrounding waters.</p><p>And those chemicals could travel right back to humans. Eating a lot of seafood, especially fish high on the food chain like tuna, would be concerning, she says.</p><p>But it's not just fish — and humans eating them — that are at risk. A study last year reported PFAS in seawater and <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b03230" target="_blank">plankton</a> dozens of miles off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Other research has revealed PFAS compounds — even some that have been previously phased out of production — in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30803684/" target="_blank">manatees</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30321810/" target="_blank">loggerhead turtles</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27689886/" target="_blank">alligators</a>, <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?Lab=NHEERL&dirEntryId=345700" target="_blank">seabirds</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Brain%20region%20distribution%20and%20patterns%20of%20bioaccumulative%20perfluoroalkyl%20carboxylates%20and%20sulfonates%20in%20East%20Greenland%20polar%20bears%20(Ursus%20maritimus)&author=A.K.%20Greaves&publication_year=2012&pages=713-722" target="_blank">polar bears</a>, <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es0506556" target="_blank">dolphins</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28350446/" target="_blank">whales</a>.</p>
Measuring Harm to Ocean Life
<p>In North Carolina's Cape Fear River, striped bass carrying <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019334762" target="_blank">high levels of PFAS </a>showed distinct signs of impaired immune and liver function. But in the vastness of ocean water, can PFAS levels be high enough to cause harm?</p><p>"In recent years there have been increases in immune-based diseases in turtles and dolphins," says DeWitt. One of the most <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22109712/" target="_blank">well-studied</a> health effects of PFAS is immune dysfunction. Most experiments are limited to humans, rodents and chickens, but researchers are piecing together the role of PFAS in marine immune issues.</p><p>One study concluded that PFOS, a phased-out PFAS that still circulates today, triggers <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5831401/" target="_blank">"chronic immune activation</a>" in bottlenose dolphins. A similar link between PFOS and susceptibility to disease appeared in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16955890/" target="_blank">sea otters</a>. Other research links multiple PFAS to hormonal changes in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2016.07.015" target="_blank">polar bear brains</a>. But these aquatic wildlife health studies are few and far between.</p><p>"PFAS in wildlife is kind of the <em>wild west</em>," says Robuck. "Wildlife are inherently difficult to study in a lot of ways."</p><p>Zeroing on the health effects for individual species is tricky because scientists lack baseline data about stress responses and pollutant levels. They have no choice but to presume consequences in wildlife based on hormonal, immune and reproductive effects in lab animals. For Robuck, that means judging how a pelican will respond to its measured PFAS levels according to health data collected from a chicken. "That's a really crappy comparison," she says.</p><p>In one sense, the method is conservative: Lab animals are well cared for, so their health effects may be a best-case scenario compared to the stressful baseline of wild animals' experience. But it also means we don't have an accurate sense of what dangerous thresholds are for most aquatic life — despite a parade of red flags.</p>Endless Stream of Pollutants
<p>Part of the problem is the sheer number of different compounds. Of the thousands of known PFAS, studies have only deduced health thresholds for a handful. Scientists screening their effects simply can't keep up with the pace.</p><p>The chemical compounds that fall under the PFAS umbrella are also not all the same. Some are long, bulky molecules; others are smaller and more agile. Some forms tend to naturally convert into others; others don't degrade whatsoever. Each molecule has the potential to be more toxic or bioaccumulative than the next. But for a lot of PFAS, Wagner says, scientists don't even have standardized methods of <em>detecting </em>them.</p><p>To make matters worse, even as some of the most dangerous chemicals are being phased out, companies are making alternatives. But they <a href="https://www.ewg.org/release/epa-genx-nearly-toxic-notorious-non-stick-chemicals-it-replaced" target="_blank">may not be any safer</a> than what they're replacing. And scientists have found these alternatives are also accumulating in the bodies of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214158819300145?casa_token=6t17JUQM74gAAAAA:igHTxRV6z9RPhf1UNqwvbgD9iARSODj4WJtavRsmTbF6UUvn2P1YXirvBya2VC094wm8HMxb3A" target="_blank">fish and polar bears</a>.</p><p>"It seems that we haven't learned anything from the past," says Belén González-Gaya, an analytical chemist at the University of Basque Country in Spain. "We keep on substituting compounds [for] others without any knowledge of biological effects."</p><p><a href="https://www.ewg.org/experts/sydney-evans.php" target="_blank">Sydney Evans</a>, a research scientist for the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, suggests that researchers shouldn't have to prove the health risks for thousands of similar compounds in order to warrant regulatory action. "The burden needs to be on these companies and manufacturers to prove their compounds are safe," she says.</p><p>And while there is much we don't know about the majority of PFAS, experts argue that we do know enough to assume they all share fundamental features: persistence, bioaccumulation and health risks. For this reason a group of scientists recently <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00255" target="_blank">published a call</a> for governments and companies to treat all PFAS, old and new, as a single hazardous group.</p><p>"It's really the only way that we can be ahead of the curve," says Wagner, who cowrote the article. "Rather than always realizing that a compound is toxic once it's already everywhere and we measure it on a remote ice-site somewhere in Greenland."</p><p>To shut off the flow of PFAS into the ocean, scientists say that manufacturers should phase out the chemicals and focus on proving safer alternatives.</p><p>With so many open questions, Robuck hopes to see research that more closely predicts threats to marine life — and by extension people, too.</p><p>"As humans, we rely on every natural resource under the sun," she says. "When we undercut a healthy environment, we undercut our own health."</p>From Your Site Articles
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The modern global textile and fashion industries rely on many chemical dyes to create patterns and colors, but these often produce toxic wastewater. Engin Akyurt / Pixabay
Fast fashion has been called the second dirtiest industry in the world, next to big oil, and how we color our clothes is a large part of the problem. Now, Colorifix, a UK biotech company founded by Cambridge University scientists, has developed a new way to dye clothes that doesn't harm the planet.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Historically, natural dyes extracted from plants and flowers were used to color fabrics. The production of modern chemical dyes uses more than 8,000 chemicals, solvents and additives to create different colors and effects on fabrics, reported <a href="https://www.worstpolluted.org/projects_reports/display/105">Pure Earth</a> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/colorifix-sustainable-dyeing-water-pollution-spc-intl/index.html">CNN</a>. Many, like sulfur, arsenic and formaldehyde, are harmful to wildlife and humans, and end up in industrial <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wastewater">wastewater</a> from the dye production process, reported CNN.</p>
<p>In less developed Asian countries, where a large share of today's clothes is produced, weak regulations and/or enforcement allow textile manufacturers to dump toxic substances directly into local waterways, reported CNN. This has caused the dyeing industry to become one of the most environmentally harmful in the world. In fact, according to the UN Environment Program, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sustainable-fashion-2646356550.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3" target="_self">around 20% of global wastewater is generated during textile dyeing and processing.</a></p><p>"When we realized that so much of the pollution comes from something as simple as putting color into our clothes, we thought 'there has to be a better way,'" Colorifix's CEO Orr Yarkoni told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/colorifix-sustainable-dyeing-water-pollution-spc-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p>
<p>According to Yarkoni, Colorifix's new method uses biotechnology and bacteria to eliminate the need for toxic <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals">chemicals</a> and claims its processes use 90% less water and up to 40% less energy than conventional dyeing, reported CNN.</p><p>Unlike with natural dyeing, Colorifix pigments are not derived straight or extracted from plants or animals. And, unlike with chemical dyeing, they don't use anything hazardous in the process, explained Yarkoni in a CNN video. </p><p>Instead, Colorifix "copies nature's processes in a lab setting, by replicating the 'DNA message' that codes for color in an organism," according to CNN. This tricks the genetically-modified bacteria to create and fill up with those exact same colors.</p><p>"So what we can do is take a feather off a parrot, scrape a few cells off ... and in those cells, look for the DNA message 'make red,'" Yarkoni told CNN. "We can then put that same message into our microorganism that will make that same red that the parrot makes the same way that the parrot makes it."</p>
<p>Yarkoni's team then duplicates the dyed bacterial cells in a fermenting machine, feeding them sugar molasses and nitrogen — byproducts from the agricultural industry, <a href="https://www.labiotech.eu/biotech-of-the-week/colorifix-dye-synthetic-biology/" target="_blank">LA BioTech</a> reported. The cells duplicate themselves every 25 minutes. The fermentation process which duplicates the bacteria is similar to beer, but instead of making alcohol, Colorifix makes pigments, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/colorifix-sustainable-dyeing-water-pollution-spc-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. </p><p>In an industry-first, the dyed bacteria are then applied onto the fabric directly and heated until they burst, releasing their dye onto the fabric, <a href="https://www.labiotech.eu/biotech-of-the-week/colorifix-dye-synthetic-biology/" target="_blank">LA BioTech</a> reported. The cell membranes then wash off but the color stays. </p><p>"What we're doing is not just providing a new pigment. We're providing a new way of getting the pigment into the fiber," Yarkoni told LA BioTech.</p>
<p>This new way of applying dyes to fabrics is more efficient and environmentally-beneficial because it removes the middle step of isolating dyes from microbes and applying them to textiles, which is water- and chemical-intensive, Colorifix told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/colorifix-sustainable-dyeing-water-pollution-spc-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p><p>Yarkoni also touted the additional benefit of reducing fashion's huge carbon footprint from shipping. Currently, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tips-sustainable-wardrobe-2634726552.html" target="_self">the industry produces more greenhouse gas emissions per year than all international airline flights and maritime shipping trips combined</a>. </p><p>Rather than shipping large amounts of dye, Colorifix can send five grams of color-packed bacteria to a dyehouse, and the microorganisms will multiply within 10 days to the point where the factory can produce 50 tonnes of dye solution a day, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/colorifix-sustainable-dyeing-water-pollution-spc-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p>
<p>Competitor PILI, a French startup creating ready-to-use dyes from plant sugars and microbes, critiqued Colorifix's "grow your own" approach to dyeing because dyehouses will need to buy fermenting equipment and receive training on the process, CNN reported. These hurdles could create resistance to making the switch to sustainable dyes, Pili claimed, CNN reported. Other industry experts worried about the regulatory issues surrounding the transport of live microbes safely. </p><p>Colorifix has been hugely successful and received backing from Swedish fashion giant H&M. Colorifix has more customers than it can handle, and launched its first industrial trial at a Portuguese dyehouse last month, CNN reported. </p><p>"I truly believe that in the future, a very large proportion of our industry — if not all of it — will be based on these biological principles," Yarkoni told CNN.</p>
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Pexels
By Allison Johnson
Most people who buy organic do it because they want to eat healthier. It's true – switching to an organic diet rapidly decreases exposure to a wide range of pesticides, including glyphosate (the main ingredient in Roundup). According to a new study published in Environmental Research, glyphosate levels in families' bodies dropped 70% in just one week on an organic diet. The researchers concluded that diet is a major source of glyphosate exposure and that eating organic reduces exposure.
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2MDQyNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDcxNTUxNX0.b_BV9lltmowMk5Wed_5HmjAcZ8lj9QJrZY06nGjg5iU/img.png?width=980" id="d34c8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4a67133955312355b2c92de9a53fbfee" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Friends of the Earth / https://foe.org/the-study/
<p>But the health benefits of organic agriculture extend far beyond our individual dinner plates. Organic farming offers a comprehensive alternative to chemical agriculture, and it protects our soil, air, water, wildlife, and critically – our farming communities – from toxic pesticides.</p><p>The purpose of pesticides is to kill. So it's not surprising that widespread use of these chemicals poses a serious public health threat. Diet alone exposes us to a frightening cocktail of pesticide residues, and toxic pesticides pose much <a href="https://law.ucla.edu/news/exposure-and-interaction-potential-health-impacts-using-multiple-pesticides" target="_blank">more severe</a> health threats to <a href="https://www.organic-center.org/organic-agriculture-reducing-occupational-pesticide-exposure-farmers-and-farmworkers-0" target="_blank">farming communities</a>.</p><p>Food system workers and their families and communities – who are <a href="http://www.pesticidereform.org/environmental-justice/" target="_blank">disproportionately Latinx and low-income</a> – bear the brunt of <a href="https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/sites/default/files/aExposed%20and%20Ignored%20by%20Farmworker%20Justice%20singles%20compressed.pdf" target="_blank">harm from toxic pesticide use in agriculture</a>. Farmworkers are at risk from direct exposure to harmful chemicals when mixing and applying pesticides, as well as while working in fields; as a result, they suffer <a href="http://www.farmworkerjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/aExposed-and-Ignored-by-Farmworker-Justice-singles-compressed.pdf" target="_blank">more chemical-related injuries</a> than any other U.S. workforce. Exposure also extends beyond the workplace. Workers can carry pesticides home on clothes, shoes, and skin, inadvertently exposing their children and other family members, and pesticide drift can harm people living, working, and learning near farms.</p><p>These exposure routes add up. And weaning our agricultural system off its addiction to toxic chemicals is an uphill battle.</p><p>We've seen recent wins on pesticide issues in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/business/roundup-settlement-lawsuits.html#:~:text=Just%20weeks%20after%20the%20deal,warn%20consumers%20of%20the%20risk." target="_blank">courts</a> and in <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2019/191009" target="_blank">some</a> <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2020/200320" target="_blank">states</a>, but it can take decades of fighting to end the use of a single pesticide. For example, NRDC petitioned the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to end use of the brain-toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos in 2007; thirteen years later, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/nrdc/nrdc-takes-epa-court-again-protect-childrens-health" target="_blank">we're still in court</a> demanding that EPA protect public health. Meanwhile numerous similar <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2018/181024-0" target="_blank">organophosphate</a> chemicals also remain in our fields and our bodies.</p><p>This pesticide "whack-a-mole" problem makes organic farming a potent addition to our public health toolbox, especially in farming communities: organic farmers do no use most synthetic pesticides, so organic farming eliminates a wide range of health threats posed by farming with toxic chemicals.</p><p>The health crises facing farm workers and rural communities needs urgent attention, particularly in light of the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/covid-19-farmworkers-among-highest-risk-studies-show/" target="_blank">added burdens</a> from the COVID-19 crisis. Kendra Klein and Anna Lappé <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2020/aug/11/pesticide-danger-organic-food-roundup-study" target="_blank">got it right</a>:</p><p>"As long as we treat organic food as if it's a shopping preference instead of a public good, we will miss the opportunity to fight for a desperately needed shift in how we farm."</p><p>We should all be able to eat without exposing anyone to toxic pesticides. That's why we support more public investment in organic in <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lena-brook/ca-farm-school-survives-challenging-budget-year" target="_blank">schools</a>, in the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/allison-johnson/farm-bill-can-make-or-break-organic" target="_blank">Farm Bill</a>, in <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/allison-johnson/house-climate-report-food-ag-are-part-climate-solution" target="_blank">climate policy</a>, and beyond. The stakes are high – but the solutions are within reach.</p><p><em><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/allison-johnson" target="_blank" style="">Allison Johnson</a> is a Sustainable Food Policy Advocate at the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank" style="">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>.</em></p><p><em style="">Reposted with permission from the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/allison-johnson/organic-farming-protects-communities-toxic-chemicals" target="_blank" style="">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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The European Commission launched a new Farm to Fork strategy in an effort to reduce the social and environmental impact of the European food system. European Environmental Agency / Flickr / CC by 2.0
By Katell Ané
The European Commission launched a new Farm to Fork strategy in an effort to reduce the social and environmental impact of the European food system. It is the newest strategy under the European Green Deal, setting sustainability targets for farmers, consumers, and policymakers.
<p>"Farmers are under extreme pressure," Stefan de Keersmaeker, European Commission Spokesperson for Public Health and Food Safety, tells Food Tank. "But our environment and health are under pressure." </p><p>The strategy aims to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50 percent, increase the proportion of land used for organic farming to 25 percent, and reduce nutrient loss by 50 percent before 2030. It is also working to tackle food waste, loss of biodiversity, and unfair wages in the food chain. </p><p>Olivier de Schutter, Co-Chair of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, explains on <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/06/new-on-the-podcast-olivier-de-schutter-on-democratic-food-policy-reform/" target="_blank">Food Tank Live</a> that the strategy comes after calls for a single, integrated food policy framework. After three years of advocacy, a <a href="https://www.arc2020.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/EU-FPC_Open-Letter-F2F-2.pdf" target="_blank">coalition</a> of more than 250 European organizations persuaded the newly elected European Commission to consolidate existing agricultural, health, trade, and environmental policies.</p>
<p>To achieve its goals, the European Commission plans to <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/food-farming-fisheries/sustainability_and_natural_resources/documents/analysis-of-links-between-cap-and-green-deal_en.pdf" target="_blank">reformulate</a> the Common Agricultural Policy (<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/cap-glance_en" target="_blank">CAP</a>), which provides funding for farmers and rural development. The revised CAP will create <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:ea0f9f73-9ab2-11ea-9d2d-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF" target="_blank">eco-schemes</a> to support farmers engaging in sustainable agricultural practices. This new system will reward precision agriculture, agroecology, carbon farming, and agroforestry, amongst other practices.</p><p>"We really believe that if we take this step…if we can set the standard, this will be a win-win situation for all involved," de Keersmaecker tells FoodTank. "What's important is that we ensure that the ensuing value is fairly distributed along the food chain so that those that really invest in this transition are actually rewarded."</p><p>But while de Keersmaekcker says the strategy marks a turning point in food systems legislation, some activists argue that it must go further. </p>
<p>Madeleine Coste, Policy Officer at <a href="https://www.slowfood.com/sloweurope/en/" target="_blank">Slow Food Europe</a>, warns that the 50 percent pesticide reduction target is still too low. </p><p>"[We] are worried that these targets do not go far enough to trigger a much-needed radical shift to agroecological practices," Coste tells Food Tank. If member states do not help farmers transition to more sustainable practices, she explains, "bee and pollinator [species will] continue to be wiped out due to the perpetuation of a farming system based on monoculture and…chemical inputs." </p><p>Coste also fears the European Commission's focus on food waste is too narrow by accounting only for consumer and retail waste. Alongside the <a href="https://eeb.org/" target="_blank">European Environmental Bureau</a> and the <a href="https://www.wwf.eu/" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a>, Slow Food Europe advocates targeting<a href="https://foodpolicycoalition.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NGO-Joint-letter_EC-Commitment-on-Tackling-Food-Waste-in-the-F2F-Strategy.pdf" target="_blank"> pre-retail waste</a>, which makes up 30-59 percent of Europe's total food waste, according to the <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/mb060e/mb060e.pdf" target="_blank">U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization</a>. </p>
<p>Others worry about the Farm to Fork's stance on industrial animal agriculture. The <a href="https://www.eurovia.org/" target="_blank">European Coordination of Via Campesina</a> (ECVC), joined by more than a dozen civil society organizations, <a href="https://actionaid.org/sites/default/files/publications/Less%20and%20better%20animal%20products%20in%20the%20Farm%20to%20Fork%20strategy.pdf" target="_blank">counseled</a> the European Commission to tackle the overconsumption of meat, dairy, and eggs.</p><p>These organizations argue that a reduction in the consumption of animal products would have a positive effect on the environment. But Pierre Maison, Coordination Committee Member of ECVC tells Food Tank, "we believe the capacity of the Farm to Fork strategy to facilitate this transition is very weak." Maison fears that the current policy environment may thwart the Farm to Fork's chances of moving Europe away from large industrial animal agriculture, and reaching its soil health and organic farming targets.</p><p>In order to meet the Farm to Fork's targets, the CAP must enhance <a href="https://www.eurovia.org/report-and-video-of-the-webinar-food-sovereignty-and-the-farm-to-fork-strategy-building-a-fairer-and-more-just-agricultural-model-in-the-eu/" target="_blank">food sovereignty</a> by centering small farmers, according to Maison. "Without market and product regulation, farmers will not receive decent and stable revenue, which will hinder their transition towards sustainable production systems," Maison tells Food Tank.</p>
<p>But by re-localizing supply chains and improving the resilience of farms, he believes the Farm to Fork strategy has the potential to empower small farmers. And Maison says that while organizers have a long way to go, the strategy is an important first step.</p><p>"The transition towards sustainable food systems cannot be successfully achieved if we do it on our own," de Keersmacker tells Food Tank, "it's a fight we're in together."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/08/social-and-environmental-justice-activists-react-to-eu-farm-to-fork-strategy/" target="_blank">Food Tank.</a></em></p>
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Toxic Chemicals From Fossil Fuels Are Poisoning East Coast Dolphins and Whales, Study Finds
06 August
Animals
Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute staff and volunteers try to help a stranded bottlenose dolphin in Cockroach Bay near Ruskin, Florida on Sept. 17, 2015. FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
A new study gives a first look at the presence and potential effects of plastics and new forms of synthetic chemicals in stranded dolphins and whales along the coast of the southeastern U.S.
<p>New toxins and chemicals entering the market are bombarding the ocean and its inhabitants on an unprecedented scale, according to the research that was published Wednesday in <em><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00630/full" target="_blank">Frontiers in Marine Science</a></em>, as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00630/full" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. Large ocean mammals that washed up ashore between 2012 and 2018 are similar to a canary in a coal mine, according to <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/humanitys-newest-toxins-found-in-stranded-whales-and-dolphins/" target="_blank">Courthouse News</a>, since these animals retain chemical deposits in their blubber and offer a window into the health of the larger ocean ecosystem.</p><p>The animals tested comprised toothed whales, which include dolphins, porpoises and other whales like the melon-headed whale and the Cuvier's beaked whale, according to CNN.</p>
<p>"Marine mammals are ecosystem sentinels that reflected anthropogenic threats through their health — which has implications for human health as well," says lead author assistant professor Annie Page-Karjian of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, in a <a href="https://blog.frontiersin.org/2020/08/05/tracking-humanitys-latest-toxins-in-stranded-whales-and-dolphins/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>"For example, many of the species in this study prey upon fishes that are also preferred species for human consumption — so monitoring concentrations of contaminants in these animals provides a relatively low-cost snapshot of the potential exposure risk in humans, as well as other marine animals."</p>
<p>The stranded animals included 11 different species, providing the first evidence for two rarer species: white-beaked dolphin and Gervais' beaked whales, according to <em><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00630/full" target="_blank">Frontiers in Marine Science</a></em>. The stranded animals represented males and females, young and old, which allowed the scientists to look at differences between the groups.</p><p>The results showed that species such as bottlenose dolphins had higher amounts of lead and mercury in their system than pygmy sperm whales. Female bottlenose dolphins had higher levels of arsenic than their male counterparts. Dolphins stranded in Florida displayed higher concentrations of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/lead">lead</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/mercury">mercury</a> and selenium and lower iron levels than those stranded in North Carolina, according to Courthouse News.</p>
<p>These toxic chemicals mostly enter the ecosystem from the burning of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a> and mining, said Alistair Dove, vice president of research and conservation at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, to CNN. Dove was not involved in the study.</p><p>Dolphins like to eat a wide variety of fish, many of which are also eaten by people. For example, dolphins are known to enjoy shrimp and octopus, and on the U.S. East Coast, dolphins like to eat animals like herring, mackerel and flounder, said Page-Karjian, as CNN reported.</p><p>"If humans eat a lot of fish that contain too much arsenic and mercury, these metals can poison the liver and other organs, or cause neurological damage to the brain and nervous system," said Dove to CNN.</p>
<p>As Courthouse News noted, the most oceanic pollution begins on land. Septic tanks, vehicles, farms and ranches all use or produce pollutants that eventually make their way into the ocean thanks to runoff. Trash produced far inland eventually makes its way into the ocean via rivers and canals. The scientists note that curbing this upstream pollution from runoff and the use of single plastics would go a long way to helping the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">oceans</a> heal.</p><p>"If we reduce the use of fossil fuels, we can slow the rate of climate change and put fewer pollutants into the ocean," Dove said to CNN. "This applies to mercury, which most often comes from coal-fired power plants, and even plastics, which are ultimately produced from natural gas."</p>
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Smoke rises above wrecked buildings following a deadly explosion on Aug. 4, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. Marwan Tahtah / Getty Images
By Alexander Freund
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab says he believes Tuesday's explosion in Beirut could have been caused by large quantities of ammonium nitrate stored in the port.
<p>The ammonium nitrate in question was said to have been brought to the Lebanese capital on a freight ship that was impounded for safety reasons in 2013. It had been en route from Georgia to Mozambique.</p><p>Diab said about 2,750 metric tons (3,025 short tons) of the highly explosive chemical had been stored at the port since then without the necessary safety precautions in place.</p><p>The blast was so powerful that it could be heard in Cyprus, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) to the west, media reported.</p>
What Is Ammonium Nitrate?
<p>Ammonium nitrate is a white crystalline salt that can be fairly cheaply produced from ammonia and nitric acid. It is soluble and often used as fertilizer, as nitrogen is needed for healthy plant development.</p><p>Ammonium nitrate in its pure form is not dangerous. It is, however, heat sensitive. At 32.2 degrees Celsius (89.96 degrees Fahrenheit), ammonium nitrate changes its atomic structure, which in turn changes its chemical properties.</p><p>When large quantities of ammonium nitrate are stored in one place, heat is generated. If the amount is sufficiently vast, it can cause the chemical to ignite. Once a temperature of 170 C is reached, ammonium nitrate starts breaking down, emitting nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas. Any sudden ignition causes ammonium nitrate to decompose directly into water, nitrogen and oxygen, which explains the enormous explosive power of the salt.</p>Deadly Disasters
<p>As ammonium nitrate is a highly explosive chemical, many countries strictly regulate its use. Over the past 100 years, there have been several disasters involving the chemical.</p><p>In 1921, for example, a massive blast occurred at a BASF chemical plant in Ludwigshafen in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. About 400 metric tons of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate exploded, killing 559 people and injuring 1,977. The plant was largely destroyed in the blast, which could be heard as far away as Munich, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) distant.</p><p>In 2015, explosions caused by ammonium nitrate ripped through the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/china-convicts-dozens-for-last-years-giant-explosions-in-tianjin/a-36324321" target="_blank">Chinese port city of Tianjin</a>. Eight hundred metric tons of the chemical were said to have been stored along with other substances in a warehouse for hazardous materials. The blasts killed 173 people and destroyed an entire city district.</p><p>Two years earlier, in 2013, an ammonium nitrate explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Company site in Texas, killing 14 people. And in 2001, 31 people died in Toulouse, France, in an explosion caused by the chemical.</p>Terrorist Favorite
<p>In Germany, the purchase and use of ammonium nitrate is regulated by the explosives act. This is because the cheap, highly explosive and relatively easily obtainable material has in the past been used by terrorists to carry out attacks.</p><p>For example, in 1995, U.S. conspiracy theorist and gun enthusiast Timothy McVeigh used a mixture of ammonium nitrate and other substances to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik also used ammonium nitrate in a car bomb attack in Oslo in 2011.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Florida Gov. DeSantis Prohibits Cities From Banning Sunscreens, Even Ones That Harm Coral
03 July
Politics
Sunscreen pollution is accelerating the demise of coral reefs globally by causing permanent DNA damage to coral. gonzalo martinez / iStock / Getty Images Plus
On July 29, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a controversial bill prohibiting local governments from banning certain types of sunscreens.
<p><a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/172" target="_blank">SB 172</a> responds to and reverses the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sunscreens-oxybenzone-ban-2628295489.html" target="_self">City of Key West's 2019 ban on the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate</a> to protect its <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-reefs" target="_self">coral reef</a>. The ban was set to take effect Jan. 1, 2021, but the new law strikes down that ban and prohibits similar ones.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.coris.noaa.gov/portals/florida.html" target="_blank">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)</a>, Key West sits on Florida's Reef Tract, the only barrier reef in the continental U.S. </p><p>Florida's multi-billion coastal economy "is highly tied to the coral reefs and dependent on their health," the <a href="https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/floridas-dying-reefs-could-kill-the-florida-keys-economy" target="_blank">Environmental and Energy Study Institute</a> found.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/reef-friendly-sunscreens-2634686426.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">Sunscreen pollution is accelerating the demise of coral reefs</a> globally by causing permanent DNA damage to coral, according to experts, reported <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sunscreens-oxybenzone-ban-2628295489.html" target="_self">ABC News</a>.</p><p>"(Coral reefs) provide billions of dollars in economic and environmental services, such as food, coastal protection, and tourism," said a <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html#:~:text=In%20a%202016%20study%2C%20a,against%20the%20sun's%20harmful%20effects." target="_blank">NOAA infographic article</a> about the harms of sunscreens. The infographic focuses on how sunscreen chemicals enter the ocean environment, the harm they cause to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a> including corals, fish, algae, etc. and alternative, reef-safe ways to stay protected from the sun.</p><p>Common <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals">chemicals</a> in sunscreens and cosmetics are "highly toxic" to marine life and "even very low concentrations" of oxybenzone and octinoxate accumulate in coral tissue, inducing bleaching, damaging coral DNA and deforming and killing young coral larvae, according to NOAA.</p>
<p>This harm to the next generation of reefs threatens the survival of corals generally <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coral-reefs-climate-crisis-predictions-2645201373.html" target="_self">at a time when reefs are already heavily imperiled</a>. <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html#:~:text=In%20a%202016%20study%2C%20a,against%20the%20sun's%20harmful%20effects." target="_blank">NOAA </a>called nontoxic sunscreen alternatives "critical" to protect reefs against "exacerbating effects posted by climate change and bleaching."</p><p>Oxybenzone and octinoxate also <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sunscreen-chemicals-bloodstream-2636509218.html" target="_self">disrupt the human endocrine system</a>.<br></p><p>Even while the new Florida bill was moving towards DeSantis' desk, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed most chemical sunscreens from its list of "safe and effective" products pending health studies, instead designating mineral-based sunscreens containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as "safe and effective, reported <a href="https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/06/30/desantis-signs-bill-prohibiting-florida-cities-from-banning-any-sunscreens-even-those-that-threaten-corals/" target="_blank">Florida Phoenix</a>.</p><p>Proponents of the bill, including many business interests, claim sunscreen is necessary to protect the residents and visitors to the sunshine state from skin cancer.</p>
<p>Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley spearheaded the bill, disputing the science claiming that sunscreens harm reefs. He argued that protecting tourists and residents from cancer trumps protecting coral reefs, reported Florida Phoenix and <a href="https://miami.cbslocal.com/2020/06/30/sunscreen-ban-in-florida/" target="_blank">CBS Miami</a>.</p><p>Those criticizing the bill call it the latest attack on local government home-rule authority as well as on coral reefs, reported <a href="https://www.startribune.com/florida-gov-chooses-side-in-sunscreen-debate-slather-away/571569782/?refresh=true" target="_blank">Star Tribune</a>.</p><p>Some have called the bill a "gross overreaction" to Key West's "measured and reasonable limitation" meant to protect their lucrative, important natural resource, reported <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-nsf-desantis-signs-sunscreen-ban-into-law-20200630-vjbksvzx5zh23kevo4d2nibvg4-story.html" target="_blank">Sun-Sentinel</a>.</p><p>"When it comes to protecting Florida's coral reefs, the Governor is standing with corporate interests, despite millions of taxpayer dollars spent on reef preservation and restoration," environmental groups said Tuesday in a joint press release, reported <a href="https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/06/30/desantis-signs-bill-prohibiting-florida-cities-from-banning-any-sunscreens-even-those-that-threaten-corals/" target="_blank">Florida Phoenix</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html#:~:text=In%20a%202016%20study%2C%20a,against%20the%20sun's%20harmful%20effects." target="_blank">NOAA</a> said that "although pollution is a major cause of coral reef degradation," it is also "the easiest factor to mitigate" because manufacturers and consumers can choose to create and purchase less harmful products. The only issue, NOAA found, was that regulation of the toxic chemicals in sunscreens "has largely been ignored."</p><p>DeSantis did not issue statements as his office Monday night released the new bill, reported <a href="https://miami.cbslocal.com/2020/06/30/sunscreen-ban-in-florida/" target="_blank">CBS Miami</a>.</p>
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Police officers wearing riot gear disperse demonstrators by shooting tear gas next to St. John's Episcopal Church outside of the White House on June 1, 2020 in Washington, DC. JOSE LUIS MAGANA / AFP via Getty Images
Police across the U.S. have used tear gas to disperse crowds assembling to protest the death of George Floyd and to decry police brutality, and infectious disease experts are urging them to stop.
<p>The chemical "riot agent," they warn, could cause coronavirus to spread more quickly.</p><p>Agent CS (2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile), or tear gas, was invented over a century ago and has been used for crowd control during civil unrest ever since, <a href="https://www.insider.com/tear-gas-banned-from-war-why-dangerous-how-to-neutralize-2020-6" target="_blank">Insider</a> reported. Tear gas has been banned during warfare by almost every country, but U.S. domestic law enforcement can still legally use it to control riots, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/06/fact-check-its-true-tear-gas-chemical-weapon-banned-war/3156448001/" target="_blank">USA Today</a> reported.</p>
<p>The chemical, which is actually a solid, white powder, dissolves into a "painful, acidic liquid" when mixed with water, sweat and oils in our skin, Insider noted.</p><p>At a minimum, it's an irritant to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs and skin that can cause eyes to tear, runny nose, drooling, coughing, chest tightness and vomiting, effects that typically last 15 to 30 minutes, <a href="https://www.thestate.com/news/coronavirus/article243228086.html" target="_blank">The State</a> reported. If tear gas gets in the eyes, it can cause temporary blindness, and exposed skin can feel like it's burning, <a href="https://www.insider.com/tear-gas-banned-from-war-why-dangerous-how-to-neutralize-2020-6" target="_blank">Insider</a> reported. Heat and humidity intensify the pain.</p>
<p>These "excessive" bodily secretions, along with shouting at protests, mean more respiratory droplets are emitted, which <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/protestors-publich-health-coronavirus-covid-19-testing-2646141562.html" target="_self">increases the chance of coronavirus transmission</a>, said Dr. Payal Kohli, reported The State.</p><p>University of California at San Francisco infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong told <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/infectious-disease-specialists-call-for-an-end-to-tear-gas-during-covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">KTVU Fox2</a>, "The acute effects are particularly salient when we think of COVID-19." When infected individuals are tear-gassed, they will cough more and increase risk of community-spread, he said. With healthy individuals, tear-gassing "makes it easier for virus to come and set up shop."</p>
<p>Chin-Hong and other experts have circulated an <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/infectious-disease-specialists-call-for-an-end-to-tear-gas-during-covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">online petition</a> calling for the end of tear-gassing during the pandemic and report that people with repeat tear gas exposure can suffer lung illnesses like chronic bronchitis.</p><p>"I'm really concerned that this might catalyze a new wave of COVID-19," Sven-Eric Jordt told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/us/tear-gas-risks-protests-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. The Duke University researcher studies the effects of tear gas agents and said he was "shocked" at how widespread police use of the control agent had become.</p>
<p>Ayesha Appa, an infectious disease doctor at the University of California San Francisco, said tear gas "seems like a particularly cruel intervention at this time in which the country is facing a respiratory virus that is sweeping the country with unprecedented rates of disease," reported <a href="https://www.thestate.com/news/coronavirus/article243228086.html" target="_blank">The State</a>.</p><p>Many experts noted that the gas affects anyone in the area it is deployed in, including peaceful individuals and sometimes police officers, Insider reported.</p>
<p>In a letter to the city of Oakland, councilmembers urged the immediate halt of tear gas use for crowd control, reported <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-councilmembers-ask-for-immediate-halt-to-police-use-of-tear-gas" target="_blank">KLTV Fox 2</a>. Residents complained of tear gas "reaching the 14th floor of their building and creeping into their apartment, as well as a tear gas canister landing on their rooftop and catching grass on fire," the letter stated. Another resident, whose car had been gassed, was sprayed in his face when he turned on the engine the following day because the chemical got trapped in his air vents.</p><p><a href="http://insider/" target="_blank">Insider</a> reported how "many black Americans disproportionately have pre-existing conditions like asthma that could make tear gas lethal." Additionally, crowd-control weapons expert and emergency physician Dr. Rohini Haar warned Insider that tear gas may be "especially hard" on children, the elderly and those with chronic respiratory conditions.</p><p>Sarah Grossman, a 22-year-old young woman died days after being tear-gassed at a Columbus rally, reported <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-investigation-ohio-state-student-died-pepper-gas-20200606-r3isw6mzlvfnfjornc2lgyr53u-story.html" target="_blank">NY Daily News</a>. Initial media speculation suggested that tear gas may have triggered an underlying respiratory issue, but her death remains under investigation, <a href="https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/autopsy-records-springboro-grad-was-columbus-protest-days-before-death/AoDEkHoBC40i6nYIESdLcM/" target="_blank">Dayton Daily News reported</a>.</p>
<p>Harr also warned that tear gas canisters themselves often cause the most permanent disabilities and harm, "especially when they hit the head or the neck, the eyes, the delicate bones of the face," <a href="http://insider/" target="_blank">Insider</a> reported. 21-year-old student Balin Brake lost his right eye after a tear gas canister hit his head during demonstrations, reported <a href="https://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20200531/indiana-tech-student-loses-eye-during-saturdays-protest" target="_blank">Journal Gazette</a>.</p><p>Even without tear gas concerns, protests during a pandemic already caused alarm.</p><p>Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned that protests could become "super-spreader events," leading to an explosion of secondary infections, reported <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/health/protests-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. Doctors cautioned that protesters should not be held in enclosed, tight police vans and jails, which have some of the highest risk areas for coronavirus transmission, reported <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/infectious-disease-specialists-call-for-an-end-to-tear-gas-during-covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">KTVU Fox 2</a>.</p><p>Human rights experts say that tear gas should be used on civilians as a "weapon of last resort, not an everyday occurrence," reported <a href="http://insider/" target="_blank">Insider</a>.</p>
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Police officers pepper spray a woman next to the Colorado State Capitol as protests against the death of George Floyd continue for a third night on May 30 in Denver, Colorado. Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images
By Jake Johnson
A federal judge late Friday issued a temporary order barring the Denver Police Department from using projectiles and chemical weapons such as tear gas against peaceful demonstrators, condemning the conduct of some officers against protesters across the nation in recent days as "disgusting."
<p>"The time is past to rely solely on the good faith and discretion of the Denver Police Department and its colleagues from other jurisdictions," wrote Judge R. Brooke Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in his 11-page <a href="https://wp-denverite.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/06/16-Order-Granting-in-Part-TRO-Abay.pdf" target="_blank">order</a>. "The Denver Police Depart has failed in its duty to police its own."</p>
<p>The restraining order, which took effect immediately, comes in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of four Denver protesters who said the use of "pepper spray, pepper balls, rubber bullets, flashbang grenades, and tear gas" by city police during a May 28 demonstration against the killing of George Floyd violated their constitutional rights. Jackson's ruling came just hours after Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, a Democrat, imposed a <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/501442-seattle-mayor-temporarily-bans-use-of-tear-gas" target="_blank">30-day ban</a> on police use of tear gas, which is <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/06/fact-check-its-true-tear-gas-chemical-weapon-banned-war/3156448001/" target="_blank">banned</a> in warfare.</p>
<p>"If immediate relief is not granted, plaintiffs' speech would be chilled and outright denied over the next several days or weeks of demonstrations," Jackson wrote. "Indeed, irreparable harm has already occurred in the form of physical injury and the suppression of speech."</p><p>"People have an absolute right to demonstrate and protest the actions of governmental officials, including police officers," Jackson continued. "It is one of the many freedoms on which this country was built ... Citizens should never have to fear peaceful protest on the basis of police retaliation, especially not when protesting that very same police violence."</p>
<p>While Jackson's order was described as "<a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/06/05/denver-george-floyd-protests-federal-order/" target="_blank">extraordinary</a>" and applauded as a positive step that should be <a href="https://twitter.com/_NickRogers_/status/1269114124463734785" target="_blank">replicated nationwide</a>, it is not without loopholes. As the Colorado Sun <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/06/05/denver-george-floyd-protests-federal-order/" target="_blank">reported</a>, Jackson's order allows Denver police to use chemical agents and some projectiles against demonstrators "if an on-scene supervisor at the rank of captain or above specifically authorizes such use of force in response to specific acts of violence or destruction of personal property that the supervisor witnessed."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/06/condemning-police-conduct-disgusting-federal-judge-bars-denver-cops-using-chemical" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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