Green Group discussion

A residents' group in Spain has finally gone to the EU about wastewater leaks as protracted disputes meant nobody was taking responsibility for the leaks and environmental harm.
This is a drastic step as, if proven, the EU's usual answer is to fine the offending country per day; the Spanish government would then be responsible for sorting out the dispute.
https://www.costa-news.com/latest-new...
Relevant books:
Connecting the Drops: A Citizens' Guide to Protecting Water Resources

Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity

Another case, this time oil rigs in Canada.

A firm went bankrupt and the accountants tasked with repaying creditors, decided to put all the money from selling off good oil wells, to creditors, and leave the state to clean up the pollution after drained oil wells.
Not so, says the Supreme Court.

https://www.ecowatch.com/canada-supre...

A Russian mining firm was pumping wastewater into Arctic wildlife areas until a newspaper reported the scene.


"Independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta published videos from the scene showing large metal pipes carrying wastewater from the reservoir and dumping foaming liquid among nearby trees.

The company issued the statement just hours after the Novaya Gazeta video surfaced that showed water tainted with heavy metals from the tailings at a nickel-processing plant were being pumped into a river, according to The Associated Press.

As Deutsche-Welle reported, when investigators arrived at the scene, the pipes were "hastily" removed, and a car that had delivered officials to the scene was partly squashed by a heavy earthmoving machine. Nobody was injured in the accident that crushed part of the car.

Before the time when investigators arrived, 6,000 cubic meters of liquid had been dumped over "several hours," reported the Russian news agency Interfax, according to Deutsche-Welle. It was impossible to tell how far the wastewater had dispersed.

The incident occurred at the Talnakh enrichment plant near the Arctic city of Norilsk,"

https://www.ecowatch.com/russia-minin...

Not sure where to put this one, but it's a big story, and environmental pollution is part of the scene.

https://www.ecowatch.com/nra-new-york...

"New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday that she will attempt to dismantle the National Rifle Association (NRA), arguing that years of corruption and mismanagement warrant the dissolution of the activist organization, as CNN reported...

"The overwhelming influence the NRA has had on American politics has enabled gun violence to proliferate into a public health crisis, according to the American Public Health Association. Furthermore, the ubiquity of guns and bullets poses environmental risks. As the University of Pennsylvania notes, contaminants in bullets include lead, copper, zinc, antimony and even mercury, all of which can sink into the soil and sometimes leach into groundwater and surface water. Exposure to these contaminants through the soil or water can lead to illness and possibly death for those who spend significant amounts of time in contaminated areas."

I know that police and army dogs are trained to be calm around bangs, at firing ranges, and they tended to die young - four to six - from cancers and other serious illnesses like organ failure. Then the police realised that all the metals and chemicals were sinking to the ground and the dogs were walking on them, absorbing them through paw pads and licking their paws. So now the dogs wear boots at the range.

Environmental contaminants from rounds are not likely to be cleaned up everywhere they are used, and if they really are ubiquitous that has serious health implications for people, birds, animals and fish.

Other media are just following the money. Lots of money.

WP: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...

CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/06/po...