The Gaia Reports

By Theodora Filis Generally, one thinks in terms of a nuclear war when considering pollution that involves radiation. The background level of radiation in oceans and seas varies around the globe. The primary source of radiation pollution has been nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Ocean, but some regions have experienced additional inputs. The Irish Sea in 2008 showed elevated levels compared to large ocean basins as a result of radioactive releases from the Sellafield reprocessing facility at Seacastle, U.K. Levels in the Baltic and Black Seas are elevated due to fallout from the 1986 explosion and fire at the Chornobyl nuclear reactor. --Data courtesy of MARIS/IAEA and CMER Scientists continue to track the many pathways by which radioisotopes from the damaged nuclear reactors at Fukushima make their way into and out of seawater, marine life, and seafloor sediments.  These depend on the behavior and metabolism of an individual animal, the nature of complex coastal a...

By Theodora Filis During the next decade, Russia will be unable to deal effectively with the formidable environmental challenges posed by decades of Soviet and post-Soviet environmental mismanagement and recurring economic crises.  Although the prolonged contraction in economic activity has resulted in significant drops in most pollution categories, substantial environmental improvement will depend on an array of socioeconomic, institutional, and cultural changes--facilitated by the international engagement that will only begin to develop sporadically and close to the end of our 10-year time frame at the earliest. Major progress is decades away. Among Russia's most serious environmental problems: Water pollution is the most serious concern. Less than half of Russia's population has access to safe drinking water. While water pollution from industrial sources has diminished because of the decline in manufacturing, municipal wastes increasingly threaten key water supply ...

By Theodora Filis Most of us like to believe that the widespread contamination of our groundwater, soil, and air is entirely due to the irresponsibility of large industries. We refuse to accept the notion that in our own everyday lives, we are contributing to the poisoning of the planet. However, commonly used substances such as paint thinners, household pesticides, cleaners and solvents, and some aerosols produce hazardous waste.  Our responsibility for them does not end at our curbside. Leaching out of municipal landfills and into groundwater released in the air from garbage incinerators, or discharged from sewer systems into public waters, toxic waste comes back to haunt us. Many of those same household products present a direct health hazard to you and your family. Most commercial polishes, for example, contain poisonous solvents that emit vapors. These products are often composed of the same toxic chemicals that industrial dumpers have used to eliminate bugs in your garde...