Aveda CWF 2009 MO
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Clean Water Fund our water, our health, our future Earth Month 2009
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Transcript of Aveda CWF 2009 MO
Clean Water Fundour water, our health, our future
Earth Month 2009
The Clean Water Act is designed to protect all of America’s lakes, rivers and streams.
This is important because we love our water: fishing, swimming and boating are part of our way of life.
It is also important because we depend on our lakes, rivers and streams as the sources of our drinking water.
»Global Warming
»Pesticide pollution
»Toxic chemicals
»Water scarcity
New, serious threats to water
Global Warming
»More soil erosion from severe weather: storm surges and flooding
»Droughts concentrate pollution and dry up wetlands and small streams
»More invasive species like Asian Carp
Half of the world’s wetlands have disappeared in the last century.
Global Warming will worsen this.
Flooding causes manure spillsHuge factory farms: 300 million tons of manure per year
Invasive speciesharm ecosystems, damaging fishing and water quality.
Example: Asian carp is threatening small river fish in Missouri like bluegill, green sunfish, crappie, white and yellow bass.
An estimated 4.1% or $8 billion of Missouri’s total economy is driven by tourism. In 2001, anglers’ fishing-related purchases totaled over $832 million. Those purchases helped fund approx. 15,000 jobs in Missouri.
Over 80,000 chemicals are in production today.
Photo: Franz Hendricks
Photo: James Tan Chin Choy
Less than 10% have been tested for human health effects.
ewg.orgewg.org
Study of chemicals in the cordblood of newborns found an average of 287 contaminants
» 180 cause cancer in humans or animals
» 217 toxic to the brain and nervous system
» 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests
Bisphenol A
» a plasticizer is found in baby bottles, tin can lining and sippy cups.
» A hormone disruptor that mimics estrogen.
» Linked to serious health problems, especially for children.
Health Impacts
» Even at low exposure BPA is a potent hormone disruptor that stimulates prostate and breast cancer cells and is linked with adverse effects on male reproduction
» Hormone disruption» Lowered sperm count » Early onset puberty» Testicular & breast
cancer» Behavioral problems
hyperactivity» Miscarriage» Insulin resistance
Elevated BPA Exposure
» A recent study links elevated BPA concentrations to an increased risk for heart disease
» Diabetes
» Liver abnormalities
BPA: Just one of many
There are many other chemicals of concern: PCBs, PBDEs, pthalates, chloroform, dioxins, Benzophenone, Benzo(a)pyrene, Carbendazim, Ethane, Dimethane Sulphonate,Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS),Nonylphenol, octylphenol, Resorcinol, Styrene dimers and trimers and dozens of pesticides.
US uses 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides every year
Long Term Health Effects
» Parkinson's» Brain Cancer» Birth defects» Leukemia» Miscarriage» Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma» Infertility» Asthma» Sterility» ND study shows IQ loss
Atrazine:» Atrazine used for crop production
(soybeans and corn)
» Endocrine disrupter
» Reproductive toxin
» Immune function
» MO study: chemical castration and feminizes male frogs
» Prostate and breast cancer for humans
With these new, serious threats to our water, shouldn’t we be strengthening our water protections?
Not according to the Supreme Court and EPA. They have actually weakened the Clean Water Act.
Pressure from polluters weakens our bedrock water protections
» Two key Supreme Court decisions have changed the definition of what counts as “water” and deserves protections.
» The way the law is being enforced at EPA has changed as well, giving the benefit of doubt to polluters.
“The State of Missouri contains many thousands of acres of water resources, including streams, wetlands, and rivers. We are thus very concerned about any possible loss of jurisdiction over these waterbodies, as they provide revenue, wildlife habitat and aesthetic beauty for the enjoyment of all… Any limitations to the jurisdictional authority of these sections could have devastating impacts to Missouri’s water resources.”
- Scott B. Totten, MO Water Protection & Soil Conservation Division Director, 2003
About 60% of streams in the US dry up for part of the year.
Under the newly weakened Clean Water Act that means they can be denied protection.
“Isolated” water, like wetlands, can also be denied Clean Water Act protection.
For Missouri, 76% of streams (84,450 miles) and 35% of wetlands (660,000 acres) could lose protections.
Recent efforts to weaken the Clean Water Act could leave the drinking water sources for 110 million people without protections.
MO drinking water at greater risk
“Missouri is underlain with extremely karstic geology, which has produced an abundance of caves, sinkholes, losing streams, and other geologic features that have interaction with surface water.”
- Scott B. Totten, MO Water Protection & Soil Conservation Division Director, 2003
We can’t allow the Clean Water Act to be weakened like this.
We must pressure the EPA to do their job and protect our water.
What we’re working on:» Clean Water Act enforcement
and restoration
»Water infrastructure
» Promoting clean, renewable energy and Global Warming solutions
» Green chemistry
cleanwaterfund.org
