#environmental damage

[susanoos-wife]

[aaronstjames]

‘Those who eat Chilean salmon cannot imagine how much human blood it carries with it’

The country is the world’s second-largest producer of the popular fish, and the biggest supplier to the US, but its farms are beset by accus

[rjzimmerman]

Locusts and Landmines Threaten Ukraine’s Farmland • The Revelator

Ecosystems have also come under threat from toxic plants whose spread has been difficult to control during the Russian invasion.

Excerpt from this story from The Revelator:

The people of Ukraine won’t soon forget the summer of 2025, a period that saw a significant increase in Russian attacks on the country, including the largest number of drones sent to kill and terrorize Ukrainians.

This summer farmers witnessed another invasion of their lands — a locust outbreak that devastated crops across southern and eastern Ukraine.

Videos shared with The Revelator show swarms of locusts — each as wide as a human hand — ravaging fields of sunflowers and corn in the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kherson, and Odesa regions, adding to the dangerous effects of war on these ecosystems.

It’s not a coincidence that the regions most affected by the outbreak are among those experiencing some of the worst fighting.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered an environmental crisis, experts say, that is manifesting in the rise of invasive species.

“The fields with proper agrotechnical tillage are not conducive to laying eggs for the locusts,” says Andriy Fedorenko, a senior researcher at the Institute of Grain Crops of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences in Ukraine, who spent several weeks this summer researching the breeding patterns of locusts in the affected regions. “But abandoned agricultural lands and dried-up ponds are ideal.”

He says the locusts have gained a foothold in vast farmlands made unusable by the Russian invasion, as well as the area affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

“A single locust consumes vegetation equivalent to 1–1.5 times its weight every day,” Viter wrote. Crop fields “flooded and abandoned because of the war as well as on the bed of the former Kakhovka Reservoir” offered just that.

Locusts also need favorable climate conditions — very high temperatures — to breed. Climate change may have furthered their recent reproductive success.

In a statement shared with The Revelator, the Ukrainian government also provided a similar assessment, terming the phenomenon “Russian ecocide” — the destruction of the environment resulting from Russia’s invasion.

Since the Russian invasion, however, Ukraine’s agricultural sector has suffered direct losses of more than $80 billion in infrastructure and production, according to studies.

Evidence also suggests that not only has Russia deliberately targeted agricultural equipment, logistics and storage facilities, they’ve also stolen Ukrainian agricultural products.

On top of that, landmines now contaminate more than 54,000 square miles of Ukraine — 20% of the country and one of the highest concentrations of the lethal devices in the world, according to the UN.

[sweetfirebird]

'How come I can’t breathe?': Musk's data company draws a backlash in Memphis

The company’s turbines — enough to power 280,000 homes — run without emission controls in an area that leads Tennessee in asthma hospitaliza

[madamemarmot]

The object of capitalism's exploitation is not just the labor power of the periphery but also the environment of the entire Earth. Natural resources, energy, and food are all plundered from the Global South via unequal exchange with developed countries. Capitalism uses humans as tools for accumulating capital but can profit from the natural world by simply plundering its resources directly. This is one of this book's most fundamental assertions. Slow Down by Kohei Saito

[kaija-rayne-author]

Fireworks are bad.

Really, really.

Coming up on the holidays here in North America, I wanted to talk about why fireworks are bad.

They're bad for a whole host of reasons.

The sound and odour kills small animals, birds, and often fish.

The chemicals released cause a lot of problems.

They can trigger (in the mental health sense, triggered doesn't mean upset) veterans and others with trauma.

They're hell on pet animals and wild animals too.

Some quotes from the linked article.

"release a host of contaminants that affect air quality and can contribute to climate change, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, and particulate matter."

For animals: they can "become lost, abandon their habitats, & suffer from health consequences, whether it be stress severe enough to lead to death or getting hit by a vehicle."

"thousands of birds flew up to altitudes of 500 metres in the air after the explosions." (That's 1640.42 feet). Birds usually stay under 500 feet. (Source, Birdnote)

"leave their young and disrupt their breeding and feeding behaviours"

"hundreds of birds, primarily starlings, were found dead on the streets of Rome, Italy, after a fireworks event. Cause of death was found to be related to a particularly loud display of firecrackers and fireworks."

"the aftermath of a firework display consists of debris, such as shells and heavy metals, littered across the ground, providing opportunities for animals to accidentally ingest these hazardous materials"

"embers and sparks produced from ignited fireworks have a higher chance of creating a flame that can cause forest fires"

They increase acid rain, harming ecosystems.

Microplastic and perchlorate pollution is another problem with fireworks.

Perchlorate causes a lot of problems, one of which is reduced thyroid function in humans.

Fireworks are used to please crowds, celebrate big holidays, and end festivals with a bang – literally. But at what environmental cost? Espe

There are better alternatives available. Silent fireworks and drone shows are two cool alternatives.

I'm not saying you should boycott fireworks. It wouldn't help. (Stop setting them off privately though, please, for the love of everything. You do NOT need to be causing that level of harm for some sparkly lights.) Besides, odds are you're breaking the law.

What I AM saying is that they're bad & there are better options.

Get involved in your communities and ask for change.

That's what needs to happen.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

If you learned anything, I'm a disabled creative mom of two disabled kids and my work of words is my only income. Please consider a tip or becoming a patron.

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Drone show for an example. Personally, I find that much cooler than fireworks.

[moth-grrrl-mavis]

I realize it's kinda old news but as a Utahn it still really fucks with me every time I remember that the great Salt Lake is literally vanishing and the government isn't doing anything about it

[my2browneyes]

SpaceX is grounded after rocket explosion caused extensive environmental damage

The failed launch of SpaceX's Starship rocket from Boca Chica in South Texas last week didn't just explode the world's largest rocket. It caused more environmental damage than expected.

‘The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) documented that the debris cloud deposited material as far as six-and-a-half miles north of the launch pad.’