China - Pollution - Environment - Economy - Choking on Growth Part I - The New York Times

Our drive to purchase more things at lower and lower prices has its cost well beyond our own house. I had pretty much decided to stop buying things made in China. Now I am committed to that policy. China is quickly becoming a vast toxic land. This can only lead to trouble for the world. They have several options, the two most likely to me are that they will either change and clean up their environment as many other nations are doing, or they will need to get more land.

Much of the money China has earned in the world market have gone to purchase large enough amounts of US T bills that they could pretty much ruin the value of our dollar, however, not without great financial losses on their part at this time.

From China Daily  

China faces severe ocean pollution

"Over the past five years, China has seen increased contamination of the ocean. The total amount of waste water flowing into the ocean was over 31 billion tons,"  This was the 2005 figure and it has become worse.

Choking on Growth A series of articles and multimedia examining the impact of China’s epic pollution crisis.

Below is a photo "recycling" in China and another NY Times story based on a study

Discarded circuit boards in the town of Guiyu, China, where scientists found
environmental contamination from crude recycling practices.

Full story here: 
Recycling That Harms the Environment and People - New York Times

Here is the abstract from the study

Environ. Sci. Technol., 42 (7),
2674–2680, 2008.

10.1021/es071873x

Web Release Date: March 4, 2008

Copyright © 2008 American Chemical Society

Heavy Metals Concentrations of Surface Dust from e-Waste Recycling and Its Human Health Implications in Southeast China

Anna O. W. Leung,^† Nurdan S. Duzgoren-Aydin,^‡§
K. C. Cheung,^† and Ming H. Wong^*†

Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences,
and Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, PR China,
and Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China

Received for review July 27, 2007

Revised manuscript received December 27, 2007

Accepted January 5, 2008

Abstract:

The recycling of printed circuit boards in Guiyu, China, a village intensely involved in e-waste processing, may present a significant environmental and human health risk. To evaluate the extent of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) contamination from printed circuit board recycling, surface dust samples were collected from recycling workshops, adjacent roads, a schoolyard, and an outdoor food market. ICP-OES analyses revealed elevated mean concentrations in workshop dust (Pb 110 000, Cu 8360, Zn 4420, and Ni 1500 mg/kg) and in dust of adjacent roads (Pb 22 600, Cu 6170, Zn 2370, and Ni 304 mg/kg). Lead and Cu in road dust were 330 and 106, and 371 and 155 times higher, respectively, than non e-waste sites located 8 and 30 km away. Levels at the schoolyard and food market showed that public places were adversely impacted. Risk assessment predicted that Pb and Cu originating from circuit board recycling have the potential to pose serious health risks to workers and local residents of Guiyu, especially children, and warrants an urgent investigation into heavy metal related health impacts. The potential environmental and human health consequences due to uncontrolled e-waste recycling in Guiyu serves as a case study for other countries involved in similar crude recycling activities.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying all is rosy in US Industrial practices, we need to watch our sources and hold them responsible for their environmental practices here and all over the world by purchasing less and items that have a smaller impact on the environment.. 

Jerry and I appraoching the top of Diamond Head

DSC_0015, originally uploaded by Spazyone.

Here we are! We are so grateful for our two families who each gave us a week's free lodging in Hawaii. My mom and dad and our son and his wife.

We had a great time. On our hike up Diamond Head, we went early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day. There were many friendly people we met along the way. Jerry, as a MAJOR, war and history buff, loved seeing the tunnels and bunkers carved into the mountain by hand.

The view of Honolulu was spectacular!!

You can see more photos of our trip on my Flickr account. The link is on the left side of the page. Go to the Hawaii collection and look ant the different sets of photos.

The trekking poles really helped on the hike. As most of you know, I am not supposed to walk very far without a cane. However, since the problem is both hips, I chose trekking poles. That way I get the support but can walk in an anatomically correct manner. Those poles came in handy the whole trip.

I will post more little mini-journals of our trip.

Mercy

Mercy Ministries . . .  Valuing every young woman's future

 

A great organization whose mission is to help young women to deal with emotional and physical problems. 

If you or a loved one suffer from any of these difficulties and you want to talk to someone locally, call or e-mail me. 

There are people near you who have been there, understand and want to help.

From the Mercy Ministries web site:

Mercy Ministries is a non-profit organization for young women who face life-controlling issues. We provide residential programs free of charge designed to address the whole person: spiritual, physical and emotional. Our non-conventional approach to the underlying issues changes more than behavior; the Mercy Ministries program changes hearts and stops destructive cycles.

Our program includes life-skills training and educational opportunities that help ensure the success of our graduates. Our goal is to have each young woman not only complete the program but also discover the purpose for her life and bring value to her community as a productive citizen.

We have three facilities in the United States: Nashville, TN has 40 beds, Monroe, LA has 20 beds and St. Louis, Missouri has 30 beds. Plans are underway for a 40 bed home in Sacramento, California.

 

Since 1983, we have served thousands of young women from all over the world with varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Young women who come to Mercy Ministries are often facing a combination of difficult circumstances such as:   Abuse Self-Harm Depression Addictions Unplanned Pregnancy Eating Disorders Many of these girls have sought treatment before with unsuccessful long-term results. Residents are in the program an average of six months and our services reflect their diverse needs. Our residents are young women who want to change and move beyond their difficult circumstances, yet have never found a source for help before Mercy Ministries. Young women who have graduated from the Mercy Ministries program are truly transformed. They are found in universities, corporations, ministries, the mission field, and raising families. At Mercy Ministries, they learn to believe in themselves and in God's love for them and gain life-skills that equip them for successful reintegration into society.   For our pregnant residents, we provide a Basic Decision Making Program that assists the young woman in deciding about parenting or placing her baby for adoption. We provide parenting classes for those who decide to parent and grief counseling for those who chose to place their child.   Since 1987, we have had the joy of assisting hundreds of birth mothers with the placement of their babies into loving faithful families. We have also had the joy of over 150 babies being born to girls who have decided to parent their child. Due to the generosity of many individuals, businesses and foundations, Mercy Ministries operates debt free and only expands after raising the funds for operating a new home. We do not receive any state or federal funding. We are audited by an independent accounting firm each year, and our 2005 audit shows we spent 76% of our operating expenses on program costs.