Obsolete Pesticides: A ticking time bomb and why we have to act now

Obsolete Pesticides: A ticking time bomb and why we have to act now

Author:

Publisher: CEPS

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13: 929079884X

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Pesticides become obsolete when they can no longer be used for their intended purpose because they have been banned on account of their prolonged impact on the environment and/or because they cannot be used due to age, deterioration or a change of specification of currently applied pesticides. This problem has been addressed by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which was ratified by most EU member states and many but not all non-EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. It entered into force in 2004. The Convention and the subsequent National Implementation Plans (NIPs) drawn up by signatories have addressed the problems to some extent, notably within the EU. Within the EU, producers have been legally obliged to manage obsolete pesticides (OPs), including organising their collection and destruction according to EU laws applicable to hazardous waste management. With EU enlargement, EU law has consequently become applicable to the new member states as well. The process has been accelerated by EU programmes such as PHARE or national programmes established by some member states. However, implementation of the provisions of the Stockholm Convention on their own is hardly sufficient to effectively deal with the risks associated with OPs. The Convention only deals with nine specific OPs (hereafter called Persistent Organic Pollutant or POP pesticides), which represent a small proportion of the total number that are obsolete. In addition, and in close geographical proximity to the EU, problems remain, especially in South-East Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union.


Environmental Security Assessment and Management of Obsolete Pesticides in Southeast Europe

Environmental Security Assessment and Management of Obsolete Pesticides in Southeast Europe

Author: Lubomir I. Simeonov

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-07-08

Total Pages: 481

ISBN-13: 9400764618

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The present work is a fine contribution to the broad field of environmental security in the context of risk assessment and management of obsolete pesticides for the region of Southeast Europe. The purpose of this book is to evaluate the existing knowledge of improper disposal of obsolete pesticides in the region, to estimate the associated impact on environmental health, and to develop recommendations to mitigate or eliminate threats posed to the environment, biodiversity and human life. The issues discussed in the book include: reviews of the transport and fate of pesticides and associated contaminated materials in different environmental media and identification of the principal sources, emission routes and patterns of environmental pollution with pesticides; a recognition of the most suitable methods for environmental sampling analysis and sample preparation; an evaluation of the current methods and techniques for chemical and mass analysis of environmental and biological samples and discussion of the metrological and quality aspects of trace analyses; a characterization of the environmental and human health impacts of pesticide pollution, the health effects associated with acute and chronic exposure and the use of epidemiological data for risk assessment; a revision of the existing chemical safety regulations and strategies for protection and management of obsolete pesticide stocks; a survey of the international conventions, directives and standards concerning pesticide use.


The 2030 Spike

The 2030 Spike

Author: Colin Mason

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-06-17

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1136555110

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The clock is relentlessly ticking! Our world teeters on a knife-edge between a peaceful and prosperous future for all, and a dark winter of death and destruction that threatens to smother the light of civilization. Within 30 years, in the 2030 decade, six powerful 'drivers' will converge with unprecedented force in a statistical spike that could tear humanity apart and plunge the world into a new Dark Age. Depleted fuel supplies, massive population growth, poverty, global climate change, famine, growing water shortages and international lawlessness are on a crash course with potentially catastrophic consequences. In the face of both doomsaying and denial over the state of our world, Colin Mason cuts through the rhetoric and reams of conflicting data to muster the evidence to illustrate a broad picture of the world as it is, and our possible futures. Ultimately his message is clear; we must act decisively, collectively and immediately to alter the trajectory of humanity away from catastrophe. Offering over 100 priorities for immediate action, The 2030 Spike serves as a guidebook for humanity through the treacherous minefields and wastelands ahead to a bright, peaceful and prosperous future in which all humans have the opportunity to thrive and build a better civilization. This book is powerful and essential reading for all people concerned with the future of humanity and planet earth.


Science, Philosophy and Sustainability

Science, Philosophy and Sustainability

Author: Angela Guimaraes Pereira

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-02-27

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 131763456X

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For science to remain a legitimate and trustworthy source of knowledge, society will have to engage in the collective processes of knowledge co-production, which not only includes science, but also other types of knowledge. This process of change has to include a new commitment to knowledge creation and transmission and its role in a plural society. This book proposes to consider new ways in which science can be used to sustain our planet and enrich our lives. It helps to release and reactivate social responsibility within contemporary science and technology. It reviews critically relevant cases of contemporary scientific practice within the Cartesian paradigm, relabelled as 'innovation research', promoted as essential for the progress and well-being of humanity, and characterised by high capital investment, centralised control of funding and quality, exclusive expertise, and a reductionism that is philosophical as well as methodological. This is an accessible and relevant book for scholars in Science and Technology Studies, History and Philosophy of Science, and Science, Engineering and Technology Ethics. Providing an array of concrete examples, it supports scientists, engineers and technical experts, as well as policy-makers and other non-technical professionals working with science and technology to re-direct their approach to global problems, in a more integrative, self-reflective and humble direction.


Poisoning the Pacific

Poisoning the Pacific

Author: Jon Mitchell

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2020-10-12

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 1538130343

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In this devastating exposé, investigative journalist Jon Mitchell reveals the shocking toxic contamination of the Pacific Ocean and millions of victims by the US military. For decades, US military operations have been contaminating the Pacific region with toxic substances, including plutonium, dioxin, and VX nerve agent. Hundreds of thousands of service members, their families, and residents have been exposed—but the United States has hidden the damage and refused to help victims. After World War II, the United States granted immunity to Japanese military scientists in exchange for their data on biological weapons tests conducted in China; in the following years, nuclear detonations in the Pacific obliterated entire islands and exposed Americans, Marshallese, Chamorros, and Japanese fishing crews to radioactive fallout. At the same time, the United States experimented with biological weapons on Okinawa and stockpiled the island with nuclear and chemical munitions, causing numerous accidents. Meanwhile, the CIA orchestrated a campaign to introduce nuclear power to Japan—the folly of which became horrifyingly clear in the 2011 meltdowns in Fukushima Prefecture. Caught in a geopolitical grey zone, US territories have been among the worst affected by military contamination, including Guam, Saipan, and Johnston Island, the final disposal site of apocalyptic volumes of chemical weapons and Agent Orange. Accompanying this damage, US authorities have waged a campaign of cover-ups, lies, and attacks on the media, which the author has experienced firsthand in the form of military surveillance and attempts by the State Department to impede his work. Now, for the first time, this explosive book reveals the horrific extent of contamination in the Pacific and the lengths the Pentagon will go to conceal it.


Less is More

Less is More

Author: Jason Hickel

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2020-08-13

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1473581737

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'A powerfully disruptive book for disrupted times ... If you're looking for transformative ideas, this book is for you.' KATE RAWORTH, economist and author of Doughnut Economics A Financial Times Book of the Year ______________________________________ Our planet is in trouble. But how can we reverse the current crisis and create a sustainable future? The answer is: DEGROWTH. Less is More is the wake-up call we need. By shining a light on ecological breakdown and the system that's causing it, Hickel shows how we can bring our economy back into balance with the living world and build a thriving society for all. This is our chance to change course, but we must act now. ______________________________________ 'A masterpiece... Less is More covers centuries and continents, spans academic disciplines, and connects contemporary and ancient events in a way which cannot be put down until it's finished.' DANNY DORLING, Professor of Geography, University of Oxford 'Jason is able to personalise the global and swarm the mind in the way that insects used to in abundance but soon shan't unless we are able to heed his beautifully rendered warning.' RUSSELL BRAND 'Jason Hickel shows that recovering the commons and decolonizing nature, cultures, and humanity are necessary conditions for hope of a common future in our common home.' VANDANA SHIVA, author of Making Peace With the Earth 'This is a book we have all been waiting for. Jason Hickel dispels ecomodernist fantasies of "green growth". Only degrowth can avoid climate breakdown. The facts are indisputable and they are in this book.' GIORGIS KALLIS, author of Degrowth 'Capitalism has robbed us of our ability to even imagine something different; Less is More gives us the ability to not only dream of another world, but also the tools by which we can make that vision real.' ASAD REHMAN, director of War on Want 'One of the most important books I have read ... does something extremely rare: it outlines a clear path to a sustainable future for all.' RAOUL MARTINEZ, author of Creating Freedom 'Jason Hickel takes us on a profound journey through the last 500 years of capitalism and into the current crisis of ecological collapse. Less is More is required reading for anyone interested in what it means to live in the Anthropocene, and what we can do about it.' ALNOOR LADHA, co-founder of The Rules 'Excellent analysis...This book explores not only the systemic flaws but the deeply cultural beliefs that need to be uprooted and replaced.' ADELE WALTON


Soil and Sediment Remediation

Soil and Sediment Remediation

Author: Piet Lens

Publisher: IWA Publishing

Published: 2005-09-30

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 1843391007

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Soil and Sediment Remediation discusses in detail a whole set of remediative technologies currently available to minimise their impact. Technologies for the treatment of soils and sediments in-situ (landfarming, bioscreens, bioventing, nutrient injection, phytoremediation) and ex-situ (landfarming, bio-heap treatment, soil suspension reactor) will be discussed. The microbiological, process technological and socio-economical aspects of these technologies will be addressed. Special attention will be given to novel biotechnological processes that utilise sulfur cycle conversions, e.g. sulfur and heavy metal removal from soils. Also the potential of phytoremediation will be highlighted. In addition, treatment schemes for the clean-up of polluted megasites, e.g. harbours and Manufactured Gaswork Plants (MGP), will be elaborated. The aim of Soil and Sediment Remediation is to introduce the reader in: the biogeochemical characteristics of soil and sediments- new techniques to study soil/sediment processes (molecular probes, microelectrodes, NMR) clean up technologies for soils polluted with organic (PAH, NAPL, solvents) or inorganic (heavy metals) pollutants- preventative and remediative strategies and technologies available in environmental engineering novel process applications and bioreactor designs for bioremediation the impact of soil pollution on society and its economic importance.


Shaping Things

Shaping Things

Author: Bruce Sterling

Publisher: MIT Press (MA)

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780262195331

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A guide to the next great wave of technology -- an era of objects so programmable that they can be regarded as material instantiations of an immaterial system.