Summary and Analysis:
Hurricane Florence continues to break records in
the Carolinas for floods and destruction. Florence has already taken the lives
of 42 people and has left thousands of homes underwater. This dramatic flooding
has caused thousands to evacuate and leave their homes and cars.
Unfortunately, the majority of the deaths have
occured in South Carolina and has left almost 500,000 people without power in
North Carolina itself. Although that is terrible, there is another problem
Hurricane Florence is creating in its wake: toxic waterways.
Due to the immense flooding in North Carolina,
pig poop, coal ash(byproduct of coal processing) and human sewage are creating
a toxic soup that is completely contaminating everything underwater. This
includes the Cape Fear river. This massive waterway carries the toxic soup all
across North Carolina and will have terrible consequences for farmers and
disease control in the future.
Opinion:
There is a serious problem with treatment of
waste in North Carolina which was mainly due to human inability to control
their environmental protection and conservation. This will have drastic effects
on the North Carolina landscape and organisms that make that home.
Unfortunately for them, they will have to try and live through a time in which
everything that is around them is toxic and will kill them. There will be
lasting effects on the environment which will hopefully increase awareness for
environmental protection and limitations. Even though the company responsible
for the coal ash was fined $25 million in 2015 after they were found to be
disregarding the Clean Water Act, they still weren’t done will repairs and
reinforcement. This is also illustrating the disregard large companies have for
the environment, which is often left out of the news as it is more thrilling to
talk about the lasting effects of global warming instead of talking about the
things actually causing them.
Sources:
4 comments:
It seems that although regulations and fines are forcing coal companies to respond to this, they aren't completing repairs fast enough - maybe regular fines and inspections should be done to solve that issue. On the hog feces side, there is no easy solution for removing the waste unless North Carolina were to fine individuals, which is an unpopular and difficult to enforce policy. The state could try to support a shift to agriculture industry to dispose of the feces as crop fertilizer, or the export of feces to crop fields in other regions of the U.S.
North Carolina should invest in creating a better waste disposal system. Keeping hog waste in lagoons in a state vulnerable to flooding and hurricanes is dangerous for the inhabitants. Perhaps waste should be kept on higher ground that is not easily reached by flooding or in a water tight area underground. As for the sewage and coal toxins, I agree with the idea that regular inspections should be implemented to prevent failures in times where it matters most. Now, the main focus should be on keeping North Carolina residents healthy by providing clean water and shelter until the contamination issue is resolved.
What is happening in North Carolina is very unfortunate. I agree with Jayla that in a state where natural disasters such as huriccanes and floods are more common, the state should be taking precautions in the event that it does happen. Since no precautions were taken towards putting the waste in a better area and seriously regulating the coal ash, they are left in a bigger disaster than before. Not only is the state struggling with the aftermath of the hurricane itself, they now have a much bigger problem on their hands: toxic water. And not only is the state in danger, multiple other states are where they have no fault.
Waste treatment within North Carolina needs to be drastically revamped in order to prevent another one of these incidents from recurring. I can’t say with enough emphasis that waste can have lasting environmental effects when released without treatment. The EPA is in charge of regulating this industry, but many companies have chose to ignore them. Raw sewage and feces from animals released into the environment will ruin the economy when considering the diseases it could spread and have negative consequences for the globe in terms of global warming. Everyone’s health and the local economy are at risk through the waste treatment.
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