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Activism and the Nexus: Shaping Policy

Published on 02/28/2013 in climate change, coal, energy, fracking, mining, natural gas drilling, policy, solutions and outreach and tar sands. 0 Comments

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Activism & the Nexus: Shaping Policy

by Miles Ten Brinke

Miles, Peak Water columnist and avowed Hydrophilic energy-head, has found his way to Britain where he’s lost his California perma-tan and is studying an Energy Policy MSc at the University of Exeter on a Fulbright.

Activism is a force to be reckoned with. This simple truth is one easy to forget in the grim utilitarian realm of policy analysis. It’s a factor that depending upon your given governance structure is easy to shove off to the side as secondary. When the problems seem so big, when you’re working at a global system change the contributions of active engaged individuals can seem so small to be insignificant.

You might find yourself starting to ask brutal questions. What voice does the little guy have when the big players have such loud lobbyists? Given their diffuse and often ephemeral nature what influence can grassroots movements really have on decision makers?-So easy to do, and so damning.

Lucky for me I’ve got you folks in the Peak Water network and friends around the world constantly reminding me of this. People power can wield enormous influence, regardless of the particular creed it amplifies. In the pursuit of a truly sustainable global energy-water- climate system transition it’s these movements that give moral purpose and a groundswell of democratic legitimacy. They animate  people, engaging them in the complexities of the problem while helping them grow into change agents.

Right now across the United States there is a movement to divest public institutions from fossil fuels. In this column I’m going to highlight the efforts of the folks in the University of California pushing for such change.

As of 20 February 2013 the University of California, San Diego student government joined their fellows at the Berkeley and Santa Barbara campuses in passing a resolution to fully divest its portfolio from fossil fuel funds. Equal parts inspired by the 350.org call to action and the success of the anti-Apartheid divestments of the 80s and 90s the movement is as much about a moral revolution as climate change mitigation. The college campaign in California has largely been coordinated by the California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC) which coordinates environmental actions by students across the state.

At Berkeley the charge is being led by senior Katie Hoffman, her tireless efforts leading the team at Cal through their unsuccessful campaign in 2011 to divest the UC from coal companies all the way through to the current momentum of the day. That is, of UC Berkeley’s student government setting a vital new precedent by voting to divest. Katie is an old friend; we first met as transfer students to the Society & Environment B.S. programme at UC Berkeley a few years back.

I’ve watched her work, witnessed her passion and drive first hand. I have seen what she and all the other activists in the CSSC have accomplished.  I can see what they’re capable of. Expect more big things to come! To have been there at the start and to be here now is an incredible privelege, even from across the Atlantic. Katie and all the other folks on the ground across California and the whole United States pushing forward with divestment are a true and continued inspiration.

Some would scoff at the arrogant naivety of students, denying them even the pleasure of small victories. Such folks need only look at the million dollar funds at the disposal of UC student governments to see how wrong they are. This is a targeted movement, with specific and modular goals. Across the country they’re succeeding and their campaigns are growing.

All of this has profound implications for not only how we concieve of each and every sutainability nexus but the pathways we choose to realize them.  To bear witness to, even join, movements such as these opens your eyes to the possibility of a democratised and decentralised (both of technologies and governance) transition. That is, of a radical departure from the status quo and viable in a multitude of different manifestations. Yes, activism is but one complex piece but  what a vital part yet!  

The choice we face is not simply between different technical and economic structures, so too is it a resolution on how we are to conduct ourselves-a new order to things. It’s about governance, and strategic decision making. Grassroots organizing, direct action, advocacy and all the other forms must orient towards this truth. From the ground up and back down again how we choose must be reshaped. In radical, chaotic little steps we may yet solve the riddle of the sustainability nexus.

Activism is about policy, an imperfect and fragile evolution.

~ Miles on Water

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Queensland Floods Heighten Crisis Around Toxic Mine Water

Published on 02/01/2013 in contaminated water, mining and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.abc.net.au

“According to the Resources Council, those releases will probably negate the most recent rainfall, but won’t reduce the legacy water. Going into this summer’s wet season, it was estimated there was the equivalent of half Sydney Harbour’s worth of so-called legacy water, which has accumulated in mine pits, especially in the northern Bowen Basin region, since 2008.

There’s also an uncontrolled release of water from one of the most toxic disused mines in Queensland—Mount Morgan. The former gold mine, 40km south of Rockhampton, is situated on the Dee River. It closed in 1981 and is being managed by the Queensland government. Michael McCabe, the coordinator of the Capricorn Conservation Council says it contains highly acidic water.

‘Well, some have compared the acidity of that water to close to battery acid,’ Mr McCabe said.

About 700 mm of rain has fallen over the Mount Morgan mine site since last Wednesday. As a result, the water level in the mine’s open cut pit has been overflowing since Saturday morning, at a rate of about 60 megalitres a day. The state government says strong natural flows in the Dee River have achieved significant dilution of untreated water entering the river, minimising potential downstream impacts.”

Read more: ABC Radio National

 

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Poisoning the Well: How the Feds Let Industry Pollute the Nation’s Underground Water Supply

Published on 12/15/2012 in agriculture, contaminated water, groundwater, hydrology, mining, policy and tap water. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“Federal officials have given energy and mining companies permission to pollute aquifers in more than 1,500 places across the country, releasing toxic material into underground reservoirs that help supply more than half of the nation’s drinking water.

In many cases, the Environmental Protection Agency has granted these so-called aquifer exemptions in Western states now stricken by drought and increasingly desperate for water.

EPA records show that portions of at least 100 drinking water aquifers have been written off because exemptions have allowed them to be used as dumping grounds.

“You are sacrificing these aquifers,” said Mark Williams, a hydrologist at the University of Colorado and a member of a National Science Foundation team studying the effects of energy development on the environment.” “By definition, you are putting pollution into them. … If you are looking 50 to 100 years down the road, this is not a good way to go.”

Read more: Alternet

 

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Villagers Sue Diamond Firms for Pollution in Zimbabwe

Published on 09/11/2012 in contaminated water, mining, policy, rivers and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.earthfirst.wordpress.com

“The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) and villagers living along Save River are seeking a court order to bar three diamond mining companies in Marange district from polluting water sources.
ZELA is a common law trust established to promote environmental justice in the country. In a High Court application last week, ZELA and the villagers alleged that Anjin Investments (Chinese corporation that recently replaced striking workers with child laborers), Marange Resources (owned by corrupt billionaire Mhlanga) and Diamond Mining Corporation (DMC) were polluting Save, Singwizi and Odzi rivers with sewage, chemicals and metal deposits.

ZELA said the discharges by Anjin, Marange Resources and DMC exposed inhabitants of villages living along the banks of Odzi, Singwizi and Save Rivers to risks of contracting diseases such as cancer, cholera and typhoid.”

Read more: Earth First!

 

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Rare-earth mining in China comes at a heavy cost for local villages

Published on 08/08/2012 in contaminated water, mining, rivers, wastewater and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.guardian.co.uk

“From the air it looks like a huge lake, fed by many tributaries, but on the ground it turns out to be a murky expanse of water, in which no fish or algae can survive. The shore is coated with a black crust, so thick you can walk on it. Into this huge, 10 sq km tailings pond nearby factories discharge water loaded with chemicals used to process the 17 most sought after minerals in the world, collectively known as rare earths.

The town of Baotou, in Inner Mongolia, is the largest Chinese source of these strategic elements, essential to advanced technology, from smartphones to GPS receivers, but also to wind farms and, above all, electric cars. The minerals are mined at Bayan Obo, 120km farther north, then brought to Baotou for processing.

The concentration of rare earths in the ore is very low, so they must be separated and purified, using hydro-metallurgical techniques and acid baths. China accounts for 97% of global output of these precious substances, with two-thirds produced in Baotou.

The foul waters of the tailings pond contain all sorts of toxic chemicals, but also radioactive elements such as thorium which, if ingested, cause cancers of the pancreas and lungs, and leukemia.”

Read more: Guardian

 

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US Judge Strikes Down EPA Water Rules For Mines

Published on 08/02/2012 in contaminated water, mining, policy and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.washingtonindependent.com

“The Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its powers by setting up water-quality criteria for coal mining operations in Appalachia, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton in Washington ruled that the EPA infringed on the authority given to state regulators by federal clean- water and surface-mining laws. A coal mining industry coalition sued the EPA and Administrator Lisa Jackson, and the lawsuit was joined by West Virginia and Kentucky.

The ruling represents the latest setback to the Obama administration’s attempts to crack down on mountaintop removal coal mining.

Last year, the EPA revised standards issued in April 2010 by tightening guidelines on the practice of dumping waste from surface mine blasting into Appalachian valley waterways. Critics say that practice destroys the environment. The mining industry defends it as an efficient way to produce cheap power and employ thousands in well-paying jobs.

The EPA had written that the fundamental premise of its new guidelines was that “no discharge of dredged or fill material may be permitted” under any of three conditions: if the nation’s waters would be “significantly degraded”; if it causes or contributes to violations of a state’s water quality standard; or” “if a practicable alternative exists that is less damaging to the aquatic environment.”

Read more: NPR

 

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ZIMBABWE DIAMOND FIRMS SUSPECTED OF WATER POLLUTION

Published on 07/17/2012 in contaminated water, mining, rivers and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.israelidiamond.co

“Zimbabwe scientists are investigating the possibility that diamond companies operating in the country’s Marange region may have contributed to water pollution, Rough and Polished reports.

At the urging of the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association (ZELA), scientists from the University of Zimbabwe have taken water samples from a number of points along the Odzi River to determine if the charges are true. ZELA Coordinator Shamiso Mtisi said that he examined the water himself and testified to its impurity. Mtisi said this was evidence of effluent runoff from the cleaning and polishing operations of four nearby diamond firms.”
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World Bank Needs to Make Infrastructure Work for the Poor

Published on 05/22/2012 in contaminated water, dams, greenwashing, hydropower, mining, policy, rivers and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.internationalrivers.org

“Kikwit is a town of almost one million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Its inhabitants have no access to electricity. Because the water pumps are no longer working, they have no access to clean water either. In the 1990s, the town made news through an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, which was helped by the poor sanitary conditions.

Kikwit is not located at the end of the world. It lies underneath the power lines of the Inga dams on the mighty Congo River. Yet the electric current that hums overhead is not meant for poor people. It is exported to the mining companies in the southern Katanga province. Over the past decades, billions of dollars have been invested in the DRC’s power sector. They have created a stark energy divide: eighty-five percent of the country’s electricity is consumed by energy-intensive industries, while 94 percent of the population has no access to electricity.”

Read more: International Rivers

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Cotter rerouting tainted creek near leaking uranium mine

Published on 03/06/2012 in contaminated water, management, mining and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Reuters

“The owners of a leaking uranium mine west of Denver have begun a bold project to reduce contamination of a creek that flows into a metro drinking-water reservoir: physically rerouting the creek so that it no longer flows over toxic waste.

“Nobody wants Cotter Corp.’s re-routing of Ralston Creek to be permanent.

“Federal biologists say the pine-studded creek corridor through a picturesque canyon is habitat for the endangered Preble’s Jumping Mouse.

“But government permits were issued because the latest data show uranium levels between 40 and 50 parts per billion — above the 30 ppb limit — in water destined for 1.3 million metro residents.

“Cotter work crews on Monday were completing a 21-foot-deep concrete-and-steel structure designed to channel all surface and shallow groundwater through an 18-inch-diameter black plastic pipeline running 4,000 feet around the Schwartzwalder Mine, once the nation’s largest underground uranium mine. As a condition of its 10-year federal permit, Cotter must irrigate the creek corridor to ensure that trees and wildlife survive.

“This is a temporary bypass that will allow us to do the permanent fix,” Cotter vice president John Hamrick said. “We really are trying to do the right thing here.”

“This is happening amid a continuing and costly legal standoff between Cotter, a Denver-based subsidiary of defense contractor General Atomics, and state regulators charged with protecting Colorado’s environment”

Read more: Reuters

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Native Indian tribes facing ‘extinction’?

Published on 03/04/2012 in contaminated water, greenwashing, mining, oil, policy and privatization. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.nytimes.com

“The push to exploit natural resources is having a huge impact on native Indian communities across Latin America.

All too often, they say, their interests and preserving their way of life end up coming second to energy companies and the pursuit of profits.

Serving as the most notorious example for indigenous groups is that of the oil giant, Chevron, which last year was fined an unprecedented $18bn.

The company was found guilty of heavily polluting large parts of Ecuador’s rainforest. But it is fighting the ruling in the international courts, and so far has not paid a single cent of the fine.

And it is not just oil. Mining is also a source of tension for Indian tribes around the region in countries like Bolivia, Peru and Colombia.

In Ecuador, the Kichwa people in the town of Sarayaku are fighting the government whom they accuse of granting drilling rights to an Argentine oil company without their consent.”

Read more: Aljazeera

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