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While we have all been distracted by the questionable "threat" of "man-made global warming," some very REAL environmental problems have gone largely ignored:
1. The depletion of marine fisheries through over-harvesting.
2. The continuing destruction of the world's rain forests in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The problem is especially acute in Malaysia and Indonesia, where rain forest is being cut down and replaced with oil palm plantations to satisfy the growing demand for biodiesel.
3. Species extinction and the loss of the world's biodiversity, mostly as a result of habitat destruction.
4. Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) released into the environment and into our food supply. Once a GMO is released into the environment, it can not be withdrawn.
5. Mercury released into the atmosphere mostly by coal-fired power plants. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin and it causes severe birth defects -- mercury from coal-fired power plants enters aquatic food chains and ends up concentrated in large, predatory fish, like tuna, sharks, king mackeral, etc., which we eat. China brings a new coal-fired power plant online EACH WEEK, adding to the mercury burden.
6. Man-made "endocrine-disrupting" chemicals ("environmental estrogens") released into the environment, which are known to turn males into females in fish and a wide range of other vertebrates, but with unknown health effects on humans.
7. Atrazine, a widely-used lawn and garden herbicide, which causes severe deformities in amphibians, but with unknown health effects on humans.
8. Fluoride -- a known neurotoxin and carcinogen, placed in municipal drinking water supplies, ostensibly to prevent dental caries (cavities.)
9. Pharmaceuticals, particularly anti-depressant medications and synthetic estrogens from birth control pills, in ourwater supply, but with unknown health effects on humans.
This list of REAL environmental problems is a work in progress. Please contact me with your suggestions!
