Category: Pollution

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The Toxic Relationship between Fracked Gas Liquids and Plastics

Diane M. Sicotte, Ph.D. Drexel University Department of Sociology diane.sicotte@drexel.edu The current worldwide boom in natural gas extraction is due to the new hydrofracturing (fracking) method, even though there is ample scientific evidence that fracking creates extreme risks to human and ecosystem health.[1] The production of plastics and the proliferation of plastic waste poses risks … Continue reading The Toxic Relationship between Fracked Gas Liquids and Plastics

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Seattle’s Segregated Riskscape

Troy D. Abel (Huxley College of the Environment on the Peninsulas, Western Washington University) Jonah White (Department of Geography, Michigan State University) Stacy Clauson (Department of Environmental Studies, Western Washington University) Emilio’s voice cracked in response to our air pollution experience question. He’s one of Seattle’s thousands of soccer dads. Emilio recounted smelling and tasting … Continue reading Seattle’s Segregated Riskscape

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Tenacious Fumes, Chemical Sensitivity, and the Politics of Relation

Sophia Jaworski, Doctoral Candidate in Anthropology, University of Toronto I speak with a visual artist who has been displaced from multiple residences and is sleeping in a minivan. On social assistance, she is in the difficult situation of trying to find a place to rent that is safe for her accessibility needs. She has intense … Continue reading Tenacious Fumes, Chemical Sensitivity, and the Politics of Relation

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Editorial: Living with Toxicity in Greater China: Realities and Reactions

Loretta Lou, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick Decades of unrestrained development has led to some serious environmental problems in China and Taiwan today. While sustainable development and effective enforcement of pollution control remain a challenging task for both governments, we begin to see a variety of creative responses from the bottom-up. In this Toxic … Continue reading Editorial: Living with Toxicity in Greater China: Realities and Reactions

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Is Tap Water in China Safe to Drink? A Water Quality Inspector’s Perspectives

Lu Zhijian 陸志堅 Technical Director of Guangzhou New Life Environment Protection Promotion Association,  Former Water Quality Inspector and Project Manager of Lau Kai Conservation Access to safe and clean water is essential to human health. However, public concern over drinking water safety has risen sharply in recent years following a number of water pollution incidents. … Continue reading Is Tap Water in China Safe to Drink? A Water Quality Inspector’s Perspectives

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‘Village Besieged’: An Elegy for Victims and Protest Against Taiwan’s Petrochemical Pollution

Loretta Lou, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick Even though it is becoming more and more common for musicians to take on the issue of environmental degradation in the age of Anthropocene, to produce an album about a particular kind of toxic pollution is literally unheard-of until Taiwanese indie rock band Sheng-Xiang & Band released … Continue reading ‘Village Besieged’: An Elegy for Victims and Protest Against Taiwan’s Petrochemical Pollution

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Editorial: Measuring and monitoring in complex times – the case of air pollution

Thomas Verbeek and Calvin Jephcote, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick Air pollution is increasingly seen as a major public health issue, with new research outputs covered by international organisations and the national media every few weeks. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that “clean air is a basic requirement of human health and well-being”. … Continue reading Editorial: Measuring and monitoring in complex times – the case of air pollution

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The elemental ambiguity of PM2.5

Emma Garnett, Research Fellow in the School for Population Health and Environmental Sciences, King’s College London Contact:  emma.garnett@kcl.ac.uk / twitter: @emmargarnett Introduction Particle pollution in the air is a mixture of solids and liquid droplets. Comprised of particles of different sizes, air borne particulate matter (PM) includes ash and dust emitted by anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic … Continue reading The elemental ambiguity of PM2.5

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L’air d’un Bruxellois: self-portraits of personal exposure to air pollution

Nicola da Schio (Cosmopolis, VUB) with Arnaud Dubois, Cécile Herr, Katia Xenophontos, Lorenzo Glorie, Matthieu Coulonval. Pictures: ©FrancoisCorbiau & Aircasting.org We are thankful to Kobe Boussauw, Evi Dons, and Anna Plyushteva for their useful suggestions. Background Air pollution was already discussed by an earlier post of Toxic News. By looking at the examples of Ghent … Continue reading L’air d’un Bruxellois: self-portraits of personal exposure to air pollution

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Challenges of monitoring and developing environmental policy in Sub-Saharan Africa: the case of air pollution and biofuels in Ghana

Samuel Agyei-Mensah  a, Ayaga A. Bawah b, Elvis Kyere Gyeabour  a   a Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana b Regional Institute for Population Studies, University of Ghana INTRODUCTION There has been an increasing concern about the state of air quality in many cities of the developing world, especially within an African … Continue reading Challenges of monitoring and developing environmental policy in Sub-Saharan Africa: the case of air pollution and biofuels in Ghana