All posts tagged: polluted

Painting should be separated ‘to save other works polluted by overtourism’

Painting should be separated ‘to save other works polluted by overtourism’

Published by skeptic

The Mona Lisa is indispensable and burdensome, pampered and criticized, and so remarkable that the Louvre museum in Paris is considering moving it and constructing a separate room in the building – all this for one painting. Laurence des Cars, the museum’s president, confirmed the plans on Saturday, April 27, on French radio station France Inter after it was first revealed by Le Figaro a few days earlier. And it’s a state affair. Eighty-percent of the nine million or so visitors to the museum each year come primarily to see the Mona Lisa – a staggering 20,000 people a day. To find it, you have to go on a walk between the walls, ignoring a host of masterpieces on the way – including four more works by Leonardo da Vinci – while creating an annoying background noise. The rest of the museum is silent. The Mona Lisa is housed in the Salle des Etats, where visitors wind their way as if they were in an airport, before handing over their baggage to be X-rayed. Facing …

England’s sewage crisis: how polluted is your local river and which regions are worst hit? | Rivers

England’s sewage crisis: how polluted is your local river and which regions are worst hit? | Rivers

Published by skeptic

Rivers in the north of England are bearing the brunt of the sewage pollution crisis, analysis by the Guardian reveals, with the region’s waters experiencing the highest rates of waste discharge in the country. Storm overflows around the Irwell valley, where the rivers Croal and Irwell run through to Manchester, discharged raw sewage 12,000 times in 2023 — the highest rate of all English rivers when accounting for length, at 95 spills per mile. It comes as new data reveals that 2023 was the worst year on record for storm water pollution, with overflows spilling raw sewage into England’s rivers and seas for 3.6m hours. You can check your local rivers using the tool below, which shows spills across England’s river basins. The Guardian’s analysis is based on Environment Agency data released on Wednesday, which details the number of times storm overflows discharged across England in 2023. Overflows should only be used during exceptional weather events, such as major storms. But a lack of investment means there is a lack of capacity at treatment works …

Vast swaths of US will be exposed to polluted air by 2054, says report | Air pollution

Vast swaths of US will be exposed to polluted air by 2054, says report | Air pollution

Published by skeptic

Vast swaths of the continental US will be exposed to unhealthy, polluted air by 2054, according to an alarming new report. Researchers at First Street Foundation, a non-profit that analyzes climate risk, found that one in four Americans are already exposed to air that is deemed “unhealthy” by the Air Quality Index (AQI), which provides daily air quality readings. That number is expected to grow by 50% in the next few decades, with an estimated total of 125 million Americans experiencing dangerous air pollution by the middle of the century. The report warns that climate-related wildfires and heatwaves are undoing many of the gains from federal clean air regulations. Between 2010 and 2016, the United States started to see an increase in air pollution for the first time in 80 years, said Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications research at First Street. “If we’re going to start thinking about solutions, we have to start combating the origin of the air pollutants, which are wildfires and extreme heat,” Porter said. In June 2023, smoke from forest …

‘Poisoned by chemicals’: citizen scientists prove River Avon is polluted | Pollution

‘Poisoned by chemicals’: citizen scientists prove River Avon is polluted | Pollution

Published by skeptic

A citizen science programme has revealed the decline of one of the country’s most significant chalk streams after claims by Environment Agency officials that it had not deteriorated. The SmartRivers programme run by the charity WildFish, which surveys freshwater invertebrates, reported “strong declines in relation to chemical pressure” on the River Avon in Wiltshire. It said its data indicated a decline in the condition of the river over the last five years. The charity compiled a report on its findings after the conservation groups say they were told at a meeting by the Environment Agency in August that “the Avon has not deteriorated in water quality in the last five years”. David Holroyd, head of water quality for Wiltshire Fishery Association, said the numbers of invertebrates collected in spring and autumn samples from 2019 and 2023 at 11 sites on the upper Avon had shown a decline. He said the invertebrates were “the canary in the coalmine” and data suggested they were being “poisoned by chemicals in the river”. WildFish says the findings highlight the …

Bangladesh capital most polluted as toxic smog engulfs South Asian cities | Weather News

Bangladesh capital most polluted as toxic smog engulfs South Asian cities | Weather News

Published by skeptic

The capitals of India and Bangladesh see thick layers of toxic smog, ‘very poor’ air quality and normal lives. The capitals of India and Bangladesh are blanketed by a thick layer of toxic smog, as air quality plummets in both New Delhi and Dhaka. Dhaka briefly emerged as the world’s most polluted city on Wednesday, with a “hazardous” index level of 325, according to Swiss climate monitor IQAir. By midday, however, conditions improved slightly, with the index dropping to 177 – still in the “unhealthy” range. The air quality in Dhaka, one of the world’s most crowded cities with more than 20 million residents, has worsened in recent years as fossil fuels are overused, bringing health problems for the people. “We often suffer from asthma, fever and allergies while operating rickshaws on the streets,” said Rafiq Mondal, who drives a vehicle for a living. “It is often very painful.” While authorities in Dhaka spray the streets with water to help the dust settle, residents want additional steps taken. “The air pollution is taking its toll,” …

TikTok stars clean up: the influencers saving Indonesia’s polluted rivers and beaches | Indonesia

Published by Sam

They started as flood victims, now they are touted as local heroes for cleaning up the rivers and beaches of Indonesia’s third largest city Bandung in West Java, amassing over 9 million followers on TikTok and Instagram in the process and influencing others across the country to join the fight against pollution. The Pandawara group is five men in their early twenties and was formed in 2022 after flooding caused by rivers clogged with rubbish damaged their homes. They take their name from the five Pandava princes of Indian folklore and the word wara, which translates to the five bearers of good news. On TikTok, their profile – @pandawaragroup – contains over 100 short videos of their river and beach clean ups, earning them millions of views and totalling over 100 million likes. “We have a team of river hunters who identifies rivers with urgent trash issues, where flooding can happen after rainfall,” Pandawara member Gilang Rahma told the Guardian. Volunteers in the Bandung dam clean up take photos with Indonesian TikTok group Pandawara (in …

Weather tracker: Toronto and New York ranked most polluted from Canada wildfires | Wildfires

Published by Sam

More than 500 fires have been raging across Canadian provinces for nearly a month, spreading an orange-brown haze across eastern Canada and midwest and nort-east regions of the US, leading to a suffocating smog extending to major American cities. Toronto and New York have been ranked as the most polluted urban areas affected by wildfires in Canada, according to IQAir.com. The high concentration of particulate matter in the smoke has led to health officials distributing masks and advising people to stay indoors. As wildfires continue to burn through the rest of the season, until cooler temperatures, rain and snow arrive, further episodes of often very poor air quality are to be expected across parts of the US. On the other side of the planet, India’s annual monsoon arrived early, covering the entire country six days sooner than expected, but rainfall remains 10% below average. The monsoon is crucial for India’s economy as it provides water for agriculture, replenishes reservoirs and aquifers, and offers relief from the summer heat. Despite lower rainfall in June, the India …

Saved by seaweed: nuns and Native women heal polluted New York waters using kelp | US news

Published by Sam

Early on a January morning, a dozen nuns hopped on a Zoom call and waited patiently for their turn to speak softly, sweetly to plants. One of the sisters sang a song; another played the flute; several recited poetry and prayers. The intended audience of their kind words were dozens of kelp seedlings, which had a big task: grow big and healthy enough to be planted in the waters off the shores of Long Island, New York. The sisters are a part of a unique collaboration: situated on the edge of a bay, they have helped a group of women from the Shinnecock, a local Indigenous tribe, start a kelp farm in the hopes of cleaning up the pollution in their shared backyard. “When we started our hatchery, we were doing a lot of research for ways to give our kelp the best start in life,” said tribal member Danielle Hopson Begun. “Studies have shown that plants respond well to high frequency tones.” After the Zoom call, “I would tell you as someone who is …