Pollution Scandal. Koch Bros, Bush, Scott named.

[Gracie]

Koch Brothers Rick Scott and Jeb Bush Exposed in Florida Pollution Scandal

I got bored and went into that long assed thread that new group started and stay buried in. Found this little possible gem of a story and since nobody except the New Group hangs out in there, I thought the rest of us might be interested in discussing whether this is a crock of shit...or some hard facts of truth. And if the latter....oy.

 

[S.J.]

Be skeptical, be very skeptical. It's a typical left wing hit piece, you can tell by the slanted way in which it's written. I doubt if there's any truth to it.

 

[Gracie]

lol..sorry..but it makes me wonder what else we have missed in that long assed thread. Hell, CK outta make them their own forum since most don't leave that one thread. Ever.

But it was a fluke that I saw it to begin with. No way will I read a 3000+ single thread to see what other tidbits are in there. Oh well. Their loss I guess. Or ours.

 

[waltky]

Global pollution's affect on children...

WHO: Environmental Pollution Kills 1.7M Children Under Five Every Year
March 06, 2017 — Environmental pollution kills more than 1 in 4 children under the age of five every year - that's 1.7 million children worldwide. The World Health Organization warns these child deaths will increase dramatically if action is not taken to reduce environmental risks.

WHO examines the impact of harmful environments on children’s health and offers solutions in two new studies, “Inheriting a Sustainable World: Atlas on Children’s Health and the Environment” and a companion report, “Don’t pollute my future! The impact of the environment on children’s health.” The authors agree that air pollution is the biggest killer and is responsible for 6.5 million premature deaths every year, including nearly 600,000 deaths among children under age five. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, notes that young children are most at risk of dying from a polluted environment because of “their developing organs and immune systems, and smaller bodies and airways.”

While most of these child deaths occur in developing countries, Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health told VOA that air pollution was a big leveler between rich and poor countries. “You can be a very rich child, your parents very rich, but living in a place, in a city, which is very polluted-then there is very little you can do because we all need to breathe. “So, even if you are rich or poor, you still need to breathe and this is very pernicious. Air pollution is everywhere,” she said.

People wear protective masks near the Bund during a polluted day in Shanghai, China​

WHO reports the most common causes of death among children aged one month to five years are diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia. “These are very much affected by air pollution, water and sanitation, which is inadequate, but also the disease vectors, mosquitos around the house and the community,” said Annette Pruss-Ustun, scientist in WHO's Public Health and Environmental Department. “These are mainly a problem in low-and-middle-income countries except air pollution, which also children in high income countries are affected by,” she said. “But, there they do not die from it because the health care system takes care of them in time.” WHO reports actions including those of providing safe water and sanitation, limiting exposure to hazardous chemicals, and improving waste management can prevent many environmentally induced deaths.

Maria Neira cited access to clean fuels as one of the most important interventions. “Almost half of the world population is using dirty fuels for cooking, heating, and lighting at home. And, this is affecting very much mothers who are staying and cooking at home, but the children who are around mothers—they are exposed as well.” Neira said that providing clean energy and clean fuels to households will have enormous benefits for the health of the children and others as well.

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Report: Syrian Children Suffering from 'Toxic Stress' Due to War
arch 06, 2017 - Children in Syria are suffering from "toxic stress," a severe form of psychological trauma that can cause life-long damage, according to a report released Thursday.

The report by the nonprofit Save the Children paints a horrifying picture of terrified children developing speech disorders and incontinence, and some even losing the capacity to speak. Others attempt self-harm and suicide. Authors of the study, the largest of its kind to be undertaken during the conflict, warned that the nation's mental health crisis had reached a tipping point, where "staggering levels" of trauma and distress among children could cause permanent and irreversible damage. "We are failing children inside Syria, some of whom are being left to cope with harrowing experiences, from witnessing their parents killed in front of them to the horrors of life under siege, without proper support," said Marcia Brophy, a mental health adviser for Save the Children in the Middle East.

Children pulled by an adult after airstrikes killed nearly 30 people, mostly children, in the northern rebel-held village of Hass, Syria

Researchers spoke with 450 children, adolescents and adults in seven of Syria's 14 governorates. Adults said the main cause of psychological stress is the constant shelling and bombardment that characterize the war that is nearing its sixth anniversary. Half the children the researchers talked to said they never or rarely feel safe at school and 40 percent said they don't feel safe to play outside, even right outside their own home.

More than 70 percent of children interviewed experienced common symptoms of "toxic stress" or post-traumatic stress disorder, such as bedwetting, the study found. Loss of speech, aggression and substance abuse are also commonplace. About 48 percent of adults reported seeing children who have lost the ability to speak or who have developed speech impediments since the war began, according to the report. More than half of the adults interviewed by Save the Children said they knew of children or adolescents who were recruited into armed groups. The report called on the combatants to stop using explosives in populated areas, halt attacks on schools and hospitals, and stop recruiting children to fight.

Report: Syrian Children Suffering from 'Toxic Stress' Due to War​

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China Vows Blue Skies Despite Economic Challenges
March 05, 2017 - China will work to clear its skies by increasing investment in clean energy and punishing polluters, Premier Li Keqiang said Sunday in comments aimed at mollifying public anger over chronic smog.

Swathes of northern China were blanketed under toxic smog this winter, affecting more than 100 million people and forcing government agencies to take emergency measures to curb pollution. "Environmental pollution remains grave, and in particular, some areas are frequently hit by smog," Li told delegates to the rubber-stamp National People's Congress (NPC) in opening its annual session. But "we will make our skies blue again", he said in his annual state-of-the-nation speech. Pollution has plagued China for years, with the dramatic fouling of the country's air, water and soil representing the dark side of breakneck economic growth that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty.

Li listed a series of measures China will take this year to help clear the air, including upgrading coal-fired power plants to make them less polluting, reducing coal-fired heating, and implementing "round-the-clock monitoring" of industrial pollution. He said China would "basically" scrap all high-emission vehicles and pursue a three percent cut in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide -- key components of the country's toxic smog. "Faster progress in work to improve the environment, particularly air quality, is what people are desperately hoping for," Li said. China also will decrease its energy consumption per unit of GDP by 3.4 percent and reduce coal-fired power capacity.

Buildings are seen on a hazy day in Xiangyang, Hubei province, China​

China has long promised to clean up its act, but the pledges have taken a back seat to ensuring rapid economic growth, which the government sees as critical for guaranteeing social stability. "Environmental issues are the most important because this affects people every day and leaves problems for the next generations," Chang Chunbun, a NPC delegate from Hong Kong, told AFP. "To solve pollution the authorities have to add power behind their laws to better enforce environmental protection policies." The ruling Communist Party is seeking to make a difficult transition away from dependence on heavily polluting industries to a more service-oriented economy fueled by consumer demand.

Last year GDP grew 6.7 percent, the slowest rate in a quarter of a century, and Li on Sunday lowered the growth target to "around 6.5 percent" for 2017. Maintaining the desired growth rates has so far meant spinning up the output of goods like steel, coal and cement, whose production is heavily polluting. But the government is increasingly having to balance its concern over an economic slowdown with fears of a public backlash over environmental pollution. In recent months, police have cracked down on protests sparked by pollution in several major cities and moved to censor complaints about bad air online.

China Vows Blue Skies Despite Economic Challenges