Miyerkules, Agosto 7, 2013
The Story of Bottled Water
The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day) employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industrys attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call to take back the tap, not only by making a personal commitment to avoid bottled water, but by supporting investments in clean, available tap water for all.
Our production partners on the bottled water film include five leading sustainability groups: Corporate Accountability International, Environmental Working Group, Food & Water Watch, Pacific Institute, and Polaris Institute.
And, for all you fact checkers out there,http://storyofstuff.org/pdfs/StoryOfB...
Horrors of Midway
National Wildlife Refuge
From August 1996, the general public could visit the atoll through study ecotours.[17] This program ended in 2002,[18] but another visitor program was approved and began operating in March 2008.[8][19] This program operated through 2012, but was suspended for 2013 due to budget cuts.[20]Midway was designated an overlay National Wildlife Refuge on April 22, 1988 while still under the primary jurisdiction of the Navy.
On October 31, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13022, which transferred the jurisdiction and control of the atoll to the United States Department of the Interior. The FWS assumed management of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The last contingent of Navy personnel left Midway on June 30, 1997 after an ambitious environmental cleanup program was completed.
On September 13, 2000, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt designated the Wildlife Refuge as the Battle of Midway National Memorial.[21]
On June 15, 2006, President George W. Bush designated the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a national monument. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument encompasses 105,564 square nautical miles (139,798 sq mi; 362,074 km2), and includes 3,910 square nautical miles (5,178 sq mi; 13,411 km2) of coral reef habitat.[22] The Monument also includes the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
In 2007, the Monument's name was changed to Papahānaumokuākea (Hawaiian pronunciation: [ˈpɐpəˈhaːnɔuˈmokuˈaːkeə]) Marine National Monument.[23] The National Monument is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the State of Hawaii.
Environment
Midway Atoll is a critical habitat in the central Pacific Ocean. A number of native species rely on the island which is now home to 67–70% of the world's Laysan Albatross population, and 34–39% of the global Black-footed Albatross.[24]
While Midway supports nearly three million birds, each seabird species has carved out a specific site on the atoll in which to nest. Seventeen different species of seabird can be found, the rarest of which is the Short-tailed Albatross, otherwise known as the “Golden Gooney.” Fewer than 2,200 are believed to exist due to excessive feather hunting in the late nineteenth century.[25] The Fish and Wildlife Service has recently re-introduced the endangered Laysan Duck (Midway is part of its assumed pre-historic range) to the Atoll
Over 250 different species of marine life are found in the 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) of lagoon and surrounding waters. The critically endangeredHawaiian monk seals raise their pups on the beaches. Monk seals are benthic foragers and rely on the Midway Atoll’s reef fish, squid, octopus and crustaceans. Green sea turtles, another threatened species, occasionally nest on the island. The first was found in 2006 on Spit Island and another in 2007 on Sand Island. A resident pod of 300 spinner dolphins live in the lagoons and nearshore waters.[26]
The islands of Midway Atoll have been extensively altered as a result of human habitation. Starting in 1869 with the project to blast the reefs and create a port on Sand Island, the ecology of Midway has been changing.
A number of invasive exotics have been introduced. Ironwood trees from Australia were planted to act as windbreaks. Seventy-five percent of the 200 species of plants on Midway were introduced. Recent efforts have focused on removing non-native plant species.
Lead paint on the buildings still poses an environmental hazard (avian lead poisoning) to the albatross population of the island. The cost of stripping the paint is estimated to be $5 million.[27]Paint removal is expected to be finished by 2017.[28]
Pollution
Midway Atoll, in common with all the Hawaiian Islands, receives substantial amounts of marine debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Consisting of ninety percent plastic, this debris accumulates on the beaches of Midway. This garbage represents a hazard to the bird population of the island. Twenty tons of plastic debris washes up on Midway every year with five tons of that debris being fed to Albatross chicks.[29] The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimates at least 100 lbs of plastic washes up every week.[30]
Of the 1.5 million Laysan Albatrosses that inhabit Midway, nearly all are found to have plastic in their digestive system.[31] Approximately one-third of the chicks die.[32] The reasons for these deaths is attributed to the albatrosses confusing brightly colored plastic with marine animals (such as squid and fish) for food.[33]Because albatross chicks do not develop the reflex to regurgitate until they are four months old, they cannot expel the plastic pieces. Albatrosses are not the only species to suffer from the plastic pollution; sea turtles and monk seals also consume the debris. [33] All kinds of plastic items wash upon the shores, from cigarette lighters to toothbrushes and toys. An albatross on Midway can have up to 50% of its intestinal tract filled with plastic.
From Wikipedia
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