abandoned coal mines threaten community safety and the environment, but despite bipartisan support, remediation efforts are often stalled by litigation and red tape, senators said at a hearing on nov. 9. 

states must undergo prolonged vetting processes before they can turn previously mined lands into wildlife habitats, commercial areas or other reclamation projects, chairman sen. joe manchin, d-w. va. said at the energy and natural resources committee hearing in washington, d.c.

“these coal communities sacrifice everything to power our nation to greatness and should be able to implement projects that will have positive impacts on the community in a timely manner,” manchin said. “they sure as hell don’t deserve to be strung along by the federal government, tied up in bureaucratic red tape, and forced to wait to put transformative projects into action. it’s absolutely unacceptable.”

acid water saturated with metals and long standing fires beneath the earth threaten entire communities located near abandoned coal mine sites. communities that complain the most about damage from former coal mines are prioritized for restoration projects, according to rob rice, director of the division of land restoration at the west virginia department of environmental protection.

states get new instructions every year on how congressional funding should be used in a restoration project.

“and each year, that guidance document becomes thicker, so there’s more hoops to jump through,” rice said. “the vetting period has increased over subsequent years.”

glenda owens, deputy director of the office of surface mining reclamation and enforcement at the u.s. department of the interior, blamed the lengthy processes on court disputes over approval of coal mine restoration projects.

“we want to make sure that the decisions we make during these environmental reviews will sustain judicial scrutiny,” owens said. “if we don’t adhere to the controlling court decisions, we’re going to risk getting those decisions vacated or having to start all over, which is just going to require additional time.” 

this discussion followed a hearing last week that addressed a similarly slow approval process for carbon capture and storage wells, despite both issues receiving bipartisan support and congressional funding. 

“it’s just very frustrating that things aren’t going out the door. i want to make sure that the government is not impeding this and putting more oversight to the point where their intention is not to let it happen,” manchin said. “that’s what’s scaring me, because everything we’re doing, we’re trying to show that we can produce the fossil [fuel] that’s needed for energy security, better and cleaner with more innovation [and] technology than any other place in the world, but we can’t if the government’s fighting you.”

ransom canyon, texas, is bursting at the seams with just over 1,000 residents. nearly 20 miles away from lubbock, one of texas’ larger cities, this community sits lakeside with unique architectural and geological features. what it doesn’t have, however, is reliable access to food and security in nutrition. 

ransom canyon isn’t the only place lacking food security. the united states department of agriculture evaluates food access by measuring accessibility to healthy food sources, individual-level resources that affect accessibility, and neighborhood-level indicators of resources. any one or a combination of factors, such as distance from a grocery store, having a low income, no vehicle availability, or low access to public transportation results in food deserts. these stressors contributed to leaving 10.2% of u.s. households food insecure in 2021.

filling the nutrition gap

allison childress, ph.d., rdn, cssd, ld, is an assistant professor at texas tech university, chief clinical dietician at the nutrition and metabolic health institute and licensed dietician. she said she sees dollar stores as an aid to food insecurity while intensifying nutrition insecurity.

“​​we are reducing food insecurity but at the same time, there are things that i wish [dollar stores] would do to increase nutrition security,” childress said. “let’s start thinking of ways we can increase the nutritional content of the food that [dollar stores] sell.”

nancy haynie, a resident of ransom canyon, pushes a bright yellow shopping cart through a cluttered dollar general. her cart holds milk, bread, microwavable meals, and snacks. she said she frequents this store, coming in three to four times a week.

“what you spend here, you save in gas going all the way into town,” haynie said, gesturing to her cart. 

haynie said she has a fixed income and the addition of the dollar store to the community holds a significant convenience factor for residents, as well as the low price point. this specific storefront now offers a small produce section, offering peppers, corn, lettuce, grapes and more. 

“it’s terrible to have to drive almost 20 miles into town for a tomato,” haynie said.

are dollar stores the solution or the problem?

however, the dollar general in ranson canyon is the exception, not the rule. there are more than 34,000 dollar stores in the united states, which is more than there are starbucks, mcdonalds, target and walmart storefronts combined. while dollar general has announced intentions to make more stores similar to traditional grocers, with options like fresh produce, meats, cheeses and other goods, this plan would amount to 10,000 of over 30,000 total dollar stores.

“i really like the little store,” haynie said with a grin and a nod. however, not everyone expresses those sentiments. 

previous studies find that dollar stores, like dollar general, family dollar and dollar tree exacerbate food insecurity and food deserts in america. small food retailers are less likely than supermarkets to sell healthy staple foods, leading to a diet of ultra-processed foods. some cities have passed policies and ordinances to restrain the number of dollar store expansions to support full-service grocery stores.

there has been exponential growth in these stores in low-income communities, most often affecting marginalized groups. as a result, studies show these communities are significantly less likely to have accessible full-service grocers that offer quality, affordable, healthy options compared to higher-income and majority-white communities.

childress said eating healthily starts with knowing what is on your plate. 

“you want half of your plate to be fruits and vegetables, a fourth of your plate to be grains, preferably whole grains, and a fourth of your plate to be protein,” childress said. “you want to have healthy oils in moderation.”

when limited to products on dollar store shelves, childress said to look for canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, cereal with less than 10 grams of added sugar, canned tuna and chicken, and nut butters as healthy options. 

“you really have to get creative with how you’re going to design the plates, how you’re going to cook the items, how you’re going to store the items,” childress said. “then, you have to be very creative in making sure that you have something from all of those different food groups.”

expanding nutrition education and access

childress said education about nutrition is key to finding solutions to nutrition insecurity and can be implemented in dollar stores. visual guides, signs and nutrition reminders on labels are great ways to connect with a customer, according to childress.

experts like childress are not the only advocates for decreasing nutrition insecurity. 

food bank usage has been on the rise with the assistance of mobile pantry programs, and community gardens expand health, sustainability and economic security. beyond these tactics, community members like danielle demetria east are taking creative approaches to contribute to food equity. 

east founded the east lubbock art house, a non-profit, community-based arts organization, working toward benefitting the east side of lubbock, texas, a historically marginalized community exposed to higher health risks from industrial zoning and lack of food and nutrition security. this program hosts the lubbock community fridges, a place where anyone can put food in or get food out. 

“our community fridge is our hope at helping eliminate food waste and help transient individuals,” east said. 

east said the community fridge has received positive feedback, as seen by the continuing donation and pick-up cycle and helping as many as 20 people to regularly get food from the fridge. the steady supply of food provides residents with food security at no cost.

“people feel positively about [the fridges],” east said. “it’s all about meeting the need in the community.”

east encourages people to donate to the east lubbock art house and community fridges to grow the program and inspire other programs in other areas. accessibility to food, especially nutrition food, is revolutionary to residents in food and nutrition deserts. 

creative, community-centric programs and the spread of dollar stores contribute to solving food insecurity, meaning fewer people live their lives with a daunting hunger. yet, the gap in nutrition insecurity remains. when it comes to solving nutrition insecurity, education and communication are keys. 

“nutrition is a science just like medicine, and the research is changing all the time,” childress said. “the science is going to change, always. there’s going to be new nutrition recommendations.”

looking ahead

dollar store retailers have plans to expand their access to healthy options. federal policy requires retailers that accept ebt and other benefits to have coolers for meal staples, like milk, eggs and meat. dollar general, specifically, has announced its intention to increase the availability of produce and other traditional grocery store staples.

access to fulfilling, nutritious food is a human right, but one that is denied to millions of people in america. enticing dollar stores may not be a complete solution, but they may turn a new leaf into becoming more helpful than harmful. a strong emphasis on the availability of healthy options, education and outreach programs, and reliability to residents could make dollar stores the solution to food and nutrition insecurity in america.

audio transcript:

laura malou: the growing mountains of garbage and trash represent not only an attitude of indifference to the valuable natural environment but also an economic and a public health problem.
hello and welcome to this radio production on waste management in the city of bamenda. i am your host, laura malou.
i urge you to please stay tuned as we journey through the path of waste and see how we can eradicate this practice.
safe management of waste involves three key principles, reduction of unnecessary waste, and separation of general waste from hazardous waste, and waste treatment that reduces risk on the community.
in bamenda, the problem of inefficient municipal solid waste management is endemic as people have been concentrating more on the ongoing crisis hitting government forces and separatist fighters while poor waste management is leading to a major health crisis.

…

a denizen of the town, cecilia follah, feels the town has been abandoned as every corner of the street, market, are covered with garbage causing a reduction on road sizes, hence unnecessary traffic and accidents.

cecilia follah: talking about waste management here in bamenda, it’s really a deplorable situation because we, as city dwellers, we feel abandoned. you walk in the street and every corner is full of garbage. there’s no control. the individuals decide where to dump their garbage, and no one says anything. even in the markets, on the roads, everywhere, people are walking on top of garbage. and this has led to a lot of traffic jams because the cars barely find where to pass due to this situation.

and speaking as a mother, this has really affected my children because my environment, everywhere is full of dust bins. and the pollution from it contaminates their health. most of the time, they have skin rashes, respiratory problems, and even infections. and this has led to a lot of damage. but i think that this situation can be remedied if personnel are trained on waste management or recycling of waste. this is already been done in the west region. and i think if it’s applied here in bamenda, it’s going to go a long way to help us, the local population, and the town at large.

laura malou: it is challenging that the management is becoming cumbersome as these (are) sites (which) have been a rapid accumulation of dirt along major roads and streets. in effect, it is sad to say human interaction with the environment is gradually causing a negative impact especially on the socio-economic development of the city due to the inadequate trash cans and the burning down of hysacam cars, a company in charge of waste in the town of bamenda by separatists.

waste is a global issue. if not properly managed, it poses a threat to public health and the environment. the unresolved garbage blocks and drains spread waterborne diseases. madame gwanyama noella, a medical practitioner, says the population of bamenda may face a bigger health crisis than the ongoing war if something is not done.

madame gwanyama noella: when the waste is dumped carelessly it blocks the drainage, leading to (areas of) stagnant water which are breeding places for mosquitos and thus a source of deadly water. this can lead to gastrointestinal tract diseases like cholera, typhoid, dysentery. and as a breeding ground for mosquitoes leading to an increased rate of malaria. also, some of this waste can release gasses such as methane and carbon dioxide, which are not good for the health of humans. so it can affect the respiratory system, causing signs and symptoms such cough, difficulties in breathing, and chest tightness.

laura malou: on this path, the bamenda deputy city council mayor mr. ndoh david chi, says waste management should not only be that of the council alone, it should be a collective effort.

ndoh david chi: we’ve tried to advise the population on how to help. the waste issue should not be that on the city council alone, it should be a collective effort. but you understand that government and the council have always put up measures in order to manage waste because waste is going to be a hazard.

laura malou: a concerned bamenda city dweller, hope lih shares, waste management in bamenda is complex. prior to the crisis, hysacam disposed waste in the town. as of now, there’s no waste disposal company in the city. he adds, “the effects are much. the government should impose fines on recalcitrant fellows to compel them to dump their heaps wherein necessary.”

hope lih: yeah, waste management in bamenda is a very complex question. i can’t at least say i know a specific company that manages waste in bamenda. prior to the crisis, we used to have hsyacam, but due to the hostilities to it, their cars, their automobiles, the company stopped or ceased their activities in bamenda.

this sort of thing, i think, lies on the government. you know, waste disposal is something cost intensive. an individual can’t manage it. so if the government can put in funds, or if the government can bring in an effective company that can manage the waste, i think the problem will be history. to get a company that has experience, and that has the capacity, has the necessary equipment that can dispose or treat the waste.

and it’s up to the government (and) the council to also put trash cans everywhere in the city so that even those moving around with banana peels, mango peels, orange peels should dump it in the specific waste bins, not just literally everywhere in the city.

so the city council should put in fines to those recalcitrant fellows and to compel them to turn their heaps in the dustbin. not dumping it 10 meters (from the) dustbin. so if they are fined and the people have been disciplined of littering the waste everywhere, i think it will also be a solution, that should be wrote. because even the councils or even the company wants to dispose the waste when there are no roads. how are they going to carry the waste? so the government should make sure, or the council should make sure their assets route to every dustbin, where the waste can be collected.

laura malou: according to the wealth health organization (who), the total number of waste generated from health care activities are about 85%. generally this is non-hazardous waste. the remaining 15% is considered hazardous- that may be infectious, toxic, or radioactive.

every year an estimated 16 billion injections are administered the world over, but not all needles and syringes are properly disposed of afterward and so, measures to ensure safe and environmentally sound management of waste can prevent adverse health and environmental hazards as waste composition by farmers will help bring out a healthy soil for crops.

organic waste will absorb water for crops, hence the reduction of waste. say “no” to single use plastics. laws that deal with proper waste disposal will be reinforced. education on personal hygiene, responsible education on personal hygiene responsibility will be reducing unsustainable practices and garbage.

efforts towards management education can be encouraged by individuals, local authorities and communities. comparatively, the nde council in the west region of cameroon has, over the years, recycled waste materials (plastics) in bringing out water bottles and many more. the community in the west region keeps working towards waste recycling.

mrs. edwina acha of the bamenda city blames her inability to finance waste materials (plastics) into water bottles as the population of bamenda faces a problem of water safety. she adds that, if the bamenda community will emulate the bafousam community, by recycling waste, then the rampant heeps on major roads and streets will be reduced. the future seeks to provide a safe and a sustainable environment for the next generation.

this radio podcast has been ensured by a u.s.-based media outlet planet forward. for editing material it has been ensured by desmond ateiyhyiem. morally and financially assisted by mom, madame naku martina. for presentation, i have been laura malou.

photos by edwina acha and nfor godlove.

grant looked at a map that went viral on the internet, showing two concentric circles with the inner one marking the “first risk area” and the outer one marking the “secondary risk area.” some locations on the map are marked with “heavy dark clouds spotted” and “acid rain reported,” indicating where people’s health and ecology within the circle may be at risk. the map had reaped tens of thousands of retweets and shares online, with people commenting and asking for advice on what to do.

grant laughed helplessly as soon as he saw the map. “there’s no way this could be a circle because the weather pattern would move everything to the east with the prevailing winds,” he said. “so the fact that this is drawn in a circle means that it’s just someone’s wild idea because there should be nothing over here.”

grant also noted the map had no official source or creator, but that didn’t stop it from causing panic among those who had seen it. people were sharing the map as if it were fact, with comments like, “i feel like it’s having a bigger impact than chernobyl,” “the supermarkets are running out of bottled water again,” and “i see dead birds and frogs in my backyard.”

“it just goes to show how easily misinformation can spread on social media, even in the face of easily verifiable facts,” he said.

determining the human impact

given the well-controlled condition of the spill and the remote location, there is no need for residents of other states to worry about being affected. “because even if it is a toxic substance, it has to be judged by the concentration and time of absorption to determine whether it is indeed harmful to humans,” said cody smith, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at uconn.

still, many in ohio and other outlying states are concerned that these toxic substances are entering the water cycle, the atmosphere, and the soil, thus affecting the health of humans and the local environment.

animal studies conducted by the department of health and human services have shown that exposure to 50 ppm(parts per million) of vinyl chloride in the air increases the risk of liver cancer.

however, the u.s. environmental protection agency tested at least 480 homes around east palestine where the derailment occurred and did not detect vinyl chloride.

also, according to cdc calculations, it takes more than 30 minutes of exposure to 17 ppm of phosgene (the combustion product of vinyl chloride) to be lethal, and this incident resulted in a much lower spill concentration than that.

“i don’t think anyone’s going to be exposed long enough or at high enough levels to be concerned with liver cancer or death,” smith said.

grant concurred with smith’s assessment.

“most of the chemicals in the train cars were relatively volatile, unstable compounds. their biological and environmental half-life(the time required for a biological system, such as that of a human, to eliminate, by natural processes, half of the amount of a substance that has entered it) is relatively short. so they’re not going to stay around too long,” he said.

grant also noted that the response team practice, combusting the vinyl chloride at the site, was the best option at the time because another riskier practice was to bury these hazards in the ground.

“it’s better to burn these chemicals and get rid of them than to bury them in the ground and have them potentially leach into the groundwater or someone’s basement,” grant said. the united states environmental protection agency has determined that drinking water containing 2 ppb of vinyl chloride over a lifetime increases cancer risk by one in 10,000. also, water containing vinyl chloride may inhibit vegetation growth.

kristina wagstrom is an associate professor of environmental engineering at uconn. she explained how complex the situation is regarding cleanup and described the options available to agencies on how to do so.

she agreed with grant that combusting vinyl chloride is the best option to avoid leaching into the soil and groundwater, which would take longer to degrade.

wagstrom also pointed out that if the vinyl chloride is not burned, there will be a risk of explosion, which will have a more significant impact.

“with the controlled burn, less vinyl chloride will be released directly because they can ensure that everything’s combusting as it’s released,” she said.

“over time, the concentration of vinyl chloride will decrease with atmospheric volatilization and will not pose a threat to humans,” grant said, “you can calculate the concentration of vinyl chloride in the air. and i would bet you would find that the concentration would be so low that it’s probably a very, very, very low risk to anyone.”

environmental impact and how biodiversity breeds tenacity

in addition to human health, people are concerned about the ecological system may take a very long time to recover. using a calculation endorsed by the american fisheries society, the ohio department of natural resources(odnr) estimated that approximately 38,222 minnows and around 5,500 other aquatic species were potentially killed in the 5-mile span of waterway affected by the derailment.

odnr director mary mertz said none of the species killed are threatened or endangered.

“because the chemicals were contained, we haven’t seen any additional signs of aquatic life suffering,” she said.

in response to reports of dead birds and an opossum in the area, odnr sent the animals to the ohio department of agriculture for testing, which found no signs of chemical poisoning.

“we have no reason to believe that those terrestrial animal deaths were as a result of the spill,” she said.

grant also has an optimistic view of wildlife.

“a healthy, diverse environment can make environmental problems disappear and help the environment recover. even though some species are sensitive, it’s only a matter of time before they all return, especially in a stream or an aquatic ecosystem like this, where fresh water is coming in all the time, and new species are drifting in the water,” grant said.

looking toward the future of transporting chemicals by train

however, in addition to the direct impact of this incident, society also expressed concerns about rail safety and the transportation of hazardous materials.

according to federal railroad administration’s data, norfolk southern, the railroad company whose train was involved in this incident and which transports goods across nearly 20,000 miles of rail in 22 states, has reported the second-highest accident rate nationally among the seven major freight railroads each year since 2019. it has reported an average of nearly 261 accidents a year and roughly three accidents per million train miles.

the number of norfolk southern train accidents in ohio also has ticked up. the company has reported an average of 32 train accidents a year in ohio during the past five years, compared with an average of 24 during the previous five-year span, according to its accident reports.

the transportation of hazardous materials has always been a highly controversial issue because there is no one perfect way to transport them, whether by railroads or highways.

norfolk southern reported that an average of 871 cars a year carried hazardous materials during the past five years, compared with 184 cars with hazardous materials in the previous five-year span.

also, according to the ct mirror, the hazardous chemicals are traveling on highways in connecticut, albeit in smaller truck-sized loads, but they are no less likely to cause explosions or damage if they’re involved in an accident.

for grant, this is a risk versus cost problem with no single optimal solution.

“companies that use these chemicals could potentially make them on-site. and then there would be less transportation, but that would be very costly for someone who needs the chemicals to make it themselves. it might even make the potential risk worse because now you’ve got toxic chemicals all over the country being made in a factory somewhere, and people don’t even know it,” grant said.

as the study progressed, the incident revealed many unaddressed social issues.

“there are still some questions on the overall impact, and this is going to be something that gets looked at for years to come,” said wagstrom. “as far as transport within the environmental matrix, the dioxins (another combustion product of vinyl chloride) that might have formed from the combustion and how they may have deposited still needs to be examined.”

“i think the railroad industry will need to be more diligent in monitoring the safety of their transportation system and stricter oversight of hazardous chemical shipments to avoid similar incidents,” grant said.

while the waters may look idyllic, a century-old sewage system and dangerously high levels of bacteria have made the urban national park unswimmable for decades. now, a team of volunteers is working to change that, one water sample at a time.

no-swim zone

d.c. residents know that swimming in the city’s waterways is not the best idea — in fact, it’s been illegal since 1971. lorde shocked concert goers and made national news last year when she claimed to float in the potomac before her show. there’s a stigma around the cleanliness of these rivers from decades of pollution, but in recent years, the waterways have been slowly improving.

the environmental protection agency has been trying to make the city’s waterways swimmable and fishable since the clean water act of 1972. while the original ten-year timeline for that goal passed forty years ago, the act set in motion a clean water agenda the city is hoping to reach in the next few years.

in 2019, city officials began floating the idea of relaxing or lifting the swim ban. but even after decades of cleaning up the waterways, environmentalists question whether the water is safe enough to open to public swimming. data from the d.c. volunteer water quality monitoring project is helping shed light on the state of the city’s rivers and streams.

watching the waterways

on a cool day in early may, the ground is damp and the water is high in rock creek park. it’s the first day of the 2023 water monitoring season, an overcast morning after several days of on-and-off rain.

landrum beard, community engagement coordinator at rock creek conservancy, sits under a picnic pavilion at a table lined with small red coolers for volunteers to pick up with their water testing kits. they’ll head out toward their assigned sites, marked with ribbons, along the creek and return with the coolers filled with water samples, which are taken to anacostia riverkeeper’s lab for testing.

anacostia riverkeeper launched the d.c. volunteer water quality monitoring project in 2018 to measure and track contamination levels in d.c.’s main waterways: the anacostia river, the potomac river, and rock creek.

with a $140,000 grant from the d.c. department of energy and environment, the project has grown into a collaboration between anacostia riverkeeper, alliance for the chesapeake bay, rock creek conservancy, and nature forward. the groups have trained almost 400 volunteers from all eight wards of the city, collecting more than 2,000 water samples from 2019 to 2022.

each wednesday morning from may to september — considered the outdoor recreational season — teams of volunteers take water samples at two dozen sites across the city and test for ph balance, e. coli levels, water temperature, air temperature, and turbidity, a measure of water clarity. they also note if they see anyone in the water, as many people and their pets still wade in the creek despite park signs warning against it. the results are posted each friday and updated in the swim guide app, which lets users check the water quality of nearby beaches.

most of the volunteers are consistent, beard says. there are some newcomers on this first day of the new season, but others have been a part of the program for years.

benita veskimets is one of those veteran volunteers. veskimets, who used to work in fundraising for rock creek conservancy, is in her fourth year of water sampling. “i’m really curious to see what happens this year,” she says. “last year, i feel like it was worse than the year before.”

only a few of the rock creek sites passed with safe bacteria levels last year, beard confirms. those were mostly on dry weeks, when there was little or no rainfall impacting the stormwater sewage overflow. this morning is not one of those times. after a rainy week, the creek is likely swimming with bacteria from runoff. not the best way to kick off the season, he admits.

rock creek park’s sewage problem

the root of this problem lies with infrastructure, and if you’ve ever walked through rock creek park after a rainstorm, you can smell why. 

after just half an inch of rainfall, hazardous waste and sewage flood into the creek from the city’s old combined sewer infrastructure. in this system, stormwater and sewage flow through the same pipes — and when it rains, they quickly fill up and overflow into the rivers. rock creek is considered dangerously contaminated when that happens, and recreators are advised to avoid the waterway for up to three days afterward.

volunteers have tracked that trend at the sampling areas. “all these sites, for the most part, have a storm drain a few hundred feet or so upstream from where the sampling site is,” beard said. “so after big rain events, we always see that the sites have extremely high bacteria.”

d.c. water is now working on a $2.6 billion overhaul to the city’s sewage system with the goal of redirecting some of these sewage lines away from the city’s waterways and back toward treatment plants. this plan, the clean river project, is set to be completed in 2030. 

in the current phase of the project, the national park service is teaming up with d.c. water to take on piney branch creek, one of rock creek’s main tributaries and victims of contamination. an estimated 39 million gallons of sewage and stormwater pour into the creek each year.

“the way to do it is to build bigger pipes under the ground that can handle all the sewage and the stormwater and keep it in the pipes and get it down to the treatment plant,” said steve dryden, a local conservationist who has worked in the piney branch area for years.

the city is expanding these pipes, aiming to reduce the amount of sewage flowing into the three waterways by 96 percent. it’s part of a hybrid plan for rock creek that includes both traditional “grey infrastructure” — like basins, drains, and pipes — and new “green infrastructure,” such as rain gardens and permeable pavers in 365 acres of the surrounding urban areas. a pilot program for this green infrastructure plan reduced runoff into the creek by nearly one fifth, surpassing d.c. water’s goals.

but sewage overflow and runoff after rainfall is not the only contamination source in rock creek. the water quality monitoring project reports that some sites have had persistently high levels of bacteria even during dry weather, which may be caused by “outdated infrastructure, leaking sewer pipes, or uninvestigated point-source pollution.”

jeanne braha, executive director of rock creek conservancy, said this may also come from pet waste and houses or businesses with sewer pipes that are accidentally hooked up to storm drain pipes that flow into the creek. construction in the urban area is another contributor, veskimets adds. while the potomac and anacostia bacteria levels are a direct result of combined sewer overflows, rock creek’s contamination comes from several sources — making solutions harder to find.

one sample at a time

while solving rock creek’s water contamination problem is a long process, participants in the d.c. volunteer water quality monitoring project are ensuring that city officials and environmentalists have the data to help. 

the potomac and anacostia rivers have been slowly improving in water quality since the anacostia was once dubbed “one of the most polluted waterways in the nation.” people debate whether the rivers have recovered enough to be swimmable.

“i think we’re getting there,” said louis eby, a longtime water quality volunteer and former attorney advisor in the epa’s office of water. he’s seen a lot of progress in the two rivers, but remains cautious about rock creek.

“i wouldn’t swim in rock creek,” he said. “we’ll get there some day for rock creek, but not soon.”

sure enough, the rain in early may was a forecast of remaining challenges. both upper and lower rock creek sites reported unsafe e. coli and ph levels in the first week of monitoring.

still, citizen scientists will continue to keep tabs on the water quality each week. as soon as rock creek is finally swimmable, they’ll be the first to know. 

as the summer recreation season kicks off, people flock to d.c.’s waterways for kayaking, paddleboarding, and sightseeing — and one day soon, they might be able to safely swim in them.

taalib-din uqdah never expected to be an environmental activist — not in his wildest dreams. he was the kid who loved going to gas stations just to “stick my head out the back of the window and smell the gasoline.”

nowadays, uqdah is no fan of petrol — especially in public transit. the 70-year-old business owner, community activist, and washington, d.c., native is spearheading efforts to overhaul the renovation of the washington metropolitan area transit authority’s (wmata) northern bus garage in ward 4 of the city. in january, those efforts paid off when wmata announced that the northern bus garage will reopen with an all-electric bus fleet in 2027 — the first entirely electric, zero-emission garage in the city.

the commitment to an all-electric bus fleet represents a culmination of years of advocacy and community organizing. when wmata announced the renovation in 2018, the agency’s fleet management plan included buses running on compressed natural gas, standard diesel, “clean diesel” and hybrid fuels.
wmata considered all but standard diesel to be “clean fuel,” but even hybrid fuels contribute to the climate crisis. battery-powered electric buses provide more sustainable benefits by eliminating the use of fossil fuels, improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and lowering noise pollution.

the bus renovation debate

located on a large lot between d.c.’s sixteenth street heights and petworth neighborhoods, the northern bus garage — also known as the northern bus barn — is surrounded by residential homes and retail businesses on 14th street. the facility has been operational since 1906, first as a barn for electric streetcars and later for traditional buses.

by 2018, the bus garage was in need of repair. rather than locate a new lot, wmata chose to renovate the garage for convenience and proximity to a high ridership corridor. they planned to demolish everything but the garage’s historic facade on 14th street and construct a mixed-use development to house over 200 buses and about 50,000 square feet of space for commercial space. the garage was set to include infrastructure for 175 electric buses — but wmata didn’t have these buses, or any plan to make the switch to electric.

many community members weren’t sold on the plan. some wanted the bus garage gone completely. some wanted it redeveloped into a grocery store or affordable housing. others wanted it to house electric buses. residents living near the garage brought up noise pollution and health concerns, such as asthma, which they say trace back to the diesel fumes of the buses.

uqdah, who has lived near the bus garage since 1984, immediately took interest in the project. he saw it as an important factor in the community’s quality of life, and he created the northern bus barn neighbors to organize community members against wmata’s plan to bring gas and diesel buses back to the garage. red signs began popping up in residents’ yards proclaiming, “no! bus diesel fumes”

diesel in the air

uqdah was especially concerned about diesel particulate matter, a part of exhaust that contains gas and soot particles, and nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel-powered vehicles. air pollution from diesel exhaust has long been linked to adverse health effects including asthma, neuroinflammation, cardiovascular disease and lung cancer, even in particle-filtered exhaust. in 2012, the world health organization classified diesel engine exhaust as “carcinogenic to humans” for causing an increased risk of lung cancer.

new research shows that exposure to diesel exhaust for even brief periods of time may cause cognitive impairment as well by disrupting the connectivity between brain regions.

and the impacts of air pollution disproportionately affect minority communities. in d.c. — which the american lung association gave a “c” rating for particle pollution last year — black residents are 126% more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than white residents as of 2021. 

ward 4 councilmember janeese lewis george cited this disparity in her remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the northern bus garage in january.

“when we talk about reducing diesel fumes in our neighborhoods, we know that it is both an environmental justice issue and a racial justice issue,” the councilmember said. in ward 4, the area lewis george represents, about 45% of the population is black.

uqdah and other community members have expressed their views in public meetings with wmata since 2019, with nearly 100 people sending messages to the wmata board about bus electrification at one meeting in october of 2020. many of those messages urged wmata not to reopen the garage unless the bus fleet would be fully electrified, often noting health concerns.

“i live in this neighborhood. my children have asthma. adding more diesel buses is a huge threat to our health and the environmental pollution is a terrible, terrible thing,” said resident blythe emigholz of sixteenth street heights. 

“we are very concerned. we’ve been making our voices clear at meetings, but it seems like there’s no response to the environmental concerns that have been voiced by these neighbors.”

a greener future

councilmember lewis george became involved in the advocacy as she was knocking doors on the 2020 campaign trail, hearing similar stories from countless ward 4 residents. once elected, she began pushing for bus electrification on the d.c. city council.

wmata got on board in june 2021, approving a plan to shift to a zero-emission electric bus fleet over the next 20 years. their aim was to replace the existing gas and diesel buses by 2045 in accordance with the 2018 clean energy d.c. act – the northern bus garage was set to house 150 of these electric buses. it was a step in the right direction, but many in the community were not satisfied with the far-off date. 

“two and a half decades is far too long to wait for public transit that aligns with our region’s sustainability goals and the urgent reality of climate change,” said lewis george.

city officials and community members continued negotiating, and in january 2023, wmata announced that the northern bus garage fleet would be entirely electric by 2027 — 18 years sooner than the initial date. the garage will feature rooftop solar panels that are expected to generate 726,000 kwh/year, electric vehicle charging stations for parking, and a leed platinum rating.

at the groundbreaking ceremony on january 25, councilmember lewis george acknowledged the efforts of community activists like uqdah and thanked them for pushing the initiative through. 

“an all zero-emission bus garage is a monumental step towards a sustainable future as we confront the urgent reality of climate change in our city, in our country, and across the world,” said lewis george. 

“this northern bus barn will make wmata, as it always has been, and dc, as it always has been… a national leader in providing green public transit that does right by our communities and by our planet.”

the electrification of the bus garage is just one piece in a community revitalization project that uqdah hopes will bring more business and affordable housing to the sixteenth street heights and ward 4 communities.

natural disasters happen everyday, all over the world; from droughts and floods to tornadoes and extreme climate changes, this phenomena can greatly disrupt the living conditions for residents in a given region. displacements can happen within nations, but with climate catastrophes experienced in some parts of the world more than others, some may opt to cross national borders. these people are often referred to as climate refugees, and many come from countries experiencing high magnitude climate disasters including afghanistan, pakistan and india.

it’s likely that the population of climate refugees will only continue to rise, with the world bank estimating that nearly 216 million people could be affected by 2050. a key question this raises is, “where do they go?” countries poised to accept climate refugees, like germany, are struggling to define the problem.

research from the european parliamentary research service finds that europe is likely to be one of the regions least affected by climate-related disasters, accounting for only one percent of internal displacements in 2020. south asia accounted for 30 percent that same year. like in other countries, individuals who are displaced as a result of natural disasters do not receive refugee or subsidiary protection in germany at the moment. but as the european parliamentary research service put it, “through its cooperation with the countries affected, the eu can put in place safe legal pathways for climate migrants.”

disputes over the idea of “climate refugee”

from 2014 to 2021 germany accepted more refugees in total than any other eu member state, according to data from eurostat. but the german government in the past has explicitly expressed that climate refugees cannot claim asylum in germany. as a reaction to the united nations human rights committee, which ruled in january 2020 that nations may not deport individuals who are affected by “climate change-induced conditions that violate the right to life,” a spokesperson from the interior ministry said the link between climate change and migration is under-researched. “most studies suggest that environmental changes are triggers for migration decisions, but are not the sole cause,” the spokesperson told deutsche welle.

globally there have been disagreements on who qualifies as a refugee in the first place. the united nations definition of a refugee, which describes them as “people who have fled violence, war, conflict or persecution,” is subject to interpretation by immigration courts across the world. while the united nations is one assembly that has made multiple policy recommendations for increasing protections for refugees in general, individual countries still reserve the right to deny asylum applications. one important international human rights law, european convention on human rights (echr) article 3, which finds that “the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” has been used in germany specifically to consider humanitarian conditions in certain nations that may justify flight. 

compounding harms during displacement

“a lot of the challenges we see in relatively stable contexts are then exasperated in a migrant context, whether it’s access to sexual reproductive health or problems with gender based violence,” said maureen mcgowan, ph.d. candidate at the heidelberg institute of global health and researcher with the global health and migration hub. “then with climate coming into that, a big challenge is also things like access to nutritional food or access to water in the immediate moment, but also in the long term.”

echr article 3 was referenced by the german higher administrative court which made a significant ruling banning the deportation of an afghan citizen in december 2020. the court’s primary reasoning was that the covid-19 pandemic has led to a significant decline in the humanitarian conditions in afghanistan. the court explicitly cited environmental conditions, including climate and natural disasters, as relevant factors in assessing the humanitarian conditions in the country. camilla schloss, a judge in the administrative court of berlin, wrote in a blog about how this case might show how courts may have the power to create more avenues for climate refugees outside of the 1951 refugee convention. but some researchers say that climate change cannot be the sole consideration for granting asylum.

“you have to say goodbye to the point of view that climate change is a main reason for migration. this is just one of several factors,” said benjamin schraven, an associate researcher at the german institute of development and sustainability who specializes in environmental change and migration.  in an interview with t-online, he said given the lack of solid evidence that can attribute migration to natural disasters, germany, as well as other countries, may not create legal pathways so easily.

“many forecasts are old and have a weak basis for argumentation. you should be very careful with numbers, even if they are often used in a political context,” said schraven. “what should be changed is that migrants should be able to move in more fair conditions.”

the potential in research

the german advisory council on global change (wbgu) released a policy paper in august 2018 that suggested the creation of a “climate passport” for the implementation of a “just and in-time” climate policy framework in germany. the concept is modeled after the nansen passport for stateless persons, which facilitated the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people seeking asylum following world war i. 

the first objective is to give people from low-lying island nations such as the maldives and kiribati that are at high risk of being affected by climate change similar access and rights to those of citizens in germany. they then propose that in the future, it would be expanded to include refugees from other states that face similar climate-related challenges to create “early, voluntary and dignified migration” options. however, there has been very little note or update on wgbu’s website about any moves from the government to implement this proposal. 

while research options about legal protections for climate refugees is otherwise scant, mcgowan said it is likely one of the tools that will create conversations about potential policy changes. 

“research has that ability to highlight what the gaps are and then policymakers can start looking at what needs to be filled, if it’s relevant or necessary to be filled, and decide where some of those initial priorities should go,” said mcgowan.

to an untrained eye, it would be difficult to discern that this was the site of mauritius’s greatest oil spill disaster just two years previous; however, still lurking beneath the water’s surface are remnants of one of the most complicated environmental disasters ever faced by mauritius –– especially for the nation’s young people.

the 2020 oil spill

during the evening hours of july 25, 2020, japanese-owned bulk carrier mv wakashio ran aground on a coral reef just off the southern shore of mauritius. in addition to the reef, near the lodged ship were also several other protected environmental areas, including blue bay marine park, pointe d’esny mangroves, and the Île aux aigrettes. according to the un convention on biological diversity, the mauritian marine environment is home to an estimated 1,700 unique species, including around 800 kinds of fish, 17 types of marine mammals, and two species of turtles. Île aux aigrettes is home to some of the rarest species on earth, including the pink pigeon, mauritius fody, and bojer’s skink –– many of which were in direct threat because of the oil spill.

at the time of the oil spill, the vessel, flying a panamanian flag, was sailing to brazil from china. while the wakashio did not have any cargo on board, officials reported it was carrying 3,984 tons of a new low-sulfur fuel oil, 207 tons of diesel, and an additional 90 tons of lubricant oil. the vessel had veered an estimated 55 nautical miles off standard shipping lanes at the time of the grounding. the captain would later cite an attempt to access cell phone reception, coupled with distractions related to a birthday party taking place onboard, as reasons for the significant course deviation.

rough seas and a slow response from governmental stakeholders quickly turned what might have been a minor accident into a massive environmental and economic disaster. the lack of precedent marine oil spills of the low-sulfur “frankenstein fuel,” which behaves differently than standard fuel when suspended in water, further hindered initial response efforts. salvage teams arrived and began to work to mitigate effects of the grounding on july 26, but they were quickly removed after monitoring officials detected several cracks on the ship’s hull. before their evacuation, response teams pumped a portion of the fuel off of the vessel, but the ship continued to split. on august 6, cracks in the tanks became large enough that the fuel oil started to ooze unabated into the marine ecosystem –– creating large clouds acting as a visible indicator to the public of the situation’s gravity. 

on august 7, 13 days after the grounding of the wakashio, mauritian prime minister pravind jugnauth declared a state of emergency, stating the nation did not have “the skills and expertise to refloat stranded ships.” as the government waited for foreign assistance, conservation groups around mauritius sprung into action in an attempt to contain the oil spill. volunteers dashed to collect materials and construct containment booms themselves, stuffing a skeleton of cloth and buoyant plastic bottles with human hair to help absorb the oil. sugarcane farmers on the island also donated around 8 tons of bagasse, fibrous remains of the harvesting process, for use as an alternative filler for the booms.

“we were googling things, learning how to contain the spill on our own. you didn’t see any guidance from the government or other organizations,” gwenael monasie, now 22 years old and studying business management, noted. “we were just doing our best and hoping that was enough.” as a volunteer at the spill site, he harnessed his personal network to get more volunteers and worked to sew and fill the handmade booms.

mv wakashio split into two distinct pieces on august 15, estimated by responders to be holding around 90 tons of fuel at the time. since the ship’s initial leaks a week earlier, around 1,000 tons of the franken-fuel was spilled into the reefs and surrounding marine ecosystem.

several days later, the mauritian government sunk the remaining forward section of the vessel 13 nautical miles offshore in an area known to be a whale nursing and breeding ground. despite officials assuring this would have no effect on the ecosystem, an estimated 39 dolphins and whales beached between the hull completing sinking on august 24 and the publishing of a non-governmental report on august 28. 

protecting “mama nature”

this july marks two years since the mv wakashio oil spill. though environmental ngos have left the island and news coverage of the disaster has ceased, youth around mauritius are still reeling from the effects of the tragedy.

“many of us view nature as very sacred,” fatimah dowlut, a recent graduate of a small private mauritian university told me. “we often call our environment mama nature –– mother nature –– in creole. we are quite close to nature, so there was a feeling of proudness, being able to contribute [to the clean up efforts].” she continued, “i still feel quite proud of my country and of the people around me because this was like one of those rare situations where everyone was together in a way, but i also fear about the long-term damage to the sea. we absolutely love our sea and the blue water and the clean, crystal water as well. so the thought of fishes dying, of the marine ecosystem being destroyed, that hurts.” 

starting in primary school, mauritian students are taught the importance of the country’s coral reefs and how to promote their protection. multiple mauritians i spoke with recounted local ngo educators visiting their classes, showing them artifacts related to reef conservation and facilitating hands-on activities to illustrate their roles in protecting the environment. because protection of the natural world is stressed so much in mauritian culture, many were surprised by the governmental inaction in responding to the oil spill and the lack of local media coverage early on.

thekishta beerachee, 23, said, “when the spill happened, i realized the gravity of the situation when international media started posting about it –– talking negatively about how the island has not been able to solve the situation quickly and had a delayed reaction that could have prevented the oil spill… same with the celebrities i follow on instagram that [were talking] about it.”

“it was a situation where you don’t believe it is happening to you or your country because it was so bad,” she explained. “people from all social backgrounds immediately started looking for solutions, working together to help prevent the oil from spreading throughout the lagoon. it was quite emotional –– something happens in your country and suddenly everyone was involved trying to help out.”

even after official cleanup concluded, the physical effects of the oil spill were still present. “i went to a beach in the south in february 2021 and you could still spot the oil traces on the water,” ramma elysia, a first-year student at the university of mauritius, told me. “you cannot swim in that water. you cannot fish. all of the sea creatures were toxic… there was no way to undergo business, creating a major disadvantage for a nation that relies on beaches for so many parts of our lives.”

on the other side of the island, thekishta didn’t know anyone who worked as a fisherman in the south, the region still feeling the most severe impacts of the oil spill. for her and her friends in the north, the impacts were less tangible, though thekishta noted that the spill made her more engaged politically, especially around environmental issues. “becoming a young adult, i feel like there are things that should be prioritized that are not,” she said.

mauritian youth dive in  

the wakashio oil spill was also a catalyst to action for gwenael, who has been active within environmental activism groups across the island since he was in grade school. “[taking care of the environment] is our responsibility,” he said. “i knew that i couldn’t sit home and watch others working to protect it –– i had to be out there helping.” 

“a lot of us leave the country and get educated elsewhere, and then come back to implement projects here,” gwenael explained. “we chat a lot about things that impact the island –– climate change being one of them. [even after the spill], there’s virtually no action by the government outside of cleaner energy… it’s frustrating for all of us.” 

globally, these are feelings many youth can relate to. in fact, a recent lancet study of 10,000 people in ten countries between ages 16 to 20  found more than 65% of participants thought government inaction to climate change related issues is “failing young people,” with 60% feeling governments are “dismissing peoples’ distress” around such issues. the same survey indicated a meager 33% percent of participants felt the government was “protecting me, my future, the planet, and future generations” and 31% felt the government was “doing enough to avoid catastrophe.”

gweneal points to these feelings as one reason why many young people aren’t staying in mauritius. “i don’t think older people don’t care,” he said. “it’s just as young people, we think it’s our responsibility to do our best to have a future here. this means protecting the environment as best as we can. hopefully, the government will soon help.” 

fortunately, these apprehensions haven’t stopped mauritian youth from gathering together to continue pushing for environmental change and celebrating their accomplishments. “very rarely will you see situations where all mauritians have the same goal –– of protecting our country,” fatimah mentioned. “​​the productiveness of the mauritian people was beyond that of the government. and because there were so many people –– they were super active, they had the support of many private companies, so they started getting resources. only then, the government started to catch up a little bit.” she explained that many people her age feel responsible to keep this momentum for change going, pushing the government to enact legislation necessary to better protect the myriad of ecosystems around mauritius in addition to the creatures within them.

“we are very proud of what we’ve done,” gweneal echoed.  “if you are a friend i text every day or even if we’ve just met, we’re all trying together to help protect our shores… it’s already a disaster. we shouldn’t make it worse [through division].” 

gwenael has been able to keep in contact with many of the people he met volunteering at the shore and is hopeful they can get together once again as covid-19 restrictions are lifted further in mauritius.  he also mentioned wanting to try to connect all of the oil spill volunteers –– estimated to be several thousand of individuals — via social media groups to keep everyone informed for future projects and ready to respond to an environmental catastrophe if the need arises again on the island. 

“as a 20-year-old, i wasn’t really thinking that way. now, as i’m 22 and a little bit more mature, i don’t think we need to wait until the next disaster to bring such a team together.”

christmon is a fourth-year ph.d. candidate conducting research within the university of maryland’s department of entomology where she studies the parasites of honeybees in dr. dennis vanengelsdorp’s lab. she earned her previous degrees at the university of west hungary and the university of exeter in the united kingdom. she became involved in combating pollution through the surfrider foundation, a national group with whom she began organizing cleanup events and witnessing the effect of pollution on local waterways.

when the college of agriculture and natural resources tasked students with repurposing out-of-service poultry houses for the fall 2020 agenterprise challenge, christmon entered with a proposal for washing-sorting-recycling facilities for used plastics. her idea of establishing agro-plastic recycling plants won first prize, followed by projects involving a hydroponics farm and an aquaponics farm.

she now runs repurpose farm plastic llc with benjamin rickles, the company’s cto and fifth year ph.d. student in umd’s neuroscience and cognitive science program. while his background is in psychology —he studies neural processes in reading comprehension —rickles joined christmon out of commitment to his long-term goal to build a plastic recycling machine. according to his biography on the repurpose farm plastic website, he has a collection of napkin sketches depicting cleaning machines.

increasing the value of recycled agro-plastic to further sustainable farm practices is listed as the company’s forefront mission, and repurpose farm plastic llc notably aligns itself with the united nations’ sustainable development goals —particularly goal 12: responsible consumption and production. the pillar is described as one that encourages reducing, reusing, and recycling at the workplace —exactly what repurpose farm plastic llc aims to do on behalf of plastic consumers in agriculture.

“when it comes to plastic, the united states —and everything in the united states —has to adapt to be ahead of the curve,” said christmon. “it’s interesting to look to international rules for some sort of guidance.”

“a lot of what’s going on, i feel like, is like we’re relying on a lot of altruism,” added rickles. “the purpose of our company is to develop technologies and good systems for recycling. we’re trying to meet that point where sustainability is both ecological and cost-effective.”

the recycling and repurposing processes that the company is considering after the research they’ve conducted so far, he said, seems to decrease energy expenditure. not only is this good for the environment, but it’s important for keeping the price of recycled plastic down. part of the current urgent concerns for repurpose farm plastic llc is education and outreach for agricultural plastic consumers, especially in cases where farmers still burn their plastics as a cheap means of discarding waste.

“what happens in some cases is, farmers burn the plastic, and those gasses and chemicals that are released — unfiltered — add to the greenhouse emissions and cause climate change,” explained christmon. “repurposing is the best option.”

with thousands of farmers in the eastern shore, the university of maryland extension (ume) has provided repurpose farm plastic llc with networks of county agents who connect them to farmers interested in participating in repurposing initiatives. the challenge, rickles explained, is offering their services to farmers while also managing expectations.

“part of the difficulty has been to talk to farmers in a way to get information about what they need, what they’re interested in, but not to promise them that we have a solution for them just yet,” he said. “so the ones that we’ve partnered with are very intimate relationships. saying ‘hey, this is what we’re doing — we just want to do experiments.’”

christmon and rickles’ status as students have benefited the company’s development in several ways — not only are more people willing to speak to them because they are students, but many of the university’s resources have proved valuable in building the company’s network and presence in maryland.

“one thing about being students is that we’re able to partner with the university education centers,” rickles said. “the university has research farms all around the state. and because we’re students, we’re able to connect with them, they’re letting us use some property. and that’s the kind of thing that wouldn’t be available to us if we had graduated.”

while they admitted that launching a business as a student has as many benefits as setbacks — emphasizing the importance of making time for sleeping and eating well — these available resources have made for a successful first year for repurpose farm plastic llc.

“it was actually a perfect time for us,” rickles said. “the university has given us the training wheels, and we can branch off.”

as they look toward what’s next for the business, christmon feels her academic trajectory has enhanced her business tactics so far, and will continue to complement her abilities as she runs the company.

“how to gather data, how to do the research, how to network — all the skills are transferable to this business,” she explained. “and (with) what i learn in the business now, for example, going out and meeting people and presenting my research… i feel like i have better confidence and also better able to network in that setting. they build on each other and add to each other.”

rickles hopes he’s able to mesh his research and passions in a similar way, balancing his future in neuroscience with his future in the business.

“i feel like i get to measure the impact of what my neuroscience work would have on the world, versus what this recycling project has on the world. and i’m excited to see which one would be better.”

to be sure, effective green infrastructure is more complex than simply planting more trees as trees have ecosystem disservices as well: roots can interfere with sewer pipes, tree pollen can exacerbate allergies, and branches can fall over in storms. but even if no one ends up volunteering to water trees or weed tree pits, subway announcements can still bring awareness of and appreciation for city trees to show how the urban environment is not just buildings and people but a multidimensional ecosystem.