I worked in the environmental field for over three years, working directly
with or within private corporations and governmental agencies. I am very glad that these
entities exist, for those who are fortunate to live in a first world country, not a third world
country. Living in Mexico was worlds apart from living in California.
Even in California, however, though striving for improvement,
the regulatory system is far from perfect. In this section, I do not address
the issues of large scale energy consumption or waste production,
but how we are dealing with immediate environmental problems on a smaller, localized scale.
Of course, it would be nice if everyone on Earth took personal responsibility
in the environmental problems we all face, for example, by taking trains and buying in bulk.
But in this case, what I am referring to is how the regulatory
system in the US deals with environmental challenges through legislation.
I would prefer never to work for a private environmental consulting corporation again unless
the laws regarding Third Party Evaluations change. The nature of the situation involving private entities
is not conducive to fair assessment and reports.
Hired to do so-called third party evaluations by the
very party that is hiring and paying them, many companies decide not to be fully honest about
concerns they might have about projects if it means that they might lose a future customer.
This results in a biased system and whichever company is best at politics wins the game.
In some local governments in the US, a Consulting Firm is hired through the
local government entity to do the work for a private party. By having the government
entity handle the money and choose the company, the hiring party has no power
over the environmental firm, that is, the environmental firm can be honest about
a situation without having to fear that they will lose work from this client again
if they say something that is not what the hiring party wants to hear. This is an almost
flawless system with regard to honesty, because the consulting firm does not have to
be deceitful in order to stay in business.
Government Agencies are good to work
for, especially the small ones. The larger a Government Agency becomes, the more
complicated and convoluted their systems tend to be. The way my former boss said it,
really, an agency or company is like a
living organism. The older and more developed it becomes, the more difficult it
is to clear out obsolete parts.
Think about how hard it is
to clean out your garage, or your closet, get rid of things you don't need.
Then, imagine living with 4 friends and having all of you put your important
documents in the same place, and all your stuff together in the closet.
Developing a system to clean it up is even a chore!
| Environmental Issues |
| Method | Definition | More Info | Alternatives |
| Hazardous Materials Management |
Involves toxic materials in industrial, commercial and even household
settings. Making sure that these materials are properly labeled,
handled and disposed of. |
Since the tragedy in Bhopal, India, Minamata in Japan, and Love Canal, in the US, this has been an
integral function of environmental policies. Learn more at the
Cal EPA Home Page.
|
| Pollution Prevention |
Must know hazardous materials management practices, as well as new and traditional
methods for preventing pollution from toxic materials, dealing with pollution
from everyday nonpoint sources [such as stormwater pollution (NPDES)] and finally
recycling methods for preventing pollution in the end point. |
This is a relatively new practice. Go to
DTSC web pagefor more information. |
| Water Recycling and Saltwater Intrusion |
Water, strangely enough, is
disappearing for human consumers, especially in arid California. Sure, it rains, but concrete and the
cleansing filtration of the soil itself prevents much of it from penetrating
down into the water table. Humans consume A LOT of water. We are quickly
draining our underground supplies of water. Not only that, counties next to
the ocean are sucking the ocean water into places where fresh water once
abounded. To cope with this, some counties in the United States have implemented
pilot programs. Desalination plants produce copious amounts of salt pollution and
degrade the quality of the ocean around them, not to mention destroying habitat.
So, the counties are doing what is called water recycling or water reuse.
The water goes through the treatment plant and, once clean, is used again in landscaping
and agricultural applications. |
This is tentatively being implemented, because people are uncomfortable with the
idea of using water that was sewer water. What people don't understand is that if
a positive course is not set now, their children will be very thirsty in 30 years.
Plus, the water that comes out of a sewer plant has been cleaned so well that it is probably
better to drink than what they get out of the tap; river water, reservoir water, or well
water, almost always having been polluted in some form or another. |
Another possibility is having cities filled with rooftop gardens and permeable road surfaces.
If cities were designed in such a way, the underground water level would rise due to the ability
for it to trickle down slowly (rooftop gardens), and filter in slowly (permeable surfaces).
Of course, this method for raising the groundwater level could leave us with even more problems,
due to the fact that pollutants travel in groundwater, and cities are full of pollution already.
However, due to the ability of bacteria and fungi to consume many pollutants,
if there were good ecology in cities, this might not be a problem.
Alternative possibilities need to be considered, researched, and tested. |