Scientists found mercury contamination in every fish sampled in 291 streams across the country, reports a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
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Atmospheric mercury is the main source to most of these streams - coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury emissions in the United States - but 59 of the streams also were affected by gold and mercury mining.

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
reply to post by Udontknowme

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Think for a second. You act like "they" breath different air and drink different water than all of "us" do. Our world is getting more polluted and not all of it is intentional or some sort of conspiracy theory. I guess all the fat obese people are being force fed and mind controlled into eating McDonald's and junk food right? Gimme a break! Not every damn thing is a conspiracy by "them". People, corporations, etc. are all irresponsible. We are polluting this Earth together. Them, Us, They, etc!

Originally posted by Silenceisall
reply to post by Udontknowme

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I would agree that the point here is that the earth is sick, and it is making us sick. There is really no division between us and the earth. Bringing reptilians and that nonsense just fogs the concretness of the problem.

Wild piscivorous fish, mammals, and birds may be at risk for elevated dietary methylmercury intake and toxicity. In controlled feeding studies, the consumption of diets that contained Hg (as methylmercury) at environmentally realistic concentrations resulted in a range of toxic effects in fish, birds, and mammals, including behavioral, neurochemical, hormonal, and reproductive changes.

The general cycle of human-induced Hg contamination involves the release of stable, gaseous Hg to the atmosphere, primarily by the high-temperature combustion of coal and other fossil fuels. Hg can remain in the atmosphere for up to one year, travel long distances, and can be converted to the water-soluble ionic form, Hg2+, by photochemical reactions. Hg2+ is deposited to the landscape in precipitation or through dry deposition, and can therefore enter lakes directly or through runoff from within a catchment. It can be methylated to the most toxic form, MeHg (CH3Hg+), by sulphate-reducing bacteria in anaerobic environments such as lake sediments or wetlands. MeHg can then accumulate in organisms and magnify within food webs, causing organisms at high trophic levels (e.g., fishes) to contain the greatest quantities. Small amounts of MeHg have been found to affect embryo production and inhibit growth and reproductive development of fishes, as well as have toxic genetic effects. Fish with concentrations of MeHg sufficient to put human health at risk (0.5 ug/g) have been identified in remote lakes located far from point sources of contamination.

Originally posted by desert
It's really sad when "breaking news" is old news. For example Love Canal

Polluting is allowed to occur, either by lack of regulation or lack of enforcement. It is "deliberate" not in the sense that its intent is to render life sick/dead, rather it is deliberate in the sense of deliberately not bothering to clean up.

Crapping on the floor of one's house instead of using the loo is not a deliberate attempt to make fellow housemates ill (unless one is very pathologically ill), but is merely being lazy.

While political debate in the powerful US for the last 30 years was focused on "family values" and forcing every conception to birth onto this planet, the politicians did nothing to make the planet safe for families or babies, let alone fetuses.

There are indications that bromine and/ or iodine may be involved in the conversion of mercury from the gas to particle phase.

For many years, the cloud seeder of choice was Silver Iodide, which was both expensive and produced less than optimal results. I believe that the origins of the health problem we're seeing with ethylene dibromide (as a seeder) can be resolved by a quick glance at the Periodic Table of Elements.

Bromine sits directly above Iodine on the chart, which translates into very nearly identical chemical properties for the two elements.

Mercury, one of the most hazardous pollutants from the hundreds of coal-burning electricity generating plants in China and elsewhere in Asia, is of particular concern. One study estimated a fifth of the mercury entering Oregon's Willamette River comes from overseas, with China as the mostly likely source.

Jaffe, a member of the National Academies of Science panel studying the issue, is wary of such reports. But he still estimates that as much as 30 percent of the mercury deposited in the U.S. from airborne sources comes from Asia, with the highest concentrations in Alaska and other western states.

"Ten years ago, there was a lot of skepticism," Jaffe said. "People assumed the atmosphere scrubbed itself and didn't believe these pollutants could travel thousands of miles."

Originally posted by HunkaHunka
reply to post by Udontknowme

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The only conspiracy going on here is the conspiracy of corporate America paying lobbyists big bucks to poo poo global warming just so they can dodge any pollution legislation.


It's the almighty dollar....