Word: toxicants
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...Pandora's box, technological advances have provided the means of upsetting nature's equilibrium, that intricate set of biological, physical and chemical interactions that make up the web of life. Starting at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, smokestacks have disgorged noxious gases into the atmosphere, factories have dumped toxic wastes into rivers and streams, automobiles have guzzled irreplaceable fossil fuels and fouled the air with their detritus. In the name of progress, forests have been denuded, lakes poisoned with pesticides, underground aquifers pumped dry. For decades, scientists have warned of the possible consequences of all this profligacy...
...Toxic waste and radioactive contamination could lead to shortages of safe drinking water, the sine qua non of human existence. And in a world that could house between 8 billion and 14 billion people by the mid-21st century, there is a strong likelihood of mass starvation. It is even possible to envision the world so wryly and chillingly prophesied by the typewriting cockroach in Donald Marquis' archy and mehitabel: "man is making deserts of the earth/ it wont be long now/ before man will have it used up/ so that nothing but ants/ and centipedes and scorpions/ can find...
...Idaho for "temporary" storage. But when it became clear that WIPP would not open on schedule, Governor Andrus sent one of the boxcars back to Colorado. There, outside the plant, it still sits, near six more boxcars and a yard full of drums and crates, all packed with toxic trash...
...found that 13 of them, including Mattel's Baby Mickey Snuggle Pal, Paddington's 30th Anniversary bear from Eden Toys and Playskool's Big Bird, are flammable, even though they meet existing federal and industry standards. Manufacturers say they have had few complaints and would have to use toxic chemicals to make the toys fully flame-retardant...
GARBAGE barges, hypodermic needles, toxic waste and other pollutants washing up on American shores have filled the nation's consciousness with a frightening vision of the earth's future. What can our community can do on a smaller scale to combat these environmental threats? The College's recent support of small-scale student recycling effort is a start...