By Don Corrigan
These are Environmental Echo’s Top Ten Environmental Stories for 2023. Readers are invited to submit their own ideas or amendments to this list. The radioactive waste disaster in North St. Louis County remains a major and continuing story. The remedies and the compensation issues for the damaged land and its resident victims can seem as far away as ever. Other topics are familiar as well: dirty air, local warming, plastics pollution, manure reservoirs, and pollution from CAFOs.
Another candidate for the Top Ten Environmental Stories might be “climate depression.” Studies show that more and more young people are suffering from anxiety and depression over the accelerating effects of climate change and environmental degradation on their future. It is important to take note of the positive, to provide a glimmer of hope, when discussing all the serious environmental issues. Depression and anxiety impede finding solutions to environmental problems.
1. Neighborhood Hopes Nuked — Once again in 2023, there was plenty of political posturing, crocodile politician tears, and plenty of nothing getting done on the radioactive contamination of North County from America’s atomic bomb program. The nation’s leaders have used much of North St. Louis as a guinea pig, and a sacrificial lamb, for its atomic weapons programs dating back to World War II. Senators, St. Louis’ Congressional delegations, state and regional leaders — all seem powerless to solve the problem. On a positive note, thanks to the work of Just Moms STL, they all are aware of the problem now — and if they cannot get the job, these elected officials can be replaced.
2. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes — Throughout June, St. Louisans dealt with an irritating smoky haze from faraway Canadian wildfires that affected much of the Midwest. St. Louisans also were alerted in 2023 that their region ranked in the Top 10 worst areas for particulate pollution in the United States. St. Louisans seem to be at the mercy of state and federal regulators for action against the worst polluters. There are many, good environmental organizations in St. Louis that concerned residents can join to try to get some remedial action on contaminated air.
3. Pig Crap in Your Streams — Rural Missourians are sometimes accused of putting up with anything in the interest of agriculture and commerce. That ended in 2023 when Missourians finally had had enough of the governor and the legislature allowing CAFO operations to create reservoirs of animal waste almost literally in their backyards. They also protested the waste materials being dumped in their rivers and streams. The fight will go on in 2024. Those opposed to defiling Missouri natural areas with meat processing waste are gaining momentum.
4. When It Rains, It Pours — It doesn’t rain so much in Missouri anymore partly because of climate change. The ground in much of the state is bone dry and parched. Counties are declared drought-stricken, but when it does rain in Missouri, it pours. The run-off is excessive. Cars wash away and homes go underwater. In July, St. Louis was drenched and homeowners got clobbered. The battles over flood aid and home buyouts in the flood-prone areas will continue in 2024. All of this serves to make people more aware of climate change and the need to address the issue nationally and globally.
5. When It Shines, We Bake — Rain in July and plenty of scorching sunshine in August was the weather story for Missouri in 2023. Meteorologists and TV weather reporters marveled at the heat. The heat indexes in St. Louis and Missouri in August that were in the triple digits for days. Heat indexes exceeded 116 degrees in areas of the Midwest like St. Louis. Poor Phoenix in the Southwest saw temps in the triple digits for weeks. More of that kind of heat is headed our way. Scientists from two global climate authorities said temperatures in 2023 in America were the warmest the planet has seen in centuries. All of this serves to make people more aware of climate change and the need to address the issue nationally and globally.
6. Plastics Pollution Piles Up — Plastics pollution in Missouri can be found any time of year, but it’s especially apparent on windy days in spring when plastic bags cover farm field fences. It’s also apparent after summer flash flooding when lakes are full of empty soda bottles and milk jugs. They also litter the shorelines of streams where water has receded. Local citizens have tried to limit the plastic pollution by outlawing use of the bags in their communities. The state legislature has banned local citizens from taking such action, because they are in the bag for industrial and agricultural interests that favor the economics of using of plastic bags and containers. However, more and more consumers are turning away from plastics use, and the marketplace may begin to make the difference on this issue.
7. Maladroit Mining In Missouri — Missouri has always been a mining state, but new demands for minerals threaten to contaminate ground water, the soils, and the air. Is the legislature and the governor’s office up to the job of protecting state residents? Certainly not based on past performance. Cobalt has become increasingly important for high-tech devices such as cell phones and laptops and for electric vehicle batteries. Cobalt can be a dangerous pollutant. Silica sand, also known as “fracking sand,” is predominantly used in the hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” of natural gas. It is in demand. Silica sand mining is a Missouri specialty. Its impacts on our health and environment can be devastating. The Missouri Coalition for the Environment is at work on addressing mining issues and increasing awareness.
8. Wait! There’s Good News! — There is some very good news in the St. Louis region and Missouri, but it’s news that cannot overshadow concerns over air, water pollution, or climate change problems. A bright spot is the Dark Skies Movement. More and more Missourians are joining the effort of reduce light pollution in our cities. The problem with light pollution is that migrating birds and insects get disoriented, lost and perish because of all the light in cities. In St. Louis, residents have successfully talked their towns into using softer light to address the problem. Lights illuminating the Gateway Arch in St. Louis are adjusted at migration times.
9. Rock Island Rails To Trails — The Rock Island Trail is a proposed 144 miles long corridor stretching across Missouri from Kansas City to the Ozarks, using a former rail bed obtained by the state in 2021. In 2023, Governor Mike Parson included $77 million in the budget for fiscal year 2023 to begin construction on over 70 miles of the trail, from Eugene to Beaufort. The funding was ultimately cut from the final budget by the Senate, but the pressure is building for the legislature to act on this valuable resource that can enhance state tourism and improve the health and welfare of its citizens with more recreation. There are strong indications that Missouri citizens, who so enjoy their Katy Trail, will succeed in being heard in 2024 on the Rock Island Trail proposal.
10. Atomic Age Teeth — A new film, “Silent Fallout: Baby Teeth Speak,” covers the 1950s’ and 1960s’ study of atomic bomb radiation in 320,000 baby teeth by St. Louis scientists. It came to St. Louis International Film Festival in November. The survey took in more than 300,000 teeth. Analysis showed increasing levels of Strontium-90, a cause of bone tumors and cancer. The findings convinced President John F. Kennedy to urge Congress to pass the Partial Test Ban Treaty limiting nuclear tests. The good news is the growing awareness of radioactive dangers and the need to address them. Also, there is good news that scientists are tracking down those same teeth now to learn more about the impact of the atomic age on our health.
By Jess Holmes
Environmental Echo 