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domingo, 7 de junio de 2015

HUMAN GEOTRASHING: 2750 CONTAMINATED SITES IN THE ARCTIC


Arctic: 2750 contaminated sites. Source: Bois (2009).


By Gundhramns Hammer
June 7, 2015


No place on Earth escapes the impact of human activities. Not even the frozen poles.

We humans have become geotrashing agents.

As geotrashing agents, bluntly speaking, we have fucked up Earth. We have turned this planet into a waste dump.

Let us take the Arctic, for example.


Bois (2009) has reported a total of 2750 contaminated sites (Table 1) where humans have dumped different types of pollutants (Table 2) in the Arctic alone.


Table 1. Number of contaminated sites in the Arctic. Data from Bois (2009).
Country
Number of contaminated sites
Alaska (USA)
509
Canada
662
Finland
169
Greenland
468
Norway (including Svalbard)
524
Sweden
418
Russia
n/a
Total number of contaminated sites in the Arctic
2750


Table 2. Inventory of pollutants in the Arctic. Data from Bois (2009).

Type of pollutant

Number/country
Alaska
Canada
Finland
Greenland
Norway
Sweden
Russia
Hydrocarbons
455
158
31
73
218
153
n/a
Heavy metals
108
65
18
133
363
137
n/a
POPs-PCBs
96
54
1
0
129
25
n/a
Other hazardous substances
12
25
125
22
152
78
n/a
Needs further study
4
455
2
297
159
109
n/a
POPs = Persistant organic pollutants; PCBs = Polychlorinated biphenyls; n/a = not available.



Obviously, Bois (2009) has done an excellent job investigating and recording the contaminated sites in the Arctic. It is a must to read.

Unfortunately this is not the end of man´s geotrashing line.

Things in the Arctic are bound to become even worse. 

Man´s geostrategic games are already changing in the North with the melting icecaps due to man-made global warming.

Thus, there is a rush for the Arctic.

Faced with an ever increasing mass of consumers always demanding new products in the global markets, oil and mineral companies will do their best to get the new resources to satisfy unsatisfiable customers.

For the time being and at a time when we are running out of time, it seems that our goal still is nothing but to make this beautiful planet a barren land.

How fucking stupid can Homo sapiens be?

Only time wil tell.


References

Bois R. des (2009). 2750 contaminated sites in Arctic. Polar Star Nº 2.



Related article:

NUUK AND CONTAMINATED NOOKS AND CRANNIES IN GREENLAND