A view of Chesapeake Bay from above. Photo: Crazy Diamond (flickr)

The Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound are so polluted that they should be "put in the intensive care unit," according to a recent Frontline episode.

Poisoned Waters reveals that immense amounts of pollution have affected the ecosystems of both estuaries in their most basic capacities. On the surface, Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay may look pristine and beautiful — but underneath, the effects of toxic waters are visible and disturbing.

In Chesapeake Bay, the once-thriving oyster industry has practically disappeared, although the state government recently developed a plan to revitalize the oyster population. Frontline reports that the crab industry is headed towards the same fate. David Kirwar, a Chesapeake Bay crabber, says that he only catches about half of what he did 25 years ago, describing the situation as a "tragedy." Local journalist Tom Horton said that overall "you're talking about billions of dollars of economic impact with oysters, crabs, shad, striped bass; the decline in the fisheries have just been dramatic."

Frontline says pollution caused by urban sprawl, agriculture, animal farms, and industrial sites are just some of many factors that are "slowly eating away" the bay. Jay Manning, Director of Ecology for Washington State, tells Frontline, "It's about the way we all live. And unfortunately, we are all polluters. I am; you are; all of us are."

Idle mining cars on a train track in La Oroya, Peru. Photo: Max Opp (exoppholdsvaer) (flickr)

La Oroya, Peru, is one of the ten most polluted places in the world, according to the Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based global health agency.

The pollution is caused by a smelter owned by Doe Run Peru, which melts and purifies metals from the mountains surrounding La Oroya. The process is highly toxic: It's estimated that the smelting process emits 890 tons of sulfur dioxide every day.

Today, the area is plagued by acid rain and pollution, among other health and environmental problems. A recent article by the New York Times cited a 2005 study by Saint Louis University that estimated that 97 percent of children under six in La Oroya have lead poisoning, which can cause seizures, anemia as well as problems with the brain and kidneys.

Financially, however, the community needs Doe Run Peru since the majority of residents rely in some way on the smelting plant to earn a living, says the New York Times. About 3,000 people work in the actual plant, and other thousands make a living from selling food to workers and cleaning uniforms.

Community members say they want environmental conditions to improve, but cannot afford to see the jobs go elsewhere. They share their opinions in this video from the U.S. environmental law firm Earthjustice.

Photo: World Bank Photo Collection (flickr)

Today China announced several plans to help fulfill its promise to make the Beijing Olympics a "green" event. Plans include halting construction projects, banning the use of 3.3 million vehicles, shutting down inefficient coal boilers, and cutting emissions from the heaviest polluting industries in the months leading up to the Games.

Although a well-intentioned effort, many are concerned this won't make a difference a mere four months before the Games. With China's levels of ozone and particulate matter five times higher than World Health Organization safety standards, some athletes are worried about permanently damaging their respiratory systems. The world recordholder in the marathon, Haile Gebrselassie, announced he won't run this year out of concern for his health.

The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, however, is not concerned. It counted 67 “blue sky days” in Beijing from January through March — the highest count in nearly a decade. China isn't clear on what this means, but as Tim Johnson, the Beijing bureau chief for McClatchey Newspapers, says “When Chinese officials talk about 'blue sky' days, they don’t mean days when the sky is really blue. They mean days when sunshine can penetrate the haze and create a shadow. The sky is still an icky gray."

China may be making a considerable effort to improve air quality during the Summer Games, but their efforts might be better spent on longer-term solutions. Many former Olympic cities used the Games as an opportunity to fix longstanding problems. But in China's case, it looks as if those 3.3 million cars will go right back on the roads.

Photo: Steve Bailey (flickr)

My attention has recently been drawn to the increasing opposition students, consumers and activists are having to bottled water. A US-based group called Think Outside the Bottle is beginning an advocacy campaign to bring awareness to some of the more dire consequences of our thirst for bottled water, and even government agencies are beginning to act to reduce their consumption.

“City and state governments are looking at the economics of banning bottled water. Citing environmental concerns and a misallocation of resources, Los Angeles; San Francisco; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and the state of Illinois have banned the use of public funds to purchase bottled water for city and state functions…In June, the US Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution to bring attention to the negative impact of bottled water and promote local sources."

The director of a consumer rights group called Food and Water Watch has noticed that people of all types are showing increased awareness about issues involved with bottled water, according to the Christian Science Monitor. "I overhear small children in the grocery store telling their mothers not to buy it."

The negative impacts of bottled water are undeniable, but as a fact sheet the Monitor put out for World Water Day illustrates, the politics of water internationally are extremely complicated. In many parts of the world, bottled water is the only sanitary way to access the resource, and at the moment there is no alternative. The lesson? In places where the water is drinkable, drink it!