Environment

Serbia is one country currently seeking to become a part of the European Union, but it faces a great challenge in preparing for stricter EU standards on the condition of the environment prior to its acceptance as a member state. According to an article on ABC News, the state of the environment in Serbia has been in dire straits since the 1990s, when war turned attention away from ecosystems in the country. As a result, reporter Darko Vorjinovic writes that the state of affairs in Serbia today is far from the expectations of EU regulations.

The extent of the damage done by plastic pollution to the world's oceans has become a hot topic in recent years as a variety of research has emerged to shed light on the scope of the problem; however, according to an article by World Crunch, very little is actually known about the problem of plastic pollution in bodies of water outwith the ocean. Contributor Katrin Blawat writes that a new study has revealed that the presence of plastic has become far more ubiquitous than previously imagined.

A study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board of Ahmadabad, India during the year 2010-11 has given the Minister of State for Environment and Forests disturbing data upon which to base further political action. The study, which took survey of plastic trash data across 60 cities, concluded that the total figure representing India's plastic waste in just one day amounts to 15,342. 46 tons. Out of this overwhelming sum, 9,205 tons are gathered and recycled, and 6,137 tons remain uncollected.

Students of the Glen Rock High and Middle Schools of New Jersey are practicing sustainability in a very real way, as a new device recently installed on campus encourages students to make use of a resource that they have readily available to them -- clean tap water. According to a report on North Jersey, new water fountain units that include a station for carbon-filtered, clean water to refill reusable bottles have been installed, giving students the ability to bring their own bottles to school.

A grim headline from the Times of India reports that India's Supreme Court has emphasized that the country is a "plastic time bomb" due to the sheer volume of plastic it disposes of on a daily basis, with Delhi alone producing 689.5 tonnes of plastic refuse per day. According to the article's writer, Dhananjay Mahapatra, the amount of plastic discarded daily in India is even more shocking. Piles of plastic dot the landscape in the form of permanent mountains which never biodegrade and build up as the country produces more and more waste. He writes:

America's national parks have always been symbols of the country's relationship with the natural world, creating sanctuaries for wildlife and flora to thrive in safety. They've served as invaluable educational resources for countless visitors, drawn to the parks by a desire to see the way the woods, deserts, mountains, and wilderness really look. Given the capacity these national parks have to teach visitors about the environment, it seems fitting that Mount Rainier National Park has recently become a battleground for the plastic bottle debate. 

The Environment Ministry of China has admitted to the presence of places they refer to as "cancer villages" in a new, official report which examines the effects of rapid industrialism on the environment. According to news source France 24's recent story, the Chinese response comes as a result of increasing discontent over smog, industrial waste, and environmental toxins. The article states that the term "cancer village" is both unprecedented and somewhat ambiguous.

The Malawi government has issued a ban on the importation of plastics with a thickness of less than 60 micron meters, determining that these bags are often disposed of after use, and therefore not environmentally friendly. According to a reported from the Nyasa Times, Malawi's government had concerns regarding the way these single-use plastic bags were eliminated. Because they are thin, these bags are often burned after use, contributing to a widespread problem of hazardous open burning practices. According to Dr.

A disturbing warning issued by the New Hampshire department of health warns consumers to be wary of Poland Spring bottled water, which has been found to contain traces of gasoline contamination, the Huffington Post reports. According to an article written by Dominique Mosbergen, 3 and 5 gallon water bottles purchased after November 1st of last year may be contaminated by gasoline in the aftermath of the destruction caused by Super storm Sandy, and should be checked for fumes before consumption. Writes Mosbergen:

An article published via Waste & Recycling News yesterday shared the story of a group of scientists who feel they have a solution to the ever-present problem of keeping plastics out of  the ocean: classifying it as toxic waste. According to the article, this group of scientists is calling upon the 1989 Montreal Protocol, which classified chlorofluorocarbons as toxic waste and achieved a successful result in limiting their presence in the environment.