Sludge
America’s waste winds up in poorest countries
On December 22nd, 2008, a Tennessee Valley coal-fired power plant ruptured, sending nearly one billion gallons of coal ash into a nearby river, where it turned to sludge. That hazardous sludge was shipped to a landfill site outside Uniontown, Alabama ? an area whose demographic is too poor for the kind of political clout that […]
Toxic Sludge and Greenwash
Steve Curwood speaks with writer John Stauber. Stauber and Sheldon Rampton are co-authors of the new book Toxic Sludge is Good For You. The book documents a number of incidents where corporations, and even the U.S. government, have attempted to influence public perceptions through successful public relations campaigns to make them appear environmentally friendly ? […]
Sludge-Eating Fish
Eric Westervelt of New Hampshire Public Radio profiles Terry Welch, a man with a dirty job and a unique idea. Welch uses bottom-feeding fish to break down huge quantities of sludge at his sewage treatment plant. Other sewage managers scoff, but federal sewage experts are taking interest in the process.
End to Sludge Dumping In Boston
Living on Earth’s Peter Thomson visits with Paul Levy, who has headed up the first phase of the $6 billion cleanup of Boston Harbor, the nation’s most polluted. The project has just passed its first milestone, shutting off the flow of treated sludge onto the floor of the harbor. From now on, the sludge will […]
California Sludge
The beaches of Orange County, California have been plagued by closures due to high bacteria levels in the water. Although the source of the contamination is a mystery, officials there have just voted to upgrade the treatment level of its sewage. Living On Earth’s Ingrid Lobet reports.