What are we going to do, to save this planet?

Question

READ THIS!!
Four of the world's most polluted spots are in the former Soviet Union.

WASHINGTON, October 24, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Three cities in Russia, one in Kyrgyzstan, and Chornobyl in Ukraine are listed among the 10 most polluted places in the world in a report released last week by the New York-based Blacksmith Institute last week.

Richard Fuller, director of the Blacksmith Institute, says that Norilsk, a large city in northern Siberia, has "almost no pollution controls" and that "even 10 or 15 miles away from the city" the landscape has been turned into "an absolute barren moonscape, with no trees."
"There are places -- open water areas and open lagoons -- that you cannot go close to without your eyes burning."

The trees have been cut down to feed the furnaces of the city's nickel production facilities, the largest in the world.

At times, the snow in Norilsk is black, and the air tastes of sulfur. But the damage is not just to the environment: The life expectancy rate among workers in the nickel factories is the lowest in Russia. According to Fuller, official reports say it is 42 years of age for men but others say 37 years old is a more accurate figure.

Dzerzhinsk, in the Volga region of Russia, is just as polluted. However, the culprits here are not metal producers but old chemical-weapons plants.

"This is a place where anecdotally doctors talk about birth defect rates in excess of 70 percent," says Fuller. "There are places -- open water areas and open lagoons -- that you cannot go close to without your eyes burning."

The health problems in the Kyrgyz town of Mailuu-Suu are also profound. The town is built around the waste from a former Soviet uranium plant, a fact reflected in cancer rates that, according to Fuller, are twice the national average.

With a population of some 23,000 people, Mailuu-Suu is far smaller than either Norilsk or Dzerzhinsk. However, the uranium waste that is blighting the health of its population is also a danger to a far larger number of people.

Mailuu-Suu lies in an earthquake zone, Fuller says, and there is a danger that the uranium waste will run the river "and, from there, downstream into a highly populated valley in Kyrgyzstan that is home to around 2.5 million people."

Other places included in the list are in China, India, Peru, Zambia, and the Dominican Republic. In all 10 locations, pollution levels exceed all local and international standards for toxic substances.

The list is not exhaustive, and Blacksmith Institute researchers say that they are many other cities in the world that could have easily made the list, particularly in Russia, China, and India.

Answer 1

Your question is really easy to answer. We'll do the same thing we have always done. Wait until it's to late then panic. We humans are hell bent on self destructing. Long term planning is next week.

Answer 2

Sounds like the first thing would be to find or create a foundation to go in there with scientists who are specialists in this field and conduct a close study, make recommendations on what to do. Then it seems the World Bank or the United Nations should arrange financing to clean up the areas that have been trashed by the old Soviet regime, and get the areas into productive use.

It seems to me this could involve deeding the sites to the foundation involved, which would then coordinate an economically viable use for the properties. Even parks and recreation would fit, frankly, as it would sufficiently improve property values in the surrounding terrain that could then have use of such spaces. But many other uses could suggest themselves, all for the public benefit.

Leaving them there as poisonous sumps is not in anyone's interest.

Answer 3

The BEST AVAILABLE SOLUTION IS
Stop Nuclear Energy Productions
Stop all mode of communications for a week through out the world in one go
Grow more Greens

Answer 4

I have heard of several groups that are trying to get the world to repent from its evil way, and that they are having little or no success. The truth be told, there is nothing we can do to save the world if it doesn't want to be saved.

Answer 5

What makes you think we're capable of destroying the planet? See this article:

http://www.livescience.com/technology/destroy_earth_mp.html

Answer 6

We have to begin at our home, specially with our kids, because they are the future of the planet.