Wednesday, April 21, 2010

A couple of news items


As thousands of people prepare to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, The Courier-Journal of Louisville notes that the Ohio River is much cleaner than it was 40 years ago. The article notes that the easy sources of pollution -- those coming from a single point -- have been addressed, but the nonpoint sources are the major contributors now. Those include runoff from farms and pharmaceuticals that get flushed down the toilet and not removed by sewage treatment systems.

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And construction on the hydroelectric power plant on the Kentucky side of the Meldahl Locks and Dam above Cincinnati is expected to begin on May 1, according to The Hamilton (Ohio) Journal-News.

Construction could take 3 1/2 years.


 

1 comment:

michelle said...

Hey, you!

Glad you mentioned the meds that get flushed and remain in our water. I read something a few years back about estrogen in the water and it got me to thinking about how we should get rid of prescriptions we no longer need.

As of now, we don't flush them, we generally burn them with the refuse pile, but I'm really not sure of the best way to handle old meds. It would be nice if you could return them to doctors offices or the hospitals for them to discard of, but I'm not sure it would be any better as most likely they'd just end up at the dump, too.

I do wonder what the best way is to dispose of them.