Throwback to FernGully, an animated masterpiece decades ahead of its time. The 1992 classic (featuring Robin Williams as a manic bat) tells the story of a magical rainforest inhabited by fairies that come under attack by the evil forest-destroying humans. Sadly, the plot becomes more and more realistic with each passing day.
Ecuador has a national system of protected areas that aims to safeguard biodiversity and local ecosystems in national parks, wildlife refuges, marine reserves and other designated areas throughout the country. Sounds pretty nice right? The problem is that while the government has taken some steps to protect local water systems, rivers have traditionally not been included in this national system.
At the same time, due to an absence of sufficient government regulation, mining in Ecuador has led to environmental pollution and detrimental effects on the health of Indigenous communities. A recent study carried out in mining areas of the northeastern Andean foothills of the Ecuadorian Amazon revealed high concentrations of toxic metals. These metals were detected at 352 times above permissible limits established by environmental guidelines. For these Indigenous communities along the Anzu, Jatunyacu and Napo rivers, the risk of cancer is up to three times greater than the acceptable threshold.
So the real question is, who will protect the Ecuadorian rivers?
Side Items
Dinosaur’s Retiring: Following the lead of Nancy Pelosi, the walking artifact and California senator Diane Feinstein announced yesterday that she would not seek re-election in 2024. The 89 year old said she planned to finish out her current term in Congress, despite her obvious cognitive decline and ongoing memory issues. She appeared completely oblivious to the fact that her staff had released a statement saying she was stepping down. When reporters asked her about it she responded, "I haven't released anything." Someone get this lady to an assisted-living facility with great haste
Illinois Prison Shutdown: A “special detention unit” in rural northwest Illinois was shut down this week by the Bureau of Prisons after continued reports of inmate deaths, suicides and sexual harassment of guards. Staff members at the ‘special management unit’ in the Thomson federal penitentiary were told that the 350 prisoners under their supervision would be transferred to other prisons. Thomson federal penitentiary was built back in 1999, at a cost of $140 million to the state of Illinois, but never housed state prisoners. It was then bought by the federal government for $160 million a few years later and briefly considered as an alternative for detainees housed at Guantánamo Bay
Tough Season for the Aggies: New Mexico State fired their first-year men's basketball coach Greg Heiar yesterday, days after the school canceled the remainder of the Aggies' season upon learning of hazing allegations involving players on the team. The coach’s firing comes three months after one of his players shot and killed a University of New Mexico student in what police are calling self-defense. It’s kinda hard to imagine the coach holding onto his job after all this criminal activity