EPA

by

Can Fracking Pollute Drinking Water? Don’t ask the EPA.

The Environmental Protection Agency still does not have a clear answer to if fracking could contaminate drinking water. The EPA has been unsuccessful in collecting the data the need to dully address the issue. There was a study that was supposed to be “definitive” in 2010 but the answer still looms today.

This is relevant to our APES class because we just learned about fracking and how it could potentially help supply energy during this energy boom. If fracking could pollute drinking water, then we should be working on a way, if possible, to make it enviormentally friendly as possible and have it not damage our drinking water. I hope the EPA continues their investigation as the answer to this question “could prove critical to future U.S. regulation of the multibillion-dollar fossil fuel sector and to ensuring water safety for millions of Americans.”

by

High Fluoride amount found in drinking water in Maine

Prigg, Mark. (2014 August 26). Is Your Tap Water Lowering Your IQ? Fears Over High Fluoride Levels Found in Water in Maine.

Retrieved August 29, 2014 from

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2734951/Is-YOUR-tap-water-lowering-IQ-Fears-high-fluoride-levels-water-Maine.html

 

Reports have concluded that high fluoride has been found in some tap water in Maine. A recent study states that 10 communities in Maine have water wells that have “dangerously high levels of fluoride.” A Harvard article analyzing recent studies concludes that contact with fluoride can decrease children’s IQ’s of about 7 points.

 

This article shows how environmental issues can affect future generations. A similar thread between all of these articles is that communities are not taking the proper care of their water sources. This is not only an environmental issue, but a humanities one as well. We should strive for clean and drinkable water everywhere for everyone. Many of the previous articles talk about going to the EPA for solutions but it seems that they have a lot on their hands. Citizens should step up and take action to ensure safety in their water. One possible solution is to move away from the use of water wells, as this could be one of the reasons for the high fluoride levels.