This Week on Earth: Oct 9-15

Photo Credit: Peter Trimming from Croydon, England, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

The environmental impact of Israel and Palestine’s conflict has taken a back seat in media coverage. While humanitarian and social justice issues surrounding occupation and violence undoubtedly require immediate attention, TIME magazine argues that environmental concerns should also be considered. Israel and Palestine are some of the most climate-vulnerable places on the planet due to their location. With the region’s rising temperatures and a lack of water supplied by Israel in the West Bank, calls to action have grown louder. 

According to an activist with One Climate, a Palestinian-Israeli climate justice movement, “Everyone here is fighting over the land, but if we’re only going to spend our energy on politics, there won’t be any land worth living on left.” This climate group finds it difficult to make a large impact as conflict causes environmental initiatives to unravel.

Al Jazeera political analyst Marwan Bishara says the warfare is closely related to the climate crisis. While Bishara acknowledges the shortcomings of Middle Eastern leaders, he says these issues “pale in comparison to the hypocrisy displayed by their Western counterparts,” citing a New York Times opinion piece that called attention to Biden’s hypocrisy surrounding climate change.

SCOTLAND

Almost 20 captive-bred wildcats were released in the Scottish highlands as the first phase of a rewilding project, according to the Guardian. This release to an undisclosed location is meant to prevent their extinction in the United Kingdom.

The project is the first time a predatory mammal has been intentionally reintroduced in the UK. This was decided when the wildcat population plummeted due to various factors, including breeding with feral domestic cats, habitat loss, and disease. 

UNITED STATES

A recent Department of Defense report reveals that so-called “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, are at risk of contaminating the water surrounding at least 245 US military bases. PFAS are synthetic chemical compounds used in products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease, and water. The water around these sites has some of the highest levels of PFAS recorded in groundwater, according to the Guardian. This is not a new issue but it has resurfaced with the recent report.

These chemicals resist natural decomposition and most people in the United States have been exposed to them. However, encountering them at high levels may lead to health issues such as organ damage, high cholesterol, and impaired reproduction, according to the CDC.  

The communities closest to these military bases tend to be most affected. The land in these areas is significantly undervalued, meaning lower-income neighborhoods will feel a disproportionate amount of the effects of water contamination and other forms of pollution, Colorado Newsline reports.