626
Volunteer Under Investigation for Cleaning Polluted River Without a License, Faces Two Years in Prison (futurism.com)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
105 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 24 points 2 months ago (10 children)

Removing silt can be pretty bad in some cases, heavy metals sink to the bottom and will not cause problems if left undisturbed, if you start removing silt you will make those pollutants bioavailable again.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 10 child comments
    •
  • [–] 10 points 2 months ago (7 children)

    I wasn't aware of that. I suspect the guy in question didn't either. That's why experts should make those decisions who do know that stuff.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
    •
  • [–] -2 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    Do you think the government environmental agency is trustworthy? You do realize the neoliberals are in bed with big money.

    There is zero fucking chance of "experts" working in the public interest at the EA. 0%.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago

    You don't have to work for a three letter agency to be an expert. I guarantee you that if they took the time to consult anyone remotely connected to ecological science they would have said no to hacking up the river bed without a proper survey and sampling.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    I mean, the agency did drag its feet until the guy got pissed enough to do something irresponsible. Doesn't excuse his actions, nor does it make him an expert either.

    If he had an expert advising him on this course of action, cool. The articles don't seem to mention it, and the articles prey on outrage, so saying "he even had an expert telling him to do so!" would have been worth a note.

    So if you're right, we've got two bunches of idiots; one negligent in their inaction, the other reckless in their action.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    You might be right, but in the grand scehme of things, allowing sewage plants, that combine industrial waste with sewage, to dump in the rivers without consequence, while prosecuting this guy, rubs many of us the wrong way.

    Only regular people get the shaft, not big money, that's why this outrage is here.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    For sure, the priorities are screwed. I initially just wanted to point out that it's not "guy picks up trash, gets punished for it" but "guy assembles a group to dig up riverbed". If we're gonna be pissed (and we should be), let's be pissed accurately and for the right reasons. Let's be pissed that the EA is doing jack squat about problems. Let's be pissed that so many agencies have been defanged and staffed with industrial bootlicks to the point of wilful incompetence.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago

    Even removing the branches and larger tree limbs can cause issues with removing habitat for aquatic critters and changes the currents and flow of the river.

    Cleaning the trash by hand and hauling it away is one thing. They went beyond that.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent