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The Colonial Pipeline spill has caused 6 states (Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and North Carolina) to declare a state of emergency. Gasoline (petrol) prices on the east coast are likely to spike. Yet, most puzzling is how this vast emergency and its likely effect on cost of living has gone unnoticed by mainstream media outlets. The pipeline is owned by Koch Industries: is this why the media is silent?
[Are there any Soylentils in the affected area who can corroborate this story? Have you heard of the spill, seen long gas lines, or any price gouging? -Ed.]
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Six US States Declare Emergency after Major Gasoline Pipeline Spill; Media Almost Silent
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I don't want a pickle,
I just wanna ride on my motorsickle.
And I don't want to die,
I just want to ride on my motorcy.
Cle.
-- Arlo Guthrie
(Score: 2) by dry on Tuesday September 20 2016, @01:48AM
Organophosphates, which were developed to kill people quick by interfering with the nervous system, aren't the problem. The common household ones such as Malathion are broken down by liver enzymes pretty quick in most people and on farms the stronger ones also break down fairly quick, which is why they replaced the Organochlorides, of which DDT was the most harmless.
The parent was talking about glyphosate, a herbicide that is considered quite safe. The problem as the sibling AC said is the surfactants, emulsifiers and such, which are totally unregulated and not talked about as they're not the active ingredient.
(Score: 1) by TheSouthernDandy on Thursday September 29 2016, @03:49PM
The problem as the sibling AC said is the surfactants, emulsifiers and such
That could be, I wasn't responding to the sibling. Although, we'd have to know how much of these compounds make it into the ingested plant parts, are removed in processing, and their persistence in the environment, to know whether they are problems as carcinogens. Carcinogenic chemicals that don't actually make it into an organism may not be such a problem. A gas-powered mower may put out more carcinogenic aromatics in one's immediate environment via incomplete combustion than they're exposed to via agriculture, but we don't think too much about it because the exhaust gets diluted quickly, and it's unrealistic to demand everyone use electric or manual mowers.
I agree that it would be better to use safe chemicals when available and realistic to do so, but I also hold that digging into the issues presents more nuance than is presented here, and that risk is quantitative--it must be balanced against the alternatives (agriculture without those chemicals, or with alternatives).