Effort to Curb Coolant Falters, Sometimes at Home

Some homes use air conditioning that rely on gases that damage the environment around them. The Environmental Protection Agency has tried to reduce the use of that gas, HCFC-22, because itgas depletes the ozone layer and contributes to global warming. In order to do so, the agency has set quotas, banned the sale of new air-conditioning units containing the compound, and has promoted recycling of the gas from old machines so it will not be released into the air. The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty that responsible for keeping the gas out of air conditioning systems. Leaks of this gas most often occur in the workplace that deal with discarding equipment that have previously contained the gas because there are no regulations regarding it's recycling. The concentration of HCFC-22 in the atmosphere is 218 parts per trillion, more than double the amount two decades ago, and it gets there in a number of ways. Low-quality or old equipment leaks, and detecting the colorless and odorless gas without pressure-testing devices is difficult. Sometimes the release is intentional, because it costs less. This is leading to a higher concentration of the gas in our environment  and no one is attempting to take steps to fixing the problem. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/science/earth/air-conditioner-repairs-undermine-coolant-restrictions.html?pagewanted=2&ref=earth

The Problem Is Clear: The Water Is Filthy

Living in an impoverished agricultural community of numerous roads and lush citrus orchards in California have learned a harsh life lesson, “don’t drink the water” because it is contaminated with harmful levels of nitrate. In the small town of Seville, the population has been plagued by contaminated drinking water for decades. Chemical fertilizers, animal wastes, and pesticides have infiltrated aquifers, seeping into the groundwater and eventually into the tap. The residents must pay double the amount normally paid for water simply because the water they have is no good for the normal and everyday uses we are used to such as drinking, showering and brushing teeth.  Even at the schools children cannot drink the drinking water because it is “foggyish” and undrinkable. The schools must pay extra money for water rather than other things such as laptops for the students to use for learning. Many people believe that clean water should be a right and in order to grant this right is for the government to grant $1.3 million to construct a treatment plant. However, the treatment plant caused the price of water to skyrocket, which made no one want to buy the water, making it useless.  It seems the only solutions are regional fixes, not federal. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/us/tainted-water-in-california-farmworker-communities.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=earth