From Seattle Times
This finding, article and topic is really quite stunning.
I’d like to pose some questions to consider after reading it.
How many years have coho stocks been dropping and how long has it been known that a chemical in stormwater is a factor?
The article answers this in basic terms, “Symptoms of acute poisoning among coho salmon have been described in urban streams since the late 1980s.” And it seems that stormwater itself has been identified as contributing to this poisoning since about 2010, according to the article.
Then this particular chemical,6PPD-quinone, a chemical produced by tire manufacturers derived from a preservative that helps tires last longer- was identified as a main cause in 2020.
In fact, “In 2020, researchers revealed that the toxic chemical was the culprit behind the deaths of coho in about 40% of the Puget Sound area. The study found it kills 40% to 90% of coho returning to some urban streams before they spawn…. California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control has linked a 70% decline in coho in the San Francisco Bay Area between the 1960s and 1990s to the use of the chemical in tires.”
And this chemical kills not just coho, but other salmon. A Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and the Institute for Fisheries Resources complaint describes “two dozen endangered populations of salmonids along the West Coast that have been impacted by the chemical.”
States and tribes have raised the issue and complained to the EPA , who now has agreed to “review” the chemical’s impact on fish. So up to today, nothing really has been done to limit or stop using this chemical by government agencies responsible for protecting fish.
Fish stocks all along the west coast have been crashing due to chemicals poisoning their waters, habitat destruction, warming waters from climate change and impacts on ocean ecosystems, for decades.
So what does EPA’s “environmental protection” consist of under capitalism in the U.S.? Why haven’t EPA or other government agencies been on top of this, pursuing these dangers and stopping them, on their own and without threat of lawsuit, since “Symptoms of acute poisoning among coho salmon have been described in urban streams since the late 1980s.”?
Another question, how many other chemicals are killing fish, wildlife and ecosystems?
Glen Spain, the executive director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and the Institute for Fisheries Resources says, “In urban areas, highly urban areas — California’s Central Valley, the Puget Sound area, et cetera — the urban runoff contains a brew of toxic chemicals.”
Is EPA investigating and moving to prevent use of this whole toxic brew?
Of course there is little to no oversight. Sometimes the companies themselves know the most about any particular issue when they’ve studied it, (like Exxon with fossil fuels impact on causing climate change). Or sometimes they refuse to study it, or put out fake studies to counter other studies revealing the damage, or just lie about it all with greenwash PR.
Another question, how are many of the chemicals developed and used by industry, pesticides etc., developed supposedly to “enhance our lifestyle” or “produce food for people’s needs” contributing to cancer or other illnesses in humans?
The government “protection” agencies, mainly serve to protect the functioning of capital. Worse under someone like Trump, but essentially still the same with an Obama or Biden administration. They err on the side of turning a blind eye, dragging their feet, failing to investigate or really go after capital’s destruction of the natural world except in piecemeal fashion, unless exposure or lawsuit forces them to do something.
And what power do they actually have in this system’s operation to stop industry from killing off species and ecosystems anyway? Especially considering the overall functioning of government to serve and protect the operation of capital’s business as usual? Who has the power and what does that power serve in general? Certainly not power to serve people and their needs and interests or that of ecosystems and fish.
Meanwhile the states build hatcheries to try to generate more fish to catch but pay little attention to the factors killing them off, and little ability to stop any of it. Salmon are increasingly dying from California to Alaska, especially those that run into the rivers in the summer or early fall by waters too warm or too low for them to spawn in. How are any environmental agencies stopping oil and auto companies from continuing to exploit and burn fossil fuels causing global warming that is killing these fish and threatening their populations?
And if this is just too impossible under the current set-up due to “political considerations”-i.e. fascist Republicans and/or capitalist-loving “moderate” Democrats unable to pass any “meaningful legislation”, what does that say about this system’s illegitamacy, when the stakes are even being able to survive on our planet?
Another example. In the Pacific Northwest, tribes and environmentalists have been fighting for years to pressure government to remove 7 dams on the lower Snake river which prevent salmon from reaching hundreds of miles of spawning habitat, an important factor in the crashing of Chinook salmon runs in the Columbia basin and the resulting starvation of Pacific coast resident orca populations. Yet even Washington Governor Inslee, (who ran for President as a protector of the environment), and other key Democratic officials are still stalling on dam removal, claiming there needs to be “more study”, despite years of studies proving the impact and detailing green alternatives.
While EPA and other environmental “protection” agencies or government agencies in charge of federal or state lands or waters protect the functioning of industry, only limiting them slightly while helping preserve their function, industry itself pushes forward relentlessly without pause, spewing out chemical poisons and death for profit while seeking to justify and cover their tracks.
The tire manufacturers being sued in this case in typical fashion say, ““Our members continue to research and develop alternative tire materials that ensure tire performance and do not compromise safety, consistent with our industry’s commitment to sustainability and respect for the environment,”
Capitalist industry keeps revving and government in basic terms allows it with minor limitations, often refusing to do anything or dragging their feet. And why? Precisely to protect profitability and ability for U.S. industry to compete internationally, or in”the national interest” (as Biden is fond of saying).
It’s really disgusting and unacceptable.
For any basic change, power has to be taken by people, led by those who actually care about preserving our planet’s life for future generations with a vision of a completely different world for people and life on earth. We must transform systems and people, to transform our relationship with natural ecosystems so humans can liberate themselves and protect life, for its intrinsic worth, and for us to survive as a species.
For the Planet and Humanity 