As nonviolence coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Betty Ball has taken to the streets with signs in protest of genetically modified crops."Nonviolence coordinator"? Unbelievable. This woman needs to get a life.
Unfortunately a lot of chemicals, including estrogen byproducts, antibiotics, caffeine, recreational drugs, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, antibacterials, detergents, etc. and all their degradation products, pass right through sewage treatment plants and into receiving streams.
The problem is worst out west where water supplies are limited and ground water resources are heavily used. It is a heck of a problem in the middle east.
For some systems, the sewage effluent is picked up downstream in another city’s drinking water treatment plant intake. In spite of the dilution some concentrations of these pollutants are found in drinking water at effect levels. In Germany there is a saying that the water you drink has been pissed 30 times (in the normal hydrogeologic cycle).
This is not news to the environmental community. The problem is what to do about it. It is extremely expensive to develop wastewater treatment processes that can remove or degrade these chemicals.
If the watermelons can’t get global warming to stick they might take another crack at freaky fish.
This issue comes up every few years. The media runs it up the flag and the public ho hums about it. I don’t think there will be any takers until the next Democratic President/Congress combo happens.