Introduction

Southerners and Southern Culture have always been closer to Nature and Nature’s God than any other culture in North America. Our deeply ingrained traditions of hunting and fishing, combined with our Agrarian heritage, have led us into a closer relationship with the entire spectrum of the great outdoors. Because of this, Southerners have a deep and abiding respect for animals and plants along with the soil and the water on which, and in which, they live.

The environmental and ecological problems currently afflicting the soil, water and air of the US are so numerous in type, and so diverse in degree, that it would require at least a book to discuss them in the detail they deserve. Therefore, a complete treatment of this subject is beyond the scope of this short paper. Instead, there will only be generalized references to environmental problems combined with a brief mention of some remedies.

Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Wastes

After World War II, industrial growth in the US exploded. Not only did American ingenuity outdo itself by inventing a diverse host of artificially manufactured chemicals, but we produced them in massive quantities for use and sale, both domestically and abroad. In the 1950's and 1960's we did not always understand the deleterious effects of these hazardous and toxic chemicals, their by-products, or their waste products. The same is true of radioactive wastes from nuclear weapons manufacture and nuclear power production.

Because of this deficient understanding, these wastes were often simply tossed onto the ground or buried. If these deliberate actions were not enough, there are a host of accidents and negligent acts that have contributed to the spoiling of our environment: leaking underground storage tanks, uncontrolled air emissions from industry, abandoned waste sites, ocean dumping, sloppy hazardous waste management, poor mining and farming practices, ad infinitum.

And while industry and government have done their damage, the average individual has his share of the blame to shoulder. As consumers, we have tossed away uncountable tons of unused and spent commercial products. Most of these are in leaking municipal solid waste landfills.

Air Pollution

The Southern conservationist heritage has never had to deal with the question of clean air because it was only in recent decades that this problem appeared. However, due to modern air pollution from industrial stacks, internal combustion engines, aerosol products, etc., the issue of clean air has forced itself upon us because of negative health effects on humans, plants and animals, plus damage to bodies of water and the soil and even man-made structures.

The current Clean Air Act identifies 188 toxic air pollutants. At elevated ambient levels air pollutants can cause a wide range of adverse health effects, such as lung damage and diseases, cancer, heart diseases, birth defects, neurological diseases, damage to the immune system, and even death. Children and the elderly are particularly at risk.

Acid precipitation (acid rain, acid snow and acid fog) damages soil, subsoil biota, crops, bodies of water, plants and animals. For example, acid precipitation is responsible for the wholesale destruction of certain species of trees in the Appalachian Mountains, north and south. Historical buildings and monuments (marble in particular) are corroded and ruined in place by acid precipitation. Pollutants also ruin atmospheric visibility in our natural scenic areas, cities, towns and farms by cutting natural visibility in half and colouring the air unnaturally.

Indoor air quality is an issue not only because most Americans spend the majority of their time indoors, but because indoor air can be worse than outdoor air. Indoor air pollutants include radon (naturally occurring), particulate matter, tobacco smoke, dust mites, mold and mildew, asbestos, lead, pesticides, etc. Exposure to naturally occurring radon gas is the second leading cause (after smoking tobacco) of lung cancer among Americans.

Water Pollution

While some 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is water, unfortunately it is in the form of salt water that is unfit for human consumption. Of the fresh water in existence on our planet, approximately 75 per cent is locked up in glaciers and polar ice, and is therefore essentially unavailable. Of the remaining 25 percent of Earth’s fresh water, nearly all is stored in aquifers as ground water. (Surface water makes up a paltry one per cent of all fresh water.) That means our largest reservoir of fresh water for irrigation, drinking water and all other purposes is groundwater.

The Floridan Aquifer is one of the most productive aquifers in the world. This aquifer underlies approximately 100,000 square miles of five Southern states: South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. It is crucial to Southern agriculture. It is said that if all of Georgia were turned into farmland it could feed the entire US using just the Floridan Aquifer. In a world where the newspaper headlines are declaring water shortages all across the US, the value of groundwater to our continued existence can scarcely be understated.

Humans have shown a truly callous disregard for aquifer protection. For example, in Florida the drinking water of an entire town was destroyed by a single small business when their hazardous waste contaminated the town’s aquifer. But hazardous waste is not the only way to ruin an aquifer. When aquifers are over pumped due to demand for more and more water, chemical changes in the rock can destroy their future recharge capacity. The water demands of overpopulation and excessive immigration will heavily affect this scenario.

Surface waters such as lakes, ponds, rivers, estuaries, creeks, streams, marshes, swamps, and other wetlands are also important. They are an essential link in the entire ecosystem, both aquatic and terrestrial. For example, estuaries and coastal wetlands provide spawning grounds, nurseries, habitats, and food not only for aquatic life, but for terrestrial and avian species as well. Surface waters also provide essential recreation in the form of swimming, boating, skiing, and the time-honored sport of fishing.

But these delightful gifts of God have not gone unscathed. US industry, government, and individuals have used our lakes, rivers, estuaries, etc. as a dumping ground for their waste. The classic case of how bad it can get is the Cuyahoga River which flows through Cleveland, Ohio. It became so polluted that in June 1969 it caught on fire. In Kentucky some folks toss anything into sink holes. These usually connect to cave streams which become polluted.

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