but what if policy can achieve the same climate-first results without the label, all while delivering improved public health and saving money? 

researchers around the world are looking to implement climate policy without using the word “climate” by turning to urban planning, food, and energy solutions, according to a report released in environmental epidemiology.  

the report is encouraging climate policy that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by putting the attention on public health, says george thurston, an author of the report and a professor of medicine and population health at new york university.

“the more you can localize and individualize these risks and benefits, the more people are going to be motivated to do something,” thurston said.

the researchers presented 11 different case studies of climate action in seven countries and demonstrated their efficacy in producing improvements not only in greenhouse gas emissions but also in public health and healthcare cost expenditures. their bottom line was that improving the climate is not really a cost at all, but could be a preemptive economic rescue plan for the u.s. health system if more intervention studies and policies were modeled after the case studies they examined.

mary rice, the report’s corresponding author, joined thurston in saying that their motivations for the study were grounded in trying to influence policymaking.

“we intended to illustrate the opportunity and also the importance of more rigorous research in this area, looking at the full picture of what the costs and benefits are of climate interventions,” rice, the director of harvard’s harvard’s center for climate, health, and the global environment program, said.

while the two researchers cited a lack of intervention studies being conducted and funded as a limitation to the scope of the case studies they presented, they said that it only highlights the need for funding into these projects that could help shape policy to come and improve community health. among the 11 case studies they looked at were ones involving energy use in pittsburgh, urban planning in barcelona, and food systems in sweden. 

pittsburgh: asthma rates and hospitalizations plummet after the shenango coke works plant closure

residents of alleghany county, pennsylvania endured decades of odors that would wake them in the night, soot that would collect on their homes, and escalating child asthma rates. then, in 2016, they celebrated the closing of the shenango coke works plant and what it would mean for community health. 

“they [the residents] didn’t imagine that things could improve so much so quickly,” annie fox, a law clerk with the clean air council, said.

before its closure, the shenango coke works plant produced a form of refined coal used in steelmaking called coke. it is created by baking coal at high temperatures, and often contributes to carbon air pollution. 

fox described a “constant vigilance” that residents of the pittsburgh suburb would experience when stepping outside their homes, readying themselves for facing poor air quality. when the coal plant closed, she said, “people just said the absence of having to notice the air was huge.” 

pediatric emergency room visits related to asthma dropped by 40 percent immediately, fox said, and local hospitals saw reduced visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, and strokes.  

within just three years of the plant’s closure, pittsburgh saved over $12,000,000 in hospitalization medical costs, according to an epa mapping program used by the report. 

after the public health benefits of the coke plant closure, residents continue to advocate for stricter air pollution enforcement.  

“seeing that the benefits the community received were even greater than they imagined, it galvanizes people to keep participating, organizing, and keep striving to protect their family’s health and the community’s health,” fox said. 

barcelona: superblocks lay the blueprint for climate and people-first urban planning

in barcelona, greenhouse gas emissions and improved public health are being tackled through urban planning solutions with the creation of their “superblock” program.  

catherine pérez, the health promotion department head at the agència de salut pública de barcelona, said a “superblock” is an urban planning technique used to cluster city blocks and divert traffic to the perimeter, leaving the interior streets for people to walk, play, and relax. 

“the design goal is to cut traffic volume and speed, reduce air and noise pollution and heat, and boost everyday physical activity and social interaction,” pérez said in an interview. 

in a study released in february 2025, pérez said she and her colleagues looked to produce evidence on how the superblock designs change everyday exposures and wellbeing, with an emphasis on equity.  

although they determined that additional measures are needed to deliver consistent results, pérez said half of residents across three of the superblocks reported less noise and pollution inside the intervention zone.

to convince policymakers across the world to invest in superblocks that remove interior, city traffic, improves pollution, and reallocates space to people, pérez said she would point to the numbers. 

rice and thurston also highlighted a benefit of 1.7 billion euros annually due to longer life expectancy if all 503 planned superblocks are implemented. with only six completed superblocks, pérez said this potential points to why investment should continue. 

“these interventions could prevent an estimated 667 premature deaths per year in barcelona, according to independent health-impact assessments,” pérez said. 

pérez said that it is feasible for countries to create their own superblocks because they have already started doing similar projects at smaller scales for years. 

“superblocks are replicable in the u.s. and other settings because the underlying ingredients have already proven effective in multiple cities,” pérez said. 

sweden: plant-based school meals curb greenhouse gas emissions

in sweden, patricia eustachio colombo has carried out multiple plant-based food trials in schools over the last five years.

after designing a menu that was not only nutritious and culturally conscious but cost-effective, colombo’s first trial in 2019, which rice and thurston cited in their report, found 40 percent less greenhouse gases emitted and an 11 percent cost reduction from the original meals. 

the study also found that while prioritizing higher plant-based proteins and locally sourced ingredients throughout the study’s four weeks, food waste and attitudes toward the meals were not compromised among the students. the intervention has since been repeated twice and produced similar results.

colombo said that her decision to implement plant-based diets in schools comes from the exposure and education children get from school, which helps to change their attitudes toward healthy, sustainable diets without putting a label on it.

“we know that our diets are usually shaped when we are young, and the diets that we acquire as children tend to stick into adulthood,” colombo said. “we thought that if we want to promote sustainable dietary habits, we should focus on children, and schools are a really good platform for that.”

although colombo said it would be difficult to expand the model without appropriate funding and researchers on the ground guiding cooks and teachers, she believes it can be replicated in other parts of the world, including the united states.

“for these changes to effectively be achieved, you need to have the same attitude and mindset across, from politicians down to principals, teachers, everyone needs to be on the same level and having the same ideas,” colombo said.

the public health angle for climate

using the evidence from pittsburgh, barcelona, and sweden, rice hopes that by motivating people through improved public health that policymakers will be able to help pass regulations that also help the climate and their wallets. 

“each of these interventions have a cost, but there’s also a value to the benefits to be gained and the value of improved health is enormous, especially when you improve productivity, length and life expectancy and avoid hospital admissions, which can be very costly.”

before finches or red-footed boobies could be found nesting in trees, before even those trees, the pioneer species of the galápagos created gorgeous landscapes out of a lava-ridden barren landscape.

the galápagos islands were formed from tectonic plate movements that created hot spots where magma has been able to seep through and erupt to form the volcanos that line the galápagos landscape, according to the charles darwin research center. the lava fields found on the shores of islands like santiago and bartolomé are the marks left behind by eruptions from these still very active volcanos. on islands formed from volcanic rock and ash, how can there be grass, trees, and animals inhabiting these barren expanses?

that is where pioneer species come in. pioneer species are the very first organisms that grow on newly formed, barren environments or the first to repopulate environments after they have experienced disruptions. these mosses and succulents break down the lava rock into soil that can be used by intermediate trees and shrubs that in turn cycle nutrients and help to stabilize the soil. on the galápagos, these pioneer species include lava cacti, mollugo, mangroves, and more. without these plants, the rest of the national park the world has grown to marvel would never have existed.

this photo gallery captures a number of the pioneer species that can be found on the galápagos islands, from isabela to genovesa.

lava cactus (brachycereus nesioticus) found on the island of isabela. (avril silva)

about photo

red mangrove (rhizophora mangle) found on the island of genovesa. (avril silva)

about photo

mollugo (mollugo flavescens) found on the lava fields of santiago island. (avril silva)

about photo

the dried chamisa plant (ericameria nauseosa) shown here on santiago island is otherwise known as sage, but it should not be confused with the aromatic spice. (avril silva)

about photo

found on bartolomé island, the gray matplant (tiquilia nesiotica) is endemic to the galápagos islands. (avril silva)

about photo

this amalgamation of plants found on santiago island includes the galápagos leatherleaf (maytenus octogona), rabbitbrush (ericameria nauseosa) and gray matplant (tiquilia nesiotica), according to a galápagos-certified naturalist guide.

about photo

nesting between cracks of volcanic rock, this mollugo flavescens was found on santiago island. (avril silva)

about photo

previous

next

previous

next

---

editor’s note: lindblad expeditions, our planet forward storyfest competition partner, made this series possible by providing winners with an experiential learning opportunity aboard one of their ships. we thank lindblad expeditions for their support of our project.

]]> //m.getitdoneaz.com/story/galapagos-2025-longline/ tue, 09 sep 2025 16:44:46 +0000 //m.getitdoneaz.com/?p=49439

thousands of hooks, one very long line, and a sea that can no longer afford mistakes. in the galápagos, where every species seems to tell the story of evolution, “longlining” has become the most divisive word in the fishing business. to some, it is a dangerous step backward; to others, it is a necessary solution.

longlining – or the practice of deploying thousands of baited hooks on lines up to 100 km, or over 60 miles, long – is extremely efficient at catching tuna and has been used as a method of commercial fishing for more than 20 years in the waters surrounding the galápagos islands. it’s also the source of major problems for biodiversity in the area, as the long hooks can inadvertently catch and kill thousands of other marine animals in the process. 

the galápagos archipelago, famous for its finches, boobies, and tortoises, is also encircled by the galápagos marine reserve (gmr). ecuador passed fishing-control laws in the area in 1986 and expanded the reserve to approximately 133,000 km² by 1998, according to unesco’s world heritage center. over 2,900 marine species have been recorded in galápagos waters, with 20 percent of them being endemic, or native and only found in the region.

non-target bycatch often includes endangered sharks, turtles, rays, and seabirds. according to the galápagos conservation trust, ecuador banned all longline gear in the gmr in 2000 to protect sharks and other threatened species, but fishers and researchers argue that small-scale longlines could boost incomes and relieve coastal overfishing. 

data from a study by the trust found that in 2012-13, a galápagos longline trial showed staggering bycatch: 4,895 marine animals from 33 species were hooked by just 12 local boats, including 16 species of protected megafauna that include a number of shark species, sea lions, manta rays, green pacific sea turtles, and more. if longline fishing is restored legally in galápagos waters, the galápagos national park estimates it could catch and potentially kill 10,000 sharks annually. however, researchers like mauricio castrejón, still advocate for its implementation and legalization.

although originally from mexico, mauricio castrejón, ph.d., considers himself a galápañeo after more than 20 years living on the islands.

castrejón was a researcher at universidad de las américas for almost four years before he began his role as an investigator and co-founder at a innovapesca cia. ltda, a puerto ayora-based organization that promotes “artisanal tuna fishery development” by diversifying the livelihoods of fishermen. 

with more than 50 publications on fisheries in the region, castrejón says that he is constantly looking for new solutions to remedy the fishing landscape in the galápagos, even if it means employing a controversial practice like longlining.

to castrejón, longlining is only one of the solutions to rectify the overexploitation of fish, specifically tuna, employ better tuna fishery reorganization, and transform what he said is an outdated policy. his goal is to create a circular economy that will one day use tuna across sectors in the galápagos to stimulate economic growth and produce less waste. community engagement is one area he hopes to do this with, not only to promote tuna consumption but to view it as an economic prospect.

even as fish dominate as the islands’ second-largest industry, little of the fish caught actually goes to the galápagos people. the formula of exported fish, over-reliance on imported goods, and a transplant culture devoid of eating fish has created malnutrition in almost one in five children and one in three adults, according to a study. the study found that communicable diseases have a strong link to overweight and underweight individuals due to unhealthy diets and poor water quality.

in publishing his article, “addressing illegal longlining and ghost fishing in the galapagos marine reserve: an overview of challenges and potential solutions,” castrejón not only aims to make longlining realistic through legalization and conservation practices, but also to debunk what he believes to be misconceptions about the practice. one such misconception, he said, is that longlining contributes to ghost fishing. “ghost fishing” refers to the occurrence of abandoned nets and longlines from illegal operations that drift through ocean waters, indiscriminately killing marine life.

translation: standards for mechanisms or reference points should be provided that allow us, as boat operators, to know whether a fishing technique should be permitted, not based on scientific criteria. so that’s not in the fishing regulations. the issue of research is also unclear. longlines aren’t prohibited, but they aren’t allowed, for example. that is, in a clear manner with clear processes, research is at the discretion of the authorities. so, it’s not something that’s mandatory, but rather it’s at the discretion of the authority in charge. what has often happened is that research isn’t done, it’s not feasible. -mauricio castrejón, ph.d.

castrejón asserts that inconsistencies between arguments against longlining and what the data suggests make longlining’s prohibition unjustified if there is not sufficient evidence to prove it has any substantial effect on ghost fishing or unintentional shark catches.

since 2019, ecuador has introduced tougher penalties on ghostfishing and now openly shares its vessel-tracking data (ais) for 1,200 fishing boats to improve transparency and accountability within the community, but the phenomenon still continues to create a profound impact.

this, coupled with fisheries struggling to make capacity, he said, makes it difficult for fishermen to pursue fishing as their sole source of income and feed their families in the process.

in order to engage fishermen and the community in his work, he said that the galápagos needs to create incentives for fishermen to work across different sectors, such as tourism, and start implementing midwater longlining and spearfishing as a way to transition to longlining.

since longlining’s introduction to the region, sharks have remained the primary species at risk from longlining. however, castrejón said that his next venture is to research the true impacts of contemporary longlining on sharks in comparison with other causes of death. he also claims that the endemic species the galápagos is known for are not significantly impacted by longlining either.

ultimately, he said he hopes that in dismantling the ideas around longlining, he can drive more attention toward outdated policies that he claims are hindering fishermen.

translation: if we are naturally successful, the other fishermen, possibly according to the fishermen themselves, their perspective is that other fishermen will want to join this initiative or copy it, not on their part, let’s say, and the idea is to train them, right? i mean, the question here is that they realize that by capturing a deep-sea adult tuna with technology, you are going to earn more. and you are going to risk less because you are going to do it legally, right? so what we are looking for is to regulate tuna fishing, but in a way that is sustainable, with techniques, with technology, with innovation, and at the same time, work on the market issue, work on the consumption issue, create a strategic give-and-take with restaurants, with hotels. -mauricio castrejón, ph.d.

when told that researcher alex hearn would be the next interview, castrejón chuckled to himself and said that they have known each other for years, having met during their time at the charles darwin research center.

but the best of friends can also be their fiercest critics.

a friendly counter-culture

hearn, a professor of biological and environmental sciences at the universidad san francisco de quito with a ph.d. in marine biology, wrote a commentary in 2024 in response to castrejón’s article. in it, he criticizes the lack of attention toward malnutrition on the islands and shark populations that could be threatened.

based in quito, ecuador, hearn lived in the galápagos for almost seven years starting in 2002,  when he led monitoring teams at fisheries as a part of a nonprofit. 

for an issue like longlining that has a long, complex history in the archipelago, hearn believes it is time to turn the islands’ attention toward other social issues exacerbated by the already-vulnerable galápagos economy, which depends heavily on their reliance on imports rather than on locally sourced products.

a world bank report from 2018 lists tuna exports from the galápagos at 118 tons per year, whereas about 8,879 tons of food were imported to the galápagos in 2017, with that number projected to increase to more than 44,000 tons by 2037, according to a study by cambridge university press. 

according to hearn, moving away from an overreliance on imports requires community and interdisciplinary investment that he says is not instilled within galápagos culture.

hearn described the culture as “sectorial,” meaning that each industry — whether it be tourism or fishing — will only go so far as to protect their own interests. at the end of the day, if a particular practice does not harm their particular industry, hearn says they will not care to change.

hearn says that investing more resources in feeding galápagueños and growing a culture of fish-based diets, such as in incorporating fish into school food programs, would go farther toward solving the bycatch problem.

castrejón claims that creating new fisheries will help advance new technologies and local economic independence, but hearn counters that by saying that creating new fisheries is not going to solve the heart of the issue, which is promoting the tracing of the fish and incentivizing local consumption to tackle the islands’ malnutrition. 

with already developed markets and industry investors coming into the galápagos, both domestic and foreign, and projects that he is promoting and believes has promise, hearn said that there should be an extra step in sourcing transparency in order to stop inadvertently promoting longline practices.

although both castrejón and hearn will be arguing on this end for the foreseeable future and resistance against illegal longlining will likely continue to come from fisherman and longlining advocates, hearn shared that he is not worried about longlining being legalized anytime soon in the galápagos.

as castrejón and hearn debate these issues from ecuador’s capital, those working daily in the fishing industry in the islands have their own thoughts on sustainable fishing and what they have the most to lose or gain in the debate around longlining.

fishing responsibly, holding others accountable

at fewer than 12,700 people, puerto ayora is still one of the largest towns in the galápagos. buzzing tourists headed to the charles darwin research center or to the number of locally owned shops that line the streets, but over by the cement ramps leading to sea are the fishermen waiting at their boats.

walter borbor, one of said fishermen, was pulling in his boat for the day when i approached him at the docks.

although not from the galápagos, borbor is a fourth-generation fisherman who has spent the past 30 years fishing within the reserve. after noticing changes and impacts from pollution and overfishing, he joined frente insular, a citizen-led organization leveraging a fisher’s role in protecting the very things they harvest through technological efforts, conscious fishing loads, and keeping polluters accountable.

translation: of course, the resilience we have here is always about conservation, and that’s what drives us. personally, i have a traceability system, i have cameras. how do i make and show you my sustainable catch? so, how do i fish it? the permitted gear i use, how do i handle it, and how do i sell it? so, sustainable fishing. -walter borbor

borbor sells all of his fish on santa cruz island and advocates for locally sourced fish consumption. when it comes to the issue of longlining, he thinks that it is a practice that should stay illegal because it interferes with the conservation efforts he enforces and is not afraid to report those that employ the practice.

translation: i’m a neutral person who, well as i said, likes to preserve and protect. we know that if you use a banned technique, you get in trouble, so why bother? and another thing is that if i see someone doing it, i can also report them. -walter borbor

christian saa, a national park of galápagos naturalist and national geographic lindblad expeditions expedition leader, introduced me to borbor at puerto ayora and spoke vehemently against longlining as a method that undermines conservation. like borbor, he thinks that fishers are at the heart of conservation, reducing overfishing in the islands, and pushing the policy that can save their local industry from foreign threats as well. “i believe that right now, the fishing sector is a good ally of the conservation sector because it’s given its space,” saa said.

the big problem right now is foreign economic interests, which i would say, are more dangerous than the sectors that operate within the galápagos. i’m talking about big capital, not even foreign capital, but rather national capital from those in power in ecuador who want to change the face of the galápagos to a more developed and less well-preserved place like what we have now. -christian saa, translated from the spanish

even as hearn and local fishermen try to squash arguments against longlining, the possibility of its legalization continues to loom from the work of advocates like castrejón that believe it can be done in a responsible way. now, as the ecuadorian government plans to eliminate the agency responsible for environmental protection, there is no telling what direction fishing will take in the coming months.

as hearn emphasized, however, the focus should begin to divert away from this issue and toward using the fishing industry to combat malnutrition on the islands through school and community programs, such as one that hearn said is to start on san cristobal island in late summer. marine animals and birds are not the only ones that depend on the sea on the galápagos. as humans continue to exploit it, the question remains: how can we make sure there is an ocean and fish left to enjoy?

editor’s note: ai transcription and translation was used in the process of editing this article.

editor’s note: lindblad expeditions, our planet forward storyfest competition partner, made this series possible by providing winners with an experiential learning opportunity aboard one of their ships. we thank lindblad expeditions for their support of our project.

learn how ferguson and her colleagues put together the program, the obstacles and intentions, and how climate education has transformed throughout ferguson’s own life as an educator. 

with no national mandate in place, only 18 states have implemented any kind of requirement around testing drinking water in schools, according to a 2021 report from the national association of state boards of education.

the lack of national regulations in the past have put students across the country at risk, with emerging contaminants such as pfas, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, being found in the water our students drink and being linked to developmental, reproductive, and immune problems. it has even been shown to increase the risk of cancers.

explore in this immersive podcast and multimedia story how students like lily hanson at linganore high school in frederick, maryland are reacting to water being shut down at their school and the impacts and solutions experts are pointing to to remedy this local, regional, and national epidemic.

you can listen to the full story below and explore the presentation to learn more!

podcast transcript:

lily hanson: when i first heard that the water systems were shutting off, i was kind of confused and i was a little concerned. and i realized that like, when i talked to people, almost no one really understood why it was happening. people didn’t really like, they didn’t seem to care or like, they didn’t know that there was a larger issue at play and there really is.

so i think it’s something people should be aware of.

avril silva: that is lily hanson, an 18 year old student at linganore high school in frederick, maryland, telling me about how her school shut off their drinking water. hanson, unlike myself in high school, plays the flute for her school band and has been involved with her school newspaper since her freshman year.

lh: it’s something i’m really passionate about.

as: what makes you like really passionate about it?

lh: i just, i really enjoy finding different issues around the school or in the area that i want to talk about and then getting to explore that. it’s just very fulfilling.

as: but not unlike my high school experience, she and her peers don’t have water flowing in their fountains.

instead, they rely on a few water cooler stations posted around the school and small paper cups to drink water, all because of a chemical called pfas. how is it that a school just an hour from our nation’s capital has resorted to water coolers to alleviate the lack of drinking water? what is pfas and how are chemicals like it putting children at risk across the country?

my name is avril silva and let’s take a deep dive into frederick county’s waters and learn the dangers behind a silent killer lurking in the water we drink every day. pfas.

so, it is 11:58 am on november 22nd, 2024 and i made the drive up here to frederick, maryland to speak with principal dillman at linganore high school and take a look at the water situation here after three months of having their drinking water cut off.

when i asked principal michael dillman at linganore high school how he delivered the news about the heightened pfas levels at his school, he said he had no idea where to start. thank you. i mean, i don’t blame him. what is pfas anyway? according to the agency for toxic substances and disease registry, pfas, or per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man made chemicals that have been used in products around the world since the 1940s to make everything from the cosmetics we put on our face to the non stick pans we use to cook our food.

the epa and state governments say that pfas chemicals get into the water in numerous ways. such as release from industrial sites, landfills, firefighting films, sludge, and sewage treatment plants. professor dengming xue, an environmental engineer at george washington university, is currently working to create new treatment methods for emerging contaminants like pfas and points to its proliferation, unknown qualities, and removal difficulty as its most dangerous characteristics.

danmeng shuai: we can find these emergent contaminants basically everywhere. like, for example, my research is heavily focused on water, so we can find these emergent contaminants in our drinking water, wastewater, natural water, basically all the kind of water system you can imagine. so the reason why we are calling them emergent contaminants, because these are newly found  contaminants that are always at a relatively low concentration, but still pose significant health risks to human beings. they are difficult to remove by using the conventional drinking water and waste water treatment. so that’s the reason why people are caring more and more in recent years.

as: one report from 2015 by the centers for disease control and prevention found pfas in the blood of 97 percent of americans, 97%!

but how dangerous can pfas really be? if we’re only bothering to worry about it now. washington post national investigative journalist silvia foster frau is working on a series entitled toxic taps that examines contaminated water across the u. s., including in the schools our children attend. with no national mandate in place at the time, a 2021 report from the national association of state boards of education found that only 18 states have implemented any kind of requirement around testing drinking water in schools.

pull out your calculator and do the math, and you get 64 percent of the country without any sort of requirements around testing the drinking water in schools where kids spend the majority of their day. that’s where sylvia comes in. her stories have revolved around water contamination found in private wells, like the ones linganore high school uses, and lead laced pipes in small communities and schools.

in one school she covered in east ramapo central school district in new york, the school has gone so long without running drinking water, that the community has started to lose hope in a future without water coolers.

sylvia foster-frau: what was particularly heartbreaking about this school is that by the time i went there, i think it had been 8 years since they had shut off the taps and they still had not fixed the water.

as: the taps were still closed?

sff: the taps were still closed.

as: oh my god.

sff: and the kids were still drinking out of coolers that were in the hallway, and and the parents i spoke to were packing their students backpacks with bottled water. like three or four bottles of water to last them throughout the day, throughout their extracurriculars, through gym, whatever they needed.

as: but again, how dangerous can it possibly be? in studies supported and financed by the national institute of environmental health sciences, they found a number of adverse health effects in children from heightened pfas consumption, from the decrease in bone mineral density to delayed puberty onset as an endocrine disruptor to even thyroid cancer and liver damage.

although foster frau’s work has taken her across the country, this is not a far away issue by any means. this is happening right in d. c. ‘s backyard. linganore high school’s water comes from four local wells, with most of the community depending on private wells at home. after testing in july, results from linganore show pfas levels surpassing epa guidelines.

the epa recommends testing for five different compounds, and at linganore, the initial testing for one compound tested almost seven points over the limit, and testing for another was over triple the enforceable level at 16. 1 parts per trillion. as a result, the high school cut off its drinking water supply in august, and has gone without potable water since.

according to principal dillman, the school receives anywhere from 100 to 120 5 gallon water bottles a week, with the majority going toward extracurricular activities such as athletics or marching band that can burn up to five of those bottles of practice. he did not disclose how much that was costing the county, but in our conversation he seemed concerned about how this issue gone untreated, has impacted faculty members at the school for decades and how he would deliver that message to the community.

michael dillman: there were always people in the old building that talked about lead pipes and, you know, all these types of water quality concerns, but we have people who worked in the old building and here. we have some staff that have been here for almost 40 years, so delivering a message that we’re going to stop drinking from our water fountains, that’s very scary.

and then you talk about pfas and, you know, learning that it’s not an issue that if you just drank it today that you have to be concerned, but what’s always been shared to us is it’s the longterm continual exposure. but i knew that even that message, while comforting to. maybe kids that have been here for a year or two and just drink a little bit.

that’s a very different message when you know you’ve been here for 13 years or drinking from our wells for 40 plus.

as: dillman says that the county’s central office has been working toward a permanent solution, but it looks like the school will not be able to reopen its pipes for another school year. so where do they go from here?

the epa notes that conventional physical and biological treatments are ineffective toward pfas chemicals. for many communities with utilities that are unwilling to pay for expensive treatments, professor shuai says that a solution could be as easy and inexpensive as harnessing the light around us in the form of his photocatalytic method.

ds: a long story short, basically a photocatalyst is able to utilize the solar energy, which is a sustainable energy and convert the photons into the chemical energy, and so the chemical energy is able to drive the degradation of these emerging contaminants. most of the time we are utilizing this energy to excite oxygen in the air and then oxidize the emerging contaminants because most of the emerging contaminants we are dealing with, they are organic compounds.

as: on a local and federal policy level, steps are being taken to address pfas contamination. with the biden administration allocating 10 billion last month to remove pfas from our water. however, the epa admits to not knowing enough about emerging contaminants, or as they dub them, forever chemicals, and have a long way to go before the issue is eradicated nationwide.

after reaching out to the maryland department of the environment about linganore high school, i received extensive information from the group through email about what the state is doing to remedy the issue. including a quote from their deputy director of communications, jay apperson, that states the following, quote, the health of school children is very important to us.

we will continue to work in partnership with other agencies and local governments on testing, fixing problems, and helping to fund the needed improvements, end quote. with however much or little the government may be doing to address pfas, the linganore community is finding ways to make sure the issue doesn’t drown.

like lily demonstrates, it can be as easy as picking up a pen and starting to write an article for her school newspaper.

lh: before writing this article, i hadn’t really heard about water contamination or like pfa’s that much. it was never something that was like discussed in school. and i was honestly really surprised as i was researching it how large of a scale the issue was and that it had never really been talked about to me that much, and that it didn’t seem like it was something people were familiar with.

as: yeah. after writing the piece, what was one of your biggest takeaways from it? what did you personally learn after covering it?

lh: i think one of my biggest takeaways was that it’s important to be mindful about what we’re consuming, and that we don’t really fully know the impacts of our drinking water, which is shocking.

as: or for principal dillman, seeing how the community can unite against these forever chemicals.

md: part of our plan when we talk about lhs community is being very transparent, being open, and being collaborative with our community about what’s happening. so, keeping them apprised of where we are and why we’re doing that.

i think that, that was an opportunity to say, we’re here to support, we have a plan. and we’re going to work through this together. it was very comforting in a way, because we put it right as soon as we knew. this wasn’t something that was out in the news and then they started hearing about it. i mean, we’re sort of ahead of it, right on the cusp.

it was just emerging in other districts. and so i think it was great that our system got hold of it quickly and said, yes, it’s four years out, but we’re addressing it now. so i think people are seeing that we were clear. we were upfront. we have a temporary plan that’s working. students have not been without access and that’s been fantastic and that they are working quickly to see if they can come up with a solution.

so i think, i’m grateful that our community has responded so positively to, they’re trusting that we’re taking care of it.

as: water, food, and shelter. these are basic human needs. at the end of the day, lily, what do students want to see from the water at their school?

lh: i think students just want to see like water that they know it’s, it’s going to be like it’s safe to consume and it’s gonna be, like, taste normal, honestly.

and they just, they want to see that consistently and they want to know that it’s safe.