Old McDonald Had a Camel…?

Then, how may we prevent the masses from being entirely and constantly exposed to these risks? Many activists and international environmental protection agencies have called upon law remedies, such as negligence and strict liability, to address concerns over the rapidly increasing concentration of PPCPs in water supplies. However, this remedy relies entirely on the success of this legal action. Taking legal action to address such a convoluted issue is often excessively expensive and time consuming. In addition, successful litigation will require plaintiffs to prove causation, which would involve specific manufacturers that produced a specific the PPCP in the lawsuit, and which specific PPCP resulted in the proven harm. These are obstacles that may be difficult to overcome, as it is difficult to track and study singular PCPPs and where they were derived to establish a causation.

An alternative solution for addressing PPCP contamination in drinking water would be to refocus on removing PPCPs from its sources. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products should be redesigned to minimize their concentration in human and animal excretion of wastes, which would then in turn diminish the volume of PCPPs in the water system. When treatment is required, the use of alternative drugs should be considered first. In addition, a thorough public education program to inform individuals and communities on how to properly dispose of their pharmaceuticals and personal care products will be essential in reducing PPCP contaminations.

We as the public must address the hazard of PPCP contamination before it is allowed to get any worse. In the United States, water reuse will likely increase as the population grows and the country experiences an increasing number of droughts. This fact, paired with the growing number of PPCPs being used in new products and medications, has the potential to lead to an even greater volume of PPCP in water systems. Additional research in water treatment technologies and advocacy for safe water will be required to maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems and improve the health and safety of global water supplies.

References

Cizmas, L., Sharma, V. K., Gray, C. M., & McDonald, T. J. (2015). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in waters: occurrence, toxicity, and risk. Environmental chemistry letters, 13(4), 381–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-015-0524-4

Ebele, A. J., Abdallah, M. A. E., & Harrad, S. (2017). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the freshwater aquatic environment. Emerging Contaminants, 3(1), 1-16.

Eckstein, G., & Sherk, G. W. (2011). Alternative Strategies for Managing Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in Water Resources. Texas Tech University School of Law.

Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Contaminants of Emerging Concern including Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products. EPA. Retrieved October 26, 2021.

Government of California. (n.d.). Toxicological Issues Associated With PPCPs. Department of Toxic Substances Control. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://dtsc.ca.gov/ pharmaceutical-waste/toxicological-issues-associated-with-ppcps/.

Parrish, S. C., S. M. Dormio, S. L. Richards, K. A. McCoy, and M. W. McCoy. (2019). Life in a contaminant milieu: PPCP mixtures generate unpredictable outcomes across trophic levels and life stages. Ecosphere, 10(12):e02970. 10.1002/ ecs2.2970

Serra-Roig, M. P., Jurado, A., Díaz-Cruz, M. S., Vázquez-Suñé, E., Pujades, E., & Barceló, D. (2016). Occurrence, fate and risk assessment of personal care products in river-groundwater interface. The Science of the total environment, 568, 829–837.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.006

By: Enya Laumbach

When you think of typical farm animals, what do you picture? You probably see chickens, horses, pigs and cows, maybe even some goats and sheep. However, there may very well be a new addition to that list soon. Camels seem to be the hot new farm animal in much of the developing world. What is it that's making these gangly looking fellas so special? First, we should specify which camel it is we’re talking about. As you might know there are two major species of the genus Camelus, Dromedaries with one-hump and Bactrians with two. Bactrians are native to the steppes of central asia while Dromedaries hail from the deserts of Arabia. The species that has been seeing an explosion in popularity recently is the Dromedary camel. It’s origins in the dry, hostile desert has made it well suited for an increasingly dry and hostile Earth. That’s right, as it is with almost anything these days, it all comes back to climate change. With climate change, rising temperature in rural areas has made the water and foliage needed to sustain a herd scarce. Dromedary camels however are one of the herd animals least affected by these changes, and in some communities they're pushing traditional herd animals like cows out of the way. They have a more generalist and adaptable diet than cows and goats and their long necks mean they can graze or strip leaves from trees. Grasslands which they feed from don’t become depleted due to their lack of hoofs, and neither do they exacerbate already scarce water resources during droughts as cows do. And while cows and small stock dry up during droughts and prolonged dry spells, camels continue to lactate, even with minimal water (Elhadi et al., 2015). Yup, you’re reading that right, the hot new thing in agriculture is camel milk. A well fed camel can yield up to 20 liters per day (Tadesse & Dessie, 2003). In addition, camel milk is said to be superior to cow’s milk, both in taste and nutrition. Camel milk is three times as rich in Vitamin C than cow's milk, rich in iron, unsaturated fatty acids, and B vitamins, and is even said to have extra health benefits for people with diabetes, tuberculosis, and stomach ulcers. It also has the added benefit of longer shelf life, meaning more is able to make it to market from rural communities (Singh et al., 2017). The middle class in many developing nations, such as Kenya, are already developing a taste for camel milk, and according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the

Global camel milk industry could be worth up to 10 billion dollars a year. In Kenya, there is already talk of a 'camel rush', as demand outstrips supply. While camels aren’t the perfect replacement for cows; they take longer to raise and produce less offspring, making them not particularly good at meat production, and there a breeds of cattle like Holsteins which are far more prolific dairy producers than the best camel; they are making the difference in those more rural and poor communities which are made the most vulnerable by climate change. Camel agriculture too has begun to make the leap from smallholder agriculture, as in that which is primarily to feed a family, to commercial and large scale agriculture in places like Kenya. Dromedary camels may very well be the key to sustainable agriculture in a world affected by irreversible climate, and it might not be long until we start seeing a glass of camel milk with every bowl of cheerios in the morning.

contribution to household diet and income. Pastoralism, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13570-015 -0028-7

FAO, & USAID. (2017). KENYA Country Brief Republic of Kenya.

Singh, R., Mal, G., Kumar, D., Patil, N. V., & Pathak, K. M. L. (2017). Camel Milk: An Important Natural Adjuvant. In Agricultural Research (Vol. 6, Issue 4, pp. 327–340). Springer India. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s40003-017-0284-4

Tadesse, M., & Dessie, T. (2003). Milk production performance of Zebu, Holstein Friesian and their crosses in Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 15(3), 28–37. http://www.lrrd.org/ lrrd15/3/Tade153.htm

References

Elhadi, Y. A., Nyariki, D. M., & Wasonga, O. V. (2015). Role of camel milk in pastoral livelihoods in Kenya:

The Power

By: Sarah Ekenezar

Of Water

In the mainstream discussions of alternative energy sources, hydroelectric energy appears to be an underdog that could potentially elevate entire communities that have readily available water sources. Hydroelectricity has relatively low greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from plants in temperate weather zones (Wehrli). It is a “form of energy that harnesses the power of water in motion—such as water flowing over a waterfall—to generate electricity” (NG). It has been used for at least two thousand years, with some of the earliest forms found in ancient Greece; a particular instance was when people used water to turn a mill that ground wheat into flour (NG). In terms of function, hydroelectric plants usually have a water reservoir, a valve that limits the amount of water that exits, and a place for the exiting water to stay in (NG). Just before the water spills over an elevated surface like a hill, it gains potential energy which becomes kinetic energy, or energy of movement, as the water goes down (NG). This water can move a turbine’s blades to produce electricity, and more or less water may be released to meet the necessary energy demands of the community (NG).

In recent years, the hydroelectric power movement has picked up steam in East African nations like Kenya, and one brilliant mind named John Magiro Wangare has played a pivotal role in its growing popularity. Wangare, the founder of the ‘Mini Hydro Power Plant,’ says, “It is important to help my community, some people have the idea but don't have enough resources” (GBS & Dangote). His ultimate goal is expanding access to electricity throughout rural Kenya, such as his hometown of Njumbi; here, people primarily relied on kerosene for light which is both expensive and produces harmful fumes when heated (GBS & Dangote).