Publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) use an amazing arsenal of equipment to prevent large troublemakers, such as animal carcasses and tree limbs, from entering their wastewater treatment processes. However, they don't yet have the necessary technology to keep out nanoparticles, which some worry could have a much worse impact on the quality of the water these plants treat.
What a difference three years makes. In 2004, Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus published their essay called "The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming Politics in a Post-Environmental World".
Currently, many personnel at drinking water plants find the increasing number of complicated treatment rules hard to swallow. In particular, these operators -- especially at the small water utilities -- are having trouble complying with the large number of regulations due to their limited budgets.
So maybe the present isn’t everything we environmental professional were hoping it would be. Fortunately, however, the future already is heading this way and overall it’s looking a lot better. Our job is to give you a glimpse at what lays ahead in the environmental field this new year and beyond to help you put together your business strategies.