Walking by the side of her house, Rimiko Yoshinaga points at the broad, vine-encrusted tree her grandfather used to climb. (This article first appeared on Mosaic and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.) As the first global treaty on mercury finally comes into force, what have we really learned from this disaster? Joshua Sokol reports from Minamata. “ Something in the Water: Life After Mercury Poisoning”įrom 1932 to 1968, hundreds of tonnes of mercury seeped into the clear waters of Minamata Bay, Japan, causing health and environmental problems still felt today. Jump to Q&A with Joshua Sokol Story Annotation Whether they succeed, however, relies on people and institutions not always on the side of environmental justice. From their efforts, come all global efforts to change the story of mercury pollution for the better. Sokol takes a complex scientific subject-the toxicity of methylmercury-and weaves it into the story of the survivors who have spent decades telling their stories. In Minamata, Japan, corporate malfeasance led to mercury pollution that devastated the community beginning in the 1950s. In “ Something in the Water: Life After Mercury Poisoning” for Mosaic, Joshua Sokol introduces readers to the aging victims of the most enduring case of mercury poisoning in the world. Over the years, climate change has perhaps smothered a global environmental disaster that-unlike climate change-we can effectively combat. The issue of methylmercury pollution rises and falls in news media. It’s weird that I never knew any of this until I became a science journalist. Regularly eat fish or crabs from Berry’s Creek and you risk severe neurological trauma. Industrial waste left the 10-kilometer-long creek with the highest methylmercury levels ever recorded in a freshwater ecosystem in the United States, and perhaps the world. Not far from my hometown is Berry’s Creek, a tributary of the Hackensack River, which flows into New York Harbor. Amidst all that pollution are a lot of people: New Jersey is also the mostly densely populated state and yet it’s only bigger than Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island. It was always the height of irony that the state’s nickname is “The Garden State.” New Jersey has the most superfund sites of any other U.S. Growing up in New Jersey, I became accustomed to the jokes about the place’s reputation as a toxic dump. This Storygram is co-published at the CASW Showcase. It is supported in part by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The Storygram series is a joint project of The Open Notebook and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. The following story diagram-or Storygram-annotates an award-winning story to shed light on what makes some of the best science writing so outstanding. Joss McKinley (Originally published at Mosaic.) Degree Programs in Science, Health, or Environmental Writing Science Writing Resources (Elsewhere) That We Like.Guide to Using Alt-text to Make Images More Accessible.Sample Script & Survey for Tracking Source Diversity.Finding Diverse Sources for Science Stories.Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resources.Tip Sheet for Newcomers to Science Writing.Where to Get Started at The Open Notebook.The Covering Science Slack: A Peer-Mentoring Community.Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program.Virtual Workshop Series: The Craft of Science Editing.Navigating the Science Journalism World.
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