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Microplastics Found In 93 Percent of Bottled Water Tested In Global Study (www.cbc.ca)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBC.ca: The bottled water industry is estimated to be worth nearly $200 billion a year, surpassing sugary sodas as the most popular beverage in many countries. But its perceived image of cleanliness and purity is being challenged by a global investigation that found the water tested is often contaminated with tiny particles of plastic. The research was conducted on behalf of Orb Media, a U.S-based non-profit journalism organization with which CBC News has partnered. Professor Sherri Mason, a microplastics researcher who carried out the laboratory work at the State University of New York, and his team tested 259 bottles of water purchased in nine countries (none were bought in Canada). Though many brands are sold internationally, the water source, manufacturing and bottling process for the same brand can differ by country. The 11 brands tested include the world's dominant players -- Nestle Pure Life, Aquafina, Dasani, Evian, San Pellegrino and Gerolsteiner -- as well as major national brands across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Researchers found 93 per cent of all bottles tested contained some sort of microplastic, including polypropylene, polystyrene, nylon and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Orb found on average there were 10.4 particles of plastic per liter that were 100 microns (0.10 mm) or bigger. This is double the level of microplastics in the tap water tested from more than a dozen countries across five continents, examined in a 2017 study by Orb that looked at similar-sized plastics. Other, smaller particles were also discovered -- 314 of them per liter, on average -- which some of the experts consulted about the Orb study believe are plastics but cannot definitively identify. The amount of particles varied from bottle to bottle: while some contained one, others contained thousands.
Orb found on average there were 10.4 particles of plastic per liter that were 100 microns (0.10 mm) or bigger. This is double the level of microplastics in the tap water tested from more than a dozen countries across five continents, examined in a 2017 study by Orb that looked at similar-sized plastics. Other, smaller particles were also discovered -- 314 of them per liter, on average -- which some of the experts consulted about the Orb study believe are plastics but cannot definitively identify. The amount of particles varied from bottle to bottle: while some contained one, others contained thousands.
The top 10 rivers that dump plastic waste into the oceans are in Africa and Asia. 6 of them are in China.
And that, dear friends, is yet another data point about "free trade." That tasty arbitrage that lets you get your iPhone 75 for cheaper than if it were produced domestically is brought to you buy a country that gives absolutely zero fucks about its environment or whether or not you're eating microplastics in your food.
Enjoy.
Plastics are structurally modified oils (not chemically modified). They are no more or less biologically valuable than the base oils. Petroleum based plastics are a bit of a nuisance because the bacteria that eat oils of that chemistry are primarily found in ocean depths near natural oil leeks, and the plastics formed are fairly bouyant.
I doubt anyone reading this has not eaten dairy plastics at some time or another. They aren't as complicated of flavors as bacterially or mold modified dairy materials, but can be a pleasant addition to some forms of sandwich.
As for this article, I am shocked, SHOCKED, that putting water in plastic might result in plastic getting in water! Despite the history that I can't bring myself to drink thin (low dissolved content) water out of a plastic cup because of the horrible plasticy flavor that no one else cares about...
Those 2 litre glass bottles were banned pretty quick as they had a habit of blowing up. As for danger, a friend cut her foot pretty bad wading in a local lake, same with my dog, who needed 3 or 4 stitches on her foot. Of course the real reason glass went away was cost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
when woody plants were first developing there was nothing in nature that could break down wood
Citation please. All living things evolve alongside each other, not independently of each other. That is how different species of plants and animals came to be specifically dependent on each other: simultaneous evolution, not independent evolution. What you are describing is a world where trees evolved independently of the organisms which break down wood.