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Microplastics Are Blowing In the Wind (scientificamerican.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Scientific American: Scientists have detected tiny pieces of plastic falling out of the air like artificial dust. A first-of-its-kind study finds these particles have blown in on the wind from at least 100 kilometers away and likely much farther. This is a clear indication that atmospheric transport is yet another way plastic pollution is being distributed around the planet, even to remote areas. "And it suggests that this is a far bigger problem than we have currently thought about," says study co-author Deonie Allen, of the Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT).
The study, published Monday in Nature Geoscience, is one of only a handful that have attempted to measure how much plastic is falling from the atmosphere. It marks the first wave in what is likely to be a flood of such studies in the coming years, in an effort to fill in the picture of how microplastics move around the environment and how humans might be exposed to them. Allen and her colleagues knew microplastics had been found in rivers and sediments in the French Pyrenees, but no one had determined the sources. The bulk could not have come from local sources because of the small human population and limited industrial activity, so Allen was struck by a key question: "Why haven't we looked up?" That is what she and her colleagues did, taking advantage of atmospheric measuring equipment already in place in the Pyrenees and sampling over five months. They found plastic fibers, films and shards, all in a range of sizes. Most of the polymers that turned up in the samples were polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene, which are all common in single-use plastic products such as bags and foam food containers. The study used computer models of atmospheric currents to attempt to backtrace the air that brought the microplastics in the Pyrenees, which is considered a pristine environment. It was clear that the relatively small towns and villages nearby "were unlikely to account for all of the plastic they detected, which suggests the ultimate sources are more distant," reports Scientific American.
The study, published Monday in Nature Geoscience, is one of only a handful that have attempted to measure how much plastic is falling from the atmosphere. It marks the first wave in what is likely to be a flood of such studies in the coming years, in an effort to fill in the picture of how microplastics move around the environment and how humans might be exposed to them. Allen and her colleagues knew microplastics had been found in rivers and sediments in the French Pyrenees, but no one had determined the sources. The bulk could not have come from local sources because of the small human population and limited industrial activity, so Allen was struck by a key question: "Why haven't we looked up?" That is what she and her colleagues did, taking advantage of atmospheric measuring equipment already in place in the Pyrenees and sampling over five months. They found plastic fibers, films and shards, all in a range of sizes. Most of the polymers that turned up in the samples were polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene, which are all common in single-use plastic products such as bags and foam food containers. The study used computer models of atmospheric currents to attempt to backtrace the air that brought the microplastics in the Pyrenees, which is considered a pristine environment. It was clear that the relatively small towns and villages nearby "were unlikely to account for all of the plastic they detected, which suggests the ultimate sources are more distant," reports Scientific American.
Asia.
Itâ(TM)s full of music plastic
I close my eyes only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Microplastics in the wind
All they are is microplastics in the wind
Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do crumbles to the ground
Though we refuse to see
Microplastics in the wind
All we are is microplastics in the wind
Now don't hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy
Microplastics in the wind
All we are is microplastics in the wind
(All we are is microplastics in the wind)
Microplastics in the wind
(Everything is microplastics in the wind)
Everything is microplastics in the wind
(In the wind)
We can't just confront, admit the scale and scope of actual problems and talk about solutions without a strong denialist bullshit wave, right? This is our way.
Again, here's what George taught us, about plastic:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rld0KDcan_w
There will be life here after we are gone, along the way, people will be miserable.
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
There will be life here after we are gone
Hey, the Earth only kept us around so we could produce plastics. Our work here is done.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.
...because not everything is yes/no and black/white as you suggest...
Evaluation is what is happening now.
Solution isn't something that can be universally applied here any more than the myriad of other environmental mini-disasters perpetrated by the many dozens of factions controlling areas and populations on this planet.
If first world society is creating this mess it will end up identified and eventually stemmed.
"Evaluation is what is happening now." Show me a current Conservative concerned about pollution and the ecosystem, I'll show you a fringe voice making no discernable effort to reform the problem and running distraction instead.
on that. :)
[($)]
and we're leaving it for the Greta Thunbergs of this world to fix it.
"I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Microplastics in the wind
All they are is microplastics in the wind"
Ok, maybe not.
And while I'm here, allow me to explain, "FAGGOTS" ARE LIARS. Homosexuals gonna homosex, this has nothing to do with that, the term is meta and being reapplied for a specific purpose and there you go. FAGGOTS LIE.
"Trump is a FUCKING FAGGOT!" - Rex Tillerson.
Deal with it queens, you don't decide. Rope decides.
We can't just confront, admit the scale and scope of actual problems and talk about solutions without a strong denialist bullshit wave, right? This is our way.
No, not really. At some point the vast bulk of this will get traced to Asia and you'll quietly put away your pitchfork because you can't pin it on 'Murica.
That's why nothing concrete is being done about oceanic plastic beyond some farcical skimming toys; China is the source of 90% of it but you're so wrapped up in "imperialist" shame you can't suffer even the thought of actually doing anything about it.
So no. Fuck you and your self righteous bullshit.
This is killing a shit ton of animals in the ocean. It's probably what's killing the insects. This needs to be sorted out or we're in deep shit.
Solution = Stop making/discarding that crap.
It's not complicated.
No sig today...
China has banned plastic bags. https://www.google.com/search?...
Most of Africa has banned plastic bags. (4 years jail in Kenya!)
The USA? What plastics has the USA banned?
No sig today...
China has banned plastic bags. https://www.google.com/search?...
Most of Africa has banned plastic bags. (4 years jail in Kenya!)
The USA? What plastics has the USA banned?
The conservatives in the USA are still waiting for the ROW to do something about the problem before they will consent to consider doing anything themselves. You cannot just ask the wealthiest nation on earth to lead by example now can you? That would be .... Bwaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!! UNFAIR!!! ....to quote their current president.
The plastics, my friend, are blowin' in the wind.
The plastics are blowin' in the wind.
#DeleteChrome
"We're under siege by Guatemala! Bone spurs to your stations! Man the paper towel dispensers, this is an emojency!"
How much plastic, must a man breathe down
Before he can call himself a man?
The plastic my friend, is blowing in the wind
The plastic is blowing in the wind.
L'Idiot
Except there is a world economy built on that model. Heck this post alone is using millions of miles of electrified infrastructure and I am sure most of it isn’t powered by clean energy. I say this not to guilt you, but point out the environmental problems are not easily fixed with a quick legislation or public outcry. There is demand for such products alternatives will need to be made and economies need to be altered.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
was to make it all so small that it would get returned to nature.
They got the small part right.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
... Microplastics are the answer?
Breathing that plastic can't do your lungs any good.
The USA? What plastics has the USA banned?
Kindersuprise eggs.
At some point the vast bulk of this will get traced to Asia
Your 100km radius wind is blowing from Asia? Have you ever seen a map?
I live in Northern Europe, and we regularly get wind blown sand from the Sahara, 3000 km away. I expect lightweight microplastics to be carried much further.
Some cities in the US have tried to. Luckily, there are wrinkly folks in the media to let them know why their city can't ban plastic trash:
(1) The plastic ban was written by out-of-towners trying to impose their will on us.
(2) We can't have city ordinances that make any kind of reference to a state law. (It's not really explained what the legal or logical basis for this is.)
(3) Weighing in at a massive 10 pages, the law is so lengthy and complex that you'd need to "hire a full-time attorney" to comprehend it.
(4) The city will need to hire full-time straw inspectors.
(5) It's too much of a burden for stores to stock paper bags instead of plastic.
(6) People who receive food stamps will still be allowed to use plastic bags - an "entire class of citizens" would be free from having to comply!
In his closing paragraph, he makes sure to tell us he "expects the City Council to pick up the trash".
This does appear to be a legitimate news site, and not The Onion.
https://timeforchange.org/cumu... CO2 is a much bigger concern anyway. And we know that's mostly American. What have you been doing about it? So why the fake outrage over a little bit of plastic?
Local site for Portsmouth, NH. He's a Live free or die type.
Your 100km radius wind is blowing from Asia? Have you ever seen a map?
Considering we can track particulate fallout from China ever-belching industrial cities ending up in Southern Ontario, which is far more then 100km(much closer to 6700km) away, yes. You do understand how the jet stream and upper-level winds work don't you?
Om, nomnomnom...
Well why don't we get some progressives and environmentalists in here. Then we can watch as a scientist disputes their data, and the university cans them for not backing down due to their outcry. And then we can get into the really shit crap from ~40 years ago when they(progressives, environmentalists, NGO's like greenpeace, sierra club, etc) were complaining about paper bags and how cutting down sustainable forestry is "really bad" for the environment and how we should all switch to plastic.
Om, nomnomnom...
Good luck on that... according several nordic studies+russian study main source of microplastics is tires and its two orders of magnitude larger than other sources that end up in oceans.. straws plastic bags are completely irrelevant in this reality or shampoos(yeah theyre filled with plastics too, if you really worry about microplastic effects you'll stop using modern cosmetic products)
SCNR
Expect all plastic to break down into microplastics.
Expect plastic to bio-accumulate.
The problem may not be catastrophic, but we don't yet know the scope of it!
You're right. The US doesn't lead by example in anything that I can think of. Jesus, that's depressing.
I don't respond to AC's.
Plastic in the wind. All we are is plastic in the wind.
tea tree oil naturally dissolves (carries away) that crud that collects on our shells/everywhere.. the inside job is a dietary solvent adventure.. just don't call it morgellons.. & don't rub it inwards..
next; cease fire stand down, we'll all breathe easier after the depolynization?
deepending on the polyplacenta?
The US has the greatest protections of freedom of speech and freedom of religion on the planet.
Are you sure?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
No sig today...
Yes, it's called particle pollution, and it is not new. The air in California is full of particle pollution, largely from big agriculture, and has been for decades. It's why people get valley fever and children have to stay inside on purple days. Talk to industry (including Silicon Valley) not SlashDot, oh wee ones.
Except there is a world economy built on that model.
Products can still be manufactured, they just need to be sold in packaging that's reusable or designed to be recycled easily.
No sig today...
Till it starts raining crazy straws in their back yards. Till then it's business as usual.
No that's not how it works, pick anyone who is for the preservation of the environment and you have answered your question. You are just tossing the word conservative around like a derogatory term when all it means a person that wants to conserve something and it doesn't matter what they are conserving. This bastardization of the use of the word has happened so much that environmentalist have distanced themselves from the word and tend to stay away from the words conservation and conserve also.
Wouldn't it be the conservative parties job to protect the plastic manufacturers by delaying this study as long as possible, and then discrediting the study results as "fake news" once they are released?
If Big Tobacco taught us anything, it's that the Plastic lobby will release their own counter studies showing that microplastics are harmless to the environment or even beneficial in some other areas like medical research.
They capitalized Conservative. You didn't. That's exactly how this works - it's a name for a group of people. And the name refers to conserving/preserving specific things. Next you're going to complain that members of the Teamster's Union are bastardizing the name because literally none of them are driving horses.
Those are made of chocolate, not plastic. The US doesn't allow non-food objects inside of packaged food.
I had the misfortune of my first ever experience eating a paper straw along with my iced tea at dinner last night. Talk about disgusting... all I could taste was the paper.
Conservatives are some of the most supportive of real, sustainable conservation of the worlds ecosystems. Conservatives are hunters, fishers, and wildlife enthusiasts and actively donate to, and advocate for preservation of ecosystems. What Conservatives don't do is jump at every headline or misstep.
Conservatives necessarily recognize the connections between nature and human survival because Conservatives are dependent upon that. As an example: Conservatives are smart enough to create programs for hunting that involves the taking (killing) of animals while actually strengthening the population of that species in it's environment while the "save EVERY animal" approach of the Liberals results in overpopulation, famine, and ultimately a decimated population of sick animals.
What conservatives don't do is "1 step thinking" like Liberals. Liberals: People are starving: Feed them. Conservatives: People are starving: teach them how to feed themselves. Liberals: Deer are sick and populations are down: Disallow all hunting of deer. Conservatives: Deer are sick and populations are down: Evaluate WHY deer populations are down and take a corrective action, which may include actually hunting more deer, releasing wolfs, etc. Liberals: Gay people have received some criticism: Force people to attend "everyone is a little gay classes". Conservatives: Gay people have received some criticism: Lets not make a mountain out of a mole hill, every type of people, including conservatives, get criticized. See how well Liberal policies work at achieving the intended goal? Not well. While Conservative approaches to wildlife management have been wildly successful.
Solution = Stop making/discarding that crap.
It's not complicated.
Except it is more likely that the real source of these airborne plastics are clothing and carpet fibers rather than single use plastic bags or other sheet plastics. Thin fibers are much more likely to wear off and become airborne. As you can see plainly in a carpeted room when sunlight light streams through a window or when you shake out your threadbare clothing that is falling apart.
So, maybe if we stop making synthetic carpets and using synthetic fibers in clothing... but how would that effect the global demand? And really if these things are a health hazzard, then indoor air quality is where we need to look next.
Literally you could be saying it is simple that we just need some percentage of the world to go naked and have cold feet on slippery floors rather than merely choosing a different kind of bag... so it makes a big difference what is actually happening.
You NEVER have to provide solutions or alternatives when presenting negative facts or saying something is bad and should be replaced or banned.
The errors come in when you are pressed into another topic you don't have facts, research, or must time invested in just because people have a psychological problem dealing with LOSS of anything... like a infant needs a new shiny to distract from the one you took away.
It's not that people are wrong it's that they are human and 100% their point may be correct, it's the addendum where they can be 0% correct. Do not discount an expert for being wrong at guessing the lottery numbers, or being fool enough to buy a ticket.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
Of Plastic in an Electric Car.
Got to make it light somehow and that isn't Steel.
Isn't that a Scientology creation myth?
I wonder if this sort of thing could be part of the collapse of insect populations in otherwise pristine environments. Vertebrates could probably clear most of this via mucus but arthropods aspirate differently.
You're right. The US doesn't lead by example in anything that I can think of. Jesus, that's depressing.
The USA is the leading exporter of a middle class standard of living. Feel better?
https://www.abqjournal.com/130...
Conservatives are some of the most supportive of real, sustainable conservation of the worlds ecosystems.
No, those are conservationists. Conservatives are the ones that love Jesus more than their fellow humans.
Conservatives are hunters, fishers, and wildlife enthusiasts and actively donate to, and advocate for preservation of ecosystems.
It's not about preservation of ecosystems, it's about maintenance of use. All your average hunter cares about is whether he'll have something to hunt.
What conservatives don't do is "1 step thinking" like Liberals. Liberals: People are starving: Feed them. Conservatives: People are starving: teach them how to feed themselves.
Illegal immigrants are coming over the border, build a wall.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Go to the location of a conservative rally. Then go to the location of a liberal rally. You may want a respirator for the latter....
Go to the location of a conservative rally. Then go to the location of a liberal rally. You may want a respirator for the latter....
I think it's the other way around, I react poorly to citronella.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The conservatives in the USA are still waiting for the ROW to do something about the problem before they will consent to consider doing anything themselves.
They never will, in fact, unless forced. Think CFCs and ozone hole. They waited for someone smarter to figure out how to solve the problem, and then they had to be forced to comply with the solution.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
No that's not how it works, pick anyone who is for the preservation of the environment and you have answered your question.
Those people are not conservatives, they are conservationists.
You are just tossing the word conservative around like a derogatory term when all it means a person that wants to conserve something and it doesn't matter what they are conserving.
It doesn't. It means that people want to preserve their values, hell or high water.
This bastardization of the use of the word has happened so much that environmentalist have distanced themselves from the word and tend to stay away from the words conservation and conserve also.
Not that I've seen. Citation needed.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
With the sight of plastic.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
You're right. The US doesn't lead by example in anything that I can think of. Jesus, that's depressing.
The USA is the leading exporter of a middle class standard of living. Feel better?
Sure I would, if that lifestyle you allude to wasn't about to bring the Earths capacity to support life, especially human life crashing down.
Exporting what is called the "middle class standard of living" means more cars, more pollution, more plastics, more air travel, more over-consumption, more degradation of the oceans, etc, etc;
But you already knew that.
But they are companies built just around making packaging materials.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Conservatives are some of the most supportive of real, sustainable conservation of the worlds ecosystems. Conservatives are hunters, fishers, and wildlife enthusiasts and actively donate to, and advocate for preservation of ecosystems. What Conservatives don't do is jump at every headline or misstep.
Conservatives necessarily recognize the connections between nature and human survival because Conservatives are dependent upon that. As an example: Conservatives are smart enough to create programs for hunting that involves the taking (killing) of animals while actually strengthening the population of that species in it's environment while the "save EVERY animal" approach of the Liberals results in overpopulation, famine, and ultimately a decimated population of sick animals.
Yeah you make me laugh. You are advertising and exaggerating the meaning of "conservative" while talk down on "liberal" label. You didn't even discuss or give any example of the "cons" from "conservative" at all. You simply bash the other side who is not your own group.
Liberals: People are starving: Feed them.
Conservatives: People are starving: teach them how to feed themselves.
Yes, liberals do that. But conservatives: teach them how to feed themselves while standing on the side line giving them NOTHING to start with. So what good does it do when those people are already dying in the first place? Oh wait, it is not conservatives' problem.
Liberals: Deer are sick and populations are down: Disallow all hunting of deer.
Conservatives: Deer are sick and populations are down: Evaluate WHY deer populations are down and take a corrective action, which may include actually hunting more deer, releasing wolfs, etc.
Yes, liberals do that again. But conservatives: evaluate WHERE ELSE we can hunt deer. No, you people don't actually try to conserve deer because they are your game. Please don't lie.
Liberals: Gay people have received some criticism: Force people to attend "everyone is a little gay classes".
Conservatives: Gay people have received some criticism: Lets not make a mountain out of a mole hill, every type of people, including conservatives, get criticized.
Here, you show that you don't like gay because you use "little gay classes" in your writing, but you try to make it look cute. Even though I don't really like the solution from liberals, at the same time you are lying about how conservatives deal with the matter. Here is what they would do -- take these gay people to a conversion camp because gay are just mental sickness. There is no real "gay" in the first place but rather a life style.
Stop lying.
Plastics are inert. Nobody cares.
we are ranking disgraces now?
Some cities here in Brasil are starting to ban (bags and straws) - but our new president, "Botolini", is not helping (quite the opposite: he denier climate change, for instance...)
more about "Botolini": https://www.theguardian.com/wo...
How exactly is the "biodegradable" in bidegradable products? Does that means that the plastic turns into really small particles, goes out of our view but those particles can fly, maybe? Or do they chemically decompose? Turning into what?
That statement is so plainly wrong it's downright absurd. US may be *supposed* to have freedom of religion but it's currently led by theocrats who are enacting their flavor of Sharia law across the country, starting with the South and Midwest, and openly declaring the nation should follow one particular religion, with hardly any push-back. And freedom of speech? The US is on the list of most dangerous countries for journalists. A US-based journalist was tortured to death by dismemberment with the blessing of the US president. Holy fuck what kind of delusional fantasyland do you live in?
Actually, this is the story that Conservatives like to tell themselves. And you've illustrated it perfectly.
Reality? Conservatives pollute the hell out of the world, then announce indignantly (decades later): This place is polluted! Liberals are useless!
I will admit there are many "flavors" of "Conservatives" and some represent the group poorly. But the one thing I think you will find as a common thread is the genuine connection to the give AND take that nature requires. While you think it is a "negative" that conservatives how found ways to preserve an ecosystem and allow it to be used, I would argue that is one of the best situations I can imagine in the world. You are talking about a way to preserve a natural habitat while allowing humans to harvest benefits from it. Only a fucking moron liberal like you would view that as "bad" just because a conservative has thought of a way to create a "win, win". The funny thing about "win, wins" is they are SUSTAINABLE.
Regarding a wall... you have my vote. I think it would be far more effective if we actually dealt with the illegals that are here far more harshly thus creating a disincentive to coming here in the first place. Maybe chop off a finger for each time they are caught? Good call.
So,all they are plastics in the wind ?
And that was accomplished in 1776. The next 200 years were pretty good, all things considered.
Now the US leads the world in empty slogans, political vacuousness, elite self-dealing, and unfounded declarations of Winning.