We have thoroughly wrecked the planet with plastic

[Matted Joybeard]

US appeals court kills ban on plastic containers contaminated with PFAS

Conservative fifth circuit overturns EPA’s ban prohibiting Inhance from using manufacturing process creating toxic compound

www.theguardian.com

A federal appeals court in the US has killed a ban on plastic containers contaminated with highly toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” found to leach at alarming levels into food, cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides and other products across the economy.

Houston-based Inhance manufactures an estimated 200m containers annually with a process that creates, among other chemicals, PFOA, a toxic PFAS compound. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December prohibited Inhance from using the manufacturing process.

...

PFAS are a class of about 15,000 compounds used to make products resistant to water, stains and heat. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, and they have been linked to cancer, high cholesterol, liver disease, kidney disease, fetal complications and other serious health problems.

 

[initforme]

Profits first...always.

 

[initforme]

Pfas is the oncoming problem. It's going to cost hundreds of billions to fix. So be it.

 

[Libby von H]

While everyone is still caught up in climate change denialism and discussion (if you call it that) centers on that topic, it is just one facet of our environmental polycrisis brought to us by the actions of humankind. While climate change is something we can theoretically move the needle on, the plastic pollution is not. It is an undeniable problem with no likely solution. It's everywhere, contaminating the entire biosphere. It's in our soil, water, our seas, the clouds and precipitation being spread far and wide. Presently is a feature of all our food and increasing in quantity. There's no reversing this as we produce in greater amounts. There's no defense that it's good health, the functions of our bodies, that is is somehow good for us. There are no glib remarks of 'I could really use me some more of that microplastic right now'. And there's no denying we are responsible. There's no argument to be had over 'well, you don't know what plastic accummulation' looked back in the past or that levels of plastic lags normal functioning of biological processes. There's no way out of this one.

That is clearly Biden....all 'concerned' about shrinkflation but knowing full well that

t Amazon generated 599 million pounds of plastic packaging waste in 2020. This is a 29% increase of Oceana’s 2019 estimate of 465 million pounds. The report also found that Amazon’s estimated plastic packaging waste, in the form of air pillows alone, would circle the Earth more than 600 times.

Who pays for that? Not Biden, not Amazon .....You do

 

[ding]

Consume!!! Consume!!! Consume!!!

 

[ding]

Come on giant meteor of 2024!!!!

 

[fncceo]

it is just one facet of our environmental polycrisis brought to us by the actions of humankind

Now... if we could just get rid of humans ... problem solved.

 

[Matted Joybeard]

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP13435

In Vivo Tissue Distribution of Polystyrene or Mixed Polymer Microspheres and Metabolomic Analysis after Oral Exposure in Mice​

In mice that ingested microspheres, we detected polystyrene microspheres in distant tissues including the brain, liver, and kidney. Additionally, we report on the metabolic differences that occurred in the colon, liver, and brain, which showed differential responses that were dependent on concentration and type of microsphere exposure.

 

[initforme]

Now... if we could just get rid of humans ... problem solved.

It's a ton cheaper to not pollute.

 

[Matted Joybeard]

Now... if we could just get rid of humans ... problem solved.

Humanity was just a preliminary step necessary for plastic based life to evolve.

 

[initforme]

Imagine what our air and water would be if industry had no guidelines or regulations. They'd willfully ruin everything and endanger peoples health.

 

[Matted Joybeard]

“Our study revealed the presence of microplastics in all human and canine testes,” Yu said. The team was also able to quantify the amount of microplastics in the tissue samples using a novel analytical method that revealed correlations between certain types of plastic and reduced sperm count in the canine samples.

Yu, who studies the impact of various environmental factors on the human reproductive system, said heavy metals, pesticides and endocrine-disrupting chemicals have all been implicated in a global decline in sperm count and quality in recent years. A conversation with his colleague Matthew Campen, PhD, a professor in the UNM College of Pharmacy who has documented the presence of microplastics in human placentas, led him to wonder whether something else might be at work.

“He said, ‘Have you considered why there is this decline (in reproductive potential) more recently? There must be something new,’” Yu said. That led Yu to design a study using the same experimental method Campen’s lab had used in the placenta research.

Microplastic presence in dog and human testis and its potential association with sperm count and weights of testis and epididymis

Abstract. The ubiquitous existence of microplastics and nanoplastics raises concerns about their potential impact on the human reproductive system. Limited

academic.oup.com

 

[Matted Joybeard]

 

[initforme]

“Our study revealed the presence of microplastics in all human and canine testes,” Yu said. The team was also able to quantify the amount of microplastics in the tissue samples using a novel analytical method that revealed correlations between certain types of plastic and reduced sperm count in the canine samples.

Yu, who studies the impact of various environmental factors on the human reproductive system, said heavy metals, pesticides and endocrine-disrupting chemicals have all been implicated in a global decline in sperm count and quality in recent years. A conversation with his colleague Matthew Campen, PhD, a professor in the UNM College of Pharmacy who has documented the presence of microplastics in human placentas, led him to wonder whether something else might be at work.

“He said, ‘Have you considered why there is this decline (in reproductive potential) more recently? There must be something new,’” Yu said. That led Yu to design a study using the same experimental method Campen’s lab had used in the placenta research.

Microplastic presence in dog and human testis and its potential association with sperm count and weights of testis and epididymis

Abstract. The ubiquitous existence of microplastics and nanoplastics raises concerns about their potential impact on the human reproductive system. Limited

academic.oup.com

Profits over health. But but but it creates jobs....

 

[Matted Joybeard]

The Most Disturbing Places We've Found Microplastics So Far

From human testicles to clouds, microplastics have infiltrated seemingly everything.

gizmodo.com

There’s still much we don’t know about what microplastics are doing to ecosystems and our bodies, but recent studies suggest they can cause behavioral changes in mice, heart problems in humans, and perhaps even human infertility. One study found that humans eat at least 50,000 plastic particles a year. As Gizmodo has explained before, it’s a waste of time to try to extract microplastics from our environment if we continue producing plastic at the same levels we always have.

So where, exactly, are we finding microplastics? The list below includes some of the most concerning locations, either because of the implications for our health or because they reveal just how omnipresent the contamination is.

• Human testicles
• Dog testicles
• Antarctica
• Human blood
• Beer
• Ocean seafloor
• Arctic ice and snow
• Clouds
• Mount Everest peak
• Mariana Trench
• Wind
• Table salt
• Human breast milk
• Archaeological soil deposits
• Sugar
• Apples
• The top of France’s Pyrenees mountains
• All bottled water
• Human adult feces
• Human baby feces
• Soil
• Clams
• Seals
• Whales
• Sea turtles
• Honeybees
• Oysters
• Salps
• Eurythenes plasticus
• Black bears
• Deer
• Otters
• Salmon
• Human hearts
• Human kidneys
• Human livers
• Human brain
• Human lungs
• Human intestines
• Human placentas (all of them)
• Uninhabited Pacific islands
• Lake Michigan
• Lake Ontario
• Lake Superior
• Lake Huron
• Lake Erie
• Water on plant leaves
• The Grand Canyon

• Joshua Tree National Park

 

[Matted Joybeard]

The World's Plastic Pollution Crisis Explained

Much of the planet is swimming in discarded plastic, which is harming animal and possibly human health. Can it be cleaned up?

education.nationalgeographic.org

Plastics by the Numbers

Some key facts:

• Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years.
• Production increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by 2050.
• Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world.
• Plastics often contain additives making them stronger, more flexible, and durable. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down.

 

[Matted Joybeard]

S-E Asia tops global intake of microplastics, with Indonesians eating 15g a month: Study

Microplastics have also been found in human testicles, raising reproductive health concerns. Read more at straitstimes.com.

www.straitstimes.com

South-east Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines ingest the most microplastics among 109 countries, according to a study by Cornell University researchers.


Indonesians, the top consumers of microplastics, were found to ingest about 15g of microplastics per month – equivalent to three credit cards – with the majority of plastic particles coming from aquatic sources such as fish and seafood.

 

[Matted Joybeard]

 

[Matted Joybeard]

The economy will not bow to environmental concerns.

 

[Captain Caveman]

While everyone is still caught up in climate change denialism and discussion (if you call it that) centers on that topic, it is just one facet of our environmental polycrisis brought to us by the actions of humankind. While climate change is something we can theoretically move the needle on, the plastic pollution is not. It is an undeniable problem with no likely solution. It's everywhere, contaminating the entire biosphere. It's in our soil, water, our seas, the clouds and precipitation being spread far and wide. Presently is a feature of all our food and increasing in quantity. There's no reversing this as we produce in greater amounts. There's no defense that it's good health, the functions of our bodies, that is is somehow good for us. There are no glib remarks of 'I could really use me some more of that microplastic right now'. And there's no denying we are responsible. There's no argument to be had over 'well, you don't know what plastic accumulation' looked back in the past or that levels of plastic lags normal functioning of biological processes. There's no way out of this one.

If governments were interested, they would have banned plastic out of the food system years ago.