Category: pollution

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Toxic Chemicals Have Been Found in the Tap Water of Dozens of U.S. Cities

Miami is a top destination for tourists, but consuming their tap water could leave you with long-lasting effects well after your vacation is over.

The home of the Heat is just one of 43 U.S. cities—including Philadelphia and New Orleans—that has toxic “forever chemicals” in their drinking water, according to a new report.

Products such as firefighting foam and Teflon contain the PFOAs and PFOS chemicals that are contaminating water across the country. Polluted water has been linked in some cases to cancer and lower fertility and even served as inspiration for the 2019 movie Dark Waters, although much more research needs to be done into long-term harms.

Sydney Evans, Environmental Working Group study co-author, told BuzzFeed News that the research group was surprised to see chemical contamination in such a variety of cities. Out of the 44 cities tested for contaminants, only Meridian, Mississippi, passed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the citizens of Meridian get their water from the deep depths of a 600-foot well.

While earlier studies conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the EWG had not shown a serious water contamination issue, Evans and her team tested for 30 different PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemicals in order to discover more information about the breadth of the contamination.

The EPA sets a safety limit of 70 parts-per-trillion limit on the two main chemicals, though some individual states have implemented stricter standards. Unfortunately, many states were found to have water with high concentrations of chemicals, including North Carolina and Iowa.

“To date, EPA has developed methods to reliably detect 29 PFAS chemicals in drinking water,” an agency spokesperson stated in an e-mail to Buzzfeed News. “Aggressively addressing PFAS will continue to be an EPA priority in 2020 and we will provide additional information on our upcoming actions as it becomes available.”

So while staying hydrated is critical, filtered water may be a better bet depending on where you live.

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Plastic Straws Aren’t the Biggest Offenders When It Comes to Oceanic Plastic Pollution

Well, this is interesting…

Plastic straws have been in the news lately, and not for anything good. People want to get rid of them, and consumers have been encouraging businesses and consumers alike to get on board in order to start trying to mitigate single-use plastics’ devastating effect on the world’s marine ecosystems.

But plastic straws only make up about .02% of ocean waste – not that much, in the scheme of things.

It turns out, that there’s a much bigger enemy to ocean life: cigarette butts.

 

According to an NBC News report, cigarette butts are the number one human contaminant in the ocean, but they have not, thus far, been significantly regulated.

The filters on cigarettes are made of cellulose acetate, which takes more than a decade to decompose. 60 million cigarette butts have been collected on the world’s beaches since 1986.

Cigarette makers invented the filters to alleviate health concerns (lol), but they created a concurrent pollution problem because smokers “flick” their butts – a habit no anti-littering campaign has been able to curb.

The Cigarette Butt Pollution Project hopes they can finally change attitudes with their new campaign.

“Cigarette butt waste has polluted our beaches, parks, and communities long enough – it’s time to take action!”

The U.S. government has attempted to curb the problem here and there, but legislation proposing to ban filters or raise the costs of cigarettes to cover the clean-up have sputtered and died.

A theme park in France has trained ravens to pick up cigarette butts in exchange for treats, but, though awesome, that’s not exactly a global solution.

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For those who think cigarette smoking is cool please think again. It doesn't only pollute you but also the environment immensely. Trillions of cigarette butts are thrown into the environment every year, where they leach nicotine and heavy metals before turning into microplastic pollution. Smokers around the world buy roughly 6.5 trillion cigarettes each year. That’s 18 billion every day. While most of a cigarette’s innards and paper wrapping disintegrate when smoked, not everything gets burned. Trillions of cigarette filters—also known as butts or ends—are left over, only an estimated third of which make it into the trash. The rest are casually flung into the street or out a window. Cigarette filters are made of a plastic called cellulose acetate. When tossed into the environment, they dump not only that plastic, but also the nicotine, heavy metals, and many other chemicals they’ve absorbed into the surrounding environment. . . Follow @anonymous_earth_person Follow #anonymous_earth_person For more information 🌍 . #cigarettebutts #cigarette #pollution #airpollution #savetheearth #saveenvironment #saveanimals #ecofriendly #ecosystem #biodiversity #smokingkills #smoking #dontsmoke #microplastics #plastic #plasticpollution #plasticfreeliving

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As with the campaigns against plastic straws, it’s going to take a concentrated, sustained, and – most important – publicly supported effort to reduce the number of cigarette filters that end up in the oceans.

Do your part, and also…maybe don’t smoke in the first place? Because cigarettes kill more than marine life.

Just sayin’.

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The Taj Mahal Installed Air Purifiers to Defend Against Choking Smog

Unhealthy air pollution in India has hit record levels, and India’s most iconic and most visited attraction is attempting something to make tourists more comfortable.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal sits in Agra in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state, around 130 miles (210 kilometers) south of New Delhi. Approximately eight million people tour this UNESCO World Heritage site every year.

 

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According to authorities in Uttar Pradesh, a “private firm” has provided several air purification vans for the city to use wherever and however they want. Officials chose to place two of these vans at the Taj Mahal. Few details on how the vans work or how long they would be there were given.

Bhuvan Prakash Yadav, a representative from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) told CNN, “This is on a trial basis for 10 days, but we are trying to get [the private firm] to continue it for some more time.”

Although the identity of the private firm was never confirmed, ads for telecom giant, Vodafone, are featured on the side of a few of the vans.

According to CNN, Yadav also said that each van is able to purify 1.5 million cubic meters (53 million cubic feet) of air in eight hours. Yet, the vans don’t have sensors, so verification of these numbers isn’t possible.

It may be the vans are more for public relations purposes than actually cleaning air.

India’s high court challenged the government to take better care of the site in 2018. Much recent damage to the Taj Mahal has come from pollution in the air and contamination in the nearby Yamuna River. Since then, crowd control in the form of a visitor time limit and hiked ticket prices have been implemented.

Air pollution has been an ongoing and serious problem in India, home to 22 of the 30 most polluted cities on the planet. New Delhi, India’s capital city is the number one most polluted city in the world. Lately, pollution levels reached a record high of approximately 9x more than the World Health Organization’s recommended “safe” level – the problem is rated “severe.”

Fossil fuel usage, crop burning and vehicle exhaust have all contributed to the problem.

Planes are even getting diverted from landing at New Delhi’s airport. Authorities say control measures are in place, but they will not be enough to stop the damage to Indian property and lives – the damage is already being done.

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These Photos Show How Polluted America Was Before the EPA Cleaned It up

It’s difficult to imagine that there was a time when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) didn’t exist in the United States, but it actually wasn’t until 1970 that President Richard Nixon signed the order to create the agency.

From 1971 until 1977, the EPA hired freelance photographers to document just how bad the environmental problem was in the U.S. at the time.

These old photographs show just how polluted America’s air and waterways were before the EPA stepped in and cleaned them up. You can view more from the series here on Flickr.

1. “The Atlas Chemical Company Belches Smoke across Pasture Land in Foreground”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

2. “Smog Hangs Over Louisville And Ohio River, September 1972”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

3. “Burning Barge On The Ohio River”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

4. “Detroit Lake the Dam”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

5. “Paddlewheel Steamboats Seen From Banks Of Ohio River”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

6. “Litter Left In The Ohio River”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

7. “Broken Glass From “No-Deposit, Non-Returnable” Bottles Along the Washington Shore of the Columbia River in a Public Picnic Area”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

8. “The Job Of Clearing Drift From The Potomac And Anacostia Rivers Is Done By The Army Corps Of Engineers”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

9. “Warning of Polluted Water at Staten Island Beach Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Background”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

10. “Abandoned Car in Jamaica Bay”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

11. “Sand Covers Abandoned Car on Beach at Breezy Point South of Jamaica Bay”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

12. “Outflow Pipe 6 of the Oxford Paper Company Will at Rumford on the Androscoggin River”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

13. “Mary Workman Holds A Jar of Undrinkable Water That Comes from Her Well, and Has Filed A Damage Suit Against the Hanna Coal Company”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

14. “International Paper Company Mill at Jay on the Androscoggin River”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

15. “Cleaning Up the Roadside in Onset”

Photo Credit: US National Archives

Powerful photos, that’s for sure.

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This Isn’t Good…Microplastics Are Falling from the Arctic Sky

Do you know about microplastics?

Microplastics are defined as any plastic fragment less than 5 millimeters in length, and at this point they have been found in every corner of the globe. They come from any number of sources – from rubber tires to paint and cosmetics to toothpaste tubes and synthetic clothing – and the ubiquitous nature of them in the environment has scientists worried about harm.

In fact, they are so ubiquitous at this point, that they’ve been documented falling with snow in the Arctic…even though there’s practically no people there.

A new report in Science Advances documents tiny plastic fibers found across two dozen Northern Hemisphere locations, from the remote Arctic ice to the Swiss Alps. Perhaps most concerning was finding that the “pristine” Arctic snow contained up to 14,400 microplastic particles per liter (snow in parts of rural Bavaria, in southern Germany, contained up to 154,000 ppl).

Because they’ve been found falling from the sky, there’s now a question of whether people might be breathing microplastics. Though scientists are currently uncertain what, if any, impact inhaling (inhaling!) them could have on humans and other wildlife, there have been plenty of documented cases of marine life ingesting larger plastic pieces to extreme detriment, and that might definitely lead one to worry, says Dr. Melanie Bergmann.

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Clearly there is no place on Earth that micro-plastic can not reach – having been repeatedly found in seawater, drinking water and all species of animals. But these minute particles are also transported by the atmosphere and subsequently washed out of the air – especially by snow – in remote regions of the Planet – such as the Arctic and the Alps. This was demonstrated in a study conducted by experts at the Alfred Wegener Institute which recently published their finding in the journal Science Advances. It would be interesting to discover how much micro-plastic is ingested by humans and the amount retained in our bodies during ones lifespan. #microplastics #environment #planetearth #awarenessbuilding #alfredwegenerinstitut

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“To date, there are virtually no studies investigating the extent to which human beings are subject to microplastic contamination. But once we’ve determined that large quantities of microplastic can also be transported by the air, it naturally raises the question as to whether and how much plastic we’re inhaling.”

Now that microplastics have fallen with the snow in the most remote Arctic locations, there can be no doubt that our addiction to plastics out of control. And if that’s not disturbing enough, we’re almost definitely breathing in small fibers every single day.

The pieces of plastic found in the study ranged from 11 micrometers to 5 millimeters and consisted of rubber, varnishes, and other forms of plastic.

Like plant pollen, the tiny fibers are swept up into the air where they tumble along in currents that flow from one end of the earth to the other, only to fall down with the rain or snow wherever it washes onto the earth.

Which is to say, we can’t escape the problem we’ve created.

The only question left is, how much is it hurting us?

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In the Last Two Years, Scientists Have Discovered over 50 Species of Plastic-Eating Fungi

This is great news!

If you feel a pang of guilt every time you throw a piece of plastic away and start spiraling into anxiety about the impending climate apocalypse — here is some news that may brighten your day.

Plastic is infamous for its ability to pollute the environment for years and years without degrading. But because the planet is magical, there are certain organisms that can degrade plastic. Dozens and dozens of them, apparently.

In 2011, students at Yale discovered a plastic-eating fungus in Ecuador called Pestalotiopsis microspora. This fungus can digest polyurethane, even in an air-free environment (like the bottom of a landfill).

Photo Credit: iStock

This breakthrough was already good news, but as researchers continued to turn their attention to the subject, it became clear that Pestalotiopsis microspora is not unique among fungi in its ability to degrade plastic.

Researchers at Utrecht University were able to achieve a similar result with Oyster mushrooms and Split gill mushrooms in the lab; this process even resulted in an edible end product. In 2017, scientist Sehroon Khan and his team found another biodegrading fungus in a landfill in Pakistan called Asperillus tubigensis, which is capable of breaking down polyester polyurethane (packing foam).

Sehroon and his team went on to find over 50 other species of plastic-eating fungus since 2017.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Scientists still have a long way to go before this research is applicable on a large scale as a means of plastic recycling.

Still, this is proof that anything is possible here on Planet Earth. You never know where new solutions are going to come from.

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Guinness Goes Green: Beer Giant to Stop Using Plastic Packaging

Plastic waste is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time, and one of the most famous beer brands in the entire world is taking a huge step towards being part of the solution: they’re going to stop using plastic packaging materials altogether!

The manufacturer of Guinness, Diageo, announced that they’re getting rid of their plastic beer packaging and will replace it with cardboard that is 100% recyclable or biodegradable. That’s great news!

Guinness maker Diageo removes plastic from multipacks: http://ow.ly/Ytv430or4iN#NoPlastic #NoWaste

Posted by Love Clean Streets on Monday, April 15, 2019

The company also announced it is investing $21 million (U.S.) into the new project, and that getting rid of plastic rings and shrink wrap will remove the equivalent of 40 million plastic bottles from its operations.

Diageo owns Harp and Smithwick’s as well and plans to move away from plastic on those brands, too. The sustainable beer packs are supposed to debut in Ireland in August 2019 and expand to the rest of the world in 2020.

Guinness is good for you 😉 The maker of Guinness is eliminating all plastic packaging for its products. 🙂 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/guinness-diageo-beer-plastic-free-packaging-a8869941.html

Posted by Marm O'Melia on Thursday, April 18, 2019

Oliver Loomes, the director of Diageo in Ireland, said, “Managing our environmental impact is important for the planet and the financial sustainability of our business. We already have one of the most sustainable breweries in the world at St. James’s Gate and we are now leading the way in sustainable packaging. This is good news for the environment and for our brand.”

Good work Guinness! Now head to the pub and order a couple to celebrate!

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Outdoor Brand Patagonia Will No Longer Sell to Clients Who Wreck the Environment

The Midtown Uniform Instagram page has been amusing its followers for some time now. The page skewers NYC finance bros on the basis of their almost identical style choices – namely, a button-down shirt, slacks, and a Patagonia fleece vest.

The page’s name actually comes from the fact that SO MANY of these professionals wear that exact look that it may as well be considered an official uniform.

 

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I refuse to live in a world where I am killing it with my boys at joshua tree and am forced to go home at 4 am #midtownuniform

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This photo was found next to the term “squad goals” in the dictionary. #midtownuniform

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That may not be the state of things for long, however. You see, Patagonia recently announced that they’ll be ditching clients in the corporate world in favor of clients whose interests more closely align with the company’s new mission to “save our home planet.”

This policy became public after Binna Kim, president of a communications agency named Vested (ironic, right?) tried to place an order of Patagonia vests for a client and received this rejection letter:

Basically, Patagonia is no longer accepting potentially lucrative deals from clients whose businesses support or condone practices that are destroying the environment.

It’s a move that may very well cost the brand quite a lot of money in short-term sales, but in the long run it’s a smart move for the outdoor-friendly company: they are making sure their brand is still associated with the great outdoors.

Talk about putting your money where your mouth is!

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Massive Hermit Crab Uses a Doll’s Head for Its Shell, and It’s Insanely Creepy

Hermit crabs are fairly common, easy-to-care-for pets that you’ve likely seen in a child’s classroom or at your local pet store. Interestingly, hermit crabs are not actual crabs because they have soft, exposed abdomens that leave them vulnerable to predators. That’s why they’re always looking for a new shell to call home.

They move in and out of shells – usually sea snail shells – as they grow.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

The coconut crab differs from a regular hermit crab in two important ways: first, it’s quite large – it can grow up to three feet long and weigh nine pounds – and second, when it outgrows the largest shell it can find, it grows a shell of its own.

Isn’t nature weird?

Image Credit: Wikipedia

One particular coconut crab, though, isn’t going to be growing his own shell anytime soon, since he found a lovely (meaning totally creepy) discarded doll’s head to live in instead of a shell.

A redditor shared a photo of the crab found on Henderson Island. Part of the Pitcairn Islands, the remote Pacific spot is vulnerable to human litter (obviously).

Image Credit: Reddit

There’s just something about dolls that creep some people out (including me), but I suppose the crab is perfectly happy living inside one – maybe he even considers the eyes cool little peepholes?

Image Credit: Reddit

I have no idea what I’m talking about, but hey, there’s got to be some reason he likes it.

The photo is also making people recall the mutant Toy Story toy that was a doll’s head on top of a crab’s body. A strange coincidence to be sure.

Image Credit: Disney

Not as strange as reality, but close.

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