||| FROM THE WASHINGTON POST |||
As scientists zero in on the sources of microplastics — and how they get into human bodies — one factor stands out.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE WASHINGTON POST
Microplastics, studies increasingly show, are released from exposure to heat.
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Microplastics are such a pressing issue! I appreciate the tips on how to avoid them. It’s alarming how pervasive they are in our environment and bodies. We need to spread awareness and take action!
This is a great article! It’s shocking how microplastics are everywhere and the impact they have on our health. We need to be more aware and take action to reduce our exposure.
“take action”, “reduce our exposure” — sure, we can do these little things like not heating food/drink in plastic.
But there is very little we can do in the bigger picture. Micro- and nanoplastics are everywhere, all the time.
The only *real* thing we could do to prevent the situation getting worse would be to stop making plastic. “But the economy” wins every time. So… we will continue poisoning the world with plastic. And it doesn’t go away, so every single minute of every hour of every day we add more plastic to the world we accumulate more plastic poison in ourselves, every other animal, every plant, the oceans, every river and lake, the air; the entire planet.
Long after humans are gone from this planet, the plastics will endure.
“”The Plasticene” is a proposed geologic age within the Anthropocene, defined by the widespread presence and lasting impact of human-made plastics. It began around the 1950s with the acceleration of plastic production and is characterized by plastic becoming an enduring component of Earth’s geological record, affecting ecosystems and living organisms. This proposed epoch is marked by the ubiquitous presence of plastic, from large debris to microplastics, and its potential to be preserved in rock layers and sediment for future geologists to find. “