tiny shards of plastic are falling out of the sky right now. This is just one of the alarming details presented in the new book “A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies,” by science writer Matt Simon. Simon chronicles the epidemic of microplastics—tiny particles shed from water bottles, polyester clothing, exfoliating face wash and a million other product—that now cover our planet like cling wrap. The toxic detritus is turning up everywhere from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the blood of newborn babies, who are exposed to the stuff in utero. #The Book Club 📚 

The Book Club 📚

tiny shards of plastic are falling out of the sky right now. This is just one of the alarming details presented in the new book “A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies,” by science writer Matt Simon. Simon chronicles the epidemic of microplastics—tiny particles shed from water bottles, polyester clothing, exfoliating face wash and a million other product—that now cover our planet like cling wrap. The toxic detritus is turning up everywhere from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the blood of newborn babies, who are exposed to the stuff in utero. #The Book Club 📚

This info seems lost on ALL manufacturers and the packaging industry in general. EVERYTHING comes wrapped in layers of plastic--even when there is no need for plastic at all.
--
As long as the all consuming goal of the human race is next quarter's profit--nobody will do a damn thing to limit the production of plastic or to reduce consumption of fossil fuels.

https://medium.com/enrique-dans/its-time-to-face-up-to-the-ugly-reality-of-plastic-4ce57786698c

This info seems lost on ALL manufacturers and the packaging industry in general. EVERYTHING comes wrapped in layers of plastic--even when there is no need for plastic at all. -- As long as the all consuming goal of the human race is next quarter's profit--nobody will do a damn thing to limit the production of plastic or to reduce consumption of fossil fuels.  https://medium.com/enrique-dans/its-time-to-face-up-to-the-ugly-reality-of-plastic-4ce57786698c

Finally, some countries are considering forcing a reduction in global plastic production, aiming to cut it by 40% within 15 years, based on…

It’s time to face up to the ugly reality of plastic

Cyril

Unlike other pollutants that are single elements or simple chemical compounds, microplastics represent a cocktail of toxicity: plastics contain at least 10,000 different chemicals. Those chemicals are linked to diseases from diabetes to hormone disruption to cancers.

I hope more people read this…it may fundamentally change their own relationship with plastic

Unlike other pollutants that are single elements or simple chemical compounds, microplastics represent a cocktail of toxicity: plastics contain at least 10,000 different chemicals. Those chemicals are linked to diseases from diabetes to hormone disruption to cancers.  I hope more people read this…it may fundamentally change their own relationship with plastic

Jerome Cody

Nate

It’s falling from the sky and in the air we breathe. It’s in our food, our clothes, and our homes. It’s microplastic and it’s everywhere—including our own bodies. Scientists are just beginning to discover how these tiny particles threaten health, but the studies are alarming.
 
In A Poison Like No Other, Matt Simon reveals a whole new dimension to the plastic crisis, one even more disturbing than plastic bottles washing up on shores and grocery bags dumped in landfills. Dealing with discarded plastic is bad enough, but when it starts to break down, the real trouble begins. The very thing that makes plastic so useful and ubiquitous – its toughness – means it never really goes away. It just gets smaller and smaller: eventually small enough to enter your lungs or be absorbed by crops or penetrate a fish’s muscle tissue before it becomes dinner.
 
Unlike other pollutants that are single elements or simple chemical compounds, microplastics represent a cocktail of toxicity: plastics contain at least 10,000 different chemicals. Those chemicals are linked to diseases from diabetes to hormone disruption to cancers.
 
A Poison Like No Other is the first book to fully explore this public health threat, following the intrepid scientists who travel to the ends of the earth and the bottom of the ocean to understand the consequences of our dependence on plastic. As Simon learns from these researchers, there is no easy fix. But we will never curb our plastic addiction until we begin to recognize the invisible particles all around us.

It’s falling from the sky and in the air we breathe. It’s in our food, our clothes, and our homes. It’s microplastic and it’s everywhere—including our own bodies. Scientists are just beginning to discover how these tiny particles threaten health, but the studies are alarming.   In A Poison Like No Other, Matt Simon reveals a whole new dimension to the plastic crisis, one even more disturbing than plastic bottles washing up on shores and grocery bags dumped in landfills. Dealing with discarded plastic is bad enough, but when it starts to break down, the real trouble begins. The very thing that makes plastic so useful and ubiquitous – its toughness – means it never really goes away. It just gets smaller and smaller: eventually small enough to enter your lungs or be absorbed by crops or penetrate a fish’s muscle tissue before it becomes dinner.   Unlike other pollutants that are single elements or simple chemical compounds, microplastics represent a cocktail of toxicity: plastics contain at least 10,000 different chemicals. Those chemicals are linked to diseases from diabetes to hormone disruption to cancers.   A Poison Like No Other is the first book to fully explore this public health threat, following the intrepid scientists who travel to the ends of the earth and the bottom of the ocean to understand the consequences of our dependence on plastic. As Simon learns from these researchers, there is no easy fix. But we will never curb our plastic addiction until we begin to recognize the invisible particles all around us.

D J

A group of likeminded people in ScholER are talking about this.