Microplastics: Their Effects on Society & Our War on Them
Microplastics: Their Effects on Society & Our War on Them
For the past couple of months, I've been agonizing about these little plastic particles that are in every single continent in the world. In every single country in the world. In the dirt we walk on. In the food we eat. In the air we even breathe. Very, very concerning.
It helps to explain these microplastics to the uninitiated: these tiny fragments of plastics are bits, debris, or leftovers of larger plastic particles. True to their name, they are plastic material less than five millimeters in size (meaning they're just almost completely invisible to the naked eye), but there are even smaller "nanoplastics", ranging 1 to 1000 nanometers across; this type is especially worrying because they're small enough find their way into cells. What makes these plastics a huge concern for human health and the environment is that plastic was created to last. It could take a decade, century, or even an entire millennium for the material to fully degrade, depending on the type of plastic and the factors in which decomposition happens.
It should be noted that this research first stared in 2004, and scientists are still trying to fully understand the extent of how harmful it is to human health. It's already been documented that they can have adverse to reproduction, due to amounts being reported to be found in genitalia. Since plastic is known to carry pollutants and chemicals into the water, all types of marine life actively swim and digest the stuff, and it cycles throughout the food chain.
Here are some links to pick your brains over:
https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articl ... everywhere
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9920460/
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/02/42716 ... cs-dangers
Let's try to add more discussion to this, shall we?
It helps to explain these microplastics to the uninitiated: these tiny fragments of plastics are bits, debris, or leftovers of larger plastic particles. True to their name, they are plastic material less than five millimeters in size (meaning they're just almost completely invisible to the naked eye), but there are even smaller "nanoplastics", ranging 1 to 1000 nanometers across; this type is especially worrying because they're small enough find their way into cells. What makes these plastics a huge concern for human health and the environment is that plastic was created to last. It could take a decade, century, or even an entire millennium for the material to fully degrade, depending on the type of plastic and the factors in which decomposition happens.
It should be noted that this research first stared in 2004, and scientists are still trying to fully understand the extent of how harmful it is to human health. It's already been documented that they can have adverse to reproduction, due to amounts being reported to be found in genitalia. Since plastic is known to carry pollutants and chemicals into the water, all types of marine life actively swim and digest the stuff, and it cycles throughout the food chain.
Here are some links to pick your brains over:
https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articl ... everywhere
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9920460/
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/02/42716 ... cs-dangers
Let's try to add more discussion to this, shall we?
- denimini
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Re: Microplastics: Their Effects on Society & Our War on Them
Yes another ticking time bomb. Easily created and near impossible to undo. I try to avoid plastic fibres in skirts and other clothes.
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Re: Microplastics: Their Effects on Society & Our War on Them
Are those Nano plastics what they put in the chemtrails that airplanes are spreading all over the sky? 

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- Myopic Bookworm
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Re: Microplastics: Their Effects on Society & Our War on Them
It's mostly dangerous when you get it into your lungs though. It's safe to touch and drink.
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Re: Microplastics: Their Effects on Society & Our War on Them
Chemtrails? Maybe - maybe not. But I'm thinking about having this installed in my small airplane (or not).
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- Modoc
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Re: Microplastics: Their Effects on Society & Our War on Them
In all seriousness, I wonder if this is on RFK's radar as he seeks to find the root cause of what seems to be an Autism epidemic. He seems pretty sure that it's environmental.
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- Modoc
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Re: Microplastics: Their Effects on Society & Our War on Them
I don't disagree, especially since it seems to be 4 times as prevalent in males as in females. I don't have any theories of my own, but it will be interesting to see where this is going.
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Re: Microplastics: Their Effects on Society & Our War on Them
In years gone by, it used to be considered a case of parenting failure -- an inability of the mother and father to properly educate their child in how to interact with the world.
But that was in a time when the parents actually interacted with their children. Now they don't because both have to work 2 or 3 McJobs just to keep the candle burning at one end. The children fall by the wayside and don't get the attention that they need. In short, "It's the economy, stupid!!', fix that then other things will begin to resolve by themselves. But that is just a pipe-dream and has zero probability to happen within my lifetime. I am SO glad I never had children.
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