That lovely Christmas snow? It probably has microplastics in it

Source

From the waters of Antarctica to the food we eat, microplastics seem to have made their way everywhere. They’re on the tallest mountain and in the deepest trench, and according to a new study, they’re even in the pristine white snow.

Any piece of plastic under the size of five millimeters (0.2 inches) is considered microplastic. Microplastics are typically the result of the degradation of larger pieces of plastic, but they can also enter ecosystems from different sources such as cosmetics and clothing — from thereon, they enter the food chain and get eaten by animals (including ourselves) without even realizing.

Researchers first believed microplastics were transported mainly by water, but that turned out to not be the case.
...
The role of microplastics in the snow hasn’t received much attention from researchers so far. That’s why, for example, Columbia University has created a citizen science project called PlastiX-Snow Citizen Science to collect data on this. They hope to get samples of snow meltwater from people all over the US.

“Despite its importance, little is known about microplastic transport and deposition, especially by snow particles, and most people are not aware of the extent of the problem,” an abstract of their plan reads. “The project aims to fill these research and informational gaps using crowd-sourcing to achieve scientific research outputs”

Microplastic particles everywhere... with not much known about the impact it is having on everything from ecosystems to personal health. We could speculate... but more importantly, we can gather data and analyze it. This is a kind of 'blind spot' at the moment. If you perform a basic search, you'll find lots of assertions about the presence of microplastics in water air, and now snow... but precious little about what that actually means.

As a semi-related sidenote... I once participated in a crowd sources study of microscopic space dust gathered by satellite using gel cells... it was rewarding and extraordinarily helpful to the research community... I recommend looking into this, if you can participate and have the interest.

At nighttime riding your bicycle one can see the micro plastic floating in the air. Sadly much of it comes in from China. But hey... China is environment friendly according to WHO. They don't need to be regulated.

It's also in the sea sand on its shores.


there is also research into the mother's milk may contain nano plastics
I understand a few countries now have banned plastic water bottles and soda bottles. Good idea actually. When I was a kid, we had returnable bottles for 2 cents each.

a reply to: musicismagic

I've always said that the plastic bottled water tastes funny, when something bottled, nothing beats glass. There's also this thing going on with children teeth, I claim that it is connected to the softeners in plastic bottles.

Take a cup of snow and heat it up in microwave and watch it turn into a black liquid.

Do not eat snow. Don't melt it to drink. The filth in each snow flake will shock you.

a reply to: Maxmars

originally posted by: DeathSlayer
Take a cup of snow and heat it up in microwave and watch it turn into a black liquid.

Do not eat snow. Don't melt it to drink. The filth in each snow flake will shock you.

a reply to: Maxmars

The North Pole is all but blackened these days. And the sea salt taste funny these days too.

Microplastics are in seemingly everything and they get into everything. While everyone is hyper-focused on reducing the emissions up into the air, they tend to overlook the terrible amount of toxicity that ends up down on the earth, too.
That stuff is pretty nasty.
ETA--I notice an unpleasant taste in foods that have been stored in plastic bags (like ziplocs)... it may not be toxic but it sure is gross. And I'm not the only one: Plastic Taste

Plastics are a double edge sword.

Plastics save a # ton of product spoilage… think vegetables. If they spoil, that’s more product to replace.

And… they help lower freight costs. Think shipping diapers and toilet paper… the more compressed the more product per truck. Less trucks on the road.

Me personally; plastics probably are better for the environment, but you’ll never see a fair study to prove it

originally posted by: BorelsMonkeys
Plastics are a double edge sword.
...
Me personally; plastics probably are better for the environment, but you’ll never see a fair study to prove it

Plastic can be of great use for our lifestyle, but the price we pay is more than just it's cost. Plastic endures beyond it's useful application - as per the source report.

I agree that plastic could be rendered into a relatively lesser degree of 'malignancy.' But insofar as 'better?' I can't readily accept that for a number of reasons I could enumerate - but that would be like beating a dead horse.

I only buy whiskey that comes in glass bottles.

And beer. But come to think of it, does any beer come in plastic bottles?

a reply to: Maxmars

Plastic should be a controlled substance. A lot of the plastic containers we have had go brittle after 6 or 7 summers out of the sun. And the blue plastic drums start to calcify about the same time, blue hands after touching them. We try to remove any plastic where possible. Many will disagree but in my opinion plastic is as bad as roundup, of course each has its place. If someone kills you today, that is called murder however if your killed over 20 0r 30 years we call that progress.

a reply to: marsend

Nonsense.

One word:

a reply to: Phage Beer in plastic bottles, not in this neck of the woods, that would be sacrilege. Nothing nicer than a cold glass container filled with a coool beverage in it.

a reply to: Maxmars

EDCs (Endrocrine disrupting chemicals) are chemicals that disturb the body’s hormone systems and can cause cancer, diabetes, reproductive disorders, and neurological impairments of developing fetuses and children. The report describes a wealth of evidence supporting direct cause-and-effect links between the toxic chemical additives in plastics and specific health impacts to the endocrine system.

Conservative estimates point to more than a thousand manufactured chemicals in use today that are EDCs. Known EDCs that leach from plastics and threaten health include bisphenol A and related chemicals, flame retardants, phthalates, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), dioxins, UV-stabilizers, and toxic metals such as lead and cadmium. Plastic containing EDCs is used extensively in packaging, construction, flooring, food production and packaging, cookware, health care, children's toys, leisure goods, furniture, home electronics, textiles, automobiles and cosmetics.

www.endocrine.org...

Hahaha, yes a lot of people ran with the plastic, I have seen islands covered in the expletive :-) a reply to: Phage

a reply to: marsend

Indeed. When I must drink canned beer. I dispense it into glass.

If I have glass available. Otherwise, screw it.

a reply to: TDDAgain

I've always said that the plastic bottled water tastes funny,

Ever tasted plastic bottled water that has been exposed to the sun (or heat) for any length of time? It tastes like plastic. The sun causes the plastic to leach into the water. It's disgusting.