GoingTrueGreen's Blog Postings

Salty Roads and Salty People

1/24/2022

Salt, road salt, blacktop, roads, winter, black ice, EPA, Prochlorococcus, rain forests, going true green, going green, sustainability, plastics,

Road Salt on Blacktop Roads

In many GoingTrueGreen blog posts I have written about what is on our streets will go into the sewers and then everything will be deposited in our waterways. Yes, everything from animal waste to dental floss. Our streams, rivers and oceans are the recipients of our careless littering and blatant use of toxic products such as paint and road salt.

With winter coming every year for many parts of the world, road travel becomes difficult. So many townships use Road Salt and this will end up in our oceans. Perhaps causing issues with Prochlorococcus, the invisible green forest in our oceans. These microscopic marine cyanobacteria are probably the most abundant organism on Earth. For millions of years they have made our oxygen. So the panic claim made by some people with a big loud speaker about the Rain Forests being the lungs of Earth, is not true.

We have many environmental impact questions about Road Salt and very few answers. We already know Prochlorococcus are being damaged by plastic pollution in our oceans, so perhaps a closer look into Road Salt is needed.

Road salt prevents black ice and saves many lives from winter road accidents. The minerals use are calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. Combined with water, this is a solution that doesn’t freeze and is operational in less than 30 minutes.

Nevertheless, what are all the ecological issues created by road salt? I don’t believe we know. EPA states that high levels of salt in water can affect wildlife, insects, fish and humans. Salt has found its way into our drinking water tables, wells and reservoirs. A report out of Columbia University suggested that the road salt's accumulation problems we have today, is from applications made decades ago. Additionally, we do know that soil erosion is enhanced by road salt.

I have read about many alternatives to Road Salt, but will the supply of sugar beet juice or pickle juice meet the demand? Brines help, but will a certain mixture be as effective as Road Salt? Are sustainable de-icers any use? What are the cost comparisons in money, damage, supply and lives?

Many questions need answers, sadly too many pretentious scientists and other salty people from both extreme camps, are busy making money off of politicizing our environment, instead of actually studying and respecting our environment. To sum everything up, use this LINK to visit the recent past after reading this GTG post.

If any reader or someone you know is associated with a study being done on these topics, please let me know. Any additional data from a university or lab study that can be shared would be greatly appreciated so I may update this GTG blog post.
(Click this LINK now.)

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Working so your equipment is as Energy Efficient as possible

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Entrapped by 128 Million Pieces of Waste

10/17/2020

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A Created Low Orbit View of Earth Entrapped by Space Litter!

Perhaps there is something within our genome that causes humans to litter, but I sincerely hope that isn't the case. Yet, too often when we are holding something that we no longer want, we drop that item to the earth at our feet. Most of us do not recycle, reuse or properly dispose of the object, we discard the object. We have become so infected with this syndrome that we also discard human life.

Additionally, look at what we are doing to ourselves. We do not exclusively just litter at our feet, but also far above our heads!

The image I created on the left is an example showing Earth and what is orbiting our planet... Litter, space junk or aka: garbage. We are at the point that we are entrapping ourselves on our own planet.

On October 15, just a few days ago, an old useless 2 by 17 meters Soviet Parus Navigation Satellite that weights 800 Kilograms almost collided with an old Chinese rocket stage, according to U.S. Space Surveillance Network. Object number 19,826 came within 100 meters of object number 36,123 at the event altitude of 991Km or 615 miles above earth. If they collided, these two large items could have created thousands of smaller MMODs which stands for Micro Meteoroid and Orbital Debris. There are 34,000 items larger than 10 centimeters and the balance of the 128 million pieces of orbiting litter are MMODs.

While some people are concerned about a meteor from outer space hitting our planet, we also should not rule out a future collision of two large pieces of space junk in low orbit possibly causing dozens of bullet size pieces to penetrate our atmosphere. If these pieces come in over an empty ocean, thank God. However, what if they rain down over a town or city?

Above is an image created by NASA showing space junk from a high Earth orbit. Two main debris fields are the objects in geosynchronous Earth orbit and the concentration of objects in low Earth orbit.

We are our worst enemy. Times are already challenging to launch a rocket and enter Earth's orbit among the current 128 million pieces of orbiting junk. No program is yet established to remove orbiting space junk, but I suspect and hope the new Space Force with the prototype Chaser space crafts will have that assignment.

So if you think that navigating home through rush-hour congestion is hard in your earthbound vehicle. What will your great grand children be saying when they are trying to visit Earth's orbit, our Moon or Mars? We cannot allow this space litter to freely increase as humankind works more and more in space.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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REALLY... Glove Litter?

5/4/2020

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gloves, virus, covid, covid19, litter, litter bug, litterbugs, careless, medical gloves, wakeup

Discarded Glove: Neighborhood Lawns

Discarded Glove: City Sidewalk

I do not get out much lately due to "stay at home" orders, but every time I had an essential trip (doctor/food) to make... Really? GLOVE LITTER!

Why would anyone allow their glove that may have been contaminated to be dropped or discarded on a street, lawn, hallway or sidewalk?

Each one of us is the solution, but sadly, we are also our worst enemy.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

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Dead Solar Panels

3/10/2020

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solar, solar electric, solar panels, gallium, solar farms, photovoltaic, solar energy, recycle

Unusable Solar Panels: Recycle or Bury

Solar Panels have a life span of about 20 to 30 years. They help our environment in that time period by reducing the alternatives which would increase our carbon footprint. However, to prevent dark clouds from forming overhead due to the coming waste management issue with old solar panels that are decommissioned, we need a plan toward an efficient infrastructure to recycle up to tens of millions of solar panels.

America has over two million solar installations ranging from roof tops on homes and businesses to rack systems on the ground in solar farms. Many older systems are at the decommissioning stage. Currently, America does not have efficient solar panel recycling policies. The U.S. actually has no national policy.

Europe has policies for solar recycling programs because the Dual Systems laws, which have been in place for years have the manufacturers take back their products to recycle. In July of 2014, I wrote a GTG Blog post on this called:
eRecycling and eWaste. Here in the U.S. the homeowner is on their own, especially with older systems that do not have monitoring abilities in place to inform the contractor or homeowner when the solar panels need to undergo decommissioning.

Solar panels are 99% recyclable since they are made up of glass, aluminum, plastic, copper, lead, gallium, cadmium and silicon. However, the process to recycle solar panels is very involved. Dissembling all parts and separating some of them with melting, lasers, a solvent, cutting or a stream of electrons to selectively break apart components on a surface maybe necessary. Despite all that, great recycling opportunities are coming and an economic upside can come from recycling solar panels. Some estimates state that there will be a 15 Billion dollar business waiting for the new solar recycling industry by 2050.

The time to start is now, so we don't find ourselves burying dead solar panels in landfills.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Telomere, Telomeres, cold spring harbor, L.J. Williams, BBV publishing, living forever, romance novel, woman heroes, 2001

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Tree Top Garbage

12/5/2019

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Plastic Clouds, Bill Lauto, microscopic plastic, BPA, PS, oligomer, bisphenol A, molecular bond, pollution, plastics, petroleum, plastic islands, plastic in beer, plastic in air

Tree Top Garbage

Tree Top Garbage
by Bill Lauto

There it shall stay,
until it erodes away.
Let loose by humankind,
into our air & out of mind.
Innocently caught by a tree,
until it’s digested by you and me.

If the garbage is some kind of foam, plastic or any other very slow degradable product made by humankind, the key word or the upsetting word in the poem above is digested. Litter, such as plastic, is made from petroleum. The official name is polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. When organic material, such as grass or an apple, is exposed to the elements of nature or buried, bacteria breaks down the item into the original compounds that formed the organic element. This biodegradation process doesn't occur on plastic in the same way or period of time.

Studies have shown that UV light will break the molecular bonds holding plastic together so that item can break down into smaller pieces. And smaller and smaller and smaller pieces. Nevertheless, there are problems because buried plastic in landfills are in a place where the sun doesn't shine and when plastic does break down into smaller pieces, this is proving to be a very serious problem.

First let us review what we all know: Plastic is building up in our oceans, especially the Pacific ocean. Humankind's plastic shopping bags, water bottles, take out containers, soda bottles, product packages and six-pack plastic rings are bathing in sunlight as they float in our oceans and waterways. The UV rays will eventually break down that plastic into smaller pieces. Ten years ago, a study from Nihon University in Chiba, Japan, discovered that plastic in our oceans can start to degrade within one year. Thus, creating smaller and smaller pieces.

BREAKING PLASTIC DOWN INTO SMALLER PIECES IS BECOMING A MAJOR WORLD WIDE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM

These smaller pieces of plastic are not natural. They are made of bisphenol A (BPA) and PS oligomer. These are carcinogens and these toxic chemicals end up in the bellies of fish and perhaps evaporate into our air. So let us continue with that natural process of the rain cycle...
After Evaporation is Condensation and finally Precipitation, allowing these chemicals to settle on the land and crops. Animals eat the chemicals and humankind eats the fish, the animals and the crops!

I am now asking everyone who is perusing this GoingTrueGreen blog post to also revisit or read for the first time, these two previous posts:

Plastic Water, Air and Food (12/27/2017)

Plastic Clouds (03/19/2019)

As for all of us, may I suggest that we be extra mindful this time of year with the Christmas and holiday wrappings, boxes filled with shipping material and plastic waste.

GoingTrueGreen.com is teaching the complete picture for saving money, energy, our Earth and our health - Not teaching poetry.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

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Kids, Flooring, and Chemicals

8/14/2019

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Going True Green, concerned mother, kids, laminated wood floor

A New Laminate Floor

Going True Green received an email from a concerned mother and member of GoingTrueGreen.com. She was looking for more information on a possible issue with her kids and a laminated wood floor.

Below is that email and our reply published with permission:

Dear GTG,
I heard in the news that laminate floors from various manufacturers have cancer causing agents. My laminate floor is from a family business local to me and is about 5 years old. My kids play on the floor several times a week. I have extra floor boards, should I have them checked?

Hi Maria,

Thank you for emailing us. Many items we buy have one or more chemicals in them, chemicals such as Formaldehyde which is a colorless poisonous gas synthesized by the oxidation of methanol and used as an antiseptic, disinfectant, histologic fixative, and general-purpose chemical reagent for laboratory applications. Some products we buy are worst than others.

I reviewed your concern with Mary, our team's Chemistry Scientist, and she informed me that while polyurethane stains and laminations applied to wood surfaces are highly toxic when in a liquid state, they are harmless once completely dried. She does not believe testing the extra floor boards is necessary at all. Nevertheless if you feel that you need to do so, because you perhaps know of a company that does this type of analysis at a reasonably price, then speak to them for their insight.

Either way, we suggest the following with new laminated floors and rugs that may have a high concentration of chemicals.

You will want to "Air Out" new wood floors and rugs for at least 3 weeks or so with windows and bedroom doors open. Keep the kids off the rug and newly installed wood floor until you did an "air out" and washed the new rug or floor at least once.

For newborns, try to install the rug or new wood floor in the bedroom at least 3 months before the baby is born. Do an "air out" and don't have the expecting mother spend long periods of time in that room when the new wood floor or rug is first installed.

With your situation, since you had the floor for about five years now, your floor has been "aired out" a long time ago and I would not worry. However, if you still have concerns, you should also speak with your pediatrician for additional insight.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

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Roadside Litter

6/10/2019

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litter, litterbugs, pollution, garbage, water bottles, plastic,

We are Infested with Litter Bugs

When will this type of littering stop? One of the largest areas where litter accumulates is a street corner by a red light or stop sign. Especially the street corners at the end of a highway's Off Ramp.

We have an infestation of Litter Bugs and they seem to have an urge to void themselves of all unwanted items after a drive on a highway by tossing them out the car window. From cigarette butts to water bottles and cups we see them piling up and clogging sewer grates.

cigarettes, cigarette butts, litter, litterbugs, pollution, garbage, water bottles, plastic

Cigarette Butt Litter

What these Litter Bugs don't realize is that everything you throw out your car window, even a piece of dental floss, will eventually find its way down the sewer and into our water ways. That means our rivers and oceans. If anyone has gone swimming and a long brownish-gray string came across your face, that is not seaweed, that was someone's used dental floss. More drastic is the fact that fish eat what is in the oceans that we polluted and we eat fish. We are our worst enemy.

Now, since I do not wish to "Be A Triple C" person, that is someone who Constantly Complains and Criticizes. I will also present solutions, because a Triple C person never accomplishes anything and they never help to find solutions or solve a problem. Sadly the majority of our politicians are Triple C people.

Nevertheless, we the individual are the solution and what we need to talk about with our townships is the installation of cameras at the various street corners that have a large volume of litter. The cameras should be relatively easy to move from one location to another when deemed appropriate and should be used to catch people tossing anything out their car windows. License plate numbers will be recorded and a summons mailed to the owner of the car. This money can then be used to clean the litter and our oceans. All without raising taxes.

Don't Be A Triple C and don't be a Litter Bug.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

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Plastic Clouds

3/19/2019

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Plastics, Plastic Clouds, Microscopic Plastic, Plastic Fibers, aerosol particles, CEDP, Invigorated Process, Super Storms, Severe Storms, small particles, going true green, Bill Lauto, sustainable living, sustainability, going green, environmental issues, climate change, changing climate, greenhouse effect, global warming, BBV Publishing

Is Humankind creating Plastic Clouds?

Is Humankind creating Plastic Clouds? Humankind’s future “may” hold serious repercussions based on the various evidence nature is presenting today with numerous issues. Yet, no one knows when, where or how anything specific may or may not happen. There also isn’t any precedent for exact matching elements in earth’s history that mandates our attitude to be passive or to panic. Scientists don’t know the time frame for any specific disaster, healing or level of harm. Nevertheless, Humankind has created new elements that did not previously exist, so we contribute in various degrees on various issues.

With the injection of plastics into our environmental equation and because everything is connected, we have a contributing factor that quite possibly can be a major catalyst for the severe storms that are occurring around the world. After reading multiple studies on two different topics and presenting at two lectures, one in Rome and the other in New York, I am asking the scientific community to investigate a possible clandestine connection between plastic and severe storms. Combining available data from multiple studies done on microplastic fibers and studies done on severe storm conditions, problematic possibilities are presented for an ever growing interconnecting issue. Recent findings show that the smallest of particles, smaller than one-thousandth the width of a human hair, have a prodigious role in creating large storm clouds. Taking data from these research projects, I present the hypotheses that the microfiber plastic we have been adding into our environment "may" actually be a player in any stronger Invigorating Convection process of storms.

The first topic on plastic is now quantifying what has been a growing concern for many years regarding the issue with plastics and the environment. We have significant evidence that we are drinking, breathing and eating plastic fibers. One main source of plastic particulates has been shown to come from a single wash load that can release up to 700,000 Microplastic fibers into our waterways. The clothes we wear today that contain plastic, outnumber clothes made of cotton and wool. Cotton and wool naturally decay, plastic does not.
Please see my previous blog: Plastic Water, Air and Food on December 27, 2017.

The second topic has research showing how tiny particles have an impact on storm clouds. The smallest of dirt particles will rise to the top of storm clouds making the cloud bigger and the storm more severe. I am now questioning if microscopic particulates made of plastic can be a factor in larger cloud formations, holding in heat, producing more rain and larger storms. A serious interconnecting problem may be manifesting between these two environmental concerns. The question became: How are microscopic plastic particulates getting into our atmosphere?

Research Studies have shown that tiny particles are a catalysts for more powerful storms and influence weather far greater than previously known. Small particles of dust, dirt and pollutants, known as aerosols, help form clouds and air pollution created by nature and man are all contributing to this water cycle. Particles smaller than one-thousandth the width of a human hair can create clouds to grow taller, intensify the storm and cause more rain to fall. These ultra fine particles less than 50 nanometers wide were studied to learn their role in the development of a thunderstorm. The data comes from 21 authors and 15 institutions world wide that conducted a study operated by Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility.

From this research scientists found that the ultra-small particles are numerous and plentiful. They can form many small droplets where excess water vapor can condense. This increase in condensation will release more heat, which in turn makes the updrafts so much more dominant. Increase the amount of warm air to be accumulated into the cloud and we have more droplets aloft to create additional rain, hail, snow and lightning. This process known as the Invigorated Convection, though the popular phrase used by the media is now Super Storm after Sandy struck the Northeast coast.

Plastic Sparkles On Greeting Cards

Weathering Plastic Fence Decor

From all these implications, facts and queries, I present the theory that aerosol microplastic particles from worn down and weathered CEDPs (Common EveryDay Plastics) may be a new culprit to changing our climate by being a player in the Invigorating Convection process. This theoretical connection between Microplastic Fibers and Severe Storms needs to be evaluated. If microscopic particles from CEDPs are proven to be an increasing contributing factor, humankind must realize that we are all guilty. From plastic sparkles on cards to outdoor plastic fence decor, we are all putting plastic particles into our environment everyday.

Humankind needs to be intelligent about our evaluations, approach and solutions that incorporate feasible transition periods. As I proffer this theory where microplastic fibers play a role in more severe storms, a full scientific study must be done. Without any research conducted nor samples taken to be examined from the highest point of severe storm clouds, this remains a theory.

Through educating and providing a long list of solutions on all topics makes the needed difference when implemented world wide. All of humankind is on the same team.

(For additional knowledge, please use the Link below to receive an email on when my first book is published. The title is: Plastic Clouds) Thank you.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

PLASTIC CLOUDS
by William J. Lauto; Environmental Scientist, Naturalist, International Sustainability & Energy Consultant
Is Humankind creating Plastic Clouds?
How are microscopic plastic particulates getting into our atmosphere?
What are weathered CEDPs?
From plastic sparkles on cards to outdoor plastic fence decor, are we all guilty?
What are the solutions and isn't all of humankind on the same team?

Please use the Image Link to receive an email on info to Pre-Order or when my book is published. Expected date of publishing is around Earth Day, Spring 2021. Thank you.

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Woolly Balls - Not Plastic!

2/26/2019

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Wool Dryer Balls!

Laundry Day, what can I say... How about, "Ugh."

Nevertheless, when laundry needs to be done, I always look upon the task as a challenge to find a better way. After all, humankind has come a long way from washing a handwoven piece of cloth on a rock by the stream. Yet, we have brothers and sisters in our world still doing some washing of clothes exactly that way. Thus making our own individual accountability on how we wash our clothes very important in order to do the least harm to our environment. From the amount of energy we use to the kind of soap. From the amount of water we use to the kind of clothes we wear. (please see previous GTG Blog - #A)
And now, eliminating those static free sheets or plastic balls.

I know the static free sheets we add to our dryers smell nice and work well, but they are costly and create various possible waste management issues. Then came along plastic balls to eliminate static cling on our clothes and that proved to be a more cost effective way. However, as those plastic balls wear down with use, we have to be mindful of where those microscopic particles of plastic go. Each year, more and more data is showing the harm being done by microscopic plastic particles. Going True Green will be publishing next month the details of the study we have done on this subject. Last year I spoke at several conferences about my theory that addresses one aspect of the issue and we all need to be aware of the various possibilities.

So what alternative do we have now? We are not going back to washing clothes in the neighborhood stream, but we can get the plastic balls out of the dryer by using Woolly Balls. I am not sure of the final outcome for these Wool Balls that prevent static cling, but at least wool is bio-degradable while plastic is not.

The breakdown on the Wool Dryer Ball design is below:

All Natural and 100% Wool
Saves Money
Can reduce drying times by absorbing moisture out of the air in the dryer (please see GTG's previous Blog - #B)
Can save energy & reduce drying times especially with information from GTG's previous Blog, #B.
Reusable for at least one year or more
Hypoallergenic
Can be washed and refreshed with your favorite essential oil scent
Will reduce static and soften clothes
3 Wool Balls per box and use all 3 in every drying load

The testing has started and I will report back in a future Going True Green blog post. So far so good, but I hope the inside of these Wool Balls is rubber and not plastic. I will open one up soon enough with my testing. Meanwhile, if anyone else can provide me with input on their experiences, please comment below or email us at GoingTrueGreen.com. Thank you!

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Use this LINK to see testing results and report card...

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Plastic Water, Air and Food

12/27/2017

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Microplastic Fibers

New studies and reports are now quantifying what has been a growing concern for many years.
Allow me to first present statements that are being considered facts today by many scientists:

We are drinking Plastic Fibers
We are breathing Plastic Fibers
We are eating Plastic Fibers

I am not trying to yell the sky is falling, but we have created a monster. For those of us who don’t eat meat or fish, grow some food, and have counter top water distillers, a sense of brief relief may arise. However, this is an ever growing interconnecting issue, that is rapidly becoming serious for the world. Mainly because we do not know what the end results will be for humankind, animals, and nature!

How we are eating plastic:
Our clothes have more synthetic materials today than any other natural material. That evening dress we will wear this New Year’s Eve, the fleece coat we will use when shoveling snow and our exercise clothes for those workouts. Polyester equals plastic. An analysis was done by Tecnon OrbiChem on the data showing chemical use worldwide. Polyester is the world’s mandated fiber since 2007.

We then wash our clothes. Microplastic fibers that can’t be seen, are washed down the drain. A recent study found each washing machine cycle could release 700,000 fibers.

Also don't forget plastic microbeads in facial scrub products! These plastic fibers end up in our waterways, our oceans, because Water Treatment plants are unable to catch all of them. Dr. Alice Wemaere, EPA Research Manager said, “Consumers can help by checking the product labels for cosmetics and cleaners to see if they are certify microplastic free."

Next these plastic fibers absorb things while in the water. Things like: Oil from spilt motor oil, Pesticides from spraying weeds, Drugs from discarded medicine pills, Bacteria from Sewage and Wastewater Treatment plants, Chemicals from just about anything that went down the street’s sewer drain. To summarize in one word… Toxins.

Plastic Microfiber being ingested, Image by Dr. Kirby

Fish then eat these polluted plastic fibers and we eat the fish. Additionally, Plankton that support the entire marine food chain also eat plastic. The image shown is a still frame from a video done by Dr. Richard Kirby. The footage shows a 3mm long blue plastic microfiber being ingested by a planktonic arrow worm. This is our Food Chain and we may be hanging ourselves with that very chain.

We don’t recycle plastic well and an additional source of plastic for fish to eat also may come from, for example, 38 million pieces of plastic waste that washed up on the sands of an uninhabited South Pacific Island.

If Polyester is the mandated fiber, then the question is… Mandated by who?
Manufacturers, Profits, Consumers? We are all guilty.

How we are breathing plastic:
Studies done in 2015 by SETAC Europe (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) told researchers that microplastic was atmospheric and offering substance to the old adage: The sky is falling. A minimum estimated of three tons of plastic fibers were being deposited each year onto the city of Paris. The question now is: By what means are these microplastic fibers getting into the air?

Professor Frank Kelly led research done in London and reported to the 2016 UK Parliamentary Inquiry the following:
“If we breathe them [microplastic] in, they could potentially deliver chemicals to the lower parts of our lungs and maybe even across into our circulation.”

How we are drinking plastic:
Plastic fibers have been found in our tap water around the world and I don’t mean a small sample. Plastic particles are found in 83% of the samples taken. The United States of America leads the way with the highest contamination rate at a staggering 94%. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found plastic fibers in the drinking water of their Headquarters and buildings used by Congress.

India and Lebanon came in second and third with the next highest rates. The UK, Germany and France had a 72% contamination rate. An independent study done in the Republic of Ireland by Dr. Anne Marie Mahon at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology also found microplastic particles in well water and tap water.

“We don’t know what the [health] impact is and for that reason we should follow the precautionary principle and put enough effort into it now, immediately, so we can find out what the real risks are,” said Dr. Mahon.

Another statement made by Dr. Mahon causing consternation was, “If the fibers are there, it is possible that the nanoparticles are there too that we can’t measure. Once they are in the nanometre range they can really penetrate a cell and that means they can penetrate organs, and that would be worrying.”

Compound that statement with microplastics absorbing bacteria found in sewage, because some studies have shown harmful pathogens on microplastic downstream from wastewater treatment plants, now the world's population has a bigger problem.

Beer, Germany Beer, Microplastic Fibers, Microplastic, plastic pollution, plastic in water, distillers, food chain, planktonic, pesticides, water treatment, water, food, SETAC, Prof. Kelly, Dr. Kirby, going green, sustainability, going true green

Plastic with your Beer?

We now know of several sources on how microplastics can arrive into our water. Water is used to make everything, even Beer. Studies in Germany found plastic fibers in all of the 24 beer brands they tested. They also found plastic in honey and sugar.

Therefore if we are drinking plastic polluted water, then so are the animals. We then consume the chickens, cows, turkeys and pigs.

We are our own worst enemy.

We have no idea what the long term results will be for babies, children, and adults, when we consume years of microplastics with toxins. How our organs, muscle tissues, and overall health will be altered is still a quagmire.

I teach Outdoor Education part time at BOCES. I tell my students that everything is connected and there are consequences to all our actions. Our world’s ecosystems are being suffocated by plastic as these fibers become ubiquitous in the world. We are risking adverse consequences, but as I also tell my students, “There is always another way.” The last pull-over shirt I received as a gift, was 70% cotton. Much better than a few years ago, but still not the same as my 100% cotton shirts, T-shirts and jeans.

Visit our Lifetime Membership program for details, online class about water is available to all members. Please use the GTG Membership Link above to become a member or sign in if you are already a GTG Lifetime member. Thank you.

You will not be tested by me, but life may test your grandchildren.
Can you teach them what they need to know?

God’s green earth is becoming a plastic earth. I am sorry to say that I can’t find a Happy New Year in that possible indomitable issue.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!